It started with the Guacamole...

The other night we had the linebackers over for some food. I served chips and guacamole for an appetizer and we set it on the floor for the players to enjoy. During our time with the football players Sawyer decided it was his goal in life to reach the guacamole on the floor. With all his determination he finally figured out how to lift and move his left arm. He is now officially crawling! After about 1 month of 1 arm crawling and bear crawling he has finally figured it out. And after crawling to the guacamole and me pulling him back no less than 50 times I got smart enough to move the guacamole. Without that enticement he did not crawl for the next few days, but now he is a pro. Here's the proof (sorry for the poor quality, this is my 1st video).

Sawyer Crawling from Kristen Schenk on Vimeo.

The Practice

Once upon a time there was a beautiful fall-like day.

Football practice was in full-swing.

Sawyer & Gracie were missing their daddies.

So we headed to the practice fields to

be silly,

visit Dad's

throw the football,

play in the grass,

and enjoy the nice weather!

Great Giveaway

There's a great giveaway going on at Kara's Party Ideas. The giveaway is for a Silhouette craft machine. This machine could help anyone produce beautiful, professional crafts and party decorations. Click on the link below to enter.

Silhouette Giveaway

The adventure has begun...

As the pictures indicate. We have started cloth diapering. Before Sawyer was born Kyle and I decided that cloth diapering was a good option for our family. We purchased 6 BumGenius 3.0 diapers and waited for our baby boy to arrive. However, we waited a little longer than we anticipated to start cloth diapering. Sawyer was born smaller than expected, we picked up our lives and moved to Ohio, we didn't have our own place, then we moved into our new home, then we began renovations, then we went on vacation, then we went to Kansas for 2 weeks. So, needless to say our good intentions kept getting pushed back. Now 7 months later we are more settled and aren't traveling anywhere for more than a weekend until Thanksgiving, so I decided to jump in.

It's only an hour into the experiment, but here are my first thoughts.

1) They are so adorable.

2) His pants now fit him (cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables and all of Sawyer's pants are too big until now)

3) He has not leaked through yet :)

If everything goes smoothly for the next week I will purchase more cloth diapers.

Any suggestions for other cloth diapers we must have?

Any other cloth diapering tips?

The Rest of the Story

The rest of our time in Kansas was spent...

Blowing bubbles

Playing w/ Grandma

Eating 1st bite of meat

Turning 7 months old

Riding mama's old rocking horse

Playing w/ Grandpa

Lounging in Papa & Tache's new bed

Playing w/ Papa

Playing w/ Tache

Other adventures not captured on film include eating supper with my aunt and uncle and visiting church friends in Hutchinson. At my dad's house Sawyer was introduced to the animal world including dogs, cats, horses, cows, and chickens.

The Wedding-Part 2

Since we were all dressed up for the wedding we decided to take the opportunity for a few family pictures with the gorgeous KS sunset.

Me & my drooling baby.

Grandma & Grandpa Rush w/ Sawyer

Tache & Papa w/ Sawyer

The Wedding

These are pictures of the actual event. Again I didn't get very many pictures because I was having too much fun to stop and take pictures. But it was a beautiful event.

The most beautiful part of they day, Joy!

Guest book table

Ring bearer pillow that I made...it corresponds to their invitations

Me with the glowing couple

The Traughber's!

A sampling of the table centerpieces

Outdoor reception

The reception was held outdoors at a pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful location especially with all the lights and candles.

Wedding Fun

One of the reasons we went to Kansas was to participate in my dear friend Joy's wedding. I didn't take very many pictures my first week in KS because I was so busy helping to prepare for the wedding. Sawyer spent most of his time with Grandma Schenk at the daycare. And I got a mini-vacation as I helped decorate for the wedding and reception. I didn't even take any pictures of Sawyer the whole week! I did however take pictures of the Bachelorette/Bridal Shower I put together for the beautiful bride. It was a very casual event with lots of chatting, doing nails, and watching girly movies. Here's a few pictures of the decor. I can't post pictures of the actual event because it was a little risque, just kidding, but I don't want to embarrass anyone, so I will stick to the decorations.

Flight

Sawyer and I have been in Kansas for 2 weeks, so the next few posts will be about our adventures in the heart of America.

Trying to get a picture of Sawyer in the airplane, but he was more interested in the seat belt (don't worry I took it away before he got the germ-filled buckle into his mouth)

Our late night in dirty clothes...see story below

Despite the crazy circumstances Sawyer remained happy

We made it to Kansas safely, but the travel was a bit more exciting than I had anticipated.

Kyle dropped me and Sawyer off at the airport in Ohio. A nice TSA woman helped me through security with Sawyer. Sawyer behaved on the plane. The first flight landed on time and everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Then over the next 45 minutes we continued to sit on the tarmac as they searched for a gate to pull into. Once we finally pulled into a gate and I had 12 minutes to get to my next gate, which now because of the gate change meant I needed to get to a different terminal. Sawyer and I were in the very last seat on the plane, but we managed to get a jump start and get off the plane very quickly. However, the gate checked stroller was not yet ready. We impatiently waited while the airport workers kept looking at each other and asking who was going to get the stollers and wheelchairs, instead of someone actually going to get the stroller. The entire plane was empty and still no sign of the stroller.

By the time I got the stroller I had about 5 minutes left. This is when it got really interesting. It was 11:30 pm and I wanted to make the flight to Wichita...so I grabbed the stroller, held Sawyer, and dragged the carry-on as I ran through the airport, up elevators, through hoards of people, all the while searching the monitors to find the proper gate. Well, I learned Atlanta is a really big airport and by the time I made it to the correct terminal the plane was long gone (sidenote: if our plane had pulled in the original gate, my next flight would have been at the same gate).

So, as the flight attendant instructed me I went to customer service and persuaded them to put us in a hotel for the evening. We finally arrived at the hotel around 1:00 am with no bags. Poor Sawyer was a trooper as he had not eaten or slept for 6 hours and had to wear the same clothes for 2 days. We made it safely to Kansas by noon the next day. It was quite an adventure for my first flight alone with a baby.

Date Night

Before going to Kansas and before football season began Kyle took me on a surprise date (thanks to Troy and Candace for taking care of Sawyer). I think it was our first true date since February... So, it was very exciting when Kyle came home and told me to go get ready for a date. We ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which is one of my favorites. Then we went to the hot air balloon festival and watched the light show. All the hot air balloons attempt to light up to the beat of the music. We had a blast but I was so enamored with the balloons I forgot to take pictures of us.

7 months

Sawyer happenings @ 7 months:

• Weighs 16 lbs.
• Started saying "daddy"
• Scoots and rolls all around the room
• Became very ticklish!
• Very close to crawling (gets up on all fours, moves his legs back and forth like crazy, moves his right arm up and down, but can't seem to figure out how to move the left arm)
• Eats all the 1st foods and has started the 2nd foods including chicken
• In the last month he rode on several airplanes and went to Florida, Georgia, and Kansas
• Would rather stand then sit or lay
• Sleeping habits have regressed and he now wakes up for a feeding around 4:30 or 5:00 am, but goes back to sleep until 7 or 8
• Daily routine: wake at 7:00 am, drink milk, morning nap from 9-11, lunch at 12:00 pm which includes milk and 1 jar of baby food, afternoon nap from 1-4, dinner at 6 which includes milk and 1 jar of baby food, night snack of milk and oatmeal at 9:00 pm, and in bed by 10:00 pm