Happy 1st Birthday Son

Dear Sayer -

Happy 1st Birthday to you son! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. It seems like just yesterday that Daddy and I were waiting for you to enter this world. Here we are one short year later - I don't know where the time went. It passed by so quickly!

You have changed my life in the most tremendous way over this past year. I had no idea that I could love someone so much. I have enjoyed watching you grow and change over the past 12 months. You have accomplished so much and I am so proud of you. I look forward to watching you grow over the upcoming years.

I cannot tell you how excited I was about your approaching birthday. Grandpa and MiMi have always made a big deal out of my birthday and it was hard for me to completely understand why they did so. Now that I am a parent I understand completely. Celebrating your birthday brings back the memories of the greatest day of my life - the day you were born. I can only imagine how much more precious December 17th will become as you grow older.

Happy 1st Birthday Son. Always remember how much Mommy loves you.

The greatest accomplishment of my life has been being your parent.

I love you Sweet Baby Boy!

Always and Forever - Mommy

Sayer Michael...

some of Uncle J's amazing work...

Sayer's Birthday Week Begins...

Today marks day 1 of Sayer's Birthday WEEK. Yes, I said WEEK!!

Sayer's Aunt KiKi believes that birthdays should be celebrated all week long, and I agree with her :-)

It's hard to believe in a few short days Sayer will be 1 year old. I can remember anticipating his arrival one year ago. I was frantic to have all of my Christmas shopping completed, gifts wrapped and under the tree, nursery ready for his arrival and bags packed and ready to go. Those final days leading up to induction day were filled with wonder, anxiousness and anticipation.

Everyone tells you that time goes by fast once you have little ones... they were so right!!

AMAZING!!!

Sayer is wearing a pair of Emma's capri pants in this picture and what's amazing is that they weren't all that big on him.

Monkey on my back...

9 teeth and counting...

Teeth... Teeth... Everywhere!

To date Sayer has four top teeth, three bottom teeth and (as I discovered tonight) two molars. One on the right and one on the left. Where did those come from?? I was shocked!

12 weeks and counting!

Many of you are probably already aware, but Sayer is going to be a big brother in June - June 5th to be exact. One day after my birthday and two days after Daddy's. Nothing like having a week full of birthdays! What fun!

Mike and I couldn't be more excited to welcome another child to this world. Sayer has been such a joy. We know that he will be am amazing big brother.

The kids will be about 17 1/2 months apart, which means that we will have our hands full for a few years. We figured that since we were already used to diapers, a living room full of toys and sleepless nights, why not go ahead and have another one!

We went to the doctor on Friday for our 12 week ultrasound and the baby looked great! Everything was measuring right on, which is a blessing. I always get so nervous before any appointment, but once I hear the heartbeat and get that assurance that everything is okay, I can relax. I asked the sonographer if he could tell the sex (with Sayer's 12 week scan they were pretty certain that he was a boy) and he was 99% positive that Sayer is going to have a baby brother!

We will get final confirmation in January, but we are planning on a boy, unless we hear otherwise. We are thrilled for Sayer to have a brother. They will be the best of buddies!

I will upload 12 week ultrasound pictures and a belly pic sometime before the weekend.

Fall, Fun, Photos!

Kelly, Stacy and I took the kids to get their pictures taken a couple of weekends ago at the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. We had a perfect day for pictures!

It happened to be the hottest day so far this season! I'm talking seventy degrees with our kids decked out in sweaters, tights, blazers and jeans. Talk about toasty!

As always, I was nervous about how Sayer would do at the photo session... would he be grumpy, would he be hungry, would he smile and pay attention to the camera?

In the end, he did great and so did the kids. They all smiled on cue and posed when asked to do so. I haven't seen all of the pictures yet, but here are a few I snagged from the photographers facebook page. Looks like she got some good ones!

Big Boy Haircut

On Halloween Day Mimi, Aunt Karen and I took Sayer to Shear Madness to get his first "big boy" haircut. Shear Madness is a salon that caters to kiddos. All of the stylists were dressed for Halloween that day and each station had a car for the kids to sit in while they got their hair cut. Not only was that great, but they also had a t.v playing cartoons at each station. Could it get much better than that?

Of course, I had to have the "first haircut package" that came with a certificate, a before and after photo as well as a lock of Sayer's hair. This was such a memorable moment and one that I am so happy to have on video!

In the end, I was extremely impressed at how well the haircut turned out despite all of Sayer's movement and was amazed at how much it changed Sayer's appearance. He really did look like a big boy!!

Cool Dude!

Our Little Devil!

Sayer spent his first Halloween dressed as a little devil! Daddy thought that would be an appropriate costume for our little boy. Boy was he right!

Sayer, Mimi, Daddy and I went to Trunk-or-Treat on the Friday before Halloween, but it was so chilly that we were only able to spend 15 minutes there.

On Halloween night, we made it to JoDe's house to Trick-or-Treat, but Sayer was out before 6:00 pm. He missed most of the evenings festivities!

I am looking forward to next year when he will actually be able to go door to door and get his own candy! It will be so much fun!

Trip to New York

On a recent business trip to New York, I was amazed to see what my client's view from their office building was...


the conference rooms in the building overlook the Hudson River and their building is located directly across from where the Twin Towers once stood. They have an amazing view of downtown Manhattan.


