Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and feel so blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family that spoiled us! I was a little bummed out this Christmas Season because I had great plans to do fun and exciting Christmasy things all during December (like The Polar Express, Lights at Thanksgiving Point, Temple Lights and Sugarhouse Christmas Street) but Chris was in Poland up until the Thursday night before Christmas. We were able to do a couple fun things and it was nice to spend time together and time with our family! I hope that next year we will be able to have Chris home and do more fun things, but we will have a 5 month old so we will see what happens! Here are the highlights and lots of pictures!

Friday: Dinner at Little America with my family. We were supposed to go to Temple Square after dinner, but Chris was still on Poland time and was exhausted, so while my family went to Temple Square, we went home and went to bed.

Saturday: I finished making our neighbor gifts and while I made peanut butter fudge, I watched my boys out the window delivering our neighbor gifts-so cute! We finished wrapping gifts, exchanged gifts with our good friends The Lockes and had a surprise visit from The Snells. I had planned on making sugar cookies for Santa with Conner, but lost energy and decided not to do it. I feel bad about this, but Conner is still young and doesn't really get it anyways, but for sure next year!

Sunday: We got to spend the morning at our house this year and opened our family gifts to each other. Conner was up at 8am and ready to go! It was so nice to take our time, eat breakfast and do our own thing. In the early afternoon we went to Chris's sister's house and exchanged gifts with his side of the family. We attempted to get a picture with all of the cousins and did an OK job! After a quick lunch, we headed to my sister's house. We opened some of our gifts, then paused to make dinner, then continued opening gifts after dinner.

Monday: We met all of my cousins and their kids at my Grandmas house and exchanged gifts and had a yummy dinner there. It's so nice to see all of my cousins, I only wish we saw each other more.

We feel so blessed for all that we have and to have such wonderful people in our lives! We are very excited for 2012 and our new addition coming in July! We hope you all had a wonderful Season and that you have a Happy New Year as well!

Monkey

These are just some things that I want to remember about Monkey!

-He loves peanut butter cups right now and tries to get me to let him have them for breakfast.

-He loves cars. He goes to sleep with race cars next to him in bed. He wakes up and grabs the race cars and runs into the living room to play with the rest of the cars. And he has to watch the movie Cars 2 at least once a day.

-He yells, "Lay down Rowdy" "Hush Rowdy" "Get your bone Rowdy" at the dog. He doesn't like Rowdy to be around him so he yells at him to get away.

-He loves to get a cup of ice water whenever I get one, but he rarely drinks it.

-His diapers have 2 designs on them, one with just Mickey, the other with Mickey and Minnie and he always says "Mickey Minnie" and picks that diaper.

-Whenever I ask him where the baby is he points to his tummy and says "My tummy." Then I say "Where's my baby?" And he points to my tummy and says, "Yours tummy." And then I ask him if he wants a brother or sister and he always says sister!

-Is obsessed with the Ipad. He loves to play games on it and watch movies on You Tube on it. Whenever he wants to use it he comes over to me, tilts his head and says "My Ipad?" And of course I always give it to him!

We're Having A Baby!

Gpie Baby #2 is on the way!!! So we decided it would be fun to announce it on our Christmas Cards this year. We are really excited! We had our first appointment today and I am 8 weeks along and due July 14th. I have not been as sick as I was with Conner so that is great news. And we are hoping for a girl, since this is probably our last baby!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Grateful

I am SO SO GRATEFUL for these 2 boys tonight! I love them with all of my heart!

25 Months

I have been debating whether or not I should continue doing the monthly updates and I think that I will continue them for now since my blog is kind of like a journal. I found a great idea to keep a notebook in your kitchen or living room to write down little things your kids say or do so I might start doing that.

Conner amazes us everyday with the things that

he knows and the things he is learning. He is one smart kid! Like the other day a loud plane flew over our house and he said "Is that thunder?" How does a 2 year old know and remember what thunder is? Conner also loves to do flashcards and will often bring them to me during the day to go over. He knows circle and we are working on the other shapes, he knows the colors red, blue, yellow, green and purple and he knows a lot of animal sounds. He is at such a fun age and we love spending every second we can with him!

At 25 Months Conner:

-Wears size 4 diapers, size 7 and some 8 shoes, Mostly 2 T clothes, we are getting into some 3T shirts and he is still in 18 month pants(skinny like his dad).

