Connorism

Yesterday (Saturday) was a great day. We took a day trip to Boston with Jenn's father and sister (Susie). Jenn, the boys, and I went to the Boston Children's Museum (highly recommended!) while Jenn's dad and Susie walked the freedom trail. We also drove through Concord, MA on our way home, where we saw the Ralph Waldo Emerson home, the Old Manse, and some other sites (albeit in the dark and mostly from the car). Pictures will, I am sure, be forthcoming.

As we were driving home from Concord, I said something to Connor (I wish I could remember what I said!), to which he replied, "What's THAT supposed to mean?!?" I then told him, "Connor, you're adorable!" He said, "Don't call me 'dorable'!" What a nut!

The delicious cookie!

Connor and I made sugar cookies yesterday. I let him decorate some for dessert. They were beautiful. We couldn't leave Haydn out, of course, because if you know my son at all you know he'll have none of that. So...Haydn got a cookie too and boy did he enjoy it! We just had to take some pics as he DEVOURED it.

Saturday Fun!

We had such a fun day Saturday. We started with a ward breakfast with Santa. Scott sang a fun version Jingle Bells with a small group of men. It sounded awesome honey! Connor got to meet Santa. The first thing he told him was all about the hat that Santa left at our house (see previous post)! He's so funny! Then we went sledding with some friends. Connor did amazing! He loved it and even went down the hill all by himself! Haydn, on the other hand, hated it from the very first minute I put that snow suit on him! I think he hated being bundled up so much and not being able to move. He screamed for the first 10 min or so and then calmed down but was still highly irritated by the whole thing. He stopped crying when I took him down the hill. I only got one quick smile out of him the whole time we were there. Poor guy. We had a blast sledding and can't wait to do it again.

Let It Snow!

I think there is something so cute and sweet about little kids all bundled up playing outside! Yesterday it was on the warmer side (high 30's) and there was a tiny bit of snow left so Connor wanted to have a snowball fight! We went out and played with the snow and kicked a ball around until we got too cold. Today, for those of you that don't live in New England like us, it's been quite the storm. It started snowing at 10:30 this morning and hasn't stopped for a second and isn't supposed to until about midnight! There is AT LEAST half a foot out there, probably more! We didn't venture out to play in the storm today but we can't wait to build a snowman tomorrow!

Starting Christmas!

First let me say sorry! It's been so long since I've blogged. It's been a little crazy! We found out we were going to be able to move as we were headed out of town for Thanksgiving. Then we actually moved the next weekend after that. We are now in a really cute little house of our own. Well, not our own, we are renting but isn't an apt. it's a house. We love having our own space and a lot more of it! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a yard. We are in heaven. Anyways, so that's been keeping us busy. We were packing, moving, unpacking and now we are finally setting up for Christmas!

We really wanted to start by cutting down our own tree this year. This is a first for us as a married couple and we have missed it from our childhoods. Anyway, here are some pics of our adventure (warning, there are a lot!)...

First we took a hayride to the trees. We were a little silly on the way. What funny faces!

Once there we had fun choosing the perfect one. Connor insisted that we follow him and he would lead us to our tree.Here's Scott thinking he's being funny!Now my big, strong man cuts down the real tree and hauls it away!

We had fun letting Connor help us decorate! He did a great job putting everything in one concentrated spot. That spot looked GREAT! We helped him reach a little higher. Haydn just stood by enjoying the seen.
Whaalllaaaa! I love my little family! Here's a really cute side story. Connor is really understanding Christmas this year and is becoming a little materialistic for the first time in his life. He keeps making a list of all the things he's going to ask Santa for...
1. New sunglasses (he lost his)
2. A new squirt gun (he broke it)
3. A sister (He was looking at this book where the story is about a brother and sister, he turns to me and says, "Mommy, we are missing a sister in our family. I want one. I'm going to ask Santa for a sister!")

