Hanging around

Nothing too exciting lately. Although, now that Connor can crawl where he'd like to go, I keep finding him in Cooper's toy basket. My living room is just a baby circus with all the toys/entertainers/etc. and Cooper has a small basket of old, dirty toys that he has grown an attachment to. Mr. Connor apparently finding Coop's toys way more fun than his, because at least once or twice a day he scoots his way over into Cooper's basket. Yesterday was the last straw...I found him with Coop's squeaky dog (his FAVORITE toy that is just coated with filth and dirt) in his hand and headed toward his mouth! Ughh!! Looks like Coop's toy basket will be relocating or each individual toy will be lysol-ed to death on a regular basis!

"Look at all these new toys, Mom!"

I finally broke down and bought one of those plastic bibs with the pouch for Connor's meal times. They aren't expensive or anything...just always thought they looked kinda dorky--oversized and well, just dorky. Well, dorky or not, it keeps him clean and I don't have to keep running his bibs through the wash. We tried it out this morning for breakfast and although it looked like he had a smock on ready to get his hair cut at the Barber Shop, it kept him clean and caught quite a few food pieces before they sailed to the ground for Cooper. Yay for staying clean, but sorry Coop for less 'food sharing'.

His breakfast plate is there for photo purposes only.
It would have been flipped over and on the ground if I wasn't standing by!

Oh...Connor Connor Connor...

Now that Connor has started a few finger foods that he can pick up on his own, I can come and go in the kitchen during meal time if I need to. Well...yesterday I went into my room for about 20 seconds while Connor was finishing his lunch. When I returned, I found Dweedle-Dee and Dweedle-Dum up to NO good!

Connor loves to share!


"I didn't do it, Mom...Coopy asked for my veggies!"
(This is why I always wanted a dog when I was a kid...
now this is what happens to me!)

Then this morning, Connor was really tired but not quite willing to 'surrender' to sleep. I put him down in his bed (where he usually just lays there, talks to himself, turns on his fish tank toy, and just gets some energy out before I have to return to assist him in going to sleep). Well...I kept hearing him throw a crying fit for like 5 seconds, then stop, then about 10 seconds later would throw a crying fit again for another 5 seconds, then stop. He did this about 6 times before I poked my head in his doorway to see what was the matter.

This is what I see!! Apparently, he would reach up, try to grab his mobile, lose grip, then would cry in frustration. He would then gather his emotions and try again for the mobile! He was successful on yanking one side down before I came in to check on him. I guess that's why the warning label says to remove when baby is around 5 months!!! Ooops. So, bye-bye mobile!

Our daily adventures

Connor is quite the ham these days! Just yesterday we made a quick run to Walmart for some groceries...well it should have been a quick run. There were about 3 checkout ladies that kept 'running' into us while we were going up and down the aisles that had to stop and talk to the cutest little boy in the world (Connor : ) ). He knows how to put on a show...he would just smile, kick his legs, giggle, squeal...he kept drawing more attention to himself and he was eating up all the attention! So what should have been about a 10 minute run through Walmart turned into something more like a 1/2 hour...but hearing people tell you that you have the happiest baby in the world and how stinking cute he is never gets old! I don't have any pictures from our grocery store adventure, but here are a few I got yesterday with some family visits.

Always something new!

Over the past week or so, Connor has finally gotten to the point where he will sit still for more than 2 seconds for a bedtime story. Now he'll sit for about 20 seconds! Ha! But it's definitely an improvement!! So I usually speed read to make it through a book, but we do it every night now! I found a cute little book at Babies R Us that plays "I'm a Little Teapot". You can read along to it while it plays the tune or you can play the song with words & just point to the pictures. Connor loves it!

Connor just recently started making a new face! Its more like his "Mr. Curious/learning something new" face. He usually does it as he's crawling, or focused on something (like getting over to Cooper, crawling to pull over his toy bucket, etc). Sometimes the face is accompanied by a grunting monkey noise! He's too funny!

This morning we woke to a rainy, breezy start to our day. The rain quit in time for our morning walk, but there was still a slight chill in the breeze (well kinda...lets just say it wasn't 100 degrees outside like usual!). I took the opportunity to put Connor in his cute Oshkosh outfit before he outgrew it (its size 6 months, so was AMAZED that it fit him...since he has outgrown all of his 9 month clothes already). Got a few modeling shots of him in it. This child really knows how to 'Cheese' for the camera! : )

Meal time = Fun time!

