Our Handsome little fella at 9 months!

Hmmm.... How many more of these things are they going to take?

Bright eyes!
Ummm, cant you see I'm falling here!!

Here are Connor's 9 month pictures and you can tell I am so proud of them! He always does great when it comes to picture time. It helps that he is surrounded by women and girls trying to get him to smile and laugh in any way they can. This time, there was a new "girl" for Connor to flirt with. She sat in front of him and he just gazed at her the whole time! Since Connor isnt walking yet or standing on his own, we did our best to prop him up so he could look like a big boy for his pictures. It worked pretty well, most of the time. I dont know if you could tell but in the picture with Connor and the gate, his head was leaning on the gate. Mom went with me for picture day and she propped him up real quick then ran away so they could get the shot. It turned out pretty cute, even though he wasnt smiling. I had to pick and choose which ones to put on here because there are many many more. All smiles! I think they all turned out great, once again another tough decision on which to choose... We are going to be broke from here till the end of the year buying pictures. In November he gets his Christmas pics made, then his birthday pictures in December!!! I cant wait to see them all, of course I will share them with all of you as well!

Laaaaid back

I came across this picture that I took at the old house and just thought it was so funny! Connor was watching Sesame Street while I was packing and he got very comfortable leaning against the pillows. We might have to get him a mini recliner so he can be just like his Daddy!

What an interesting day...

My day started at 6 :45 when Connor woke me up hungry. That figures because I didnt have to get up early for work and he is usually in such a deep sleep when I leave for work after 7 every morning. Little rascal... Well, I thought this is OK I can get a jump start on my day and get lots done. I go in his room and get him out of his crib while I get him ready for the day. I feed him, change him and sit him down with some toys while I fetch the drill, hammer, screws, nails and other various things to hang all these things sitting around in my way. Connor is getting so close to crawling and will roll or back crawl to get to anything that looks interesting. I successfully hang many things in my bedroom, bathroom, Connors room and then vacuum before going downstairs to start working down there. I get Connor some breakfast while trying to organize at the same time... Can we say multi tasking?
It is now time for Connors nap so we go back upstairs and I lay him down and think to myself, "Should I take my shower now?" , "Nahhh, I will wait. There is too much that I can do now while Connor is sleeping." Well, this was a big mistake and you will find out in a minute why. I work, work, work moving a mile a minute because there is total peace and quiet, except for my dog who is barking at the mail man, and other various things in the front yard. We dont have a fence yet, which is another story entirely. I walk the dog and then come back in and Connor wakes up. I go and get him and usually can sit him down with some toys while I bathe myself and get ready for the day. Well, I think this can wait for now. We come downstairs and get started on Connors lunch. I pick today to start weaning Connor from his bottle, this didnt work at all. He screamed and I thought that I would just stick to my guns, but I finally gave in and thought that I would start another day. Ok, feeding is done. I am starving so I fix myself something to eat and start eating and attempt to watch Dancing with the Stars that I taped last night. Everything is going great, THEN I hear the doorbell ring. The one thing that I love about this house is that the front of the house is filled with windows (with no blinds) and the front door is partially glass. It lets tons of light in however the big downfall is that when you have an unexpected visitor they can just peer in and see you, leaving you with no escape! I know you have all done it before... Here is a visual for you- no bra, old t-shirt with brown paint stains on it, and old pajama pants that I love because they are so comfy...Of course there is no makeup and my hair is a mess because I have not had the shower from earlier. I was trapped. My car was in the driveway and Cooper was going crazy trying to pry the door off. I took a deep breath, got up and put Cooper in the bathroom then opened the door and tried to smile. Another nice neighbor! I met her the day before so he has seen my somewhat presentable, but this wasnt one of the first impressions that I had been hoping for! We talked at the front door for a minute, then her 2 year old made his way into the house. I invited her in and she came in and sat down for a chat. Oh gosh, this was awkward for sure! Her 2 year old boy was doing what they do best, exploring through all of my unpacked stuff on the floor. He got curious and let Cooper out of the bathroom and then that made me a nervous wreck because he doesn't do well with little children. The boy ran after him and Cooper barked and backed into a corner... I warned Mom that he can be pretty jumpy and I wouldn't put it past him to snap at any minute. I spent the next 10 minutes trying to keep them apart while trying to carry on a conversation with my new neighbor. She leaves a few minutes later and I have a sigh of relief. Cooper is ready to go outside to potty. Well, first of all we replaced all of our door knobs in the house and for some reason the manufacturer thought it would be clever to put a feature that allows you to turn the doorknob from the inside even though it is really locked. Well, you guessed it. It can get you locked out very quick! I put Cooper on his leash and head out the back door, with Connor screaming in the background. In one motion I am jerked out the door by Cooper and in slow motion as the door is closing I tried to turn it to see if it is locked and it is. I think no big deal, just leave it open. Just as I walk down the stairs of the back deck the wind blows. I turn around and I see the door closing. Then just as this happens Cooper comes out of his collar because it is too big... Ugghhhh!!! In a split second I am faced with a tough decision. Do I turn around and catch the door so I am not locked out from my 9 month old baby inside or do I run after my dog who will figure out that he is FREE and run like a little jackrabbit? Well, I did the smart thing. Baby first, dog second. Another pretty picture, me running after my dog in the yard with no bra and pajamas on at 1:30! Luckily Cooper came to me when I called him from the neighbors yard. Thank the Lord!!! As I go inside Connor is eating some cardboard from a box that was sitting nearby. I yank it away, change the 5 poopy diaper of the day and he goes down for the second nap. I talk to Brad in the meantime, who asks the worst question that a father can ask, "What have you done all day?" Arrrgghhhh, time for a shower now!!!!

