2012 Olympian

My sweet girl is currently competing in the following events:

1. Pulling up at the coffee table and gnawing on the corner
2. Crawling and exploring
3. Nursing while in the plank position
4. Overall cuteness

I predict a gold in all four events!

Sawyer time

Having multiple kids has truly taught me that I really don't know very much about raising kids. It was so much easier to give other parents advice when I was the school counselor. With my oldest son, Jack, I put many of the theories I learned into practice, and he willingly cooperated and followed my lead. Jack likes to follow the rules, won't leave the driveway if his seat belt isn't buckled and recently talked about wanting his 6th birthday party to unite his various groups of friends (school pals, neighborhood friends and playgroup buddies). Wow...what a great parenting job we did! :)

And then came our #2...Sawyer James Egan. My loving, creative, funny, smart and strong-willed little train lover. He writes his own rules. This kid can have me laughing hysterically one minute and then he can frustrate me to no end in the next breath. My little bull knows what he wants when he wants it...he's sure to be the leader of something in the future. President of an entertainment network?

Here's my little character being, well a character!


Sawyer does not like to perform on my command. He drives the train...literally. His little brain is constantly working, and I love when he lets me have a glimpse of the amazing things inside of it. He's known his letters and sounds for a long time now, and he's really progressing these days in his fine motor skills. When asked at home to write his name or any letters he typically replies no or asks for us to do it together. Both of those choices are okay with me at this point. However, tonight while waiting for Jack's basketball pep rally to begin I gave my little boy a pen and paper for doodling. He proceeded to write several letters...H, W, S, T and O. Some of them are hard to make out on this picture, but my jaw dropped when I saw him do it. All on his own and all on Sawyer time.



I wonder how little I'll know as a parent by the time Grace is 3?

Sick!!??

My big boy rarely gets sick (knock on wood), so we were all surprised when he got sick to his stomach a few times on Sunday evening. I worked late that evening, so Scott was charged with clean up duty. He handled it beautifully and said that Jack calmly directed him through the chaos. Daddy did get doused in uck when he lowered Jack from the top bunk...better him than me but don't tell him I said so!

Jack woke up on Monday still a little slow and not quite himself, but most of the day he had a smile on his face. We got to play a few extra games together, read some books, enjoy a couple movies and do a little artwork. Today he bound out the door for kindergarten, and he's thrilled to be well again for his big field trip to the Golden Dome tomorrow.

I'm so happy he's back to normal, but truthfully Jack's sickness was one of the best parts of my week. These days I'll take any extra time I can get with my big boy.

First time for everything

Grace has celebrated several firsts over the past few days. She's officially on the move. Put away the legos and keep the basement door closed because this girl is a crawler!

Gracie became quite the foodie this weekend as she enjoyed adding whole wheat pasta, Havarti cheese, whole peas, cantaloupe and cheerios to her plate. She is becoming much more efficient at delivering the pieces of food to her mouth and loves to flash a big grin when she succeeds.

This morning Scott walked into her nursery and found her sitting up tall on her knees and leaning over her crib. Lowering her crib had been on our to-do list this weekend, but we never quite got around to it. It became a priority this morning!

Lastly, Grace used her teeth for the first time this weekend while nursing. It was the first time I ever had to tell her "no" in my not-as-nice Mommy voice. She stared at me with her wide eyes, and I could sense she was trying to remind me that that tone of voice was reserved for her brothers. I'm sure I'll NEVER have to use that voice with her again...especially when she is a teenager! :)

Big firsts for my growing girl. Makes me smile and tear up all that the same time.

Adios winter!

The average temperature in South Bend this time of year is 48 degrees, but we have been blessed this past week with temperatures in the upper 70's. Our southern family LOVES this weather, and we lived outdoors this weekend. The kiddos enjoyed riding bikes, playing basketball, playing with shaving cream, enjoying the water table, having fun on the playground with friends, and SWIMMING in a neighbor's little pool. That's right, I said swimming. In March. We are in heaven!

Yipee!!

Warmer weather, bright blue skies and longer days...spring is creeping in!

Noooooooooooo!

Grace can be passionate about many things in life...books, art, music, sports, dolls, cars, etc. BUT please God don't let her love trains! I am ready for a change after 3 1/2 years of living/loving my little train enthusiast, Sawyer.

All aboard!

The boys headed off to Chicago for a two day excursion with Grandma and Grandpa. A train ride, the Science and Industry Museum, sleeping on the top floor (the 19th) of the hotel, eating way more sweets than Mommy allows, swimming in the hotel pool, visiting the Hancock Tower and spending special time with Grandma and Grandpa all made for a perfect mini-vacation for Jack and Sawyer. They are lucky little guys!

Flying solo

Grandma and Grandpa whisked her brothers away to Chicago for a couple days, so Grace is enjoying her experience as an only child. What a change!

Elegant errands

Grace and I enjoy our time together while her brothers are in school. After she plays, has breakfast and takes her nap, we often have a couple errands to run on the way to pick up Sawyer from ECDC. Gracie likes to look cute even when her day consists of a trip to Walmart and Chipoltle with Mommy and Grandma. Any day can be a tutu day!

Slimey Smiles

Grandma and Grandpa came to town to visit us for a couple weeks, and the boys got to make/play with slime on Sunday. Smiles galore in South Bend these days.

Great Eight

March Madness is almost upon us, so Grace thought it was fitting that she turned eight months old yesterday. She has definitely made these past eight months great...actually perfect. This soft, smiley, beautiful, funny, cuddly, smart, patient, lovable, chatty, irresistible and nearly mobile girl is the icing on top of the cake for our little family.