Meals have become way more fun these days with Connor able to branch out to a few new foods. He seems so bored with baby food, so I have to be creative when I feed him. We usually start with a half a jar of veggies/fruit, switch to banana puffs (kinda like fruity cheerios) or Graduate yogurt melts, switch back to the rest of the veggies/fruit. We just recently tried Graduate cheese puffs and veggie puffs...taste similar to Cheetos. Connor loves them! They are big enough where he can hold them and get them into his mouth too...which is very exciting for me! Just this morning Connor was successful with grabbing a yogurt melt and making it into his mouth! Another exciting moment! He usually just reaches for the food on his tray, they usually stick to his arms, palms, or a part of his hand where he can not coordinate a motion to get the food from there to his mouth. Our meals are 99% of the time done without any clothes on (you will understand when you see the pictures below). A sink bath or night time bath usually follow each meal (again...you will understand when you see the pictures!). We are slowly branching out to the world of more finger foods and from there it will only get more exciting. Enjoy some of our meal time pics!

After lunch...apples and prunes


'Mom, do I have anything on my face?!"


After breakfast...the cleanest meal of the day!


I remember when we first used his high chair &
his legs barely poked out under the tray...

Father's Day fun

For Father's day, we spent time with my Dad and Mom for the day. Connor is such a happy little man and could not get enough of the pool! He was wearing me out just watching how much he splashed around, but Connor did not want to nap...but was awake and happy the whole day! Once he gave in and went to sleep, we both conked out for a while. Felt great to get a good nap! Had yummy hamburgers for dinner, the juiciest fruit from Publix I have ever had, and let Connor try to suck on a french fry for the first time. The exciting moment ended rather quickly as Connor decided to chomp down and eat the fry instead of just suck on it! We will have to postpone the french fry festivities until he's a little older.

Here are quite a few pictures from yesterday's fun!

Cool guys with their shades on!


Fun splashing with Papa


This is what I found after I put Connor down for a nap...
He was sound asleep when I put him down, but he decided
he'd rather play than nap! : ) Funny kid


So wide awake Connor was back in the pool!


About 10 seconds before the french fry fun ended!


Another fun bath in the sink.


Happy guy!


Now he's just hamming it up for the camera


And now...trying to escape!


Mr. girly man in his pink towel


Happy, clean boy!

Slacking...

I've been kind of slacking on my picture taking.

I want to, of course, wish my own wonderful Dad a Happy Father's Day as well!! I am so lucky to have such a great Dad : ). We are planning on spending the day at the pool (if weather allows), BBQ for dinner, and just spend some good quality time with family today.

I have a few random pictures that I took over the past few days (because a blog is never that exciting without some Connor photos!).

After lunch bath time in the sink...such a mess this child makes!


Enjoying a popsicle and lounging on a pillow that belonged to his
Auntie Katie when she was a tiny baby...


This kid has it made in the shade...
popsicle, pillow, and watching his favorite- "Dora"

Another month older...

Happy 7 months, Mr. Connor!!

It is scary how fast this month went by! It seemed to crawl by as I waited for Connor to be 6 months and now the time is just flying by. Well, lets update on Mr. Connor.

-Biggest ham ever! Just pull out the camera or cell phone & hold it up to him and you get an automatic 'CHEESE' face! Makes taking pictures so much fun!

-Just yesterday Connor went from the crawling position to pulling himself up into a sitting position. This child NEVER stops moving, so he's getting quite strong and is ready for take off! His crawling is getting more coordinated, although still the 'inch worm' style.

-Connor LOVES Graduate Yogurt Melts. Could probably eat a whole bag in one sitting, no problem! This morning we tried cheerios for the first time--he made the "What is this?!?" face, but I think he likes them...just has to get used to the texture.

-We've been taking many baths in the sink these days (usually after lunch to clean him up). Whether its in the sink, the pool, or the bath, Connor loves to splash. He just recently really started enjoying watching water come out of the faucet.

-Connor's been getting better at putting himself back to sleep at night. I do still have to go in and help him sometimes, but we are getting longer stretches of sleep at night which makes both of us more happy!

That's about it....Connor has really become 'the big boy' the past month and I just can't get enough of him!!

Giggle-pous!

This afternoon we spent hanging out with Grandma and Great Grandma by the pool. I forgot Connor's hat, so luckily I had a pair of sunglasses in his diaper bag. Was the first time he wore them & he didn't even know they were there! I am so glad he will willing wear hats and sunglasses without a fight...especially since he's outside so much. We were playing in the pool like usual when I found that anytime I told Connor to "kick, kick, kick" he would giggle. It became a fun game between the two of us! He's too darn funny, this kid! Enjoy the pics and the little video!

