A day in the life of Connor!

Hi, I'm still here!!

2009-04-23T11:05:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's been absolutely ages since I have posted, life has been very busy lately! But, I do have plans to update more often in the future, I promise!!

A quick update for those of you that don't already know - Connor is going to be a big brother in mid-August!! I'm finally not sick any more, and things have generally slowed down, so I really intend to get on here more often!

As for Connor, he is talking up a storm and doing pretty normal 2 year old things!! We've had him to a nutritionist because of his lack of weight gain, and using the tips we got, it seems like he is starting to slowly creep up the percentile charts again. He will always look small because he is higher on the charts for height than weight, but hopefully we can at least keep enough weight on him that he won't lose weight when he's active all summer!

That's all for now! I have lots of pictures that I will get up as soon as possible!
Lori.

Connor meets his first (and second!) buffalo!

2008-10-19T21:24:00.004-06:00

We decided to take a trip to Elk Island park today to test out our new camera, (a Canon EOS Rebel XSi) and to get some fall pictures before the snow flies!I had to work so we jumped in the car as soon as I got home and we got to the lake just in time to snap a few pictures, and see a gorgeous sunset!

And then we got quite an unexpected surprise!

Two buffalo decided they would stroll right up for a drink at the lake, so we got some really neat pictures! Here are just a few...

Watch out for the glass...

And since it has been forever since I posted pictures, here is a little Connor fix! THese pictures are from Thanksgiving weekend.

Today Connor and I got our flu shots, and Connor was very brave! He only cried for a few seconds, and then we got to play with an adorable little girl and her adorable toy purse! Connor was pretending to put on giant fake lipstick and it was very funny!

Connor's night sleep has not been great lately, he seems to wake up in the middle of the night most nights, but all it takes is a smooch and his soother back, and he settles down again. He also has been waking up earlier than usual, and he wakes up sad, when he used to just start talking to himself in the mornings. He has cut one eye tooth on the bottom, so I am sure that has something to do with it. I know the rest are following shortly, but hopefully after the canines come in we can take a little teething break!

Other than that, there is not too much new going on! I have received one photo from our wedding photographer, and more should be following soon, so I will save that for a post of it's own!

A busy summer, and many changes!

2008-09-19T22:47:00.002-06:00

Well, I am pretty sure that you all had just about given up on any new posts from me! Some new and exciting things are happening and I just had to make the time to post about them because I want to make sure that I always have this blog to look back on!

So, it was a busy summer, and it has been many months since I last posted. The reason for this is because at the beginning of the summer Derek and I finally decided to start planning our wedding, and that wedding date is almost here! One week away to be exact! So, as you can imagine, planning a wedding in 4 months does not leave much time for blogging! I am so excited to make our family official, and with the planning all but finished, I just knew it was time to get to blogging again! I will be sure to post pictures of the 'Day the Mellott's became official' once we get them back from our fabulous photographers, Penny McKelvie and Aspen Zettel of Centree Photography.

But, enough about Derek and I, I know what you really want to hear about is our little man, Connor! He is now 20 and a half months old, and in the last three weeks has had gotten 4 molars! He was not a happy camper during this time, as you can imagine, but he seems to be through the worst of it, at least for the time being. It looks as though the bottom eye teeth are soon to follow, and I have heard these are the worst, so there could be some rough nights ahead!

This summer Derek bought one of those above ground pools for our backyard, and after a few shaky first dips, Connor began to love it! Derek even made a solar heating panel to help warm the water, and it most definitely helped, but the water was still quite chilly, nonetheless. We didn't seem to have enough consecutive warm days to keep the pool at a comfortable temperature. So, at the end of August, we took the pool down untikl next summer.

Today Conor and I decided to finally go to the Harbour Pool in Fort Saskatchewan! It was also quite chilly, but after a while Connor really started to like it! When we were getting dressed to go home, Connor would say, "More, More!" and point back to the entrance of the pool! We went during an hour onh Public Swim session, and there could not have been more than 15 people in the pool, which was really great! But, alas, it was too short, we had to go just when Connor was really starting to feel comfortable! I promised Connor we would be back before too long, because we both had a really great time!

Well, that is all for now, as always, I willbe back as soon as I can, but there's no saying how long that will be!
Lori.

Did someone say pictures???

2008-05-30T22:52:00.003-06:00

I know, I know, it's been a really long time since I have posted, yet again! I do come back eventually though, I can always promise that!

Connor is continuing to amaze us on a daily basis with the things he knows and understands, not to mention the silly things he does! Just yesterday he was walking around with his jacket on his head giggling like crazy! He absolutely loves to play peek-a-boo, even if he thinks no one is watching(but I always am!!)

He has figured out how to open the safety locks on the cupboards, and how to pull out the chair from the kitchen table and climb up on it, and then on to the kitchen table! What a little monkey he is!

And, speaking of monkeys, he will go "ooo ooo aaa" if you ask him if he is being one! He also makes the sound of an elephant, and will occasionaly say "raaa" when you ask him what a lion says! He learned all three of these animals because he points to their pictures on his high chair seat!

I know there are many other new adorable things that Connor has learned, but they always seem to slip my mind when I finally decide to sit down and write about it!

I do, though, finally have an absolute TON of photos to share! Some are relatively new, and some are not so new.

These few are from mid-March when Connor was just learning to walk. He would chase a ball around all day if you let him! I really love this set of photos, and it's amazing how much older he looks now, only a couple months later!

And these next ones are from April, by this time he is pretty much running, and LOVES his walks outside!

This last one cracks me up! We have a little "book rack" type thing next to the couch, where we keep some of Connor's books and small toys. It's not very big at all, but, neither is Connor! He loved emptying it out and sitting in it to read books! What a cutie!

This next set of photos are from Connor's first camping trip, he had so much fun!

His first quad ride with Daddy! And yep, he is in a Snugli! 16 months old and plenty of room to spare!

Connor would wake up super early in the mornings, like 5:30 or 6:00am, so we would go for a dewey morning walk and sometimes he would fall back asleep for a while.

Here he is in the swing at the little playground out at 'the farm'. He loved it!

But, I think his favorite thing to do was go walking along all the trails. He and Leo had a blast!

What a cutie!

We came back from camping a day early, so on the holiday Monday we spent some time in the backyard.

Connor always likes to help out, and was quite good at filling up the pool!

Then we let the sun warn up the water for a while, and played with some bubbles...

And did some yardwork.

Then into the pool!! Connor didn't like sitting down in the water, so he did a lot of squatting! Next time we will add some warm water from inside!

These last few pictures are of Connor and his pal James, hanging out at the skate park in St.Albert.

Well, that's all for now! Hopefully it won't be too long until next time!
Lori.

Connor Loves Camping!

2008-05-19T21:17:00.003-06:00

May Long Weekend, the first long weekend of summer, has come and gone... We took Connor camping for the very first time! In fact, it was his very first night away from his crib, and I am happy to report things went remarkably well!! I think Connor was just so exhausted from spending all that time outside that he didn't care where he slept! He did wake up very, very early in the morning though - pretty much as soon as the birds started chirping!

Connor had a blast playing in the sand, going for walks, and he loved the swing at the playground! But, Mommy's favorite part were the naps together in the hammock! It just doesn't get better than that! I was so worried that Connor wouldn't nap at all during the day, but no one can resist the calming, lulling sway of a hammock in the outdoors!

I will admit, camping just became a whole lot more work than it was pre-baby, but it was a ton of fun!(We just had to come home a day early to recoup!)

Pictures to follow shortly!

Sending Love Notables.

2008-05-19T20:59:00.004-06:00

I thought it was time to unveil the reason why my posts have become so few and far between as of late!

Most of you know that I have returned to work, but what not everyone knows is that I am actually working two jobs! My out-of-home job at the University Of Alberta Hospital, and my new passion, a home based business creating one-of-a-kind photo cards for any and every occasion! Birth announcements, birthday invitations, and holiday cards are the most popular, but I also create wedding invitations, thank you cards, and so much more!

Becoming a full time WAHM(work-at-home-mom) would be a dream come true for me, but I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me yet! I absolutely love what I do, and, as you can imagine, it takes up a great deal of my evenings, unfortunately taking away from my blogging time!

I hadn't intended on turning this blog into an advertisement for my business, but since Connor is the inspiration behind the website, and the motivation to attain my WAHM goal, it felt like it was time to mention it here.

So, without further ado, I would like to share with you my website, and a few samples of my work. Thanks for looking!

www.sendinglove.ca

(Click on the thumbnail for a larger image)

And - A Connor update is coming soon, I promise!

Spring is here!!

2008-05-06T22:37:00.002-06:00

Once again it has been way to long since I have posted! Now that spring is here we are spending time outside every day, and Connor is loving the sunshine! We play in the back yard and Connor likes running barefoot through the grass though he does stay on his tippy toes quite a bit! He also likes going for walks around the block, pointing out all the cats and dogs!

He is also getting much taller and likes to put his sippy cup in the kitchen sink when he is done, and also puts his tooth brush in the bathroom sink after he brushes! He has been eating like a horse lately, and we think he is working on some teeth, because he is drooling quite a bit, and likes to bite mommy's arm!

He is learning new things at an incredible rate these days, and will copy anything you do! He likes to help me sweep, and will run to the broom closet as soon as he hears the word! He also likes to help put laundry away, and help unload the dishwasher! He likes to knock on windows and doors, and, much to our chagrin, has discovered Leo's bum!! He knows that after Leo comes in from outside, we have to wipe his bum(he's a Bulldog, so he can't do it himself!) so as soon as leo comes in Connor will run around chasing Leo pointing at his bum! it's adorable, but kind of scary at the same time!

He's moved his nap to the afternoon also, but now an average nap is 60-90 minutes, instead of 40-60minutes, so I think it was a move in the right direction!!

Well, that is all for now! Derek has told me that there will be some new pictures up tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Better Late than Never!!

2008-04-07T00:23:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess i just need to come to terms with the fact that I will only post once a week at most, even though I always think it will be sooner!

There is not too much new going on - Connor continues to get better at walking, and tries to copy everything we say and do! He has started trying to put his own bib on even! We had dinner at Auntie Elvie and Uncle Dale's house today, and Connor even tried to say Eeyore when Elvie said it!!

And - we did move the seat to the forward facing position, and Connor loves it! He always gets a huge grin on his face when we look back at him! I really like being able to see what he is doing, too, but now he can throw his toys much farther, and it's harder for me to find them!

So - his current height/weight stats are:

Weight: 20lb 13oz.
Height 30 1/4in.

He's still a lightweight, but he makes up for it in speed!

:)
Lori.

New world, new words!

2008-03-24T21:22:00.003-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Once again, I apologize for the lack of new posts! I am finding it harder and harder to have any free computer time these days!

I had meant to comment on the pictures that Derek posted, but it already seems like so long ago that those were taken, and so much has changed!

Connor got quite a haircut a week or so ago, and at first I was upset that it was too short, but looking at those last pictures, he sure had a crazy mop of hair before! I will be sure to get Daddy to put up some post haircut pictures as soon as he can.

So, what is new with the Con-man, you ask? He is walking like crazy, and though he is still a little wobbly, he is gaining speed and accuracy at a rapid pace! He loves to chase a ball around on the deck, and is getting the hang of his "outside shoes".

He is also picking up new words every day! Here is a short list of what he says now:
Door
Down
Ball
Bird
More
Moo
"Bark bark bark","woof woof woof", or a combination of the two!
Book
Cheese
Bread
Bubbles
...

And there are more, I am sure! But - I do have to add that although Daddy and I know what he is saying, few other people would know more than door, more and possibly bird!
Pretty much all of the words that start with 'B' are some variation of 'baaa' and the same goes for the D words!

He also just today started saying "on" and I am sure that is because he watched his cousin Kaden turning a lightswitch off and on yesterday after Easter Dinner and exclaiming "ON!!" with a fit of giggles each time the light got brighter!

Connor also finally calls me "Ma"! He has been calling Derek "Da" for weeks now but I have been nameless to him until just recently! And he is filling in the "O" in E-I-E-I-O again which I think is totally adorable!

I have been restraining myself from getting Connor weighed since his birthday, but I think I am going to take him in tomorrow and see how he is doing. Despite knowing that it's safer to keep him rear facing in the car seat for as long as possible, I am itching to turn him forward, and I think he just may have broken that 20 pound mark finally!

I will be sure to update with his stats tomorrow when we get back!

Well, that is all for now! I know I say it every time, but I promise not to wait so long before the next update!

Lori.

A whole lot of photos

2008-03-13T20:03:00.002-06:00

Well it's been a real long time since any pictures have been put up here so here is a whole load of Connor.

It's official!!!!

2008-03-01T01:10:00.002-07:00

We have a walker!!!! Just the last two days, Connor has decided to start walking to get where he wants to go! Now, he is still very wobbly, and usually he ends up crawling before he gets to his destination, but he has certainly come to realize the benefits of having his arms free while in motion!

It is so cute to see my li'l boy doing such big things!

I guess it's official - Derek and I are the proud parents of a toddler!

Ack!

Some Pics Of Connor

2008-02-26T20:31:00.003-07:00

Here is Connor hanging out in the snow.

Here is Connor letting us know he is "All Done!" his strawberry dessert.

And finally here is "Connor Sanders"

It's been too long!

2008-02-22T02:02:00.002-07:00

Well, with me back at work I don't get to post nearly as much as I'd like to these days! I managed to get Derek on board to upload some photos, and I'll take care of the "talking" so I promise you will see some new Connor photos soon! (Right Daddy???)

