Christmas 2012

Santa came!!

 

 

Connor's big gift from Santa this year was his "very own Ipad"...aka a Kindle Fire. 

 

What was Connor most intrigued by that morning, you ask?!

Phineas & Ferb toothbrushes, Power Ranger Squinkies, and two new Sesame Street Friends

(all gifts were only a few dollars).  Word to the wise: keep it simple.

 

Santa could have delivered bubble wrap in multiple colors & Connor would have been over-the-moon-excited! :)

 

His expressions when he unwrapped gifts were beyond hilarious.

 

"OH! Oh..my..gosh! Sezzer Street Friends!!"

 

After tossing his new Power Ranger Squinkies down the stairs a handful of times, we loaded up & headed to Nana & Papa's for breakfast.  Connor doesn't waste any time--he loves bonding alone with his Bo-Bo.

 

The gifts were sorted, everyone gathered, and we began round two of gifts!

 

Connor had his highs and lows during our gift session.  The over stimulation and over exhaustion was slowly starting to rear its head!

 

C decided to help Eric with his gifts as well.

 

C got a new bike at Nana & Papa's, but I'm pretty sure his favorite gift was the jumbo bubble wrap from his new backpack gift box.

 

*My new year's resolution is to get Connor riding a bike. I feel like that's the one thing I'm slacking on.  His current interest is his scooter, but he usually prefers to run anywhere instead.  Pedaling holds his interest for a meer 2 seconds before he's off.  Wish me luck with the training! :)

 

I couldn't help but think of how much Bo has grown in just one year.  He's still just as sweet and is really the model dog.  Love you Bo-Bo!!!

 

I knew we could not pass up nap time today.  Holy Moly did we need it!  Once C was down for the count, he awoke a new boy.  Amen!!

 

We loaded up & headed on over to Grandma Lori's for Christmas dinner.  Connor was quite the hoot while unwrapping his gifts.  Among his favorites, were his Dream Lite, Truck trampoline set, and all things Scooby Dooby Doo!

 

What a great Christmas!  We all have more gifts than we know what to do with!  Matt & I spent the afternoon today cleaning out closets and making room for our new goodies!  Connor spent the day playing with his new toys :)

 

Hope everyone's Christmas was merry!! :)

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Christmas Eve means family gathering at the Whitakers', good times at the Cotoni household, and one exhausted little boy by the end of the day!

 

First stop--Mom & Dad's house.

Kater & my handsome nephew, Bo!

 

Our fun gift exchange has grown to be a favorite over the years.  You never know what you're going to get...

 

Eric was the lucky winner of our gift exchange contribution...

the smart phone big phone adapter.

 

It was pretty darn funny.

 

"The weather was here. I wish you were beautiful!"

We were lucky enough to enjoy some nice temps as we sat outside on Mom & Dad's new deck area.

 

Family photo minus PeeWee & Bo

 

The Brew-Whits

 

The newlyweds

 

It's almost Christmas...

 

Next stop- The Cotoni house!

 

Taylor was cute as a button with hew new doll in matching jammies.

 

I adore all of these boys.  They are all twice Connor's age & always welcome him with open arms when we come over.  They all play with him so well & it is rare that I can leave Connor unattended for periods of time knowing that there will be no issues--so I love when they play!

 

*Not the greatest picture, but the best one I could get with Connor in constant motion

 

It was easy to predict that this little boy would be good & pooped out after such a big day. 

 

Off to bed PeeWee went and Santa was off to work.

 

We said, "Goodbye," to Jingles until next Thanksgiving!

Taylor's 8!

I have attended quite a few kid birthday parties in my day, but this one stands out from the rest!

 

This was one of the most elaborate, fun-themed carnival parties ever :)

 

We were thrilled to be in attendance.

 

When we arrived, we were greeted by Mrs. Minich with her best rendition of "Step right up...!"

Connor was handed his personalized bag of game tickets, scoped out the row of carnival themed games & headed on over to join in on the fun.

 

We played many-a-games!

 

 

...And then we found the dress-up station!

 

*We have one outstanding family photo in our dress-up outfits that would have been perfect for our Christmas card this year (if we would have sent one out!).  The picture is on Chrissy's camera, so I'll be sure to share it when I get it :)

 

One of the highlights of the party for me was the fact that Connor warmed up to the idea of eating apples...that were not sliced...and still had the skin on them!  He loved the concept of the "candy apple without any candy"...aka an apple on a stick!  I was happy to know I no longer have to take the extra time to cut & peel C's apples from here on out!

 

*The only surprise I was handed was about half way into the party when I realized Connor had eaten his entire apple.  ENTIRE apple.  The core, stem, and seeds didn't even faze him. Hmm...

 

 

Connor had a ball jumping into the relay races with the bigger kids.

 

 

Connor rocked his part for his relay team!  I was so proud!

 

After the relays, the parents got set up for the donut game! 

 

We made sure Connor's donut was not chocolate, read him the rules, and watched him go at it.  The only rule: no hands! :)

 

 

When the games started the settle down, the clown gathered all the kids for her exciting magic show.

 

Sidenote: This is not the hired clown.  This is the one and only awesome Mrs. Minich.

 

Out of all the kids in the audience, I'm pretty sure Connor got the biggest kick out of the show!

 

 

"Yeaaaaaaahhhhh!!"

 

After each exciting moment, Connor would turn behind him to his buddy, Aidan, and would let him know how great the show was...

 

"Aidan, this show is awesome!"

 

 

If the party wasn't great enough, Connor was gifted a fish (or 5) as a party favor!  We were hoping Connor would forget about them by the end of the party, but this 4 year old never forgets!  We now have a fish tank up and running upstairs (with only one goldfish still standing).

 



 

The temperature was really starting to drop, so we bundled up.

 

When most of the kids headed home, we moved the festivities inside.  Taylor & Connor decided to suit up for a nice swim in the warm spa.

 

We all had a great time at Taylor's party!  Her party will be hard to top!

Spreading the holiday cheer!

While Mama was working, Connor was baking with Nana!

 

Christmas tree & candy cane rice crispie treats were their specialty!

 

 

The finished products :)

 



 

Then when I got home from work, we headed to Aunt Debbie's for a kids only Christmas party.  Debbie, Grandma Lori, Poppy Charlie, Sarah & Danny led the festivities, which included baking cookies, making Christmas crafts, singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus," and Christmas book story time.  When I came back to pick up Connor, he was bearing oodles of goodies from his Christmas party.  It was pretty evident that he had a blast! :)

 

 

Connor's day was full of holiday cheer!

Sibling wanted...

 

The past few weeks have been a lot like this...

 

Whether its Connor's "Toy Story Friends" or "Sezzer Street Friends" (translation: Sesame Street Friends), Connor tries to fill the playmate void with his toys.  If Connor could choose, he'd ask for a sibling.  He'd really like me to reproduce a 5 year old boy!  My poor kid is in need of a playmate.  Mommy is only fun for so long!  He needs someone that speaks his language!

 

We've found some great neighborhood friends (Malayna is his current favorite), but during the week--a lot of his friends are in school.  The few hours that Connor's at his Mom's Day Out program during the week doesn't seem to satisfy his playmate needs entirely.

 

We are happy to report that we will have Peyton as our afternoon buddy tomorrow & hopefully Sophia on Thursday.  Connor can.not.wait! :) Someone should create a rent-a-kid program for stay at home Moms!

 

Playdate photos to come...

Happy day!

 

Happy 31st Birthday Uncle Craig!!

 

Thanks for sharing your birthday spotlight with me!

 

Big choke-your-neck hugs,

Love,

Your Pistol Nephew, Connor