(Pooper, Ma-Ma, Da-Da) a little confused...

I started filming this so you could hear him say "Pooper" which is really our dog Cooper. For some reason Connor got really confused with my picture. He really does know my name and Brads name. Not sure what he was doing here... Anyway, I wanted to share this because I think it is too cute!

Connors 18 month pictures

Here are the pictures we got made a couple of weeks ago. I thought Connor did extremely well considering I cant get him to sit still long enough for any pictures these days. They did well getting him to pose using lots of props (balls, bubbles, squeaky hammer). He wanted to blow the bubbles himself and was working on the car with the hammer, I cant believe that she got some pictures without the props in them! I was worried about the weather, but it ended up being perfect. It wasnt sunny, just a little cloudy which made for great outside pictures by the truck. One thing I love about our photographer is all of the places they have for pictures outside. They have a beach, a waterfall, 2 old trucks, an old country store with a old gas pump, old barn, iron gates, and lots of pretty flowers and woods for great backgrounds. One thing they suggested to me is that I have Connors pictures made when he is 2 (December) and then alternate the seasons every year. That way I get to use all of their great backdrops and he wont have too many inside pictures. We had a great day, even though Daddy wasnt able to go with us because he was umpiring high school baseball. On the way home we stopped by to see Grandma and ended up seeing Grandy, and Aunt Jolene. It was a great day!

Sorry there are so many, there are more but these were my favorites.

The "funniest" baby shower I have ever given!

Ok, I must start this story by saying that you are about to see one of the UGLIEST baby shower cakes ever! I am totally not kidding you on this one. Everyone I have prepared to see this thing has ended up laughing their head off, or simply gasping.

To start, I will tell you a little about what we did. We had a baby shower for a girl in the office that is due next month with her first baby girl- Lily. Another girl and I organized everything and even coordinated with her husband so that he could be there and surprise Mary (girl we had the shower for). It was pretty simple really, not that much work involved. When it came down to the cake, I decided that I WAS NOT going to make it since the last time I ended up regretting it because I spent my whole day off working on it and I didnt think it tasted that good. I have decided that I am going to take a class on cake decorating so that I can learn the right techniques, but that is neither here nor there. Anyway we looked at a lot of places for cake designs, bakeries, etc. I have now decided that bakeries are starting to be a thing of the past. The only ones I could find in our area were in downtown Franklin and with us being in Cool Springs I didnt want to have to deal with major traffic during the day that I picked it up, plus I procrastinated and didnt order it soon enough. So, I checked out all of the places in CS that have in store bakeries and looked at their designs but nothing popped out at me. I thought that having a pull apart cupcake cake would be the best thing since there isnt much mess, no knives to worry with, etc. I ended up going to Kroger because it is very convenient to our office. I walked up to the bakery case and started thumbing through their idea book and the lady behind the counter walks up to help me. She said that she actually did the cupcake ones herself and was actually quite good at it, not meaning to brag of course! Hello, this should have been a red flag in my face! I looked at the ones she had done- a watermelon and it looked pretty good. (Note to self for future- how hard is it to do a watermelon?!) She immediately starting spouting off all kinds of ideas, so I thought this woman really knew what she was doing. Boy, was I wrong! We decided to do a baby shape with a pink diaper and a bottle. I had visions in my head, baby sleeping with a grin holding a baby rattle and thought it was going to be really sweet looking. LOL LOL LOL! I am still laughing because the expression on my face when I picked it up must have been priceless! It looked like a baby on drugs! I wont describe it any more because the picture says enough!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE................................

**Insert the sound from Psycho here....**

What cracks me up even further is that when she handed it to me she said that she was really dissapointed in its nose. HELLO!!!! The nose is the least of my worries at this point! And what is with the pink fake flower, is the baby dead?

All of the girls in the office were laughing so hard when they saw it, so we decided to put a sheet over it and unveil it as a SURPRISE at the shower. We warned Mary before hand but her face was priceless! Ha!


I am actually glad now that it turned out the way it did, because it made for a very fun time as you can imagine! If I had gotten stuck with this for anything other than the office I dont know what I would have done!!!! WARNING: If you need a "pretty" cake DO NOT go to Kroger in Cool Springs! However what was lacking in design added to the taste, it was very YUMMY!!!

A Day of Destruction

On Saturday we took out some frustration on our deck and decided to rip it apart! Just kidding! We really needed to replace the deck boards because they were cracking and warping. Brad got motivated to start, so there you have it... We just started prying the boards off. It was actually quite easy (yes, I helped!). We are planning on adding an extension on the side to give us two areas, one open space for grilling, etc, and the other for lounging. I cant wait to have it all done, but it will be a very long process. We are going to start with the old part, and then add on when it gets a bit cooler sometime this fall. With the real estate slump apparently lumber is pretty cheap right now, so we decided to take advantage. I'll keep you all posted on its progress. Poor Cooper is so confused because he keeps going to the door by the deck to go outside. We were afraid that he would just run right out there, but he stopped and figured it out quite quickly. Now we have to let him out of the garage and through the back door. He is going to be very confused before it is all over.

All done! Actually just getting started...