So, what's new you ask? Connor is still not walking, but he is getting pretty close! I guess he is walking, actually, but he still crawls 95% of the time. His balance is getting better, and he is starting to take steps when he wants to, as opposed to when we coax him to, so that is a definite 'step' in the right direction!

He is REALLY picking up speed in the talking department, however, although I may be the only one who understands what he is saying! Lately he says door, and story, I think most people will agree with me on those, but he also says "No, no, no" because it's a line from a book we read all the time! Along those same lines, he can also nod his head yes, and he says "yeah" a lot too!

Now, on to the words that only Mommy hears! He makes a sort of "cloo" sound for closed, he says "da" for diaper, and he says "oooe" for an owie, but only after I say it first. Sometimes I think he says Daddy, and hot, and every once in a while he will do the "O" part of the E-I-E-I-O in Old MacDonald Had A Farm.

He also makes a fish face when I ask him if he is a fishie, and he is starting to go "Ooo Ooh Ah" when I ask him if he is a monkey(and he sure is a monkey!).

All in all, to sum things up, he is totally adorable, and so much fun! He is learning new things at an incredible pace lately, and it's absolutely amazing!

Pictures to follow soon - I hope!
G'night!

More new things!

2008-02-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Connor is just picking up new things like crazy lately! Today he finally started clapping!! He went from nothing, to clapping on command just like that! It was as if something just "clicked" and he understood what he was supposed to do! He is also very good at "so big" again, after taking a little break with that. And he will put his hands up to say "All Done!" when he is finished eating, too! (Although, to be honest, he does that every time I ask him, so it's hard to say if he is actually all done or not!)

Since I am back at work now, I am not able to post on here as much as I used to, so I am trying to convince Daddy to post every once in a while, too! I think that it would be really neat for Connor to see some words from Daddy when he reads this years from now. Derek is a little hesitant, as he is not a good "wordsmith" as he calls it, but I am hoping this little blurb will convince him he should do it anyway! ;)

Here's a few pictures from the end of January when Connor and Jamie got together for a little fun in the snow:

And here is a cute video of Connor clapping this morning!

And one of Connor taking some steps! He was a little distracted by the camera, but he sure is getting braver day by day!

Please don't pay too much attention to my flannel jammies and messy hair!

Hopefully the next post will come before too long, and maybe by Daddy!!

I miss my baby!

2008-01-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick post during my lunch break at work! This is my first weekend back at work, and Derek's first weekend being a full time Daddy! I think they had lots of fun having their boys weekend, but it sure was nice to see Connor crawling towards me at lightning speed when I came home yesterday!

Connor is testing out his walking skills more and more each day, and he's really getting the hang of it! I am so excited for him to start walking!

That's all for now! I'll see you in a few hours Connor! I miss you! (Oh - and you too Daddy!)

A few steps closer to walking!

2008-01-23T19:33:00.001-07:00

Connor had an amazing day today! He has been taking a few steps here and there, but today he took 7 unassisted steps!! I set him up against the couch and lured him towards me by holding two of his soothers in my mouth!! I may hate the fact that he still loves his soother, but, it sure works to motivate him!! He walked to me over and over and over! And I would move a little farther back each time, and he actually made 7 steps all on his own! And then, he actually stood up completely on his own, without holding on to anything, and took a couple steps too!

And then, he also learned how to get off of the couch by himself by backing off of it on his tummy. All of this within half an hour! It was incredible!

Oh - he also discovered what a brush is for, and now likes to brush his own hair or our hair. Too cute!!

His second top tooth has also finally broken through, maybe yesterday or today, it was very hard to tell! So, I am hoping that he will start to get happier soon, he has been really cranky for the past few weeks.

I am so excited that my little guy is getting so close to walking!! He's almost a toddler!

It's sledding weather!

2008-01-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

The day after Connor's birthday was so gorgeous, that we decided to head out for a walk and take Connor out in his sled that he got for his Birthday, for the first time!

Leo actually pulled the sled up the hill!

Connor used to not move around all that much in his snowsuit, but now he gets around just fine!

And these pictures are actually from before Connor's birthday:

He's so cute!

Well, that is all for now! I am heading back to work this week, so it may be hard for me to post as often as I want to, but I will do my best! There may just have to be some quick little no-picture posts from time to time!

I am so happy that I did this though! I can't wait until Connor is older and I can show him what his whole first year was like!

Happy First Birthday Big Boy!!

2008-01-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

No more little man here!! Connor is literally just a few steps away from being a toddler. He's a One Year Old!! It's unbelievable the changes that happen in such a short time, and I still see them every day. It's silly, but I thought that when Connor turned one, that he would all of a sudden be so different, and though he is changing quickly, it's not that quickly!! I was happy to see that Connor still needs me just as much, and he is still my little boy, at the same time as being my big boy!!

On Friday, January 11th, Connor went in for his one year check up, and things are going well! Dr Kumar was amazed at the strength Connor has, and said that he was very healthy and wonderfully active, but, as always, we are keeping an eye on his weight. He has dropped under the 5th percentile now, just a tad, but the Dr. was not surprised, considering the way Connor moves around!

His stats are as follows:

Weight: 18lb 13oz
Height 29.5in

So, that's a whopping 3 ounce gain this month! He has been gaining almost a pound a month for the last couple months, but he is really getting moving lately - he has taken one or two steps a couple times recently, and he is climbing all over everything! Also, he has been teething for the past 5 weeks, and his appetite has not been great, but....

He finally got his third tooth on his Birthday! After everyone had left, I was changing Connor, and I noticed his top tooth had finally broken though! Yay! It wasn't through earlier that morning, so he must've been actively cutting a tooth while at his party! No wonder he didn't want any chocolate cake! (Pictures to follow!)

We are well under way with the switch to whole milk. We probably would have been completely switched already, but I told Daddy to pick up two cans of formula last time, not thinking about how much longer one lasts when you are splitting it with whole milk! So, once this can is gone, he will be completely switched, probably by the end of the month. Connor quite likes his whole milk, but I think it might be affecting his tummy a bit. Let's just say he has started eating prunes again! I find this really odd, because all other dairy has the opposite affect on him.

I also have discovered that tomato sauce makes Connor's face red. It's weird, because he has had spaghetti probably 10 times or so, and it has never done it to him before, but this last time it sure did make his cheeks red. His cheeks were already bad because he was teething, so I wonder if maybe it won't affect him if he isn't teething. It doesn't really make sense, but I can't understand why it took so long to show a reaction. Also, he eats raw tomatoes like crazy, and they don't affect him at all! It's too bad, because Connor loves noodles and spaghetti, but we'll just have to make pasta with a non-tomato sauce for the time being!

Well, I think I have rambled enough, on to the pictures!

We decided we should do a little recreation of an old picture, just for funzies, so here is Connor at two days old:

And here he is on his first Birthday:

And here are some pictures from Connor's Party:

This is the cake I made for Connor.... It's not fancy,but I was pretty proud of it! (I'll try something a little more difficult next year Connor, I promise!!)

As you can see, Connor was not that excited about the cake I put so much work into:

He hardly ate any of it at all, but he did start making a little mess, eventually!

A few more party pictures - it was a very casual, mellow get together, but it was nice to have both sides of the family there, and even some friends I haven't seen in ages!

I wanted to get one picture with everybody in it, but of course I forgot!

It was a wonderful day, and I hope that everyone had as good a time as Connor and I did! Thanks so much to everyone for coming, and making the day a great success!

Happy First Birthday Connor!
Your Mommy and Daddy have enjoyed every moment of the past year, and we look forward to seeing you continue to grow right before our eyes, and amaze us each and every day!
We love you very much!

Good-Bye 2007!! Hello 2008!

2008-01-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! I cannot believe that 2007 has come and gone. It has been without a doubt, no questions asked, the absolute best year of my life! I have seen a phenomenal amount if changes in Connor - he is a little boy now, and he was an infant just a short time ago.

His latest trick is climbing on everything! He gets up on the couches, on the coffee table, and even on the...

Dishwasher!!

He is unstoppable! Derek calls him our little shirpa! I have to keep an eye on him much closer now, because he will climb on to the couch in the blink of an eye! No more can we use the back of the couch as a catch-all for the things we don't want him to get at!

Connor continues to wave like crazy; he waves at people when they leave the room, and he waves as soon as someone puts a jacket on. He waves when we go into his bedroom, and he waves when you put him in the car seat! He has an excellent grasp on what going bye-bye means!

The weather has been fabulous lately, so Connor and I took the opportunity to head outside and play! Grandma Smith bought Connor the most adorable snowsuit, so we had to have a little winter photo shoot!

I know he is grinning behind that snowsuit!!

He kept trying to move around and then he just fell right over!

I thought I should finally get a couple pictures of Connor in front of his first home!

Here he is trying to get forward, but he can't move all that well in the snowsuit!

And, I will throw in a couple cute pictures from New Year's Day to finish things off:

You can see his poor little red cheeks in these pictures. He is still working on those top teeth, and his face always gets so red when he is teething! I see some small white spots on his gums now, so maybe by his Birthday he will have at least one more tooth!

Connor's First Birthday is in one week! I have so much planning to do still!

Whew, a busy first Christmas!!

2007-12-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Connor has a very busy first Christmas, but I think he had a great time! His bedtime over the past week ranged from his normal 6pm, to a couple 9:30pm nights, to a very hectic 1am bedtime on Christmas Eve, but thankfully he slept in the car!

Well, where do we start? Connor's Christmas actually began on the 23rd of December, when we visited Grandma and Grandpa Mellott's. Uncle DJ was there, and also Uncle Dale and Auntie Elvie. Connor had a wonderful time unwrapping altogether too many presents! Mom and Dad were silly and forgot the camera though, so we don't even have a picture of Connor opening his first Christmas present!!

Christmas Eve was a very busy day! We started out at Oma and Opa's house for a big gathering with all the family:

Connor had a ton of fun hanging out with his big cousin Kaden:

And he loves his Mike Wazowski!!

He also learned to anticipate the flash from the camera, so it's very hard to get a picture with his eyes open now!

But eventually we got one!

Connor also got his first puzzle, and a really cool train(which has a song that has been in my head constantly since then!) And, a really loud set of bells, which strangely enough, I told my mom to buy for him! He loves them though, but not as much as Derek does!

Later that evening, we drove to Grassland for the Mellott family Christmas, and we finally got that 4 generation picture I mentioned before!

Grandpa Mellott, Daddy Mellott, Baby Mellott, and Great-Grandma Mellott, together at last!

I can see a resemblance in all of them! Very neat!

Then, we had our very first "Christmas Morning"! Derek and I have grown up both doing the big get together and gift opening with our families on Christmas Eve, so it was really special to start our own tradition with our little family! We didn't take any pictures until after everything was all said and done though!

Then, last night we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house for another Christmas celebration!

Connor got his very first "gaming console" which, as you can imagine, Daddy was very excited about!

So, Connor's first Christmas was a week long event, and a very special one at that! I will remember it forever!

In non-Christmas news, Connor is waving at everything and everyone, including people on TV, and anytime anyone leaves the room, or every time I carry him in to his room! It's totally adorable!

He has also recently aquired a fascination with eyes, (which I am sure is due to Mike Wazowski's prominent Uni-eye!) If you ask him where are "_____"'s eyes, he will more often than not point at them, but not on real people, only on stuffed things!

He is also standing more and more lately, and for longer periods of time. But sadly, he is still working on those top two teeth, and they, on top of trying to recover from a very disrupted schedule, and wreaking havoc on his night sleep. So, I will leave it at this, as Connor has just awoken, and is not very happy at all!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year! Two weeks and counting until Connor turns one!

So many changes!

2007-12-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pre-Christmas post to mention all the new things that Connor has been doing lately! He now waves, but it takes a while to get him to do it! When he waves good night to Daddy and Leo, he usually doesn't start to wave until I start closing his bedroom door! He also does "so big!!" when you ask "How big is Connor?" but only if you lift your arms up and say, "so big!", too. He just started this a day or so ago though, so he's still getting the hang of it!

He also has started to stand on his own!! Mostly once he pulls up on something he will let go for a few seconds, and then sit down, but he also has started using my legs when I am sitting on the floor to get part of the way up, and then he will straighten the rest of the way on his own. It's very cute to see him with his arms out for balance slowly lowering himself back into a sit, too.

In other news, Leo has discovered that good things usually happen when he sticks close to Connor.

As an example:

Connor discovered how to get into the box of Frosted Flakes, and Leo was right there to assist in the clean up process! It was adorable, and of course I let them play in it while I grabbed the camera, but I think we will be moving the cereal up a shelf from now on!!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone, and I'll be sure to post about Connor's first Christmas in a few days!!

Mini Santa!

2007-12-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I said that cute pictures were coming, and here they are!

Daddy bought Connor a wee little Santa outfit, and he is adorable in it! But, I have to admit, even with the outfit, I think he looks more like an elf than a Santa! Nonetheless, he is super cute!

I am not too sure what he is doing here, but he looks like someone we should be paying attention to!

And a couple impromptu photo shoot pics:

And, I am also going to post a video of Connor and his push toy! He is getting really good at motoring around with that thing!

Whoops!

2007-12-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post Connor's 11 month stats last time, so here they are:

Weight: 18lb 10oz. (Another pound this month!!)
Length: 28.5 in (apparently he shrunk half an inch!)

