Copycat Behavior

Dear Sawyer,

Funny things you have done recently:

- We were playing in your room and you accidentally hit me really hard in my eye. When you saw that I was hurt, you grabbed your toy stethoscope, used it to "look" at my injured eye and said, "Let me check you."

- You (and the rest of the world) love the song "Despacito" (yes, I realize that the lyrics are wildly inappropriate for you but you don't understand Spanish so, um, whew) and I often hear you singing, "Pacito pacito."

- You might have a future career as an actor on Saturday Night Live because one of your favorite things to do is to imitate people's expressions. Whether you are reading a book or watching TV, you often stop and pose like a person or character you see. Below is a photo of you imitating the Monopoly guy on the Crispix box:

Haha! You look just like Mr. Moneybags!

Love,
Mom

I Heart Daddy

Dear Sawyer,

When Daddy was taking out the garbage tonight, you heard the garage door open and thought Daddy was going out somewhere. Then you said the sweetest thing: "Daddy going again. DiDi missing Daddy. When Daddy come home, DiDi make happy again."

I told you Daddy was just putting the trash on the curb and when he came upstairs a few minutes later, you ran over to him and gave him a big hug. *melt*

Love,
Mom

Coloring Outside the Lines

Dear Sawyer,

Bittersweet thing you did today: I had to cook dinner so PoiPoi took you into the study and locked the baby gate. She tried to play with you but you ran to the gate and started crying, "DiDi want Mama! DiDi want Mama!"

Funny thing you did today: Despite having three kids, I still haven't learned -- don't leave a toddler alone with markers! GuhGaw did it, JieJie did it and you did it this morning -- you found a marker and colored yourself with it.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

To whoever invented washable markers, GOOD CALL.

Love,
Mom

Happy Greetings

Dear Sawyer,

The way your face lights up every time I walk into the room, the way you exclaim, "Mamaaaa!" and the way you run toward me and embrace me--I live for that!

Love,
Mom

Party Animal

Dear Sawyer,

Last year, we saw Santa at the place where you get your hair cut and you were so terrified of him, you started crying and ran away when I tried to put you next to him for a photo. This year, Santa visited your school and you walked right up to him, climbed onto his lap and posed for a picture. Tada!

When Santa first walked into your classroom, you didn't smile or shout but your eyes did widen a LOT and you followed him with your eyes all around the room. You were a little timid when we were waiting in line to take a picture with him but you were one of the braver kids--others cried or wouldn't sit with Santa without their parent--and quietly said thank you when he gave you a little gift.

After meeting Santa, we made a paper stocking craft, played with the toys in the classroom and then snacked on all kinds of yummy treats. It was a cute holiday celebration and shortly after we got home from it, I left you in your room for a little bit to clean up some things. When I went back to your room, I found you fast asleep on the floor:

You clearly partied pretty hard, haha!

Love,
Mom

Shattered Glass

Dear Sawyer,

You're usually a very cheerful guy who is always smiling and laughing. You also like to hide and when someone finds you, you often giggle with glee. So it was strange when Daddy found you hiding under the dining table tonight and you just looked at him somberly. He asked you to come out but he said you didn't move and that you looked so serious. He left you alone and walked into the living room . . . and that's where he saw the broken ornament on the floor. You had been jumping up and down in the living room and the vibrations on the floor made a glass ornament fall off of the Christmas tree (and it was your personalized "Sawyer" ornament, too!). You apparently panicked and ran under the dining table to hide! Haha! Awww!

Love,
Mom

Look Me!

Dear Sawyer,

Cute things you did recently:

-When you woke up from your nap, you called out loudly, "DiDi wake up!" Thanks for the head's up!

-You started doing the ostrich thing where you "hide" from me by covering your eyes. Um, dude, I can still see the rest of you.

-When you want my attention, you now shout, "Look me!"

-I put you in timeout when you kept throwing food on the floor and when I came back to you a few minutes later, you said quietly, "DiDi bad boy."

-When you didn't want to go to bed last night, you said, "No good night time."

-Daddy and you were in your room tonight when you suddenly ran out of the room. Daddy chased you down the hall and asked you where you were going. It turns out you had to poop and were running to the toilet. Good boy!

Love,
Mom

Cookie Jar

Dear Sawyer,

Your recent activities:

-Your current favorite show is Team Umizoomi, which you pronounce "Umizee."

-You clasped your hands together and said, "Finger hug."

-You saw a penguin on TV and then proceeded to waddle like said penguin.

-You count like this: "1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 80."

-You have started saying "Stay Mama" when you don't want me to leave you.

-You have also started saying phrases like "Hi, I'm DiDi," "all the guys," "That's so cool" and "That's so funny!"

-One time, I said to you, "Hi, little guy!" You responded, "No, I'm DiDi."

-When Paw Patrol came on TV, you told me, "I love it. DiDi love it."

-You pronounce teddy bear "teh-bear."

-Your go-to phrase is "cookie jar." You say it all of the time for no apparent reason and when it doesn't make any sense. If I ask you how your day was, you'll sometimes reply, "Cookie jar." If I ask you what your favorite color is, you might tell me, "Cookie jar." If I am talking to GuhGaw and JieJie and you want to talk to me, too, you'll call out, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" and when I turn to you, you'll pause and then shout, "Cookie jar!" It's like your default statement when you want to talk but can't think of any other words, haha.

