July Update

Dear Sawyer,

You have been busy this month! You can easily go from sitting to standing and are walking so well now. You like to walk to the kitchen (you love food!) and I melt every time you walk toward me and fall into my arms or when you walk into my legs and then hug them. I also love how excited you get when you walk longer and longer distances; you giggle and squeal and are clearly proud of how well you're walking!

You have 7 adorable little teeth now (all the better to eat your favorite fruits, blueberries, watermelon and grapes) and you always want to eat what I'm eating, especially if it's a bread or roll of some sort. But you still aren't a fan of cow's milk and only drink maybe 1 ounce a day, when you should be drinking 15-20! Come on, dude! (Some mothers breastfeed their kids until they're 5 years old but your mama will most certainly not be doing that.)

You love upbeat music and when I turn on a good dance song, you dance by swaying back and forth and pointing your fingers up in the air. You love JieJie, hug her a lot and can even say, "Li-ah." But you get jealous when you see her sitting on my lap and immediately come over and try to squeeze onto my lap, too. Oh, dear.

Love,
Mom

Post-Meal Nap

Dear Sawyer,

I call this series "Baby's Food Coma."

Haha, you keep falling asleep in your high chair after you eat!

Love,
Mom

Hello, Hamptons!

Dear Sawyer,

The last time Daddy and I went to the Hamptons, it was for our babymoon and GuhGaw was still a baby growing in my belly. Fast forward 6 years later and we returned to the Hamptons last week with our three kids! We even stayed at the same hotel (though we kind of had to, considering it's the only one in Southampton) and it was fun revisiting the places we'd first gone to before you and your siblings were born--La Parmigiana, Tate's Bake Shop, The Golden Pear. Southampton hasn't changed much and many of the same restaurants and shops we went to before are still there.

But of course, the main draw during our vacation--then and now--was the beach. GuhGaw and JieJie have been to beaches several times but this time, they were very scared of the crashing waves and terrified to walk into the ocean. Not you! This was your first time at the beach and you loved it! You were fascinated by the crashing waves and wanted to walk into the ocean; I actually had to pull you back a few times because the waves were way over your head. You laughed when the waves came in and beamed when the water washed over your feet. The first time JieJie went to the beach, she was terrified of the sand and refused to sit or stand on it. The first time you went to the beach, I plopped you down on the sand and you didn't even bat an eye but just started playing with the sand as if you'd done so a thousand times. When GuhGaw first encountered sand as a baby, he kept trying to eat it. You knew better and didn't even attempt it once, though you did keep putting sand-covered toys in your mouth (ugh).

We were in the Hamptons for five days and you actually had a somewhat rough vacation. At dinner one night, you were sitting in your high chair when you pushed your feet against the table. You and the whole high chair fell backward and before Daddy or I could catch you, you hit your head on the floor. The next day at the beach, Daddy dug a large sandpit, which served as a makeshift playard for you. You were outside of the sandpit at one point, crawled toward it and then fell face first into it and got a mouth full of sand. I wiped the sand off your face with a wet wipe but then forgot to reapply sunblock, so you got a little sunburned. And you did not get to nap as much as you needed to since we were out at the beach all day every day and it wasn't super peaceful with all of the people and kids there. But despite all those hiccups, at least you did really love the beach!

Love,
Mom

Fun Times

Dear Sawyer,

You are such a funny little guy! You can now do high-fives; you are in such a hurry all the time and crawl so fast that sometimes you pitch yourself forward and almost do face plants; when you eat, you like to spit out your food, play with it and then pop it back into your mouth (that one's more gross than funny); you like to take a tissue and wipe things like JieJie's doll crib; and you pretend to talk on the phone and eat with your toy utensils. I love playing with you every day!

Love,
Mom

June Happenings

Dear Sawyer,

Here are some of the things you did in the past few weeks:

-You tried blueberries--and loved them. I'd say they're your favorite snack, but all snacks are your favorite snacks! You love to eat! Sometimes when you eat, you take such passionate bites and go "Ahm!"

-You started sitting on your butt and turning around in circles. I guess that's fun for you? It's definitely fun for me to watch!

-You favored your sister over your brother -- one night while you were in your crib, JieJie kept running up to you and you gave her a kiss every time she reached you, but when GuhGaw did it and leaned in for a kiss, you pushed his face away. Harsh.

-I am trying to wean you but you have been refusing to drink cow's milk. I warmed it up, gave it to you cold, put it in a cup, spoon fed it to you . . . you will not drink it. You'll only drink breastmilk. I didn't have any problems switching GuhGaw and JieJie to cow's milk, so I don't know what to do.

-You recognized yourself -- I showed you a photo of yourself and you said, "DiDi."

-You caught coxsackie disease from your brother and sister, uuugggghhh. And then I caught it from you, double uuugggghhh. I got hit pretty bad (I couldn't even get out of bed the first day) but thankfully, you just had a fever for a couple days and didn't seem that uncomfortable.

-You made me laugh when I was talking to GuhGaw one day and you were next to me in your high chair, imitating the hand gestures I was making, haha!

Love,
Mom

First Steps!

Dear Sawyer,

So many new behaviors since your first birthday! JieJie was watching "Sofia the First" and when Sofia started singing, you "sang" along with her. You can hold your water bottle and drink from it by yourself. You like to crawl into tight spots, like the space in between your crib and the wall, and one time you got stuck in between your crib and the wall (oops). If I leave the gate in your room open, you make an immediate beeline for it and always try to crawl to the play attic (of course, there are so many toys up there!). On your birthday, you stood on your own for a few seconds and fell forward when you tried to walk. But then today, you actually walked!!!

We were doing FaceTime with PoiPoi and Uncle Tony and I was showing them how good you have become at standing on your own. You were standing in the living room near the bookshelf and I was looking at my iPad screen to make sure I had framed you properly in the camera and as I was looking at the screen, you took your first three steps! PoiPoi, Uncle Tony and I all shouted in surprise at the same time, haha. Exciting day!

Love,
Mom

Yogurt Mess

Dear Sawyer,

So I put your bowl of yogurt down on the dining table and went to put the laundry in the dryer. I should have made sure you could not reach the yogurt from your high chair, though, because this is what I came back to:

Oye.

Love,
Mom