Santa & more

Sarah and Connor visited Santa. He wasn't a big fan as you can tell, but the rest of the time he's been fantastic! He is defnitely way more vocal and using words like "please, thank you, uh oh, up, Emma, Chief, mama, dada, daddo, and grammy". He really has been a blast lately.

Superman

Connor has been working on his aerodynamics! He made this little trip about six times the other day. He laughed the whole way through... Talk to you soon. Much Love.

Thanksgiving 2009

Mom & Dad had everyone over to their house yesterday for Thanksgiving Dinner! It was a great day! Connor, Greta, and Jacob had a blast playing with everyone. Both babies were a little tearful at first as all of the people seemed overwhelming (I know you can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, but can you ever just be "whelmed?"). Anyway, I tried to get everyone on camera. I'll be honest though, I shot babies most of the day and if you didn't play with them, well then, you didn't make the cut... Hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did! We certainly had fun. Thank you to everyone who cooked, it was phenomenal. I heard even the Brussel sprouts were fantastic, even though I personally think a good brussel sprout is a contradiction in terms... Can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas! Anyway, talk to you soon. Much Love.



P.S. I went shopping on Black Friday for two things, that's it, just two, and they weren't even the crazy popular items, but both stores were out of both items... Fail. :/ I would much rather pay shipping and order online than have to enter a store on Black Friday ever again!

Dance, Dance Revolution!

We don't know about you guys, but we totally love Glee! Well, the creepy pregnancy stories aside... We love the music and the dancing, especially the mash-ups. Turns out Connor does too! He spent about twenty minutes tonight dancing around the family room. Hope you enjoy it! Stupid movie maker wouldn't let me cut the song the way I wanted! Saving for a new editing program!!!! Talk to you soon! Much Love!

Gigglefest!

Connor spent the better part of a meal making all of us laugh! Mainly because he was laughing... Nana and Grammy were taking turns growling and barking at him, which he found to be totally hysterical! Hopefully he never runs into an angry dog! Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Much Love!

Play Time

Play time is all day, every day in this household right now! 24/7/365! Connor is moving and there's no slowing him down. It's been hard to get him running on video lately because he is running so fast. When he's running naked, it's like high gear, he really flies! Here is another video, that I tried to use some cinematography techniques. Who knows? Maybe I missed my true calling or maybe I'm delusional. Anyway, we hope you enjoy it! Connor really seems to be doing something every five minutes that we've never seen him do before. Yesterday he was whooping like an indian with his hand on his mouth! Maybe we've watched Peter Pan too many times, but we just love the "You Can Fly" song! Hope all is well. Talk to you soon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzboAbjeDRM

Horsing Around

I've been trying to work on my cinematography lately. Hopefully you guys can notice a difference. I was doing some reading about shooting film and what not and tried to incorporate some of the tips. The video is about a minute long and I shot him for about ten minutes. I didn't have a lot to work with, but I'm excited about how it turned out! Anyway, here's Connor horsing around in the living room. Eventually he and I sat down and would fill the green bucket with blocks, so he could then pour them out in his lap and then we'd refill the bucket. Sorry I didn't get that on tape, it was way too much fun playing with him! Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Give us a shout out if we haven't heard from you lately! Much Love!

Picnic & Pumpkins

Connor had a blast playing with everyone at Grandma's picnic. Dad and mom got some really great pictures of him. Be sure to check out his little monkey costume for Halloween. It's definitely a warm costume, which is starting to seem really necessary. It's chilly here right now. We are headed to the Renaissance Festival today, so we'll probably have another video real soon. Hope all is well. God bless and good health to you all! Much Love!

Zoo Trip

You have to love Teacher Appreciation Day at the Zoo! Everybody deserves a free trip to the zoo. We went last Saturday on a gorgeous day. I think the temp. was in the mid-70's with a slight breeze, the shade was a little chilly, but the rest of the time it felt great! Connor had a best and didn't get overheated. He fed some deer instead of goats this time. He and Karen both loved the sea lions! Hope all is well. We'll try to get some more pictures and videos up soon. Much Love!

