More Halloween Fun!

This past weekend we went to College Station to visit Grandma and Grandpa and to see the Texas A&M football game vs. Texas Tech. What was really great was that Gigi and Pagger Don came too. The only bummer was that Jeff was feeling a little sick so he didn't get to have as much fun as normal, but he was a trooper and did as much as he could.

We arrived Friday night and got to have a wonderful meal and then try out Grandma and Grandpa's fire pit. The weather finally got a little chilly and we all enjoyed bundling up by the fire.

Saturday, Connor got up very early, but we kept him busy in the game room and decked him out in Aggie gear to get ready for the game. Jeff, my Dad, Gigi and Pagger Don went to the football game at the stadium while me and my Mom stayed with Connor while he ate lunch and napped.

After his nap, we went over to the Miramont Country Club's Children's Halloween party. Of course we took the opportunity to dress Connor in his costume and he looked super cute. At the party, Connor got to decorate a pumpkin with stickers, we took a hay ride, and then we decorated cookies. He even got to try his very first candy corn.

After the party, the game ended with a Texas A&M victory and everyone came home for dinner. Connor went to bed and we all hung out together.

We drove back on Sunday, which was actual Halloween and prepared Connor to go trick-or-treating for the first time ever. We met up with some of our neighbors and trick-or-treated up the street until we ended up at a neighborhood Halloween party.

He did great. He had a cute, plastic, orange bucket that he carried up to the houses and he was pretty good about just taking one piece of candy. The only thing, was that he wanted to go in the houses when people opened the doors. Ha! Also, I caught him sucking chocolate out of the wrapper of a kit kat, but I figured that was OK. It's Halloween after all. All in all, it was a total success.

The neighborhood Halloween party was fun too. It was at a park and there was lots of kids and two bounce houses. It was getting kind of late, so we didn't do much, but maybe we'll get there earlier next year.

As Connor walked in the door, I realized I was sad to be retiring his Monster costume, but I'm sure there will be other cool costumes in his future. Sadly though, I know as he gets older "cute" probably won't be how I'd describe them. It'd probably be "scary" or "tough", etc. Oh well, I guess they all have to grow up. For now, I'll appreciate my adorable and very cute little monster.

Enjoying the fire pit on Friday night.

Playing in the pillows in the game room at Grandma's house on Saturday morning. He got up right at 6, so Mommy was a little tired, but we made the most of it.

Showing his Aggie spirit. It must have worked, because they beat Tech later that day.

It was FINALLY chilly, so Connor had to put up his hood to go outside.

Connor looking cute on his combination walker and rider toy.

Enjoying breakfast all together.

Jeff and Grandpa took Connor up to campus to see the business school and Connor was a good student. Here, Grandpa is giving Connor his first lecture.

A former and perhaps future business school student.

Connor had a great time playing with this little football. Peak a boo!

We went over to the Country Club for the Halloween party and Connor was a bit distracted running up and down the ramps.

Decorating a pumpkin with Grandma.

Snuggling with Grandma on a hay ride around the golf course.

Decorating cookies and getting to taste his first candy corn.

We wanted to make sure Gigi and Pagger Don got to see Connor in his costume so we let him keep it on during dinner while we waited for them to get home from the football game. He even got to have some of his decorated cookie for dessert. Lucky boy. He loves Halloween treats!

Sunday morning, Grandpa found Connor's tickle spot.

After the men golfed on Sunday, we all met up for lunch at Miramont. Connor had to wait nearly 30 minutes for them to arrive, and he was really patient. Good boy.

Jeff was still celebrating the Aggie's victory on Saturday so he threw an A&M hat on monster Connor before heading out to trick-or-treat Sunday night.

Connor looking very ready to go get some candy.

Connor checking out one of our neighbors who was dressed as a fairy. We walked around with some of our neighbors. It was fun going as a group.

Connor grabbing some candy.

Hanging out at the neighborhood party.

In the bounce house. Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Halloween

I will have more to add regarding Halloween, because I am doing this post before including the pictures of our actual Halloween weekend in College Station and in Sugar Land, but I wanted to make sure everyone got to see Connor all dressed up for the big day.

