Under the Big Top

Today was the day "Children of All Ages" converged on the the Civic Center to see the RBBB Circus. We have been talking to Connor all week about the elephants and tigers and clowns that he would see today. He loved it! {Ok, his eyes got even bigger than usual when we entered the Civic Center - all the flashing lights and people - he was enamoured. We purchased a light-up toy since we knew the lights were going to be out and we didn't have to buy him a ticket - so we could splurge on some fun (a/k/a something to occupy Connor if he hates the circus). He was doing great even when the lights went down - until the crowd started chanting and yelling. Screaming bloody murder - it was sort of funny - like the Santa and Curious George situations - except I was determined we were going to stay for more than 5 minutes of the circus. We parked and walked more than 5 minutes to get into the circus - we were going to stay. Colin walked him around out in the concourse for the National Anthem but Connor wasn't convinced. Luckily we were in the last row end seats of our section and could leave easily. I traded off with Colin after about 5 minutes. Then the clowns came out - I somehow managed to get Connor to believe that the clowns were waving at HIM (and only him) so he waved back and never looked back. From then on - he loved the circus - a little more every 10 minutes or so - so after an hour and a half he was clapping and jumping and cheering for the acts}. So in summary - he loved it - whew! My pictures from the event are pretty terrible - I took my point and shoot camera - I was holding Connor in my lap 1/2 the time and it was really dark inside - but . . . here are some of the best (i know, pretty bad) shots from today.

Connor and his new toy

Motorbikes - 7 of them! Colin thought this was VERY cool (i.e. he was still talking about it after we left)

Focused . . .

Playing in the Park

It has been an iffy weather week. Cold then warmer - possibility of ice/ rain later this week. So we took advantage of the semi-nice days and played in a couple of local parks. Monday we met my friend Heather and her daughter Julia - since it rained all day Sunday it was a little - ok a lot muddy - but the kiddos had fun. Connor took Curious George with him (ironic considering the last post) but George was muddier than all of us at the end of the hour! He got a nice bath in the washing machine along with all our clothes.

Miss Julia



Miss Julia - peeking . . . (we had a great shot of both kiddos peeking out but of course we missed it)



Sharing George - so sweet!


Swinging - Connor isn't too sure - check out the MUD!


All bundled up . . .



Today it was warmer - nearly 65 by the afternoon. We headed out the park around the corner from our house. Just me and Connor. There is a section for 2-5 year olds but Connor enjoyed it. He could climb up to the slide all by himself. You may recall he LOVES slides. He is coming around to the swing too. I have a swing for him for our house but I have no place to hang it. Who knew you can't hang a swing from a deck?? Well, I suppose if you think about it - it makes sense - if he falls it would be on the patio . . . but we have no tree limbs that are strong enough to hold the swing - so we will have to wait on the full swing set - maybe for his birthday - until then, we will have the park(s).

Curious George

We started off last weekend by joining a family friend and her grandsons at McWane to see Curious George and play with the kiddos. Connor has been to McWane once before and recognized all the fun toys as soon as we arrived. Unfortunately, he prefers the LITE BRITE to just about anything else - including Curious George. Connor refused to stand in a line of like 4 people to see CG. He HAD to go play with the LITE BRITE. So, my hopes of getting a CG and CG photo op were dashed . . . but the boys had a wonderful time playing. Of course, I still have this one
Davis and Isaac are such sweet brothers! They of course patiently waited in line and got a pic with CG. Davis is giving CG a hi-5 - adorable!
Then the boys played at the Itty Bitty Magic City - all toys and stations just for their size!
Connor and Isaac

Connor running to the next station at Itty Bitty Magic City - too much fun!

Our Future Accountants . . .


Connor LOVES Legos

Connor driving his car - not looking at the road and checking out the little girl driving next to him - TROUBLE!

Stayed tuned . . . Circus this weekend!

Our Sweet Boy

This post is skipping over the past few days but I can't wait to blog about that and miss out on sharing these adorable pics of Connor. It has been warm here - HOT even for January (70 yesterday) and 60 today. We were outside in our front yard "playing" when Connor started pointing and shouting "Moon!"

