Finally, a Christmas post

Ok, so I've been a bit busy since I've been back from our Holiday adventures. My to-do list continues to be long, but I'm getting through it one item at a time. These frigid temperatures don't help much though, as I feel guilty taking Connor outside for too long. I figure though, that he needs some fresh air at least once a day and I remind myself, if we lived up North, he'd have to get used to it quick, so one week of cold won't hurt him.

Going to Gigi and Pagger Don's in Amarillo was great. Connor loved seeing everyone and he did awesome on the plane ride out again. His stubborn teething was a bit of a problem, but he powered through and now I can really see that tooth on the top, so it was worth all his trials and tribulations. I won't go into too much detail. Instead, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Connor did great on the flight, but when we arrived in Amarillo, his car seat that we checked was icy cold, so we put our jackets around him.

A few hours after we arrived, Jeff's Uncle Mike, Aunt Shelley, and cousins Kory (21) and Kelsey (18) drove in from Kansas to spend time with us. As you can see, Connor really liked Uncle Mike's beard.

Since it was Christmas Eve, we had Pagger Don read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was cute, because every now and then he'd look up at him as if to say, "Hmm, you sound like my Dad, but you're not my Dad. Oh well, back to the story."

It never snowed when we were there, but as you can see, there was snow on the ground. Oh and I am wearing Jeff's high school letter jacket. It's kind of an Amarillo tradition if it's cold out.

Baby's First Christmas, complete with his Santa suit.

Connor got lots of fun toys, but of course the biggest hit was the wrapping paper.

I think this picture is funny. I guess Pagger Don said something awe inspiring.

Now it's time to open presents with Gigi.

Connor admiring his new stuffed elephant sent all the way from a cruise ship in the Caribbean from his Aunt Stacey.

One of the cutest gifts was this rocking horse that we lovingly named "Smokey." That's the name of Grandma Margie's horse. He can't really hang on yet, but he'll get the hang of it soon and love it I'm sure. It's darn cute no matter what.

Opening presents is tiring.

It was about 20 degrees every day, so Connor had to really bundle up.

Aren't these two fellows just so Christmasy. We had some awesome food and wine while we were in town. Sinfully delicious of course.

We were about to change Connor so we let him hang out in the buff for a bit. He always loves that. Look at those rolls.

Connor may never crawl. He still does not like being on his tummy for more than about 2 minutes.

Story time with second cousin Kelsey. On a side note, it was fun, because one night the "adults" put Connor to bed and they let the cousins go see Avatar in 3D. It was really cool and sadly the first movie Jeff and I had seen in a theater in 6 months.

Jeff and I both got cowboy boots for Christmas, but we needed to try some on, so we could get them ordered. While in the store, Connor got to try out a saddle for the first time. Just wait until you visit Grandma Margie's house and you get to ride the real thing.

Connor trying on his first pair of cowboy boots. I think he likes it. Those are a little big buddy. Maybe next year, when you're walking.

One day, we all went to this yummy Mexican restaurant for lunch. I thought this was funny seeing Jeff multi-tasking: checking his blackberry and feeding Connor. Ha!

The entire gang at lunch. Unfortunately, Connor's head is blocked by the carafe of margaritas. Oops. Don't call CPS.

After we were done with our meal, Connor got to get out of his high chair and spend some quality lap time with Gigi. He loves bouncing. Oh and this is a nice shot of his Christmas bear coat. Isn't it cute with the little ears and it is sooo soft.

Bouncing with Daddy is so much fun.

Connor sitting in a rocking chair that Jeff's Grandpa made for him. So precious. We flew home on Monday evening and Connor did awesome on the flight home as well. It was sad to leave, but we made some great memories.

Back in Sugar Land that following Tuesday, we had our family's Christmas. Since Connor didn't seem too interested in opening presents in Amarillo, we just wrapped 3 and let him dig in.

Merry Christmas buddy. Maybe next year, you'll really get into it. For now, just sit and chew like you do best.

Happy New Year

Ok, so I still haven't found the time to post about Christmas or New Year, but I did want to wish all my blogger followers a Happy New Year and let you know that we made it back from Austin yesterday in one piece.