He had to wear his costume at school on Thursday, so of course we took lots of photos before we left. The teachers said he did great in it and laughed and played like normal. It was like he was in regular clothes. See, I knew dressing him up for all the holidays as a baby would be good training for tolerating Halloween costumes. I was just preparing him...right?

Anyway, all the kids got to trick or treat around the church offices and they had a Halloween party in their room. They changed them out of costumes before lunch though and his teacher did say that they did unzip the back of his costume earlier to give him some extra ventilation. I'm sure he got a bit hot. Halloween costumes are not meant for "Fall" in Texas.

Of course they said everyone loved his costume and commented on his adorable face popping through, but that is of course what I expected. Hee hee.

Well enjoy our little Monster. We sure do.

Connor as a Monster Thursday morning before school.

Posing by the pumpkins.

Connor knew the pumpkins usually went by the front door, so he wanted to move them back. Here he and Daddy are moving the pumpkins back. He's got the small orange one. He looks so cute from the back.

Carrying pumpkins with Daddy.

This one is too heavy to lift, but it's fun to bang on.

Walking in the grass.

Getting away...oh no, a monster on the loose. I like that you can see his second set of arms in this one. Hee hee.

He looked really funny in his carseat on the way to school.

Pirate Ms. Hilary welcomed Connor to class.

Was he the cutest in his class? My humble opinion...YES!!!!

Fall Fun

This has been a super fun week for both Connor and me and Jeff. On Tuesday evening I had a fun and much needed girls night at a local wine bar. It's always so nice catching up with women that are going through the same things you are.

On Wednesday, we went to a new park in our neighborhood and Connor really liked it. It had one of those wobbly bridges and he loved crossing it.

Thursday was "orange day" at school so he got to wear his orange spider shirt that says "crawly" on it. He looked really cool. He also got to have a special friend come over and put him to bed, because Jeff and I went on a date and saw "Shrek the Musical" that was playing at a theater in downtown Houston with a Broadway across America troupe. It was really cute and funny. It was a lot like the movie. Connor's babysitter, who had to bath him and put him to bed said he did great and was asleep by 7:15. By the time we got home at 10:45, she said he did cough a few times, but otherwise he slept like a champ.

On Friday, I finally got to return to my Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) group at the church. It is from 9:30 to noon and during the meeting childcare is provider, so Connor gets to play with some other kids. During MOPS this time we did the normal committee updates, general chit chat, ate yummy food, and other news, but we also did yoga. It was really fun and a bit challenging. I needed it. When I came to pick up Connor from his classroom at noon he ran over to the door with a huge grin. He was in the best mood. They said he had so much fun. He really does seem to like being social.

On Friday evening, we attended Connor's school carnival. I wasn't sure if we were going to go, because it didn't start until 6pm, and that is normally dinner time, so I knew he'd probably go to bed late, plus I wasn't sure what he could really do, but some ladies in my MOPS group convinced me to go. I am soooo glad we did. We had a blast and since Christ Church School is just preschool for kids no older than 5, all the activities were geared towards really little kids. It was perfect. Connor could participate in a ton of the activities and he loved it.

We even got his face painted for the first time. We didn't know how he'd do, but like normal, he totally froze up around the stranger so that worked in our favor because he just sat there stunned. He didn't move a muscle as she painted a pumpkin on his cheek. It was really funny. She couldn't believe how still he was being and everyone who saw him agreed that a pumpkin on those big round cheeks was a perfect choice.

It was cute too, because there was a gym with a few bounce houses and we let Connor sort of walk around and I can't tell you how many people just smiled and lit up when they saw him coming. I know I'm biased, but I swear he just makes people smile when he barrels around all grinning and joyful. His jolliness is contagious.

Then on Saturday we headed about an hour out of town to a place called Dewberry Farm. I had heard of this place from lots of Moms and I had been on their website, but I still didn't quite know what to expect. All I knew was that there was a pumpkin patch, which would make for a cute photo op and some other farm-type activities for kids. Boy, were my expectations exceeded.

