Winter wonderland

We woke up this morning to a thin layer of snow on the ground. My first reaction was 'blah'. But as I made breakfast and continued to study the snow, I realized that I have a deep association to snow and Connor being a little baby. I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling stirring up in my belly as memories flooded my thoughts. I was brought back to the days of late nights and early mornings, breastfeeding and cuddling on the couch, bassinets in my kitchen and lots of coffee drinking. Though it seemed like a some what difficult time back then, I find myself missing those days...and my little baby.

This is the view from our living room window. I sat in this room every morning, looking out the window and pumping while Connor had his nap.

If Buddy and Jessie could be here now (they are sleeping downstairs right now - thank god!). It's kind of fitting that this squirrel showed up for my picture taking. This is the squirrel that taunts B and J every morning. They go berserk, barking and crying and yelping for the chance to chase that squirrel. The barking isn't so bad now since Connor can sleep through pretty well everything. But back when he was a baby - this squirrel was my nemesis. It would show up nearly every, morning - the dogs would freak out - and Connor would wake up...one memory I do not miss! DAM YOU SQUIRREL! DAM YOU! Anyways, this is the view from the patio doors. I would sit here and drink my coffee, looking out this window at the snow while Connor would nap in his bassinet right beside me. I remember checking him every few minutes to make sure he was still breathing.

Although I do miss Connor's first days on earth, I absolutely love the stage he is at right now. He is our little sponge...learning so much right in front of our eyes. I love watching him learn to walk - up and down, up and down never giving up. I love listening to his efforts at talking, babbling in his own little language - saying so much and nothing at all. I love his silly, contagious laugh. I love everything about him. I cherish these moments with him for I know they won't last forever - although I wish they would...

Tricky tricky

Connor had a slight obsession with slippers this morning. The entire morning was taken up by him walking around with either mine or Mike's slippers in his hands...sometimes both. At one point he managed to carry all four slippers at once - quite a trick for a one year old!

Connor's new expression

"What?"

Morning with Dad

This morning was a Daddy-Connor morning. It started off with some bathroom renovations followed by some teeth brushing and ended with some quality Baby Einstein watching.

Measles follow up

For those of you who have babies that have yet to get their one year needles - watch out for the 6th day following the needle. Turns out, allergic reactions to the measles needle shows up 6-12 days following the injection. Connor's hives lasted 7 days - with the last 2 or so being much more mild then the first 5. I realized once the hives were gone that his temperament was definitely affected - he was quite the cranky pants. He did sleep a lot though which made up for his crankiness. Actually, since he had the reaction he's been sleeping in at least one hour extra every day...god love 'em!

Pop goes the measel

If you look really closely, you can see the few white spots where Connor doesn't have hives. When Mike brought Connor to me in bed this morning, I noticed a little red spot on Connor's neck... I looked more closely and realized they were hives...I lifted his shirt and saw that they were all over his belly...I took off his jammies and noticed a few on his legs. 'What could this be?' I wondered. I called the Doctor's office and they told me to bring him in in the afternoon. By the time we got to the Docter's office, Connor was pretty much covered from head to toe in hives (face included). After a painful hour (for me not Connor) with two people I am SURE knew very little about the cause of Connor's rash - they finally fetched a Doctor who diagnosed our problem within seconds...allergic reaction to the measles needle he was given five days prior. My poor little pumpkin looks like a pumpkin - he is sooo red and looks so sore. Fortunately, he was in good spirits all day and no fever to boot. Dodged a bullet there!

Visit to the Country Pumpkin

On Thanksgiving Monday, we decided to take a little family trip out to the petting zoo at the County Pumpkin. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time, playing in the pumpkins, petting the animals and playing in the park.

Con-man's bday bash

I'm not sure if I'll get this entry finished or not because you are due to wake up from your nap any time now...

We just had your big birthday bash this past weekend. The big 0-1. You had a wonderful time spent eating loads and loads of cake, unwrapping birthday presents and playing with your new toys. It was a really nice day playing with many people that love you very much. Some of the highlights of the party were you eating your 'blue' cake and looking like a smurf, and Papa accidentally dropping part of your cake on the floor (you wouldn't have had it any other way. Your puppies had to have some birthday cake too!).
Here is a list of your presents:

Early toys...
Mom and Dad: Lego, pop up toy, robeez
Ailsa: Toy car, Hammer and ball set (great for relieving your frustrations with Mommy washing your face, changing your bum, you know - all that horrible stuff that Mommy does to you)

Birthday party toys...
Uncle Chris and Holly: Soft rubber truck which makes minimal noise (thanks guys!) and an adorable Roots sweater
Great Gram: Tigger sweat suit
Grammy and Grampy B: Caterpillar dump truck
Nana and Grampy Waugh: Harley Davidson jacket (to add to your Harley collection that I am sure is not completed yet...), Truck and wagon 3 in 1 toy
The 'Old folks: Gift card for Zellers/The Bay
Ma mere and Papa Scholten: Power wheels 4 wheeler.

