Vacation!!

We are on vacation in Michigan for a WHOLE WEEK!! I am just a little bit excited! Hope everyone has a great week and I will talk to you when we get back :)

Prayer Request

Hi Friends, I am sending out a request for prayers! I have a good friend who is pregnant with beautiful twin girls - and she needs some prayers! She just found out she will be on bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy (she is 17 weeks) as she has developed a blood clot in the placenta of Baby Girl A. The babies are looking great, as is mom, but they sure could use a few extra prayers for the next few months. She was able to leave the hospital yesterday but will be on strict bedrest until the little ladies arrive on December 4th. I talked to her yesterday as she was putting on her "leg machines" (so she doesn't develop more blood clots) and getting ready to be hooked up to the good old toco machine (to monitor the girls) and I almost cried. All the feelings and emotions I had while sitting in the hospital bed with my leg machines and toco machines came flooding back and I wished she didn't have to go through this. So if you wouldn't mind, as you are saying your prayers at night, throwing in an extra one for my friend and her family, I sure would appreciate it!

Bloggy Turns 1!

It is hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since I first started this little bloggy. I just read over my first post about our baby's perfect heartbeat and just smiled at how far we have come. So much has changed in just one year and looking back there isn't one thing I would do any differently. I think we have taken the whole parenting thing in stride and are doing pretty great, if I do say so myself. The little bugster is doing great and he has brought us far more joy and love than I could have even imagined one year ago today. All the questions and wondering we were doing at this time last year has been answered! We know what our baby looks like, sounds like, we can kiss and hug him all day long and stare lovingly at him while he sleeps. I will also say that keeping this blog has brought me far more pleasure that I would have ever thought. I just love having an outlet to write, talk and keep my memories. When I have the time, all of these posts will go straight into Connor's scrapbook, so really the effort was selfish on my part! I figure this way he will know we have loved him from the start - and will the poor child have the stories and pictures to prove it! So, happy birthday scooterjr, looking forward to seeing where you take us from here on out!

Aunt Maggie Visits the Lou!

We have been having all kinds of fun over at Casa de Granny these days - it's been a whirlwind! Aunt Maggie was in town and was so good about rolling with all of my plan changes. We were going to take the little man to the zoo, but changed our minds when he spiked his fever. She came over on Thursday night, hung out for bath and bedtime and then we went out on the town for Happy Hour. I mean...we were laughing, we both haven't been out that late in a long time! We met four of our friends from high school at Robust in Webster (a super cute little wine bar) and were out until 12:30 - this momma hasn't been out that late in awhile! We had the best time and the wine was just flowing like water - it was so fun to catch up!
Eli was feeding his animals and Connor was too busy reading - but Aunt Sandra and Aunt Maggie were ready to pose for the picture!
I mean...he is 7 months old and reading - can we say smartest little man around?!
He was just having fun on the swings - you like the drool that's starting to come out of his mouth!?

We were thinking about going to the Zoo in the morning - but opted for a picnic at the park with Aunt Sandra, Aunt Maggie and Eli instead! We had such a great day - and Connor was all tuckered out and ready for the drive to the Lake!

CFJ on the Boat!

Sweet pea had his first boating experience this weekend! He L-O-V-E-D it! He was super handsome in his life jacket and shades and couldn't get enough of watching the water (and Captain Uncle Mike!). He stood at the back and watched the water and all of the other boats and he laughed every time we rocked side to side at another boats wake. He was pretty cute hanging out with all of his cousins and taking in the sights. He had so much fun, he fell asleep on the way home! He was too cute he got this dazed look in his eyes from the rocking of the boat and then he was out like a light! He is such a sweet little man - we can't wait to take him out again!

The Lake of the Ozarks!

My Aunt and Uncle have a place at the Lake of the Ozarks and we try to all go down as a family once a year. I have missed the last two, but Connor and I were able to attend this years family get-together. Bj was busy, busy at work opening a new restaurant so he wasn't able to make it. We missed him - but can't wait until our weekend at the lake together!

We had such a good time, my Uncle Mike, Aunt Von, Granny, Clete, Granny, Auntie, Uncle Bob, Caitlin, Bobby, Patrick, Connor and I all just had a great time. We sat on the dock, shopped, had great food, went on boat rides and wave runner rides - and enjoyed some time as a family. Connor did great and loved watching the water and going out on the boat!

