New fun around every corner!!

Well, a lot has of exciting things have happened in the last month! First, let's go back to the end of November! We decided to host our very first Thanksgiving Dinner at our house! And it was a success!! Rich's parents came up the night before and helped us get everything ready! Thanks to Rich's Mom and sis, Christy for helping me with all the cooking, I couldn't have done it without you both!! It was also a very exciting Thanksgiving because it was Connor's First Turkey Day!! He was quite a trooper and loved having a bunch of his family at the house to play with him =) Richie and I even got to go out for a drink afterwards, just the two of us! It had been awhile!!!

Next we move to November 30, Connor's 4 month "birthday" and his 4 month check up!! His stats were: 14 lbs. and 24 1/2 inches! He has officially doubled his weight and grown 6 1/2 inches since he was born! Growing like a weed!! He also had to get his 2nd round of shots, which he was not too happy about. He was a little cranky afterwards, but for the most part he handled it like a champ! At his appointment we also got the go-ahead to start solid foods! That takes us into December.....

On Dec. 1st Connor tried rice cereal from a spoon!! (Pictures below!) He wasn't really sure what to do with it, but he did pretty good! And he really seemed to like it! We continued on rice cereal for a couple days and then gave him some homemade sweet potatoes!! (I am home-making all his baby food). He really liked them, but still wasn't sure what to do with it, so we held off for about a week and then tried again!! He has had sweet potatoes and carrots to date (he seems to like both) and next we'll try some green beans!!! He sure is funny when he eats though! He's gotten a lot better at swallowing his food now and he gets antsy for more while he's eating!

Connor has also made a few other milestones recently! He had his first playdate with his friend Sterlyn! She is exactly 5 weeks younger than him and is as cute as can be! And he has done the "double roll", when he rolls from his back to front, then to his front and back again! He has also discovered his feet and seems to like them a lot!! His socks never stay on long anymore, and typically end up in his mouth! LOL. He has been sleeping pretty good through out the night, getting about 8 hours in, he had a little setback recently, but after taking him out of the Swaddle Me and putting him in a sleep sack, he seems to be back on schedule!! =) Connor also got to meet Santa for the first time!! He did so well! He even smiled at Santa! Next year shall be a more interesting visit with Santa since he will be paying a bit more attention =) And our favorite, but the messiest of the new things he has learned... blowing bubbles/spitting!! Not sure where he learned it, but he gets slober everywhere!! Lol. We went to our friends baby shower and Connor met some new friends, Kai (1 week older than Connor) and Chloe (1 week younger than Connor). It was so funny to see all of them together and we cant wait to see them agasin! He is just getting cuter by the day and I can tell he is sure going to be a heartbreaker!! His smile is contagious!! =)

This week (Saturday) will be Connor's First Christmas!!! We are very excited for it!! We leave on Wednesday to head to Naples, FL to spend the holiday at the beach with my family!! SUPER EXCTIED!!! This will be Connor's 2nd time flying, his first time seeing the ocean and sand, and his first time meeting his Uncle Sam and his Great-Grandpa "Paw Paw"!! This will also be our first official Family Vacation!! Wish us luck!!! ;)

Below are some pictures from the last month.... we'll post pictures from his First Christmas when we get back!! Happy Holidays everyone!!

OUR BIG BOY!!!!

Connor sure is growing fast and learning more everyday!! Last week he rolled over all by himself for the first time! And now he does it all the time with ease! He has only learned to roll over his left arm so far, but it wont be long before he is our little rolley polley!! =) View this to see him roll over (sorry the video isn't great quality).... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMvjdBA5-U4

He has been successfully sleeping through the night for a few weeks now... getting about 8-9 hours in!! We'll take it for sure!! Maybe now I'll be able to suck it up and move him from the pack n' play in our room to his own room and his big boy crib!! I gave him rice cereal in his bottle for the first time this week and he seems to really enjoy it! Not too much longer and he'll be able to try it and some other baby foods from a spoon! Uh oh! Lol.

Connor has become more aware of the things around him... including his toys, people, sounds, lights, his puppy, Thor, and especially his hands/fingers! =) He also has become a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! He loves watching the bright colors and he wiggles around, kicks, and sings back during the songs! He also sits up now when he is supported by something else. I've been putting him in his "big boy chair" as we call it, the Bebe Pod (like a bumbo seat) in the pictures below. He likes being able to see everything around him instead of laying down.

He is such an amazing little boy! His smile and laugh can brighten anyone's day!! He has started showing his personality more everyday and I have a feeling he is going to be quite the talker (just like his Mom)!! Lol. I can't wait to see what the next few months bring! He is growing so fast!! Here are a couple pictures from the last couple weeks....

Christmas is right around the corner.... get those holiday cards started!!!!

It's that time of year again!!! ALREADY!! The holidays are arriving!! I love this time of year so much, but one of my favorite parts is getting all those holiday picture cards from family and friends! It's exciting to get more than just bills in the mail! LOL. This year we are using Shutterfly for our Christmas picture cards! We have a baby now and I'm ready to show him off to the world! After all he is sooooo handsome!! I wish that we would have done baby announcements from Shutterfly http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birth-announcements when Connor was born but I hadn't done my research then =(

After doing some research, I found that Shutterfly has the best selection of cards and they are priced right!! There are elegant ones, fun ones, bold ones, colorful ones... and I like how they have more than just "Merry Christmas" cards, but also have "Happy Holidays", "Seasons Greeting", and even "Feliz Navidad" as selections! There is something for everyone!! And honestly I'm not sure how anyone could even just pick one...

Here are a few of my favorites.... even though it's hard to choose!


I think this card is one of my favorites! I love the red and black, but also love the polka dots and the simplicity!



http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/chic-snowball-dots-holiday-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93479


I love the boldness of this card! The black with the red is awesome!



http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/snowflake-band-black-christmas-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93482


I really like how this card has multiple pictures on it for indecisive people like me! Also I love the bright red color!!



http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/bright-red-filmstrip-christmas-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93482

To see these and more, go to and pick out yours! There are so many neat holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards and Christmas photo cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards that you can select from! Now that our family is growing and we have Connor, we thought about doing a calendar http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars for some of our family so they can see his cuteness everyday of the year!! =)

It's almost Thanksgiving though, so you better get started on the holiday cards because I know it creeps up so fast!! Christmas will be here before we know it!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

HALLOWEEN FUN!!!

It's been a busy couple of weeks for the Halloween holiday!!! Richie, Connor and I spent a weekend in California with his parents, his sis, and our nieces and we all went to the pumkpin patch!!!! It was Connor's first time ever seeing pumpkins and he loved it!! Ok, well, I loved it that he was even awake! Hehe..... It was a little chilly so we had to make sure he was warm, but it felt like nice fall weather! We even bought Connor's first pumpkin and carved it when we got home.

The following weekend, Richie was headed out to the sand dunes for Halloween, so my friend invited Connor and I to come to Knoxville, TN for a visit (her hubby went to the OSU game with some friends). Sandy's son Andrew is about 2 1/2 months older than Connor so it was fun to see all the things Connor will be doing in the coming months! And let me tell you, Andrew is one cute kid!! We mostly hung out at home and relaxed the whole weekend but we took the boys to dinner at Olive Garden and I must say that they both did wonderful! It was Connor's first dinner at a restaurant and Andrew's first dinner in a highchair!! My family (minus my little brother) drove down from Cincy for the afternoon on Friday to see Connor and I!! It was so nice to see all of them and I know they were really excited to see Connor and how big he has gotten!!! Sandy and I got some quiet time without the babies during the evenings and caught up with eachother (even though we talk everyday already... lol) and ate junk food and watched Friends, just like back in the day!! On Sunday we hung out at the neighborhood Halloween Harvest Block Party!! There was so much good food and fun, although I didn't get to fully enjoy it because Connor was having a fussy day, but that'll happen ;) Lol.

While we were in TN, Connor had his first nights sleeping 8 hours!! SO NICE!! We also learned that Connor likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney! Not sure he understands what they're talking about, but he loves the bright and vivid colors!! He has also started having better hand-eye coordination with some of his toys! He loves the playmat and swats at his toys hanging from above, and last night he was even holding his monkey toy on his own and eating it... I see we should get prepared for him wanting everything in his mouth!! He really is growing so fast and it's so much fun to watch him learn new things and discover more of the world around him!!

So as you can tell, it's been a busy October and now we've moved our way into a busy Novemeber!! Today is Richie's birthday and we're going to attempt at-home-fondue!! I'll let you know how it goes!! ;) Then next weekend is believe it or not, our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary!! Boy does time fly!! Then it'll be Thanksgiving and before you know, Christmas will be right around the corner!! I can't believe how fast this year has been going and that so much has happened!! Let the birthday/holiday/anniversary/growing baby fun continue!!! =)





Pumpkin Patch in Cali.....









IN TENNESSEE.....
Connor and Andrew all bundled up for a walk!!


Both the boys playing with their toys =)


My Family (Minus Richie and Sam)


STUD MUFFINS!!!


Connor grasping toys!


He sure was a smiley skeleton! =)


Me and my handsome little skeleton


Sandy, Andrew, me, and Connor at the Halloween Harvest Blockparty in Knoxville


OUR LITTLE PUMPKIN!! (Thinking he wasn't a huge fan of the costume.. lol)


Mommy and Baby =)

More pics.....

Serious or all smiles?? =)

Well, I can't believe that Connor is already a little over 2 months now!! Last week he went to his 2 month check up!! He's 12 lbs (almost doubled his weight since birth) and 22 1/2 inches long (he's already grown 4 1/2 inches!). I can't belive how fast he is growing! He had to get his first set of shots that day, and I think it was harder for me to watch than it was for him! He handled it like a champ though! He did cry for a minute (and after 3 shots in a row, I don't blame him), but he forgot about them pretty quickly after some loving from Mommy!

We recently made our move to the northwest part of Las Vegas. We're a lot further away from the city and kind of in the middle of nowhere now, but I think we kind of like it that way! Everyone including Thor has adjusted nicely so far! It's a bigger house, has a pool (that we've gotten to enjoy a little bit), and a bigger backyard for Thor to play around in. We're finally pretty settled in, but have some more work to do before everything is "complete".

Going back to our growing little man, he really is getting so strong! He has started kicking his little legs so much that he can move himself around on the ground a little bit! We've had to start strapping him into his bouncer and swing so he doesnt move himself right out of them!! He's also getting so good on his tummy! He is holding his head up so well! He can't keep it up for too too long, but he is getting better at tummy time everyday!! Although he looks like a very serious baby a lot of times, Connor has started smiling more and it is the cutest thing I have ever seen!! No matter what kind of mood I'm in, seeing that adorable little smiles melts my heart every time! It's been hard to capture it on the camera so far because it happens so fast and he gets very interested in the camera, but I've gotten a few pictures of it!! He has also recently started to communicate and "talk" with us more! We have even held a conversation for a few minutes with him going back and forth with us "coo"-ing and "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing =) It is the cutest thing!! We took him for his first swimming experience in the pool, and the water was a little too cold for him (he likes his warm bath water!) so he only stayed in for a few seconds. Hopefully next summer he'll be ready to go!!

We're gearing up for Connor's first Halloween!! He has a couple costumes to choose from, and we'll probably end up putting him in both, but no matter what he's going to be a cutie! While Daddy is going to be at the Dumont Sand Dunes for Halloween, Connor and Mommy are going to visit Sandy (my bestfriend from high school) and her son Andrew in Knoxville, Tennessee!! It will be Connor's first plane ride ever and I hope it goes smoothly for us!! Sandy's son in 2 1/2 months older than Connor so it's going to be fun seeing the two of them together! It's going to be hard though because it will be our first time away from Daddy since Connor was born. But before that happens we can't wait to get Connor to the pumpkin patch for his first pumpkin!! I'll make sure to post pictures!! All in all, October has been and will continue to be kind of a busy month!! But lots of fun too!!! Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks....

Growing like a weed.....

So once again we've been pretty busy and I haven't done well at updating my blog... but I'm and getting cuter and learning new things!!

I started back to work this week and it has been a rough week away from my little guy =( BOooo. I knew it was going to be hard, but had no idea that it would really bring me to tears every morning when I leave. I'm hoping that as the time goes by it gets easier. I've been told that it does, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. The Friday before I started back to work I spent the day with Connor. We ran some errands (which I am learning takes twice as long with a little one) and shopped around Babies R Us for a bit! The weather was gorgeous, only 86 degrees, so I decided to take Connor to the park for the first time! He loved it! I fed him and we just relaxed under a tree in the grass! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with my son!! =)

Connor is such a cutie.... I mean you all know that, but I wanted to tell you again!! LOL! He is growing and changing every day! I'm a little bit obsessed with taking his picture so we have TONS of pictures of him! I'll keep posting them as time passes!

We're getting ready to move at the end of the month to the northern part of Vegas, and having a newborn makes packing a little more interesting. But it will be well worth it in the long run and we're even going to re-do his nursery once we get into our new house! We spent too much time on it to not recreate it!

Here are some pictures of Connor over the last few weeks... including a couple from our trip to the park!!

2 weeks old


3 weeks old


5 weeks old


6 weeks old @ the park with Mommy


Looking around at all the grass =)