I miss everyone, and I'm sure Connor does too. It's quiet for the first time in 10 days, and it's kind of weird. I miss the commotion and the constant distractions and attention for Connor. We'll get back to our routine soon enough, but so far we're still adjusting to days just the two of us.

Christmas Teaser

I don't have much time, as I'm doing laundry and unpacking and repacking, but I wanted to report that Connor had a terrific first Christmas in Amarillo. Enjoy these teaser photos below as evidence.

The only bummer, was that he was cutting his top teeth while we were in Amarillo, but he handled it like a champ for the most part. We had a blast.

Oh and I should mention that we sort of decided that going forward Grandma Robbyn would be called Gi Gi and Grandpa Don would be Pagger Don. Pagger is what Jeff used to call his grandparents and it seemed to stick. So going forward, that's what you'll see on this blog in reference to them. Very fun.

We're off to Austin for Christmas part 3 (he had part 2 this morning, here in Sugar Land), and I'm sure it will be a great time. Stay tuned.

Baby's first (of three) Christmases.

Connor with Pagger Don and his new pony, "Smokey"

6 Month Check-Up Report

Connor is a big boy, just as we expected. He's 19 pounds 14 ounces and 27 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 75% for both weight and height.

He is caught up on his milestones and he looks good all over. We did see that his top right tooth is about to break through, which should make the holidays fun with a teething baby. Ha!

He has been fighting this cold for a while and she did notice that his left ear is a little tender, but not quite enough to medicate. She gave us a prescription though just in case we need it over the holidays. That was nice of her.

He got 4 shots today (one of which was H1N1 vaccine) and unfortunately, the doctor's appointment was right in the middle of when he should be napping, so he was completely spent and very frustrated by the end of the appointment. He was crying before he even got his shots and then after the shots, he was full on wailing. Poor boy.

He's sleeping soundly now though, so all is well. Hopefully he'll wake up chipper and forget the whole thing ever happened.

Waiting patiently in the beginning of the appointment. You should have seen the paper he was sitting on by the end. It was completely torn up. He is going to love wrapping paper at Christmas.

He was getting pretty fussy, so we resorted to sitting him on the window sill and looking out the window. When the doctor came in, she said, "Well this is a first." It was funny.

Looking out the window with Daddy. No more shots for a while buddy. Sorry.

Half a year...really?!

Well, it's true, Connor is officially 6 months old and boy has it been quite a half of a year. He's amazing and every day he discovers this exciting new world around him just a little bit more.

At 6 months, he is well into solid foods. He eats solids twice a day and has actually enjoyed the following foods: carrots, acorn squash, yellow zucchini, sweet potato, peas, avocado, banana, apple, rice cereal, and oatmeal cereal. He is actually a very good eater, when he's not over tired. He seems to lean into the spoon and he opens his mouth like he's been eating for years. Nice work, Mr. Cheeks.

Another food related first that happened this past month, was he sat in a restaurant high chair a couple of times. He also is now sitting directly in the shopping cart, instead of teetering on top in his infant car seat. He seems to like it. He is also sitting more and more in the regular stroller, not in the stroller that snaps his infant car seat into it. Soon enough, we will be graduating out of the infant car seat altogether. Not quite yet, but soon.

He has also become a terrific sitter. He actually seems to prefer sitting to lying down now. He likes to sit and grab at his toys and chew on them. He has sort of developed a preference for this Manhattan Toys squish toy and his sophie the giraffe, which makes an excellent teether.

He still has just the two teeth, but he still loves to chew and he drools a lot, so I'm sure it will be only a matter of time before the top two come in as well.

He still "talks" a lot, but there are no discernible words. He also likes blowing raspberries, which is pretty amusing.

He seems to smile at me and Jeff almost every time we smile at him, but he still rarely smiles for strangers. He's Mr. Serious out in public. That's OK, even without smiles, we still get stopped all the time to be told how cute he is. I of course beam with pride. He is darn cute. I'll admit it.