Another story...so Scott served his mission in Holland. There they have a day on Dec. 5th where Santa (different name though) comes and leaves presents in the children's shoes. We decided to add this to our traditions. Santa brought Connor sunglasses already by the way (He was thrilled!). Later that day Connor found a Santa hat laying on the floor and asked what's this. I seized the moment and very worriedly said,"Oh no, Santa must have forgotten it here!" Connor picked up on it wonderfully and got just as concerned. It was SO funny! I calmed him down and said we could leave it for him with the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve. This will now be another tradition!

Now I know my A B C's.....

Since I opted not to put Connor into preschool at the age of 3 (like most parents around here do nowadays) we decided to do a little "school time" together. We started in September and we've been doing preschool workbooks as well as learning the letters and their sounds. We made a book of letters together where for each letter I wrote it out in bubble letters, tried to draw pictures that started with that letter and then wrote the words that corresponded with the pictures. We learned all their sounds one by one and Connor is proud to report that he finished today. We only had X..Y..and Z left and he wanted to do them all because he wants to "know how to read!" When we closed the book he said, "Mommy, I can read now!" He actually can read small, easy words too! We are so proud of this BIG boy! Better yet, he is SOOO proud of himself. Great job Connor!

Haydn 9 months old

My baby is growing up! Haydn is 9 months old already! For his 9 month WCC he weighed 19lbs 10 oz and he's 28 1/2 in tall (about 50 percentile for both). He's a mover and a climber! He's just barely starting to be able to walk with a baby walker (he's not too good yet, but give him a week!)! He can climb up onto the lovesacs to get us! He learned how to climb out of the exersaucer and he even lands smoothly. I got it on video but our camera is being dumb at the moment. He just figured out how to say my name and now it's non-stop "mama mama mama mama" but really only when he needs something or wants me. When he plays he just babbles "ba ba ba"! His favorite game is peekaboo. If is say, "Where's Mommy?" he'll stop whatever it is he's doing and look at me with a big grin. Right now it even works nicely to distract him from doing something he shouldn't be! If I have a blanket over my face he'll crawl over and take it off. He's a bit of a "mama's boy"! If I hand him over to Daddy and walk straight out of the room he will cry. He loves his big brother. He'll follow him everywhere! His favorite place in the whole house is the bathroom. If he sees the door open he'll make a run for it. He's sure there is something in there that must be awesome since we try not to let him play in there. He LOVES food. He can have food on his tray and still complain that he doesn't get to eat what we big folk are having. We often let him try it and he is then in heaven. He is such a sweetheart! We can't imagine life without him. One bright smile will melt your heart!

Fall Pics

So I found the perfect place to take these fall pics of the boys at the park. There were some weed berries growing near it so I just tramped them down into the leaves so they weren't in the way. Haydn was so excited to be in the leaves but all he wanted to do was eat them. It was a struggle to get him to look up. If I patted the leaves in front of me so it made a crunching noise he would laugh hysterically(as you can see in some of the pics)! As I was taking pictures I noticed there was something purple on Haydn's arm and I look down to realize I was kneeling in the berries. AHHH! So I jumped up to start cleaning up Haydn and what happens next...I step in dog poop! Yeah! Needless to say, this was kind of a frustrating photo shoot but I love how cute these boys are.

Imagination...

Connor and I were reading a book and all the sudden he looks at my wedding ring and says, "I like your choo choo train ring Mommy!" I questioned him about what he meant and he says to me, as he turns the ring round and round my finger, "See, choo choo." What a great imagination. Now my wedding ring not only is a symbol of love but it doubles as a "choo choo train" for my toddler to play with.

Halloween Adventures!

I know I haven't posted any Halloween pics even though we have done tons of Halloween activities. Here they are all in one place. Included are pics of our Ward Halloween party, Playgroups Halloween Party, Trick-or-Treating, Carving Pumpkins and a few other related outings. It's so fun to have a toddler and be able to really get into these holidays. Connor didn't really get into the trick-or-treating as much as I wanted him to. We took the boys trick-or-treating down main street to all the stores and Connor went to the first few and then announced, "I'm done, I have enough candy." I was like, " WHAT!!??" No way buddy! I made him keep going. He hasn't really been asking for his candy either! He must not be related to me! Haydn, on the other hand, wants everything to do with the candy and he shouldn't even have it yet! I was holding a bowl of candy at the trunk-or-treat and Haydn, sneaky little guy, got a hold of a York Peppermint Patty and had it in his mouth wrapper and all! We actually got Connor to help us clean out the pumpkins this year. He didn't really want to but liked it afterwards! It was a fun Halloween!

