And he's off...

Well I mentioned last weekend that Connor began walking, but the real walking began this weekend!! He had been taking a few steps here and there, but Saturday he woke up and just started walking all over the house!!! We went to a birthday party that morning and off he went. I got a video of it and you can hear a lady cheering him on:


On Sunday we drove to New Braunfels and met MaMaw for lunch at the Gristmill. Connor, as usual, waved and talked to everyone around us and showed his grandma his new moves. We sat outside of Gruene Hall for a little bit while he danced for all the passersby.


Here I come

Look, Ma, flowers

Having a good time with MaMaw

Walking with Daddy

Goodbye kids. I've got to go to work

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

We have had a busy past couple of days. On Friday we took our first family trip to the zoo. The Austin Zoo is not that big, but it was great because it was not crowded, you could see the animals close up and there was a petting zoo. Connor quacked most of the time, but did pick up a couple of new animal sounds along the way.

Then Friday night Connor went swimming for the first time. We had waded in a baby pool and gone to a sprinkler park, but this was his first time to actually get in. Daddy took him all over the pool! I didn't think he'd want to go in, so I didn't bother bringing my camera!! We will re-inact the pool scene again.

Saturday Con-man and I tried out The Little Gym and he was everywhere, laughing the entire time.
Saturday evening we went to a crawfish boil where there were 4 dogs to keep Connor entertained. Connor ended up being the hit of the party and we all had fun watching him talk to the dogs.

But the biggest thing about this weekend was that Connor started walking!! He had been taking a few steps here and a few steps there, but he actually stood up a few times and walked back and forth. Of course he prefers his silly bear crawls because he moves MUCH faster, but I bet by his first birthday he's going to be running! Pictures and (hopefully) video to follow soon.




His favorite animal sound to make--quack quack

One of the new sounds he learned at the zoo is that of a pig.

Fun at Mimi and Papa Jud's

We always enjoy going to Livingston to visit Mimi and Papa Jud. We went last weekend for Jill's wedding reception (from the Key West wedding) and had a great time. One day we visited the Willis farm and saw many animals. There were cows everywhere (Connor moo'd the entire time) chickens, roosters, horses and a new baby colt. Connor had a blast (and Mommy and Mimi had a good time too!)
Of course when we first pulled up we were greeted by Connor's favorite animal, a dog. Here, Julie is attempting to let Connor ride the dog!

This sweet horse followed us around. Thankfully he didn't mind Connor petting his eye!

Back at M &PJ's we set up a little sprinkler in the back yard while Uncle Jason bathed Madi.

We brought out the old wagon that Jason and I used to play with. If you're from Livingston, notice the bumper sticker and you'll realize how old this wagon is!

Getting pulled around the backyard.
Saturday night at the reception.

Key West!!!

A couple of weeks ago Josh and I went to Key West for my best friend's wedding. We had a BLAST and everything was beautiful. I am with Connor 24/7 and this was the first time I had been away. I thought it would be really hard, but it actually wasn't that bad. My parents came to our house to stay with him and they had a great time. I was able to sleep in and do things on MY schedule---the first time in 11 months! We were scheduled to return on Sunday but after issues with our flights, we had to stay in Tampa overnight with only my purse!! Needless to say after that we were definitely ready to return to our little man!

12 -1 =

ELEVEN MONTHS!!! Yes my baby boy is nearly 1 and is more fun everyday. He is still not walking, but he can stand now and has taken a couple of steps. He can reach the door knobs, so I guess that's the next thing we'll be baby proofing. Here are his eleven month photos. I have such a hard time getting him to sit still! (His new favorite toy is a wooden spoon. He takes it everywhere!)
There are SO many funny things he is doing now, but I'll try to highlight the main ones:
--Waves hello and bye bye (and everyday we wave hello to the deer on Daddy's wall)
--Is fascinated with me brushing my teeth. He gets right up to my face and watches ever so closely
--We say "Connor wash your hands" and he rubs his hands around pretending to wash them
--Can turn off the light switch
--When I ask for a kiss he opens his mouth and covers my lips. One only a mother could love!
--When I pick him up I pat him on the back and recently he started hugging me and patting me on the back.
--When I start singing "Twinkle Twinkle" he does the sign for twinkle
--Knows what a duck, kitty cat, cow and dog say...well in his own sounds. He has lots of duck bath toys so as soon as he gets in the bath he starts quacking. See video below (and notice the wooden spoon has not left his hand!)

My BOY

Connor is such a boy! He loves playing with (and eating of course) bugs, dirt, grass, balls, just to name a few. I've pulled several of the rolly polly bugs out of his mouth. Today we were playing in the front yard and he found a wiffle ball (our neighbor plays golf with them so they end up in our yard.) What's the first thing he did with the ball? Put it in his mouth of course. Our neighbors have pebbles on the side of their driveway and Connor loves playing with them. So in order to keep the ball and play in the pebbles, well you can see how he figured it out:
First the ball goes in the mouth Then he takes a nose dive into the pebbles and begins doing snow angels. He was having such a great time getting dirty! This is his tonka trunk that he loves pushing around the house and getting pushed in as well. When he rides, he tightens up his lips every time! Daddy had a softball tournament recently and Connor and I went to watch him play. As you can see, the game wasn't all that exciting!!

Fun with the Babysitters

Josh and I left Thursday morning for Key West (a post on that later) and returned on Monday. It was the first time to leave Connor, but I actually did much better than I thought I would. I did get to sleep in and do things on MY schedule which was nice for a change.
Our wonderful babysitters, Mimi and Papa Jud, came to Leander to watch our little man. They had lots of fun and every time I called to talk to Connor he was going from one toy to the next. He also took much better naps and slept longer with them than he ever does for me!!!
Here are some pictures of them together. Stay tuned for the fun pictures from Key West.