Welcome August!

Getting ready to go on our morning walk
These pictures are at Carlie's mom's lake house for Carlie's baby shower.

Oma put gel in Sawyer's hair and spiked it up..haha

Sawyer just went down for a nap, so I'd thought I'd sneak in here and update the blog before I get some homework done before he wakes up. I must admit (and I'm sure any mom would admit), I LOVE nap time. Although, they are never long enough, to get everything done that I need to get done. But one thing I have been doing a lot lately, (which kills two-three birds with one stone), is my morning walks. I love love love my morning walks/jogs with Sawyer. We go to the trail right near my house, and I get some exercise, and listen to a focus on the family podcast in one ear, and spend time with Sawyer. I love getting my exercise in that way, because then it frees up nap time to do homework. Which I am still going so slow on. I realized yesterday that I'm not even half way through. I really need to get my tail in gear.

As far as Sawyer updates go, he is now pulling himself up. After nap time, I go find him standing up in his crib. In fact, Jon needs to lower that mattress tonight. He pulls himself up by using some of his big toys to help him, or a chair. I'm amazed at how strong he is. Though, I must admit, I still don't think he'll be walking for a bit. While he is really strong, he just doesn't seem to have that balance yet. He stands when holding on to something, but hasn't quite figured out how to transfer to something else, or move while holding on to something. I've been trying to show him, but obviously not pushing it too hard. As everyone tells me, dont speed up that walking process yet. :) Well jeez, even with him not even walking, Im always on alert just with him crawling. He moves so fast, and doesnt want to sit still, and always goes for the dangerous items in the house.

Of course every mom brags about how smart their kid is, and obviously I have no other kids to compare it to, but Sawyer seems really smart. Jon got him this bath toy, and he takes it apart and puts it back together, and then gets super excited cause he realizes what he just did. He seems very technical. Of course, that's just my observation of a 9 month old,, haha.

Anyway, I better get back to school work. I must say, my bestie Carlie is in her last month of pregnancy. Soon baby Parker will be joining us, and I am so excited for Sawyer to have a pal. Granted, I know they won't be really playing together for awhile, but still it is exciting to have a friend that lives so close to me have a baby. ;)

9 months old

Happy 9 months old Sawyer. Sawyer is totally a big boy now. I just cant believe what a tall man Saw man I have. He is so long and lanky. He is for sure in 12 month clothes now. He's got a bit of a gut too. haha. He's moving around so quickly. He still is only doing his military crawl but he does it quite fast. He can stand when holding on to something for a bit. And he has pulled himself into seating position a few times this week also. He's got about 3 teeth I think coming in, and boy are they sharp. He is starting to try more and more foods. But he is kind of a picky eater. He does not like anything green. I keep trying but he spits it right out. And he used to love avocado but doesnt seem to like it anymore. His favorites include banana, banana, pear or peach yogurt (but he doesnt seem to like just plain pear or peach), sweet potatoe and regular potatoe, and those little baby cracker things, and applesauce. But of course he only likes the applesauce from Cattin's that has sugar in it, when I tried to give him plain organic yogurt he didnt like that. Sawyer will have his next dr check up probably not until around month 10. He is a happy growing little man. We love him so much. Oh and his new favorite book is the Jesus loves the little children sing along book, and the "no more monkey's jumping on the bed" book.

Sawyer's dedication

Tonight Sawyer got dedicated at Puyallup Foursquare Church. It was so wonderful. As always lately I even got emotional. I just love this little boy so much that. All I want for him is to know God and to have a wonderful life.