Love,
Mom

Poop Deck

Dear Sawyer,

You went #2 in the toilet for the first time tonight! Yay!

Love,
Mom

P.S. Years from now, when you're an adult and you find yourself wondering, "Hmm, when was the first time I took a dump in a toilet?" -- well, you'll know and you'll thank me for recording this milestone :-P

P.P.S. What's weirder? That I blogged about your first bowel movement in the potty or the fact that after you did it, Daddy, GuhGaw, JieJie and I were all in the bathroom clapping and cheering for you?

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Dear Sawyer,

Recent Sawyer sweetness:

-Your favorite show right now is Paw Patrol and when it came on the other night, you immediately perked up, exclaimed "Paw Troll!" and then tapped your chest and said seriously, "DiDi love it."

-When you saw JieJie crying last night, your eyes widened and you climbed into her bed to sit next to her. You patted her leg and told her, "JieJie, dee bres." Then you took an exaggerated breath and I realized that you were telling your sister to take a "deep breath" so that she could calm down. Oh the cuteness!

Love,
Mom

Sugar Rush

Dear Sawyer,

Yesterday was your third Halloween but the first one where you went trick-or-treating and you were an instant pro! You had no problem keeping up with GuhGaw and JieJie and eagerly ran into every store, expertly held out your treat bucket and cutely chirped "Trick or tree!" and "Thank yooooo!" You skipped your morning nap yesterday and I was expecting you to pass out around 3pm but you were still going strong at 4pm. You didn't want to sit in the stroller and you were actually jumping up and down quite energetically (you were amped up on chocolate and adrenaline, no doubt). I did eventually convince you to get into the stroller around 4:30pm and you fell asleep then while clutching a half-eaten DumDum.

Happy Halloween, my little Elmo!

Love,
Mom

Love-Hate Relationship

Dear Sawyer,

You have started doing this odd thing where you push me away in anger one second and then literally hug me for comfort the next. A couple of nights ago, you were mad because I told you that it was time to go to bed and wouldn't play with you. You started crying and screaming and even tried to kick me. When I tried to pick you up, you angrily pushed me away but then you almost immediately came back toward me, pulled my arms around you to make me hug you, nestled yourself against my chest and stopped crying. Okaaaaay.

Yesterday, you had another meltdown when I wouldn't let you watch TV. You wanted to "watch Chase" and I said no. You wailed. I tried to hold you and you pushed me away but then you grabbed my arm and said, "Hug!" You then climbed into my lap, hugged me and stopped crying.

That is some serious emotional whiplash, dude.

Love,
Mom

Cheek Stain

Dear Sawyer,

Recent Sawyer cuteness:

-JieJie was sitting at the dinner table and you went up to her, wrapped your arms around her and said, "JieJie princess. JieJie boo-ful."

-When you are curious about something, you ask, "Wha dat?"

-You like to go into my walk-in closet and play with my headbands and hairbrushes. Today, I left you in the closet for a few minutes while I went to the bathroom and when I came back, you had given yourself a mini-makeover with my lipstick:

You looked beautiful! :-)

Love,
Mom

Princess JieJie

Dear Sawyer,

Whenever you are curious about something, you ask, "Wha dat?" It's so cute! And at dinner tonight, you walked over to JieJie, hugged her and said, "JieJie princess. JieJie boo-ful." Your sister couldn't stop smiling!

Love,
Mom

Morning Hug

Dear Sawyer,

You and your siblings each have a different way of waking up in the morning. GuhGaw pops out of bed (sometimes as early as 5am, uugggghhh), ready to take on the day at 100mph. JieJie likes to sleep in (God bless her) and gradually climb out of bed. And then there's you, my baby: You roll around for a bit and then slide off the bed and groggily walk toward the door. When you see me, you smile a still-half-asleep drowsy smile and hold your arms out toward me. When I kneel down to hug you, you wrap your arms around me and climb on me so that I'll pick you up. Once I stand up with you in my arms, you rest your head on my shoulder and hug me for a minute before you point toward the hallway, indicating to me that you are ready to get out of the room and start your day. I love our morning ritual :-)

Love,
Mom

Princess Sawyer

Dear Sawyer,

JieJie loves anything to do with princesses and her interest has started rubbing off on you. Last night, you wrapped a blanket around your waist and declared to me, "DiDi princess." Haha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Monkeying Around

Dear Sawyer,

PoiPoi and GongGong took care of you and your siblings while Daddy and I went out of town for a couple of days and when we came back, you had learned to shake your butt at us and sing, "Shake your boooooty!" GuhGaw taught you that and I'd be annoyed if you didn't look so cute doing it!

In the past couple of days, you have also recognized and pointed out the number 6 and learned to ask, "Wha you doing, Mama?" Also, when you see me making my bed, you grab the sheet and say, "Help you!" Thanks, little man!

In other developments, you have grown attached to your Curious George doll and carry him throughout the house. When it's time for your lunch, you insist that I feed George, too, and you make him wave and give me high fives. Yesterday, you accidentally hit your chin on your bed and while you were crying in my arms, you motioned toward George on the floor and cried out, "George!" I picked him up and you hugged him so tightly, which was so sweet.