Connor has also been a kissing bandit. You may remember him kissing Mary Casen a few months ago. That set him off on a kissing rampage. He will kiss you when asked . . . and sometimes he will initiate (which is sooo sweet!) and it just melts my heart. This morning I caught him practicing in the mirror . . . hilariously cute! Notice he has his hair brush in his hand - he was also brushing his hair - which he likes to do - although he doesn't actually brush it. He thinks he does - which is fun.



We had brunch this morning at Another Broken Egg for my aunt's belated birthday celebration - belated since I was deathly ill earlier this week. It was good . . . but not as good as Eggspectations (back in Maryland) . . . which reminds me we need to post our Top 10 lists soon. We have a rough list of things that we prefer here and things we miss from Baltimore. Coming soon (I hope) . . . Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Free Tip on How to Jump Start Your Diet . . .

Come to my house and try to pick up the virus I caught last Saturday night - which honestly lasted until this morning. Uggh. It was a nasty virus but did help jump start my diet! Since I have been out of commission I have been trying to catch up on chores, etc. More pics and facts about the weekend hopefully to come soon. Stay tuned . . .

17 Months Old . . .

17 months is nearly 1 1/2 years, right? So, I figured I was WAAAYY late in actually parting with the bathtub Connor has played/ bathed in since he was born. Seriously, not sure if I was just lazy or overprotective (probably BOTH). Anyway, 2 nights ago, I took out the baby bathtub (which he barely was fitting into) and placed a nice, new white tub mat in his bathtub, filled the tub with warm soapy water and all his toys, and then tried to put Connor in. He WAS NOT pleased. I was shocked - and truly laughed a little at him. This wasn't the first time he has been in a big bathtub. After getting Connor to stand in the tub and play with the toys, he eventually sat down and loved bathtime again! Thank goodness. It was actually his longest bath to-date (9 whole minutes!) So, just because he can brush his teeth "all by himself" and feed himself with a spoon (with supervision) . . . doesn't mean he is ready for the big boy bathtub, I guess. Although night #2 went very smoothly.


Now for some 17 month photos . . . (don't mind the mess)

Connor loves riding his pony - this pony is hilarious - a gift from his Godmother - it sings "I'm a little pony" when you push his ears - Connor clearly loves this pony. Occasionally he will just play the pony song and dance - rather than going to all the trouble of riding him.

Hoops

Connor received a big boy basketball goal from his Pop Pop and Grandma for Christmas this year. It has been sitting downstairs in the box for a few weeks. This morning after doing my new 2010 workout (elliptical and abs - exciting, I know - but I do watch 90210 DVDs while grinding out 20 minutes of cardio) I decided I had a few minutes extra to assemble the goal. Well, 10 minutes later I was still struggling with the darn thing. I acutally enjoy putting toys, furniture, etc together (unlike Colin) so I was frustrated that I wasn't instantly successful at this venture. Later this morning while Connor was playing with his 1875 other toys I managed success! Shocking that Connor made his first basket on his first attempt. Like father, like son. Which reminds me of this old photo . . .
nearly one year ago . . . and now today . . .

Saturday Away . . .

Colin and I headed out early to Atlanta on Saturday to see Duke play Georgia Tech.  Duke was favored to win but ended up losing a close game.  The arena was super small and cozy.  The fans were all so nice and we had a great time.  Afterwards we headed out to see Colin’s friends from college and my cousin Taylor.  We got up early this morning and got back to Birmingham just in time to watch the Ravens beat up on the Patriots!!  It was a great game to watch (from the warmth of our den . . . i.e. not outside).  Connor enjoyed spending time with JoJo and Big Daddy.  Here is a pic from our seats at the game (2nd to last row – but really good seats)

and some of Connor showing off how he can “talk” on the phone – he loves Colin’s cell phone – he has the right idea – just turns the phone backwards and usually upside down. 

Testing, 1 . . 2 . . 3 . . .