There is a boardwalk that runs along the front of the river and at the end of the boardwalk is Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I just kept thinking to myself... if only I could look at this everyday. What a great environment for working.




Then on the way back to the airport I realized the traffic was NOT something that I could live with. Even in the middle of the day traffic in NYC is horrific!

In front of the office building are several memorials to 9-11. A piece of the WTC, a fireman's tribute and a marble etching. I talked to several employees that day who relived their account of 9-11 with me. They could see the entire events unfold and all actually saw both trade towers fall. What an emotional day for them. I can't even begin to imagine.


The most recent event that they watched unfold in front of their eyes was "Miracle on the Hudson". They actually saw the rescue of the passengers and the plane get retrieved from the water.


AMAZING!!

Sayer meets his new cousin Finley!

A couple of weeks ago while Mike and I were at a conference at the lake, mom and dad took Sayer to meet his new cousin Finley Addison. It's so hard to believe that my "little" cousin Seth has a baby of his own. Seems like yesterday that Aunt Missy and Uncle Herb had him. Time certainly does fly!!

Finley is such a beautiful baby girl. She is perfect. I am so excited to be able to meet Finley on Thanksgiving Day!!! I can't wait to hold her!

We have a walker!

Sayer is officially walking!!

He actually took his first two - three steps in a row a couple of weeks ago, but has really mastered walking across the room over the past 5 days. It is such a joy to watch him realize success at the end of his journey. When he turns around to see if you saw him, he just smiles!

Uncle J was here this past weekend and was able to witness him take his first long walk across the living room. I was so happy that he was here to see it in "real life". It's so much better in person than watching it over i-chat!

I am trying to get video to post. Hopefully I will have something to load by the end of the week.

Homecoming Parade 2009

Mommy took the day off work to take me to the Homecoming Parade for Daddy's school. We had so much fun with MiMi, Aunt KiKi, Emma, JoDe and Daddy. I was such a good boy at the parade! I loved watching all of the big trucks go by and Mommy said that everyone loved my skull and crossbones sweater and hat. I was quite the little pirate!

Me and My Truck!

Sayer loves sitting on his truck! He enjoys the noises it makes more than anything!

Cute Little Buddy!

These were just too cute not to post!!

1st visit to the Pumpkin Patch!

A couple of Sundays ago the girls and I took the kiddos to the Pumpkin Patch! Sayer didn't exactly know what to think. I gave him a baby pumpkin to hold and it immediately went into his mouth (surprise, surprise)! Everything goes in the mouth these days!

He really enjoyed watching the kids run around the farm and he loved watching them climb through the hay bale maze. I can only imagine how much fun he will have playing with them in a couple of years!

Next year will be more enjoyable for him as he will be able to run and explore!

My new favorite spot!

Sayer's new favorite spot is his toy chair from his cousin Emma. This little boy loves to climb into his chair and stand in it. Lately he's been trying to climb over the back of the chair onto the couch. For a while he didn't know how to get down out of the chair, so inevitably he would crash onto the floor with lots and lots of tears. Now he has learned how to back down out of the chair and make a more graceful exit!


I love watching him learn and explore. Watching him figure out how to do something on his own is the best of all!

The things that "tickle" babies!

Often times I am amazed by the things that "tickle" little babies. You can have baskets and baskets of toys to choose from, but sometimes it's the plastic storage container and the wooden spoon that he chooses to play with instead. On a couple of occasions it was the diaper and the magnetic refrigerator clip. Who knew??

Ornery Little Boy!!

Lately, this little boy has become a bit ornery and 100% boy!!

He is happiest when he is beating something with his toy hammer or bat (including the t.v. screen). No matter what we put in front of the t.v. to keep him from accessing it, somehow he finds his way through it or around it and to the screen. We're going to have to come up with something new, because the bins of toys aren't cutting it!!

Not only does this little boy like hitting things and making loud noises, he loves to try to climb things... the stairs, the tables, you name it! I think that we're going to have to attach most everything to the walls in the near future, because he is definitely a climber!

Mummy PJs

Daddy loved these Mummy PJs and thought that I had to have them. They glow in the dark, which he thought was extra cool.


And check out my hair! I have waves in the back just like Mommy and Grandpa! Mommy and Daddy keep going back and forth trying to decide if it's time for me to have a haircut yet. I have a feeling they're going to take me to get it cut in a couple of weeks. Uh Oh... that should be an experience!

Sayer's Obsession with the Dirty Little Piggies!!

Aunt KiKi passed along some of Emma's old Baby Einstein dvds to Sayer. He really enjoys watching the Old MacDonald farm video more than any others he has. He seems to love any part of the video that contains pigs.

In this video I captured him watching the piggies sliding down the slide into the mud pit. This, I think, is his favorite part of the video as it always makes him laugh out loud. I wonder if this is any indication that he is going to enjoy playing in the mud as he gets older?

Caught on Camera...

We went to the Plaza Art Fair and I really wanted to get a picture of Sayer and I. So, Mike had the camera and he tried and tried to get a good one, but we had no luck. One picture he was able to capture, however, was priceless!

How many times can you get an honest reaction to your son spitting up on you? Gross, right? I thought so as you can tell from my face!