Love,
Mom

Where's My Baby?

Dear Sawyer,

Cute and funny things you have said recently:

Me: Why did you make a mess?
You: Cuz! (You actually respond to many of my questions with "Cuz!" *sigh*)

You when you're counting something: 1, 2, 4, 7!

You and your siblings were at the dining table and Daddy was upstairs working in his office. When I set his dinner plate down, you yelled out to him, "Aaaaaa-ex! Mama cook!"

We were leaving to go apple picking this past Saturday and everyone was in the car except me. Daddy shut his door and you asked him, "Where Mama?" When he said he didn't know, you told him, "Wait for Mama."

And the winner: You were eating breakfast last week and you looked so big, sitting there in a dining chair instead of the high chair and feeding yourself. I asked, "Where did my baby go?" You looked up from your cereal, smiled, put your hand on your chest and chirped, "Here!"

Love,
Mom

Pet Peeves

Dear Sawyer,

Not that many things bother you, but here are the things that do:

-When GuhGaw and JieJie take your toys

-Wearing socks (you'll let me put them on but you like to take them off whenever you get a chance)

-Sleeping in your own bed (you still end up sleeping in Daddy and my bed every night, sigh)

-When other people have been talking to me for what you deem is too long and I haven't paid enough attention to you--that's when you shout, "Mama! Mama!" and when I turn to you, you blurt out whatever you can think of (one time, it was "Apple!" even though you weren't even eating one) so that you can get a chance to talk to me, too

-And here's the funniest one: When Daddy takes off his glasses. He wears them most of the time but when he does take them off, you do NOT like it and start to stress out a little bit. You tell him, "Glasses! Glasses!" and point to his face, as if he doesn't know where they should go. Seeing him sans glasses does not sit well with you and you don't relax until he puts them back on!

Love,
Mom

Talking the Talk

Dear Sawyer,

I love the 2-year-old talking stage. You are saying so many things and communicating so much but doing it in your sweet little-boy way. Here are some of your common words and phrases right now:

"Off bib" -- you say this when you are done eating and want me to take off your bib
"Dark here" -- when I turn off the light in a room
"Fia" -- aka Sophia the First, which you know is one of JieJie's favorite shows
"To'as" -- aka Thomas the Tank Engine, one of your favorite shows
"Oh yes"
"Oh no"
"Over dare"
"Hi Mama. Hug." -- what you say when you come into a room and want a hug; I definitely love this one!
"How bout dees one?" -- what you ask me when I tell you to pick a snack from the snack drawer
"Read book"
"Other book" -- when we finish one book and you want to read another one
"GuhGaw yi yi" -- that's Chinese for "Older brother is being bad" and unfortunately, you say this one quite a bit!
"F'engine" -- aka fire engine, one of your favorite things
"Straw-bee" -- aka strawberry, another one of your favorite things
"Ceem" -- aka ice cream, also a favorite
"Eh-fant" -- elephant
"Man. Tree. Cut. Truck. Down." -- we watched some landscapers trim the large three-story tree in front of our house the other day and this was how you described what you saw; PoiPoi said you sounded like an adorable robot :-)

Love,
Mom

Sharing Sweetness

Dear Sawyer,

You are very interested in babies right now. You always perk up when you see one on TV or on my Facebook feed, point to it, smile and exclaim, "Baby!" You also like to carry around baby dolls and pretend to take care of them, so you can imagine how excited you were when your friend Ando met us at the park yesterday with his parents and his brand-new, three-week-old baby sister Luci. She was in her stroller with a blanket draped over her and you and JieJie (who is also fascinated with babies) kept peeking underneath the blanket to get a look at her. The two of you wouldn't leave her side and you kept pointing to her in awe and saying, "Baby!" When she got upset, you said, "Uh-oh baby cry!"

The sweetest moment came when Ando shared some of his cookies with you. You took one and instead of eating it yourself, you ran over to Luci and tried to put it in her mouth! Her mom stopped you and explained that Luci can only have milk now but you kept persisting, trying to share your cookie with her and saying, "See baby." SO. ADORABLE!

Love,
Mom

Wait Mama

Dear Sawyer,

Recent happenings in Sawyer-ville:

-Last Friday, PoiPoi and GongGong watched you while Daddy and I took GuhGaw and JieJie to their checkup. When we came home, you were sitting on the bottom of the staircase. PoiPoi said that you had sat down, told her to sit down next to you and said, "Wait [for] Mama."

-You still want me all to yourself. When you see Daddy and me hugging, you squeeze in between our legs, wrap your arms around me and say, "Hug!" When the three of us were sitting on the couch the other night, you kept pushing Daddy's hand off of my leg and replacing it with yours.

-You are obsessed with closing things: drawers, your baby gates, doors. Whenever you walk in or out of the room, you have to "clo door."

-You are also fascinated by the red light that comes on when we turn on the dishwasher. It shines a red spot onto the kitchen floor and you like to step on it with your foot or peer up underneath the dishwasher door to see where the red light is coming from.

-When I am eating something you want, you say, "Have some!"

