C is for Cookie

To celebrate my mom's birthday and get ready for the big snow (2+inches at 9pm forecast) we made valentine gingerbread cookies. Now, I know you are thinking - why gingerbread? - well, I like gingerbread and I didn't get to make ANY at Christmas - too busy - so we made some today - Delish! My mom recently purchased this fun cookie cutter set from WS for us -
Yes, we are addicted to WS. I should have watched the online video before using - because it clearly explains that you should "lightly" press the cutter - rather than what we did (cut the dough in half) ooops! we obviously figured it out a few tries later.
Listening to his Nina - and showing off his dimples

Making a STAR with his name in the center

Practicing . . .

LOVE THIS - SUCCESS!

Happy Weekend . . .
my FIL's birthday is tomorrow - Happy Birthday Bryan and my BIL (Neal) turns 29 on Sunday - Happy Birthday - love, Connor

It's Cold Outside . . .

especially for Alabama. We AREN'T complaining though. Our old neighborhood was slammed this past week with snow - with snow still falling as I type. Baltimore has over 60 inches of snow this winter! Brrr! No one likes snow that much. They (the meteorologists who know nothing - no, I am not being ugly - I am reporting the facts) are calling for 1-3 inches of snow here on Friday. No big deal except that if "they" happen to be right . . . everything will close since there are no plows, salt trucks, etc. I'm not too worried - I can always cook up some biscuits and grits and be perfectly content.

It WAS cold inside our house - specifically Connor's room. We couldn'f figure out why his room required a blanket to survive but our room (right next door) was HOT?? We reasoned that since we close the doors to his room all day - it never gets warm. Fairly logical? To compensate for the chill, we covered his mattress in a snuggly blanket - so it acts as the sheet but is warm for him. He also gets covered with a small blanket around his legs at night. This has been "working" as well as turning up the thermostat a little bit more (I'm embarrassed that it is at 70) but we like to be warm! Anyway, I was measuring one of Connor's windows because I am/ was considering buying a black-out shade for the window that gets light from our street traffic. I noticed that there wasn't a lock on his window. I probably noticed when we moved in but didn't worry about it. Why?? Well, our house was built in the 60's and our sellers renovated and remodled most of the house - and painted the windows (shut) and installed what they called "storm windows" but I will tell you it is more like a thin piece of glass that may offer some insulation relief but definitely doesn't qualify for an energy-saver credit OF ANY KIND! So, I assumed (incorrectly) that this window was "painted shut" and that the "storm window" was insulating the window. WRONG. When I noticed the lock was missing I decided to push on the window - It is partially painted shut - so like you couldn't break-in through the window but winter has been creeping in - thus making it cold inside! Poor Connor. Well, I went out this afternoon and picked up a window lock (my mom's idea - she is smart huh?) and it already feels warmer!

TPIR

I don't know what is wrong with me but some of my favorite shows (since I can remember) involve pretty old main characters - Matlock, Murder She Wrote, The Price is Right (TPIR) - you may recall Bob Barker was the host before Drew Carey got the job. (As an aside, Drew Carey was the WORST host ever but is starting to grow on me - I mean he wasn't even excited when someone won - or disappointed when someone lost a pricing game - it was embarrassing! over time he has gotten better or at least a little more enthusiasm). I have ALWAYS wanted to be a contestant on TPIR. In elementary school I thought my senior trip would be to LA to see TPIR. Well, once I finally got to senior year - TPIR turned into PCB (Panama City Beach) - funny how things change - but turns out I couldn't have been a contestant anyway at that point - too young. So PCB was a great alternative! (Another aside - one of my favorite memories from that trip is that we stayed at the Days Inn - We were SHOCKED to discover that the ice machine didn't dispense ICE. It dispensed full-sized BAGS of ICE - now, what typical guest needs a giant bag of ICE?? Many years and beach trips later - I often wish for that bag of ICE hotel - so much easier than several trips to the ice machine - right?) Ok, back to TPIR. So, I love TPIR. I took a break from TPIR - work, school, etc - but once Connor was born - I found it again. But Drew was really annoying me and taking the fun out of the show. I took another break from TPIR until a few months ago. I tried again - I mean I really like the show - minus Drew. Well, he has gotten better as I mentioned and Connor LOVES the show - It is so funny to watch him watch the show. Ya'll he won't watch cartoons or anything else for that matter - which is perfectly fine with me - I don't want to raise a TV junkie but sometimes it would be nice to have something to occupy him while I put away groceries, etc. TPIR is the answer. I can go grocery shopping and be back by showtime. Let Connor watch TPIR while I unload the car and put away groceries. Amazing - really! Unfortunately, he whines when commercials come on - which makes me think I should DVR it and play it an hour later - but I haven't bothered with that yet. All the clapping and beeping noises keep him enthralled. A few pics . . .


I try to discourage standing RIGHT in front of the TV so here is Connor cheering from his Connor chair -



All smiles - check out those molars he has been working on FOREVER! Still one more up top to go - can't arrive soon enough

Head Gear . . .

Sleeping Safari

I was busy cleaning up Connor's toy toss from today and emptying the garbage cans since trash day is tomorrow. I stopped by Connor's room during storytime to grab the diaper bag and found this . . .


The hat is from Cousin Brandon's 2nd Birthday party. Connor has previously shown little-to-no interest in this hat. Too cute!

Heavyweight

Connor is weighing in at 27 pounds (with shoes) . . . maybe not a real-life heavyweight but . . .

Connor is really strong. Too strong for me some of the time. Today, he discovered he can move the coffee table with his little butt! Hilarious.

He can also move his Nina's cart - like a pro!

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).