Sawyer = the next Lance Armstrong haha

This last Christmas Oma and Opa got us one of those carts that Sawyer can sit in behind the bike. We had not been able to use it yet, so yesterday was the first time. I hadn't been on my bike since before I was pregnant. Jon and I actually remembered the time when we bought our bikes. We were still dating, and it was our first big purchase together. We weren't even engaged yet but we went to the store and talked about how when we were married we would ride our bikes together. I know I know I know we are super cheesy but I had to share that. :) So anyway, we hooked little Sawman up and he loved it. Being that we now live in a gated community we were able to safely just ride our bikes in our little neighborhood. It was perfect. I am just really loving this house and this neighborhood. I love being near the park and in this community where there are lots of young families. It feels really special. Now that the condo is done, Jon and I are really starting to settle in. Of course his honey-do list is still long, but Im doing my best to not nag at him to get it done quickly. :) We are a happy little family. :)

more vaca pics

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (aka - cousins Sawyer and Finn)


Nana and Papa

Ruch Family Vaca

We just got back from an amazing vacation in Richmond and North Carolina. We flew to Richmond to be with Jon's parents, and from there we road tripped about 5 hours to Baldhead Island, which is near Wilmington I think. :) All 13 of us: Mama and Papa Ruch, Jeremy and Lindsay, Billy, Jennifer, Carrington, Ellie, Finn and Deacon, and me, Jon and Sawyer ferried over to the island to a beach house. This place was amazing. There are no cars on the island. Everyone uses golf carts as transportation. Our beach house had 2 golf carts for us to use. We would drive over to the beach and to the pool which only took about 5 minutes. The ride over there was so nice and pleasant. It was like we were in a jungle, and then you would emerge from the trees to the beach. And can I just say that the beaches out that way are like as warm as my bath water. It's just craziness.

Sawyer did so well in the water. He really loved to eat fist fulls of sand :). He did well in both the beach and the pool. He even got himself a little tan. I must say though, he has been a lot more fussy than normal since he is teething. He has one sharp tooth coming in. He just looks really uncomfortable some days. Not to mention, he is really moving around by his little military crawl so when he is confined anywhere, like the airplane or being held, he fusses because he just wants to be moving around. But all in all, he did wonderfully on the trip. He had so much fun with his cousins, and Papa Ruch really got him laughing. You never would have known that this trip was his first time meeting most of the Ruch family. Sawyer loved them all instantly. Nana was so wonderful with Sawyer. She gave Jon and I lots of breaks to go to the water by ourselves, and anytime Sawyer was fussy, without even a hesitation, she just put him in the stroller and walked him around. Sawyer loves his walks.

It was really nice to just spend a week with Jon's family and get to know them all a little bit better. It was a true vacation in the sense that there was no itinerary or anywhere to go visit. It was just a full week of going back and forth to the water, naps, and playing games. (I still of course had to squeeze in a bit of school in there).

So now we are back home in Puyallup, and luckily we came home to some really nice weather. Summer is officially here in washington now. Lets hope it lasts a bit for us. Love you all

I promise I will do my best to keep this thing updated better. You can know for sure, Sawyer will have his 9 month update. I at least get his monthly updates in. :)

more pics

8 months old

ok ok, I've been harrassed by my mom to update the blog, so here I am in bed, it's 11pm, Jon is snoring next to me, and I don't want to do school anymore, so instead I'll update the blog. :)

Today was a very good day. We handed over the keys to our new renters at the condo, which means that we can finally focus 100% on our new house. There is still a bit to be done around here before I can truly relax. One of the things, I have decided to let one of my friends, 12 year old daughter's do for me. The back yard needs to be weeded pretty bad, but all of my free time goes to Sawyer, cleaning, and school so I just can't justify spending time weeding. Therefore I am gonna pay my little pal $6 an hour to do some weeding for me. Problem solved. I am also anxious to get some shelving up in the garage so we can start to get some organization in there as well. But all in all we have gotten a lot done. Poor Jon's to do list has been so long. I know he is looking forward to me not slave driving him for a while. :)

Sawyer is 8 months old now. The pictures are proof that he will not sit still for anything, especially a picture. So that is why the pictures are of him grabbing the 8 months sign. He does military crawl now. But don't let that fool you, he is scooting around very fast. I need to baby proof a.s.a.p. I bought some of the stuff to do it, I just now need to find the time to do it, or have Jon do the stuff that I can't do. Sawyer has a front tooth that is popping in. He even bit my dad and left a mark on his chin..haha. He is growing so much. I can't believe what a big boy he is. We all just love him so much.