-You are so sweet to JieJie. When she hurt her knee the other day and started crying, you tipped your head and asked in a high-pitched voice, "Happen?" When she said her knee hurt, you hugged her. And when she woke up the one night after having a nightmare and started crying, you ran and got her a tissue. Such a good brother!

Love,
Mom

Self Starter

Dear Sawyer,

Your poor neglected high chair has slowly been collecting dust in the corner of our dining room because you haven't sat in it for almost a month. Whenever I try to put you in it, you resist and say, "Too big"--as in, you are too big to sit in a high chair! So now you sit at the dining table in a regular chair like the rest of us and there seems to be no going back!

And you have decided that you are also "too big" to hold my hand when you go up and down the stairs. Before, you insisted that I hold your hand or pick you up and carry you. Now, you hold onto the railing and steadily climb up or down. If I try to hold your hand, you push it away and say, "Self"--as in, I can do it myself. What happened to my helpless little newborn?!

Love,
Mom

Million-Dollar Smile

Dear Sawyer,

An afternoon playing with your water table + chocolate peanut butter banana cake = one very happy Sawyer!

Love,
Mom

That Bites

Dear Sawyer,

Okay, I don't know why this whole biting thing started but it has to STOP. You and JieJie were fighting over a toy today and when she wouldn't give it to you, you lifted up her shirt and bit her! And not only that, you bit her so hard, she bled! NOT okay, Sawyer!

But after I talked to you about how biting hurts, you did go up to JieJie, said you were sorry and gave her a hug.

Love,
Mom

First Tantrum

Dear Sawyer,

Uh-oh. You have been in your "twos" for two months now and I saw the "terrible" part today when you threw your first major tantrum.

I always put you down for a nap around 11:30 in the morning and it's never really an issue because you're usually tired then. But JieJie was home today and you were playing Legos with her and you didn't want to stop to go to sleep. You had to sleep, though, or else you would be super-tired in the afternoon, so I tried to lead you out of JieJie's room. You didn't want to come with me and started crying when I said it was time to nap, so I picked you up and carried you to your room. And that's when you really let me have it. You cried, screamed, threw toys, shook your gate, tried to knock over your fan and even tried to bite me. Excuse me?!? Are we biting now??? I firmly told you not to bite, walked over to the other side of the room and let you cry. After a few minutes, you stopped crying and went and hid behind your dresser. I could hear you taking deep, heavy, post-crying breaths and I walked over to you but when you saw me, you got mad and shouted at me, "No no no!" I said I'd leave you alone but I'd be sitting on the bed if you wanted me. After another minute, you slowly walked out from behind the dresser, stretched your arms out toward me and said meekly, "Mama."

I wrapped you in my arms, you hugged me back and then you looked up at me and smiled--my sweet little baby was back :-)

Love,
Mom

First Crush

Dear Sawyer,

I love how silly and playful you are. Currently, you are really into pretending you're either a cat or a shark. When you're a shark, you crawl around the floor on your belly with your fists clenched and say "Shark! Nom nom nom" while trying to bite my feet. When you're a cat, you crawl on your hands and knees, rub up against me and meow. And you are really committed to your role--one time when you were in cat mode, I called you Sawyer and you corrected me, "No. Cat."

You get such a kick out of so many things--being tickled, being chased, splashing water, running through sprinklers, hearing someone burp or fart (*sigh*)--and your laugh is so pure, genuine and infectious. You are such a happy little boy and being around you instantly makes me happy.

I also love that you are saying so many real words now and in that cute, slightly mispronounced, little kid way. You refer to yourself as "DiDi" or "Shoyuh" and when something makes you laugh, you say, "Funh-ee!"When we passed by the playground one day, you tried to get out of your stroller and shouted, "Out! Out!" One time, I asked you if you wanted something to drink and you politely replied, "No. Fine." (As in, "I'm fine.")

You can now identify many colors (red, blue, green, yellow, purple) and, in bigger news, seem to have your first girlfriend! GuhGaw's friend Hailey came over a couple days ago and she was totally smitten with you. She kept hugging you all night and when she asked you if you love her, you smiled, nodded and emphatically said, "Yeah. Yeah." As she was leaving, Hailey told her parents, "I have a crush on Sawyer." After she left, you kept saying to me over and over again, "Hay-ee. Hug. Hay-ee. Hug." And when I showed you a picture of her yesterday, oh man, the way your face lit up!

Love,
Mom

Ready to Race

Dear Sawyer,

You are going through your race car phase and love all things race cars, especially pretending to be one! I was walking upstairs tonight and in the corner of my eye, I saw a Sawyer-shaped blur zip across the living room and shout, "RACE CAR!!" Hahaha! I love it!

Love,
Mom

Awesome Night

Dear Sawyer,

Cute Sawyer sayings during our vacation in St. Thomas:

"Plane! Plane! Woooow, plane!" -- You loved seeing all of the airplanes at the airport.

"Hol' on! Whoa! Whoa!" -- You were a little nervous during takeoff and insisted that I hold on to your leg while the plane went up in the air. Whenever I moved my hand, you immediately grabbed it and placed it back on top of your leg.

"Mou! Mou!" -- I let you watch "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on the plane and when Mickey Mouse came on the screen, you were so excited and mimicked everything he did, from his bouncy walk to the way he pumped his fist in the air.