We are already looking forward to next year's reunion!

7 Months Old!!

OH! I am SEVEN MONTHS OLD TODAY! I have a new high chair - and the printer wasn't working for Momma to print out my sign! :)

Our little man is 7 MONTHS OLD! I mean...he is closer to 1 than he is to being a teeny tiny newborn man! It's crazy...is the rest of our life going to go by this fast?

Let's see - this last month has brought so many changes! Connor you are now eating carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, zucchini, watermelon, and peas! You also love your rice cereal, whole grain cereal and oatmeal. You have started sitting in your high chair and while it is still a little small, you are growing into it! You have started sitting up (still with assistance, but you are getting there mister man!), picking up objects and everything goes STRAIGHT into the mouth. You are still TERRORIZING your exersaucer, you look like you are just going to fly out of it you have so much fun. You are (and have been since about the three month mark) great about going to bed and you love to sleep in your crib. You scoot all over the place and its funny to see where you are in the morning - usually its up in the right corner. You move around so much we put your bumper pad's back in because you kept bonking your head on the side of the crib. You now love to have your eyebrows rubbed when you are sleepy. You love to sing and talk and so far your favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus" (you will quiet down almost immediately when we sing to you). You love to be outside and you went on your first boat ride on Sunday! You got your first cold - you recovered just fine - but momma and daddy were a little sad about the whole thing! Your first tooth started showing and then went away - but now we can see TWO beginning to make their way up and out. You like to read and play with your toys. You know how to roll over but you only do it when YOU feel like it :). You now love to play at the park and get so excited on the swing - you love to go up, uP, UP and away - your whole face breaks out into a huge grin and your eyes just light up. You kick your legs and smile when we come into the room. You love your family and get so excited when someone comes to see you. Your tootsies are ticklish and you love when we give you raz-berries on your belly, and when daddy makes you fly in the air! You are just the sweetest little boy and we couldn't love you anymore if we tried. We keep telling you we couldn't have made you any better if we ordered you off the internet! Here's to you precious boy and all that your next month brings!

The Big Kahuna's Under the Weather...

After I left work and got to Nana and Grandpa's house - I was greeted with a sick little man! He had a fever, runny nose, cough and the sneezes! My poor sweet baby, I felt so bad for him. I had to set him in his car seat and walk away for a second and he just cried and it about broke my heart into a million tiny pieces. We decided to head on over to the doctor to make sure it was just a little cold. There he is in the doctor's office - he sure looks sick, doesn't he?! The doctor checked him out and he said it was a cold - a little tylenol and rest and he would be good as new. He sure was, he was all rested and ready for his first trip to the lake! We had such a great time - more on that to come.

Funny story - remember when I went home to St. Louis by myself with Connor in March and I met the nice doctor on the plane and pestered him about C's hernia? Yeah well that ended up being the doctor that we randomly saw on Thursday! He is also my lifelong friend, Annie's pediatrician...how crazy is that?! It sure is a small world - he even remembered me and thought I was only slightly crazy when asking him if he just flew to Colorado in March! :)

The Big Kahuna

As I have stated before, I love Gymboree. I think they have the best selection of little boy outfits, and the little lady outfits aren't too bad on the eyes either. So, when they came out with the new little line for the summer, I was in love. In addition to Gymoboree I love the color brown, especially when paired with a blue or aqua. I am a bit to cheap to buy any clothes full price, so when the line went on sale I jumped! I was telling Granny D that I was in love with the "Big Kahuna" stuff and she happened to be a Gymbo and picked this darling little outfit up for the little man! She should have been shopping for herself but was instead looking for her baby!

I mean...I'm the Big Kahuna...it doesn't get much cuter than that! Thanks Granny!

Bit By the Stork!