We were a little concerned, because as we were driving out there, the sky was really dark and it started sprinkling a little. Mind you, it hasn't rained here in a month. Why it would choose to rain the day we go to a farm is beyond me, but there was not much we could do about that. Anyway, we were a little worried, but walked in the front gates and suddenly we didn't care about the weather at all (which turned out to not be an issue at all. It only sprinkled for maybe one minute as we were unloading the car and then the sun came out a few hours later). We realized instantly that Connor was going to love this place. There was lots of room to run around and plenty of stuff for a young guy like him could do.

We had so much fun that I took over 200 pictures out there. There were so many cute ones, that I decided to upload a Kodak gallery and post a link so you can view them from there. I just didn't think I could narrow the pictures down to anything less than 30 and that's a little much for one blog post. The captions in the gallery pretty much sum up what we did, so enjoy it.

We certainly had a blast and I hope we can make Dewberry Farm an annual trip. It's going to be hard for me not to want to go back next weekend. I literally thought to myself when I was out there, "I'm so glad I have a kid, so I can come to a place like this." It just made me feel young again and to see Connor so happy just made me overjoyed.

I wish I could say our fun-filled week was over (as I'm getting tired just typing all this), but it wasn't. Saturday night, Jeff and I attended our neighbor's Halloween costume party. Jeff went as a doctor and I was a nurse. We enjoyed getting to know our neighbors more, but we sure are pooped. It's been quite a week and with lots of Halloween festivities next week, I think the fun will continue. Oh goody!




Connor has been really into pushing his walker around lately. I think he's gained enough walking confidence now so he can actually maneuver it well. Before if he ran into something he pretty much just got frustrated and stopped pushing. Now he can turn it with ease, even on the carpet. He loves pushing it around the house.

It was orange day at school Thursday, so he got to wear his "crawly" spider shirt.

This is the pose Connor is in every time he stands up from falling down. Can you remember a time when you were that flexible? Boy oh boy.

Getting ready to make a mess before school on Thursday.

It was really cute, because at the carnival on Friday night, Connor ate pizza for the first time right off the slice like an adult. Any time he does something that grown ups do, it's just so darn cute.

Connor was stunned into a state of total stillness as he got his face painted Friday night at the carnival.

A cute pumpkin for a cute pumpkin.

Playing the popcorn toss game.

Here Connor is "modifying" the bean bag toss a bit.

He loved the tinsel decorations.

Of course he loved the football toss.

It's a little blurry because he was moving so fast, but we let him loose in the gym with the bounce houses and he just ran around with this huge grin. It was adorable.

One of the carnival bounce houses.

Here is a teaser for the Dewberry Farm pictures. For the rest of them, follow this link. Believe me, it's worth it. They are super cute.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=159797548309%3A1047572276&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

Saturday night, Jeff was a doctor and I was a nurse at a neighbor's Halloween party. More Halloween fun next week, including Connor's adorable costume. Stay tuned...

Another Cold, But Doing Alright

So Connor has another cold. I feel like my perfectly healthy little boy is now sick every week. I guess every parent feels this way once cold and flu season starts (aka school), but it's so frustrating.

Luckily though, this one doesn't seem to be bothering him too badly just yet. I say yet, because tonight he had a mini meltdown at dinner and even his bath didn't seem to calm him. It was strange. I just hope this runny nose isn't going to turn into another ear infection or chest infection again where he needs antibiotics. It's just sad, because he doesn't know how to clear the boogers, so it just drains down his throat into his chest or I guess into his ears and causes infection.

It seems like many colds he starts off fine for the first 4 or 5 days and then all of a sudden he has a bad night of sleep and wakes up one morning with a fever and is really unhappy. Let's just hope this time is different.

Despite getting a cold this week, Connor has actually been in a great mood. We've had a great week. On Wednesday, we even got to go to Gymboree to play with the fun toys they have and see some of Connor's buddies. We had a great time. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures, but I assure you, he had a blast. He loved putting the balls in a basketball hoop that was just his size.

The weather has still been pretty hot in the afternoon, but the mornings have been lovely so we've been getting to the park after our jogs almost every day and he still likes that. He also still really likes his bin 'o balls and will run over to it as soon as I let him outside.