That's all for now, but there are some more cute pictures coming soon!

Happy 11 months, little man!!

2007-12-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

And that is officially the last time I can say that... in a mere 4 weeks, my little man will become a bona fide BIG BOY! I cannot believe it's been almost a year since we brought this little guy home. It seems like just yesterday!

He is learning so many new things lately, and it's so amazing to watch, even though it's things that we completely take for granted. For example, Connor has just learned how to put lids on things. It seems so simple, but when I showed him how, and then he copied me, it was as if something clicked in his head! Very cool.

Today Connor got his picture taken with Santa! It didn't go to well, but we managed to get a cute picture before the tears started, anyway! I will get Derek to scan it so we can add it to this post, too!

Connor is also working on getting his top two teeth. A couple days ago, he was being silly when I was feeding him and blowing all the food back out, but in the process, you could totally see his top gums, so I snapped a few pictures to see if I could tell for sure if he was teething. I am always very doubtful, but I think these pictures prove it!

In these last two, you can really see the white spot just to the left of middle:

Before we left to go see Santa today, I was letting Connor chew on a mandarin orange for a bit, but he seemed to prefer throwing the orange at Leo. Well, while I was getting his supper ready, I gave it to him again, and after a few seconds, I hear this slurping noise! Connor had pierced a hole in the peel with his teeth, and was sucking all the juice out! I hadn't planned on actually giving him the inside of an orange until he was a year, but I probably should have known better than to let him chew on a whole one!

But, no harm done! He absolutely loved it, and there haven't been any tummy problems, so I think we are in the clear!

I did, of course, snap a few photos!

I haven't written anything about Connor's sleep habits in a while, so I should probably give an update, as things have changed quite a bit since I last talked about it.

Connor seems to have dropped to one nap, which is still his usual 30-40 minutes in length, but he has taken to sleeping anywhere from 13-15 hours straight at night! His usual bedtime is 5:30 or 6pm, and he is up around 7:30am, sometimes later. I have thought about keeping him up later in the hopes that he will then take some decent naps during the day, but it just doesn't seem to work like that for him, so I am leery to try it. Plus, he is so painfully tired by 5 that I already feel bad keeping him up until 6pm, so he usually goes down earlier. I have heard that during the winter months children tend to get more night sleep, but it's not supposed to be at the cost of naps! According to Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (Weissbluth) Only 10% of babies are down to one nap by a year of age, and it seems as though I have one of them!

Well, that is all for now! I will leave you with Connor sporting his Flock of Seagulls hairdo - this boy really needs a haircut!!

Brrr.. What is this stuff???

2007-12-09T22:01:00.001-07:00

The weather today was a balmy -7C so I thought it was about time to get Connor out in the snow!

At first he seemed quite intrigued by it, but,as you will see by the pictures, he got less and less amused... He did try to crawl in it but as soon as his mittens got in the snow he stopped dead in his tracks!!

He seems quite happy in this photo:

And in this one: (he was trying to look at Leo on the deck)

But then he started to take on a somber,contemplative look:

But then...

And then..

So then we went inside...

A picture is worth 1000 words!

2007-12-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

So what are 1000 pictures worth?? Connor and Jamie got together for a photoshoot yesterday, and a lot of fun was had! Despite jumping around making fools of ourselves, I don't think Beth or I got a shot of both of them looking at the camera and smiling!

But we did get some ear pulling:

And some fighting over who got to hold the lights:

And in this one, Jamie was actually spanking Connor! You can tell by the look on Connor's face that he wasn't too sure about that!

Connor likes to pick things up with his mouth lately...

Hey, little man! Don't get too close!

Connor's face makes me giggle in this one!

Connor must be saying something really funny here!

Don't they look adorable in their outfits?? 'Auntie' Beth picked them out!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Will he be standing soon?

2007-12-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

It seems like Connor is so close to standing independently sometimes! He will be up on his knees, and then he puts one foot up and lifts up his hands. All he needs is to get that last foot under him! He also lets go of things a little more often and will hover for a second or two before flopping on to his bum. So, I don't think it will be too much longer now, but it's so hard to tell!

Connor got his first toothbrush from Oma last week, and he thinks it's funny to brush my teeth, but isn't a huge fan of me brushing his! He lets me for a minute but then gets a funny face and won't open his mouth any more! He does however, like to chew on the wrong end of the tooth brush, so I am considering that progress!

Also, we have stopped using the bath ring and Connor is a free man in the tub now! We have a bath mat to keep him from slipping, which works pretty well, but it doesn't cover the entire bottom of the tub, and no matter what side of the tub I put it on, Connor prefers to be on the other one! I think he enjoys this much more than the bath ring, though!

I will end with some pictures taken by our friend Penny back in October. Connor was a cranky little guy during this photoshoot, and I am amazed that he stood still enough to get any pictures!

No more bottles!!

2007-11-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we are on day 4 of no bottles at all! Dropping his bedtime bottle went really well! I tried 4 ounces for a few days, and then started giving him a little more milk at 3pm in his sippy cup, and then he gets some milk with supper. So now our bedtime routine is bath, book, song, and bed! I still do hope that he will be able to stay up till 7pm eventually, because 6pm is just so early! He is always tired during supper at 5pm though, so I know I can't push it any later yet.

On the other hand, Connor seems to be fighting his afternoon nap a bit more lately, and I sure hope that he isn't dropping it, because I'm not ready for that yet, and I don't think he is, either!

Connor has been pointing at things in the books we read for a few weeks now. It's very cute to see all his little fingers folded up and then just this one little one sticking out and pointing at the smallest things! He really likes to point at the mouse in the story, "Goodnight Moon", and when Daddy reads "Z is for Zamboni" he points at the faces.

I think that Connor has also learned his second word!! Actually, this may be his first, because the word he uses for Leo seems to be constantly changing! His new word is definitely the same word all the time - he says "Uh oh!" He says it when he drops toys down the stairs, or when he throws food on the floor! He makes 'oh' sounds all the time, but this is a very clear "Uh oh!" It is sometimes followed by a whole string of other sounds though, which makes Daddy a little skeptical that it's an actual word! Whether he means it or not, it's totally adorable!!

I'll finish this post off with a couple cute pictures of Connor and Leo watching TV a little too closely!!

I don't have the TV on very much, but I have to admit I like the Backyardigans and Pocoyo, which is what they were watching at the time! I had to keep moving Connor back because he stands right up at the TV and touches everything! Strangely, I thought that putting his toy box in front of the TV would keep him farther away, but that was not successful!

My drooly baby likes my drooly doggy.

2007-11-22T20:22:00.001-07:00

Well, I think I am about 75% sure that Connor is getting his top two teeth now. I am almost positive that I see some white swollen areas on the front of Connor's top gums. Of course, the only time he lets me look in there is when I am dangling him over my shoulder and tickling him. (It sounds scary, but he likes it, really!)

It makes sense though because he is drooling like crazy and chewing on everything again, and he has started waking up during the night after just finally getting in to the habit of sleeping 12.5-13 hours straight. It also makes sense because I just finally got his drool rash under control, and now it's flaring up again!

But, the good news(?) is that Connor is a big fan of the drool... He plays with his own, and believe it or not, he plays with Leo's. He must have some eagle eyes because he can spot the smallest drool on Leo's lips and he is off to grab it! What a silly little man!

When I was taking pictures of Connor the drool chaser, I found a few quirky little things that our camera does, so bear with me while I show you a few 'compilations'

They aren't the greatest pictures, but I thought it was kinda neat! I think you could do some cool stuff with a little planning!

Look, this one has pretend scotch tape on it:

And this one is totally out of focus, but I love his little tuft of hair on his head!

First Attempt at a Professional Haircut!

2007-11-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

We were out and about for Connor's second flu shot today, and I thought I'd try and get Connor's hair trimmed up just a bit. It didn't go so well, because (surprise, surprise!) Connor wouldn't sit still! He did okay at first, but after a few squirts with the water, he had had enough! The hairdresser was really great though, and she did trim up around his ears a bit while I was holding him, but she said to come back in a couple weeks and we'd try again!

I did get a couple adorable pictures of Connor with a little cape on, though!

Yesterday Connor was a very busy little man! Usually, in the kitchen he just plays with Leo's bell and treats, but lately he likes to get into all the cupboards and take everything out! So, we have finally bought some gadgets to keep the cabinets closed!

He also managed to get in the fridge before I could get it closed!

I finally came across some of those popsicle molds last week, so I decided to make some fruit popsicles for Connor, even though it's pretty much winter already! I tried to find them in the summer, but of course they were nowhere to be found, then!

Connor was not too sure how he felt about the cold:

And, he wasn't sure quite how he was supposed to hold it:

Or which end was the tasty part:

But he figured it out soon enough!!

It was very fun to watch!!

In other news, I don't think I will have Connor weaned from the soother by a year like I had hoped!

He, uhh.... really, really likes them!

Peek-A-Boo!!

2007-11-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Connor has been doing some super cute stuff lately, and seems to be learning a lot! It's almost as if something has clicked in his mind, and he has learned all new ways to play with things! He copies what you do after only seeing it done once or twice, and he is really getting the hang of stacking things! He can now put all the rings on to the peg of his stacking toy, we just have to help him pick the right one that fits next! He also tries to stack the rings up without the peg, and also stacked a couple blocks at Oma's house, so we got him some cool soft stacking blocks today. I'll have to get some pictures of him with them tomorrow!

He is still really big into playing peek-a-boo with the door of his bedroom or our bedroom, and will happily do this for a long time! Pretty much until he accidentally locks himself in the room, and you have to slowly open the door while he is standing against it!

He still very much loves to take all the books off his bookshelf and 'read'. He can keep himself amused with his books for forever it seems!

He finally fits into this adorable Baby Einstein outfit that he got as a gift from my Aunt Jane, shortly after he was born. I'll be honest, I am not entirely sure if it is a sleeper or a snowsuit, because it has those fold-over mittens, and a hood, but, it's only fleece, and not all that thick, at least for a snowsuit. So, we put him in it to sleep, despite me worrying a little about the hood, and Connor had a really good sleep last night. 14 hours, in fact, with just a really quick wake up at 4:30am.

And this last picture I just think is super cute!

Connor's First word??

2007-11-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

Connor has recently regained interest in his best buddy Leo. He used to smile every time he saw him, and then for a while he sort of forgot that he existed! But, lately he is always touching Leo's feet and poking him in the face! And Leo, bless his heart, just takes it all with only a few patient grumbles.

The reason I think Leo is so patient is because Connor has learned where the dog treats are, and quite likes to feed them to Leo!

I also think that maybe Leo is Connor's first word! It has taken me a while to realize that he was making the same sound when he saw Leo, but a few days ago I started to put it all together.

He says "Eeelo" but, the "L" sound isn't completely an "L" sound, it's hard to explain! We were at Oma and Opa's today, and Oma was asking Connor "Where is Leo?" and after a while Connor would say "Eeelo eeelo eeelo!" So, my mom agrees that he is definitely saying it in purpose! I am super happy about this, because I always figured Leo would be his first word, and also because Connor hasn't really been the biggest talker. He makes lots of noises, but hasn't said anything 'on purpose', until now, except maybe the occasional Mama and Dada. He is also working on standing, so I didn't expect any new verbal things to happen for a while!

Needless to say, Connor is the coolest baby in the entire world!!! (And Leo is pretty swell, too!)

Drumroll please!

2007-11-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say that I am very happy with Connor's weight and length measurements for the month! He gained almost a pound!

Weight: 17lb 10oz
Length: 29in

I think it's the recent introduction of dairy that helped him pack on the ounces this month, so we'll be keeping that up!

Happy 10 months, little man!

2007-11-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in 8 weeks my baby boy is going to be 1 year old! This has without a doubt been the best year of my life! And - the fastest! Connor seems to change and grow almost daily. He is always learning new things, and learning better ways to do what he already knows. He is truly amazing, in so many ways!

Since today was a holiday, I will have Connor's latest length and weight measurements tomorrow, but I am not expecting much of a change in weight! He is VERY mobile now, and never stays still unless he is asleep, and, as you know, he doesn't sleep very much, at least during the day!!

Connor's nights on the other hand, have been getting much better now that I am really dedicated to getting him to bed when he needs to sleep, and that means 6pm on most nights, but never later than 6:30pm. He consistently sleeps through until 6:45 or 7am. He is still a light sleeper though, just tonight I forgot to take his bath ring out of the tub, and then I wanted to have a bath around 9pm, and I had to pull the bath ring out, with its 936, 523 super adhesive suction cups, and it makes quite a noise! Needless to say, Connor woke up, but he goes back to sleep pretty easily, so that's a good thing!

Also, I think I have finally discovered the reason for his rash around his lips(you can really see it in the picture above)... It's his soother! So now I have to decide if I should try and switch brands maybe, or just start weaning him from it now. I had hoped to have him off it around a year, but since he only really uses it for sleeping and in the carseat, I wasn't too concerned, but now I guess I have to figure something out!

Anyway, enough chit chat, on to the pictures!!

Connor looking cute, as per usual:

Connor loving his grated cheese! He is a big fan of the mozza!

We are transitioning Connor to the next stage of sippy cup now, this one doesn't have any handles, and has a thinner spout. Connor does very well with it, but he drops it more often! So for now, he has his water with meals in it, and his formula is still in the other cup, hopefully he'll be completely switched in a couple weeks.

