GJ

We headed to Colorado for a fantastic weekend. All of these pictures are from playing at Uncle Mac and Aunt Steph's home in Grand Junction.

Steph & Leeth at it in the kitchen again.

I think Mac wants one...yes? Sawyer is very convincing :)

Auntie Alethea reading 'Diary of a Worm' - it's a pretty funny kid's book.

Learning the guitar

Do you see Sawyer?

Mac, Steph, and Bug live just outside of Colorado Nat'l. Monument, in fact you can walk right out their back door into some great desert hiking. It was great sunny weather, perfect for lots of walking!

Snack break

There was LOTS of new things to see for this little guy, and he loved it!

(It was a 5 hour car ride, and he did SO well.)

Kaden and Bug practicing one of his many tricks.

If you look closely in this pic (haha) there is a coyote sitting up on the ridge. He stayed up there eying us for about an hour.

It looks a bit desolate, but I think it's pretty.

Kaden wore out all of the adults. He has SO much energy lately. He went on about 5 walks a day and was still hyped up. It's great how adventurous he's gotten.

Thank you Mac & Steph for putting us up and playing with us!

Bear den pix to come...

Goodnight

When we tuck in Sawyer at night we don't tell him, 'Sweet Dreams' but rather, we say 'Ponder Deeply'

{not really}

He is so obedient - this is how we found him when we went in to check on him last night.

Disclaimer: We did not pose our child for this photo. He is cute and inquisitive all on his own :)

Shredding the Pow/Chocolate Chip Cookies

Melissa (my roommate from sophomore year of college in Idaho) came up to Brian Head with her ward from Vegas. She is SO much fun to be around and always makes me laugh. I planned on meeting her for a quick visit, but figured I wouldn't be able to board/tube because of Sawyer's eating habits and George being on call, plus lift tickets are spendy. Well the best husband ever was able to get me a free pass and the best parents ever agreed to hang out in the lodge with Sawyer while I played in between feedings. I literally had to dust off my snowboard...I hadn't been since 2007. It was a phenomenal day with clear skies and lots of sunshine...no fresh powder but the snow was soft. It felt great to ride again and was the perfect birthday present.

Melissa & Liz on the lift at Brian Head

Here is a picture for Melissa's mom :)

I probably haven't looked forward to a birthday like I did this year since elementary school. Two and a half weeks before my birthday I completely went off sugar to see if it would help me get to my pre-Sawyer weight. (I lost 7 lbs...I'm pretty close now.) I had such good results I think I'll go back on the sugar sabbatical. (After pi day {π 3.14} of course - which was Monday {I enjoyed lemon meringue pie} and after I finish the cookie dough that's in my fridge :) Anyway my birthday was my sugar day and this is why I was SO excited for my birthday sugar rush:

The NY Times ran a fascinating article on the perfect chocolate chip cookie:

Secret tips {click here}

Recipe {click here}

For one batch we followed the recipe exactly and they were DELICIOUS! I think adding a sprinkling of sea salt just before baking is key as well as refrigerating the dough for 36 hours (painful but worth it).

On the second batch I used dark brown sugar and browned half of the butter. Surprisingly it had quite a different taste.

The consensus is split down the middle 50/50. I personally liked the lighter ones which surprised me because I'm usually all about dark brown sugar and I love the nutty flavor that comes with browned butter.

We had a delightful lunch over at my parent's new house. There was fresh tossed salad, lion house rolls, dutch oven beans, and cheesy potatoes. Then per my request the aforementioned chocolate chip cookies and ice cream instead of cake. And let me tell you Private Selection at Smith's makes YUMMY creamy ice cream...flavors like Sea Salt Caramel Truffle, Black Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk, and Chocolate Ganache.

With daylight savings I lost an hour on my birthday. I got jipped! But sweet Sawyer slept in which made up for it :) It was a great weekend...thank you all for the birthday wishes and presents and love. I'm so blessed!

Heli Expo

For the past week George has been in Florida for a heli expo. He was able to meet some great contacts, do lots of networking, crawl through some of the new helicopters, and check in with Bristow so when the contracts go through they'll call him up. Things are looking quite hopeful for May/June so George can get back up in the air where he belongs :)

I told him to be sure and take a picture at the expo...this is what I got...nice aviator shades dude :)

When we lived in Titusville, FL our neighbors smoked the BEST pork we have ever tasted. Fortunately George got to stay with these neighbors during the expo and help with a 'smoking session'. Todd also makes amazing BBQ sauce to go with his pork. I'm so excited George brought some home...pulled pork sandwiches for lunch, yummy!

Todd and the smoker ...it just hitches right onto a truck for easy hauling. The pork smokes for 12 hours and then falls apart. It really is SO delicious!

Can you believe he was in the sunshine state and didn't make it to the beach or even swim in the pool? What a sin! He's too hard working, but I won't complain about that. We're happy he was able to go down there and make some great leads on jobs, but Sawyer and I missed him lots and are happy he's back home with us now :)

How big is Sawyer?

SO Big!

{I love that tiny toe #4 that curls under - it's only on his left foot}

Sawyer had his 4 month check up yesterday.

Weight: 18 lbs. 3 oz. - 93%

Height: 27.5 inches - 98%

Head Circumference: 17.3 inches - 87%

He's always been in the 90th percentile for height and weight since birth, so he's keeping nice and steady on his growth curve.

Hanging out with mom in the kitchen this morning.

What a joy. His smiles melt my heart. We are so blessed to be his parents. He's close to sitting up on his own (as in he'll sit up for a second and then tip over). He LOVES standing. If you hold his hands he'll pop right up onto his feet and wiggle around while standing on his feet as he holds onto your hands. Tummy time is a breeze and he tries to push forward with his chubby legs. He loves bath time. He continues to sleep 10 hours through the night. He smiles and giggles all the time. He blows out of his diaper almost every day, sometimes more than once. (I've come to love OxiClean - it gets the stains out even after clothes have been through the dryer!) He loves to suck on his fists, fingers, and thumbs, they're all SO delicious! He even double-thumbs it sometimes. He has long wisps of hair that cover his ears, but I can't bring myself to trim them. He falls asleep every time he's in the backpack carrier. 9-month outfits fit perfectly now. He talks to himself when no one else is around entertaining him. He loves when anyone talks to him and rewards them with a big gummy grin :) We love our baby Soybean SO much!