A Ball Pit & New Friend!

Dear Conor,

When you got home from your Baptism there were several packages waiting for you!  Mommy and Daddy had ordered you a new friend and some extra balls for your ball pit.  We opened everything and you had a wonderful time playing before bed.

Your new friend's name is Val.  He is a crib pal and he has a little rattle in his belly.  He had a great time rolling in the ball pit with you.  Your ball pit now has 300 balls in it and its so much fun to see you giggling in it.

We hope that you will have many years of fun in this!

xoxo
Mommy 

Baptism

Dear Conor,

On Sunday, July 22, 2012 you were baptised at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, Massachusetts at 1:00pm.  It was a beautiful day - the kind of perfect Cape Cod day (not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, and the humidity was not a factor). 

Before we went inside to have the actual ceremony we took some pictures outside in front of the blue hydrangeas (which were also the flowers from Mommy and Daddy's wedding).

Mommy and Conor

Mommy and Conor (again)

Our little family

You & Godparents

All your 'parents'

After pictures we went inside for your Ceremony - there were just a few other babies that were baptised with you (one was the baby of Grandpa Adam's friend).

Pouring Water 

 

After Ceremony

 

Us with the Deacon

You had so many people come to your baptism - you are so loved!

xoxo
Mommy

God Parents

Dear Conor,

When you were born your Daddy and I talked and talked and talked about who would be your god parents.  We knew that we wanted to pick two people that would love you and cherish you and would be great role models for you.  So I bet you are wondering who we picked - we picked your Auntie Cathlin and Christopher Case.

Auntie Cathlin

Your Auntie Cathlin is CRAZY fun and loving!  She is your Mommy's oldest little sister and I've loved her since the day she she came home from the hospital.  She is a strong, sweet, friendly, and kind woman.  She loves to laugh and have a good time and is always up for adventures!  She has loved you since she found out that you were coming - though her exact words were "are you sure - or are you just kidding me?"

We asked your Auntie to be your Godmother at your first month birthday celebration.  She was soooo excited that she wasn't sure what to say at first but then she said YES!

Your Auntie was not confirmed when we asked her to be your Godmother but she took classes so that she could be an 'official' godmother to you.  This is the kind of person your auntie is and we LOVE her for it!

We know that your Auntie will love you and take care of you when ever you need her and that is why she makes such a great Auntie and God mother!

Christopher

While a God mother is important - a God father is sometimes even more important because its one of the men in your life that you can trust and to be  not only a role model but a good male role model.  My wish for you is to be the kind of man that holds doors open for women and that you are caring and compassionate while being strong and trustworthy.

Christopher is this kind of man (just ask his wife)!  And we just knew that he would be the perfect choice for you.  We invited Amanda and Chris over for dinner one night and that is when we asked Christopher to be your godfather.  He was so excited and honored to have been asked.

I think your Daddy and I did a great job at picking our your Godparents and now the rest is up to them!

We love you little man!

xoxo
Mommy

Lake Swimming (AGAIN)

Dear Conor,

The weekend of July 20th we traveled to the Cape for your baptism and to spend time with your grandparents and aunts/uncle.  The drive down went well (despite a bit of traffic) but your stay on the Cape was a little difficult because you were going through a growth spurt of some kind and so all you wanted to do was eat (and not sleep).  To take your mind off food we tried to do a lot of different things.  Once of those was going to swim in the lake.  This time your Auntie Cathlin and Sarah joined us and you had a new float made just for relaxing!

Auntie Cathlin

My sweet baby

Swimming with Daddy

You have a true love for the water.  You love to drink it, splash in it, and just be in it!  We are so thankful for a baby who enjoys the water because it has made bath time a fun experience and it has made for great memories this summer!

Unfortunatly, our fun day on the lake ended with your first bug bites :( just in time for your Baptism and pictures....I guess this is what having a boy will be like :)

I love you sweet baby - bug bites and all!

xoxo
Mom

Houston we have LIFT OFF

07.18.2012

You don't get too far but both legs are up and moving!  Time to BABY Proof our home and Hunter!

xoxo
Mommy

Chiro Visits

Dear Conor,

Even though your 6 months check-up shows that your head circumference is back on track we are still taking you to see Dr. Erika because I want to ensure that as you continue to grow it doesn't revert back to flat.  She also continues to work on your right hip area and right neck area where you appear to be "out of whack" as Mommy likes to call it.  Since you have begun inching across the floor both Daddy and I notice that your right leg doesn't do any of the heavy lifting.  So, we continue the cross training every night for you in hopes that we can help train your little body to stay in line!  But, now instead of every week we are going every third and will be moving to once a month shortly!