-Has a hard time falling asleep. I think he gets that issue from me. He is also a night owl and loves to sleep in late. Like me!

-Loves Mickey Mouse, Chugginton and Little Einsteins

-Loves to sing and dance

-Loves to help me with whatever I am doing-cooking, cleaning, shopping

-Anytime we say we are going somewhere he says "Shopping? Target?" Oh he is so my kid!

-Is still a parrot. He repeats everything we say, especially when we are on the phone talking to someone. And he loves to talk on the phone. He knows how to call Chris on my phone and likes to call him several times throughout the day.

-Hates bath time. He loves playing in the water, but hates being washed and especially hates his hair being washed.

-Can count to 10 by himself and 20 with assistance. He always skips #7 though!

-He has always done this and I don't know why I have never written it down, but every time I hold Conner on my hip, he loves to hold or play with a piece of my hair.

Good Times

I love weekends like the weekend we just had! We had no real plans, except for dinner on Saturday night but it was a fun filled weekend. Friday night we got some pizza for dinner and then headed to Ikea. I got some spice racks that I'm turning into book shelves, Conner got a stuffed dog that he is in love with and we dreamed about finishing our basement as we walked around. Chris is probably leaving town this week and I wanted to go to a pumpkin patch, so

Saturday morning we went to Petersen Farms by Daybreak. We walked through their patch and found our perfect pumpkins and we even got a small watermelon. Then we headed to Chick Fil A for some lunch! We had dinner with our friends, Pam and James, at Tepanyaki, headed to the mall for some shopping then hit Coldstone on the way home! We had a lot of fun catching up with them! And on Sunday I tried to fry donuts. I found a great Apple Cider Donut recipe on Pinterest. The dough took forever to make, my oil got too hot and I burned half of them, but the ones that turned out were good! Oh well, it was worth a shot!

It was cold and windy and Conner didn't want his picture taken

so Chris is tickling him to smile!

They had 3 goats at the pumpkin patch in a fenced in area, but the baby goat snuck out. I kept trying to get him to come over to me, but he kept running away!

Realizations

So I've been a Stay At Home Mom for about 3 weeks now. I have finally realized that I am no longer a working mom (well employed outside of the home mom). I got my last pay check from my employer today yet still haven't received my first paycheck from my new job! So far...

I love:

-doing what I want when I want

-sleeping in

-getting ready when I want

-playing with Conner as much as possible

-being the one to brush his teeth, get him dressed, feed him, play with him and not having to ask someone else what he did all day

-getting to see HIM! I don't know how to really explain this one. I know my kid, but it's different to be around him all day and to see the silly things that he does and says all of the time.

I don't like:

-being bored. I love being with Conner but sometimes adults are nice to be around too. We also stay home a lot. Maybe I need to be more creative and come up with things for us to do, especially since the weather just got ugly.

-our schedule right now. I like my me-time in the morning, so he's been sleeping in until around 10am. But then he's up until about 10pm, which cuts into my time with Chris. So I need to fix our schedule.

-feeling like I have to do it all (with Conner and the house) because I have the time and I don't work anymore.

I'm still adjusting to this. But I'm liking it so far! I still think that Chris and I made the right decision and for the first time in a long time I can say that I"M HAPPY!!!

Guardsmans Pass

We have a tradition of driving Guardsmans Pass every year to see the leaves change colors and the beautiful mountains. We did that drive yesterday! We drove from the Brighton side to Park City and then had lunch at Rotary Park. I spent most of the drive up the mountain with my head ducked-I'm terribly afraid of heights, especially up the canyons-but the rest of the drive was beautiful! I'm so grateful to live right by the mountains, they are so amazing! We need to take advantage of them more!

Hill Aerospace Museum

Chris had a great idea to take Conner to the Hill Aerospace Museum to see the big airplanes and helicopters. So on September 18th we met some family up there and had a great time looking at all of the giant planes, helicopters and atom bomb! We even got to sit inside one of the helicopters. We had to go during Conner's nap time, so he wasn't as into it as we were expecting, but he still had fun!

It is free to visit the museum, they do ask for donations though. So if you are ever bored, go check it out. It's worth the 30 minute drive!

2

Our baby boy is 2 today!