Connor and Daddy. In this one, you can tell that Connor just woke up from a nap! His hair is all messy, and he looks a little dazed!

But, a little roughhousing with Daddy, and all is well!

And lastly, a couple bath pics! Connor's hair is getting quite long again!

It's been a while...

2007-11-07T21:33:00.001-07:00

It has been a whole week since I have posted! I don't think I have ever gone that long before, and I shall try not to do it again!

Not too much new has gone on this week, and yet it has been really busy!! Connor is getting much faster at crawling, and has become ever more curious! He loves opening and closing any and all doors, which makes for a fun game of peek-a-boo, but it sometimes leads to Connor locking himself in a room! It's hard for me to get in there to get him, because he will stand up at the door as soon as it's closed!!

He is also working on standing independently now, he will stand for a second or two if we steady him and then let go. He is also starting to let go when he has pulled up on something, and really trying to move from one object to another, even if they are pretty far apart, which needless to say, has lead to a few tumbles and bumps as of late!

Derek thought that Connor's tiny shoes parked by his toy were very cute, as do I! Sort of like the office worker who keeps a spare pair of shoes under their desk...

Connor's teeth are coming up nicely! I still wonder if he is getting another already, but it's seeming less and less like it these days...

And a couple more post bath pictures:

Here's a couple pictures of Connor with his best pal, Leo!

"Hey doggy! You aren't supposed to be up there!"

"I'm gonna get you!"

Connor is down to one bottle a day, before bed. The rest of his formula he has from a sippy cup while doing laps around the house!

Crawl, crawl crawl, oh, here's my milk!

I am not sure how I will get rid of that last bottle, because Connor is sleepy so early, and goes to bed right after supper! He is now sleeping from 6pm to 7am, which makes it hard to get in sippy cup time after supper! But, he still only averages two 30-45 minute naps a day, so he needs all that night sleep!

Connor has discovered magnets! He likes to peel them off the fridge and stick them back on, over and over! Which is great, because it gives me a few minutes before he makes a beeline to the dog dishes!

And lastly, just a couple pictures I really like. I think Connor looks so sweet and innocent!

Connor in a pumpkin!

2007-11-01T22:54:00.000-06:00

I saw a picture like this in an email, so we had to give it a shot!!

They aren't the best pictures, we should have put more planning in to it, but they are still pretty adorable!! I figure the background doesn't matter so much when you've got an extremely adorable subject!!

Happy First Halloween,Connor!!

2007-10-31T23:18:00.000-06:00

I think Connor had a pretty good first Halloween! He really loved watching all the kids in their costumes come to the door, and of course, he got oodles of compliments!! The weather was beautiful, and we had a total of 137 trick or treaters this year!!!

This afternoon we popped out to see Oma and Opa so they could see Connor's adorable costume! I snapped a few photos of him in the carseat, because it was just too cute to have a cow in the carseat!!

And then, the weather was so beautiful, that we did an impromptu photoshoot in the yard. Here are MANY MANY pictures!!

Later that evening, once people started coming to the door, Connor watched for a bit from his high chair:

One mom who had a little baby dressed up as a chick, thought it was pretty amusing that the little cow was drinking milk!

I tried to get Connor to bed around 7pm, but the kids were too loud! They were singing Halloween songs and everything! So, Connor and Daddy nibbled on some chocolate(still in the wrapper, of course!)

And then Connor finally settled down to sleep, at about 8:30pm, when we turned of the porch light, and blew out the candles in the pumpkins;.

Oh right! - I can't forget to show you the pumpkins!!!

So, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Good Night!!

Late nights make for.....more late nights!

2007-10-30T22:56:00.000-06:00

We have been very busy this week, and as a result, Connor has been up late for the past 4 days. Tonight I had no reason to keep him up, so I was determined to get him to sleep on time, and actually a little bit early! Connor's usual bedtime is somewhere between 6:00pm and 6:30pm, but in order to catch him up from the last few nights, I had him in bed by 5:45pm today. He was very tired and went to sleep easily, but shorty after 7pm he woke up and was not able to get back to sleep, no matter what we tried! So, we figured we'd get him up for a little while, and let him help with the pumpkin carving!

He gets really silly when he's tired! Here is a little video of Connor and Daddy being silly. (You can hear Daddy in the background.)

And here are just a few pictures taken yesterday:

At Penny and Jason's place:

Trying out a Baby Mum Mum cookie:

(Look at his cute little pinky sticking out!!)

Some Family Pictures.

2007-10-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

So, we finally got some pictures of Connor with his Grandpa and Grandma Mellott!! We always intend to take pictures and then we never do! So, I am glad we got these ones:

Connor was very intrigued by his Grandpa! He loved to stare at him!

Yesterday we visited our friend Penny, who took some pictures of us! Connor was a bit cranky as it was late in the day for him, but hopefully we got a few good ones! It will be nice to have some professional pictures of our little family! Afterwards we all went out for dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant, and Connor and I shared some Canneloni! It was great to see Penny and Jason again, we had a wonderful time!

Blueberries, giggles, teefers, and a horse!!

2007-10-25T23:28:00.000-06:00

So it's been a busy few days!! Connor has been trying out blueberries the last few days, he doesn't seem to like the skin, so I pureed them and have been mixing them with his yogurt. I throw in some cereal to thicken it and voila! A basic blueberry crumble.

I think Connor likes it - do you??

Oh my goodness! Last night in the bath, Connor had the HUGEST giggles!! It was absolutely adorable!! I called Daddy in with the video camera, but they had turned in to just regular giggles by then. Which, of course, are still adorable, so here is the video!!

I wish I could've caught the first few on tape though, they were great! Connor could hardly catch his breath! Too cute!!

I mentioned briefly in my previous post that Connor's teeth were definitely through, and I did manage to get a picture today where you can see them! It's not the best picture, Connor is a bit cranky, but it serves it's purpose... Presenting - Connor's teeth!!

Hee Hee!! Aren't they cute?? He has me wondering if there is another one coming, because he has had some rough nights the past couple nights, similar to how he was before these ones popped through, but I don't see anything else in the works, so maybe these first two are still giving him some trouble...

Hmmm, what else.... ah yes, the horse!!

Grandma and Grandpa Smith gave Connor a rocking horse just after he was born, and I thought it would be forever before he was old enough to sit on it, but we tried it out today, and Connor seemed to like it!! He kinda rocked back and forth on it, and he liked eating the hair!!

And just because, here is some more of Connor playing with his toys!

Ouch!!

2007-10-24T14:24:00.000-06:00

Well, there's no mistaking it - Connor has two sharp little chompers now!! They aren't up very far, but I'm still trying to get a picture! I'll post more later, my little biter is just waking up from his nap!

Connor is getting good at this crawling thing!!

2007-10-22T22:18:00.000-06:00

And I finally caught it on video! Here he is crawling and then standing, and then getting distracted by the Backyardigans!! (Have I mentioned I love that show???)

Not much else new - I think Connor's second tooth is through... I can't really tell though, I keep getting distracted by the razor blade next to it! There is a definite white line, but compared to his other tooth, it doesn't feel as obvious.

That's all for now!!

Mooooo!!

2007-10-20T22:25:00.000-06:00

Connor is going to be a cow for Halloween!!

How cute is he?? Seriously!

Yay!! Connor got a tooth today!!!

2007-10-19T22:11:00.000-06:00

So, I had been watching this tiny white spot on Connor's lower gum(on the right hand side of middle) for over a week now. The last couple days I thought I could see more swelling, but, he really doesn't let me look in his mouth, so I am never sure what I see! Well, last night I was pretty sure that the front of his gums on BOTH sides of middle were swollen, and believe it or not, this morning his first tooth was through, but on the LEFT side of middle, with the right one following close behind! I tried to get a picture this morning during breakfast, but there was no way he'd let me in there, so this is the closest I got:

It's actually a pretty accurate picture showing how he fared during this whole teething process... smiling but sad, and putting on a brave face! I am so proud of my little guy! And now I know that the Tylenol I gave him on those few rough nights was really needed! Through this while process I was skeptical - I was never 100% sure he was getting a tooth!

On top of getting his first tooth, the whole family went and got flu shots today. Connor did really well! He only let out one cry and then he was just fine!

On October 16 we went to Auntie Kim and Uncle Ron's house for cousin Courtney's 6th birthday! Here's a picture of Connor with his cousins Jacob, and the birthday girl herself, Courtney!

And one of Daddy and Connor:

On the 18th Connor and I visited Jamie and Beth! You'll notice all the toys around, but what are the boys interested in?? That's right, a copy of Lois Hole's Perennial Favorites!!

I really like this picture because the boys have the exact same expression on their faces! They are engrossed in that gardening book!

They are just too cute playing together, aren't they???

Grandma Smith gave us a giant inflatable Halloween display, and Connor is very interested in it!! When we pull up in the car he just stares at it forever!!

Oh - Connor's costume arrived yesterday, but we have been too busy too try it on yet! Pictures of that to come tomorrow!

Connor Crawls...Sometimes!

2007-10-14T22:56:00.000-06:00

I always expected to have this big excited post where I exclaim that Connor has learned how to crawl, and now there`s no stopping him!! But, that`s not the case! I thought that babies all just started crawling, and then never went back, but Connor still seems to prefer pulling himself around on his tummy!! He has been taking crawling steps for over a week now, but I never knew when to say that Connor really crawls. Derek said today that he thinks Connor crawls about half the time now, so I figured it was due time to blog about it! I am not sure what day will qualify as the day Connor learned to crawl, though!!

Connor`s First Spaghetti!!

2007-10-14T22:44:00.001-06:00

Connor tried spaghetti today, and I think he really liked it!

Here he is just before digging in!

But it didn`t take long!

Mmm, thanks Connor!

We also bit the bullet and put Connor`s new car seat in! He seems to quite like it, but we do have to try and recline it a bit more still.

Here I am getting the hang of the new straps and buckles!

Connor seems pretty content:

We found some of Daddy`s safety glasses in the back seat, so we had to play with them a bit:

And just some cute ones of Connor eating chicken and squash last night:

My little monkey in the pumpkins!

2007-10-14T22:08:00.000-06:00

You can't have baby's first Fall, and not have pumpkin pictures, right? Here is a sampling of my favorites from today! The weather was beautiful, but we waited a bit too long, and so Connor was in the shade for these pictures. We may have to try again tomorrow, but I think they look pretty darn cute!!

Happy 9 months, little man!

2007-10-12T22:27:00.000-06:00

Nine months old! Connor is already nine months old!!!

I am amazed at how fast the time has gone!

We got Connor weighed and measured today, and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 16lb 14oz
Length 28in.
Head circumference: 43.5cm

So Connor gained a whopping 3 ounces this month! But, I am not surprised considering that this little guy never stays still, and barely even stops for a nap during the day! So, we only have one inch left before he needs to go into his new carseat. We think we might make the switch this weekend, but we'll see... It sure is nice to get him all packed up in the house and then just click him into the base and go!

Since today was Friday, we spent the day at Oma and Opa's house!!

Oma and Opa kept Connor company while he had his bottle and his lunch:

Opa was making Connor smile with his funny noises!

Then Oma made Connor giggle when she made funny noises too!

You can see in this picture Oma's cheeks are puffed out! Connor thinks it's quite amusing!!

Then we saw some blue jays in the yard, but I was only fast enough to catch one!

After lunch, Connor got in some reading:

We also helped rake the yard, but Mommy forgot to bring the camera outside!

Then he discovered a cutie pie in the mirror, so he had to touch the mirror everywhere!

And then he thought he'd give crawling a try(but that never lasts long!)

He had to go back to the mirror, the baby in there is just too adorable!!

Shortly after, we headed home, and even though it was late, Connor had a quick bath:

He soon let us know it was well past his bedtime, so he got in his jammies, and went to sleep! Not a bad day for a 9 month old!

Fall Photoshoot.

2007-10-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

We had planned to go and take some pictures as a family today, so we all jumped into the car and headed in to Edmonton so Daddy could go to his physio appointment, and then we were planning to go take some pictures afterwards. While Daddy was busy, Connor and I had a photoshoot of our own!

This first one is my favorite!!

His backside is almost as cute as his front!

Leaves don't taste good!

Peek-a-boo!

My goodness, he is adorable!!

Daddy met up with us, and then we got back to the car to find that..... we had a flat tire!! So, Daddy put on the temporary one, and then we dropped it off to get fixed and waited at West Edmonton Mall for it to be fixed.

Connor got to play with his first fast food cup.

But, then he chose something else to drink:

Then we went back to get our tire, and Daddy got to put it back on in the parking lot!

I asked him to show me how he 'really' felt, and he gave me this. I guess this is his angry face??

And after all of that, we were pooped, so we will try the family photos this weekend! At least I got some good ones of Connor!!

Bath Time is fun!!!

2007-10-10T22:15:00.000-06:00

Not much new to say, just popping in to post a few pictures from today!! ( Hey that rhymed!!)

Connnor's mellow day...

2007-10-09T22:54:00.000-06:00

We had a fun day today, but didn't do too much!

This morning, we played a little upstairs/downstairs peek-a-boo:

Then in the afternoon Connor played on the floor in the kitchen while I made his lunch:

Then Connor made a huge mess while eating his first "real" meal all by himself!

He totally enjoyed feeding himself though, it was a blast to watch!! Here is a little video:

And here are a couple pictures from yesterday!

