Flipspot Gymnastics

Our local MOMS Club set up a playdate for a new gymnastics place not too far from us. It's usually a good way to check a place out without having to spend and an arm and a leg, and for them it's great advertising! Connor has always been a fan of doing gymnastics, sometimes in safer places than others, so we made the time to go and visit. Since it was a newer facility, everything was clean and gently used, and best of all, it didn't smell like sweaty feet yet :p The instructors gave the kids some free time to check things out, followed by some structured parachute play and obstacle courses. Every single kid that went had a great time, and we got some great pictures to capture the day!

Daddy's Little Helper

Everyone knows when you buy your first house you are inevitably going to have some work to do. I don't think Ryan and I realized how much we were going to have, but everything is a learning experience I suppose : ) We decided to tackle the front yard first, which entailed ripping out endless bushes, trees and weeds. Connor didn't want to be left out, so we gave him some work to do!!

Connor's Family Birthday Party

Ryan and I have faced such guilt over the years by making the decision to move out of Buffalo and away from family, We realized that relationships wouldn't be as strong and time would be of the essence so whenever we do come back we definitely make it worth it. 

Connor's 1st trip back to Buffalo was over Christmas 2009. We didn't want to travel with him when he was so young, so we opted not to come back to celebrate his 1st Christmas in 2008. Traveling to and from Portland, OR with a little one didn't seem like a great idea :p Surprisingly, he did fantastic that first time around, and he warmed up relatively quickly to the entire family on both sides. It wasn't until we moved to Detroit that we started to think of celebrating his birthday both at home and in Buffalo. We felt like we jipped him over the years with not having family celebrate with him, so we knew we had some catching up to do : )

Grams & Papa were gracious enough to let us use their house for the party, and it was such a success! Seeing him interact with everyone put a huge smile on our face, and solidified us moving to Detroit where we knew we would be closer to everyone. Along with the great food, we even had some "Minute To Win It" games and lots of laughs accompanied those. Thanks to everyone who came out, we look forward to doing it every year!

Connor and the boys playing baseball

Throwing the frisbee!

Grandpa and Connor

Eric trying to move the Oreo

I'm no party pooper :p

Uncle Tom's turn!

SUCH a happy boy!

Priceless

Gotta love Daddy's shirt : )

Thank you for all of the gifts!

Q-tip game

Matt & Grams taped up!

Rock on Thomas!

Grams & Papa's gift - ATV

Good luck prying him off now : )

Lacrosse - Connor style

Thomas & Joe with their ATV's!

Imagination Movers

The same weekend we had Connor's 3rd birthday party here in Detroit, the Imagination Movers were coming to town! Since we were going to have family in town to visit, we thought it would be a great idea to take Connor and his two cousins, Joe and Thomas, to see the live show. In keeping this entry short and sweet, the pictures are below : )