What is a "Stork Bite" you might ask? I asked myself the same question and have been asking it for a little under seven months! If case you haven't noticed, my sweet boy, has a stork bite on the middle of his forehead (occasionally I call it his angel kiss - the red patch right in the middle of his forehead) and I have been meaning to read exactly what that is for quite some time now, just never got around to it. Well, I decided today was the day and I researched it! It is basically a birthmark or a collection of enlarged blood vessels. It is quite common and appears in about 1/3 of all newborn babies. It can appear at birth or the first few months after birth, and is more common in premature babies. This I found really interesting, because I remember the day he got it. It was one of the first times they put Connor on his belly in the hospital (he was about a week old) and when they flipped him around he had a stork bite! We thought it was just the blood pooling from being on his belly - but it has stayed with us. They can become "redder" or more noticeable when the little one is angry or hot, and they fade within the first eighteen months of life. They are most common on the forehead, eyelids, and the back of the neck (those on the back of the neck rarely fade). So, we can watch over time as CFJ's little stork bite fades away by the time he is one and a half.

I found the whole thing super interesting! I also read about the "folklore" that surrounds stork bites and the one I found most interesting was the tale about how they occur when the expectant mother experiences a great deal of fear. They are also "unanswered wishes" of the expectant momma. Very interesting as one of my wishes was for my baby to arrive on his due date, and I was quite fearful for his safety those few weeks in the hospital. I know this really is not the cause, but I think it is very, very interesting! So, everyone can say they learned something new today!

Homerun Derby!

As you can imagine - St. Louis is all a flutter with the All Star Game festivities at Busch Stadium. It has been so neat to watch everything and know that it is all happening in good ole St. Louie. We steered clear of downtown much of the weekend - it would have been fun, but it was so hot and we didn't know how Connor would do in the hot, Hot, HOT! BUT - Bj was lucky enough to score two homerun derby tickets from his dad! He was so excited to go - he loves anything sports related - and couldn't wait to be a part of such a memorable event.

He and his brother were ready to go and downtown early to see what it was all about. He said it was just so amazing to be watching something like that, at his home stadium. It was truly a once in a lifetime thing as the All Star Game won't be back to St. Louis in our lifetime, most likely. He came home armed with a blanket, patch, cup and lots of pictures. He said it was just packed with people and so exciting to cheer on all of our Cardinal favorites! We watched the game from home and got a kick out of all of the fans sitting outside watching the Derby from the Jumbotron! It is going to be such a neat story to tell C when he is older - that we watched the homerun derby while daddy was there! We are going to go to the zoo tomorrow with Aunt Maggie and get our picture taken by the All Star Arch - just another little keepsake for the bugster!!

30 Weeks

I have two sites that send me updates on CFJ's progress - Baby Center and The Bump. The Bump emails still go to my gmail account and I don't check them as often. I decided to wander over to gmail this morning and I was greeted with an email telling me that my baby is 30 weeks old! WOW - that just seems OLD! Maybe I am still a little out of sorts because he is getting teeth and once you get teeth you leave your momma? Maybe I am having a hard time believing that my baby is going to be 7 months old on Friday and that he is now closer to ONE than a newborn? I don't know - the whole 30 weeks thing seemed kind of crazy to me. He is almost as old as I was pregnant - crazy! :) He is catching up and right about where he should be for his age. It sure has been an amazing 30 weeks and I am so thankful that God gave us this beautiful baby boy. We were just meant to be his parents and we sure can't wait to see what the next 30 weeks brings!

Laundry

I feel like I am just now starting to realize how much laundry is involved with a youngin. I didn't think it was too bad before - even when I use cloth diapers. However, now that the little munchkin in eating and requires what seems like three bibs a day I feel like we do laundry all the time. It's crazy! The washing machine and dryer are constantly in use over at Casa De Granny's poor Granny can barely get her own laundry in! I think we do a load almost every other day and we have a lot of bibs! Seeing as little cuteness is also growing out of his pjammies at what seems like warp speed I am also constantly throwing those in the wash. He just has too good of a time eating his veggies that he gets is everywhere. I don't mind doing laundry, I kind of like it in fact. I just wish a magical little fairy would come and put it away for me. That's the part I don't like - putting it away. I like the sorting, washing and folding - I just have such a hard time getting it back in it's home. I just thought it was kind of funny - I didn't really notice it until just now, with the addition of the dirty bibs just how much time is spent on laundry with the addition of little man! I wonder if I will still be saying "I like doing laundry" after the second one!

Up in the Air!

