First Week at School

Connor and Miss Yelena, his teacher from Russia (don't you love this new thing he is doing with tucking his lip??)

This is what Connor was doing when Mommy picked him up yesterday.

Ugh! They caught me chewing on my toys again.

OK, OK, I surrender!

I mean, really?? (Doesn't this sound & look like Aunt Rebekah?)

Daddy thought it would be cute to show my rump-a-licious hiney.

So happy watching my Baby Einstein vidoes.

Aunt Rebekah & Uncle Ryan (Mommy's youngest sister and husband).

Grandma, Uncle Brian and Aunt Angela (Mommy's oldest sister & her husband and my granny).

I know, I know! This is hilarious! Uncle Brian thought it would be nice to play with Ma's hair piece and she did not know she looked like this until after I took the picture. She may kill me for putting this on here, but I can't resist.

Connor, in swim gear, taking a nap on the way to the beach.

Mommy, Daddy and Me (I am not one of those women who look good with wind blown hair!)

Walking on the beach - that's Cousin Jordan way in the background by the water.

Little Baby Deer and Momma Deer eating dinner.

And, I got a good pic of my 4 pointer buck. This is about as close as they will let me get to them.

So, Connor started school!!! YAY! His first day was Monday of this week and Kevin and I both were there to see him off for his first day. Yeah, I admit, I cried a little bit once I got back outside to the car. But, I realize that it is just so beneficial for him and that erases some of the sadness. They do grow up very quickly. We just hit 7 months this week and I just can't get over the fact that 7 months ago I was 28 lbs heavier and carrying around an almost 8 lb baby inside of me. Crazy.

Connor wasn't supposed to go to school for another week or so, but my cousin Michael and his wife Martha (who kept Connor since he was 2 months old) got the approval for their adoption last Monday and had to fly out the following Monday! They are in the Ukraine now and hope to bring their daughter, Laurel, back with them when they return at the end of this month. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they travel and meet their new little girl.

Connor does enjoy school quite a bit - I think he likes seeing the other babies - but he sure does miss his Martha! He saw her before she left and he just grins so big when he sees her. I know it was just as hard for her and little Noah as it was for us and Connor to make this change, but it was time for it and it has worked out great for all of us. Martha and Mike - thank you again so much for all that you have done for us over the past six months. You were a great blessing to us and we are just so grateful that you were so willing to help us in our time of need.

Connor has two teacher - Miss Yelena, from Russia, and Miss Essence, who lives right in Raleigh. He seems to love both of them and enjoys playing with the other kids. He is smiling so much these days - his little personality is just shining through. His teachers say he has done great this week - no fussiness or anything. He is a very laid back baby and just as content as can be. He has enjoyed story time, music time and water play time! They play with buckets of water outside in their swim suits and Connor almost dunked himself with the bucket of water he is so strong. Miss Yelena calls him chubby white haired boy, which gives Daddy a good laugh. The school will send us pics from time to time and I will try to post those on here as well. Daddy will be the one to take Connor and pick him up, so it makes it a little easier on Mommy!

I also included some pictures from when we went to the beach with my family a couple weeks ago. We didn't stay in the sun too much, but Connor really enjoyed walking on the beach in the evenings. It was nice, cool, breezy weather - so that was nice. He did good on the car ride, too. I'm telling you - he is a trooper! He handles all kinds of changes so good.

Speaking of change . . . we're changing his feeding and sleeping schedule! I do this every so often to accommodate his age. So, at six months we decided that we would like to try taking him off of his acid reflux medicine, so we did and he is doing great without it. I think he has outgrown that issue. For those of you who don't know, babies with acid reflux have to be held upright for at least 25 mins after eating before you can put them down to nap. So for six months, Connor got used to be held and then put down to sleep. We had to teach him how to put himself to bed at night. And it took some time over several nights (one night until midnight) to get him to learn to put himself to bed and now he does it without any problem. It was hard to live thru that, but it is worth it now! He goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps til 7am. :)

He's also sitting up really good by himself now. He doesn't need much support at all. Rolling both ways of course and no teeth yet, though I can feel them through his gums. Any time now they'll be pushing on through. I can also feel the top ones too, so they won't be far behind the bottom two.

Other than that, not much else going on here. Some of Daddy's family - Uncle Tim, Aunt Krissy and Uncle Wes - are coming into town for the weekend. Uncle John and soon to be Aunt Sarah are having a bridal shower this weekend, so we'll be hanging out in Chapel Hill this weekend. We'll be sure to take lots of pics to post on the site!