Little Man

Here's our little man running all around! He had a rough day yesterday and wasn't feeling too hot, but he's back up and running around today. We went to the KC Zoo over the weekend and promise that we'll have that video up soon. It's done, just on the wrong computer. This video is Connor being his mobile self and exploring everything in the house now. Thank God for the baby gate on the basement stairs. He is running up and full body hugging the dogs and hanging on as they try to gently get away. They don't have a chance. Chief loves it when Connor throws Chief's ball, even though it normally only goes a couple of feet away at the most, since Chief is always right there to punce on the ball. Anyway, enjoy. He's definitely figured out that the wagon moves and that we've used it to keep him farther away from Jake, the African Gray Parrot, who bites... Anyway, talk to you later. Much Love!

Exploring More

Still growing, still learning! It seems like every time we turn around he's doing something different! Enjoy! Much Love.

Showing off his Smarts!

Sorry it has been awhile since we've had a new video on here! Chris has started back to school and Sarah is still working away at Marisol, so things have been kind of busy! Connor hasn't stopped growing like a weed. He has thinned down a little, but it has been very little. Still takes great naps, eats like he's never been fed, and is constant entertainment for all of us! He got a couple of song cards for his birthday in July which we put in his book basket and he dug them out a couple of weeks ago. Since then he has totally ruined the Whinnie the Pooh card. He figured out how to open it and make it sing to him. He took it everywhere with him, till the battery died. The card was pretty mangled by the end. Connor loved it though and we loved watching him run around with it. Hope all is well with everyone. Talk to you soon, hopefully. Much Love

Soooooo Punk Rock!

Connor decided to style his hair while he was eating dinner tonight. We though it was soooooo Punk Rock! Anyway, here he is doing his "shakey, shakey!" He loves music and dancing. Sometimes he dances to the music of TV commercials! Anyway, Enjoy!

Some New Things

Connor has been learning! He has been doing his "shakey, shakey" for a couple of weeks now. He kind of wiggles and dances and it's adorable when he does it whenever music is playing! He has also figured out how to close the bedroom doors in our house. He hasn't figured out how to open them yet, but closing them is funny enough. Seriously, funny the first couple of times. Now getting annoying since every door we walk through gets closed behind us. Even if I'm picking up something large and heavy (I'm not talking about him...), he finds a way to make sure the door is closed when it's time to leave the room... We are hoping to get his "monster" on video soon. It hysterical when he and Sarah are both doing it! Enjoy! Much Love!

Lake Trip

We recently went to Table Rock Lake for a short get-away. Connor had a blast running around the house. He and Greta played a little, but mainly were in awe of the vast amount of people! They both pulled up on whoever's leg was closest. It was rainy one morning, so there was some serious Rock Band played, even though, it's a good thing no one had to pay to see us play! Coastal Monkeys Rock! Thank you, Aunt Cindy & Uncle Mike for letting us come down! Enjoy!

Little Man is almost flying!

Connor has definitely been moving more! He is walking and also bending over and picking up items without sitting down now! The dogs are learning how to deal with him being every where. The other day Connor ran/tip-toed straight across the living room and bumped into the backend of Emma as she was staring out the back window. She looked back at him with a "whatever" glance and stared back outside. Of course, Connor giggled and moved on to something else. We have turned the living room into a Connor play-area. The couch and love seat are now moved together and they form a little hallway/tunnel that he loves to crawl through to get to his toys or get away from the dogs. Please pray that we can keep up with him!!! Anyway, we are headed to the lake this weekend to tire him out swimming. Enjoy!

With Love!

Happy Birthday, Connor!

Just about...

Connor is 1 year old. He is also just about getting ready to walk. Not yet getting up on his own, but will pull himself up on just about anything he can find, including Chief. He loves running to his Mommy. When she comes through the door, he can't get there fast enough. Still trying to get some video of that, since he goes so fast it's difficult to get him in the picture. Here's what we have got so far. There is also some video of him "waving" and clapping with his feet! Enjoy! Much love!