A little bragging...

I have awesome kids! I just wanted to take a moment to brag about their accomplishments. Connor and I have been doing "school time" together since I opted not to send him to preschool. He's been learning letters and their sounds, and numbers too. He knows all the letters by sight and we are halfway through the alphabet with sounds now. He can also read a digital clock pretty good. He especially knows when 7am is because that's when I've been letting him get up(we are preparing for the time change). So, we were in the store the other day and I wanted to have Connor show off his letter skills to his Daddy. I found the word CAT in a preschool book and said, "Connor sound out the word and see if you can tell me what it is" (we had never done this before, it was only a test!). Connor sounded out each letter correctly one after the other and then said CAT! He was so proud that he read his first word with no help and we were so thrilled! I can't believe my baby is starting to read! We've been practicing reading simple words now and he's just doing great!

Haydn my little climber is such a joy! He hasn't been sleeping well lately, I still haven't figured out why. He is babbling more and more but no real consistent words yet. The other day I had the boys at the park and Haydn was crawling through tunnels and climbing up stairs. He was all over the equipment with me right there making sure he didn't tackle anything he's too little to do himself. He has no fear.

We've been having tons of fun with Halloween prep this year. More pics will follow soon of their cute costumes.

Bubbly Boy!

There are an endless supply of pics of my boys in the water but here's a couple more. Haydn is such a crazy kid in the tub. He will fall in the water so many times as he crawls and climbs about but he NEVER gets scared or upset. He LOVES the water and has NO fear! These pics are right after he took such a dive and ended up with a bubbly face...Santa's a little early this year!

Fall Festival

We went to a Fall festival at Westmoor Park on Sat. We went with some friends for Connor too- Sam and Jonah. They had a great time together sliding down a hill of hay, running through a maze and roasting marshmallows. It was way fun.

FHE- Fire Dept. Open House

For Family Home Evening tonight we took the boys to the a fire station where they were having an open house. It was great and Connor really learned a lot. They taught him all about fire alarms, how to crawl under the smoke, how to dial 911, and what to do when your clothes catch fire. He even got to sit inside a fire truck and try on real fire man clothes. They let me put out a real fire with a fire extinguisher too. We took Connor home and quizzed him about what he learned and he remembered everything!

Scarecrow Craft

We did a Halloween Craft today! We started this at playgroup the other day but put it on hold to make it better. Thanks to Jenn for the idea. Anyways, this is our scarecrow, Connor II. We stuffed some of Connor's clothes with leaves and hung them on some crossed sticks. Then we painted an old soccer ball and put a face on it. Then gave it a straw hat for a finishing touch. Way fun. Connor loved painting, we should do it more often. Here's the funny thing though. Connor doesn't really like his hands dirty (or maybe I am just picky about it and he's caught on) so when he got some paint on his fingers the first thing he did was stick them in his mouth! Oh boy, I couldn't believe it. I'm like, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" Crazy kid! I guess because we were at the table he just wasn't paying attention the the fact that we weren't playing with food.

Haydn is Huge!

Today we took Haydn to the doctor for a well-child check. It was for his 6 month check even though he's 7 1/2 months old (we got behind when we went to Hawaii). Well, he passed with flying colors. My chunky little guy is 18lbs 14oz and 27in tall!!! He is doing everything he should be and MORE! He's crawling like a champion up on his hands and knees now. He's climbing everything too. He can climb to a stand and stand fairly steady. He loses his balance every once in a while but he's getting better! We had to lower the crib already because he'll climb and stand up against the side. He's eating solids great. He likes everything so far. In fact, if he sees anyone eating something and he's not included he gets very distressed! He can even feed himself little cereal bits and he drops less and less down into the highchair everyday. It helps to have something for him to eat with his fingers while we feed him because we can't go fast enough. He's hard to hold now because he always wants down to play. Don't even get me started about the struggle I have to get him in a diaper or clothes. He's such a cute, happy little guy. He smiles for anyone. He is SO ticklish and his laugh is just adorable. He LOVES the water. When I put him into the bath he immediately starts flailing his arms and legs and splashing everywhere with the biggest grin on his face. When the water gets in his face he pauses for a split second and then keeps on going, it doesn't phase him at all. Now he crawls around and tries to climb in the tub so it's quite an active bath. He's definitely going to be a swimmer! Well, that's just a little about Haydn to keep everyone updated! We are so happy he's part of our family.