Just a test to see how Windows Live Writer works – see if I like it – see if it is worth all the hype – here are some pics of Connor enjoying his new Curious George in a Box – He adores this toy from his Aunt NJ – Unfortunately, when he opened the toy Colin initially taught him to press the button on top (i.e. he didn’t teach Connor to wind the arm to play the music and watch CG “POP” out at the appropriate time).  I eventually showed Connor how to properly operate the toy – and he tries most of the time to wind the toy – but occasionally he just pushes the pop button – oh well . . . at least he is having fun right?

Sweet Home Alabama . . .

So, much to our disappointment, Alabama just won the National Championship. Uggh. You may wonder why people from Alabama don't want Alabama to win . . . well, you kinda have to be from here to understand. But, as self-respecting Auburn fans . . . we root for Auburn and ANYONE who plays Alabama. I know, we should cheer for the SEC (they have 4 straight titles) but . . . as a true fan . . . you just can't do it when it is Alabama . . . and Saban . . . It ended up being a pretty good game to watch if you saw the 1st and 4th quarters . . . the misery lies in the fact that Colin (since he works) will have to endure Alabama banter for 365 days (at least). At halftime I just was hoping for a good game. I mean, really, I stayed up to watch this?? Auburn should have beaten Alabama in the Iron Bowl . . . uggghhh! I do have a number of friends that paid and made the trip to Pasadena - so at least they are having fun right? I will give props to Alabama for having red Gatorade in the cooler (rather than lemon-lime). Happy 13 to U of A! See you next November! Saban . . . as a Dallas Cowboys Coach - would be HOT!!!! (as a side note . . . I just don't get the reason to hold up 4 fingers at the start of the 4th quarter . . . um . . .EVERYONE knows it is the 4th quarter! It is like basketball when the coaches and players yell (NO FOULS!!!) really?? I mean, after years and years of playing the game - don't you know not to foul? Did I mention that RED is SOOO not my color?
Another side note: If Alabama played USC (i.e. Cali) I would have cheered for Alabama
UPDATE: Seriously, people are shooting off FIREWORKS! I suppose left over from NYE? They better not wake up my BABY!! The real question is how many PAGES will Alabama get in the newspaper?? Yesterday it was a good 20 pages according to Colin . . . Tomorrow - likely 40+

KING Connor

Connor got a castle from his Mom Mom this year for Christmas. It is so cute (it is black and white - I love b&w - Connor's nursery decor is b&w). As part of the castle, Connor also got a crown to wear as King of the castle. Presenting King Connor . . .

Snow Day . . . (in Alabama)

Yep - Today is a snow day - for Alabama. Seriously, I think every school closed early or didn't even open today. People left early from Colin's work. The meteorologists were predicting the snowfall as a dusting to a quarter inch this morning. I took 2 pictures of the snow so everyone north of Alabama that reads our blog could have a glimpse of snow in Alabama.

You didn't see the snow ??? I circled it for you!

New Year . . . New Members

There are so many new things that I want to explore and share with Connor . . . I wanted to sign him up for a mommy-and-me class at CDF where I used to attend classes when I was little. Well, I waited a little too long to sign up and classes started this morning. So, I need to find another option for us (once it warms up). I feel badly complaining that it is cold here - because it will only be cold for a few weeks - but it is COLD! Wind chill is 5 degrees this morning! So, we have been staying inside. Plus, since Connor has been sick with a cold and ear infection - we haven't been out too much at all lately. I really love our new house - but we need to get out and moving soon! After watching a very stressful and bizarre Auburn win on Friday, my parents and I headed downtown with Connor to the McWane Science Center on Saturday (Colin was playing golf - in 20 degree weather - dedication or insanity?). Since the Science Center is indoors - we were able to explore outside of our house for a few hours - which was wonderful. Connor had an amazing time! And I purchased a family membership so we can all enjoy the "inside fun" on cold and/or rainy days. Here are a few pics of Connor at McWane . . .
Getting ready to see the trains . . .

GIANT LITE-BRITE . . .


The Fishes . . .


Connor LOVES to push buttons - If it hadn't been so crowded, I think he would have run back and forth between each of these stations for hours . . .


MY FAVORITE PIC FROM THE DAY . . . SUCCESS!