Crawling...Sorta!

Connor is mobile, but has taken a unique approach! I call it the 'inch worm' : )

I've been slacking...

I've been spending the past few days napping while Connor naps instead of posting! Here are a few pictures from the last few days' adventures. We ventured out to the park again- while my camera died about half way through our trip. Had a hard time getting over the fact the I didn't get a picture of our first time down the slide together, but hey- Connor won't remember, so the next time down the slide will be our 'first' and I'll have a picture to show for it!! Spent all day yesterday trying to get good footage of Connor crawling. He is definitely mobile now, but not the conventional crawling...his technique is more like an inch worm. He is up in crawling position, pulls legs forward then flops flat, lifts himself back up and does it again. For such a funny approach, he moves rather quickly! My body pillow that I used through out my pregnancy works great to baby proof the coffee table! Will need to set aside time soon to baby proof before Connor completely takes off all over the house!

Connor's new friend at the park that kept calling him a "She!"
Haha!

Trying to eat the swing : )

I will try to post the video when I have more time. It usually takes FOREVER to load it on here (like hours), so I'll just post it on Facebook for now. Got another great pic yesterday of the boys. I have finally got Coop to listen to me to stop licking Connor's face (must have yelled at him enough!), so he is a good boy and sits, then lays down in front of Connor and just watches him. Well....Connor is loving the fact that he can now crawl right up to Coop and just open his mouth to wait for a Coopy kiss! Those two...inseparable!

Picture taken about .2 seconds before Coop kisses Connor!

What I consider a successful day!

Let me paint a picture for you- It's almost the end of the day. Mom is exhausted. Connor and Coop are both wide awake. Mom has gone through her bag of tricks. So...into the car we all went and we were off to find a new park! I couldn't have planned it better. Found a close park. Coop got to chase lizards, Connor got to take in the sights, Mom got them both tired, so YAY! SUCCESS!!
Here are some pictures to illustrate our afternoon : )

Ready to go (but not sure where!)

"Where we off to, Mom?!"

Great background, but was afraid to move too far back
from the bench in case he fell.

My poor attempt to get both of them looking!

By this point, I'm sure people were
pointing and laughing at my sad attempts to direct them!

Connor loved the mulch!
Mommy made sure to do a major wipe scrub down afterwards!

Such a beautiful thing!!!

Time flies

Figured I would take a moment and reflect on just how fast time flies. It's actually rather scary! First of all, our son is growing like a weed! I look at his pictures from when we first brought him home & it doesn't even look like the same kid. It really is amazing at how fast they develop and learn new things every day. It was only a few months ago that I would make rounds through the living room and kitchen in a circle at night in the dark trying to get Connor to sleep. I remember him waking in the night next to us, making laps in our room in the middle of the night to get him to sleep, falling asleep to his lullaby CD, changing his diaper in the dark (while most of the time he managed to wee as I was changing him)....all such distant memories now.

Then I look at my precious, stinker-of-a-dog, Cooper, and remember back to when we first went to see him, the oh-so-wonderful potty training days, his first trip to the groomer when he was about 8 weeks old when the lady told me he was AWFUL & then tied bows on his ears as if he was a girl! I remember him crying in his crate in the middle of the night (in the cold winter), me taking him into our bathroom and putting him on his puppy pad (where he ALWAYS managed to walk off of the pad and wee on my rug instead), curling up and sleeping on the COLD tile floor since I was too tired to watch Coop and make sure he went potty/poop.

The funny thing is that all of this seems like so long ago, but I would do it all over again in a second because they are my babies!

I was scrolling through my saved pictures online and found a few that felt like were taken yesterday...

Coop's 1st birthday

Then came Connor : )

In the hospital-2 days old

At home first week- working on ridding Jaundice

Some of his first smiles- about a month & a half old

Mr. Smiles all the time- 6 months old

I could probably go on forever on how fast time flies--how my baby sister is training to be a nurse & drawing blood from patients (yes, the little girl that once kicked her nurse across the room on her wheely chair when she was getting her finger pricked!), how my childhood house is over 20 years old, how I've been in this house for over 3 years already... It is just amazing at how fast it all goes by. So moral of the story--enjoy each moment of your life, because you will never get it back & it will go by oh so quickly.

So on that note--everyone have a great day! : )