Hope everyone has a great week!

The Happy Days of Summer . . .

Awww - isn't our happy little boy so sweet??

As you can tell, like Father, like Son. I think we have us another appraiser here, folks!

Dad & Connor celebrating 4th of July. Connor LOVED the fireworks display!

Well, now, let's see how we like the pool . . .

Hmmm. This is MUCH colder than the water at home, Mom.

One step, two steps, three steps, four!

Me & Dad at the pool. Getting a little fussy cause it's eating time and I LOVE to eat!

This is one of my faves! Connor on the carousel at Pullen Park.

Celebrating my six month Birthday at the park.

BIG kisses from Momma!

Oh all right, I'll give you a half smile . . .

Connor LOVES to go out in his Baby Bjorn. Bad for my back, but worth it for him!

Giddy Up Horsey! Giddy Up!

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but we're enjoying the days of summer. You have to be really careful how long you're out with Connor though - he does have the tendancy to get heat rash on his tummy and back. I do believe this is one hot natured kid. He's wore me down into sleeping in just a onesie and some socks. NOTHING ELSE! I really think he needs something on those fat little legs of his, but hey, whatever makes him happy!

Connor has done some serious developing in the past week to week and a half. Martha says that when I went back to work FT Connor was in a little bit of a funk there, but is now in a groove again. He's so much more alert and interactive all of a sudden. It's great to watch his eyes light up at a toy and he's starting banging on a couple of them. He's also rolling really well - both ways - tummy to back and back to tummy. He does really good supported sitting (you just gotta sit behind him so he doesn't fall backwards). He's still making lots of noise! Matter of fact, Kevin took him to Starbucks last week with him and he started doing his 'Ahhhhhhh' thing which sounds like high pitched squeling to me. But, this elderly man said to Kevin, "Well, I don't think I've heard anything quite like that before. It sounds like he is singing" - and he is so right! It's hilarious and Kevin & I just want him to keep making noise - so no pacy unless it is sleep time or unless he is fussy. The more noise, the better (for now anyways!).

Connor loved the fireworks we took him to see for the 4th. He was in just awe over the colors and the noise of it all. Was not scared a bit. We got off schedule, but it is OK. Come to think of it, since that time he has started to get seperation anxiety in his sleep I think. He's now certain that if he cries in the night, Mommy and Daddy will come running. Usually it is Daddy (I figure it is his turn to take care of him!) but . . . we're been advised it is best to let him cry it out. The docs and the physical therapist both agree. Might take a week, but we're gonna work on that. It's not so much that he awakens, its more like he whines a little and just wants you to put your hand on him and he goes right back to sleep. Takes 4 to 5 minutes usually and happens 2 to 3 times a night.

He's also started eating fruits! YAY! So far, bananas and applesauce and no allergies yet (for veggies either). We'll be changing his feeding schedule next week so that Martha feeds him in the AM and I'll feed him in the PM and he'll still get 4 bottles (instead of the current 5). Will let you know how that goes.

Uncle Tim came all the way from Nashville this past weekend to see Connor. It was so good to see him and visit with him. I wish we had taken some pictures so I could post them, but you get so caught up in visiting that you forget about the pictures. Sorry about that Uncle Tim. We promise to take lots when you come home next month for John & Sarah's shower so we can post them to the blog.

Not much else going on. Hard to believe that July is almost gone and fall will be approaching soon. And then CHRISTMAS! Very excited about that of course. We are also taking our second road trip this weekend - back to South Carolina again - this time to Myrtle Beach. It will be Connor's first experience by the ocean and luckily, he can now wear sunblock (which he will be COVERED in). We're going with Aunt Angela and Uncle Brian, Aunt Rebekah & Uncle Ryan, cousins Jordan and Caleb and of course, Ma (my grandmother). I am VERY excited to be taking a vacation with my family as it has been ages since we've done that. I only wish my other little babies Buddy and Chloe could come with us. That's OK. Maybe we can take a family trip to the mountains soon . . . Mommy, Daddy, Connor, Buddy and Chloe. Sounds like fun to me!

Oh and one last note - no teeth yet, but he is definitely teething. As soon as those joker pop through, pictures for all of you! Also, we got six month pictures taken this week so family members near and far - you'll be getting your copies soon!