All in all it was a great day. You didn't nap in the afternoon thanks in part to the pile of sugar - I mean cake that you ate. But you had a big morning nap so that was OK. You played with your new toys from the minute you opened them to the minute you went to bed.

Thanks to everyone that came to Connor's party and helped in making it such a memorable day!

Well...another milestone has come and gone. You are 1 now. No longer a baby, but a toddler - a big boy!

Snuggles

I really shouldn't show such horrible, ugly footage of me over the Internet (to my defense - it's first thing in the morning) but the happenings on this video happen so rarely, the fact that I got it on video is a miracle in itself. I was trying to get video of Connor walking and this happened. I really relish any snuggles that I get from Connor because I know they will be short lived. Maybe he is doing a little 'sucking up' since he knows his birthday party is tomorrow...

Happy Birthday Connor!

I can't believe you are one year old today!!! The year has flown by and what a year it has been.......................................................................................................................................................................................

I wanted to write something meaningful here but my brain is fried from a long day with barley any sleep last night. I'm going to leave it with an 'All about you' entry and a few birthday pics...Happy Birthday hunny. I love you so much and I look forward to many more birthday celebrations!

xoxo

Mommy

Age: ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!!!!
Weight: 25 pounds
Height: ?
Hair: You've gotten a lot more hair and your hair line has dropped in the front. You have a rooster tail and a bit of a mullet in the back.

Teeth: 8 (7 all the way out and 1 just poked through)
Favorite Foods: You're a breakfast kid; you love Mommy's pancakes and Daddy's french toast.
Favorite Meal: Depends on the day...some of your favorites include; breaded chicken, pasta, grill cheese.
Milk: You no longer get a ba-ba. You have a sippy cup of milk with every meal and one while you are getting ready for bed. You transitioned extremely well. Pretty much went cold turkey with a few night time bottles and that was that.
Naps: 2 a day. Usually at 9:30 and 3:00
Favorite TV shows: You are really loving your Baby Einsteins these days.
Favorite Activities: Playing in the kiddie park at Kingswood Park, going to a regular park, going for walks/runs/Rollerblades in your new Chariot stroller, playing with your Spiderman ball, bath time
Dislikes: Getting your bumm changed (although this is getting better), getting your face washed, waiting for Mommy to make your food.

Your new room

You got a new room last weekend and you didn't mind the room switch at all. Mommy and Daddy painted the office blue months ago with plans of it eventually being your room once you get a new brother or sister. But we decided to do the ole' switcheroo sooner rather then later. So we painted some barking dogs on your wall (cause we don't already get enough of that around here) and moved you right in. We still have some finishing touches to do like put up new blinds and a window valance, and perhaps get you a cool new rug for the floor, but for now it is what it is.

Music class

Well, today was another successful day at music class. You had a lot of fun eating the home made drums, NOT doing quiet music time and NOT doing the birdie song...but like I said - you had a lot of fun. Your favorite part was playing with the window blinds. That wasn't part of the class but it was still your favorite part. Seriously though, I like the class and I think you do too. You get to see your girlfriend, play with some other babies and also musical instruments and and Mommy gets to socialize with other mommies. I didn't know how you would manage with the time of the class being 10:30 a.m to 11:15 a.m which is usually nap time - but you've done great both times. I have to wake you up from your nap but you don't seem to mind.
Here are some pics from class today...

Due Date

Today is October 1st. It is so hard to believe but you were due to be born one year ago today! This day last year was probably the longest day of my life. I was so anxious to meet the little person that had been kicking me for months, the sweet soul that was making those ugly lines on my belly. The cute beer belly baby I saw on my ultrasound twenty or so weeks prior...but you didn't come. You made Mom and Dad wait and wait...and wait. This day will always have a special place in my heart. It is the day I longed for for 9 months. It is the day I counted down for from 260. It is the most anticipated day of my life. Even more so then my wedding day, I think. I definitely counted down the days until my wedding but it was a different sort of anticipation...pure excitement. October 1st was a day I was excited for but I was also nervous, anxious, emotional, scared, happy, sad...you name it, I was feeling it! Little did I know, October 1st would not turn out to be the best day of my life. That wasn't until a few days later...