Lately

Our days have been busy with spa swimming, family bonding, birthday cake candle blowing, and pup playing. (See photos for further explanation...)

Today was full of staircase playing, model home looking, stressful decision making, and contract signing.  Exciting changes are in our future...

Happy Birthday Baby Landon!

We want to wish our favorite 1 year old a very, very happy birthday today!!!

Connor has always had this sweet little love for "baby Landon" ever since basketball season with Ryder.  Connor loves to kiss Landon, gently touch his cheeks, and pat his back.  Make me want Connor to have a sibling! (My time will come again...I know!)

We had a wonderful time celebrating Landon's birthday yesterday!

Here is the birthday boy and his sweet Mama, Danielle, standing next to Connor's favorite table! :)

Connor came to me at one point during the party and told me "Landon told me it was cake time."

Sidenote: Landon doesn't talk yet...haha!

We will be celebrating this little cutie, Dyson's, birthday in just a few weeks as well.  I love having all the babies around :)

Connor and his BFF, Ryder, played wonderful together.  No fighting. Just good ol' boy playing.  I loved every minute of it.

Sorry this photo's a little dark...

I tried to get a picture of how cute Danielle decorated.  They had pictures from Landon's first year on the TV running as a slideshow.  It was a great idea and it was so scary to see just how fast he has grown in the past year!

Connor was delightfully surprised to find a Mickey Mouse bathroom when he had to go potty.  He had a tough time focusing on "doing his business" because he was checking out all the Disney decor.  He'll kill me when he's older for taking this picture, I'm sure...

Connor and Sophia were gearing up for cupcake time!!

All the kiddies enjoyed their cupcakes...but I'm pretty sure Landon did the most!

Is he seriously not the cutest?!?

The boys did a lot of this...

Connor was having the time of his life :)

All he wants is a running buddy!

Landon was all cleaned up and ready for gifts!

I love the fact that when I take his picture, he just smiles away at me.  I would steal him in a second if I knew I could handle two boys! Ha!

If Connor wasn't running with Ryder, he was doing this...

(Connor said the "Stairs were fantastic.")

After presents and stair playing time, Ryder went back in the pool.  Connor was already in his dry clothes, so we just hang around on the patio.  When we looked behind us, we got a glimpse of all the 1 year olds (or almost 1 year olds) at the party trying to escape to the pool area.  They were too cute not to take a picture...

My big boy, however, was content by the spa.

He has been so well behaved and "obedient" these days.  His manners are more than I could wish for!  He tells me "Sorry Mama" if he accidentally bumps into me, kisses my boo-boos, makes sure to hold my hand to "keep Mommy safe" while we crossed the road, tells me "No thanks" instead of the testy "No," and he just makes me proud to be his Mama.

Boating is in the blood

The love for boating and fishing has been passed down through our family for generations. Connor is already finding a love for fishing and Papa's boat. Connor had the opportunity to go fishing with Nana & Papa while Mommy was at work this past weekend. I'm sure the pictures will make it pretty clear--Connor loved every minute of it!

Mr. Freckles was loaded up with sunscreen & ready to cruise!

Connor's favorite part of the ride through the canal is the "tunnels" aka going under the bridges.

King of the water!

Connor could play for endless hours in the bait well.

Uncle Craig met up with them on the water and gifted Connor a few shiners. Connor was in Heaven catching his fish and shrimp!

I adore fishing photos of Connor and his Papa.

Another fish under Connor's belt...the trout!

Connor watching Captain Craig do what he does best!

Melts.my.heart.

They stopped for a little beach break. By the time they loaded up and headed back home, Connor had so much fun that he was good and passed out on his Nana within minutes!

When they arrived back home, Connor woke up to see me at the dock! He was so excited to show me his fish and shrimp in the bait well. We made a fun game out of catching the "jumpers" and catching the "goners." Mommy had to touch all the jumpers, since they were alive and flopped too much for Connor's comfort. Connor loved handling the goners aka the dead ones. We convinced Connor to toss the bait overboard, but he couldn't let go of all of his fish. He kept one goner. "Connor and Goner" played on the dock for awhile. A long stinky-fish-smell-on-hands while!

Meet Goner.

(Look closer at his shirt, under his fingers)

Connor had a wonderful time on the boat & can't wait to go fishing with Papa again soon!

Little Dipper Pool Munchkins

Connor and I are so lucky we've gotten to know Danielle Lutz & her boys. What started out as a "blog friendship" has turned into a frequent playdate group that we adore! Connor's current BFF is Ryder! Our boys are two peas in a pod! With Connor, you have to have just the right friend who can hang with Connor, rough house together, yet just the right amount so they don't end up killing eachother! Does that make sense?! When you put Connor and Ryder together, they're able to blast eachother with squirt guns, chase eachother, throw toys together, and they love every minute of it together! Every once in a while, I'll catch Connor hugging Ryder. It's pretty darn cute to see them interact together like boys do!

