Ma ma

Said twice today for the very first time.

During wails of frustration.

A glorious moment.

One Year!

Sullivan at Corona's Mexican restaurant, in full "birthday" regalia.

Sawyer's birth, September 8, 2010.

Yikes! Me, heading to the hospital on September 8, 2010.

Honey bedazzles Sullivan with her ipad games and tricks!

Just had to include this one of the girls playing one afternoon.

This past Thursday, September 8, our Sawyer turned one year! We have had a nice week of small celebrations at home and then we had a fun-filled weekend with both of our parents here in Greenville. Rarely are both sets able to come up together and it was really a treat to have the full McRae-Murphy clan together (minus our siblings). Highlights include:

-Breakfast at Mug'n'Muffin

-Walking the downtown Market

-Smokin' Stokes BBQ for lunch

-Being greeted like family at Corona's, visiting with the waiters, savoring the amazing chicken soup...

-Sawyer turning her nose up at her chocolate cake! She wouldn't even taste it hardly! Ha!

-While I am video-taping Sawyer and her cake (and all 6 pair of adult eyes are on Sawyer), Sullivan can't wait for her slice of cake to be cut, so she takes the knife and butchers a slice in my beautiful huge cake while no one is looking!? I almost died!

All in all, we did have a very nice week of birthday celebrations!

Soaked

Last Monday evening, Sawyer seemed particularly parched before her bedtime and I allowed her to keep drinking and drinking her milk. As she is small thing, I was happy to see her so eager to take in a few more calories. Shortly after, I gently took her to our "bedtime lullaby" chair, placed her on my lap, chest to chest, and as I whispered our sweet "go to sleep" songs into her ear, I was instantly startled by a warm, wet gush that seemed to attack my throat. Quickly I realized that I was completely soaked, into my ear canals, down my shirt and into my underclothing, down my legs and even into my Birkenstocks. I was so stunned, I just sat there for a minute in shock...until the clapping of her hands on my chest and spraying yet even more regurgitated milk over the room woke me into action. The smell persisted on my body even after showering....ick. This mothering is surely no small thing.

Perhaps it was a little too much milk.

Announcements

"Mommy! I have a baby in my belly. See? Her name is Tory. What to touch her?" (Sticks out her belly and waddles...) - 8/29/11

"Tomorrow I will grow up to be a big girl and I will get earrings like you, okay Mommy?"
-8/30/11

Saucy Sawyer

I can hardly believe that Sawyer will be a year old in just a few days now. I guess every parent says that sort of thing, but she still feels and seems like such a little infant to me...In other ways, however, she is a writhing, curious little girl who's personality is really starting to emerge! Here are a few of her recent antics:
-She now pants heavily to have sips of my orange juice at breakfast. She glances from me to my glass until I give her a sip! Once I place my cup to her mouth she tries desperately, feet kicking wildly, to drink it up. After her sip, her nose wriggles up at the taste and then a big, jack-o-lantern grin spreads on her face.
-She also has discovered the straw and the yummy contents Mommy's straw often contains. As we shop Target or the grocery store, I often have a drink in hand and have her strapped to my hip in a carrier. She has now found ways to wrap her lips around my drink when I am not looking, diving her body in the direction of the cup, sipping furiously until she gets a bit of Diet Coke and then smiles devilishly at me once I see her! I am shocked that after a diet of only breastmilk, formula, water and watered down juice (and now I guess oj, above) she loves Diet Coke! Lee swears that perhaps she had a bit too much of it in the womb...
-She now scoots on her bottom and with her legs and is trying so hard to crawl. Yes, I said crawl. The child is almost 12 mos and there is no crawling happening. Sigh. She does like to stand and can almost pull up, and does cruise a bit from object to object un-assisted. Perhaps she won't crawl at all...I am doing my best to not worry, but am ready for therapy if we reach that point. Am I at that point? I may have to consult my panel of experts...
-We have entered into separation anxiety and she cries if left alone for a second and wails crazily as I take her school. Not my favorite way to begin the workday, but it must be done.
-Happily, she loves beach balls and will "play ball" and toss the ball back forth with you...so fun.
-She screeches in delight when she wants to participate in some big-kid thing that Sullivan or other children are doing...it is as if she says, "I am here, too! I want to play too!".
She still melts my heart!
What will the next year hold? I can't wait to see what she will be up to next...

The Sanctuary

Aptly named, The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, SC, is truly a lush, luxe escape. Once again, thanks to Lee's research, we were able to attend another orthopedic conference the first weekend in August. Also fortunate was the fact that our entire class of 5th year residents and wives were able to attend; what a nice way to begin our last year together! From delicious Mojitos, a tennis tournament, bocci ball and beer on the beach, pool lounging and a luxurious rain shower and garden tub, it was a weekend to remember.

Big Girls

My girls sure are getting big these days! Between Sawyer's 7 teeth (yes, 7, including a molar!?) and Sullivan starting pre-school, religious education classes and Ballet Lessons (called "A Creative Movement Class :) ) they are just very big girls these days. They are really loving playing with each other and making each other laugh. The only thing is that they giggle and play and keep each other up at night...

And check out Sawyer's cloth diaper, above. We have switched to cloth as Greenville now has a diaper service. I will make the "case for cloth" perhaps in a later post...