It's almost time...

Happy Halloween...

...from Mommy's cute little pumpkin!

So grown up...

We had a great time meeting up with Auntie Nicole, Tiffany, Precious Peyton, Becky, and her little ones after their class at the park. It was Halloween dress-up day, so all the kiddies from class came out in costume (so cute!). Connor & I got in some play time before their class ended, but had the most fun when the kiddies joined us on the playground. Peyton had the most fun trying to climb up the slide in her super adorable watermelon costume, while Connor was flirting with a little blonde girl in a cowgirl costume. They were too funny together...she'd sit & wait for him on the slide. Connor would come over to her and give her a little push to go down the slide. He'd let her slide down then slide down right after. This went on for several minutes. Connor's little pushes soon turned into hugs and kisses instead. It was SOOO adorable! I caught a few photos of their little love story unfolding before our eyes. Please enjoy the cute photos of my baby...who looks so grown up! Photos are courtesy of the wonderful Auntie Nicole! Thanks again! :)

Hard to tell from this angle, but Connor is giving his "cowgirl" a kiss on the cheek. He gives kisses, then presses his cheek up against her's as if he's waiting for a kiss in return. He's such a charmer!

Hugs for his lady :)

Sponge Bob-Silly Pants!

I have one funny, quite-the-pistol, little boy on my hands...
Usually around 9:00pm, Connor is ready for bed. Mom turns his fan on, applies his gum-numbing cream to his soon-to-be-molars, gets Big Bird, Mickey Mouse, and Dora ready in their position in his crib, and I let Connor know "It's time for Night-Night."

Well, once Connor hears those magic words, he digs deep to grab any saved up energy from the day and takes off!!!

Laps around the sofas & the kitchen...

It's his way of saying "Catch me if you can!"

I couldn't help but take a few pics of the little monster in action...

He's such a little booger!
I love him!

Randoms...

Some random cute photos of the cutest little guy ever...

Modeling his fresh buzz cut!


Austin & Connor finding rocks & lizards in the yard...such boys...


The biggest blueberry mess I have ever seen...


The boys enjoying some cuddle time at the end of the day :)

Park photo shoot

It's rare to have a day off of work during the week to spend some quality one-on-one time with my munchkin. Since I have oodles to get done while I'm off, we squeezed in a few errands early in the day then headed to the park & out to lunch for some fun play time! I could not get enough of Connor in his new Elmo hat, so thought it would be a good day to snap some photos of Connor in action. Enjoy :)

We headed to the park to check out the ducks. Connor knew right where to go & made sure I saw the birds & ducks!

"That! That! Duck!!!"


Mr. Sneaky crouching down to scope out the ducks hiding in the plants.


Someone had littered the park with hot dog & hamburger buns, that apparently the birds/ducks were not interested in since they were still there. Connor thought it was great! He launched a few in the water, caught the attention of the seagulls, handed me a bun, plopped down on the ground (what he knows to do when he's gonna eat a snack), and looked up & waited for me to feed him some of the bread! It was adorable! He didn't quite grasp the concept of "dirty bread" from the ground...but he finally got the hang out it & realized the "dirty bread" is only for his feathered friends at the park!

Sitting & waiting for Mommy to give him a taste of the "dirty bread"...(and no, he didn't get any!)


"That! That!"


"Come on, guys! I have a snack for you!"


After the duck/bird frenzy, we trotted on over to the playground.


Connor officially loves the big kid playground over the kiddie one! Mommy sees it as a higher, dirtier, safety hazard...but we survived it & he had a blast!


Cutest little boy!!!

Happy Birthday Coopy!

Today is a special day. My first baby, Cooper, was born on this day 4 years ago! For anyone that knows me, this past year has been one of the most trying years of my life. I've been faced with many decisions & changes. One of the hardest decisions was to find my Coopy a new home.

Today, I am so very grateful I made the choice. Cooper is celebrating his 4th birthday today with his wonderful, new family. Over the past few months, he has been on vacations, met all sorts of new people, and completed classes to become a therapy dog & will soon be venturing out to hospitals and classrooms to put smiles on faces all over! He was the best at making you smile with a simple wag of his nubbin' tail & I know he will make so many happy! His new family is retired & are home with him every day to walk him 3 times a day. He has a cat-sister, who he loves to torture & steal her food! I just know he is getting the love & attention he needs & I could not have picked a better family for him!

I miss him immensely & think of him often. Today's post is dedicated to my precious Coop! I love you buddy! Happy birthday!

(Coop enjoying the breeze off the beaches of Rhode Island!)

Bye Bye duck!

