Family pictures with our little monster

We thought it would be nice to get some family pictures this year for Christmas. Last year Shawn setup a tripod at home and through sheer luck captured a picture of our family where Chloe and Connor were looking in the right direction. This year we wanted to do something a little more sophisticated that would give us some guaranteed results. Mandy found our regular photographer from Moments and Memories, who we love and intend to continue using in the future, and she also has a friend Jeni who's just getting into photography and took some great pictures of Mandy's family. We decided to have Jeni from Acres of Hope photography take some pictures of Connor and our family.

On Tuesday (11/18) the plan was to go to a park setting outside and get some candidish shots of Connor playing and our family together and the second phase was to go to our house and get some Christmasy pictures in front of our decorations. For the first part of the plan Connor was a little uncooperative, but Jeni worked hard and got some pretty good pictures. The second phase of the plan is where everything fell apart. If we thought Connor was a little difficult at the park, he was intent on proving that he could be absolutely impossible when we got home. We tried everything we could think of to get him to smile. He convinced us that was never going to happen, so we decided that we'd be content if he had a pacifier (he usually only gets them during bedtime). Even with pacifier in place Connor would arch his back, squeal, and writhe every time we got ready to take a picture. In the end, the only time we got anything close to what we were looking for was a picture where Connor was clutching his "babies" (stuffed animals that usually stay in his bed) and crying. At least he was looking at the camera.



Jeni was awesome about it, and agreed to come out again on Saturday (11/22) to try again when Connor was in a better mood. Grandpa and Grandma Vernon were in town visiting and they worked their tails off hopping around, singing, waving puppets and acting crazy to get Connor to smile. We haven't seen the results yet, but we're pretty sure there will be a great picture in the mix somewhere.

Without further ado, we've posted some of our favorite pictures that we've gotten from Jeni so far.

Daddy turns 29 and Connor goes to a wedding

Connor dressed up as cute as he could for Mommy's friend's wedding. He was still a big handful for Mommy to manage on her own (Daddy was in class all day Saturday), but he was a cute handful at least.

Daddy had his 29th birthday on the 11th. He had to work with consultants all day at work, but at least Mommy and Connor had some surprises for him when he got home. Connor got him a neat jacket (and helped him open it), and Mommy got him an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (the only cake Daddy likes!)!

Daddy feels old, but he's got a great family and he's very thankful to share another birthday with them.

Grilled cheese, nicknames, weddings, and ear infections

So we've got a variety of random things this week, written in no particular order.

First, the not so good news, Connor's got an ear infection. Andrea noticed him rubbing (and sticking his finger in) his ear quite a bit, so she took him to the doctor and it was confirmed that he had an ear infection. We're giving him antibiotics and thankfully he seems to think amoxicillin's delicious. His nose has been a bit runny lately with the colder weather, so he often looks like a miserable mess, but he still has been a happy baby, but maybe a little more whiny than usual.

Next, we've been meaning to post some of his nicknames. We don't know where these really came from, but thought it would be fun to post some of them. They're silly, we know, but we thought we'd post them so we don't forget someday.
* Beebs
* Beeper
* Bubs
* Hootie
* Bubby cat
* Cat
* Mister
* Mister Man
* Kitty cat
* Bishop
* Turkey Dinner

If we've forgotten any, feel free to remind us and I'll get them added.

Also, we got a few pictures of Connor eating one of his new favorite foods, grilled cheese with ham sandwiches. He probably likes pizza more, but he definitely enjoys grilled cheese.

Delicious!


Andrea and I went to our friends' wedding last night. Luke and Alex got married at the Hawthorne House, which is the same place we got married at in 2004. It was our first time back since our big day and the place is as beautiful as we remember. It was a great wedding and it brought back a lot of memories. Thank you Luke for including me in your wedding, it was an honor!


The reception area:


Lastly, a quick video of Connor playing with his ball popper game. It's probably one of his favorites and he gets pretty excited about it in this video.

Happy Halloween!!

Connor had lots of fun at Halloween yesterday! He was a very good sport and stayed in his monkey costume for hours and actually seemed to enjoy it.

Before we went Trick or Treating, we ate chili with Grandma and Grandpa Anders. Connor posed for a cute picture with his "Mummy" right before dinner. His shirt says: "I love my Mummy"


Daddy struggled a little getting the costume on. Mommy came up with a genius idea of putting the monkey feet over Connor's shoes. It was very difficult (Daddy's working hard in the picture) but it was worth it.


Andrea with her little monkey:


The monkey family:


Andrew, Connor and Allison all dressed up:


Connor Trick or Treating with his cousins and Auntie Amanda:


Am I doing it right??

Connor in action

Connor stayed with Uncle Nate and cousins Allison and Andrew this last Friday night and Saturday. We really appreciated them doing that so Daddy could go to his MBA class on Saturday. Andrea went to Springfield with her sisters and mother so Connor needed someone to watch him. Connor had an awesome time, and we'll have to post some pictures soon that Uncle Nate took during the visit.

We've got a few videos in the meantime of Connor in action. They're pretty fun.

One of Connor's favorite games is to get scared by one of us and then run to the other. One of us will go hide and then he'll try to search us out. When we jump out at him he'll scream and run to the other parent. It's probably his favorite game, it never gets old!

Getting his pants scared off:


Another fun game - Spinning:


Connor's gotten to be quite the neat freak. We never taught him, but he's learned from observation that trash goes in the trash can. If he finds something on the ground, he'll pick it up and throw it away. He also throws away his fruit snack wrappers when he's done, and anything else we ask him to throw away. We have to keep an eye on him, he hasn't done it much, but he will sometimes throw away his toys. Hopefully he doesn't "clean up" our keys or anything valuable!

Picking up trash:


Thanks Uncle Nate!!

Connor completes his first official 5k!

This past weekend, the Positivity Gym held a Walk/Run to raise money for the OI foundation. Our neighbors Cameron and Julianne have OI, and we thought it would be a fun event for a great cause.

http://www.positivity-gym.com/index_files/Page939.htm

Connor with Cameron and Julianne:


There were probably between 75-100 people participating, and there were probably around 40 runners. Daddy didn't think he'd be competitive since he was pushing Connor the whole way, but Connor and Daddy finished first! We finished right around 24 minutes and 30 seconds for the race. A bit under an 8 minute pace, which was pretty good for Daddy since it was hilly and he was pushing a 25 pound baby in a 10 pound stroller. Mommy got started a little too fast at first, but got back into her pace eventually and finished in 3rd place for the women.

Connor with Daddy, ready to race:


Connor and Mommy after the race:


Watching the racers finish afterward:


The Vernons, all hot and sweaty after the race:


Winner winner chicken dinner!


Also, Connor's a puzzle master now. He's been working hard on his puzzles and we got him a bunch because he enjoys them. He wasn't exactly in the puzzle mood for this video, but it still shows off some of his mad puzzle skills.

Punkin Patch!!

Today Connor went with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Abby, and cousins Drew and Allison to the Pumpkin Patch! We weren't sure what to expect, but it was more than just a bunch of pumpkins in a field. There were all kinds of animals to feed, rides, playgrounds, slides, and games. Connor had a great time, and he really enjoyed his day with everyone.

Mommy and Connor standing in front of the tractor and hay ride:


You'd think he liked the pumpkins, but he was really interested in the bugs flying around on top of them:


I'm stuck! The pumpkins are eating me!


Feeding some goats:


Wheee!


Happy Halloween Pardner!


Save me from the corn maze!


Thanks for coming and playing with me Abby, Drew, and Allison!