The last couple of years we have spent our Memorial Day weekend in Georgia at my in-laws house. This year was no different, except we were introducing our baby boy to his first (of many) days spent out on their boat playing in the sun on Lake Lanier. We originally thought we were going to have to save Sawyers first boat ride for the next time we visited since the weather man had predicted a wash out in Georgia from Hurricane Alberto. Luckily, the rain held off and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather majority of the weekend. Side note: It is crazy to think that this weekend last year we shared our pregnancy news with everyone, (you can read about that post here). We took a picture on the dock below their home and held up a onesie reading "Baby Houston December 2017." When I realized it had been exactly one year since we took and shared that image, I was hoping the rain would hold off so we could retake the same image, just holding our baby boy instead of the onesie in our hands this year. It is amazing how fast time fly's with a little one around, it certainly does not seem like it has been a year. I can remember like it was yesterday being so happy reaching 12 weeks of pregnancy and finally being able to openly talk about our pregnancy journey. I hope to retake this same image in years to come on the dock overlooking the lake and watch as our family grows and changes throughout the years. May 2017 May 2018 This weekend Sawyer enjoyed his first boat ride so much that he slept almost the entire time we were out on the water. I think he loved the motion from the boat gliding on the water and the sounds that came from it as well. His long nap allowed for Bryan and I to spend some time together on the front of the boat lounging together in the sun. As we made our way back in from the lake, Sawyers CoCo and Pop prepped dinner and we took little man for a dip in their pool. We enjoyed steaks on the grill and had a beautiful evening watching the sun set and playing catch up with our family.
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Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas! No matter what kind of momma you are, God momma, pet momma, step momma, expecting momma, birth momma, or those still hoping and waiting to become a momma, this day is meant to celebrate you! Motherhood brings emotions I never thought were possible. I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I care so much more about life and enjoying the time I have here. I worry/stress more than I thought (which I didn't know was possible), I love more than I ever have, I pray more than ever, and I appreciate everything so much more. I am so unbelievably thankful that I could celebrate this year with our baby boy in our arms. I can't help but to thank God every single day for making me a momma to the happiest little boy. Somehow, each day happens to get better than the last with him. He is growing like a weed and every day he will do something different and new. It is so exciting to watch Sawyer develop into his own sweet personality and learn new things. He loves to do new things just as much as we love watching him do them. He loves to meet new people and go new places. This past weekend was filled with lots of "firsts" for him and we all enjoyed watching him learn and become excited over the tiniest things. His first taste of green beans...not impressed. The weather was hot and sunny and we took full advantage of doing things outdoors. We ate on the patios wherever we went, we hung out on the front porch while we were at home, we took Sawyer to the park near our house, and then put Sawyer in the pool for the first time! On Saturday we took Sawyer to Steele Creek Park which is just about a one minute drive from our neighborhood. I grew up going to this park and loved riding the train around the park when I was younger. I was so excited to see the train still up and running. We bought tickets at the little station they have set up and rode around the park. Although he is too young to remember this now, he sure seemed to have fun and smiled the entire time we were there. The park overlooks the lake, has a beautiful creek that kids can play in, a big playground area, lots of trails, and a new splash pad for kiddos! I foresee many days spent playing in this park. Our little man had the worst night's sleep he's ever had on Friday night going into Saturday. He doesn't ever sleep as it is (he wakes up every two hours on the dot) but Friday it was almost every 45 minutes to one hour and he would fight us every time we tried to put him back down. I actually said a prayer Saturday evening and prayed to all of Heaven for better sleep for him since I knew Sunday would be a long day. Jesus answered my prayer, he slept 8 hours straight! I actually had to wake him up at one point to nurse and he immediately went back to sleep. I believe that was my Mother's Day surprise from Jesus. He woke up well rested Sunday morning and was ready to get dedicated in front of our church. We knew we wanted to dedicate Sawyer to the Lord and our church offered child dedication at each Mother's Day service. I was thrilled to be able to spend my first Mother's Day committing our child to God. This made my Mother's Day extra special. We were able to spend that morning with some of our close relatives at our church praying together over all the families who decided to raise their child under the love and guidance of our Lord. After church we had a big lunch at our home to celebrate and then headed to our best friend's house for a pool day. Sawyer absolutely loves the bath tub and will splash and kick all day in the tub so we figured he would enjoy being in a big pool. He didn't know what to think at first (since it was colder than a warm bath) but once he got used to it he loved floating around. At one point he was so worn out he fell asleep while in the pool. I look forward to many more pool days this summer and watching him play in the water. He is certainly my water baby. If you have any tips on how to keep an infant safe during the hot summer heat but outside at the same time send me a message! We slathered him up in baby sunscreen (although they say to wait until 6 months) but we didn't want to risk his fair skin getting sun burnt. We are also taking our first beach trip (and traveling by plane) next month and need advice on that as well! I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I could not have asked for a better way to spend this first holiday than being surrounded by some of our family and friends with our Sawyer John by our side.