He hasn't made much progress in the way of "locomoting" as in crawling, etc. but that's mostly because I don't enjoy watching my son suffer. He still hates being on his tummy and just mildly tolerates it for about 2 minutes at a time. He has started to turn in a circle when he's on his stomach, but it's very slow going. It's kind of funny though.

His hair is starting to grow back in and for now it's this downy soft, blond fluff on the top of his head. He has a cute little cowlick in front and one in the back that looks like a hurricane on a weather map.

He is definitely starting to get my attention and he knows what he's doing. The other day, I set him down so I could fill up my water bottle and I heard him start to fuss a little. I walked up to him and literally, the moment I put my hands under his armpits to pick him up, he got quiet, as if to say, "Yup, that's what I wanted. Thanks, I'm good now." What a stinker.

His sleep is starting to really get better now as well. He is actually starting to sleep through the night consistently, from 7 PM until 6:30 AM.

We don't know how much he weighs and how tall he is, but we go to our 6 month check up tomorrow. He's still a big boy, so I'm expecting probably bigger than the 50th percentile, but we shall see. He'll get more shots, but hopefully he'll do as well as he's done in the past.

That is, unless he's got a stupid cold. That is something new that happened this month, he got his first and second colds. It's hard, because he can't breathe through his nose well so it wakes him up. We've had a couple bad nights with this cold. It's not fun for any of us. Jeff and I continue to be healthy, so I'm grateful for that. I can't imagine being sick and keeping up with a baby.

We had a big first this month, when Connor had his first real babysitter. People have "watched" him once he's been asleep, but no one has babysat him for an extended period when he's awake. This person came over at around 5pm, and Jeff and I left around 5:30 to go to his company's Christmas party. I am a total nerd, and I had a document all prepared with his schedule and detailed instructions. Jeff made fun of me a bit, but the babysitter, who happens to be our good friend Andrea Faz, said she appreciated it.

I am really loving having a 6 month old. He's sweet and finally getting a nice sleeping routine and he stays put. Life's not too bad for us. I'm looking forward to what's in store next month though too. I'm sure it will be a doozy!

Happy Holidays one and all. I may not get to post much, but I'm sure I'll have lots of photos to share when the holidays are over. Connor flies to Amarillo again, so wish us luck. We also drive to Austin, so he'll get more time with his cousins. It should be a fun couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll get lots of gifts, and I know this sounds really cheesy, but no matter what I receive, I know that Connor will be the greatest gift I have gotten this year. Happy 6 months buddy. You're the greatest.

Connor sitting with one of his favorite chew toys, the squish ball.

A big 6 month old.

He's still got jumbo cheeks.

What a cutie. He's 6 months old!

Now's the fun part. Playing with the sign.

He got to celebrate his 6 month birthday with his friend Allison. Allison is our good friends, Anthony and Lindsey Zaccari's, 19 month old daughter.

You can never get two kids looking or smiling at the same time. Allison loved Connor's toys.

Jeff and Anthony are friends from college. It looks like things have changed a bit.

Jeff holding Connor before church today in his dapper Christmas duds (thanks Grandma Roach).

Church was great today, because it had lots of Christmas music like Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Joy to the World. It ran a little long though, so Connor struggled at the very end. He made it though.

After church, we had lunch outside. It was another beautiful day. Happy 6 Month Birthday Connor.

Finally...a beautiful day!

Tomorrow is Connor's big 6 month birthday, so I promise I'll post then, but I just wanted to write a quick note, saying how happy I am that it's finally a nice day. I feel like I'm living in New Jersey all over again with our recent gray skies for two weeks straight.

I guess I'm spoiled by the Texas sunshine, but it certainly makes me appreciate a day like today. It is 60 and sunny. Finally! Anyway, I just wanted to share.

Connor and I took a nice long walk and I think even he was pleased to finally be out in weather that didn't make his nose run. Speaking of nose running, I think his cold is back, or it's a new cold, but either way, he woke up in the middle of the night last night all stuffed up. Poor boy. Stupid cold!

Finally, beautiful blue sky.

Connor after a nice walk today.

Connor posing with the adorable bunny Great-Grandma Margie got him.

It's bigger than he is.

Thanks Great-Grandma Margie! I love it.

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