Gingerbread House!

Connor and his aunts and uncle worked together to build a wonderful gingerbread house! (More pictures can be found here).

Connor and Grandpa Claus!

Connor got to see "Santa Claus" over the Thanksgiving break. His grandfather ingeniously improvised a costume out of household items (including toddler pants and a Christmas tree skirt - MacGyver, eat your heart out!) and arrived with candy canes for Connor and his aunt and uncle. Here are some pictures of Connor (more pictures can be found here). Happy holidays!

New Jersey Pictures!

We took a trip to New Jersey to visit Connor's grandfather and aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures from this trip (more can be found here). Happy Thanksgiving!

At The Park

Our playgroup is so awesome. We went to this wonderful park that is pretty much a farm. They have all kinds of animals as well as great nature trails to walk on. The kids loved the animals! Connor knows them all! We went on a walk and stopped at a pond there. The kids had tons of fun throwing rocks in the water for quite awhile. We parents had to be on our toes to keep them out of the water-a few of them really wanted to go swimming I think! It was such a beautiful day for November. The pictures are of Connor and his friends. His little girlfriend is Anika and Jonah is another pal you see a lot too.

Apple Picking

This is one of or new favorite fall traditions-apple picking. Our playgroup met at this cute little orchard called Lost Acres and Connor loved it. We pick lots of apples, take a wagon ride and eat yummy things from the bakery! We've been twice now but Scott hasn't gotten to join us yet. The best part of picking apples is making the delicious pies afterwards! The little girl you see with Connor is his best friend Anika. He's also in love with her little sister, Keslie, also pictured.

More video from the vault!

Here is a video of Connor climbing out of his crib for the first time. He was about 21 months old. He would wake up and play in his crib and when he was ready he'd call for his "mommy and daddy." Then we'd go to his door and knock and peek in to say good morning as we got him up. He loved this little routine of ours until one morning he called and we came and knocked on the door and he knocked back! We were so stunned we opened the door and there he was all proud of himself. We put him back in his crib and asked him to show us how he got out and he was all too happy to show off. He was so smart, he even threw all his blankets on the floor first to soften the fall (we have hardwood floors). He did it like a pro! Needless to say that day we graduated to a toddler bed! He never had a problem with the transition but Mommy cried while she was packing up the crib.

Here is a video from Connor's second birthday party! We had a big one with all his friends at the park a few days later but this was the actual day of with just Mommy and Daddy there to celebrate with.

Here's an oldie, but a goodie: Connor laughing it up over dinner one night! We were putting on a silly show trying to make him happy. I guess it worked! Isn't it wonderful how children find such joy in such simple things! (Age: approximately one and a half)

Scott meeting Dad

When we were first dating, maybe 2 weeks into our relationship (this was June 2002), I told Scott my Dad was coming into town. He immediately assumed, with no help from me, that he was going to meet my Dad and spend every waking moment with us. Fine by me I guess, it all went well.
When my Dad first came up he picked up Scott and I at our BYU on-campus housing and took us to my Aunt Mary and Uncle Lael's house (actually my Dad's aunt and uncle) and we had a big family dinner with them. My youngest sister Susie was with my Dad. She was about 9/10 years old. When we got in the car together Susie announces to the world, "Jennie, I like him, he smells good." Just a little embarrassing!
Unbeknownst to me, at some point during the evening my Dad had to get something from the car and asked Scott to help him. My father's biggest wish came true when he realized he had his shotgun in the trunk. He pulls it out and ask Scott something like, "Do you know how to use one of these?" and then tells him all about the gun. He always wanted to scare off my boyfriends like that and he got his chance. Lucky me, Scott didn't run!
The next day we went hiking in the canyon up by BYU to Bridal Veil Falls and had a Bar-BQ. I remember it being very windy. It was a fun weekend in all.

Autumn Leaves Are Falling!

With the change in seasons, the leaves also change colors and drop from the sky. Connor is always excited to point out a falling leaf, accompanied by the words, "Leaf! Falling!"
Today there was a large pile of leaves in front of our house, and Connor played in it for a little while. Mommy snapped some photos; here they are! Enjoy!