My friend Molly and her son Benji (2 years in Feb.) stopped in Houston for two days on their way to Dallas to see family and to attend our friend Stefani's wedding festivities. They came all the way from Pennsylvania. We both needed to drive to Dallas for a bachelorette party, so instead of going directly to Dallas (where her parents still live), she flew to Houston and allowed our two boys to play and it gave us some extra time to catch up. It was really great.
Benji and Connor playing and sharing. They actually were really good buddies. It was fun to watch them play together, but two toddlers is certainly chaotic. Ha!
Both boys in the ball bin.
Playing trucks in the play room.
Building and knocking down blocks.
The weather was great the whole time Molly and Benji were here, so we made it over to the park to play. It was funny though, because Benji is used to the cold Pennsylvania temps so when Molly told him we were going outside he asked to put on his coat. He didn't need a coat in the 80 degree temps we were having. Hee hee.
On Friday morning, we had a playdate with another one of our friends, Kate, and her 11 month old daughter Stella. It was really fun to catch up. We can't believe we are all Moms.
After all that hard playing, both of the boys earned a bath. Connor liked having a bath buddy. Benji wasn't so sure.
Last week I celebrated my 30th birthday and as luck would have it, my Mom needed to be in Houston anyway, so she came over to see Connor and to babysit so Jeff and I could go out for a birthday dinner. Here Connor and Grammio are playing with his truck.
A fun game of chase. You better run fast Grammio. He's fast.
Connor's in bed, and now we're ready for a fabulous dinner in Houston. It was a great way to begin my 30's.
On Thursday, we traveled to Oklahoma to visit with the Treadway family (Jeff's Dad's family). We had a two hour flight and then another 2 hour drive and of course Connor only slept one hour in the car, so he was pretty tired, but he did great.
That evening, we met up with everyone at a restaurant in Ponca City called the Rusty Barrel. It was great, because we had our own room and we could all visit and Connor could get up and move around if he needed to.
Here, he is reconnecting with Pagger Don "Nan Non" and Gigi.
Also in attendance from the Treadway family was Jeff's Aunt Vicki, Grandma Margie, Aunt Stacey, cousin Cindy and Jeff's cousin Kelly, her husband John and daughters Camille (8) and Lauren (7). Grandma Margie's neighbor Mimi and her boyfriend Hank were also there. We had quite a fun group.
Connor was his typical shy self at first, but soon enough he became the life of the party. He was actually walking around the room giving everyone high fives and giggling. It was really funny.
He also especially liked his second cousins Lauren (7) and Camille (8) who immediately enjoyed being the "older" kids for once and loved taking care of the baby. Connor jumped at the chance to get attention from these fun girls and had a blast with them.
Here they are reading together. Very cute.
Back at the hotel, an hour past his bedtime after a very long day, Connor was POOPED, but he was a total trooper.
The next morning, Connor was in rare form and not in a good way. He was extremely fussy and irritable, so much so that I eventually gave him tylenol, just because I thought he might be in pain, not just tired after the long day. Apparently he was having some teething pain, because not too long after he turned things around and he was really never fussy after that.
Here he is after lunch getting an extra special treat from Gigi. She went to McDonald's that morning with Aunt Stacey and got these mini cinnamon buns and gave Connor some. Amazingly enough he loved them. Go figure. :)
Connor took a great nap that afternoon and when he woke up, he met his second cousins at the neighbor's farm to meet week old kittens. Connor, as always, was very gentle and liked petting the "kitties."
Connor also got to go 4-wheeling. What a farm boy.
Of course there was always time to just run around with his second cousins. Aren't they precious?
They loved to hold his hands and honestly, he didn't really seem to mind. So sweet.
Checking out the "neigh neighs" at Mimi's farm with Camille.
What day on a farm would be complete without a ride on a tractor?
Posing with a 4-wheeler. We're in Oklahoma now.
Later, we got a key to Don's old schoolhouse growing up. All the elementary grades met in this one building.
Pagger Don giving a tour of his old schoolhouse digs. It was actually bigger than I imagined on the inside and those steps on the left lead up to a stage so they could do class performances. Pretty cool. He also said that until 7th grade they had to use outhouses. I guess living in the country has its disadvantages.
We spent a lot of time at Margie's house sitting and talking on her patio.
Lauren and Connor playing soccer together.
Connor didn't get to ride Smokey on Friday, but he did get to say hello to him. He would always call out his name whenever he'd see him walk by in his barn. He still really loves animals.
It was a warm day, so Connor ate outside. It was supposed to rain all weekend, so we were counting our blessings we had such nice weather on our first day.
On Friday night, they surprised us with ice cream cake for the Treadway ladies who all have April birthdays. Robbyn's was April 13th, mine was just two days before on the 20th, and Margie's is today, April 26th. I guess I shouldn't say how old the other two ladies are, but I think they are looking pretty good, don't you think?
On Saturday morning, The Easter Bunny came a day early to Margie's house and here Margie is giving Connor his Scooby-Doo basket.
We had to drive up from the hotel in Ponca City, so Camille and Lauren had already hunted for eggs by the time we arrived, so they were happy to give Connor some assistance on his egg hunt.
This is fun.
He soon realized these eggs have special treasures inside!
As you can see by our clothes, the weather had changed dramatically on Saturday. Instead of 80 and sunny, it was about 60 and very windy and cloudy. Connor of course loves to be outside, so despite the temps being a bit chilly we took a walk in the pasture.
I don't think you can tell, but both Jeff and Connor are chewing a piece of straw in this photo. True cowpolk for sure.
Pagger Don, or Nan Non as Connor called him all weekend, took Connor up pretty close to the cows. Connor wanted to pet them, but this was close enough. Connor got pretty good at saying "Moo Cow."
Just hanging out.
We indulged Connor's ever growing desire to throw things and let him chuck rocks into the water. He of course loved it.
After Connor got up from his nap, it was time to ride Smokey. This year, he got to ride him all by himself, with two adult spotters of course and Pagger Don pulling the reigns.
Showing some good form on the horse. Yeehaw!
Thanks for the ride Smokey. I hope you can give me one more ride next year. Smokey is really old, so we hope he makes it another season. Smokey sure is a great horse.
Aunt Stacey had to travel back to her cruise ship directly from Oklahoma, but she got the chance to hang out with Connor 3 times while she was on land and I know it meant a lot to both Connor and Stacey. We'll miss you Aunt Stacey. Have fun sailing and Bon Voyage.
More bonding with his second cousins before heading back to the hotel for the night. We had to pack up and leave Sunday morning.
It was a rainy Easter Sunday in Oklahoma and our flight was over an hour delayed, but Connor was a trooper and happily watched planes and played with his new Easter trucks.
Our plane was delayed and we were flying right in the middle of Connor's nap, but I was so grateful for both a very empty plane and episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba on Jeff's Ipod. He would watch it for a little and then play and then watch again and play, but it really helped keep us all sane. We had a great trip, but it sure feels nice to be home.
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