Daylight Savings Time

I woke up today to the news - tonight we will turn back all the clocks and get an extra hour of sleep according to the media. Colin and I suspect that we may actually get an hour less sleep and a confused baby. We are optimistic that Connor will adapt quickly but are not holding our breath. We went to the post office this morning to get Connor a baby passport. Not that we have somewhere to go . . . but I really wanted Connor to have one. Baby passports are the cutest! His picture was a little rushed so of course not as perfect as I would have liked, but considering we had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get it, he did really well. I would have gone earlier to get the passport but we have been waiting on his birth certificate to arrive. The State of Maryland has serious issues which continue to haunt me the longer I live here. When I got married, I completed the application to change my name online, printed it, and carried it along with my marriage certificate, new social security card (with married name) and title and registration to the MVA. I just wanted to change my name on my license. The State of Maryland refused to let me drop my middle name and keep my maiden name as my middle name! Clearly, this just reinforces my position that this place is filled with Yankees. I made several arguments to support my position that my middle name (Brooke) should be dropped and replaced with my madien name (like all good Southern women). The best argument was that the Social Security Administration let me do this - and here was my new card to prove it - Federal trumps State - the woman at the MVA just smiled and said "Mam, Maryland is a full name state". What does that mean?? Well, come to find out it means that "If it fits, it sticks". So, if my full name all written out First, Middle, Maiden and Married names fit on the license then they will print on the license. Turns out that Moorhouse is pretty long so all 4 names didn't fit. But, in order to keep my maiden name as part of my name, I still have "B" as an initial. So I have 4 names! Ridiculous. I am considering filing paperwork with the State to change my name officially but haven't done so yet because I am still (obviously) upset about the fact that I have been put in this position to begin with.

So, if this wasn't enough to be irate with the State . . . After Connor was born I recevied a Birth Registration Notice addressed to Courtney George Moorhouse. Unbelievable! I read the notice and it said to call if any of the information was incorrect. Well, yes, my middle name is not George. Since Colin and Connor have the same middle name I suspect that the person that entered the information in the computer made a mistake. I suggested the same to the woman at the Department of Vital Records. She informed me that I must have made the error when I completed the application at the hospital. Unlikely, since I have had the same name for 30 years . . . I then proceeded to obtain my birth certificate, a notarized statement that my middle name is not George and submitted the paperwork. The woman actually asked me if my middle name before I was married was George! Really? Anyway, we finally received his Birth Certificates last week so we were able to go get the passport today. Even if we don't go on any fancy European vacations, Connor will be able to travel in style to Alabama.

Enough ranting, here is a sweet picture of me and my boy from this weekend. . .

Happy Halloween

Connor dressed up as Curious "Connor" George (for those of you who don't know - George is his middle name). He had so much fun trick or treating on our street. Our neighborhood has plenty of kids but we had 4 - count them - 4 trick or treaters so we handed out candy on our walk. All the excitement had Connor all tired out by the end of the night. Of course, he didn't want to sleep in his bed - but he was a good little monkey all day - so I can't complain.

Colin was supposed to be the Man in the Yellow Hat - but as you can see he just wore his Halloween orange. He was very taken with Curious George - check out this picture (ha ha). Imagine how cute it would have been to be in a yellow hat.

Here is our tired monkey . . .

Hanging out at home

Since we had so much family in town, we hung out at home quite a bit. Here are a few shots of Connor having fun with his Uncle Mike and Uncle Ben.



Connor was all tired out - but still cute in his outfit from Auntie Cait and Uncle Greg . . .



Connor playing with his new friend/ frog from Uncle Ben - He loves him, thanks, Ben.

Weekend Update

Connor had a great week ya'll. Last weekend Connor had family come to visit for his Baptism. He wore a white gown with a white jumper underneath and adorable white booties. We spared him the bonnet - but took pictures later in the full outfit.

So, I knew that I wanted to get a Smith Island Cake for Connor's "after-party" and when we went to order it, the bakery said that one 10 inch cake fed 14 to 20 people. We expected about 30-35 at the Baptism so they suggested I buy 2 10 inch cakes. Like I said, I really wanted this cake, so instead of just getting one (1) 12 inch cake, I listened to the bakery and purchased 2 cakes. One with a cross and one with his initials (you must know I love initials).

We almost forgot to pick up the cakes on Saturday which would have been a huge disaster for Colin - since it would have been his fault. Honestly, he gets blamed for most things but this truly would have been his fault. Luckily I remembered 30 minutes before the bakery closed and we were in time to get the cakes. First of all, the cakes each weighed more than Connor. Second, we ended up with the 2nd cake in our freezer. We know it feeds about 30 people so we plan to break it out for Christmas and enjoy it then. The cake really is so delicious. I have included a picture - because I love this cake sooo much.

75/90

Connor had his two month appointment today - he will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. He had several shots but he was a very brave boy and only cried a little bit. Connor is now 12 pounds 13 ounces (75th percentile) and 24 1/4 inches (90th percentile). Check out our happy boy.

Happy Monday!

The weather is chilly and we finally broke down and turned on the heat. We had a great weekend visiting with friends. Auburn didn't play and the Ravens finally won after a few rough weeks. Connor has a big week, this week. His 2 month appointment (4 shots) is on Wednesday and then his Great Aunt Cathy and Uncle Chuck will arrive on Thursday to visit all the way from Alabama. Connor will get to meet most of his Moorhouse family this weekend at his baptism. We will have lots of pictures to share next week. In the meantime, here are a few of Connor enjoying his tummy time.

We're Back . . .

Connor at 2 months

After a frustrating 2 weeks of being unable to post, we are back. Connor is now 2 months old and getting bigger every day. He has his 2 month appointment next week so we will know just exactly how much he has grown since his last appointment where he was 9 pounds 12 ounces and 22 inches. Colin and I suspect he will be over 12 pounds next week, if he isn't already. The weather here has been fabulous the past few weeks - mid to high 70s most days - so we are really trying to get out an enjoy it while it lasts. Connor at 8 weeks

Connor is also starting to smile for reasons other than pooing. If you know Colin, then you know it is likely Connor will be into sports - of all kinds. Here are some photos of Connor playing with his sports toys from his Aunt Jemima (aka Jimmie). And yes, Connor has both an Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben!

Connor may also be a swimmer. Maybe it was all the Olympics we watched just before and just after he was born . . . but Connor swims with his arms all day long. Speaking of the Olympics. I have to say that expecting around the Olympics was wonderful. I highly recommend it. I slept well my entire pregnancy until about a week before Connor arrived. When I was awake early in the morning, the Olympics were on - constantly. Even at 3 am there was some event to watch. Once Connor arrvied we were able to watch events at all hours making the transition to no sleep much easier to handle. If Connor turns out to be a swimmer, his Auntie Cait will have to teach him to dive because neither Colin nor I can dive - at all - period. Colin and I actually tried several years ago to dive and it was embarassing- lucikly there are no photos of the attempt.