I just can't believe it! I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I remember holding him for for the first time. I remember taking him home from the hospital and the rest has just flown by! Chris always says that he was not prepared for how fast they grow up and I agree with him. I wish that I could freeze him and keep him this little forever, but at the same time I love to see him learn and grow!

Conner-your dad and I love you more and more each day! Your are the greatest thing to ever happen to us and we love you so so much!

At 2 years old Conner:

-Wears size 8 shoes, size 4 diapers, size 2-3T shirts (depends on the brand) and size 18-24 month pants (depends on the brand)

-IS BOTTLE FREE!!! He has been bottle free for 2 weeks now

-Is having a hard time falling asleep lately. Since we decided to go bottle free, his bedtime routine has changed and he usually has to fall asleep next to one of us and then we take him into his bed. I hate this and hope he gets back to falling asleep on his own quickly.

-Loves music. He loves to dance and he loves to sing and make up his own songs.

-Is a parrot! He loves to repeat whatever we say or do. My favorite thing that he says right now is, "I help you" which means that he needs our help. He also says "Rowdy Powdy" which is what we call our dog. And he says "Mishka Mooshka Mickey Mouse" from Mickey Mouse playhouse.

-Gets really mad if we don't do what he wants, when he wants and the way he wants. We are working on this though. I can usually count to 3 and he stops getting mad.

-Is really shy but once he warns up to you he is his goofball self.

-Has been getting better at trying new foods. He likes green beans. He recently tried waffles and macaroni but didn't like them.

-Has finally started playing on his own!

-Loves to help us and do whatever we are doing. He loves to help me cook and mix things and clean. He loves to help his dad do yard work and he loves to watch sports with his dad!

Conner's Cars Birthday Party

Our Little Monkey Turns 2 Tomorrow! CRAZY!

We had his birthday party today and it was so much fun! Conner is really into the Disney movie Cars right now, so I picked that as our theme. I didn't want it to be too Lightning McQueen, more race carish and I think it was perfect!

This party took months of planning and a lot of hours to put together, and because of that I have decided that he will only get a big party every other year. The other years we will just do cake and ice cream with family.

So here is his party, in pictures!

Conner in his new chair, Conner getting tattooed, Conner playing bean bag game, Family Pic

GAMES!!!

Popcorn to eat while watching Cars, Cupcakes, Food Table

Decorations and Our New Tradition-Birthday Balloon Wreath!

Ramone's House of Body Art Tattoo Table, Thank You Treats-Coloring Pages, Crayons, Car Pretzels, Prize Basket

I quit my job!

On Monday morning I quit my job! I will officially become a Stay At Home Mom on September 16th! I am excited. I am scared. I am nervous.

This was not an easy decision to make and took months (and years) of thinking and praying, but was made when we found out that our daycare lady took another job at the elementary school down the street and wouldn't be able to watch Conner anymore.

I have been very unhappy since having Conner and having to work. And someday we will have another child and I'm sure I would've been very unhappy leaving two kids to work. Being unhappy has taken a toll on me and I just decided enough was enough.

I'm not going to lie, I'm excited to not work anymore. I won't miss having a boss, waking up early to go to work, driving 30 minutes in traffic twice a day or clocking out for lunch. I'm excited to spend my day with Conner and to teach him things and to finally be able to take care of him. I'm also scared to do this! I'm scared that we might lose our house, that we won't have money and that due to my anxiety I will be afraid to go out in the world with Conner and will stay inside all day. I think it will be weird to not have to work. I have had a job since I was 15 years old and have always had my own money and provided for myself or my family. Now it's up to Chris and that puts a lot of pressure on him! Chris just told me that I need to raise Conner, keep the house clean and make dinner! Sounds easy, but we will see!

So there's my thoughts and feelings. Not everyone has been happy or agreed with the choice that Chris and I have made, but I have to try staying at home. And if it doesn't work out, maybe I will get a night job or something!

23

Oh my goodness, we are 1 month away from having a 2 year old! I love this age! Conner is like a sponge and soaks up everything! It's fun to see him learn new words, do new things and just grow!