Just Stumblin' Around

Connor has been getting more and more mobile! Here's a video of him trying out his new found mobility. He has been really funny lately, making faces at us, giggling, and otherwise just being a clown. He now chases the dogs around the house trying to pet/pull tails! The dogs have been real calm with him, since he is definitely growing up!

Bath Time

Connor and our Godson, Claudio, were having a giggle fest in the bathtub on Saturday. Here's the short clip of them in the tub. We didn't put any music on this one, since the giggles were just too much by themselves! You can definitely hear Sarah and Grammy in the background laughing as well! Connor has one of those infectious laughs! With Love!

New Backpack

We got a new backpack to help lug Connor around in. Sometimes we forget the stroller, so this always us to always have something to carry him in around! It's awesome and it's rated up to 45 lbs, so hopefully we can use it for a while. Anyway, it's really nice! It's from a German company called Deuter (doy-ter). It distributes his weight to the hips, so it takes most of the strain off of the shoulders and back. I did quite a bit of researcher and his is the best one from what I can tell! Connor seems to like it. He relaxes whiles he's in it and even fell asleep in it at the end of our last little hike. Anyway, talk to you soon. With Love!

Here is Sarah's 2nd Anniversary Video! Enjoy!

Dennis' Graduation

Last weekend we went to Sarasota for Dennis' Graduation. Here's the video of the ceremony and various pictures from the weekend. Love you all!

With Love!

Petting Zoo

Connor went to the Petting Zoo with his Mommy & Grammy last week. Here's the pictures. Enjoy! Much Love!

Pulling Up

Connor has been doing very well pulling up on the furniture, us, the dogs, and just about anything else he can get his hands on! Here's a short video of him moving around a little yesterday. Enjoy! With Love.

So we've been a little busy... Anyway, here's a compilation of pictures from the last couple of months. Notice the little man pulling himself up on just about everything, included trying to pull up on Chief the other day. He is not walking yet, but definitely a speed demon on his hands and knees. We are going to try and get some video of him this weekend. Talk to you all soon. With Love.

More Florida Pics

Here are a couple more pictures from our trip to Florida. Thank you, Aunt Keri.

Hope all is well. Connor is growing like a weed. He's now nine months old and pulling up on everything that he can find. Sarah reorganized our living room yesterday to cut down on the exit paths from the room, so it's easier to keep an eye on him. He is truly fasinated by the remote control for the TV, loves to chew it and change the channel! Anyway, I started working my part-time summer job with the Kansas City Royals last Friday. So far, so good. I haven't had to kick anyone out yet, but give it time. I did my some parents of one of my past students end up in my section last night, and that was pretty cool.

Anyway, Much Love & Happy Easter!

Florida Trip '09

Here are a couple of videos from our time down in Florida. Connor had a blast seeing everyone and playing the whole week! We also found out he loves Cheeto's and sand...

With Love.

In Florida

We are in Florida for the rest of the week, getting home late this coming Friday night. Thought some of you would like to see some pics of Connor until I can get home and get them all in a movie! We got to Sarasota on Saturday and were welcomed by Grandma Joan & Pop-pop, Michael, Keri, Adrianna, Karen, & Dennis. On Sunday we went to the Big Cat Habitat & Rescue here in Sarasota. Discovery was there shooting a pilot for a series about this family. Maybe we'll be on TV, maybe... Monday we went and visited Grandma Ida on the East Coast. There are pics from all of this, but here are a couple of them. Enjoy!

Connor & Adrianna feeling each other out.

Papa, Adrianna, & Connor

Trying to stay cool and content.

Big cats doing what big cats do!
Holy crap, it's hot!

Crawling & the Park

Connor has really turned it on this last week or so with the crawling. Here is some more video of him going back and forth between Mommy & Grammy and Daddy & Daddo. We also went to a park yesterday for a little bit. The weather has been really nice here lately, except for the thunderstorms last night. Enjoy.

With Love.

Stand, Laugh, So Big...

Here is Connor when we came in after his morning nap. Standing in his crib!!! We lowered the crib right after filming this. The laughing is Mommy and Connor, while Daddy lowered the crib. He really is a lot of fun. Talk to you all soon.