"Water! Water!" -- You pointed to the pool and said this whenever you wanted to go in.

"Turn!" -- You said this whenever you wanted a turn at something.

"Awe-sum!" -- You said this on the night we returned home from our trip. It was dark out and there were dozens of fireflies lighting up our front lawn when we pulled into the driveway. You had never seen fireflies before and watching you watch them was really sweet. I mean, they are bugs that light up. How magical is that?! I caught one in my hands and you were so amazed by it's glow, thus leading to the first time you said, "Awe-sum!"

Awesome!

Love,
Mom

Elmo's Soooooong

Dear Sawyer,

Recent cuteness:

-When GongGong or PoiPoi leave our house, you call out after them, "Bye! Soon!" (as in, "See you soon!").

-You have started the "Why?" stage and it is so funny when you ask why because you say it with such perplexity in your voice.

-When you want to be included in something, you shout, "Too! Too!" (as in, "Me, too! Me, too!"). You also say this when you want someone else to be included (as in, "You, too! You, too!") and point to said person.

-We were playing on your mat when you bumped my chin with your head. When I said, "Ow," you asked me, "Kay?"

-You get such a kick out of yourself when your naked. You start laughing and saying, "Nakey! Nakey!"

-You love Paw Patrol and can name all of the dogs: Chay, Marshuh, Rocky, Rubble, Ma (Zuma), Kye (Skye).

-You love Ernie and Elmo's "One Fine Face" song and can sing along to it. You're also a big fan of "Elmo's Song" and sing it like this: "La la la. [in deeper voice] Sooooong. La la la. Soooooong!"

Love,
Mom

Let's Talk

Dear Sawyer,

I am very impressed with how much you are trying to communicate. This morning at breakfast, you put together your first two-word sentences when you told me, "JieJie cool [school]. GuhGaw cool. Dada cool." Then you looked around the dining room and said, "Ummmmm," trying to figure out what else you knew how to say and could talk to me about.

It's so cute when you say something you have heard other people say. When I have to leave you in your room or in your high chair to go do something, I always tell you, "I'll be right back!" So the other night, when we were sitting in the living room and you got up to follow Daddy into the kitchen, you turned to me and said, "Back!" before leaving the room. And you are also using your words to look out for JieJie. I gave you her water bottle the other day and told you to give it to her. GuhGaw jokingly tried to take it and you yelled at him, "NO! Sui sui! JieJie!" :-)

Love,
Mom

You're Two Years Old!

Dear Sawyer,

One of your favorite songs is "You Are My Sunshine" and you request that I sing it to you by saying, "Sunshi!" You often ask me to sing it several times in a row and I don't mind because it makes you smile and because the words are so true: You are my sunshine and you make me so so so happy, gray skies or not. And now you are my 2-year-old ray of sunshine. Happy birthday, baby bear!

It's true what they say about parenthood: The days are long but the years are short. Taking care of you, JieJie and GuhGaw can seriously kick my butt sometimes, especially on those days when someone constantly needs something from me and I don't even have five minutes to just sit down, but your childhood is racing by. You already look like such a big boy (my, what long legs you have!) and you are acting like such a big boy, too--you are saying many new words every day, you can feed yourself so well when I give you a bowl of milk and cereal, you put away your toys when I ask you to, you brush your teeth on your own without complaint and when you go down the slide at the playground, you don't even reach for my hand anymore but are fine sliding down on your own (*sniff sniff*). You are still my baby in one main way, though--you can't fall asleep unless I cuddle with you. It would be easier for me if you would go to bed on your own like your siblings do (and did, when they were your age) but I do love our snuggles. I love the way you feel in my arms with your back against my chest and how you still insist on clasping my hands in yours until you drift off, so I will enjoy this sweet Sawyer-Mama time while I still can.

You have very good manners and always say "tank oo" to me but I have to say "tank oo" to you for being such a wonderful, sweet boy. You are so joyful, funny, giggly, huggable and adorable and I love being your mama. I look forward to seeing your beaming smile when you wake up in the morning and kissing your super-kissable cheeks as you fall asleep at night. You fill each of my days with laughter, amazement and yes, sunshine, and I am so grateful that you are in my life. I love you so much!

Love,
Mom

Itsy Bitsy Pider

Dear Sawyer,

I dropped a pretzel on the kitchen floor and you picked it up. I thought you were going to eat it (you have eaten off the floor many times before, sigh) but you threw it in the garbage can instead. Thanks for helping me, sweetie!

In other news, you have learned so many new words lately that I think this will be the last new-vocab update because there will be too many new words to keep track of going forward. The latest additions to your vernacular: quirrel (squirrel), cookie (as in the sweet treat and Cookie Monster), Ernie, Bir (as in Big Bird--your interest in Sesame Street has really grown!), house, rain, choo choo train, cat, horse, deer, ball, eye, ear, no (nose), arm, back, neck, tickle, axi (taxi), boat, wall, room, bed, oval, cuh-cle (circle), brush (you say this when I bring you your toothbrush), park, walk, the letters A, O and S, cool (school) and pider (spider). I can't believe how many words you are learning every day. Or that you will be 2 years old in two days!

Love,
Mom

Say Cheese!

