Saturday, February 19, 2011

Update On Little C

Our Little C is 20 months old!  He's developed into quite a character with a wonderful personality.  He has a mischievous grin and contagious giggle.  He loves to look at pictures of our family and identify his two Pop-pops ("that's Pop-pop, and another Pop-pop...two Pop-pops"), Sam ("that's Sam"), and Jack ("that's baby Sam").  He talks absolutely non-stop from the minute he wakes up until after we put him down at night.  He uses a bunch of phrases including:  I wanna get down, that's dadda/momma, another one, want hots (his word for any type of food), where's Pop-pop, and go bye-bye.  He uses the following words, in addition to numerous other ones that aren't necessarily English:  clock, Jeep, baa, bye-bye, hello, beep, meow, woof woof, hot, firetruck, another one, bus, choo-choo, my/mine, up, down, book, out, quack-quack, mom/momma, pop-pop, dad/dada, chair, baby, shoe, sock, this, blue, soup, zip, cold, coat, trash truck, water, spoon, fish, button, cracker, cheese, yogurt, boat, two, six, bump, and ball.  He still has an insatiable appetite and runs at full-speed all day, stopping only for meals and nap.  He loves to play outside, especially on his swingset and with his Cozy Coupe.  He loves to point out buses and airplanes when we are in the car and count to three when we go over speed bumps.  He is the best thing to ever happen to our family and truly is a blessing from God!  We love our silly little Connor-man!

New trick:  spinning the sippy cup on its end.  Mealtime entertainment at its best!
A rare moment...he's refueling so he's ready to go 100% for the rest of the day! 
His latest interest:  zippers and velcro.  Good thing flight suits have plenty of both - great entertainment! 
Another fun activity:  insisting on carrying both blankets from his crib, his monkey, and his lovey everywhere.  Then he curls up on them in the middle of the floor (for about 2 seconds) and is off and running again! 

Firehouse Subs

Here are some photos of our recent trip to Firehouse Subs for dinner.  Connor just picked up the hat and decided to wear it!
Perfect for peek-a-boo!
He decided that it looked better backwards...

No More Paci!

We are pacifier-free in our house!  For the past 8-9 months, Connor has only been using it to fall asleep for naps and at night and in special circumstances (such as on the airplane).  We decided it was time to get rid of the paci so that he could get used to life without it before his little brother arrives.  On the recommendation of several friends, we first attempted to get him to dislike the paci by cuting off the end of it, but that didn't phase him, and he continued to suck on his mangled paci.  So in the end, cold turkey (starting on January 31st!) worked for us!  It took about 5-6 days of crying at night / naptime and shortened naps, but we are officially paci-free as of February 6th!

Some pictures of the good times Connor spent with his paci...
No more paci's for our big boy!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

A Baby Boy!

A baby boy will be joining our family in July.  I had an ultrasound yesterday, and the results definitely confirmed that I have a boy in my tummy!  He was quite active during the ultrasound, raising his hands to his head, kicking with both feet, and moving his mouth.  All of his measurements look great - he weighs 11 ounces and mesures just about a week ahead of my due date (except for his femur length, which was about 10 days ahead!).  His heartbeat was nice and strong.  I am feeling much better and am hardly nauseaus anymore.  For about the past week, I have been able to feel little kicks, especially in the morning and evening.  It's an amazing feeling!  Chris and I could not be more excited about another little boy joining our family, and we know Connor will be such a great big brother.  We are so thankful that he is growing big and strong; it's an answer to prayer!

The between-the-legs shot confirms that we're having a boy!
Profile picture.
First footprints.

Grandpa Sneigle's Funeral

On January 27th, we traveled to West Virginia for Grandpa Sneigle's funeral.  Although it was a very sad reason for all of us to gather together, it was wonderful to see all of the family on my Mom's side.  Connor really enjoyed playing with Sam and Jack and meeting my cousins Amanda, Chris, and Philip.  We wish we lived closer to all of our family so that we could spend more time with them.

Endless fun on the luggage carts!
Fun with Uncle Chris at lunch.
It's hard to see in this picture due to the glare, but Connor found himself locked in our car immediately following the funeral service.  Thankfully, he was in his car seat and the heat was running...and USAA sent someone to unlock the door within minutes. 
The cousins:  Chris, Philip, Emily, me, and Amanda at dinner following the funeral service.
My mom, her sister Frannie, and her brother Mike. 
The entire Straw family. 
Family time at the mall.
Driving the car! 
Fun at the mall playground with Pop-pop.
Amanda, me, Aunt Frannie, and Emily before lunch at the mall.