I searched long & hard for the perfect costume for Connor. He had always had a liking to ducks ever since he saw his rubber duck in the tub when we was about 3 months old. One of his first (and only words) is duck as well. Since this would probably be the last year I could put Connor in something sweet & cuddly for a halloween costume (before super heros, cartoon characters, and other boy-monster-like costumes trump my choice), I ordered the most adorable duck costume! Well....I've been trying to put it on him little by little for the past month & he is officially NOT WEARING IT! He would rather eat vegetables than wear this thing! I committed a Mommy no-no & stuck him in the costume real quick to snap some photos before I run out & purchase costume plan B. Lucky for me, since its so close to Halloween, all costumes are discounted :). I already have the costume in mind--just have to run to get it!

P.S. There is a super cute duck hat that goes with it, with big beak & all, but there was NO CHANCE that was going on this mad little toddler's head.

I am almost certain our Plan B costume will make him much happier :) We all know...when Connor's not happy, Mommy's not happy! Can't wait for pictures in his new costume :) Stay tuned...

Weekend Fun!

We had a very busy, eventful weekend filled with plenty of opportunities for Connor to play with others & have a blast. Connor's also become extremely lovey lately & gets so much joy out of giving away slobbery kisses and big, cuddly hugs! Seriously--I love every second of it! Here are the weekend photos all thrown into one post!

Play time with Carter!


Hugs for Carter's dog :) Adorable!


Hanging out with Kaylee


Kisses for Kaylee :)


A rare photo of all three kiddies looking at the camera...
After Austin's soccer game~


Mmmm....after breakfast at church


Connor could not get enough of Matt's Mom's singing Halloween bear!


Kisses for the bear :)


Connor is so interested in animals. He is so curious & loves to just follow the cat around. I even caught him watching the cat eat his food & Connor would look, point, and say "Mmmm!" It was too funny!


"Come lay with me!"


Connor also adores this duck puppet...


Kisses for the duck!

My little lover boy :)

Pumpkin patch!

Have you ever tried to paint happy little childhood memories for your child? The pumpkin patch at our church was my plan for the afternoon. Adorable pictures in the sea of pumpkins. Letting Connor play in the hay. Picking out a pumpkin together. Enjoying the beautiful weather...

Well the afternoon was more like....Connor was starving, so we scarfed lunch in the parking lot of the church. Once he was fed, Mom scarfed her lunch as she chased her precious little munchkin into the pumpkin patch. Connor tries to crawl into bounce house. Mom can't let him in until we pay for it. Connor throws first tantrum. Mom purchases admission into the bounce house & Connor finds a fire hydrant that holds his attention instead. Mom was determined to do the bounce house now that we paid for it. Connor went in bounce house for about 1 minute then he was over it. Connor then moved onto the pumpkins. Connor would try to lift the biggest pumpkins possible. Mom would quickly redirect Connor to avoid crushing his tiny toes with the enormous pumpkins. Connor throws tantrum #2. Mom redirects Connor to the tiny pumpkin section, so we could pick out a fun & affordable $1 pumpkin. Connor treated the pumpkins as water balloons & kept heaving them onto the ground. Mom removes Connor from the area once again. Connor throws tantrum #3. Mom needs a break. Mom & Connor have a timeout in the parking lot. Once we gather our thoughts, wipe away the boogers & tears, we try again. Mom & Matt work together to position Connor in the pumpkin patch. Matt snaps the photos. Mom randomly shoots out words that might make Connor smile. "Bird," "Flag," "Coconut"...were just a few choice words that always grab Connor's attention. Connor was more interested in the little seeds that had fallen from the tree. Mom and Matt stayed until we had a good 40 pictures on the camera, in hopes that one was salvageable. Mom purchases baby pumpkin in hopes of feeling like we were somewhat successful from our trip to the pumpkin patch. We loaded in car. Connor was asleep within 2 minutes. Nap time was not the best time to try a toddler photo shoot. Lesson learned for next year :).

Bounce house!


Connor picking out giant, ugly pumpkin...and beginning his tantrum by throwing mulch...


My pumpkin!


This picture makes me laugh. This was about the time I was spouting out words that make Connor smile. I said "bird" and instead of smiling, Connor looked up in the tree to find the bird! My poor confused little boy.






Can you believe it?! The scarecrow was holding a flag! Connor loved it...but then was quickly over it!


My little hulk...


Mommy trying to save her little hulk from getting crushed...






Kisses :)


"Can we go yet?!"

And one last photo for fun~Here's Connor's picture in the pumpkin patch from last year.

Scary how fast time flies...