Peace, Love and Happiness!

Went to an awesome costume party the day before Halloween. Jodi, Rafi and Mateo love to throw great Halloween parties and this year was no exception. We had a family costume this year. Greg was "Peace" all decked out like a hippy. I was "Love" Probably had close to hundred hearts on me. And Connor was "Happiness". Had a big smiley face on his shirt as well as happy face patches on his pants (which decided to fall off).


Anyway, there was lots of yummy food, and fun games. Everyone had a costume and looked really good. We ended the evening playing "Rock Band". Then took a sleepy little boy home to bed. He was quite happy to be in his own bed instead the pack 'n play.

Last year at this time, Connor was only a week old so he didn't really get to celebrate. I think he had a good time. Next year we will actually get out and "Trick or Treat" with him. Can't wait to see how that goes!

Tractor Time!

It's Halloween day and we decided to go to a pumpkin patch, which ended up just being a quick tractor ride and that was about it. Connor took right to the tractor and sat perfectly still with a smile on his face. Loving it!

Next he decided it was time to drive the tractor.... again... loving it. (Pumpkins in the background)

We tried setting him in the pumpkins.... didn't work. We tried standing him by the pumpkins next to a hay bail.... didn't work. Then we tried setting him next to some scarecrow with a pumpkin

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and Connor was very happy when not in front of the camera. We also bought a few things from the "Country Store". The church that had the pumpkin patch was also selling homemade items with proceeds going to charity. We ended up with lots of ornaments, soup mix, apple pie filling and a few other odds and ends. They even gave us a slice of pie made with the pie filling. That sold us for sure! Yum!

That evening we handed out candy to the neighborhood kids and called it a night around 8:15. Had to get a worn out kid to bed and every time the doorbell rang... Missy would bark her head off. One little boy said "I'm afraid of the dog", but certainly stood there long enough to get a handful of goodies. Hehe.

Happy Halloween to all!

Turning ONE is so much FUN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONNOR!

Or so we thought! HA! Poor little man Connor had is 1 year appointment and got four shots the day before his party. Needless to say he was not in the mood to celebrate... and who could blame him!! Note to self: schedule yearly appt AFTER his birthday party!

Otherwise, it was a gorgeous day and everyone else had a great time. Connor had lots of wonderful friends to share his day with. We stuffed ourselves with hot dogs, fruit salad and cupcakes. The kids played on the huge jungle gym and swings. We even had a blow-up pool filled with plastic balls.... well, it was a bit lackluster in the ball department but they still had fun.

Here are some photos for your enjoyment. Wish I could have fit all the pictures on here.

Special thanks to Mary & Dick for helping with the food and drinks, Michele for baking all the cupcakes, Jim for manning the grill and Jodi & Rafi for taking all the pictures!!

Ducks need to swim.... right?

It's amazing to me that even a 1 year old knows that a duck belongs in the water! I hope Missy doesn't mind lending her water dish for a little duck bath!

Family Photo - Pumpkin Style

What can I say... aren't we a cute family! Just wanted to get this out there. Thank you Mary for providing the pumpkins.

So Connor has been a bit sick lately. He came back from Midland with a cold (his first ever) and now he has an eye infection. Not sure where he got that from. Anyway, he is on the path to recovery.

He has started to say "mama" upon request and "dada" when he feels like it. I'll try to catch it on video and get it on here asap.

Well that's all for now.... stay tuned.

A Midland Wedding Weekend

Off we went... Connor, myself, Papa and Grandma Mary all piled into their car and we were off. This was Connor's first road trip. It took about 6 hours to drive to Midland, TX, for Greg's second cousin's wedding. Greg was in California for work and was to meet us in Midland mere hours before the wedding started.... more on that later.

Connor did very well on the trip. He had a few cranky moments, but who wouldn't? He was strapped into a seat and wasn't able to "get comfortable". But with his favorite learning DVD and the happy distractions of Grandma Mary.... we made it in one piece. Oh, and we HAD to stop at at least one Dairy Queen in honor of Greg. He calls them "Texas stop signs". Here's a little video of Connor playing with his sun shade rather than using it to shade the sun. Silly!

So once in Midland and after we checked into our hotel, we went to see the bride to be. She was very VERY calm for getting married in two days. Connor loved playing with all the doggies and warmed up to everyone after a little while. That night we just took it easy and tried to go to sleep close to our regular schedule. Connor had a crib provided by the hotel, but was NOT very happy about it. He would not go to sleep for me. So I ended up having to hold him till he fell asleep and then carefully lay him down. After two failed attempts... He finally went down for the night.

The next day we got ready and down to the complementary breakfast we went were we saw Connor's Uncle Mike, Aunt Ashlie and Cousin Wyatt who arrived late the night before from Michigan. Connor and Wyatt are on opposite nap schedules so they didn't get to play a whole lot. That night we had the rehearsal dinner were Connor was up way past his bedtime. You'd think he would go to bed easy because he was sooooo tired. But noooooo! This night was worse than the night before. I don't think he fell asleep till around 10pm.

Here Connor is playing in the hotel room. Greg wanted to see a video of Connor so I was happy to oblige.

The wedding day... Grandma Mary, Connor and I hit the mall for some last minute items before the wedding. Greg's plane was supposed to arrive at 4:05pm. This was 3 hours before the wedding started so plenty of time... right? Wrong! The plane had mechanical issues, so they had to switch planes... delay. The new play failed the security check... delay. Finally he made it to the hotel about 6pm and we had to meet the parents downstairs at 6:30. Greg had to shower, shave and get ready which he actually did.... but then couldn't find his wallet. We ended up spending an extra 10 minutes looking for it. He feared leaving it on the plane. But thankfully he only left it in the car. WHEW! Crises averted.

We arrived at the church with minutes to spare and were quickly seated. Let me just say that the bride looked soooo BEAUTIFUL!! I brought some snacks to distract Connor in hopes of keeping him quiet and the was hilarity began! He held the big container in one arm and started diving into the goodies with the other. It was like an avid movie goer with his huge tub of popcorn, continuously shoveling handfuls in his mouth while watching the show. I finally had to put the lid on it. Then he squirmed for a little bit and right as the vows were about to start he got vocal. Greg rushed him out of the room... Darn, almost made it.

The reception room looked awesome! We were already way past Connor's bed time, so I decided I would just be able to feed him (and myself) then just go ahead and take him back to the hotel for bed. Here is the handsome little guy! His hair is a muss because the ladies couldn't keep their hands off of his curly locks. He's a lady killer already!!

The next day was time for the long drive back home. This time with Greg in tow. We again made it in one piece and were all very happy to be home! All in all I would say Connor's first road trip was a success. Thanks for hanging with me thru this long post!