Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Fun Run!

Today while Mommy got together with the girls, Daddy took Connor and cousin Drew to Fun Run to have some fun. We heard they had fun there and we like fun. Now, Daddy feels somewhat stupid to admit this, but for some reason he was surprised when he got there. He knew there were big inflatable apparatuses to play on and he knew there would be children playing on them. However, for some reason he was unprepared for the incredible noise and chaos created when hyper children are running around unsupervised. He should have expected to see children running and having fun (It is named Fun Run), but he had what apparently was an unreasonable expectation that some parents would take it upon themselves to watch their children.

When you get there, you sign away your rights to sue the facility, then the children remove their shoes and are turned loose. There were four large inflatables, an arcade, and a hall filled with themed play rooms (car room, kitchen, beauty salon, etc). As I was signing their paper, absolving them of any liability, I asked the lady working there how it worked. She told me that it was "free play" and I could order food at the counter. That's all there was to it. The employees all worked behind the counter and it was survival of the fittest in the play areas. There was nobody telling the kids when to go down the slides, or whether it was a good idea to climb them while others were going down. The kids (and parents) seemed to believe that since they were playing on inflatables that they were invincible. They were jumping (often headfirst!) from incredible heights and didn't seem to notice or care if there were other children they were landing on.

Connor was pretty overwhelmed with the situation and was more clingy than ever. Although it was an absolutely crazy environment I really think it showed that he will benefit from socializing with larger groups in preschool. We ended up finding some less crazy areas to play in, Drew and Connor had a good time, but poor Daddy was fairly traumatized by it all.

Connor watching kids play arcade games:


One of the smaller play rooms (car theme):


The typical parent supervising their kids (No idea how he can sleep with all the noise):


Drew going down a slide:

Sunday, January 18, 2009

New school for Connor


We've been considering what we should do for Connor's pre-school for a while and recently made a big decision for our little man. We initially planned to take him to a pre-school a couple days per week once he turned two. We were going to keep him at Jenny's two days/week, at pre-school two days/week and at home with Andrea one day/week. But, as we started looking around at schools we really thought he would get a lot out of the experience and the more we considered how his routine would be affected by going part time we made the decision that maybe it would be best to take him full time. We were a little concerned about having three different daily routines and schedules; especially with potty training beginning soon.

We looked at a lot of places and researched the Montessori concept of child development and liked the fact that in some schools all the teachers were Montessori certified. We settled on a school that's fairly close to our home and on Connor's second birthday he will start his first day of school.

We're all pretty nervous about the big change, but we're very certain that Connor's going to enjoy it. He had a great time touring the schools and already got upset when the tours ended and he couldn't play with all the toys and kids.

Connor's grown up a lot in the last few months. We took down the last baby gate and Connor's free to go anywhere in the house he wants. He's very good with the stairs and we hardly worry about him at all anymore. He had some vomitting issues last week, but he's been doing much better since Thursday. He's still fussy a little at dinner time (unless it's pizza night), but he's feeling a lot better after last week and he's got his appetite back.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Finally... a bigger vehicle!

Since Connor was born we realized that a bigger vehicle would be very nice. Packing our car for trips at Thanksgiving and Christmas has been very difficult, and it's always cramped. Trying to get two suitcases, a kennel, and a stroller was impossible to fit all in the trunk. (Connor has so much stuff!) So we decided to buy a mid-size SUV with more trunk/cargo space. Now we'll be able to fit all our stuff!

We've been waiting for Shawn's 1994 Honda Accord to die, but it's almost hit 200,000 miles now and it will probably hit a million before it quits, so we gave up on that plan.

P.S. To our Dave Ramsey friends, yes we did buy it with cash!

We've all been pretty sick this weekend, so Connor isn't very chipper in these pics, but he's feeling much better.


Finally some leg room!

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Years in Chicago

As we did last year, we flew to Chicago for New Years. It was pretty stressful to fly to O'Hare airport in Chicago, one of the busiest airports known for delays and problems. We decided we'd get an early flight from Kansas City so we'd get there early. I don't think we really thought about how early we'd have to get up to be on a flight that left KC around 6 a.m. When we figured up how long it would take to get ready in the morning, drive to the airport, check in and go through security, we realized we'd have to wake up at 3:15 a.m. Holy smokes it was early and we were all very groggy that morning, but both airports were not very busy that time of day and the flight in was very smooth.

We got to Chicago, picked up our rental car, and arrived at Connor's great grandparents' house by 9:30! That still left us with a full day of fun with them, although we all ended up taking a nap to get caught up with our sleep. We spent New Years Eve at Shawn's Uncle Roger's house but we didn't stay very late because Connor wasn't exactly in a partying mood that much past his bedtime.

Mommy and Daddy on New Years Eve. Connor didn't last past 9:30, it was an early night for us. We rang in the new year in our dreams:


We spent the rest of the time visiting with relatives and eating lots of good food. Great Grandma prepared a great feast on New Years Day, and we all ate a bunch except for Connor, who's been pretty picky lately.

Our flight back was very uneventful as well, which was a surprise. Last year, O'Hare airport was a crowded mess, but this year it was fairly empty. It was pretty straightforward checking in and we got to the gate with plenty of time to spare.

Connor was great on both flights. On the flight to Chicago he was awake the whole time and we had to work pretty hard to keep him entertained. On the flight back to KC, he fell asleep before we lifted off and slept almost the whole time.

Overall, we had a great time in Chicago! Thanks Great Grandma and Grandpa for letting us stay with you!

Connor loved the Cuckoo clock at the Great Grandparents' house:


As he did last year, Connor still enjoyed knocking down anything people set up. In this picture he's watching his second cousin Lauren's face as he destroys the magnificent tower she created:


When Connor was in bed Mommy and Daddy were able to play games with everyone:


Mommy and Connor on New Years Eve:


Connor and Uncle Chris:


4 Generations of Vernons (Daddy's arm is twisted funny behind him because he's hiding Connor's pacifier so Connor will smile nicely for the picture):


Shawn with Great Grandpa


Shawn with Great Grandma


Uncle Alex helped take pictures and unfortunately wasn't in many pictures we took. We do have this moody looking picture we took on New Years Eve where Uncle is enjoying some tasty Mexican beer: