Chrismakwanzakah

Connor and Daddy opening stockings on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning, Connor was more interested in the gate than his presents.

Camera shy? Since when?

Mommy helping Connor open a toy. Connor got tons of toys...most make noise...and lots of bath tub toys too. His favorite though is the fake food. Unfortunately we've already lost his favorite piece, the turkey leg. We think we left it at a restaurant when we had to make a hasty exit because Connor puked all over me!

Froggy got just what he asked for....beer!

We had to hold Connor down to keep him from the gate and force him to open presents. I bet this is the only year that happens!

One of his other favorite toys is a mini work bench. It makes lots of noise and came with a mini hammer and screw driver.

News of the Day

Well, the camera is refusing to talk to the computer again, so sorry Mom, this post has no pictures. When they are on speaking terms I will try to post pictures of Connor opening his presents.

But today was a big day for a Sunday. Yesterday we got new carpet downstairs and on the stairs. We spent a mad 24 hours cleaning and today our wonderful realtor, Samantha, came to take pictures of the house and put a sign in the front yard. So tomorrow our listing will be on MLS and the house will officially be on the market. We are moving for a few reasons. The main one is that it takes Dave at least an hour and fifteen minutes to get home from work. So being that the market in S. Austin is still fairly decent and that there are only 5 houses for sale in our neighborhood, we decided it was time to try our luck. We looked at our competition and we win hands down, but we'll see how it goes. So as long as we're moving we need to look at the schools because the one this neighborhood goes to is ok, but a very old building with bugs. We are looking in the area where I used to teach up in Round Rock. I found a house a week or so ago, but Dave hasn't seen it yet. I think it fits everything we're looking for, but it's off the market for now. They are re-doing the floors and counter tops and will put it back up in a few weeks probably at a higher price, but we'll see. The ironic thing is that I think I taught their daughter when she was in first grade. So, we'll see how it all plays out...keep your fingers crossed for us!

Our second big news of the day is that we went to the after-hours clinic today with Connor. He's had a fever for almost a week now, but it's been around 100 and he's getting his two top teeth. His nose has been congested but now it's running non-stop. He's also started with a bad hacking cough. We decided to go to the doctor anyway just to make sure. The doctor said she thought it was just the common cold and we'd just have to wait it out. We'll see. The poor little guy doesn't seem to be feeling so hot, but hopefully it will run it's course quickly and he'll be back in top shape soon.

More Thank You's

Connor got a package from Aunt Lydia and Uncle Matt the other day. He had fun ripping open all the gifts.

He got a cute outfit.

An Elmo towel that the beagles were obviously VERY interested in.

He really liked the pelican bath toy but wasn't so sure about the Gloworm. We've taken the Gloworm upstairs and he plays with it while he gets changed. He likes to hold on to the ears and bite it's face. It makes changing time a lot less of a fight.

Then yesterday Connor got a package from Auntie Breezy and the Rev. He got this cute outfit with a monkey wearing a matching sweater. Too cute!

He also got some money from Grandma Linda, a bear from Aunt Carol and Uncle Paul and a gift certificate from Grandma Anna and Grandpa Gerry (I think that one was really for Froggie).

He also got a bribery gift from Molly's mommy, but unfortunately for the dogs it has a mallet as part of the toy. The dogs aren't so happy about it.

Thank you to everyone for your generosity. Connor is having so much fun!

PS- One front tooth has popped through. The other shouldn't be far behind.

Thank You

Today a package arrived from Aunt Mary Ann. It was this cool Tonka truck. It can be a walker or you can ride on it. It scoops up toys and has a wheel that makes all kinds of noise. Connor loves it, thanks Aunt Mary Ann.

Yesterday Connor got a Target gift card from Grandma Betty and Grandpa Joe. He also got a check from Uncle Roger and Aunt Nancy. He can't wait to spend them on more toys...maybe a kitchen or tool set or a wagon! Thank you!

PS - His two front teeth are about to come in...maybe even in time for Christmas! We'll be able to sing that song.

Walker?

On Monday, Connor turned 10 months old! I cannot believe it. He's changed so much in just the past few months. I think back and remember that he only started crawling at the end of Sept. and then two weeks ago he took his first steps. This week he's gotten much braver. I didn't notice at first, but yesterday he kept falling down. I watched him letting go of things more and more, and still not being too steady, would fall after a few steps. Then last night we were playing the walk between Mommy and Daddy game and he took 5 steps. Then today he tried to walk from a toy to the couch which was about three feet away...I found him face down on the floor about a foot away from the couch, but at least he's trying. He even used Sophie as a walker yesterday. That was pretty funny. I'll try to get some pics of him in action, but it's hard to catch right now since I'm trying to catch him most of the time!

Look Mommy!

The other day Connor decided it would be fun to play "with" the toy bin instead of with what was "in" the toy bin.

Then he discovered that if you flip it and push it around it can help you get to things.

Each time he did this I flipped the bin back over and moved it and him to the middle of the floor and put toys in it. He would just flip it again and push it to various other objects in the living room and climb on them.


Yesterday morning he picked up Froggie and started beating on him. I got out the camera and tried to catch him in the act, but when he saw the camera he started posing. This kid needs to be a model. He knows exactly what to do when the camera comes out!

Snow? In Austin? Are You Sure?

Last night we heard something hitting the windows. We looked outside and this is what we found....BTW, it had been 80 earlier in the day.

The cars had a little snow on them too.

It was still there when we got up this morning.

New Dog Bed

Since we're all having some trouble sleeping, we thought that getting the dogs a new bed (and out of ours) might help. Connor thought it looked like a great idea.



Sophie and Marley aren't so sure. The first night Marley slept on it while Sophie wandered the house until 3 am when I just gave in and let her on the bed so I could get some sleep.

When Connor and I came home today, we found the dogs like this. Sophie obviously needs to learn to share, but hopefully this means they think it's a good idea...at least during the day.

Eggs? No Thank You!

Since Connor's been eating more "real" food, I thought I'd try scrambled eggs again. As you can see, he's just not a fan. He actually picked them up this time and tried some, but would make this awful face and shake his head after each bite. I think he even tried three times, but just couldn't do it. I guess we'll try again next month.

Not sure what was different about last night, but he actually slept. He cried at 10:45pm and I just resettled him. He woke again at 3:40am and I nursed him. He took a little while to get back to sleep, but then he didn't wake again until 7:15am. I wish I knew what was different and I'd market it. On Tuesday night he woke 3 times and eventually ended up just standing in his crib screaming from 4:30-6:00am. That wasn't fun. Let's hope he's gotten over whatever was keeping him up and we're back on the program!

Steps and Cribs

The whole crib thing is not going so well. Last night he decided he would just stand up every time someone left him alone in his bed. So he stood there and screamed until one of us came back, laid him back down and then we did it all over again. At 2 am, after our third round of this, I finally decided I'd just hold his shoulder and hip and keep him in his favorite sleeping position....forcefully. He finally fell asleep and slept until almost 7:30am. Then he just sat up and played with his aquarium toy that's tied to his bed instead of screaming for someone to come get him. That was at least a little progress.

Today we've been working on standing up alone. He's just not very steady so I was standing him up and letting go to see if he'd learn to balance. After dinner we were playing (trying to keep him occupied while we tried to watch a movie) and he started catching himself with his toes to make himself balance. Then he started adding in steps to get to me. We tried having him go back and forth between us and one time he took three steps! I knew it was coming, but he just turned 9.5 months! Can't wait to see what he'll be doing next week...running down the street probably!

Let's just hope all this change is the reason we're having trouble sleeping and soon he'll be so tired from walking he'll sleep through the night...yeah, right!