Yesterday's playdate took place at The Little Dipper Pool. It's basically a playground in the middle of a shallow pool, with fountains and a water slide. This was the first time I was able to take Connor and not have to go in the water. While Connor enjoyed his playtime with Ryder, I got some Mommy time in with Danielle, Amanda, and Tiffany. I was the only Mom there with just one munchkin in tow, so I was free-as-a-bird at times, while the other Mommies were keeping tabs on their tiny tikes! I got some conversation in, my baby-fix, and enjoyed watching Connor have a good time. Since my hands were free, I decided to snap some shots of the adorable kiddies that were in our playgroup. We have some pretty adorable kiddies!!

This is my adorable kiddie aka water boy! The bigger he splashed, the happier he was!

This is Sophia! She is so personable and sweet. She is the biggest ham in front of the camera too! (She belongs to Amanda.)

This is Dyson. Talk about one precious gummy grin! He's not even a year old and walking around like a pro...well...a wobbly, adorable pro! (He also belongs to Amanda).

This munchkin has my heart. There is just something I can't get enough of from precious Landon. He smiles so easy, has the brightest blue eyes, and is so easy going. Can't believe he will be a year old in a few weeks already! (He belongs to Danielle).

These girls make me wonder what its like to have a girl! They hit it off the moment they met. They play so gentle and quiet...and pose so nicely for the camera. Funny how girls are wired so differently than boys! (Sophia's on the left and Keegan is on the right *She belongs to Tiffany).

Pictured below is Connor's partner in crime, Ryder. I am so grateful Connor has him to play with! Pretty sure he was blasting Connor in this picture! (Ryder belongs to Danielle..I'm sure you know that by now...).

This water blaster belongs to Yours Truly! Pretty sure he was blasting Ryder in this picture. I was surprised it only took one warning for both boys to learn they can only squirt eachother (and not the sunbathing Mommies or innocent girls).

And this toothie little Doll baby is Addie. She hams it up just like the other girls when a camera comes out. She was too cute for words! (Addie belongs to Tiffany).

What's great is that the Christian school I'm looking to enroll Connor in soon (not so much school as it is "Mommy's day out" twice a week)... Sophia, Ryder, and Keegan will all be in Connor's class. With a few kids that Connor will recognize, hopefully that will encourage him to want to go. We shall see!

We are so fortunate to have such great Mommy friends and well behaved kidlets to play with so often! We hope to do it again next week!

Easter Festivities!

Guess who visited our house last night?!

(Easter Bunny paw prints courtesy of Connor's left over baby powder)

Connor woke to a basket full of goodies. His personal fave--his new Buzz Blaster!

Mr. Sleepy Face with his loot

Photo take #2 (I was happy to get a cute smile with both picture attempts!)

Onto our egg hunt...

I loved his enthusiam...

"I found one, Mom!!"

If Connor passed by an egg, I'd nicely hint that "I think I see one over here somewhere." Connor would find the egg, then run over, hug me, and say "Thanks for helping me find my egg, Mommy!"

I love him!

Once we convinced Connor that we would not in fact refill and hide the Easter eggs again, because the Easter Bunny is only allowed to do that...

We headed to Nana & Papa's house to get ready to take out Papa's new boat!

We had a long ride through the canal, so Connor & I had fun scoping out ducks, boats, people, etc. I found a way to keep Connor occupied for an hour of "slow speed" when all Connor wanted to do was "have Papa go fast!"

We love being on the boat!

We tried out a few fishing spots (Papa does so well finding fishing spots where we can catch fish almost instantly, since he knows we're working with the patience of a 3 year old).

Connor then hooked into a big one!

To our surprise, Connor caught a SHARK! Introducing Connor's first hammerhead :)

Don't worry- Papa held the shark safely and we kept Connor a safe distance away!

My proud little fisherman!

The Captain and Co-Captain

A successful group shot :)

I love this picture!

My sweet boy!

When we're trying to pass the time on the long ride through the canal back to the house, why wouldn't you scarf a large amount of watermelon & take a tongue picture.

The fun didn't stop when we got back...

Uncle Craig & Matt helped hide water balloons, so Connor could enjoy a fun "hunt."

It was all a swell idea until Connor thought it was fun to launch the balloons at the observers!

Uncle Craig was Connor's #1 target! Hahaha!

Connor had SUCH a great time and he had a hard time accepting when all the water balloons were gone.

So Matt & Papa worked hard to fill more balloons...

When we were finally out of water balloons, we helped distract Connor with G.G.'s birthday cake!

Connor will gladly sing "Happy Birthday," blow out candles, and eat cake anytime!

G.G. and Connor teamwork!

We had a wonderful Easter! What a busy day!

We love G.G. and hope she has a fabulous birthday!!