Chugga-Chugga

In the past few weeks, Connor has taken a serious interest in trains. Okay, maybe "obsession" is the right word. A few weeks back, we took him to Zoolights, where they decorate it with tons of lights, and offer a train ride for a small price. Well, after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we finally got o the train. Connor had a ball! Every time he saw an animal in lights that he recognized, he'd make their sound and squeal with delight. Ever since that day, Connor has been going "toot-toot" everywhere.

Long story short, we decided to take him on a the Winter Train Express. It's a 45 minute train ride around the city of Portland, where you can enjoy the view, and even meet Santa. (I KNOW HIM!! haha) He was so excited when we found our seats, he sat there so contently and just licked his candycane. And when Santa came by, he just waved and smiled "HI". (Another new thing of his. He waves and says "Hi" to everyone!) Here are a few pictures. Next up...an airplane!

Meeting Santa

Santa brought him a candy-cane!

Awww!!! Kisses for daddy : )

Mommy helping me with my treat

He wouldn't give it back haha!

Life is good...

The train all lit up

 Looking at the train

Tumbling

On Thursdays, we take a class called "Tots In Tow". It's basically a tumbling class for little ones, and they learn a lot of new skills. Coach Debbie usually has some obstacle courses set up for the kids, along with other cute activities such as bowling, tee-ball, the parachute, bean bags and music. Connor waits for two things in that class. He LOVES the parachute (he likes feeling the wind on his face), where he actually holds the handle and lifts it up himself, and getting the stamp at the end. As soon as she says, "Who wants a stamp?" Connor looks at me for approval to go over there, and he runs over to her and puts his hand out. He loves to look at it the entire way home too : )

"Ring Around The Rosie" on the Parachute

Trampoline

Obstacle Course

Log Rolls

Dada would be proud!

THE Stamp haha

A certificate we received at the last class!

Swim Class

Connor and I are always doing something during the week, whether it be classes, or the library for storytime, or the indoor playgym. Well, I wanted Daddy to experience some of these things with Connor, so I signed them up for Swim Class. It's on Saturday mornings, and it's a great class. I think Connor's the oldest one in there, so it seems like he's a little more advanced than the other kids. He blows bubbles, lays his head in the water and listens to a bell underwater, jumps, and sing lots of songs. I just love watching them together : ) Here are some pictures I took. Cuteness!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connor's Many Hats

A few days after Connor was born, we had the usual 1st Dr's appointment. Afterwards, we had to get him some formula at Target, and Ryan dropped me off. Well, if you know me, you know that I rarely go in a store for just one thing. It was a few days after Easter, and I found the clearance aisle. I picked out a monkey basket which I thought he would use at a later date. Never had I imagined it would be used like this. Needless to say, he has a fascination with hats! Not only that, but he'll randomly yell at people with hats on at the store. He'll point at them and yell "Dat". I usually have to explain that "Yes, he's wearing a hat too" so they don't think my son just always yells at people : )

 

 

 

 

::Mwuah::

I think the best feeling in the world is when your child comes up and plants a big smooch right on your lips! Ryan and I have enjoyed getting them often from Connor, and he knows when we say "I love you", that we usually give him a kiss afterwards. So he'll either give you a kiss back, or blow you a kiss. Well, he now walks around the house giving kisses to random objects. Sometimes he kisses books. Sometime he kisses animals. Sometimes he kisses whoever he sees outside. Adorable!!

We went to Toys R Us today to look for some Christmas gifts, and we ran into Elmo. (As some of you know, Connor LOVES Elmo. We got a DVD from the library that had Elmo and Dinsosaurs, and I think that's when the attraction started!) He wanted to play with the Elmo Live, that talks and giggles, and I told him to go and press his tummy. He did, and when Elmo said "I love you!" Connor got down and crawled on the shelf to give Elmo a kiss! Precious. I want to bottle that moment up and hang on to it forever!

Mr. Independent

Connor has reached the age where he wants to do everything himself! That's great for him, but it's so hard to stand back and watch him struggle and make mistakes. It's so much easier to do it for him, but if we keep doing that, he'll never learn : ) Here are a few new pictures of things Connor enjoys eating himself!

 

 

Pump It Up

When the day came that we decided we were moving to Portland, I immediately started looking for activities for my soon-to-be-son and I to do. I couldn't believe the activities that I found!! Everything from indoor play-parks, to swimming, to music and movement classes, to parks outside, water fountains, etc. etc. There was seriously so many things to do here, I knew we wouldn't have a problem filling up our week : ) Some of the classes we could attend from 6 months up, but when Connor first started walking, I was excited to jump into another group of classes that had a prerequisite of walking independently.

