Funny Video from August!

I haven't had much time to work on my blog lately, so now I'm playing catch-up! More to come soon! :)

Conner's 2nd birthday party (66 photos), by Karen Loden

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Splish-Splash

Conner turned 2 yesterday, and Wednesday I kept him out of daycare to visit the Splash Park. It was better than I expected and a lot of fun! We had friends to meet us there, and everyone had a great time. It took Conner a while to get used to the water, but after I left him to do his own thang, he seemed to enjoy it! Karin took a few shots of him, and even used her PhotoShop skills on a couple. I like to sit back and just watch Conner. He is very observant, and at times, seems to rather watch other kids play than to be loud and busy himself. (Much like his momma!) Now don't get me wrong, he is all b0y and gets rambunctious at times. But he is quieter than most other boys his age. Sometimes I wish I knew what he was thinking!

Earlier this week, my mom and I took Conner to get his 2-year-old pictures made. We went to Portrait Innovations in Renaissance, and overall it was a good experience. I really liked the studio there, and we managed to get a few good shots of him! Conner never does will with pictures. He is very photogenic, but doesn't cooperate when asked to smile. Maybe he is getting us back for when we were constantly taking his picture when he was a baby. All those camera flashes probably scarred him for life! Anyway, the great thing about that photography place is that they have your pictures ready for you in 15-20 minutes! To pass the time, we decided to walk across the street to a toy store. Conner found a Thomas the Train play area, and was in heaven! Then when it was time to leave and he had a meltdown....the biggest tantrum to date. I guess this was the sneak-preview to the "terrible twos!" However, I've had many tell me that 3's were worse! Oh well....before I know it, he will be graduating from high school. I'm going to cherish this time while I can - tantrums and all!

Tomorrow is Conner's birthday party - Elmo style! It's mainly just a family party, like last year. I might be brave enough to do a friend party next year, we'll see. I can't wait to see the cake that Betsy is making. I'm sure it will be fabulous! I will post again after the big party. (I didn't say WHEN after the party....could be in a couple of months.) Haha, just kidding! I will post hopefully by next week. :)

We're Still Here!

Yes, I know it's been quite a while since my last post. I would like to say that I'll be picking up where I left off, but since that would require covering almost 5 months, it ain't gonna happen! So, I'll keep this short and sweet, but will at least provide y'all with some new movies and photos. (Jeremy got a new Mac, and it's SO much easier to do video now!)

Conner is really growing, and he'll be turning 2 in only three months! It seems that with every passing day he has learned a new skill, word, or action. His big thing these days is to smile on cue, as you'll see from some of the photos below. (Hopefully this will make our professional picture taking experience a much better one! We'll see after next week when he has his picture taken again at daycare.) I'm also glad that the weather is getting warmer, because he LOVES being outside. Of course, I'm sure it will reach a point where it will be unbearably hot, but for now it's perfect!

Enjoy the videos and pictures below. I hope to post again soon!

He's A-Walkin!

It's about time! Conner finally decided that walking really is a lot more fun than crawling, even if he's still faster on all fours! Everyone told me that when he did start walking, he would "take off"....they were right! Sometimes he gets ahead of himself and falls down, but he seems to know when it's coming. We took him to the park today to let him "roam" around. He looks funny because he holds his arms up for balance. He doesn't seem to care where he goes, or how far away he gets from us (probably not a good thing). And instead of staying on the nice, solid concrete or play area, he prefers to get out into the grass and dirt. I guess that's a boy for you!

We also went to the fair with Aunt Kathy and cousins Brian and Claire. They were out of school one day, so we met them there around lunchtime. The main stops for us were 1) the petting zoo (of course), 2) the Ferris wheel, and 3) the ice cream stand - Conner's favorite!

Hello and Goodbye Summer

Yes, it has been quite a while since I last blogged! I am FINALLY taking the time to sit down and attempt to pick up where I left off. Summer has definitely come and gone. Well, not the heat part of if, but the slowness of summer vacation. (Since I work with the school system/educators, my summers are very slow when schools are out.) So, what has Conner been up to for the past 3 months? Well, I'm glad you asked....

I've stopped keeping up with what he eats now, because he pretty much eats anything! He LOVES chicken nuggets, applesauce (still), and watermelon! I really think he could survive on just those things if we would let him. He is still good about eating veggies and fruit too. We have stopped making his baby food though, and buy the occasional pre-made stuff instead. (With grocery prices so high, I don't think we saved much money making it ourselves anyway.) He is also off the bottle, and has mastered the sippy cup. Daycare really helped with this, since he really didn't have a choice there. They did help him with it at first, and then he slowly figured out how to do it himself. He also can drink out of a straw, and he LOVES juice boxes! We don't give those to him too much, since he usually drinks 1/2 juice, 1/2 water out of a sippy.