With Love.

Let's Play!

Connor has really been lifting his arms up lately. It has been called the "Spaz dance," but it's really just turned into Connor letting everyone know he's happy or excited or wanting to play, or not happy depending on the tone of the dance. Enjoy!

He really has starting full out crawling this week. His Aunt Camille sent him an elephant toy with wheels, that when you push the birdie on the elepant's back, the elephant drives away with it's train of animals behind. Connor makes sure that no matter where the elephant is headed that he doesn't go alone. Connor crawls after it almost every time. It has helped him to figure out just about all of the crawling and instead of one or two steps, then stop, now it's go till he gets what he wants!!! I'll try to get some more videos up later today.

This Last weekend

Here are some pictures from over the last week or so. Things have been incredibly busy these last couple of months, so we haven't been able to post as much as we would like, but that is going to change. Chris' boys basketball team's season ended Friday in the Championship game. They came up just a little short, losing by 4 to the number 1 seed. Second place is still quite an accomplishment for a first year with a team all to his-self. With the extra time on his hands, Chris is planning on cleaning, taking pictures of Connor, and hopefully finding the key to cold fusion with all of the new found free time. Enjoy the pictures! With Love.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's the Valentine's Day video that Connor & I made for Mommy! Enjoy!

With Love!

7 Months

This Tuesday, the 10th, is 7 months and we are trying to get everything strapped down and ready. We have started to "babyproff" most of the house, since Connor has really started moving around. If we spread out a blanket in the family room, he rolls, scoots, and crawls all around the family room. The other day we left him in the middle of the floor with toys to get a glass of water, and five seconds later came back with his legs under the couch and the rest of him sticking out. We having turned into a couple of hawks trying to watch for anything that might be near him that will end up in his mouth! He still is a fan of Spongebob (I think it's all the high pitch noise!) and has started to watch Cars with interest. He lights up when he sees anyone he recognizes, but has started to turn into mommy when strangers or someone he hasn't seen in a couple of weeks. We have been using pictures and naming all the people in the pictures to help him when March gets here and we head to Florida. Lots of Love. See you soon!

Ready, Set, Almost...

Connor has kept on growing. He is now 6 months old and not really wanting to take anything easy. He has been starting to raise himself up off the ground for a while now, but lately has been starting to lunge forward. Watch out, world! Here he comes! We definitely have started closing the babygate at the top of the basement stairs, since Mr. Wonderful has been rolling around the living room. We left him in the middle of a blanket the other day with a handful of toys around, stepped away for a couple of seconds, came back and he was at the very edge of the blanket, trying to get under the couch... We can't imagine what it will be like when he starts crawling and walking! He is attracted to the dogs. He kind of half-pulls/rolls to where they lay near him and then they get up and move. He is much more vocal lately and still a pretty happy-go-lucky kid! The scene at the very beginning is Connor watching Spongebob Squarepants for the first time. He was just jumping along and then froze when we channel-surfed to it. Lights, high pitched (annoying) sounds, & colors, all of Connor's favorite things! He didn't have the same reaction today though, which we take as good news! Hope all is well with everyone! Let us hear from you if we haven't in a while. With Love!

Christmas Video

The video of Connor's first Christmas is on youtube, since it was such a large video. We had our sixth month check up a couple of weeks ago. Connor weighed in at 20 lbs. and 27.5 inches long. The nurse told us that was the 40th percentile for height and weight and the 24th for head circumference. Sarah & I both assumed that Connor had just come back to earth with his growth so it didn't bother us at all. The doctor came in a couple minutes after the nurse to tell us that she had plotted Connor's height and weight on the 9 month growth chart and not the 6 month chart. Connor is still in the 90th percentile for height and weight. He tries to pull himself up if you give him your fingers while he is laying down. He rolls over and has now started to hold his body in the air when we set him on his hands and knees. Enjoy the video because we are really enjoying him! Check him out in the jumpy, he loves to jump!!! Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday, back to work on Monday! :(



With Love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoZNwCvb6V4