Now that Connor has been walking for quite a while now, we decided it was time to venture over to Pump-It-Up and see what they had to offer. They have what they call "Toddler Pop-In time" which is for the 3 and under crowd only, which makes a mom quite happy to know that their child isn't going to be trampled on! What they basically offer is indoor inflatables for the kids to climb and jump on and just have fun. Connor was so taken back when we first arrived, I don't think he knew where to start first! He had such a good time, as did I, and our friends did too! Here are some of the pictures from our outing:

 

 

 

As you can see, Connor is having NO fun what-so-ever huh? :P It was even nice that some of the slides were big enough for the parents to go down with the kids as well. Connor got a little shy around people, and wouldn't go down the slide without me, so it definately came in handy. We have to make sure to bring Daddy next time!!

 

 

 

 

Those Moments Where You Just Say "Awww!"

Let me start off by saying that I'm so thankful that I can stay home with Connor each and every day! I get to do so many things with him, and we have so much time to bond : ) I get to see him change from day to day and the transformation since birth is amazing. I also get to teach him things, and see him use them in different situations (he's a master and please & thank you in sign-language now!)  Thank-you hun!

Every day is a learning experience and he learns something new all the time. He has been learning how to say "ball", "bubble" and "cracker". I love how he pronounces "cracker" like "quacka". LOL! At least I know what he means when he says it! He talks an awful lot, just not words we can decipher, but it sure is cute when he gets down to your face, looks at you, and tells you a story in his own language.

He also has been learning how to dance. He loves dancing to the Wiggles and often imitates their dance moves. As a result, he has been wonderful at following directions!! At tumbling class this morning, the teacher
told him to get on the floor and crawl like a cat, and he did just that. He even helped her clean up! I hope his future girlfriend/wife thanks us some day. Thanks Norm & Cheri for all you have taught Ryan : ) He's now passing it on to Connor. And Mom & Dad, I love you, you raised me well!!

Ryan had to work late last night, so Mama had night-time duty which includes dinner, bath, books & bed. (My husband is gracious enough to let me go to the gym and have some me time when he gets home. I love him!) My first 'aww' moment of the day was after we got done playing in the bathtub and read a few books. I layed Connor is his crib and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle" to him and he just laid his head on me and we rocked. It was precious! I told him I loved him and he blew me a kiss and waved goodbye. As soon as I turned on the monitor I could hear him singing the word "Mama". He did this until he eventually fell asleep : )

I could probably write a book on all of the cute things he does, and all of those 'aww' moments. However, I'll save them for future blogs and when you meet him yourself!!

Music Class

Thanks to Dada, Connor and I get to do some pretty exciting things during the day! We decided to take up a music class since I've noticed Connor dancing lately (haha he dances like Dada : )) and he was quite the little mover and shaker!! He has learned the Wheels On The Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy & You Know It, and There Was A Farmer. He's getting pretty good at the motions of the song as well.

'You Make Me Feel Like Dancin!'

Aside from singing and dancing, we also play with the instruments, which is a big hit with the kids. Connor seems to be drawn to the cow-bell every time we get in the classroom. That's the first thing he'll go for, and he'll grab a mallet as well and just start banging away!

We need more cowbell!

Haha, he found it!

Oh and there's more! We also play with the parachute, which Connor loves to feel the wind from, and dance with scarves. We mostly just like to play peek-a-boo with them, but occassionally he'll break out a dance or two.

 

"Why does everyone look pink!?"

 

Peek-A-Boo!

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean!

I decided it was time to give the carpets a much needed vacuum over the weekend. Usually Connor is quite afraid of the noise that it makes, so he usually keeps a pretty good distance from where I am. However, this time he decided to join me. If he keeps it up, I'm going to put his talent to use!!

"Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life." *Mortimer J. Adler*

We always knew Connor loved to read, but we never really knew HOW MUCH he loved to read. During the day I've noticed he'll wander over to his rocking chair, climb up, and read a book. Sometimes he sits there for 15 minutes, just looking through all of his books. I guess he takes after his Mama!

Our little bookworm!

Can't forget to bring elephant!

While we were at the Children's Museum with Dada, with everything going on, Connor still managed to find a nice quiet little corner with a book. It was so busy, and there were so many kids running around, but he was perfectly content reading whatever book he could find. He's already quite the intellect : )

Haha, he looks comfortable

Who doesn't like to cozy up with a book?!