Happy Birthday Con!

Facts about "THE CON" at 2!

- Conner is fearless. There is not much that he is not willing to try and very little he is unable to get into. With his bravery and curiosity is an enormous amount of natural physical skill, which only enables and empowers him to perform and carry out all his crazy ideas and stunts!

- Conner is starting to talk more and more every day. He is saying 2-4 word sentences now and is getting good at carrying on a basic conversation. He says Kellen ('tell-ten') and Sissy now and refers to himself as Con Con ('ton-ton'). He says Daddy and has recently started calling me "Mom" instead of Mama or Mommy....I do not appreciate this one bit!

 - He is has been climbing out of his crib for awhile, though he stays in it at night and for naps pretty well.

- Favorite color seems to be blue.

- Loves the wiggles and barney. Loves to dance to any music that comes on. Is just starting to watch movies, his favorites being Nemo and Toy Story.

- Knows to say that he is 2 years old and like to mimic counting

- Favorite toys are trucks/cars, balls or action figures.

- Still a bit of a Mama's boy

- Favorite food is yogurt, tangerines, strawberries, pizza, spaghetti

- Loves to carry around coins. Loves money. Always wants to have at least 2 coins in his hand at all times.

- Very interested in babies. Has his own little baby that he occasionally sleeps with and carries around with him.

- Still sucks on the corner of his blankets (also referred to as his nigh-night).

- Taking 1 nap a day, about 1 1/2- 2 hours long

- Weighs 28 pounds (50%) and is inches tall (85%)

 Happy 2nd Birthday to our crazy, funny, wild, loving, silly, cuddly, did I say Crazy little Con!

 It's incredible to me how quickly they go from being tiny, helpless babies to small little boys so fast! 2 is always a hard birthday for me. It feels like you are really stepping out of the baby stage and admitting to yourself that the toddler years are in full swing and that you have a thinking, independent, smart little person now who is eager to learn and explore and grow so much!

 The kids wanted Conner to have Slurpee for lunch on his birthday (because Conner really does know how to appreciate a Slurpee), but I told them he had to have at least some food. So we decided upon Burger King because they are the only fast food place I know of that serves Icee's. It did the trick for us all!

 For Conner's Party we just had Grammy and Pa and our good friends The Nelson's join us at Chuck E Cheese for a fun night of games, rides, pizza, cake and presents. It was perfect for Conner. He got to enjoy himself and have fun running around the place all evening and he also go the experience of having a group of people there to celebrate with him, sing to him and make sure he knew it was his special day!

 Conner's little buddy Carter....who just so happens to share the same birthday....born just 4 hours apart!

 Daddy and "The Con"

 Grammy and Kellen

 The big kids were eager to get out on the floor and dance it up with Chuck E. in order to earn some free tickets to get prizes- Conner on the other hand stayed right in his seat and kept a close eye on the big mouse to make sure he did not get too close. Conner Loves Chuck E Cheese....he does not like Chuck E!

 Present time, with a lot of eager helping hands trying to assist him

 Enjoying his book from Grandma and Grandpa.

 Conner Loved his musical birthday card from Uncle Bob and Aunt April. He was a nut about it until it was in pieces. 

 He may be 2 now, and he may technically be my toddler now, not my little baby. But he still does this, and as long as I can have my cuddles and my little boy falling asleep in my arms I am a happy Mama!

 It is amazing how quickly a child takes root in your heart and in your life. How after such a short amount of time it because entirely impossible to imagine what your heart felt like before you knew and loved this child and even more impossible to imagine your life without it now. Conner amazed me from the first time I laid eyes on him. He may be a maniac at times, but there is a sweetness and a big love to that little boy. We just adore him so much and love what he has brought to our family. We are so blessed to have his smiles and his laughter fill our home and our hearts every day!

 Happy Birthday Conner babe!

Family and Friends

We were really lucky to get to spend a lot of time this summer hanging out with a lot of our family and friends and really having a good time. Here are a couple of the highlights.

Kellen's best friend Peter had the cutest party with his little brother (and Con's good buddy) Carter. As it should be with little boys they had a superhero party. Suzy made all the kids masks and capes and my kids just had a total blast. It was adorable and totally fun!

 Kellen and Peter...such good buds!

 Love seeing my kiddos getting along and having fun together, and saving the universe while they are at it!

 Normally Con loves capes, but  he was apparently not in the mood that day.