I LOVE FALL!

I am so excited about the introduction to Fall! It is my favorite time of year and I get so excited whenever it comes near! Hey, that rhymes!! The only bummer about this year is that I am so busy trying to get settled in this house that I don't have time for one of my most favorite things- decorating for fall!! I love to go fishing for the boxes with my decor and believe it or not it was one of the first things that I unpacked when we got here! I already have my fall wreath on the front door... I think that Brad thinks that I am loony, but it is the small things in life that excite me these days! Here are some of my favorite things about fall...

1) The smells (pumpkin, leaves, fall air, mulled cider candle by tyler, soups and chili for the cooler weather, Starbucks pumpkin spice cappuccino)

2)The colors (even though I look best in the summer and spring colors, I love the oranges, greens and browns of the fall clothing trends and surroundings of the TN landscape!)

3)Halloween!!!! This has always been one of my favorite nights! I have always loved to dress up and I can remember when I was little not sleeping a wink the night before Halloween because I was looking forward to wearing the costume that my Mom made for me! She made me some awesome ones and I am proud to say that I usually won "best costume" at school every year! Some of my favorites were Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Statue of Liberty, Mime, Wicked Witch of the West)

4) Candy!!!! Can you say "candy corn"! Anyone that knows me knows that I have a pretty big sweet tooth and one of my favorite candies is candy corn!! They really need to make this year around, dont you think?

5)Fall Festivals (I can smell the kettle corn now!)

6)Carving pumpkins (this is where my love for design comes in to play. I have always loved trying to decide what kind of face my pumpkin would wear)

7)Falling leaves (Ok, I cant actually say that I have any of these since we have always lived in new houses with tiny trees, I am sure if I had some I would not like all the raking that goes with this)

8)New Clothes ( I love fall clothes! I dont like the bulkiness of the winter ones so fall for me is PERFECT)

9) Cooler weather ( Again, I dont like winter so Fall for me is just right!)

10) Christmas is getting closer (More decorating, yeahhhhh!!!!)

11) Tennessee Football (need I say more!)

12) Visiting home (Now I love it here in Middle TN, but the prettiest place to be in the fall is back in East Tennessee! I miss the mountains this time of year!!!!)

13) I met my sweetie!- Brad and I started dating in October, ummmmmm sorry I cant remember the rest. Ok, ok that was 15 years ago the exact date has slipped my mind!)

HAPPY FALL!!!!

Starting early!

Connor LOVES the computer! He has always like to sit and watch all his pictures appear when the screen saver comes on. He has recently gotten very good at his typing skills!

Thanks Grandy!

Thanks Grandy for my New York sweatshirt hoody, new Yankees hat, and squishy baseball! The fitted infant Yankees hat that they bought for him before is already too small! This one is a toddler size and is adjustable like his Braves hat so he has room to grow in it. Grandy is already planning for the trip that him and Connor ONLY will take to see Yankee's stadium. He said that no one else was allowed to go and it was THEIR trip! I dont think that Uncle Brett was pleased...

Sticky little suckers!

Connor has been enjoying his "puffs"! He loves them and grabs handfulls at a time and stuffs them in his mouth as quickly as possible! As you can tell, some of them dont make it to the mouth and get stuck on his face. Oh well, it is the effort that counts!

9 months

This past week Connor hit the 9 month mark! He has changed so much in just a week! We went to the doctor on Tuesday for his well check and expressed our concerns that Connor isnt crawling yet, pulling up, talking (saying his consonants, no we dont expect him to really talk just yet), or gotten his first tooth. She said that she wasnt concerned about any of the above things because he is such a social baby and is very strong in his legs and upper body. During the exam she was feeling around in his mouth and looking down his throat and to our surprise, Connor 1st tooth must have broken through the night before!!! He made a fool of us for sure! The doctor just looked at us and said, "well I dont know what you are worried about because he actually has a tooth." Oops, I must have missed that one. I guess I just got so tired of checking because Connor has been teething since 4 months old and we have yet to see anything come of it until now. Mom and I looked in my baby book a few weeks ago and guess when I got my first tooth? Yep, 9 months... Guess when I walked? My first birthday... I think Connor is on track to follow in my footsteps with his milestones. I am really not concerned as much as Brad. You know with all of these athletes in the family, he wants him to be doing everything 1st so he will be on pace to be the all star! I think Connor has convinced us that he will do it on HIS pace. The funny thing is that this week Connor has gotten really close to crawling many times. I keep trying to work with him and teach him, and then I think to myself "what am I doing, am I crazy!" There is so much to be doing right now, that is the last thing I need is for him to be crawling around with all of the baby hazards around us! Time will tell whether or not Connor will actually crawl. I still think he will go straight into walking first.