Pardon the grainy photos, but blogging is so much easier/quicker with my I-phone. Efficiency is paramount these days!

Not so subtle hint

All morning Sawyer has insisted that I refer to him as the "zookeeper." His animals have visited the vet, explored the jungle, "fallen down a waterfall" (which the zookeeper loves for me to be very upset about) and enjoyed some "yummy pet food."

I'm thinking Sawyer might want a pet. Sorry, zookeeper, I am busy enough these days with my three wild animals!

Giggles

"Grace"land

Life is wonderful in "Grace"land, and this sweet little girl loves to explore the world around her. These days Grace gets a kick out of turning on and off lights, opening and closing doors, putting anything and everything into her mouth, eating yummy yogurt, giggling incessantly at her brothers, passing things back and forth to her Daddy, banging things together and reading (okay, mouthing) her books.

Just for the record her brother's germs from school, saline nose drops and the nose sucker are the main enemies of "Grace"land.

Colors

I can't get this picture to rotate for some reason...sorry!

Sawyer is very interested in coloring lately, and he works hard to stay in the lines. I think this is yet another example of how much he strives to be like his big brother,

At first, Sawyer often chose only one color to fill in the entire picture, but lately his creations are looking more like a rainbow. This little boy adds beautiful colors to his drawings and our lives!

Rub a Dub Dub

Three cuties in a tub. No room for a fourth in here!

Lent

Our family has been discussing Lent and its meaning this week. It's hard to say what hits home for the boys, but I know that Jack has the main ideas down. He often writes/draws in the evening, and on Ash Wednesday he created this image. I think God is okay with his inventive spelling.

All Grace got for Valentine's Day was....

...her two front (bottom) teeth! Okay, she did get a few other things, but her teeth were our most exciting discovery last week. Thankfully, they popped through before our trip to Chicago last weekend.

If you look past the pumpkin and apple mess on her sweet face you can kind of make out her new prized possessions.

Toasting our romance

Toaster vs. toaster oven. This heated debate has been a hot-button issue (all puns intended) in our marriage for the past 10 1/2 years. We registered for a toaster oven per my hubby's insistence, but when it had toasted it's last piece of bread I chose to replace it with a simple toaster...smaller in stature but quite powerful at browning my english muffins.

After a few years of seeing Scott heartbroken and listening to him lament about the delicacies he could be preparing in a toaster oven, I finally broke down. Happy Valentine's Day, love. Now please go make me a yummy toasted cheese sandwich.

My funny Valentiines

I loved the gorgeous roses that my hubby gave me for Valentine's this year, but these three kiddos are truly the greatest gifts he has given me.

Ready, set....

It's not quite go time yet, but Grace started getting up on her knees last week. She rocks back and forth as her brothers cheer her on. Time to put away the Legos and marbles!

100

Jack and his classmates celebrated their 100th day of kindergarten this week by bringing in a collection of 100 items (Jack chose legos), have special "100" snacks, playing fun "100 games" and making these cool hats.

Always looking ahead, Jack is already thinking about what he'll be doing/learning on his 100th day of 1st grade. SLOW DOWN!

Trains x Infinity (a favorite number of Sawyer's these days)

Sawyer is still beyond obsessed with trains. Train books, train puzzles, train games, train movies, toy trains, train snacks, train parties (yes, it looks like I'll be planning a third train-themed party for this little guy) and of course the beloved Train Museum in Elkhart, IN. Scott took Sawyer for a special adventure there on Saturday afternoon, and my sweet little boy beamed for 2 1/2 hours.

Special time with Daddy + trains = a perfect adventure for Sawyer!

Cloud Nine

A perfect start to our weekend. Scott and I have watched this video at least 50 times in the last 48 hours.

Please excuse the over-excited mom on this video

Love

Grace has chosen her Valentine this year. I think her Daddy has, too.

Silly day

My kindergartner has bounded out the door for school every morning this year. Today he woke up and said, "Could we just make it a silly day, and I stay home with you, Sawyer and Grace?" I said yes before he could even finish his sentence.

On his silly day, Jack counted his money (at least three times), wrote love letters to Daddy and Gracie, read books, entertained his brother and sister, rode his bike through the neighborhood, enjoyed his swing set/trampoline, played with his cars, obsessed over tail fins (spoilers) on cars and enjoyed a Curious George or two. There were a couple rough spots during the day, but today left me yearning for some more "silly" days with my big boy.

Here's a pic of Jack with his new Build-A-Bear, Camo. He's often seen sporting underwear around our house!

Seven

Seven things to love about our seven month old (the list could go on, of course).

1. She's the happiest little baby. In the car, at home, running errands, meeting new people, playing with her brothers, sleeping, eating, reading, sitting solo and chewing on anything she can find, jumping in her Jumperoo, singing songs, having a cold, teething...she continues to wear a smile. She does have some tearful moments, but Grace's smile is definitely her most beautiful accessory.

2. She babbles constantly and tries to keep up with the chatter in our house. "Mama", "Dada" (a new one) and "Baba". Scott swears she has a name for Sawyer already..."er"????

3. When she touches your face with her hands and gives you an open mouth kiss, you would do just about anything to make time stand still.

4. Gracie lets her brothers kiss her, lay all over her, hold her hand and basically invade any bit of personal space she has. 95% of the time she just smiles and loves their endless doting.

5. When she nurses she loves to either twirl strands of my hair or grasp at parts of my shirt. We just stare at each other and the rest of the world seems to fade away. She's starting to enjoy her other mode of feeding now, so I am soaking up every last nursing session.

6. She gives high-fives to her Daddy and brothers. They are her heroes and excellent examples of how boys/men should treat her in the future.

7. Girls clothes are adorable!!!