Little girls kill me how it is so instinctual to strike a pose and time they get a chance! Even super heroes have to make sure they are looking good!

 We took a couple really fun trips to Sea World with Rah Rah, Brookie and baby Kipper this summer. Both times it was a very full (and very loud) van full. Makes me quite intimidated seeing what 5 could look like. i think we are feeling really comfy with 4 right now ;)

 Makenna dancing with the otter....from a distance....she was feeling a bit shy.

 Auntie Nana and baby Kipper. Love that little boy!

 Makenna and Brooke are total little cousin BFF's. They just adore each other. I love their relationship, even if Makenna is a bit possessive of Brooke sometimes. It's cute and sweet to see them together. I hope that never changes. 

 Cousins checking out the rays. They are all getting so big!

 It seems like these days finding and having quality one on one time with each of my kids gets more and more difficult to achieve. But every once in awhile we get the chance to go on Daddy or Mommy dates alone with one of the kids. This summer I tried to snag the chance to get a babysitter during the day and go on a date with Kellen and one with Makenna. Kellen wanted us to go to lunch at Fuddruckers and then go bowling. So that is exactly what we did. It was great to just be with him at lunch, to play some games and chat and eat our food. And we had a great time bowling together. He was very encouraging and cheered me along, as I did the same for him :) He was quite the bowler! 

 Such a cutie! Those eyes and that smile just completely melt my heart!

 One of my favorite things about being alone with Kellen is that when it is just he and I he is always Soooo affectionate! He is usually a pretty affectionate kid, but when we are one on one it is even more magnified. He will hold me hang Any time we are walking together, will open doors for me, put his hand on my leg while we sit next to each other. It is the sweetest thing ever. He is going to spoil his wife! For now, I will soak up every ounce of it I receive! 

 We were lucky enough to land some Really good seats to a Padre game in July. The kids had a really good time going to watch the game. It is hard to say what was more exciting for them....seeing the Padre mascot running around or watching the vendors walking around selling peanuts and cracker jacks. At this age the actual game was definitely just a side note for them. But we had fun and they did learn a bit about the sport.

 Charming, I know!

 Amazing Seats!

 A little walk over to pinkberry for some yogurt after we left the game. I love this picture of Kellen!

 Makenna and I also got a date in this summer. We decided to go see a movie together. It was the first time I ever went with her to a movie on 'the big screen'. We decided to go see Brave. We went to the mall, walked around a bit, had a pretzel together, filled my bag with candy and got some popcorn and got a good seat for the movie. Unfortunately, the movie was a pretty intense one. Apparently when I ask other parents if a movie is scary or not, they do not understand what qualifies for "scary" for my daughter. We Barely made it through the movie. And sadly, the minute we walked out of the theater poor Makenna burst into tears. But despite the tears I do believe we had a good time and she has given a good review of the movie and our date to anyone that has asked about it. I just enjoyed some time being alone with my girl and getting to have big girl conversation with her and cuddle in the theater. 

 I love this boy, I love his silliness, and I love his hair!

 The kiddos getting ready to makes smores on the 4th of July!

This year instead of watching the fireworks from Grammy and Pa's backyard we decided to go to see them up close. We got a great spot over at one of the local high schools and were close enough to the fireworks to really enjoy them big in the sky and hear the boom! The kids had a blast and really seemed to enjoy it, as did I! I am thinking this is something we will be doing every year from now on. I love our growing, happy family! They are just too much fun!

We Love Daddy, Yes We Do!

 Not much can compete with a Daddy's love. And these beautiful children have a Daddy whose heart beats for them. He loves them Sooooo much. I love knowing the my kids will never have to question if their Daddy loves them. They will always know. 

And he has 3 (almost 4) little ones that love him, love his attention, love it when Daddy gets down and plays with them. They love to bring him drinks and treats when he needs them. They love to try and help him with yard work, painting, any little job he is doing that looks like their is room for a couple of extra small pairs of hands. I love being able to have and raise children with this man and look forward to all the fun adventures we will have together as parents. Happy Father's Day Daddy! We love you!

In Makenna's Kindergarten class they made a book for the Daddy's for Father's Day. Each child finished the sentence "My Dad is so strong he can...." Makenna's answer totally cracked me up! I started laughing when I read it and pretended to be offended by it. She says that she had meant to say that Daddy can lift "Her" and that the picture is Daddy picking up Makenna. I don't know if that is the truth or her just trying to back pedal. I just love little kids and the things that they do and say!