At 23 Months Conner:
-Wears size 4 diapers, 2T clothes, size 7 shoes
-Says so many new words. He repeats everything that we say. Loves to say "bless you" after you sneeze or cough. Loves to ask why. Loves to say There it is and What's this? But he will not say I love you and it's driving me nuts!
-Loves to go potty in the potty. I am not full blown potty training him yet, but when we can we let him run around at home with no diaper and he will tell us or go in to go potty. However, he will not go #2 in the potty. He brings me a diaper and will wait until it's on to go. And the past couple of days he has been telling me when he goes #2.
-Can not be alone. If I leave a room he will say "Mom," over and over again and will come find me. He is kind of a mommas boy.
-Loves to dance whenever music comes on-in the car, on tv, when a phone rings!
-Will now drink milk from a cup-just not for us-only for daycare.
-Still has issues eating. He did try green beans and carrots the other day!
-Is really excited for his Disney Cars birthday party happening next month! Ok maybe it's just me that's excited, but he will be too!

Jumping

One of Conner's new favorite things to do is to pull the couch cushions off the couch and jump on them. I snapped a few photos of him doing it the other day and I love them!

Raise The Roof

Chris teaching Conner how to raise the roof!

I have tried to figure out how to rotate it and I can't sorry!

Addiction

This is something funny that happened this morning and I thought I would document it!

Chris woke Conner up while I got all of our lunches ready. He changed him and then Conner could hear me in the kitchen so he came running out of our bedroom. Well I had gone to the garage and grabbed a can of coke to put in my purse. Conner had his arms open to give me a hug, saw the coke and said "Oh!" and grabbed the coke instead. He might be addicted like I am!!!

22 Months

Time is flying by! In just a short couple of months we will have a 2 year old! I was watching Conner play the other day and turned to Chris and said, "When did our baby become a boy?" It's sad but at the same time, I love it!

Instagram Photo. I usually try and post pictures of just Conner, but I love this one so much.

At 22 Months Conner:
-Wears size 4 diapers, 2T tops, 18 month-24 month bottoms-it just depends on the brand
-Wears size 7 shoes-we have determined that he has wide feet and needs bigger shoes to fit his wide feet in them.
-Is getting his 2 year old molars. I thought he was sick a couple of weeks ago, but he kept sticking his finger in his mouth and saying ouch. He also had a fever, runny nose and would not eat a lot of food. I haven't seen the molars though, so I might be wrong.
-Has learned a whole bunch of new words and pretty much repeats everything we say. He loves to say please and thank you and loves to ask us "What's this?" He also say Ru-Roh like Scooby Doo!
-He can spot a plane anywhere in the sky, even the tiny ones way up high, and squeals Plane when he sees them!
-Likes to go to bed at 10pm-a night owl like his mom.
-Still drinks 1 bottle at night, but just today drank milk from a cup!
-Still hates water and the swimming pool. I'm not sure if this will ever change.
-Loves to be outside doing anything! He likes to sit on the back porch, he likes to play outside, he likes walks and he likes to follow his dad around the yard as he does yard work.
-Will tell us NO if we are doing something he doesn't like
-Has a little temper. This mostly happened the week he was sick or getting molars, but he learned what time out was quick and it was used frequently that week, but only a couple of times since then.
-Likes to take things that he shouldn't have (like cell phones, remotes) and hide/carry them behind his back, like we can't see them.
-Is a ham! He loves to tease us and make cheesy faces!

4th of July

Here is our 4th of July in pictures, lots of them!

At the Murray Parade in the AM

Xander being messy!

James and Conner doing fireworks

My cutie!

My 2 favorite boys!

US!

Us with the Lockes and everyone else in the background!

4th of July Decorations

I went a little crazy making decorations for the 4th of July this year, but I really love this holiday-celebrating being an American and all of our traditions! And the best thing is, I can leave them up all month because of the 24th of July! To see how I made all of this go to my other blog, ambersnook.blogspot.com!

Still need a white wood star in the blue part of the flag and twine on the candy jars

Fatherhood

The perfect picture of Fatherhood!

Anxiety

Anxiety: is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. Anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness and dread.

I have anxiety. I haven't always had it though. It started when I got pregnant and grew worse when I gave birth.

I have anxiety at night as I try and fall asleep. I lay awake at night worrying about everything from the bills, to what chores need to be done, what is going on the next day, did I brush Conner's teeth that day, is Conner growing up ok, Am I an awful parent because my child drink diet coke and doesn't eat vegetables, etc... This prevents me from actually falling asleep until after midnight. I'm pretty used to this schedule and just know that my mind and body won't be getting sleep until after 12!