I know the window looks dirty, but it's on the outside!! Connor likes to lick the window so I keep the inside clean all the time now!! :)

Connor is doing all sorts of new things lately!! He has finally started crawling for real, but only for a few "steps". When he really wants to get somewhere he just flops to his belly and pulls himself around!!

He is still pulling up on everything and has started moving from one piece of furniture to the next. He also is getting really good at squatting down to grab something and then standing back up, as long as he is holding on to something, and he is getting much better at sitting back down from standing. Apparently he also gets to sitting from his stomach, but only Derek has seen that so far. He also was waving for a while, but I can't get him to do it anymore!

And, what I think is the coolest new skill so far, he is starting to put things places! I know that doesn't sound like much, but it really is a whole new leap in his development! Now he realizes that there is more than just picking up and putting down, there actually are places for things to go!! Just in the last couple of days, Connor has begin feeding me his Cheerios, and also putting balls in the ball tube of his new activity table.

Oh - and I think he really is getting a tooth!! While he was shoveling his peas and rice into his mouth during lunch. I noticed the tiniest white dot on his gums, and it feels like it might be swollen. Derek was gone when I noticed it, so until he can confirm there is actually something there, I am not going to hold my breath!!

Connor's First Thanksgiving!!

2007-10-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

We spent Connor's first Thanksgiving at Uncle Jamie and Auntie Tamera's house, and we had a great time!

Connor played in the grass:

And in the leaves!

And, he played with all his cousins!

Cousin Dee-Anna:

Cousin Kaden:

He also played peek-a-boo with his cousin Courtney, and his cousin Jake played with him with lots of toys! Connor had a blast!

Highchair Hijinx!!

2007-10-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

Connor does some silly stuff in his high chair these days, and I can tell you one thing, he certainly is his mother's son! I'll have to let you in on a well kept secret of mine, so you can truly appreciate the similarities...

It all started long ago, when I was a very young little girl... My mom would start the vacuum, and I would jump on the the couch, start banging my head against the back of it, and chant, "Wayne Gretzky, Wayne Gretzky!!" Apparently I liked the way the vacuum sounded when I did that, and as for the Gretzky thing, my mom was a huge hockey fan, and I guess it was a name I heard a lot back then!

So, without further ado, I present to you my head banging son... thankfully he hasn't started with the chanting yet! Aside from the head banging, it's actually a super cute video, because Connor sees his Daddy outside, and almost seems to point and then make some "dada" type noises!!

And here's another silly highchair video!

We finally bought Connor a convertible car seat, though he still has two inches, and about 5 pounds to go before he needs to be out of his infant seat!! We bought the Alpha Omega Elite 3 in 1. I have heard some great stuff about this seat, and it was on sale, so we went ahead and got it! And, of course, we had to get Connor a new toy while we were at Toys'R'Us!

Here are some pictures of Connor with his LeapFrog Learn-Around™ Playground. He will scoot right up to it, stand up, and play for a long time!!

He's so funny!

2007-10-04T21:04:00.000-06:00

Connor has started sticking his face up against the window in this tunnel toy that he has, it just cracks us up every time!!

He just does it over and over! What a silly man!

And then when he comes out, his hair is all staticky!(Is that a word??)

And, it's been a while since I put up any pictures of my messy eater, so here ya go!!

You can tell how tired he is in this picture... Sometimes it's hard to keep him up till 6pm! If only he'd nap a little longer during the day...

And to finish things off, just some cute pictures of Connor and Daddy!

Ear Infection??

2007-10-02T14:07:00.000-06:00

I was scheduling a Doctor appointment for myself yesterday, and I mentioned that Connor has been tugging on his ears a lot lately, and they said I should pop in and get his ears checked, just in case he has an ear infection! We saw a new Dr. at the clinic, who I really like, and he checked Connor's ears and throat and took his temperature, and all was well, so he figured it was teething related. So that is good news, I am glad he doesn't have an ear infection, but he still tugs on his poor little ears all the time!

So, sticking to the teething theory, Connor woke up at midnight last night not a happy camper! I did try to feel in his mouth and he flung his head back to get me out of there, but I thought I felt what could be two swollen areas. I still don't see anything though, and today he does let me get my finger in his mouth, but I am not convinced there is actually anything going on. Only time will tell, I guess!

Well, it is already October, which means the snow is soon to come, and also that Halloween is nearing!! I had planned on dressing Connor in a bee costume that we have had for a few years now. Originally it was for my niece Courtney to wear, and our Bully Leo had a year or two in it, and so it seemed only right that it would be passed on to Connor! But, it's still way too big! And, one of the antennae are falling off, so I'll have to fix it, and hopefully it will fit him next year!

I did take a few pictures of him in it though!

He didn't like it at first:

Which is actually quite similar to how Leo reacted:

But, after a while it didn't seem to bother him anymore:

I have since purchased another costume, but I'm not gonna tell you what it is until it gets here!!

Before I go, I just have to throw in a couple cute pictures of Connor having his bottle in some too small jammies I had to put him in one last time!

Whew, Geocaching is exhausting!!!

2007-09-30T10:46:00.000-06:00

Derek has taken up the hobby of Geocaching, which basically is a "treasure hunt" where people hide small containers and then you find then using GPS coordinates! At first I thought it was sort of a weird hobby, but it's actually really very fun!! During our day of Geocaching yesterday, we got to visit some very beautiful old churches that were built in the early 1900's. Very cool!

Connor was very excited about his day of Geocaching, as you will see here:
We had a bit of a drive to get to the first cache, so Connor had a nice nap, and slept through the first one!

But, he was up and ready to go for our second cache, and we got some neat pictures of the bell tower, before we started our search:
You can see the graveyard in the background in these first few pictures, kinda creepy, but kinda neat, too!

Then, after we found the cache, Connor had some fun checking it out!

All in all, it was a beautiful fall day, with some really great family fun!

First Trip to the Zoo!!

2007-09-27T21:25:00.000-06:00

We decided that we should go to the Zoo before the summer was over(Okay, I know it's already over, *sigh*). We had a great time because it was one of the very rare times that Beth and Marty, and Derek and I, were all home at the same time! And - it was the middle of the week, which meant we practically had the zoo to ourselves! The rides were closed though, but we had a great time without them!!

We stopped in the petting zoo, and Connor really liked the sheep!

In fact, he liked them a little too much! Here I am taking sheep fur(or wool, I suppose!) out of Connor's grabby little paws!!

So, after that, I had to help him pet the sheep!

The sheep had a strange attraction to Derek, they all kept coming up to him, and this one sheep was even trying to climb on him!

Here's a picture of me thinking how funny it was that the sheep were all over Derek!
Then we visited the goats! This one goat was licking Connor's hands and nibbling on his jacket! Connor wasn't too sure how he felt about it!

Here's a sampling of the rest of the pictures we took today!!

And one of the boys and their Dads:

And, I did take a few of just the animals!
Look, Auntie Theresa!! Guinea Pigs! There were so many, and tiny babies too!

This beaver shared a pen with some pelicans, and I don't think he liked it too much!

Derek took a ton of pictures of this camel!

They were cleaning the elephants home, so they had her out for a walk! It was very neat when she walked right past us!

I just love these Prairie Dogs! They were so cute peeking out of their holes!

We had a great time, and I can't wait to go back next year, when Connor will be even more excited to see everything!

It was bound to happen sooner or later!!

2007-09-25T20:57:00.000-06:00

Connor finally discovered Leo's food and water bowls today! He stuck his whole arm in the water bowl before discovering the kibble in the food bowl, and what do you think he did? He ate it, of course!!!
And, mommy had to go and get the camera before taking him away from there, so you know he got a kibble or two that I don't know about!! When I picked him up he relaxed his hand and kibbles fell everywhere! Hee hee!

So, after seeing Connor's amazing kibble eating skills, I decided that he was ready for Cheerios! He loved them!

But for some reason, he hates his bib lately!! He will pull and pull until he gets it off!

And then, when I told him he couldn't have any more Cheerios until he kept his bib on, this is what I got:
"Aww, mom!!"

"But, I don't LIKE wearing my bib!!"

In other news, Connor still pulls up on absolutely everything!!

And - he still loves his rat!!

Ummm... you got a little something...

2007-09-22T00:04:00.000-06:00

On your face!!!

I bought Connor some of those Gerber graduates 'Puffs' a few days ago, not realizing that they are supposed to be for a year and older, but, Connor loves them! They have some added sugar though, so he won't get very many. This one he managed to get stuck to his cheek! He knew it was there so he kept opening his mouth like, 'Get it in there!!' but he just couldn't do it!

He also is really digging the apples lately!

Just some cute pictures!

2007-09-17T22:34:00.000-06:00

Connor's tiny little head finally fits into the 3-6 month hat that he got as a gift just after he was born! So, of course I had to take pictures! We were outside today watching Daddy take down a section of the fence so that he could get in a BIG garden shed that we got from a friend of Grandpa Smith! It made Daddy very happy, because now he can get all the shovels and rakes, and the lawn mower out of his way!

The wind was cold, but the sun was bright, so I apologize for the overexposure in some of the pictures!

What a funny little guy!

2007-09-16T21:31:00.000-06:00

Check out this video from today! Connor has been doing this a lot lately, and it's hilarious!

Not too much else is new. Connor tried chicken today! He made the most hilarious face with the first bite, but after I thinned it a bit with water, he seemed to like it okay. It always takes him a few days to warm up to a new food! It will be better once I can mix it with other things, and season it a bit, too!

He's still standing up, or at least trying to stand up, on pretty much everything, and he is so close to crawling, but when he wants to go somewhere, he just flops to his belly and pulls himself, so I wonder if he might skip crawling altogether!

Here are some pictures from the last couple days:

I love this picture, because there is a piggy tail in it, and because Connor is sucking in his bottom lip again! I love when he does that!

Hee Hee! There he goes again!

Here he is chewing on his foam floor mats! His off-the-shoulder look is because he stretches all his shirts when he pulls himself along the floor!

I gave Connor an egg carton to play with, but little did I know that the best before date stamp would wear off when Connor sucked on it!

Connor loves this piggy bank from his Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Here he is smacking the coins in to the slot!

Here is Connor trying to break out of our new baby gate!

And here is what Connor does when he should be napping! His little legs fit through the slats in all sorts of different ways!

That's all for now!! G'night!!

Happy 8 months,little man!

2007-09-12T10:46:00.000-06:00

I still can't believe how fast the time goes!! It seems like just yesterday Connor was a 7 1/2 pound yellow little newborn! And now he is standing, and poking Leo in the eye, and pulling himself all over the place!!

Connor was weighed and measured today, and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 16lb 11oz.
Height: 27 in.

So,he gained 9oz this month, that's pretty good, I think, considering the only time he is still is when he is asleep, and his 20-30 minute naps don't add up to all that much!!

Here are a couple pictures from today:

A couple days ago, we had a visit from Connor's best pal Jamie, and his parents! Connor and Jamie had a great time, it seemed like this was really the first time that they really noticed and interacted with each other. It was great fun to watch!

So, we decided we should shove them in the tub together!

It didn't work out too well, I think we need to wait a few more months when they can really sit and play together! But, we got some cute pictures, anyway!

And last but not least, here are a few pictures of Connor with Mommy and Daddy:

He can stand!!

2007-09-09T22:23:00.000-06:00

Last week at my mom's, Connor pulled up twice using the coffee table, but I had my hand on him just in case he fell and bonked his face, so I wasn't 100% convinced he could do it on his own. Well, today during his nap( I use the term 'nap' loosely, he clearly wasn't sleeping!!) he pulled himself right to his feet in the crib, and proceeded to throw his soothers on to the floor! (I keep a couple in his crib at all times!) Now, I knew this was coming, because he had pulled up to his knees just a few days ago, but I wasn't expecting it so quickly!!

Here is a toy we got at the Gibbons wide Garage sale for $5! It was from our neighbors. As you can see it's got a perfect little grabby handle, which Connor likes to use to pull up on, so we decided this would be a downstairs carpet only toy!

(Actually, now that I look at it, you can't really see the handle in this picture at all! It's the same color as Connor's jammies!)

It's a good thing we moved it to the basement, because he was standing in no time!

Though halfway up he decided he needed to chew on his shirt:

After that Connor headed over to the couch to see if he could use that to stand. I asked him if he wanted my help, and this is the response I got:

So, he proceeded to do it all on his own!

1.

2.

3.

Isn't he amazing? He just hopped right up on the couch! ;) Just Kidding! Of course we put him up there, but he did stay standing by the couch for quite a long time first!

And now for a couple silly pictures!

A bloggy Award!!

2007-09-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

I didn't even know there was such a thing - So it was a wonderful surprise to learn that Corinne, a fellow Babycenter mom, felt I deserved a 'Nice Matters' Award!

Here is the official description of this award:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and
those who invoke good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 4 others who you feel are deserving of this award."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to say a great big THANK YOU to Corinne for bestowing this award upon me! And, I will in turn, pass along this honor to four others:

1. Theresa - Pondering the Myriad Things - Theresa is my wonderful sister, and this award fits her to a T! She is one of the nicest people I know, and her blog shows it! Not only is she nice to all people, she is nice to all things!! Her blog inspires me to be more earth friendly, and more aware of all the things that we take for granted. Happiness should be as simple as a good cup of tea!

2. Amanda - Baby Palmer - Amanda and Baby Ellery are also fellow Babycenter Members, and Amanda was one of the first people I felt like I 'knew' there. I love reading her blog and hearing all about how Connor's 'girlfriend' is doing!

