Got a Toothache?

Midwestern University Dental Students are now officially accepting patients! (Well technically they have been for a couple weeks now!). I finally went over to the clinic with Sawyer during lunch today to take a peek at where Nathan spends his days. I was very impressed with the facility! And here is the Dentist, himself...

Not quite sure you want him to do your root canal yet? Me either...haha. But in all honesty I know he's doing a fantastic job and he's loving it! He actually did his first root canal yesterday and everyone came out of it alive! Hooray!

The school gave each student their own box of business cards...pretty snazzy, eh?
Here he is goofing off with his partner, Eric. Watch out Eric!
Don't worry...Eric got him back. Here they are a few days before clinic opened practicing local anesthesia on each other! Yikes! (I'll take practicing IV's over shots in the mouth any day!)
And here's daddy & Sawyer after a lunch break at the pool. Look how flushed Sawyer gets in this heat!
We're so proud of you, Nathan! You are going to be the best dentist ever! Thanks for all your hard work. We're so glad that you love what you do!

When you give a kid a straw...

These next few pictures have nothing to do with the title, obviously. But I just thought my little guy looked so handsome at church the other day! To find out what happens when you give a kid a straw...refer to the video at the end of this post. (ok I'm having trouble posting my videos...is anyone else having these issues? Any suggestions? Hopefully I'll get it up soon!)

I feel as though a quick update is due, as well. The month of June came and went faster than Sawyer can empty every cabinet in our house (and that's pretty dang fast!). This little munchkin below is becoming quite the handful. The truth is, I can barely keep up with him and I don't have a clue how people do this with more than one. And on top of the complete and utter mischievous personality that is Sawyer, we've added a layer of sheer determination and independence to the mix. As I carried him kicking and screaming out of a store the other day, I couldn't help but feel that I had a 2 yr old on my hands already. And as I sat at the dinner table covered in ravioli, I found myself being completely ok with him eating nothing but watermelon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (I guess it could be worse, right?). Yet aside from the chaos, I can't keep myself from smooching those cheeks till they're red and cuddling that adorable little thing till he can't stand me anymore. There is no where that I would rather be than at home with this little stinker :). I love him so much and I treasure the moments of motherhood that leave me sticky, sweaty, and altogether exhausted. And there is nothing better than those slobbery, open-mouth kisses!

No words yet, other than 'dada' and 'deesh' (which I think means, 'this'). But he's got the sign for 'more' down (although it pretty much means anything and everything that he wants at that moment...which doesn't really get us very far). And he occasionally surprises me with what he understands. The other day as I quietly said to myself, "Where is momma's phone?"...I noticed him running over to his toys, scanning the pile, picking up my phone, and walking it over to me. I was shocked! So you do understand me?! How 'bout we start understanding the word 'no' too!? :) Haha...but that's life, I guess. I think my dad used to call it, 'selective hearing'.

So that's an update on Sawyer, for the most part. He's as cute and full of life as ever! As for us, we're staying busy. We're in Vegas right now visiting Nate's parents for the holiday weekend. I'll post later about our visit. In a week I fly to Utah and the wedding festivities begin! Hooray! I'm soooo excited! Until next time...

Sawyer's innovative use of technology...

We're learning not to become too attached to, well, anything really.

Just for 'Kicks'

Sawyer came strolling into the kitchen the other day wearing this...

He was so proud of himself. I wonder when he'll understand the difference between girl shoes and boy shoes? And with this kids huge feet, I'm sure he'll fit in my shoes before we know it!

What we've been up to...

Since getting back home from Virginia I feel like I've just been trying to get back into the groove of things. Nathan started his 2 week summer break when I got home. The first week we literally spent just relaxing and hanging out together. The second week Nathan took off for 4 days with the Young Men in our ward on a scuba diving trip in California. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from that trip, but they had a great time! As soon as Nate got back, we spent much of the weekend with his family. The family had surprised Ashley for her 30th birthday by bringing her out to Phoenix for a weekend of relaxation at a nice hotel in the area. So all of the siblings as well as Nate's parents were here. We definitely had some good times. And last, but definitely not least, I had the amazing opportunity of being our good friend Jen's labor nurse during the birth of her baby! Isac and Jen became the parents of an adorable baby boy on the morning of June 7th. Tyler Isac Simpson entered the world, weighing in at a whopping 8 lb 5 oz, and 21 inches long. Everything went super smoothly and it was so special for me to be a part of their experience. They had decided not to find out what they were having until D Day, so it was especially fun to be there for the big reveal! :) We couldn't be happier for them.

This was right as I was changed and ready to leave the hospital. Isn't he adorable!?! I didn't take any pictures on my camera of the rest of the time I spent with them throughout the night, but I think Jen has some on her camera so if I get any good ones, I'll be sure to post them. As a side note, due to my having worked Saturday night and then going in for their induction Sunday night, this is me on very little sleep (like 3-4 hrs in a 50 hr period).

We stopped by the next day so that Nathan and Sawyer could meet baby Tyler. Sawyer was pretty cute with him. We love this family!

Kind of random, but just wanted to point out that when Sawyer feeds himself, there's not a whole lot of food that actually gets in his mouth.

One of Sawyer's favorite toys...the vacuum cleaner.

And this is the most random thing about this post, but I for some reason took a picture of the dinner I made up the other night. I thought it looked pretty good :) Gotta love fresh vegetables in the summer!

Chatham Manor

On the last day before leaving Virginia, we had a little picnic at one of our favorite historical sites in Fredericksburg, Chatham Manor. Sydney took some awesome pictures for us while we were there. She did an amazing job, as usual, and we are so grateful to have these! Thanks Syd!

Bridal Showers Galore!

As mentioned in my last blog post, while at home in VA my mom and I threw 2 bridal showers for Sydney. First we had a garden shower. Everything turned out beautifully (thanks to my mom's amazing garden) and we had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the event. WARNING: an absurd amount of pictures of purely decorations to follow.

Lynn Meppen made this fabulous cake for the shower. Sydney and Mitch's relationship started with writing letters to each other while he was on his mission. So cute! I was seriously impressed by this cake and it tasted super good!

These next pictures are for the Pampered Chef Bridal Shower that we had for her a few days later. This one was just inside the house so we pretty much used the same decorations and moved them inside.