Dear Sawyer,

You have unveiled two new behaviors recently. First, you now love posing for photographs and do so by plopping down on the floor, crossing your legs, folding your hands together in your lap and grinning from ear to ear while you say, "Cheeeeeese!" One time, you were watching TV and saw me carrying my camera into another room, so you actually climbed down from the chair and followed me because you wanted me to take a picture of you. And seriously, look how adorable your pose is!

Second, when you were standing in your crib tonight, I watched--and stood safely nearby--as you managed to lift your leg up onto the rail and hoist your body up so that you were balancing on top of it as if you were laying on a surfboard. Oh, uh uh. Bring in the toddler bed!

Love,
Mom

Main Interests

Dear Sawyer,

It's fun seeing what kinds of things interest you. You love animals and get excited when you see dogs, squirrels and birds. Two of your favorite books are Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada and Moo Baa La La La, probably because you like seeing the animals and imitating their sounds (and we've read them both so many times, you can recite the words along with me). You also perk up around babies and say, "Awww, cuuue [cute]!" if you see one in a book or on TV.

You still have a very strong interest in cars, trucks, trains and planes and can spend long stretches in your room just pushing your toy vehicles around; you especially like to line them all up in a straight line. Lately, you've really been into firetrucks in particular and say, "Whew whew whew fi fi! Fi fi!" when you see one. You even get excited when I dress you in a T-shirt or pajamas with firetrucks on them and show them off to Daddy or your siblings by repeatedly pointing to the firetrucks and exclaiming, "Fi fi!"

Your love for reading has grown lately and you often pick out books, plop into my lap and request that I "rea" (other than Dada and Moo Baa, you also like The Little Engine That Could (trains!) and Thomas the Tank Engine books (more trains!)). You have also become more interested in puzzles and are really good at putting the pieces in the correct spots; your shapes, numbers and vehicles puzzles are already too easy for you. And like millions of toddlers before you, you have discovered the awesomeness that is Elmo. You have recently become very interested in Elmo books and Elmo songs and can even say his name: Eh-mo. We'll have to plan a trip to Sesame Place this summer!

Love,
Mom

Repeat After Me

Dear Sawyer,

You grew so much this past month, both physically and intellectually. You moved up to size 2T clothing and size 7.5 shoes and your vocabulary has exploded. Your newest words include: door, car, truck, house, duck, fish, mouse, owl, more, book, shoe, hat, cheese, bao bao (Chinese for bread), ceeil (cereal), towel, wet, hur (hurt) and hug (you request hugs from me all of the time, which I love!). You also say hi (hide) and like to do so when you hear me coming to your room by diving under the day bed. And when I tell you to hide, you cover your eyes, haha.

When you now see something you want to eat, you point to it and say, "That."  You also started saying "woooeeee" when you see police cars and pretending to be a dinosaur by roaring and holding your arms straight out in front of you. You can identify all of your body parts, recognize and imitate all of the main animal sounds and seem really interested in learning as many new words as you can--you often point to objects, listen to me say what they are and then repeat what I said. So smart!

Love,
Mom

Diaper Free

Dear Sawyer,

When I walked into your room last night, you pulled me over to your changing table and pointed to the bottom drawer. You opened it and pulled out a diaper, which confused me because your diapers are on top of the changing table where you can't reach. How did you get a diaper off of the changing table? Then I realized your crotch area wasn't as bunchy as it normally is--because the diaper in the drawer was the diaper you had been wearing! You were just wearing a onesie and had somehow managed to pull your diaper off through one of the leg holes! You must have been tugging at it pretty hard! Thankfully, you hadn't peed in your diaper-free state and I put your diaper back on before you made a mess. You kids are always surprising me!

Love,
Mom

Out West

Dear Sawyer,

We did it! Daddy and I took three young kids across the country and managed to keep our sanity (relatively) intact!

We just returned from our first cross-country vacation as a party of five and it went really well. We traveled to Berkeley to visit Uncle Dennis and Auntie Audris (and their new baby, Finn!) and Daddy and I were nervous about the trip because, well, 3 kids, airport, 5-hour flight, luggage, car seats, ugh. Plus, we had a 7:30am flight out of Newark, which meant we had to get there at 5:30am, which meant we had to leave the house at 4:30am, which meant we practically had to wake you guys up as soon as we put you to bed the night before. When I woke JieJie up, she told me, "I'm full of yawns."

GuhGaw, JieJie and you are obviously not accustomed to waking up when it is pitch black outside but getting you guys up, dressed and packed into the car (along with our diaper bag, a backpack filled with snacks and toys for the flight, Daddy's laptop bag, our carry-on suitcase, our large suitcase AND the stroller and stroller bag, whew) was actually easier than expected. We made it through security surprisingly quickly and arrived at our gate just as the sun was rising. We bought breakfast sandwiches and it was cool to sit and eat them as we watched the sky wake up and see the blazing orange sun rise over Manhattan. It was the first time you guys had watched the sunrise.

The flight to California was also easier than expected. I kept you occupied with stickers, activity books, Play-Doh and snacks and let you watch TV for the last hour. All three of you behaved and there were zero meltdowns. Success!