3. Heather - Curious about George - Yet another Babycenter Momma! I love her sense of humor. Her posts are always entertaining and a joy to read!! (Have you thought about writing a book Heather??) And, I am obviously not the only one who thinks so, this is not her first Bloggy award!

4.Penny - Penny and Jason's Edson Adventure - Penny is one cool cat that has an amazing way with words! She is seriously slacking on the blogging lately though!

A few new things...

2007-09-06T00:25:00.000-06:00

So , Connor will be crawling pretty soon I think! He is really good at getting up on his hands and knees, and he rocks back and forth like crazy!! He has even started lifting his hand up, and sometimes he moves his knees up one by one, he just hasn't put it all together yet! But, what he has started doing is lunging himself forward when he is up on all fours. Normally, this doesn't cause a problem, but when he does it on the changing table, it causes this:

It doesn't look too bad, but he managed to lunge forward and hit his face, right between the eyes, on the edge of the dresser which is right next to the change table. He only cried for a few seconds, and then he was all smiles again, but he now has a small yellow bruise there. :(

I have started to dress Connor, and even put on his diaper when he is in the crawling position! He just will not stay on his back for more than a few seconds! It's funny, because I was so excited for when Connor could sit up, so that I could sit him somewhere, and put a bunch of toys around him, and he would just play.... But he seems to have skipped that stage, because he learned to scoot before he learned to sit, and now he never stays put!!

I am still doing some "nap training" with Connor, which pretty much consists of me "sleeping" on the floor in his room until he falls asleep, and slowly moving closer to the door over several days. Well, I am at the door now, and was all ready to move to the other side of the door this weekend, but Connor decided today that he would learn how to pull himself up!!! I heard this thump, thump, thump noise while I was pretending to sleep, so I peeked over and sure enough, Connor is banging his hand against the top rail of the crib, happy as can be! He only managed to get to his knees though, not all the way to standing, but Derek and I moved the crib to the very bottom setting, instead of the middle one, just in case! I know it won't be long until he stands, because he pretty much does it in the tub already, but I'll tell you more about that in a minute!

So, we have the crib moved down, and I an trying to get Connor to nap again. He pulls himself to his knees, and then flops over into a sitting position, and tries to stuff his toys through the crib slats. After a minute, it seems like he wants to lay down, but he doesn't really know how! He can get to his tummy from sitting, but not to his back! So, he flops backwards and in the process gets his arm stuck in the crib slats!!! He is not very happy about this!! I help him to lie down, and eventually he does fall asleep for a nap. . . A 20 minute nap. Sadly, that seems to be his nap length of choice these days, though I did get a 35 minute nap out of him today also, yippee!!!

From what I have read, once he is good at falling asleep on his own for naps, then they should gradually lengthen after a week or two, so hopefully by 9 months, he will be a champion napper again! One can hope, right???

Anyway, on to the bath story! Derek didn't want me to post this, but I am going to anyway,because I think it's kind of neat! I mentioned earlier that Connor has started to stand up in the tub, well, he needs my help a little because it's slippery, but it seems that he does this when he has to poop! For the last four nights Connor has stood up, looked down, and peed! And then he starts with the grunting! The first night I wasn't quick enough, but for the last three nights, I have managed to get Connor on to the toilet in time to poop! There have been a few misfires in the tub, but hey, what can you expect??? So it seems that, when in the bath anyway, Connor is very aware of when he's gotta go! I am hoping that this leads to an easy, and early potty trainer, but we will see!

Well, today's post was a lot of rambling, and not a lot of pictures - I'll be sure to make up for that next time!

September already?

2007-09-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone!! Soon it will be winter again, so we are trying to take advantage of this nice weather while we have it.

Here are some pictures of Connor playing in our yard. They pretty much look like all the other pictures I have taken recently, but, he has a different outfit on! I'll have to take some pics of him in our front yard, which is already covered in leaves!!

Here's one of Connor in our crazy deck chairs that we got from my parents! They might be funny looking, but they sure are comfy!! Connor sure enjoys sitting in them!

Here's a couple from a few days ago, we thought it might be fun to put Connor in our huge laundry basket! He had a great time standing in there!

When Daddy makes the bath, things get crazy!!

2007-08-28T20:55:00.000-06:00

I asked Derek to run Connor's bathwater today, and he went a little crazy with the bubbles!!! Connor had a blast though!

Connor is getting more mobile each and every day! Today he took off into the kitchen, picked up a piece of dog food, and then stuck his hand in the water bowl!! He also quite likes chewing on the corner of the rug, despite all the dog hair!

The weather was quite nice today, so we had some outside playtime! Connor finally got to wear his tiny baseball cap! Warning - cuteness overload!!

Connor sure does love his veggies!!

2007-08-27T00:32:00.000-06:00

Make sure you have the sound on for these!! Hee Hee!

Connor's first Public Transit ride.

2007-08-23T22:35:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been an interesting week here, to say the least!! Daddy was in the hospital this week because he hurt his hand at work and had to have a skin graft. I am not going in to any more details because this is a happy blog, but I will say that Derek is doing just fine!!

So, Connor and I went to visit Daddy at the hospital on Tuesday, and we decided to take the LRT!! Here are a couple pictures of Connor using Edmonton Public Transit for the first time!

So, with Daddy home from the hospital and resting, we decided we should give him some quiet time! On Wednesday we headed to St. Albert to go for a walk with Beth and Jamie! It was a little chilly but we stopped for lunch and Connor and Jamie posed for a few pictures!! Well.. more than a few...

Connor really liked grabbing Jamie's ear!!

Connor is getting closer to crawling! Here he is up on his hands and knees!!

Some more pictures!!

2007-08-19T16:01:00.000-06:00

Not too much new is happening lately, Connor has started to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, which is really neat! And he also has really started babbling a lot, which of course is totally cute!!

Connor went to his first wedding last night, and he did really well, despite being awake the entire time we were there!

He was groovin' to the music with Daddy,

and he even got to dance with the bride - Derek's cousin Kristin!

He also had a little taste of the wobbly pop! (Not really, he just liked to suck on the bottle!)

He finally did start to fall asleep right before we left. Here he is trying to sleep and have a bottle, all at once!

A few days ago, Connor had some playtime with his buddy Leo:

Leo is getting better and better with Connor! He is not as scared of Connor any more, and he lets Connor get away with everything!!

And as always, here's just a few random cute shots!

Peeking over Connor's right shoulder, is his Grandpa Mellott! We were going to take some pictures of all of us together, but we never did! We'll have to get together with them again soon so we can get one!

Just one quick thing....

2007-08-14T22:26:00.000-06:00

Connor napped for 2 hours in his crib today.... TWO HOURS!!!!

I am hoping that this is the start of a new trend and not just a fluke!!

Yay for sleep!!
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That is all...

Finger Foods?

2007-08-14T12:56:00.000-06:00

I have given Connor some banana chunks a few times, just to see if he could pick them up. Of course, I have to pick the slimiest possible thing, so I am sure it's not easy for him! (Maybe today I will try with ripe avocado.)

"Mom! How do I get this stuff into my hand??"

"Hey! I think I did it!"

"Now what do I do? Drop it for the doggie?"

"Anyway, I prefer my naners mushed, like this!"

Happy Seven Months, Little Man!!!

2007-08-12T12:25:00.000-06:00

Seven months already! It's amazing!! Today we went to Connor's cousin Kaden's first Birthday Party!! And, silly mom forgot the camera, so I have no pictures from today , so, this one is actually from yesterday!

I weighed and measured Connor on Friday and am happy to report that he gained just over a pound this month! Average weight gain from 6-12 months is 1/2 - 1 pound a month, so Connor is actually on the high end of that, for the first time ever! I am sure that being on mostly formula has helped greatly, and maybe the wee bit of solids helped too!

Other than that he is still sitting like a champ, and pulling himself around everywhere!! He sleeps a good 11-12 hours at night, but still hates his naps! We're still working on that, though!!

Picture catch up!!

2007-08-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Okay!! It's time to play a little picture catch up! So, here we go!

Here are a couple pictures that Opa took of Connor and Kaden on August 10. Kaden is one year and one day old, and Connor is 2 days shy of 7 months!

When we first sat them down together, Connor reached for Kaden's soother, so then Kaden took it out of his mouth and tried to give it to Connor, but he couldn't because it was clipped to him! Too cute!

Here, Kaden is trying to kiss Connor, and Connor is trying to eat Kaden!

And, a few more pictures of Connor eating!

Avocado:

Peas and Oatmeal:

Carrots:

And, Connor drinking from his sippy cup! He's a pro!

And holding his bottle:

Connor got to go in a "big swing" for the first time last week! He seemed to quite like it, but I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so these are actually from his second time in the big swing, and he didn't seem to enjoy it as much this time!!

Some bath time fun!!

A little play by play of Connor scooting across the floor!

And a few of Connor with his best pal, Leo!

And lastly, just some cute Connor shots!

Whew, I think that's all for now!!!

Baby food is fun!!

2007-08-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

No new pictures yet 'cause Derek is out of town and I need his laptop to get the pictures off the camera. I feel bad with it being the 8th of August and I have no pictures up for the month yet!!

In the meantime, I will update you on Connor and his solid foods!!! Today he had avocado, and he really liked it!! He ate half an avocado, and oatmeal too! I am starting to wait longer after giving him a bottle before giving him solids, and it seems to be helping! He still has his whole bottle most of the time,(actually he usually drinks it himself from his sippy cup!) AND he is gobbling up the solids! It's very exciting!!

I am still making my own baby food, and it's going really well! Tonight I made Squash, Apples, and Peas! The apples are delicious, the peas are SO much better than the jarred ones(yes - I tasted them both!) But, I may have burned the squash... I'm not really sure because I don't know what squash is supposed to taste like!! I have every single ice cube tray full of baby food right now - that's 6 trays!!!

Yay for home made baby food! :)

ETA: Added a picture of all of Connor's home made food!

Bananas are good!!

2007-08-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

Not too much new lately, so this is just a quick update!

Connor seemed to like bananas right away, which is a good thing! I am starting to wonder if maybe pears hurt his tummy or something though... He seems to let out a big scream after eating them, not really a pain scream, but more of an angry scream... So it took me a while to put two and two together and think maybe it was the pears! I am going to try them for lunch again today, and if he does it again then we will take a break from pears for a few weeks. I think I am going to try homemade carrots tomorrow, hopefully he will like those! And I am also going to try and get some fresh peas from the farmers market here in Gibbons, and make them myself from now on too.

Sleepwise, things are looking up! Connor is actually sleeping in his crib right now, and he pretty much puts himself to sleep, but he still needs a little help from me. I have to say I do miss napping with him, but I am getting more done around here these days!!!

Connor would rather suck on my dirty toe than eat home made pears!!

2007-07-30T21:25:00.000-06:00

Yep, you heard me!! Apparently my home made pears were not the hit I thought they would be! He ate them, but he didn't seem to like them any more or less than anything else he has tried! He is very reluctant to try new tastes, so if the blonde hair didn't give it away, this confirms it - he is his father's son!!

However, unlike his father, Connor will try things more than once, and eventually learn to like them! Over the past couple days Connor has really started to like pretty much everything else we have tried! He definitely likes Oatmeal better than rice cereal, he doesn't mind when prunes are added, and he is really starting to dig peas! I know he will like peas even more when I make them myself, too! What he loves most, however, is pulling himself along the floor until he reaches my foot, and then sucking on it! I slaved over a hot steamer for those pears, and he gets way more excited over my dirty-from-my-flip-flops big toe!!! What a silly little man!!

Other than that, bedtime is going quite well! Connor sleeps from about 7:30pm to about 6:30am, and he is getting really good at going in his crib awake, and not putting up much of a fuss! Naps on the other hand, are a bit different! He much prefers to nap with me than go in his crib! It's really hard on me because the last thing I want to do during the day is lie down and have a snooze with my cuddly little boy! (I know sarcasm doesn't translate all that well through text, but I think you get the idea!) I did manage to get over an hour long nap out of him today, so even though he's not napping in his crib, I still consider this progress!! I managed to get him napping in the crib at three months instead of in his swing... so I can do this too! I just have to want to, I suppose!!

Some more pics of my messy eater:

No more peas, please!!!

2007-07-28T22:21:00.000-06:00

So, we tried peas a few days ago, and Connor was not the biggest fan, and I was not at all surprised!! He will eat it, but he makes a very unimpressed face when he does!! I am giving it one more try tomorrow, and then we are moving on to something fun!! Here are some pictures of Connor's first and second attempt at peas!

The Dr. told me to start with veggies.... and I did! We tried peas.... and now we are moving on to something fun! Pears!!! And homemade pears at that!! I had an absolute blast making homemade baby food tonight! I have a whole whack of ice cube trays full of pears and carrots! I got the book,'First Meals' by Annabel Karmel, which has some very basic puree 'recipes' in it, all the way up to meals for toddlers and children!

I knew making baby food would be as simple as cook, blend, freeze, but I also knew that there were a few things that needed to be done differently, so I really like having a reference so I know what needs to be baked versus steamed, dried versus fresh, things like that.

My plan from now on is to alternate back and forth between introducing veggies and fruit, one new every 3 days, and I will also be starting to give Connor three 'meals' a day as of tomorrow.