Have a good week!

HAPPY SIX MONTHS, CONNOR!!

Happy half a birthday to our baby boy Connor! We can't believe how fast you are growing right before our very eyes. We couldn't be more proud of you, son. We love you very much!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Playing Catch Up

Connor's First Bite of Real Food! Carrots, if you are wondering . . .

I'm just not so sure about this Mom & Dad . . .

Actually, I think I might like this!

I'm not really this messy, Mommy & Daddy did it to me!

So much to eat, I fell asleep in my high chair.

Me in the Baby Bjorn at Caleb's TBall Game.

I love to grab my feet!

Mommy's friend Karen and her son Chase. We meet them for lunch sometimes.

I was going upstairs and Connor was watching, so I had to get this one on film.

My little babies! This one is about a 4 pointer now.

Here they are - waiting for their dinner.

Our house in the summer time . . .

I love to go from laying to standing. So, one . . .

Two . . .

Three! Yay!!!

Me standing from the front. Man do I have a tiny waist!

Full length photo with Buddy in the background.

Caleb preparing to bat. That's his Dad (Uncle Ryan) behind him. He helped coach the team.

Caleb sliding into third base . . .

Catching a ball on first base. That is his brother, Jordan, in the background.

Caleb taking a swing . . .

Little Caleb! Hard to believe he is almost six!

It is unreal how much time flies when you have a baby! We've had lots going on since our last post, so I will try to catch you up.

Our friend Emily had her little girl, Remy, about 3 weeks ago. Connor & I went to visit them a couple weeks ago and I was just amazed at how little she is! She was about 8 lbs 5 oz and I thought to myself, really - Connor was that small once??? And it was only five and half months ago! Congrats to Emily & Jeremy and to little Zeke 'cause now he is a big brother!

Connor had physical therapy several weeks ago and she insists that he is just getting better all the time in terms of his torticollis. However . . . Kevin & I were still concerned about his head not rounding out in the back yet, so she suggested that we may want to start talks about him possibly wearing a helmet later down the road if it does not round out. Those of you who know me well know that this sent me into a panic. So, we made an appointment with the pediatrician whom we saw last week and she insists he is fine. She has seen far worse patients than Connor and they've never had to wear a helmet. And, in the 2 years she has been there, she has never referred a patient to a cranial facial specialist. That said, I still asked for a referral and we see the specialist Thursday at UNC to see what other suggestions he may have for helping his head to round out. We've implemented a few changes of our own and I can see some progress. It is slow going, but we do think it is working well.

Our little chunk is up to 18 lbs and 3 oz as of a week ago. This kid LOVES to eat. For big news - we started eating about 3 weeks ago! We've tried carrots, green beans, squash and this week sweet potatoes. Suprisingly, he seems to like the sweet potatoes the least. He loves the green beans though - just like Mommy! When you finish feeding him (regardless of the kind) and it is all gone, he gets very upset. Next week we'll be trying peas, which I think he might like. So far no allergies, which is good. Once we're through the veggies, it will be time for his 6 month well visit and they may allow us to start fruits. We'll keep you posted on that.

He's starting to babble more - loves to hear the sound of his voice. In the car he loves to go aaahhhh aaaahhhhh aaaaaahhhhh and his latest thing (past few days) is squeeling. He is so loud!! He's also rolling a good bit for and he likes to roll on his side and grab his toys. Martha is so good to him & works with him all the time. Noah always asks where Baby Connor is, so I know that when it comes time for Connor to go to preschool, we won't be the only ones heartbroken!

Speaking of, I went back to work full time this week and it is very sad. I'd love to be able to stay home with Connor, but know that preschool can offer so many things of benefit to him. Whoever would have thought that I would want to stay home with a baby?? Not me, that is for sure. But those little ones do change you. Martha will continue keeping Connor until August 24th and then he is off to preschool.

And in the most recent news . . . The Mazda just couldn't take it any more. We had to trade her in for a new car this past weekend. As much as I complained about Kevin handing her down to me, I do kind of miss her. We bought an 09 Honda Pilot and it has lots of room for little Connor! Big Big Thanks to Aunt Angela and Uncle Brian for all their help in trying to "revive" the Mazda and keeping our cars in line.

That's about all I can think of for now, but more to come next week (hopefully - this working thing is really eating up my time!). We should have more to report on the toritcollis and head rounding out issue then.