Bunny Love . . .

Bunny Connor 2009

Connor LOVES the Easter Bunny! Who would have thought?? After the Santa Claus debacle . . .

Connor and his Easter Basket



Connor and the Easter Bunny (he actually ran up and kissed the bunny) - I tell you he is a kissing bandit


A better pic of Connor and Colin


Hunting Eggs on the Putting Green . . .

Best (NEW) Baby Buy

Ok, so just a quick post to show ya'll a super cute pic of Connor today before our walk in this ridiculous,gorgeous weather - it rained a little this morning - but after the rain - amazing day! In the picture you will notice a cup holder for a sippy cup and snacks. I got this a Babies R Us for under $15.00. It was what was missing from my Maclaren stroller. It is also transferable to the carseat, highchair, etc! I LOVE THIS (and so does Connor).

Eggspectations

Our FAVORITE restaurant in Maryland - if you haven't been - it is DELICIOUS! LOVE IT! Wanted to get a franchise for Alabama. Anyway, in anticipation of the egg hunt at our country club tomorrow - we had a practice egg hunt for Connor to set his Eggspectations . . . a few pics for you bunnies . . .

Press Your Luck . . .or . . . The Great Escape

Choose the title you prefer. (think Choose Your Own Adventure) Here is the story - sad but true.

Connor has been sleeping like a champ ever since we went to Baltimore in February and Cait and Greg "helped" Connor learn to sleep. He has been in the Pack N' Play because I don't (err. didn't) want him to hurt himself if and when he woke up by jumping and breaking all his teeth/ head. I sleep well. Anyway, Connor takes GREAT naps - usually. However, I assist him. Everyday we rock in THE CHAIR (the glider recliner) and he falls asleep, I kick out the recliner and watch some good t.v. while he is napping and usually doze off myself. This week I decided it was BEYOND time to let him learn to nap by himself. (See PRESS YOUR LUCK) Plus, his nap was getting slightly shorter everyday and I really thought/ think he sleeps better alone. So, I rocked him to relax and then put him in the Pack N Play. Tuesday he cried and jumped for 30 minutes and then relaxed and napped for 45 min. I wasn't thrilled so I let him cry for a bit before going in. As soon as I entered the room, he asked for a tissue (by pointing) and then insisted that we go to the office and SIT (his words) in THE CHAIR to rock. I was prepared to go play but I obliged him and he got another hour in for a nap. Wednesday I let him go for over an hour - crying the entire time and then went in to say naptime was over - he again wanted to go rock - I was exhausted so I obliged again. Thursday - same story. Friday (today), I put him down, didn't bother to grab the monitor because I fully intended to get our easy and yummy Mexican Tortilla Pie prepared and in the fridge for dinner and then go get the monitor and lie down for a little snooze myself. I was fully into mashing the black beans (MESSY) and I heard Connor's cries getting closer. CLOSER?? What was happening?? I quickly snuck into our room and looked at the monitor - NO CONNOR! YIKES! I opened the door to his room and he was screaming for a tissue - again! I got him a tissue, held him for a minute and then explained that it was nap time (as I do EVERY DAY) and then put him back in the Pack N Play - still not sure at this point how he escaped. The Pack N Play was still upright. He promptly grabbed onto the side of the PNP and climbed up enough to throw (literally) himself over the side head (and arms) first and proceeded to land on his back. If I wasn't so pissed that he had accomplished this feat - I would have had a heart attack. Thank goodness he didn't break his neck!

So, needless to say , we are back to assisted naps for this weekend - we have a LOT of Easter activities (church, egg hunt, lunches, etc) so I am giving up on the PNP nap for this week. Colin got home a little early and we tried to install the crib tent we have had since my baby shower. After a little struggle (mainly with the poorly written directions) I was ready to attach the tent. Shocking - doesn't fit our crib! I did see that they make a Pack N Play tent - so I tried to find it - only available online - ordered and hopefully will arrive before Connor learns to climb out of the crib. I considered just moving him into the convertible crib or a mattress but I am not ready for him to have that much freedom (yet). We will see how tonight goes. Please pray for us - I can't go through sleep training again!

Easter pics coming soon (but in the meantime) . . . this photo really exemplifies Connor's "personality" when asked to give "the lip"