Connor just loves his sweet daddy - and his sweet daddy loves him! They love to play airplane, Bj will swing him all over the room and he just squeals in delight. He loves when daddy zooms him by the doggies. They are just too sweet and I couldn't love them anymore than I do. I have a feeling I am going to be in big trouble when they can start playing tricks on my though!! :)

Big Baby Blues

I snapped this little one as I was getting the big man ready for bed. He just has the most beautiful, big blue eyes. He is just too sweet for me to handle and I can already see him looking up at me with the big blue eyes and me giving him a little too easy! Good night, sleep tight sweet boy. Momma and Daddy love you so much!!

Swinging on the Swings!

It wasn't too terribly humid out tonight, so we thought we would take a little walk to the park. The doggies were in need of a little exercise and we thought Connor would have fun on the swing set! He was just cute as can be - he LOVED the swings! He was squealing and laughing and just having a grand old time. He couldn't get enough of it he would go back and his little face would light up and he would just laugh and smile as he flew forward! I think we have a little outdoor lover on our hands!

Loving the swing set! Posing oh so nicely! :)

Steering the Pirate Ship with Daddy!!

Man, I love the park.

Hanging out - life is good.

And away we go!

He had a lot more fun sliding down the slide than this picture shows!

Hanging out with Mr. Zebra!
We had such a nice little night. We wore the doggies out with the frisbee and they were just lounging in the grass while we did the park loop and had the place all to ourselves. Connor just loved it! We were laughing that we can already hear it "Momma and Daddy just one more push, please?!" And we can already here ourselves saying okay - just one more.

Guess What...I have a TOOFER!

Hi Guys, Connor here! I just wanted to say hi and tell you that my momma is totally freaking out because I sprouted my first tooth today! I am not sure why momma is all excited because it isn't even 1/2 a tooth - but she was laughing and crying and calling daddy and telling granny and Aunt Steph that I was getting too big. I have been sleeping and eating really well lately but Momma could tell something was a little off today as I was a little more tired than usual and sure enough, she was right. She was feeding me my lunch when she spotted that little white tooth in my mouth. She stopped feeding me the butternut squash and was sticking her fingers in my mouth and making Granny do the same until they were certain it was a tooth! Everyone seems to think it's a big deal so I will go ahead and pat myself on the back for a job well done! Now, if I could just get the rest of them I can start eating those delicious hard foods everyone eats in front of me! Momma says if you look REALLY hard at the picture, maybe even blow it up, you can see my less than 1/2 a tooth poking through on the bottom middle of my mouth!! Don't worry, she promises to keep everyone posted when the rest of it pops through!

Scrunchie Face!

We were all snuggling in bed this morning and our sweet little nakey man was giving us the best scrunchie faces! He was being such a ham - and he was naked because he peed straight through his diaper last night - so what's more fun than getting a fresh diaper but not having to put new clothes on?! Little stink pot with that sweet scrunchie face - I just might have to snack on those cheeks for dinner!!

Mr. Sand-Man

We had a little play date at Aunt Sandra's this morning (we were going to go to the park but the rain threw a wrench in our plans) and Connor was introduced to the sand! I thought it would be a good idea to get him used to some sandy terrain as our trip to Michigan is quickly approaching!

He loved it! I don't think he quite knew what to think at first, but he was having such a good time getting his fingers in it - side note, whole 'nother post coming on him SITTING there...

Elijah was so sweet and once he found out it was Connor's first time in the sand, he showed him a thing or two about the old sandbox!

Sweet, precious Connor Man was so tired he fell asleep holding both of his lovies on the way home! He slept for a bit, woke up and then he and Momma took a long nap! It was a great afternoon...and our Friday Find was SAND!

I Got Fancy...

For the 4th and made some Martha Steward Cupcakes! I think they turned out pretty cute, huh?