BE STILL MY HEART!!! These spring photos are my favorite pictures we've ever had taken. I am always on the prowl for a good outdoor location to have pictures made and when I saw that one of our favorite photographers was doing a spring mini session at a new local venue I texted her immediately to get on board. Ashley Baker first took pictures for me when I had my maternity pictures taken, then again for newborn shots, and now we have her lined up to take pictures during these next few months to catch Sawyers first year on camera. The location was to die for!! Yall check out The Side Porch in Gray, TN if you're looking for beautiful outdoor scenery, a stunning barn, magical swing, and even a creek that runs below the farm. I've included a few of my absolute favorites from this shoot below. It has been so long since I have posted anything on here and to be honest I haven't had the time or the want to really, simply because when I do have 'down time' I want to spend it with my family. I never knew how much time being a mom to a single child would take. I soon discovered once Sawyer made his arrival that time is truly of the essence. I had plans to blog every little detail of Sawyer while I was on maternity leave...thinking I would have plenty of spare time since I wouldn't be working, but oh was I wrong. Life with a newborn is very hectic and getting time to even shower in peace is rare. BUT... with that being said the point behind my blog was to be able to look back at things down the road and relive special moments through my posts. So here I am a month later posting about Sawyers first Easter. Easter is extremely special to us (besides for obvious reasons, THANK YOU Lord Jesus for dying for our sins and rising from the tomb!) but also because the Good Lord granted us such a blessing when we were told at this time last year we were going through a miscarriage, only to hear Sawyers heartbeat for the first time on Good Friday. Truly a blessing from God. Here we are a year later spending this Easter with our son in our arms and celebrating such a wonderful holiday. Since I am writing this post a month later, looking back and thinking of that weekend makes me smile because it was so special to our hearts and we all had the best time. On Friday we attended our church's Good Friday service. This was Sawyers first church service since coming into this world. We have been watching church on Sundays at home since he has been born because of the cold winter months. We didn't want to risk taking a newborn out in the cold temps with flu season being so prominent this year. We made an exception that weekend and the weather had warmed up for a bit so it was great timing. Sawyer sat through the entire service without making a peep until the very end when the band started to play music, the drums scared him and he let out a big cry. As we waited in the church cafe for the main service to finish, he gave everyone who spoke to him his normal big grin. He loves people and he sure does love when people look at him and talk to him. Bryan's momma had been in town watching Sawyer for us while I transitioned into my first week back at work so she spent the holiday weekend with us. We showed her around down town, ate at a new local restaurant on state street (Bloom Cafe), and had the best time roaming around that day. When we got home we colored eggs and decorated the dining room table with our masterpieces. I was determined to take Sawyer to see the Easter bunny and around here the Easter bunny is hard to find! There is only one location that we knew of near us that the Easter bunny would be doing pictures with kiddos. I called Bass Pro and asked how busy it was to meet the Easter bunny and was told it was an hour wait. Somehow I managed to con both Bryan and his momma into going with me and Sawyer to greet the Easter bunny for the very first time. As soon as we arrived the line was wrapped around to the back of the building. We were already there so that meant we were going to wait it out! Almost two hours to be exact, but the good news is Sawyer slept through the entire line and I actually had to wake him up right before his turn for pictures. As you can see, he was a little grumpy from being woken up but hey, we got our picture and I can't wait to collect these for years to come. Instead of going out to a big dinner for Easter I asked my mother in law to cook for us (awful I know considering I should be the one cooking for her since she came here to help out with Sawyer, butttt she's such a great cook and lets face it, I am not). Since Sawyer, I have also preferred staying in and eating rather than going out. With breastfeeding and a baby's demands as an infant, it so much easier to just be at home and not have to worry about the hassle of getting out and feeding/changing/etc. Plus, who doesn't love the comfort of eating from their home ;) So we invited the family over Saturday evening and had ham, turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, hash potato casserole, deviled eggs, and rolls. We had an absolute feast and it was all so delicious. We finished with a scratch made strawberry cake from the local Cootie Browns. On Sunday we watched our Church service from our TV and piled everyone up in our bedroom. I will say I am so ready to get back in church now that it's begun to warm up. It is awesome to have the ability to watch our church from home, however it is just not the same as attending in person. Now that Sawyer has adjusted to daycare, I may even send him to the church nursery during the main service. To finish up Easter weekend we attended Easter brunch at J Frank (if you have not attended Sunday brunch there I advise you to do so! Call and get reservations ahead of time to make sure you can get in!) We had Sawyer an Easter basket although the only thing he has got good use and excitement from was his pacifiers and a new high chair toy that he loves to play with. Hopefully next year he will be ready to hunt eggs! I always enjoyed searching for eggs filled with candy (and sometimes money if we were lucky) when I was younger and can't wait to be the one hiding the eggs for our little guy come next year. |
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