I have (the worst) anxiety when I have to take Conner somewhere by myself, anywhere, like the grocery store, the park, Target, etc. Conner is a good kid and I can control him so I don't know why I get it so bad. Maybe it's the thought that he could run off and get lost or taken by someone, maybe it's the thought that he will break something in the store, I just don't know. But I really hate taking Conner anywhere by myself. I will usually make my hubby go to the store with me or watch Conner while I go. And if my hubby isn't home I will usually have someone watch him so I can to the store. Very rarely do I take him with me.

I don't have any physical side effects from my anxiety though (like sweating or anything). I don't think that I need medication for my anxiety, yet. I think it's just a healthy amount of anxiety that I get (is that possible), but maybe I'm wrong. Does anyone else have anxiety or am I just crazy?

1 Year Difference

21

Conner is 21 months old today! This month has been a big growing month for Conner, not really physically but intellectually. He has learned a lot of new words and especially this past week. I had the past week off work and it was amazing to spend so much time with Conner and to see him learn new things each day! Conner is such an amazing part of our lives and we love him so, so much!

NOTE: He is too active to get good pictures of right now. Most of the recent pics are him sleeping!

At 21 Months Conner:

-Wears size 4 diapers, 2T tops, 18 and some 24 month bottoms, size 6 shoes

-Has not been eating well lately. He hasn't tried any new foods and is more into snacking than eating actual meals (maybe due to the heat). But he is loving that watermelon is in season! He has also rediscovered orange juice and prefers that over apple juice right now.

-Loves to put the food and water on the porch in the morning for the dog.

-Loves to stand on the porch and watch for airplanes! Our house is relatively close to the airport so he sees a lot of them.

-Loves to be outdoors!

-Loves to take our hand and lead us to what he wants us to look at or get for him.

-New words: star, slide, shoes, cold, owl, down, cars , eyes, mouth, nose, head. He also says "I spilled", Iss Good (puts on extra s on is), Iss cold. He also says "No, No, No!" It can't just be 1 No.

-Still drinking 1 bottle at night.

-Knows some colors. His cousins have a toy that has different colored balls on top and you hit them and they slide down a track. He can put the balls in the correct colored slots! I haven't even tried teaching him colors, so I'm not really sure where he learned them, but he knows them!

-Has to have 2 of everything. 2 suckers, 2 utensils, 2 cups, 2 blankets, 2 frogs (his cloth toy that he sleeps with).

-And is still the cutest thing in the world and he knows it!

6

6 years ago today I married my best friend, the love of my life, my partner, my husband!

And I could not be happier! Happy Anniversary Baby!

Dentist

On May 20th Conner had his first trip to the dentist! The office was amazing and so child friendly and our dentist was great with Conner! Conner has no cavities and has 2 teeth coming in and everything looks great. I need to work a little harder at brushing Conner's teeth every day and actually brushing them and not just letting him suck the toothpaste! And despite his face in the picture, he actually did great! He even got to pick a toy at the end of the visit and he chose a bouncy ball!

Quote

"Life Does Not Have To Be Perfect To Be Wonderful."

Boston

Chris is a huge Boston Red Sox fan (remember he tattooed their logo on his back) and he has made me one too! Every year we try to go see the Red Sox play somewhere in the country but this year we scored tickets to see them play in Boston! And it just so happens that I have a cousin living there right now! So we left our Conner Boy and took a much needed vacation!

We saw a lot of historical buildings and really cool articheture.

Walked most of the Freedom Trail in pouring rain and saw a lot of history!

Which also made me realize that I need a huge crash course on history before

Conner starts school.

Hit up some touristy spots and took cheesy tourist pictures!

Toured Fenway

And watched the Rex Sox win in extra innings!

Toddler

I love finding the little treasures around the house that remind me that I have a toddler in my house! Like chapstick that got run through the dishwasher!

Doors

Growing up my parents marked our height on the coat closet door in their entry way. I always loved doing this and seeing what my height was and I still love looking at all of the measurements on it (I have also shrunk, or was measured wearing really high heels one day)! I have carried on this tradition and have been marking Conner's height since he was born. I measure him every 6 months. He loves to open the door and look at it and point at the lines. I am amazed at his growth every time I measure him! I hope that my door will someday be as full as my parents door and if I ever have to move, you better believe that door will come with me!

My Parents Door

Our Door