Yes, our little man is growing up fast. He started daycare the first of June. We got him in at Explorers in Pearl, a new daycare that is under the same management as Silver Spoon. The good Lord took care of us on that. Conner has been on 2 waiting lists for about a year, and they are still full. I needed somewhere for him to go by August, and the Lord provided! He seems to really like going. As soon as he is dropped off, he is off playing and doesn't cry when we leave. Jeremy usually drops him off, and I pick him up. I've got the better job, because when he sees me he is all smiles and can't crawl over to me fast enough. I pick him up and he just stares at me with this huge grin on his face as if to say, "Is that really you, Mom?" It is adorable.

And yes, Conner is still crawling, although he really wants to walk. He is constantly wanting someone to "walk him" around the house. He cruises around all the furniture and walls, so I don't think it will be too much longer before he'll be walking on his own. Then he'll really be dangerous! So, I'm not rushing it one bit!

I think Conner had a good summer. He went to the movies for the first time to see "VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" at Tinseltown. He loves VeggieTales, but this movie didn't have enough music in it for his liking. He did make it through the whole movie, and only fell asleep for about 30 minutes. He also had his first birthday party on June 14. He had fun with the cake, as you can see from the pictures below. He also went swimming a few times, which isn't his favorite thing, but he does okay. He always seemed to rather crawl around the pool instead of being in it! And while Jeremy and I went to Key West, Conner got to stay with his Mamaw and Papaw and his Aunt Kathy! Oh, and how can I forget the most recent event....going to my family reunion in Blue Mountain, MS! Conner was a very good boy through all of this....the car ride up there and back, enduring the reunion, and staying overnight in Tupelo. Next week he gets to travel to Kosciusko to stay with Mae-Mae, while Jeremy and I go on the beach retreat with the church....can't wait!

So, I hope you've enjoyed the blog, and I'll try to be better at updating more regularly! :)

Recent Happenings

Conner will be 11 months tomorrow! I can't believe that it's time to start planning his first birthday party. We have decided to do a family/close friends party at my parents' house on June 14, which is the Saturday before his actual birthday. I don't think we'll do a themed party this year, although he really likes VeggieTales. (Can you get an animated movie on a cake?)

We have tried lots of new fruits and veggies - avocado, peaches, mango, asparagus, spinach, and butternut squash. The only one he really started to dislike was spinach. We've also been giving him some Yo Baby yogurt, and he really seems to like that. I've started to give him the sippy cup more, but he's not taking to it very well. He may drink a few sips out of it, but then he's done and pushes it out of the way. I've tried different kinds of cups and putting different liquids in it (diluted juice, water, formula), but it's not going too well. If I put it in front of him, he'll just play with it and bite on the spout. He doesn't turn it up far enough, and when I try to help him, he gives up! I'll have more time to work with him on it this summer, so we'll see what happens!

Conner went to the beach for the first time about a month ago. It didn't go as well as I'd hoped. We went to Seaside, FL, and the weather was perfect. The first day we went out on the beach, Conner didn't want to leave my side, he didn't want to be near the waves, and he ended up falling asleep in my lap. I had hoped he would love the beach like his mommy, so I was disappointed when that didn't happen. Come to find out, he was sick that day. After we got back to the cottage, I took his temperature and it was 102! It must have just been a 24 hour fever virus, because he was better the next day. We tried the beach again another time, but he still didn't seem too thrilled about it. Maybe it was because he was due for a nap, but I had hoped he could just lay on the blanket under the umbrella and go to sleep. That didn't happen. Maybe it was too bright outside for him....I don't know. He thought the sand was weird, and he tried to eat it, which wasn't a good experience. Oh well, there's still hope for him yet! We'll try the beach again next year when he can run and play. He did enjoy the pool though, which made mommy very happy! :)

I think we have finally found somewhere for Conner to go after this month. There's a new daycare opening in Pearl in June, and they had spots open in the 1-year-old room. Of course, he won't be 1 year old when they open, but they said that would be fine. However, they asked if he was walking yet, because that's usually when they move up to the 1-year room. He is definitely not walking, and I seriously doubt he will be by his first birthday. They didn't deny me the ability to register him though, so I hope it will be okay. The main thing is that we got him in somewhere! I didn't really need a full-time daycare for this summer, but if I didn't go ahead and sign him up, I would go back on the waiting list and there's no guarantee that a spot would be open for August. Needless to say, I didn't want to take my chances! He's been on 4 waiting lists, and I was starting to worry! Thank you, Jesus! You have provided once again....should I have expected anything less?