Redecorating

Not sure how many of you have used (or thought about using) baby-proofing as an excuse to buy new furniture. I have - several times! Most recently I decided that I was tired of our coffee table. It is a great coffee table and I "inherited" it 10 years ago when I started law school (wow - I am getting old!). The table was just too big for the new rug that I bought (Connor needed somewhere soft to play and we have all hardwoods in the living areas upstairs - see the trend). In addition, Connor was putting his hands on the table and his feet on the couch (pike position) -um . . . DANGER?!? I don't have any photos because I was afraid he was going to fall and break his face! Last weekend, I spent nearly all weekend trying to make sure he didn't fall into the metal/glass coffee table at the beach - he didn't - and then Sunday night when we got home - we were about 2 minutes from bathtime and he fell and bit his lip - blood gushing everywhere (because lips really bleed) and that was the end of the coffee table upstairs. Connor was fine - only got upset for about 10 seconds. 15 minutes later I finally got it to stop bleeding - mainly because he didn't want me to put a papertowel in his mouth to clot it. Anyway, Colin finally got back from Baltimore later than night and I insisted that we move the table. It is currently the coffee table downstairs - and will probably stay there for awhile - MEANWHILE - back upstairs we needed a new coffee table - more kid friendly and smaller. Lucky for all of us- I had already purchased a new one! Most of our furniture is traditional - so I have been trying to add in some modern pieces for a more eclectic feel. (Colin thinks I am crazy) - but I got a Lucite table. It is small, kid friendly (curved edges - no corners) and inexpensive. I got it from Overstock so I didn't have to worry about paying a hefty shipping charge (~only $2.95)! Oh and since it is clear it makes the room seem SO MUCH BIGGER. I just need to find a good Lucite cleaner. I love it - I think it will take Colin a few weeks to Love it - but he will - eventually. Here is a picture of Connor exploring the table Tuesday morning - He is so funny!

Sand = Summer

Ok, so I know it is technically just now Spring, but for me - I can already smell Summer. Last weekend, Connor and I skipped town with my parents (while Colin made a quick visit to Baltimore) and headed to the beach. I LOVE the beach. I especially LOVE "our" beach. Sure, in Baltimore we were closer to the ocean - and I have certainly enjoyed Ocean City - it is just so crowded at any time other than winter. "Our" Beach is quite the opposite - quiet - no hotels. I can't wait to go back in a month!

I touched the sand - so it is officially SUMMER! 80 degrees tomorrow!

Anyway, the last time we were at the beach was my birthday and Connor had just turned 1 and taken his first steps. This time it was a little chilly - well, windy. So we only got an hour on the beach but it was SO worth it! Connor LOVES the beach! I am so thrilled! He was fearless on the sand. He saw a bird and chased after it. I am pretty sure he would have chased the bird all the way down the beach if it hadn't flown away.

Exploring the Beach . . . (check out his cute beach shoes! from his Mom Mom) - Connor and I took the same number of shoes to the beach (3 pairs each)





Saturday -

Question: Is it too windy to hang out on the beach? - check out Connor's hair blowing in the wind
Answer: YES - too windy


Connor's new Sunglasses


Connor with his JoJo and Big Daddy

Connor has finally managed to say "JoJo" - so of course my mom is ecstatic! He usually says it with such angst - well, it sounds like there is such angst - but it is just the way he has to form his mouth to make the sounds - anyway, at the beach we were trying to teach Connor to say "Big Daddy" - he can say "Dada" and "Big" but doesn't want to put those words together for some reason. Every time we tried to work on it - he would just dwell on the fact that his Dada wasn't there - Dada was "at work" for 3 days - Connor was so happy on Monday morning to see his Dad.

Connor's newest accomplishment . . . Ya'll he knows his numbers 1-9 and all his ABC's!!! He can tell you ANY letter you point out. He has always loved letters but recently he has been on a roll. My mom got him a number puzzle and ABC puzzle and he has mastered them within a few days. He is just learning SO much SO fast! Just trying to keep challenging him.



Showing off his new beach hat -

More posts and pictures coming this week. . .

Hello Spring . . .

So happy Spring is here (even though it is raining today). The house we purchased has been completely (nearly) renovated by the prior owners but the outside (mainly backyard) was struggling. The backyard didn't really exist. There was a little grass and a deck that was rotting. We remedied the problem by getting a new deck (with recessed lights and a ceiling fan too) and an enlarged backyard. Our fence was installed last Friday - so we can actually play outside and not worry about falling off the edge of our new yard.


The Old Yard and Deck

I know these pictures look like there is a yard - but it wasn't much deeper than the patio under the deck.

See how the yard is so narrow in this pic!


Our New Outdoor Living Space

We plan to get a swingset in a year or so and put it back on the mulch area you can see in this photo



So, I don't have pics of the new furniture for our deck but we got 2 swivel gliders and a loveseat. I don't know about you but I am ADDICTED to gliders - really glider recliners but they don't make those for outside (and if they do - PLEASE don't tell me because I have spent all my outdoor furniture budget)

The yard is about 15 to 20 feet deeper than the old yard - it will be great for soccer (I assume - I have no soccer skills - that is one of the many reasons I married my hubby - he knows sports)


Connor enjoying the New Yard . . .







The first day the fence was up Connor was enjoying the yard (walking up and down the 2 stairs from the patio to the yard) - We went to serious extremes to build a yard for this little guy and all he wants to do is walk up and down 2 stairs! Anyway, of course since Connor wasn't a Stairmaster he fell once or twice trying to perfect the art of walking up and down the stairs. He got his first real boo boo. I took him inside to clean it up and kissed the boo boo for him. He then proceeded to ask EVERYONE to kiss his boo boo AND THEN . . . he kissed it himself. Yes, he kissed his own boo boo. Adorable!