Also, I came to realize that Connor has a "bubble sound." Yes, a bubble sound. This is the screeching sound he makes when I blow bubbles at him. It is the cutest thing. It is basically this really excited scream. I could hardly continue blowing bubbles the first couple of times he did it, because it was so hilarious. I guess he likes bubbles. We also got him to say "bubble." He did it a couple of times. Of course it helps that it starts with his favorite letter, "b."

Also, I learned for sure something I have been suspecting for a while now, Connor is officially an animal lover. At Barnes and Noble they had three board books on the clearance rack that were each a different type of animal series, like baby animals, zoo animals, and sea creatures. In the books are a few pages of photos with descriptions. For example in the zoo book, there is a page with an elephant and it says something like, "elephants use their trunks to spray water on each other to keep cool." Each book is maybe 8 pages long, but each page is more fascinating than the next as far as Connor is concerned. He especially likes the polar bears in the zoo book. He almost giggles when he sees that page.

This of course makes me very happy, because I have always been an animal lover. As far back as I can remember I was "playing dog" and wanting to be a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and to see my son share this passion with me is really cool.

Jeff is also proud, because Connor has developed another passion, one that Jeff definitely shares...the love of airplanes. Well we don't know if he loves airplanes or not, but if an airplane is flying in the sky above us, he will stop whatever he is doing and look up in the sky to find it. I just think this is so neat, because he started doing this completely on his own. One day he was looking up in the sky and I didn't know what he was looking at and then I realized he was following a tiny plane in the sky. He tries to say "plane" too, which is cute.

This weekend we were in town and on Saturday, Connor and I attended a birthday party for Connor's friend Ben who is turning 2. Connor had a grand old time. The funniest thing though, was despite all the kids there and the bounce house, the playground, and all the other toys, Connor's favorite activity was playing with the ice in the ice bucket. He was entertained by that for so long. Of course he loved the cake too.

Connor was also a very good boy and let me and Jeff take him over to our friend Luke and Jessica's and put him to bed over there and then move him when we left later that night. We had fun with our friends and he fell asleep like a champ and then when we woke him up, put him in the car, drove home 30 minutes, and then put him back in his crib, he went right back to sleep.

We feel so lucky that Connor is able to do this. I know a lot of friends whose children would not go back to bed if you tried to move them once you put them down to bed. I don't know if they don't really try or if they know they won't go back to bed, but either way, they don't move them. This just makes things so difficult, because then you need to get a babysitter so much more often than you should. That, or you always have to have people over to your house. Anyway, I am just grateful Connor is flexible in that way.

Today was another nice day. Connor and I had a nice morning together and then we all went to church. After Connor's nap we went to the grocery store and we got stuff to make a really yummy dinner complete with steak, garlic and herb potatoes, and roasted asparagus. Yummy.

Well I'm hoping it's another fun week and I'm REALLY hoping Connor's cold remains just that...a cold. He turns 16 months on Tuesday, so hopefully he'll start his 16th month of life healthy.

On our jog on Wednesday morning, sweet little Connor fell asleep. This is pretty rare. He didn't get great naps or really good night time sleep this week with his cold, so he was extra sleepy. Poor guy, but doesn't he look precious.

On Thursday afternoon, Connor and I walked around the neighborhood. Connor led the way and I followed. He's good about staying on the sidewalk. He just likes to walk around.

At the birthday party Saturday, can you see Connor playing on the playground?

Hanging in the bounce house.

He loved the ice in the ice chest. That was his favorite thing. In his defense, it was probably 85 degrees.

I guess being the master of the ice chest gets the ladies.

It was a cookie monster party and the decorations and cake were super cute.

Connor found this tent with a tunnel and climbed in.

Hello!

Yummy, cake.

On Saturday, of course we also watched football and Connor sported his Aggie hat to show his Texas A&M pride. He didn't keep the hat on long, but Jeff got this cute picture.

At dinner, Connor was being goofy and Jeff got it documented. He's so silly.

Hee hee!

I may have a runny nose, but I'm still a jolly guy.