Breakfast will be where we try out our newest food, so we have all day to see if there is any reaction, and I will probably give oatmeal cereal sometimes too. Lunch will probably be a fruit and a veggie, and eventually barley cereal, and dinner will be Rice Cereal and a veggie, and eventually meat, and maybe fruit once we slow down on the whole cereal thing!! I am just kind of winging it, so I'm sure this will all change again once Connor is eating more mixed meals and finger foods.

I still find this whole solid foods thing a little stressful! It was nice when he just ate only one thing! It's becoming more fun and less stress though, and making my own food was a huge confidence booster for me! I have always wanted to try it, so I am glad it was a success!!

He Sits!! For real this time!

2007-07-24T21:26:00.000-06:00

Well, Connor has come a long way in the past couple weeks!! He now sits independently for minutes at a time!! He is figuring out how to put his hands out to stop himself when he wobbles, and, for that matter, he barely wobbles at all any more! Just last week he could only sit for a few seconds- how quickly they learn!!I am so proud of my little guy! This opens up a whole new world for him! He also scoots along the floor to get whatever he wants. Hmm... I guess it's time to babyproof!!!

So, of course I had to do a little photo shoot in the yard to celebrate his upright status! Be warned, many, many pictures to follow:

In this picture he was petting the grass, and then I realized, "Why on earth am I putting him on a towel??? Feel the world little man!!"

I love his li'l round noggin!

I actually sat him down in the yard, went on to the deck let the dogs out, and then snapped this picture... Seriously, he sits like a champ!!! Look how tiny he looks!!

Other than that, not much is new. We are really working hard on getting Connor to sleep better. I think it's working! He can now be put down awake and he stays pretty happy. Naps are another story though because I really like napping with him! That way I can usually get an hour out of him, instead of his usual 30-40 minutes. I was sort of just trying to make him get the most sleep possible during the day so that he wouldn't get overtired by the evening. I think that has really helped him sleep better at night, but now I have to work on getting him to nap longer during the day! He usually has three naps: one around 9am for 40 minutes, one around 12:30pm for 30 minutes, and a wee nap around 4pm for 25 minutes... so that's just an hour and a half, all day! From what I hear most babies take two naps of at least 90 minutes each - that would be fabulous! But, hopefully now that he is sleeping okay at night, that will in turn help his naps. We will see!!

On the feeding front, Connor still isn't particularly happy with anything we are feeding him, but we are taking things really slowly, so it will be another week before we start veggies, and then another week or two before we introduce fruits. I figure once we get to fruits hopefully he will like something!!

Daddy has taken to feeding Connor supper if he is home from work on time. I think they have a good time together!

Daddy gives me BIG spoonfulls!!

Dad!!! You got some in my nose!! Don't you dare try to feed me that again after you scrape it off of me!!

And, just a few more pictures from the last few days:

Solids log!

2007-07-22T15:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a few days since I posted so I thought I'd pop in with a quick update! Connor is still not sleeping very well at all, so it has been a very trying few days. He has had some decent naps today though, so maybe things are looking up!!

I added a solids log to the side column, so that I can keep track of when and how I introduced foods to Connor, and how he liked them(he hasn't liked anything yet!!).

Well, enough chit chat! On to the pictures!!

This is what Connor is doing when he is supposed to be sleeping!

So he is tired when he is supposed to be playing, and has to rest his head a bit!

And this is Connor eating the bowl of food.... he doesn't like the food, he likes the bowl... Go figure!

Mom! I am dirty!!!!

Connor looking up at his big buddy Leo! (Leo is totally enthralled, as you can see!)

Connor also prefers to eat an empty egg carton over food... but who can blame him... prunes and cereal doesn't sound that good to me either!!

And the obligatory close-up. Always blurry, always adorable!!!

Six month check up today.

2007-07-17T23:38:00.000-06:00

So, we had Connor's six month check up today, it went well, but the Dr said he was a bit concerned about Connors lack of weight gain. He did say that introducing solids will help, but I have decided to almost completely switch Connor to formula. I have always struggled with low supply, and I have been supplementing with formula for many months already, so I know how much Connor loves his bottle! I will continue to nurse him in the morning and during the night if he needs to eat for as long as I am able to. I think maybe he has been not getting enough to eat during the day for a couple months now, which may have contributed to his not sleeping as well. That being said I am not expecting the switch to miraculously make Connor have longer naps or go to bed without a lot of help from me, those are things I know we will be working on for quite some time yet! (I'll make another post about my new "bedtime routine" another day...)

Other than that, Dr. Kumar is happy with every other aspect of Connor's development, so that is great news! We have gotten the go ahead to start introducing veggies, and then fruits, and I am going to do my best to prepare as much as I can myself. I am really looking forward to getting some tasty foods into that li'l guy!!

He ate!!

2007-07-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update to say that today's cereal feeding was a success!! I was just about to give up for the day, and then suddenly Connor opened his mouth and started sucking on the spoon! After that he would open his mouth for the spoon most of the time. I decided to mix it with breastmilk instead of formula, and I think that helped a little. I would guess that he actually ingested about half a teaspoon today. Not much, but it's something! I still don't think he was particularly thrilled with the taste, but, we are definitely making progress! I can't wait to give him pears or something that's actually yummy!

Hmm.. that didn't go the way I thought it would...

2007-07-14T23:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we did it! Connor had his first solid food today! Rice cereal. You can tell by the picture just how much he liked it! After the way he has been shoving everything in his mouth lately I really thought he would gobble it up!! He actually took the spoon from me, and never once attempted to put it in his mouth, which is totally unheard of!! I think maybe I made it a little too watery, but I even added less water than the box suggested for a first feeding!

All in all, it was fun though, and I am excited to try again tomorrow morning!!

Here are a few more pictures from this momentous event!

"Okay, I am in my highchair! I like it here!! Hmm.. where are my toys?? Why do I have a bib on?? Something fishy's going on!!"

"Umm, I dunno about this... what do I do with it if it gets into my mouth??"

"Well, let's give it another shot then, bring it on!"

"Mom, okay, look at me... Does it look like I want any more of that stuff?"

"Oh good, I got the spoon, now she can't give me any more!!"

"What?!?! She has MORE spoons??"

"Seriously Mom, what is this stuff??"

"Can we be done now??? .....Please???"

Later in the day, we headed out to 'Auntie' Beth's house, so that Connor and Jamie could play! I think they had a good time!!

I love Jamie's face in the next two!

Well, that's all for now! What a busy day!!! Oh, and as far as the solid foods helping with sleep thing.... it sure hasn't yet!! I have been trying for four hours to get Connor asleep! This crazy heat makes for a sweaty, cranky li'l Connor!! Maybe once he actually ingests some food things will get better! (Or once the heat wave is over!!)

G'night!

I did it again!!

2007-07-13T23:35:00.000-06:00

Even though I freaked out after his first haircut, I thought it was time to do it again! I am not sure how he managed, but Connor has rubbed off strips of hair pretty much on the top of his head, so he had these chunks of long hair in between bald spots. It was driving me bananas, so I figured I should make it all the same length, and it can grow in together!! This time we buzzed his head instead of me trying to use scissors, and it went much better!

Here are a couple pictures of Connor and Daddy's matching haircuts:

And here's a few more just for fun. See, I told you he was the smartest baby in the world!! (And cutest, too!!)

Countdown to solids: 1 day! He gets rice cereal for breakfast tomorrow!! The bib is set out, and we are ready to go!!

Happy Six Months, Little Man!!!

2007-07-12T23:38:00.000-06:00

Well, Connor is officially half a year old today! This time next year I will be saying, "He's one and a half!" when people ask how old he is!! I just can't believe how fast the time has gone! I guess I could be saying, "He's a half!" right now??? No?

We are smack dab in the middle of another heat wave right now, so Connor and I had a pretty laid back day today! We stayed inside most of the day and took full advantage of the air conditioner! Of course, it really only cools the kitchen, so we spent a lot of time in there!!

I took a bunch of pictures, which I do most every day, but especially on the 12th of the month!!

Once Daddy came home from work, we got ready and headed out to Grandma and Grandpa Smith's!

Here is a picture of Connor with his Grandma, I meant to take one of Connor, Daddy, and the Grandparents all together, but I forgot, so we will have to make another visit soon!

And here are a few other pictures I took today. He was wearing the cutest little one piece shorts set that he got from his cousin Kaden!

I'm not sure why he is making this face.... he could be pooping, he could be talking to Leo...it's hard to say!!

Gotta love them baby blues!!

We're still working on the whole sitting thing... He hasn't really figured out that it's up to him to stay balanced!!

He looks like a tiny little baseball player!!

Countdown to solids: 2 days!!!!!

Six month shots... :(

2007-07-11T22:18:00.000-06:00

Connor had his six month shots today, and he actually did really well! He cried a little more this time, but that is because I forgot to give him Tylenol before we went - bad mommy! I did give him some when we got home, and then we eventually settled down together for a two hour nap! I love those!! He hasn't needed any more Tylenol since then, and really wasn't affected at all, but we will see how he is tomorrow!

He got weighed and measured today, and I am very happy with his numbers!

Weight: 14lb 14oz
Height: 26in (clearly last month when I did it myself, I didn't do it right, because he shrank an inch and a half!!)
Head circ.: 41.6cm

He is in the 10th percentile for weight and head circumference, and in the 25th for height. The nurse said that if he always stays in a greater percentile for height that he will always look skinny. Which of course worries me now, but he'll probably be thankful for that eventually!

Not much else is new, other than that Connor has taken to pooping shortly after I put him to bed each night, which I am pretty sure is his way of trying to stay up just a little longer!! He is already back to a late bedtime because of the heat, so our bedtime routine is pretty much out the window!

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so, and I will post again tomorrow, for Connor's half birthday!

I just love this outfit!!!

Countdown to solids: 3 days!!!

Sippy Cup Extravaganza!!

2007-07-06T23:58:00.000-06:00

I have been pushing the sippy cup a bit the last few days, since it's been quite hot. I figure the extra water probably couldn't hurt!(Not that he actually swallows that much!!) A few days ago I put him in his high chair and gave him his cup, and he grabbed the handles and tilted back and just started drinking! It was like he had done it his whole life!!

He quickly got over that though, and went back to chewing on any part of it that would come near his mouth. I did get this super cute picture where it looks like Connor is a calm baby,but don't let that fool you!! This was just a momentary lapse in energy...

Then, when he got bored of that, I gave him a paper towel roll to play with:

The next day was an unbearable 31 degrees out, so Connor was sans clothing for most of the day!

He was loving his sippy cup, but most of it ended up all down his belly, which, in this situation, was A-OK! I think he quite enjoyed it!!

Of course, a little toe sucking is always in order:

We visited Auntie Kim & family for a little bit today after our weekly visit to Oma&Opa's, and Connor was gnawing on Kim's finger. Kim said that she thinks Connor's gums feel soft and that his teeth might be coming soon! I can't wait to see what he looks like with little teeth! He has definitely been chewing in things with an increased amount of fervor lately, so I hope those teeth come soon! Maybe that, and the heat, explains why Connor has not been sleeping well at all lately! But, he is happy as a clam during the day, so that makes up for his cranky nights!!

It has been too long since I posted any videos, so here are a couple from yesterday of Connor in the jumperoo! He has come a long way in that thing, and yet, if we move it up a notch, he still just floats in there!

You'll notice the aforementioned chompy fervor in this first clip!!

And the extreme amounts of unbridled energy in this one!

Countdown to solids: 8 days!!

Canada Day is Exhausting!!

2007-07-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

Connor's first Canada Day was very exciting! He really liked looking at, and listening to, the Bagpipe players, but he was a little scared when the semi truck blew it's horn! The heat was unbelievably hot, so we did our best to keep him in the shade as much as possible! I think his cheeks got a little color, but no sunburn!!

Connor's cousin Kaden, Uncle Jamie, Auntie Tamera, Auntie Theresa, Oma, and Opa were in the parade, so I snapped a quick picture as they drove by!

We skipped the fireworks this year, since they were a little late for Connor, but maybe next year!

Countdown to solids: 12 days!!

Connor's first....sheep??

2007-06-30T21:44:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's right! Connor met his first sheep this past Friday! During our weekly walk with Oma in Fort Saskatchewan, we came across the sheep mowing the lawn and decided to stop and take a look! We became concerned because one of the sheep wasn't in the pen with the rest of them, so Oma went to go find the shepherd to let her know, and by the time she got back, half the sheep were out!! They could climb right under the fence! We found out that they are allowed to roam all over that area, and the pen was more just a 'home base' for the sheep, and not actually a place for them to stay! Well, we felt kinda silly after that, but we were happy we could go right up and feed them!! Connor was quite interested in watching the sheep, but he didn't try to grab them like I thought he would!!

I have also started to get Connor to try and hold his own bottle. I figure this will help with the transition to sippy cup also. So far it's going pretty well! He has been trying to hold it himself for quite a while now, so I think he really enjoyed getting to do it mostly himself!

Today, we took some fun pictures of Connor with his rat Capone, and a few of Capone's little buddies! We are going to be sending off a Rat Pack to Becca and her five sons in Nanaimo BC!! She is a member of the January 2007 babies birth club on www.babycenter.com, just like me, and she saw some pictures of Connor with Capone, and had to see where we found him! Well, just this past week, Derek was working near Ikea, so he popped in to pick up a few more rats! I hope that Becca's boys have as much fun with them as Connor has, it is hands down his favorite toy!