Connor was in a very silly mood all weekend. The pictures below were taken right after he woke up that morning. As you can see he is a little ham! We went to dinner that night and he had us cracking up at him. The whole time he was making funny faces trying to get us to laugh, then he started flirting with the girl at the next table. He even offered her his french fries and corndog. The other funny thing he is doing right now is learning to use a fork. He WILL NOT eat without one. Needless to say we have to take his plastic baby forks wherever we go. He is spouting out new words every day! I know I have said it many times, but it is so incredible seeing him learn new things all the time now. He says "cheese" when you get ready to take his picture, he will put the camera up to his face and say "cheese" as if to take someone elses picture. It is too cute! The other thing which I just love, is that he will see a picture of Pawpaw and point and say his name. Every time we go to see Grandma at her house, he will say "Pawpaw" as if he remembers that is where he lived even though he didnt learn his name until he was in the hospital and the last time we got to visit with him before he died. Such sweet memories.

I'm so HAPPY!

These are a few of my funny faces!

I do this when something really cool happens!

"Did you hear that"? He is tooting his truck horn!

Connor decided last night that he needed to be pulled in this wagon. We pulled him a little bit but the ol' wagon was struggling. We had to explain to him that it was not made for that like his other one is.

Saying "CHEEEEESE" this morning at breakfast.

Connor's 18 month birthday!

Connor turned 18 months yesterday. I cant believe that in just 6 short months we will blowing out 2 candles! We are having so much fun with Connor right now, although I will admit the last few months have been very trying. He is a very happy little boy, but if something upsets him or is frustrating he surely will let you know! I think I mentioned that on Mothers Day C had a 4 hour temper tantrum, well we havent had one quite that bad but we are doing "time out" quite frequently these days. I am not sure where he gets this from, but the doctor told me today that it actually is a good sign because he is learning how to test his limits and trying to figure out what he can get away with. I took it to mean that he has great intellect, but other than that I am not sure how it is a good thing, for me anyway?! Ha! He had his checkup today and it went pretty well, other than the fact that Connor has now learned that going to the Dr. office is not a pleasant thing for him. He only got one shot today, which was extra great! She said he is developing great and passed the autism test with flying colors, which was a great relief. (Not that I was worried...) His weight was a bit of a concern for me, but the doctor didnt seem bothered by it much. She gave me a hand out on foods that could help with weight gain and I just had to laugh! I have been trying to cut back this week and the sheet is filled with all of things I love- carbs, lots of cheese, butter, cream cheese, and a whole section about desserts and ice cream! You have to be kidding me?! Just when I thought that I could stop buying these things, now I have to be tempted because I need to give them to my 18 month old son. Ha!

Tomorrow is picture day, so I should have those soon to share! I told the photographer yesterday that I hoped they had their running shoes ready. That will be the only way they will get any shots of C!

Here are some things that Connor is doing now...

-He is infatuated with the garbage! He throws his trash away and even puts his dirty diapers in the diaper genie. I love it! You have to be careful though. The other day I found a sippy cup and some of my scrap booking stamps in there.

-He is such a Mommy's helper! I trimmed the bushes the other night and he started helping me pick up the cut limbs by putting them in the trash bag. Again, he is infatuated by the garbage.

-Continues to love to dance!

-Loves the water hose and to squirt himself with it. I have to watch because he will be soaked in a matter of seconds.

-Can count to three, mostly two for now but occasionally he will say three and will shout out five in there somewhere!

-Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles...

-Ba-ball is still his favorite past time. (Basketball)

-Wagon rides around the block.

-Blows kisses and will tell you bye when he thinks he is going somewhere.

-Wants to know where Pooper (Cooper) is at all times.

I know there are many many more, but I cant seem to think of them all now. He is like a little sponge right now picking up everything he sees and hears. I cant wait to see him in 6 more months and all of the new things he will learn!

Last weekend

Me and Da DaPops let Connor drive Playing with the bubbles with Grannie
This is my roll, doggy!
Playing golf with Da Da

Just look at that swing!

Not sure what he was pointing at here... Playing Peek a Boo
Boo!

What a great day it is! I am at home today. Yahoo!!! I just dont know how you full time working Mom's do it. I have worked 3 days in a row and I am worn out. I just sat down to fold a load of laundry and it feels like rest. Every night we are out doing something. The weather has been heavenly this week and we are taking advantage of it! Mid to low 80's with low humidity definitely doesnt feel like the middle of June for TN. If only it could stay like this. Well back to my post...

Last weekend we went down to Rockwood on Saturday morning and came back through on Sunday morning and stopped my Lebanon to see my parents. We didnt get back until late on Sunday, therefore that is why I am just now getting around to posting this. We had a great time visiting with our families and celebrating Fathers Day with both of our Dads. On Saturday we grilled out and had a relaxing day playing outside and visiting with the Thompson family and Brian, Benita, and Rachel. Pete got a new tractor and Brad fell in love all over again! He rode it almost all day and Connor got a few rides in with him and with Pops. I think he liked it more as the day went on. His Grannie and Pops bought him all different kinds of bubbles and he had a blast with that. A great time was had by all!

Connor was very content playing with the water hose at Nonna's.Grandy taught him to take a drink!
Mmm, that was tasty!Nonna's cake was goooooood!

On Sunday we celebrated Mom's 50th birthday as seen in the last post and Fathers Day with my Dad. My grandmother spent the weekend with them, so we also got to spend some time with her as well. It was a great weekend and we sure were pooped when it was all over.