Well, that has been my life for the past week. Oh yeah, and emptying boxes. Anybody want to come for a visit? I am sure I can find something for us to do. Ha!

Were here!

Sorry it has been a while. It has been a little crazy around here! I am glad to say that we are finally moved in. We spent last weekend moving the rest of our things over and the weather was just perfect for it! What a beautiful introduction to fall!! We are spending all of our spare time right now trying to prioritize the boxes that we want to unpack. Connor is into everything right now and is making it a little hard to get much done. It is difficult trying to work and unpack when I get home because Connor wants all of my attention since I havent been with him that day. He is being a trooper though through this whole transition. Cooper is still trying to get adjusted. He is feeling more and more comfortable around the house. Everyday we drop him off in the backyard of our old house since we still dont have a fence here yet, and then pick him back up on the way home from work. We have a contractor that is going to build our fence as soon as the home owners association approves it. I do hope this happens soon! I feel so sorry for Cooper because he wants to explore and he really enjoys being outside the most!

Well, pictures of the house will follow when we get things a little more organized around here. However, that may be a few months at the rate that I am going ...

Hey...where's all the furniture?

The past week has been spent cleaning the new house and taking small loads of boxes to the house every night. It has been exhausting, but we are making progress. We are planning to move all of the furniture this weekend and try and get settled in the house. It is kind of sad as I sit here in our "old" house and look around at the bare walls. I didnt think that I would be that emotional about the move but it is hard not to, when you think the fact that this was our 1st home, we got our first dog and had our first child here. I am very excited about the new house though. Every time I go, I like it more and more. It feels like "home". Everyone is so friendly in the neighborhood and we have had many offers to help us move by people that we dont even know! Who does that these days?! It will be sad to leave our neighbors here that we like so much!

Here are some pics from Saturday, Connor has been such a trooper! He can stay occupied for a little while, but he is still in his seperation stage which makes it hard to leave the room without him. I just hope that the neighbors dont think that we are abusing him because, MAN can he scream! He sees us coming into the room with boxes and gets so excited and then when we leave again he just wails! I cant wait till he grows out of this!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Ghost stories, anyone???
Connor is making monster faces with his flashlight!

Peek a boo!

Connor will be 9 months next week and he is so busy these days! He still isnt crawling (Praise the Lord!)! On one hand I want him to figure it out, but on the other hand I dont want him to move!! He is getting so big, I cant even believe it. He is pure joy and is happy all time. We are having so much fun with him!

Proud owners of "2" houses!

Something to brag about, hugh? Today we closed on the new house! We are very excited to start moving, although it is a little overwhelming thinking of all of the stuff we have accumulated now. The last move wasnt bad because we were moving from an apartment to our 1st house,but as you know, 4 years + a baby = STUFF! The great thing is that we are set to close on our other house October 5th so we have about a month to move which is GREAT! The inspection is scheduled for in the morning, so pray for us that they wont come back to us with a long list of things to fix! I cant imagine this since our house was only built in 2003. Well, I had better get back to things around here. Connor is napping and Brad is at the new house installing hardware. Connor wouldnt take his nap there, he always knows when he is in a strange place. I guess he better get used to it, he doesnt know yet that it is his NEW HOME!

Look at that face!

Connor's new wheels!

I always wondered how those mothers pushed their babies while running behind them. I do good to actually perform in the act of running at all! It is not one of my favorite things to do, but I have decided that I am tired of being out of shape and it was time I did something about it. My excuse was always that I had to keep Connor entertained or a million other things, but not anymore! Now there is no excuse because on Monday we found a jogging stroller on clearance at Target! Actually it was Brad's find, he was so excited because he has wanted this very badly also. We have looked and looked at consignment stores and never seem to find anything. This one was 1/2 off so it was an awesome deal. We went for a stroll last night with it and it was great! I say stroll because we did a lot more walking than running! I am ashamed to say that I have never been this out of shape in my entire life!!! I am going to attempt to change that now that I have my nifty new stroller. It is so much easier to exercise this way because Connor loves it! Doesn't he look cute in his new "ride"!

Vols Lose but Connor is still in good spirits!

As you can see even though the Vols lost last night, we still managed to have a good time at our house! Uncle Brett and Aunt Hillary came over to watch the game and we had a great time spending one of our last game days in our bonus room. Thanks for coming up you guys, Connor has so much fun with you all! I know this because when Brett and Hillary were leaving, Connor would cry every time they would leave the room to try to leave! Also, we have some very exciting news to announce- last night we came to an agreement with a family from Florida to buy our house and we are supposed to get the signed contract tomorrow!! I am hesitant to say that it is SOLD, because we still have to go through the inspection and of course it is contingent on that. I am sure everything will go well, these people really want the house! We felt like a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders! We are closing on the new house this Friday and it will be good to know that we can start moving our stuff over without having to keep our other house staged and straightened for showings! Praise the Lord!!!