We head to Virginia this week to have a vacation with Jon's side of the family. From Virginia we are going to stay at a beach house in North Carolina. I am so excited to be in some warm weather. We are both so excited to go. And most importantly, I am so glad to finally have Sawyer meet the rest of his family.

So stay tuned for more pictures after the trip.

7 month update - finally

Ok Ok, I know it's been a while. This post update is for Libby, who gets mad at me for not updating the blog. A lot has been going on in my life. You all know we have been moving, and that is just an ongoing process of setting up house, and finishing up work at the condo. It's been slow progress because in the meantime we are working, and since we work opposite shifts, and have baby, we really only can get work done on days that we both have off together which is not often. And on top of that, Im trying to stay focused on school, which is not going so well. Bless my mom, who listens to me cry more than any one person should have to listen to someone cry without getting paid for it. :)

Anyway, enough of my drama, and on to Sawyer's updates. Sawyer is growing so much so fast. He just took his second plane ride to San Diego, to meet his Uncle Brian for the very first time. It was very special. Sawyer responded so well to Uncle Brian - laughing and giggling. Sawyer and JJ were typical boys - fighting over car toys. :) It was nice to go down there and be with family for a bit. It was a quick trip. Sawyer did so well on the plane ride home. He was flirting with all the ladies. So many people just loved him. I got sick on the flight home with migraine and nausea so I was very glad that Sawyer did so well so I didn't have to worry about him fussing or anything. He has been fussing more so than ever lately - he is starting to teeth. I am praying that he does ok on the long travel to Virginia at the end of the month. Not only will we be flying there - which is a long day with layovers and such - but also we will be driving to Baldhead Island from Richmond, which is about 5 hours.

Sawyer is getting so big and so tall. I need to go shopping for him again already. He is about too tall now for 9 month clothes. And he is starting to play with more toys and be more interested in things. Anyway, that's all I got for now. Stay tuned...I promise Libby Ill do a better job of keeping things updated....at least Ill try.

Moving!!!!

Oh my goodness...we are moving. Im beyond exhausted. There is too much on my plate right now, and I am so behind in school already, and Im just a bit overwhelmed. But I am reminding myself that God always takes care of things. He has never let me fall yet, so I just need to chill out and start trusting.

I am beyond grateful for the family and friends that Jon and I have to help us move and paint, and watch Sawyer. There is no way we could do this without you all. We so look forward to mama Ruch coming in a few weeks to spend some time with lil man while Jon and I set up shop at home. :) Thank you mom for sacrificing your sleep to watch Sawyer. Jon and I have the best mom's in the world. Sawyer is being so good with this transition already. He is so good. Dogs are a bit more difficult but already the dogs are happier...they finally have their yard. We have not officially moved in yet but have spent a lot of time over there already painting and stuff. We will probably take a few weeks to officially get everything over there, and then we gotta clean here at the condo. Please keep in your prayers that we find renters.

Ok well here are Sawyer's 6 month pictures. He is such a big boy now I cant believe it.

6 month old Saw Man

Oh my goodness, Sawyer is no longer a little baby...but he is my big boy. He is sitting up, and so close to crawling. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and he just went into his big boy car seat and stroller cause he is too tall for his little infant car seat anymore. He will have his 6 month check up next week, and then we will find out what his percentages and measurments are. He is so in love with his jumper. He just loves to jump. Its so funny. He just screams with laughter when he is in it. We only have about 15 size two diapers left, that I am determined to finish before I open the size 3 diapers. Sawyer is very aware and alert. He loves to watch the doggies and just smile at them. Although I dont think the doggies appreciate when Sawyer pulls on them and wont let go. That boy has a death grip. I have lost clumps of hair, and gotten the skin on my face practically ripped off. He is doing so good and just growing like a good boy. We cant imagine our lives before Sawyer. Although Im sure I can remember that life being a lot more rested. :)