18 Month Stats (50/50)

Today was Connor's rescheduled 18 month check-up - we had to reschedule so we could go to Baltimore last week. I was trying to decide whether or not to book the appointment for the day before we left or 2 days after we got back . . . I chose the latter since I had a hunch that Connor would come back with an ear infection from the plane ride. Unfortunately, I was right. His nose started running Monday morning and hasn't stopped other than naptime since! Connor has another double ear infection! Poor little guy! The doc pointed out that his last ear infection was diagnosed 2 days after our last airplane trip. Uggh! Guess that means we will need to host visitors for a few months because I want to try to avoid tubes at all costs!
Height: 32 1/2 inches (50%)
Weight: 26 pounds 4 ounces (50%)



So, Connor's new favorite word and item is WALLET. I have to spell this out to discuss it because he knows the word, the item, my purse that houses the wallet. He has an uncanny ability to find the wallet at any time. Besides losing valuable cards, I didn't really care if he played with the wallet. On the way to IKEA last week, I gave Connor my wallet (at his "request") in hopes that he wouldn't wake up sleeping Will and would occupy himself for the half-hour trip. I turned around after a few minutes to see how Connor was surviving. My ONLY ID was out of the wallet and Connor had almost snapped it in half (at the picture)! End of wallet as toy! How would I have explained that at the airport??

Casa De Kirby

Connor and I flew up to Baltimore last Tuesday to visit some friends and family we haven't seen in awhile. We had an amazing time - so much fun - but so busy we will need a few weeks to recover - and possibly a week to complete this post . . .warning - this post is long and you may want to skip down to just see the photos if you start to get bored . . .

Let's start at the beginning. Tuesday my mom picked us up and we played at her house before going to the airport around noon. I specifically chose this flight based on the timing (close to nap time) - in addition I figured how many people are going to Baltimore from Birmingham on a random Tuesday midday? The time of the flight was perfect but turns out that Tuesday wasn't entirely random - um Mardi Gras - where have I been?? Still, what does Mardi Gras have to do with either town?? Nothing that I know of - but what do I know - not too much these days. The flight was COMPLETELY full. Of course I didn't buy Connor a seat - lap baby all the way - so I was in full on MILD panic that I wasn't going to survive this flight without a huge disaster. Not to mention that he STILL hadn't pooped by the time we got on the flight (which is very unusual for him - great - I could see blowout written all over this trip). I gave Connor his sippy of milk when we started out of the gate and he slept the ENTIRE trip! YEA!!! He was such an angel! I was so relieved. No blowout - nothing - totally uneventful! Colin's stepdad picked us up at the airport - carseat already installed - and we headed to pick up Colin's mom at work. The snow in Baltimore is just unbelievable! I didn't take one darn picture of it either - because I totally forgot - but in most of Baltimore County and some parts south - the snow is near the top of street signs at corners - piled so you can't see to turn at intersections - it is just shocking! We played at Mom Mom's house for awhile before going to dinner - Cait and Will met us for dinner and then afterwards we jumped in Cait's car and headed to Casa De Kirby. Unload car, Bath, Bed . . . and Connor only had one little mishap - while scooting down the (luckily carpeted stairs) his shoe got caught and he rolled down a few stairs. Didn't cry at all - he was fine - I was too after I realized he was still alive and no scratches/ brusies - Whew. Day One Done.

Day Two - Caitlin (a former project manager turned domestic goddess) made us breakfast - coffee included. We got ourselves and the boys ready and went to IKEA. I had no idea that Caitlin had never been to IKEA - I love IKEA but hadn't been in a few years . . . IKEA is SUPER Kid-Friendly! We met a few ladies from her mom's group and their kiddos and shopped and explored IKEA until it was lunchtime. Lunch was delicious at the IKEA cafeteria (no, we didn't have the swedish meatballs - I was against meatballs even before I became a veggie) - We were ready for nap time once we got back - especially since the blowout I anticipated the day before - occurred after lunch at IKEA - perfect timing . . . Connor left IKEA without pants - funny! After nap time Will and Connor played a little before dinner. Caitlin made a delicious dinner and after putting the babies to sleep - we were in bed early too.

Day Three - breakfast and cofee again! So delicious and nice to be at Casa De Kirby (I told Cait it was like being at a bed and breakfast with no other guests) - perfect! Caitlin planned a playdate with Sherri's boys - so the boys played and played and played - ate lunch - and played some more. Again, all tired out for nap time - smart! I didn't take any pictures - sorry! It was fun to see Sherri and her boys though - we are hoping they make the trip to Alabama this fall for the Auburn/Clemson game. Nap time again . . . then dinner and bath to bed. I have been shushing (sp?) Connor back to sleep for what seems like FOREVER! He slept through the night 2 times since Thanksgiving! In his defense he was sick at that time and got off his sleeping track. But anyway, I have been ready for a change. Just needed a little push - advice. I haven't wanted to let Connor "cry it out" because he is a jumper and I am afraid he is going to really injure his cute little teeth and precious mouth on the crib rails. They are solid hardwood - ooucch! I have the rail guards which help prevent kids from teething on the crib but don't seem to provide any protection to Connor - just the crib! Ok, so at Casa de Kirby Connor was sleeping in the Pack-n-Play. I was about to get up and go down to shush Connor on Night 3 and Greg suggested I see if he would quiet down after a few minutes. Will sleeps like a champ - so I agreed. We opened some wine and turned down the sound on the monitor and after awhile (on and off) Connor put himself back to sleep. Cait warned me Connor would be cranky on Friday - but he wasn't, he was happy - as usual - Yippee!