6 Month Shots...

Poor Sweet Pea had to get his 6 month shots the other day and for some reason, they were tough ones. Me saying that as the one who had to watch, not who had to get stuck FOUR TIMES. From the move we didn't have our insurance figured out (actually we had to scramble to get temporary health insurance until Bj's kick in because cobra was going to cost $1,000 a month...yes, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS a month) so I got his check up one day and his shots another day. I really like the doctor and the office, but I don't know how I felt about the shots. They have "shot visits" so you don't have to pay the office fee, you can just go in, get the shots and leave. Well the nurse calls us back and she is chipper as can be - she has me lay Connor down on the table (I didn't like that, I am used to holding him while he gets his shots) and proceeds to (still chipper as can be) jam a needle into my baby, twice in each leg. He looked up at me, his eyes got huge, he turned bright red and started screaming! The tears were welling up in my eyes and it took everything in me not to rip him off the table and into my arms. Oh my gosh...it was awful! It was so bad while I was trying to calm my sweet boy down, I saw the door across the hall open and a little boy with huge eyes staring out like "oh my gosh what did they just do to that boy, am I next!?". Oh I think we were both pretty traumatized - we left, went home and Connor was given whatever he wanted the rest of the day! All he wanted to do was sleep, so that's what he did. He also MAY have gotten a few new books after that tearful experience. I am kind of glad we don't have to go back until he is 9 months old!! He did however, as I noticed before I left yesterday morning, have FOUR bruises on his legs from the shots. I was so sad, Bj was like "Elle, I mean those aren't going to be the last bruises he gets!" I was like I know, but no more bruises from shots, okay?! :)

A Random Opinionated Post

Heaven help all of you...with a title like "Random Opinionated Post" you know you are in trouble :) I actually have four things I wanted to discuss and due to their random nature, I thought it would be easiest to do it all in one post!

A. THRILLER - I have been searching for the picture of The Kleinhans/Bray Wedding party dancing to "Thriller" at a bar after the wedding. I can picture it in my head, but I know it is buried underneath a few boxes at my in-laws with the rest of my photo albums. Due to MJ's recent passing, I had to share that that is my all time favorite MJ song. I love a lot of others, but that is my favorite. I MAY have subjected Connor to it, making him listen to me sing it and re-tell the tale of dancing in our wedding attire to it at a bar, late at night. I think he was excited! I was also very disappointed and totally confused when I was watching Entertainment Tonight and found that Thriller wasn't even on the list of MJ's top ten songs...I mean, really? I think EVERYONE knows that song. But, what do I know?!

B. BONES - I am totally obsessed with that show. I have been watching it since maternity leave and I can't get enough. Bj was setting a season pass on the Tivo the other day and I told him under no circumstance was he allowed to mess with any of the Bones I had recording :) I am such a good wife! I think they are my favorite couple on tv and I think they should be married in real life - I love the way they banter back and forth and I think they are perfect for each other.

I had a C and I can't think of it! My baby brain (excuse to expire in t minus 5.5 months and I am not happy about it!) is catching up with me and I seriously have no idea what the other thing I wanted to ramble about was. Probably better for anyone who reads this...but still! I guess my rambling rant wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!

I LOVE my Booster!

Connor Francis got a new booster seat the other day and he L-O-V-E-S it! He looks so cute sitting there playing with his parrot and banana friends! It also is wonderful for us, as he is entertained while we get breakfast, lunch and dinner ready! Speaking of dinner - sweet pea is now eating butternut squash and he loves it! I am thinking I am going to go the green veggie route for the next one...perhaps peas or green beans?!

Connor Says...Happy 4th!

We went downtown to George's office building to watch the fireworks last night! We had an amazing view and it was so fun to spend the evening with great friends and family. We got there early to and had some dinner, drinks and great conversation. Connor was rocking his Fourth of July outfit - but was changed into his jammies and missed the fireworks by about 10 minutes - he was so tired he just couldn't hold on any longer! We were so sad, we were hoping he would be able to see them - but he said guys, I am TOO tired! :) He was up long enough to post for a picture in this super cute hat though.Momma even borrowed one for the picture, though C looks a little bit cuter!
This is how sweet pea watched the fireworks - we hoped if we had him facing the window he might wake up, he didn't think so though. He said he wanted to wait until next year :)

There he is...Happy Fourth he says! In between snacking on his fingers that is. We were going to go to the parade today but it was too rainy - so we opted for naps and lounging instead!

We wish everyone a wonderful weekend with friends and family! We are enjoying ours and are so thankful for our freedom and Independence. Daddy had to work last night, so we are going to have a little BBQ tonight and see if we can catch the fireworks again this evening!