Connor's Great Ride

Connor is such a firecracker! He talked with Grandma the other day and she asked him if he had ridden his bike to the park. I told her that it was a little far and up hill the whole way there and I didn't have the courage to try it yet. Well, the power of suggestion is real! The next day Connor decided he wanted to ride his bike to the park. When asked what would happen if he got tired he said he'd just keep riding! So, we gave it a try! Off we went. By the way, he's on this really BIG Lightning McQueen kick because of his new Lightning McQueen shoes that, of course, make him super fast everywhere he goes. So on that ride not only was he as fast as Lightning McQueen...he WAS Lightning McQueen AND I was Sally. If I referred to him as Connor he would correct me every time. Every time we stopped and started again he would start up his engine and ask me if I started mine. Then he would speed ahead til I told him to wait up. While going super fast he would randomly, but frequently, shout out "KeerChow!"(a Lightning Mcqueen phrase if you haven't seen it). It was so cute. Boys are too fun! Anyways, we made it all the way to the park and back with no problem (almost 2 miles). It was awesome! I'm so proud of him and he was awfully proud of himself too!

Also, his newest word is "Fusterated"(frustrated). If he gets upset he'll say, "I'm fusterated with you Mommy!" and give me a great frustrated look! He's very expressive in his facial expressions! Don't know where he gets that one!

The Princesses Party

Connor went to a birthday party today. Not just any birthday party...a birthday party for two Princesses. Everyone was supposed to come in Princess or Knightly attire so we had some fun with this. Well actually, I think I had more fun with the dress up part than Connor did but he did ok putting up with it. We got him a red robe and a sword at the store and Connor and I made a crown. He looked SOOOO adorable. When we went shopping for presents Connor found some flowers and told me,"Mom, Katie loves white flowers!" so, of course, we had to get some. My little prince showed up all dressed with two bouquets of white roses (the princesses are twins) in his hands. HOW CUTE! He got to do some really girly things like make necklaces and bags. He was actually a natural at making a necklace but he wouldn't wear it when he was done. He said he made it for me...THAT'S MY BOY! I did finally (he was tired) get him to pose for some glamor shots with one of the twins, Katie. They were being too cute together...just look for yourself.

The reason he was tired was because he was up late while at the Father/Son Camp Out. From reports Scott and Connor had a blast. I'm so glad I have such a great husband that takes the time to spend time with our kids. Our boys adore their Daddy. Haydn wanted to go so badly. He was crawling around after Scott while he was trying to get everything ready to go. He almost even got out the door only to be foiled by me.

Fruit Picking

So we've been having such a busy month. Full of fun and exciting things. We have found a new love in fruit picking. Scott and I are already making a list of all the things that we will have growing in our backyard. These pics are of our blueberry and apple picking adventures. Connor loves it too. We went blueberry and raspberry picking one day and he would carry the pints around, drop a few in, eat a bunch off the bushes and then eat what was in his pint. Silly boy! He loves berries. We've been making all kinds of things with them too--pancakes, syrup, muffins, cobbler, jams, etc. And more to come, I still have about 7 lbs of blueberries in the fridge.
We also went apple picking with our playgroup. We picked half a bushel. I can't wait to smell the pies that will come out of my kitchen. I'm going to have to be giving them out right and left with this many apples! Blueberries and apples are like our new candy! Have you ever had blueberries in vanilla ice cream--DIVINE!!!