Monday, January 25, 2010

A Tribute to Two


Before I get into the particulars of Sawyer's birthday, let me reminisce a little.

Warning: This might be TMI for some folks. So if you aren't up for some sappy sentiment or are uncomfortable with pregnant talk, feel free to move on.

Here's the thing. Not all pregnancies end happily. But you don't really think about that until it happens to you.


My pregnancy with Parker was easy as pregnancies go. No complications, no worries. He came along as a happy surprise, first discovered when he was a good eight weeks on the way.

Then came two miscarriages in 2006. Such a sad year - a frustrating year that prompted our friends to bring this cake to our New Year's Eve party. (Don't look, mom.) I needed a good laugh after all the tears.



On the advice of friends and my doctor, we went to the Nashville Fertility Center. We NEVER expected to find ourselves here, let me tell you. But we discovered the problem, and it made all the difference in the world. A thorough round of blood work showed that my body was viewing those little babies as foreign objects to destroy. So the next time around, I had to give myself a shot in the stomach of Lovenox (blood thinner) every single day for the entire pregnancy, along with hormones, baby aspirin (also a blood thinner), and some very close monitoring - once-a-week doctor visits and many, many ultrasounds.

The result: Sawyer, our beautiful baby boy. Worth every needle and all those months of nausea, a million times over.



Today he is a stout little toddler, opinionated and sweet, with a love of dogs, balls, Elmo, bugs, water play, books and the outdoors. A picky eater, he won't touch a vegetable (except to drop it in the floor) but loves any kind of fruit. He does not talk much, although he understands. We're keeping an eye on the late-talking situation, but our doctor thinks it's too soon to worry, since he is so social, playful and communicative in other ways. After our nightly stories, Sawyer insists on sleeping with a stack of books, and the stack changes each night. He likes to pelt us with Cheerios from his car seat while we drive, which is maddening and hilarious at the same time. He is quiet, cautious in new situations, and a little comedian at home.

His second birthday was a small family celebration, and Sawyer's Nonnie and cousin Drew drove six hours from Arkansas to be here for the festivities. His Uncle C.P., Grandma and Grandpa Tucker would have been here, too, if they were able. Thank you all so much for the cards and gifts. We used the money to buy a family membership to the zoo, since Sawyer is our resident animal lover, and we figure it's a gift that we'll use it many, many times all year long.

Happy second birthday to you, Sawyer. We are so happy you're here. It's an honor to be your mom.

Here are a few pictures from the birthday weekend (week before last - I'm a little late posting these). Thanks to Nonnie and Drew for an on-the-go weekend full of food, conversation, shopping and just hanging out.

A heated game of Operation. Yeah, we know how to party.



Nonnie and Drew with Sawyer ...


Parker got some attention, too...



Sawyer giving Drew "bones" as they headed out.


And here's a look at baby Sawyer, just minutes after he was born.


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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Longing for the Beach

Each summer we spend a heavenly week on the seashore at Dauphin Island, Alabama. Around this time of year, when the sky is gray and the temps dip below freezing, I start to long for those schedule-less hours lounging at the beach. I just booked our trip for this year, and I already can't wait. If you have a moment and are also craving warmer days, check out some scenes below from our 2009 trip.

Click here to view this photo book larger

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

This Pretty Much Sums Up the Past Few Days

I'm done with "snow" days. We have to get out of the house.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Barefoot in the Backseat

Every time we get in the car, Sawyer takes off his shoes and socks. He thinks it's funny.

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Monday, January 4, 2010

ICE Was Nice

Our neighbor gave us free tickets to ICE at Opryland (Charlie Brown sculptures all made of ice), so we all went on New Year's Day - and it was a great experience, really magical and amazing. BUT free tickets is the only way we'll ever be going to this show, because it would normally cost close to $75 for all of us. We went down the ice slide, marveled at our frosty breath and wandered through the rooms until our toes started freezing. Then we moved quickly through the gift shop, bypassed the $3.50 hot chocolate and headed out into the balmy 27-degree parking lot.

Said Parker: "Mom, I didn't know it was going to be this awesome!" And it was.


Thanks to our neighbor Tami (and her daughter, who works as Snoopy at ICE) for thinking of us.

Going through the ice tunnel...

And here are a few random photos from our holiday (because you know I have tons) ...

Here's Parker cleaning up after taking down the tree. How long can I convince him that vacuuming is fun?

Sawyer in the Learning Tower, a cool loan from my friend Heather. He likes to play in the water and "wash" dishes. The cleanup is worth the time he spends focused and contained.

Parker did a little rock climbing at Opry Mills one day before Christmas. He made it to the top and rang the bell - and loved it. I see some Climb Nashville in our future.


And now, back to the grind ... I mean, now let's get this New Year started! Parker starts back to school tomorrow, and I'm off to pack his lunch. Good night.

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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Our New Year's Eve

We rang in the New Year with our friends and neighbors, Tim and Erin, and their great kids. Our children love their children, which is always a big help for the grownups. We were all dragging a little, but we did make it to midnight with the help of peach cosmos, Guesstures and some really good food. Erin brought a baked goat cheese-artichoke dip that we couldn't stop eating (I need that recipe), Jerod made potato-leek soup, and we had Erin's chocolate lava cakes (warm, buttery goodness fresh from the oven) with Haagen-Dazs for dessert. The kids all stayed up until midnight (except Sawyer, who played with Amanda until 8:30), and they even played a round of Guesstures with us before we watched the ball drop. We toasted the new year with champagne - and sparkling grape juice for the little guys. It was the first time we've had the kids with us at midnight, and there was something really nice about that.

Here are a few photos. ....

Amanda and Sawyer...
Me, Erin, Tim and Amanda

Me and Jerod...
Midnight toast (grape juice for the kids)
Ethan and Parker...

Mmmm.. chocolate lava cakes...


And so we said goodbye to 2009. For 2010? We'll see. Many changes are on the horizon, and we'll try to take them in stride.

If you have lots of time on your hands and want to check out the highlights of our year, check out our 2009 photo book here.

Happy New Year!

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Friday, January 1, 2010

Christmas Catch-Up

Here's a quick photo recap of our Christmas holiday - even though it's been over for more than a week. One of my New Year's resolutions is to be a more consistent blogger - you know, the important stuff. :)


I never thought we'd have inflatables in our yard, but our neighbor gave us a Santa and a penguin. The kids loved it, and I kind of got attached to them ...

We had friends over to decorate gingerbread cookies (but the kids spent most of the time drawing and coloring in the Barbie and Batman books they gave each other as gifts).
Here's the scene set for Santa (complete with cookies and milk).
On Christmas morning, Sawyer knew exactly what to do...
Grandma and Grandpa came over from the hotel really early (by 7 a.m.) to open presents with us. They're good sports!
Grandpa drawing with Sawyer ...
The dragon castle was a big hit ...
Mom made my favorite - coconut cream pie ... soooo good.
Sawyer and me ... You really can't keep these guys inside too long. We headed out a lot despite the cold.
Still reading this? Longer post than I thought...

The past two weeks have been filled with play dates, long walks, movies, food, friends and family - some much, much needed down time. We hope your holiday was full of some restful down time, too. Thanks for checking in! Next up, New Year's Eve photos from our little celebration.

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