Happy 2 1/2 Years Sawyer James!

SJ runs lightening speed all the time, he jumps off of everything, he flies down the hall like superman, he roars like a lion, he races his cars for hours, he laughs like an angel, he giggles like a little boy and he is mine! We are so blessed with the most precious little 2 1/2 year old. He is full of life, energy, and excitement…ALL the time! No more naps, no more snuggles, no more rocking chair time with mommy…but I'm loving this stage just the same. We talk to each other all day long, he talks in paragraphs (which I can mostly understand, with an occasional word I think he made up), we giggle, we play cars, we play dinosaurs, we play outside, we run, we run, and we run some more, we both have occasional meltdowns, and we lay down at night completely exhausted, but ready to do it all over again tomorrow! This age is so challenging and so adventurous. I love watching his little brain go 100 mph, watching him try so hard to tell me something but talking so fast I can't catch a single word, watching him learn to share and learn how to be kind! (It's not always a success…but we are learning :) SJ has a precious little heart and a sweet sweet spirit. He says thank you and you're welcome to just about everything….and says "no thank you" to haircuts, bedtime, bath time, and anything that means confinement…followed by a flowing of tears and "no thank you mommy no thank you mommy, no thank you mommy!" It is a blessing and a curse to have a child that doesn't require sleep, nap time no longer interrupts our day and he is so flexible, but…he goes nonstop from morning until bedtime…everyday…the whole day….without stopping…I'm not kidding! My favorite game for SJ and I to play is hide and seek, because he actually sits still in his hiding place for a couple of minutes, fabulous! We love this sweet angel more than I ever thought was possible! Happy 2 1/2 years of life little blue eyed whirlwind! 

This picture sums up my child. This is his famous little face…"I'm cute, and I'll stand here for a short second for you to take a picture but I'm about to take off running…."

As for Clay and I, when we aren't playing dinosaurs, pushing a swing, or playing tag…we are studying for classes! Clay is on his last year of banking school at the University of Wisconsin and my grad achool for Speech Language Pathology started in June. Life is full, time is precious…but we are pressing ahead, knowing the outcome will be well worth it! We are blessed with a child that is flexible, social, and content just about anywhere…which makes life a lot easier! Our word for this season is "intentional." Grad school is a lot of pressure and a lot is required, but for every moment we have free our goal is to be completely intentional with our time together. Study books, computers, iPhones, all put away and crawling on the floor like a tiger, flying like superman, seeing the dinosaurs at the Science Museum, riding the train at the zoo, sliding at the park, playing in the pool…all take priority for the time that we have together! Pray for us that we continue to be intentional with our time and that the Lord will bless that time in ways we never imagined! We started being very "intentional" with bedtime prayers this summer. SJ has a bucket of prayer sticks with faces on popsicle sticks of the people dearest to us. Each night he picks 5 people to pray for. He doesn't know exactly what he is saying, we know that, but watching him become familiar with Jesus and thanking Jesus each night for the people in his life is so wonderful to watch. We close our eyes, hold our picture and pray for them by name. Clay and I both know the most important thing we can do in life is pray. Without His help, we will never survive this season of life! We are so thankful for the Lord's provision, guidance, and strength as we figure out new ways to walk life with a toddler and train him in the ways of the Lord. 

Some of SJ's favorite things:
Food
chicken nuggets and fries
pizza
ice cream
cookies
dark chocolate hershey kisses
bananas
avocado
Activities
Science Museum
Zoo
riding his bike (by ride I mean sit, scoot, and occasional push it)
playing outside
splash parks
playing dinosaurs and cars
watching Frozen and the Jungle Book
Singing the Hokey Pokey
Reading Goodnight Moon and Dog's Colorful Day
Jumping and jumping and jumping…
My favorite things he says
SJ: "We go to the (fill in the blank, science museum, park, etc) today?"
Me: "not today bubba"
SJ: "Okay, mommy, we just go tomorrow."

Me: "SJ, lets go to our room for some rest time."
SJ: "No thanks mommy, I just play for a minute."

Me: (If SJ is crying, or whining) "Hey SJ, remember big boys are tough, are you a big boy?"
SJ: "I not a big boy right now. I not want to be tough, I just cry for a second."

SJ: "Oh hi mommy! You are princess mommy."

SJ: "Mommy, this is delicious, yum!"

His famous little one arm dance move

BFC Easter Egg Hunt, music before the hunt

These two and the beautiful little voices :)

Jesus Love Me this I know!!

Pudding Face

I'm holding him to this! 

He kinda LOVES flashcards…like father like son…

Dancing at the 4th of July parade

My favorite word!

Having a meltdown in a very hot car... "No, I not say cheese"

Watching them have a little conversation…darling!

Silly boy! 

SJ got to go to a Thunder Game in the Spring and loves Rumble! 

School picture day at New Church

Those sweet little faces! 

"Kiss me momma"

Easter with Gpa…3 years in a row on the bike

Sweet Easter picture

Mommy and SJ

About to dart….

Love! 

This boy and his Poppa…they are two peas in a pod!

We love you Lolli! 

4 Generations! We love Grammy! 

These two go hand and hand everywhere…Hannah is going to be the best big sister! 

Watering flowers with mommy! 

School buddies! We love KK! 

Blue eyed angel! 

Sweet little secrets…precious babies! 

SJ's first selfie! 

Celebrating Clay's 30th Bday! 

We love GPA! 

Little zoo buddies! 

Haircuts…they are on our "no thank you" list

But he looks real cute when they are done! 

These kids will forever be Bubble Guppies buddies! 

Summer fun!!! Playing with friends means mommy gets to sit!

Love our afternoons together!

His favorite place to hide! Those little toes! 

Celebrating Grandpa's 75th Birthday! 

Sand brings him so much joy! 

Angel! 

We love Poppa and Lolli! 

Sweet kisses! Please marry her! 

Sunburn face…and ice cream! 

Pool time! 

The camera has become part of his daily life! 

We loved the parade!!! Happy 4th! 

Goofy! 

Sitting through weddings requires PBS Kids and a sucker! 

These two giggle a lot! 

Cheese!!!

Playing squirt guns…I always lose! 

Sweet sweet sisters!!! Yay for Kim and Joel! 

They are a pair! 

Desperately trying to talk SJ into one more picture…we were unsuccessful! 

An entire of day of wedding deserves a s'more!

Sweet boy! 

Thirsty little man after a whole night of wedding playing! 

SJ's first Thunder game! 

My angel! 

My other angel! 

We were about tired of pictures! 

Yay for the most perfect groom!!!! We love Uncle Joel! 

Beautiful bride…in every way! 

He was a rockstar ring bearer! 

Cute thing! 

So big!!!

Adorable! 

I couldn't get enough pictures of this sweet boy!