We spent five days exploring Berkeley with Uncle Dennis, Aunt Audris and Finn and did a lot of fun things: went for a hike in Tilden Regional Park, discovered the awesomeness of Keva Planks at the Lawrence Hall of Science, celebrated Daddy's birthday at Farm Burger, spent a peaceful day amid the gigantic redwood trees in Muir Woods, saw elephants at the Oakland Zoo and rode a steam train through the forest.

We did have to make one unexpected stop on our itinerary: the children's hospital in Oakland. It was supposed to rain on our first day in Berkeley but it turned out to be sunny and clear, so we decided to go hiking in Tilden Park. We found a nice trail and GuhGaw, JieJie and I were walking ahead while you and Daddy were several feet behind us. You ran to catch up to us but stumbled, landed on your face and scraped it really badly on the concrete. You howled, there was a lot of blood, it was awful. We cleaned you up and you seemed okay but when we got back in the car, you suddenly looked really drowsy, your eyes kind of glazed over and you were not your normal, alert, chipper self. I got scared that you might have a concussion so we drove to the nearest emergency room.

So there we were, waiting in the ER. It was 6pm in California (so it felt like 9pm to us), we hadn't eaten dinner and we'd all been up since 3am, New York time. The three of you must have been so exhausted but none of you whined, complained or pouted--Daddy and I were very proud of you. And when the doctor examined you, he said you were fine and showed no signs of a concussion. You had some pretty terrible scrapes across your entire face but they were just surface wounds and would heal quickly; luckily, you hadn't broken any skin or knocked out any teeth. Yeesh, what a way to start our vacation.

Thankfully, there were no more traumatic incidents during the rest of the trip and we had a great time on the West Coast.

Love,
Mom

Sick Days

Dear Sawyer,

This month, you:

-were in such awe when Daddy bought you a new toy bus. Your whole face lit up when you saw it!

-learned how to imitate elephant and monkey sounds.

-saw snow through the window after we had a big storm and shouted excitedly, "Noooooooooo!" (like JieJie when she was younger, you currently have a slight issue with pronouncing your s's, heh).

-often try to sing along when I sing to you.

-have started running to Daddy's office and GuhGaw and JieJie's rooms to look for them after they've left for work and school. When you go into each room and call out for them and I tell you that they're not home, you say matter-of-factly, "Oh."

-started calling your nanny Mary "Mimi."

-learned how to say biiiiiiiiye (bye), nigh nigh (night night) and num num (you say this for cat--I think you are trying to say meow meow?).

-came down with pink eye, an ear infection AND scarlet fever at the SAME TIME. JieJie had scarlet fever last week, so you caught that from her, but then you got walloped with the other two illnesses this week, too. I'm so sorry, sweetie. It's not going to be a fun weekend :-(

Love,
Mom

My Sweet Sawyer

Dear Sawyer,

Even though you are only one and a half years old, you have an incredible amount of empathy toward others. When other people are feeling sad, you immediately pick up on this and try to comfort them, which is truly amazing to see. JieJie was sick this afternoon and feeling so miserable that she sat down at the bottom of the staircase and just started sobbing. You ran right over to her, patted her arm and embraced her so tightly for several minutes. Every once in awhile, you let go of the hug to look lovingly into her face before wrapping your arms around her again. At one point, you even cupped her chin in the most heartwarming way.

And one of my most cherished memories is of you the last time you saw Uncle Tony. It was the day before he passed away and we were visiting him in the hospice wing of the hospital. Uncle Tony was laying in bed and GuhGaw and JieJie were scared to get too close to him but when I sat next to Uncle Tony and pulled you into my lap, you leaned right over to him and patted his arm several times. The way that you knew something was wrong and how you wanted to make it better--it made my heart swell.

May you always be the kind, caring soul you are now.

Love,
Mom

Messy Bath

Dear Sawyer,

This is how your bath time went tonight:

-I undressed you and put you in your tub.
-GuhGaw and JieJie were fighting over something (as they ALWAYS are) and yelling at each other.
-I ran out into the hallway to tell them to stop fighting. While out in the hallway, I realized I'd forgotten to get a diaper to put on you after your bath, so I grabbed one from your room.
-When I came back into the bathroom, you were playing with a BALL OF POOP! Oh my god, you had pooped in the tub and there were several balls of poop floating in the water.
-I spent several seconds trying to decide what to clean first: you or the tub. I went with the tub.
-I carried you out of the tub and put you inside my glass shower stall and shut the door.
-I threw out the poop (ew) and started scrubbing and rinsing the tub. Meanwhile, you were completely naked and pacing back and forth in the shower like a funny little zoo animal. You had never been in my shower stall before and I could tell that you did not know what to make of it. You knocked on the door a few times and called out, "MaMAAAA! MaMAAAAA!" I knew you were probably thinking, "Um, Mom? What am I doing in here?" After a few minutes, the novelty started to wear off and you started to panic and knock on the glass harder, wanting to be let out.
-I started cleaning faster and knelt there, amazed that this is my life now. Oh man!

Love,
Mom

MaMAAAAAA!

Dear Sawyer,

This month's new behaviors:

-You nod as I read to you.

-You can point to your head, ears, mouth and feet when asked to and you stick out your tongue when I ask you where your tongue is. One time, I asked you where your belly button is and you tried to take off your shirt to show it to me!