We took a bunch of pictures, but here are my favorites:

We also tried using a bath seat with Connor today, but he is so tiny that when he leans over, his legs come right out of the seat, so I don't think it's very safe. I might as well still be in the bath with him, because I have to hold him all the time still. So, I am not sure what we will do for baths! He is too splashy for the baby bath, but I can't really play with him when we are both in the bath together, so we have to come up with something!

Things seem to be getting better on the sleeping front. He goes down much easier if I put him to bed around 9pm. So we will once again start moving bedtime earlier 15 minutes each week and see how that goes!!

Countdown to solids: 14 days!

It's official!!

2007-06-26T23:06:00.001-06:00

We have a tummy sleeper on our hands!!! I am thinking this might be part of the reason he hasn't been sleeping all that well lately! I always put him down on his back, and I think he prefers his tummy! For the last few weeks, he is always on his tummy when I go in to get him. Last night he wouldn't go to sleep at all, so since Derek was working nights, I figured I'd bring Connor in to bed with me, and he lied on his back and talked to the ceiling fan for a while, and then rolled over to his tummy and went to sleep! It's just about the cutest thing in the whole wide world!! (I'll show you the cutest thing in a moment!) So just today I started putting him down on his side, and then he flops over to his tummy without waking up! We had a great day for sleeping today! He had good naps, and was asleep by 8pm!

This is him right now, I snapped a picture before taking the pictures off the camera! (Maybe now that he is a tummy sleeper, that bald strip of hair will get a chance to grow back in!!)

It doesn't look that comfy to me, but hey, whatever makes him happy, and sleeping from 8pm on, works for me!!

So, now on to the cutest thing in the whole wide world!! Connor has started sucking in his bottom lip, and then he makes the cutest faces!! There you have it, the cutest thing in the whole wide world!! Check these out:

It's just too adorable for words!! But then, he did this:

I think he was tired of the camera in his face, because then he tried to eat it!

Hee Hee! I just love taking pictures of this guy!

He Sits!!

2007-06-24T22:53:00.000-06:00

Well, sometimes he does...for a few seconds! He is really really close to sitting on his own! It won't be much longer now! We are practicing every day! It's super cute because you can see him start to wobble, and then he goes over to the side and flops on to his belly!

We are also starting to try and get him to drink from a cup. We just started with the sippy cup yesterday, so for now it's just another toy for him to chew on, but every once in a while he actually gets the spout part in his mouth!!

We also got him a little bowl that suction cups to the high chair tray, but Connor can peel it off and loves to throw the bowl over the side of the high chair! I can see how this will pose a problem once there is actually cereal in there!! We have decided that we will try out Rice Cereal for the first time on July 14! Connor will be 6 months and 2 days old. I wanted to start on a Saturday so that Derek will be home to help, and take lots of pictures!! I am excited, and yet sort of scared to start this whole new realm of nourishment!! It has been so easy up to this point!

Here's a few other cute pictures from the last few days:

See, he is not always happy!!

Things aren't going so well on the sleeping front however. We had gotten almost back to normal, with him going down really easily for naps, and almost as easily at night, but this last week he just went completely back downhill! It's been really hard on me, actually, because I feel like I am doing all the right things, trying to put him down awake, not let him nurse to sleep, keep the same routine... all the things I had read about that were supposed to instill good sleeping habits. And yet, it seems like he hates going to sleep! I am hoping that we are just going through another one of the Eight Great Fussy Phases, as talked about in 'The Wonder Weeks'. (A really great book by two Dutch doctors!) The book has a timeline in the front about when babies are supposed to become more fussy, and the reasons why, and Connor has been following it pretty much to a "T" actually! So, if it holds true, we are going to have trouble getting him to sleep for the next four weeks! Ack! I don't know if I have it in me! He actually didn't nap today...at all. And not for a lack of trying, either! He would be rubbing his eyes and yawning up a storm, but just when I finally thought he was calming down and falling asleep, he would pop back awake and there was no getting him to even look drowsy again!

So wish me luck for the next few weeks!!

It doesn't get much better than this...

2007-06-21T22:34:00.000-06:00

A few nights ago, Connor woke up shortly after midnight, which is kind of unusual for him. I tried to soothe him back to sleep, but nothing worked, so I brought him in to our bed to feed him. He was super drowsy, and when I put him up on my shoulder to burp him, he fell asleep. But, instead of putting him back in his crib, I shimmied down and left Connor on my chest. He lifted his head for a bit but then fell asleep on me! He hasn't slept like that since he was a tiny, tiny baby, and never with me lying down, so it was a really neat moment. His head was facing me, up on my shoulder, and I could hear him breathing. He looked very peaceful and cute!

I seriously considered sleeping like that all night, but fear of rolling over, and the fact that I was slightly uncomfortable won out, and I returned him to the safe haven of his crib after about half an hour.

It was a very special moment though, and I am not afraid to admit that I got a little teary having my whole family, including the dogs, all warm and cozy and safe, all in the same room. I almost made Derek get up and take a picture, but I settled for poking him in the arm and making him take a look.

It's the simple moments like this that make me realize just how special my baby Connor is! I love my little family!

Getting Ready to start solids!

2007-06-17T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well, Derek and I went to Toys'R'Us yesterday to get a bug net for the stroller, and we ended up leaving with a high chair!! It's only three weeks until Connor will be six months old, and able to start solid food, so we figured we should get the high chair while we were there!

This morning Connor tried out his high chair for the first time, and I think he liked it!! (We still have to do some adjustments to the straps though, they were almost taller than him!)

On the sleeping front, Connor is totally back on track! He is going down really easily at night and for naps! AND~ he actually busted out a two hour nap this morning! He hasn't done that in weeks! He is back to being predictably sleepy after about 90 minutes of awake time, which makes it much easier to get him down for a nap before he gets overtired! The only hard thing is trying to switch him over to a four hour routine instead of a three hour routine. His 40 minute naps don't really work with a four hour schedule, but we are working on that!

Happy Five Months, Little Man!!

2007-06-12T14:48:00.000-06:00

Well, Connor is five months old today! My little guy is growing up so fast!! I got him weighed and measured today, like I do every month, and it seems like I will be able to call him my little man for a long while yet! He only gained 6oz., weighing in at 13lb.12oz, but he gained three whole inches in length! He is now 27.5 inches! I guess he's just a lanky li'l thing! I have to admit, I was hoping he would be at least 14 pounds, but he is still gaining slowly but surely, and that is all that matters!

The weather today was very windy and yucky, so we don't have any outside pictures, like I was hoping, but I did take a few of Connor on our bed, which is something I have been doing since day one, so that's kind of neat!

Connor is on his third nap today, his first two were an hour each, which is awesome! We are approaching the 40 minute mark right away here, so we will see if he takes another hour long nap, or if he wakes after his usual 40 minutes. He is getting really good at being asleep by 8pm too, so things are slowly progressing back to normal! Thank Goodness!

Oh, I hear him waking up now! Oh well, could I really expect three hour long naps in one day?

Here are a few more pictures from today, and the last few days. I think I got some good ones!

My, how time flies!!

2007-06-10T20:08:00.000-06:00

Isn't it amazing how fast the time goes? Connor will be 5 months old in two days! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! And yet, I don't remember my life without him, I don't really even remember being pregnant!

So this post is a little trip down memory lane!!

August 16, 2006: I was 4 1/2 months pregnant. Barely showing, and yet, there is definitely a little person in there! It's neat to look at these now that I know who he is!

And here I am at 24 weeks pregnant: What a cute little belly!

And, 37 weeks along:I sure got big!

And then, on January 12, Connor was born!

One month old:

Two months old:

Three months old:

Four months old:

And soon, I will be able to add five months old!! Isn't it amazing how much he has changed! You can see his personality come out more and more as each month passes. He becomes less of a 'baby' and more of a 'person' each day! I can't wait for him to crawl, and walk, and eventually say his first word, but at the same time, I wish I could just stop time right where it is and just relish it forever!

Your Mommy and Daddy love you very much Connor!

Still not sleeping...

2007-06-07T09:02:00.000-06:00

Well we had a few good days of sleep! On Tuesday Connor went down for all of his naps without really crying at all, and he fell asleep pretty quickly at night too! Then yesterday, he cried more for his naps, but they were about an hour long, instead of 40 minutes, so I was still calling that progress. But, we had a 2 1/2 hour struggle to get him to sleep at night. Today it took 30 minutes to get him down for his morning nap, so that doesn't bode well for the day.

On the bright side, Connor is doing some super cute stuff these days! He is starting to fake laugh, where he kind of sucks in his breath and then sighs. Too cute!! I tried to catch it on video, but I wasn't successful yet!

He has also perfected the art of funny face making!

Does it get any cuter than this li'l guy??? I think not!

Pucker up, baby!!!

2007-06-05T09:26:00.000-06:00

Connor has been doing the funniest thing lately! He will pucker up his lips like this all the time! It's totally cute and I just have to smooch him, drool and all!

He also did a complete 360 yesterday! He rolled from his back to his tummy to his back, all in one motion! AND - he is starting to pull his legs up under him! He's getting mobile!! He absolutely loves being on his tummy now, too. He will stay on his back for maximum 5 minutes before rolling, even if I have something interesting dangling above him!

Yesterday we tried to go outside for a bit before it got too hot, and the bugs got too bad. It was fun! It feels nice to enjoy the weather instead of complain about it! There was a decent breeze yesterday, too which was nice!

Despite not really napping at all yesterday, Connor was pretty happy until the afternoon. Then he turned in to Mr.Crankypants!! I actually called Derek to come home from work! I don't think I have done that since Connor was a few weeks old! Daddy managed to get Connor asleep in his arms for about 20 minutes, but he was still very overtired, so bedtime was no fun! It took about 2 1/2 hours to get him to sleep, he finally fell asleep at about 9:30pm. He was clearly tired at 7:00pm, but I think maybe I'll try a later bedtime tonight, we'll see how his naps go!

I am not feeling good about the cry-it-out methods that they talk about in 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' so I think I am going to try everything else first! I am just worried that Connor will not be able to fall asleep on his own. We may have to revisit the cry-it-out methods again when Connor is 6 months, but I just can't do it now!

Well, here are a couple more pictures from yesterday just for fun!

Things might be getting better!!!

2007-06-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

Well, today was an up and down day as far as Connor's sleeping went. He really fought his naps, even his morning nap, which he usually goes down for without crying. And his early evening nap was not happening so as per Dr. Weissbluth, I put him to bed a little earlier, and he was asleep by 7:30pm!! It still took about 30 minutes to get him to sleep, but he settled down much more quickly than usual!! He did, however, wake up at 8:10pm, and then it took 20 minutes to get back to sleep, and then he let out one lone cry at 9:00pm, but never woke up!

So, all in all, I consider this a success!

Last night, Connor did the cutest thing - for the first time ever, he fell asleep on his tummy! I happened to wake up at 3am, and so I peeked in on him, and he was fast asleep on his tummy with his arms up and his face kinda bunched in to one arm. Derek was still awake, too, so I called him in and we collectively decided it was too scary! So, we rolled him back to his back, and he pretty much stayed asleep! I wouldn't mind if he slept on his tummy, since he can roll pretty easily, but I didn't like how his face was mushed into the bed and his arm, so I'm glad we moved him. I half expected him to be on his tummy again this morning, but he wasn't!

Well, it has been a while since I posted any pictures, so here are a few.

He has been loving the tummy time lately, so we do it a lot!!

Heat = Cranky Baby!

2007-06-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

It's been almost 30 above the last few days, and the heat has made Connor(and Mommy and Daddy) a little bit cranky!! And, on top of that the mosquitoes are horrible, even in the mid-day heat, so there is no way we can spend any time outside.

I bought the book 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' by Dr. Mark Weissbluth, and I am only about 60 pages in(it's a 500 page book!) But I am getting the idea that Connor is still going to bed too late, so today I tried to remedy that. We had a bath in the big tub from 6-6:30pm, then a little massage, then he ate, we read the rest of 'The Lion King' and at shortly after 7pm I tried to put him down. Well, that didn't work very well! He would be quit for a minute or so, then start whining for another few minutes, and then came the all out cry. I would go in there and he would be on his tummy! He finally fell asleep at 8:22pm, which is a new record, so I guess I should be happy! He did cry again shortly after 9pm, and he was on his tummy again when I went in, but I rolled him back over and he went right back to sleep.

Now it has started raining, and there is a nice breeze, so hopefully the house will be a comfortable temperature tonight!

A tough week...

2007-06-01T15:57:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been quite a few days since I have posted because this week has been an especially tough one, not with Connor, but with our first "baby", our Bulldog Leo. He started getting sick on Monday and by Tuesday he still couldn't keep anything down, not even water, so I took him in to the vet. He was very weak and I worried that I waited too long before bringing him in. But, the vet gave him some barium and had us come back the next day for another X-ray which showed a blockage in his intestine. He had surgery to remove a piece of toy, and was home again with us Wednesday night.

He is recovering well, and not too happy about the liquid diet he has to be on for the next few days!

Connor's Oma and Opa (my Mom and Dad) looked after Connor on Tuesday afternoon and most of the day on Wednesday, while I was going back and forth to the vet. Connor did great! Opa was whistling and singing, Oma played on the floor with him and Connor enjoyed every moment! It seemed a few weeks ago like Connor was starting to make strange with my mom, so I was really happy that he is completely comfortable there now! Except when my Dad sings a little too close! :)

So, after a completely exhausting week, Leo is on the mend, and Connor has a new close bond with his Grandparents!