Day Four -

Pop Pop and Grandma Cathy showed up bright and early to visit Connor - Cathy, Connor, Mom Mom and Grandad Bob, and I went to the Maryland Science Center. Since we are members of the science center here - we actually got 4 adults plus Connor in for FREE! Wow what a deal - seriously it was a $60.00 savings - I purchased the membership on January 2nd and it has already paid for itself in 60 days! Sweet! The science center was very fun - they have a toddler only area and we spent the majority of our time there. Here are a few pics of Connor playing . . .







As you can tell, Connor played hard and was again ready for a snooze when we returned home. As soon as naptime was over, we jumped in the car and set out for Aunt Heather and Cousin Brandon's house so the kiddos could play together. Connor loved all the toys in Brandon's playroom and also his train table - well, he liked taking the train apart. After a short, but fun visit, we were back in the car again - (I am exhausted just thinking about how much traveling we did in such a short time) - bath and to bed . . . then a few games of Mexican Train Dominos with Cait, Greg, Tommy and Kristy - I LOST - oh well, it was great to see our old neigbors and Connor did even better night 2 and only peeped a few times.

Day Five -

Greg left early for the Eastern Shore and Cait and I took the boys up to Towson to meet up with our college roommate and good friend Amy. Amy is from Baltimore but actually lives in Georgia now. I swear I still see her more in Baltimore even though we live only a couple hours from her now. Amy has a new baby - Gavin. Cait and I arrived a little early (we were shocked and Will was taking a snooze so I called Colin to check in and see how he was holding up without us - Connor insisted on speaking to him). At least he holds the phone correctly now - although I think I know why he held the back of the phone to his ear now - that is where the speaker is on the cell phone - smart kid!
We had breakfast together and I got this photo of the ladies and their baby boys.
After breakfast, it was home for yet another nap - naps are so important it seems like these days - and then up a little early to go to Brandon's birthday party. I took ZERO pix at the party. I was in full-on mommy mode and couldn't take my eyes off Connor long enough to snap a picture - much less grab my camera out of the bag - so, you can check out some cute pics on Heather's blog: http://thechisholmstrail.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-b.html
Heather did a great job on the cake and cookies and the kids had a great time! I just needed a nap after running after Connor for an hour. No rest for us though. We snuck out a little early and drove to Columbia to meet Mary for her birthday dinner (well, appetizer and drink portion of dinner). Connor behaved - such a sweet boy! and we got to meet Mary's boyfriend - LOVE HIM! Although it is hard to have a coherent and consistent conversation with a 18 month old present, we enjoyed an appetizer and glass of wine - Connor enjoyed his pizza and - yes, you guessed right - home for bath and bed. Night 3 of the new sleep plan was even more successful and Cait and I had a girls night - miss those (so much!).

Day Six -
Wake up, Cinnamon Rolls (a/k/a Sweet Rolls) and Coffee - thanks Cait. I have to say when Caitlin said she was going to make Sweet Rolls - I did a double take - Are you 88? That is what my grandmother calls them! So cute! Oh, and Connor loves him some Sweet Rolls! Compared to other mornings - we leisurely packed up all of our stuff and met Mom Mom and Grandad Bob for brunch before heading to the airport. I tried to squeeze in a few other stops to see more friends - but the timing didn't work out. Next time! I planned the flight time as close to nap time as I could. The flight was billed as Full - but it turns out it was almost full - we were lucky enough to have an empty middle seat! Connor was again a great passenger - such a little traveler we have! He slept most of the flight and enjoyed looking out the window and pointing out cars and trees on the way down. Oh, and the flight was 30 minutes early - I ADORE Southwest Airlines - Connor saying Bye Bye to the planes . . .

Home Sweet Home - I set up the pack-n-play here to continue our sleep training - working so far - so good!

Snow One Day - Gone the Next

This is how we like our snow (as opposed to Baltimore who may have until May!). Snow one day (didn't ever stick to the roads)

Outside Our House . . .



Outside my parent's house . . .



Gone the next!

Our Love Monkey a/k/a Valentine

is 18 months old today! He is an Olympic baby (born during the 2008 Olympics) and currently dancing around our den to the Olympic music and clapping when the music stops. He is amazing us everyday. His spoken language has really picked up this past month - he can and has been able to understand pretty much everything we say for awhile now and will follow multiple commands - which is awesome! (ex: Me: "Connor do you know where the remote is?" Connor: "Na na", Me: "Can you go find the remote and bring it to Mommy, please?" A few minutes later - remote is in my hand courtesy of Connor!) This works for getting diapers, blankets, etc! Words Connor says (I'm sure I left out a few but in order to get most of them down before I forget (again)):
(Back, Bath, Bob, Book, Bye Bye, Cathy, Cheese, Dada, Diaper, Down, Ear, Eye, Glasses, Go, Hi, Jo Jo, Juice, Light, Mama, Milk, Mom Mom, Moon, More, Morning, Mouth, Night Night, Nina, No, Nose, Please, Pop Pop, Shoe, Stop, Teeth, Thank you, Tick Tock, Uh Oh!, Will, Yes, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine)- A variety of animal sounds - He will also try to repeat anything you ask him.


Some Valentine's Day pictures . . . I love this shirt - had to buy it - there was the BEST show called Love Monkey on in 2006 (I think) but it was cancelled after a few episodes (everyone didn't like it as much as Caitlin and I did - apparently)



My aunt Cathy brought over this Valentine Monkey today to surprise Connor - He loves him! As you can tell . . .

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 . . .