-You can now say: peas (please), tanks (thanks), sock, book, fish, moo, cheers, ewww, ow, uh-oh, whoa whoa (when you imitate a dog barking), fa fa (Chinese for flower) and your favorite Paw Patrol member's name, Chay (Chase)

-You still looooove buses and when you see one, you go, "Whoooooooa!"

-When you want me to give you something I'm holding, you tap your hand and say, "Peas!"

-When you want my attention, you shout in this kind of nasally way, "MaMAAAAAA! MaMAAAAAAA!" :-P

Love,
MaMAAAAAA!

Chocoholics

Dear Sawyer,

We had lunch at a restaurant today and ordered a slice of turtle pie for you kids to share for dessert. And watching you, JieJie and GuhGaw hungrily devour it and practically fight each other for every bite was one of the most entertaining things I have ever seen. My kids do not mess around when there's chocolate!

Love,
Mom

My Favorite Baby

Dear Sawyer,

You have been busy doing so many new things!

-You now say: aaa-pul (apple), nana (banana), uh-oh, ow, yeeeeeeah (when you get excited for food) and PoiPoi (I call her every day so now you say PoiPoi every time you see me pick up my phone).

-You can climb onto chairs. It's funny watching you do it because you kind of fling your upper body onto the seat and then wiggle until you get your legs up, too.

-You blow kisses to your siblings at bedtime and when you say goodbye to someone.

-You can make the "come here" gesture with your hand.

-You have always loved being tickled and now you try to tickle me back. You look so cute when you do it, too, because you get this mischievous smile on your face, wiggle your fingers at me and say, "Gee go gee go gee."

-You were playing in your room with GuhGaw and JieJie one day when I heard you cry out really loudly. When I ran to your room, I saw that you had crawled under your crib (having gone in after a runaway toy car) and gotten stuck there. Oye.

-You now pick out books, bring them over to me and plop yourself into my lap so that I can read them to you.

-You imitate me when I sneeze (and actually mirror a lot of other actions you see other people doing).

-You like to jump out and shout "buh!" (boo!) to scare people (you learned this from GuhGaw, sigh).

-When I ask you who is my favorite baby, you smile and proudly put your hand on your chest.

Love,
Mom

Uncle Tony

Dear Sawyer,

Your Uncle Tony always loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. What's not to love? They are superheroes who fight crime, make wisecracks all of the time and crave pizza. And they aren't so different from Uncle Tony, who grew up on Pizza Hut, was always ready with a funny comment for everything and was a real-life superhero who made so many people's lives better just by being a part of them.

I met many of Uncle Tony's friends last week and all of them said the same thing: Tony made the world a better place. Whether he was joking around to cheer up a sad friend, encouraging another friend to pursue her dream job or just holding a girl's purse so she wouldn't lose it at a bar, he always looked out for others and lit up any room with his humor and positive attitude.

Uncle Tony was truly a superhero because he was strong enough to maintain that humor and positive attitude even when he was diagnosed with brain cancer not just once, but twice. When GongGong, PoiPoi and I wanted to crumple into a heap onto the floor, Uncle Tony was the one who made us laugh and lifted our spirits when we were the ones who should have been doing that for him. His strength never wavered during his countless treatments and surgeries and even when his entire body was literally failing him and he couldn't even speak, he still found the power to give the doctors an optimistic thumbs-up sign and playfully stick out his tongue at us.

I will never be able to process this loss, the fact that I will never hug my brother again or text him about our favorite shows or have lengthy conversations with him about how crazy our parents are. It is unreal and unfair that he was taken at such a young age when he had so much more to accomplish. And it truly breaks my heart that you won't remember him and that he will not be here to see you grow up. Uncle Tony was my baby brother and I do not know how I will make it through the rest of my life without him. I wish that you didn't have to go through the rest of your life without knowing him. But if anything, Uncle Tony taught us all how to stay strong even in the darkest hours.

I miss Uncle Tony so unbearably much, but he will stay alive in everyone's memories and I will talk about him all of the time so that you, JieJie and GuhGaw will always remember what an amazing, special and undeniably super uncle you guys had.

Love,
Mom

Nursing Nostalgia

Dear Sawyer,

So many cute behaviors to document!

-I went to Pittsburgh for a few days to see Uncle Tony and when I came back, you were in the backseat when Daddy picked up me up at the airport. It had been my first time being away from you for so long and when you saw me through the car window, you immediately started waving at me and blowing me kisses!

(Not-so-cute aside: That same day I came back, GuhGaw later accidentally hit you really hard in the face with some Legos. And not too shortly after that, JieJie accidentally smacked you in the face with your bead maze. It's rough being the smallest sometimes.)

-One afternoon, I found you laying on your belly in your room, eagerly blowing a piece of lint across the floor. So glad we bought you all those new toys for Christmas.

-After picking up one of your books and putting it on the coffee table like I asked you to do, you clapped for yourself and held up your hand toward me to indicate that I should give you a congratulatory high five.

-You picked up JieJie's Belle doll and said, "Baby."

-We were playing in your room today when you picked up your old nursing pillow, laid it down on my lap and then laid yourself down on top of it. I stopped breastfeeding you at the beginning of last November but I guess you still remember nursing . . . and miss it maybe? I know I miss nursing you.

Love,
Mom