Beach boy!

Our family friend, Jim, had a private party at his soon-to-open restaurant on the beach yesterday. We had such a great time doing something different, getting out & enjoying the beautiful not-too-cold-but-not-too-warm weather. Connor had a blast soaking up all the attention, sifting through the sand, chasing seagulls with Papa, and showing off his walking skills! Connor has a few adorable Hawaiian print shirts that I should have dressed him in, but the weather was so unpredictable (it was cool in the shade, but warm without a breeze)...oh well...he looked cute anyway. I've decided as a Mom, the beach is great for a child, but would love to delete the sand portion of it. It gets in the shoes, on the hands, makes its way into the mouth, sticks to all the tiny peach fuzz hairs on his face, then manages to get all over me, etc etc etc. As long as I prepare myself ahead of time for a mess and good car vacuuming after the beach trip, I can handle it! Connor is such an outdoorsy kid...and a water boy...so we will have to make another trip to the beach soon when it warms up a bit. Big thanks to Jim for having us! His restaurant is at a wonderful location right on the beach, so we wish him all the best with his grand opening this Friday.

Can't help but smile...

To help understand the visuals below, know two things:

1. Sliding glass door
2. Giant Ham-of-a-child

Yes, Jesus Loves Him...

This morning was a beautiful morning, as Connor was baptized! I began last night with the long list of Motherly anxieties (any Mother will know what I'm talking about).

"Will Connor be happy/quiet/sit still during the service tomorrow?"

"What if he doesn't sleep well tonight and he's extra crabby in front of the whole church?"

"What if he sleeps really well and I have to wake him to get ready for the early service?"

"What if its too cold and his outfit I had planned won't work?"

"What if its too cold and the only outfit I had planned for myself won't work?"

"What if he has a poop blow out right before and I don't have a back up outfit?"

"What do I do if he has a melt down during the baptism?"

"Why do I feel like I'm going to have the melt down?"

So I did what any Mother would do as all these scary, nervous questions were running through my head....I called the only person that would really understand---My Mother! :)

We talked through every scenario and I felt much better after our conversation. My wonderful Mom said she would come by in the morning before the service to help me get ready/get Connor ready/take the dog out/etc. I seriously don't know what I would do without my Mom! She is really the only reason I made it out the door this morning, fully prepared, and on time!

The service went GREAT! We sat in the front of the church, while the Pastors and choir came in. The organist played...and my quiet, shy little boy decided to join in and scream/sing happily along with the music!! Luckily my church is full of child-adoring members that just got a kick out of my oh-so-noisy little boy! When it was time for the baptism, Connor did EXCELLENT! He has just recently started this awful whiney/almost tantrum like behavior just for fun, so I was fearing this would occur the moment we stepped in front of the entire congregation and were under the spotlight. But Connor did the opposite. He let me hold him, did not squirm, and even let Pastor Wes hold him/carry him down the aisle to sing "Jesus Loves Me". I was so proud and relieved!! He did great and got oodles of wonderful compliments from viewers (which always makes a Mom feel good). Since I was obviously busy, Auntie Katie was my fabulous photographer through the whole thing (thank you!).

Before the service...filling his belly with pancakes to help promote happy behavior before entering the sanctuary.


Loved his outfit from Nana...although somewhat resembles the Superman emblem if you see him from afar!


Once in the church...he did great with all the loud music and beautiful, bright Christmas decor as a distraction!








Walking down the aisle as the congregation sang, "Jesus Loves Me"...great moment and love love love his precious little face in awe of everything going on.




So proud! We did it!

Turkey Day flashback

What a difference a year makes!

Love for Frosty

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! Nothing is better than being surrounded by family....and some yummy food, too! An icky morning turned into beautiful weather for the rest of the day. Connor had to say goodbye to the pool for awhile, since its finally become quite chilly.

Quote for the day: "You do not need more to be thankful for, but to be more thankful."

Connor is ALL BOY- loves to play in the rocks!

W-A-L-K-I-N-G

Not enough hours in the day...

Ever heard the saying "A Mother never sleeps?!" Well, its not because my child is keeping me up at night. Its because there are not enough hours in the day to do all I want to do. Mix in a photography and blogging addiction and that explains why I never sleep! So as my precious little boy has been sleeping for a good 3 hours now, I am still up and 'being productive'. Had to share these photos before bed!

My little elf introducing himself to the Christmas tree.


Stinker face (with all 6 teeth showing!)


The little monkey that melts my heart :)


Connor's new walking destination- the tree! *Notice there are minimal removable decorations and all ornaments reside higher than 3 feet from the ground...there is a reason for this! ;)

W-A-L-K-I-N-G all over and so proud!


Our nightly ritual of reading (with at least one Dora book to make him happy).




And last but not least....the happiest kid on the planet for this very reason-

Yes- the 1st birthday brings lots of gifts, but this one being one of our favorites! A forward-facing carseat. If only he could have sat this way from the beginning...car rides would have been a lot less stressful! Although he reached the weight requirement a good 7 months ago, we still had to wait for his 1st birthday marker before turning him around! Such a joy to turn around and see this face in the backseat!

Party time!

Its been a whirl-wind of a Monday, so don't have a ton of time to write a long explanation of Connor's bday party yesterday. In a nutshell~ Nana did all the running/gathering things for the party that morning. Nana and Papa went to park early to reserve pavilion, but they were both already taken. Nana and Papa came up with a plan B of setting up tables/chairs in nice area of park instead. Papa sat and guarded tables for a few hours before party. Nana did more running. Mom was busy trying to keep Connor on his nap schedule, so he'd be well rested for the festivities. Windy day! Balloons were a nightmare to untangle. Guests arrived. Food was yummy! Connor was good. He DEVOURED his cake. Lots of wonderful gifts from loved ones. Was great celebrating with everyone. Big thanks to all that helped and attended. Not sure how I would have done it alone! Enjoy the pics!

Connor starting the party with a light lunch/snack.


Thank goodness the rain held off. Turned out to be a beautiful day.


Connor's 'smash cake'...excuse the lid in the photo. It was windy & I was rather afraid of smudging it when taking the lid off. It turned out great--we were very pleased!


The 'big people' cake


Auntie Nicole and the youngest guest of the party--Jake & Megan Meyer's little Brody!


No party is complete without swings!


Connor and his buddy, Aidan, swinging together.




Connor was not pleased that everyone around him had yummy food on their plates. I swear my child could eat FOREVER and not be full. He begs for food worse than the dog!


Mom & her little b'day monkey


Big smiles for Connor's favorite, Pip!


Don't be fooled by his face- he liked his gift! :)


Mommy was super excited about Connor's new vacuum. We can be cleaning buddies!


"Hey everybody. Look at me!"


Connor quickly grew tired of having to stay still for an extended period of time for gifts, so Great Aunt Holly and Papa took him for a stroll.


After gifts, Connor was ready to be re-fueled with his cake!
His face reads: GIVE IT TO ME!!!


Slowly checking it out...


Then quickly diving in...


Mmmmm


The poor cake never saw it coming!


He is DEFINITELY my child!


Mid cake chug.


And back for more...


Mom had to take the cake away or Connor would have easily eaten the entire thing!


Trying to get a picture with the 'big people' cake. Connor thought it was round 2 for him!





"Presents....check....cake....check....ok, we can go now!"

Thank you to all for celebrating with us!