Daddy has also started seeing Dr. Erika to work on his knees/ankles and so while he gets worked on you and Baby N get to play! The two of you play really nicely together and her extra mobility pushes you to keep trying to crawl!

Playing with Baby N. on 7/17/12

xoxo
Mommy

Auntie Visit

Dear Conor,

On Mom's birthday your Auntie Danielle came up to visit.  We had a great time playing with her at the house but we decided that since it was Mommy's birthday we should go out and do something!  So, after having a so-so meal at the local Mexican restaurant we headed to Old Orchard Beach for some fair food and fun.

Loving on Auntie

I got your nose!

First time at a Mexican Restaurant

Old Orchard Beach can be hit or miss.  Sometimes its too crowded to walk comfortably and other times its so empty its a little spooky (ok - so its usually only like this in the winter!).  On July 15th it was just perfect: not too crowded and not too quiet.  Your Auntie carried you around and you really liked it - you even gave her Chinese Face (this is what your Aunts affectionately call your super excited smiley face).

Right across from this Chinese Food stand was the carousal.  It seems like the right time (being Mommy's birthday and all) for you to experience another first - your first amusement park ride!  So Daddy bought some tickets and we all went on the ride with you!

Mommy and Conor

Mommy. Conor. & Auntie

Daddy and Conor next to the Rooster

We had a great night at OOB.  We got ice cream and fried dough and walked around the amusement park and also up and down the strip.  It was really nice to have your Auntie here to celebrate my birthday and you really enjoyed her company!  Hopefully she comes back to visit soon!

xoxo
Mommy

Friday the 13th (07.13.12)

Dear Conor,

Friday the 13th Party!!!!  Your pal Carter (we will be sad when he moves because right now he lives about 10 minutes away) hosted a fantastic party for this spooky day!

First, when we got to his house we had to walk under a ladder to get to the door.

Then when we got inside we had to avoid his black cat - only to paint your face with black whiskers so that you could take your picture as a black cat!

 After your picture it was time for some finger painting.  This was your first time really painting as the other times you were too little so Mommy would use a brush to put the paint on your hands/feet to make the impressions.

Wanting to touch the paint.

Caught in the act!

Having a good time painting

 Since the playdate took place during lunch I brought you a little bit of avocado.  This was your first time eating out of your high chair and you ate a little bit after seeing some of your friends eat.

After waiting the requisite 20 minutes it was time for some fun in the sun!  All the babies and their Moms (and your Daddy and Carter's Daddy) got into the pool.

Swimming with Daddy

Close-up

Family Pool Picture

This Friday the 13th party was full of fun and friends - but no bad luck!

xoxo
Mommy

Pulling Up 7.9.12

Dear Conor,

You have stared pulling up!  We keep catching you in this position. 

When you are not pulling up onto all fours you are using your arms to pull yourself on your belly to where you want to be.  You are so cute because you will position your arms to your left and pivot on your belly so that you are then facing where you wanted to go.  You aren't quite crawling but this belly pivot has allowed you to be semi-mobile and we can't plan on your staying in one place anymore.

You are such a big boy - pretty soon we will see you moving faster than we want you to be and we will miss the days when you were just learning to sit and you would always be right where we left you :)

xoxo
Mommy

6 Month Check Up

Dear Conor,

On July 9th we went to the doctor's office for your 6 month check-up.  You were scheduled to receive 3 shots and to have your 'stats' taken.  Our doctor had just gotten back, that day in fact, from maternity leave so you saw Dr. Brooks instead.  She is very nice and we have actually seen her once before when you went in for an emergency visit.

We started the visit with your measurements.  I put all your measurement stickers in the back of your baby book so that we can compare as you grow.  This visit your head circumference went back to the track that it had been on when you were born which told us (and your doctor) that your work with Dr. Erika was a success and well worth it!  Your weight has slowed down considerably.  Instead of gaining about a pound a week or every two weeks you are not gaining a pound a month based on this month's weigh check vs. your 4month check.  And even though you have grown a lot taller - you are still pretty compact.  But, there are no worries - you have plenty of time to grow :)

You wore your owl diapers to the doctor's office and she said that your skin looked great as did your ears and eyes!  We visited in the sports room.


Waiting on the Doctor.

After you visited with Dr. Brooks we were told to get you dressed and ready for your shots.  Mommy always plans ahead and I had you wear a romper and Baby Legs so that you could be fully dressed but the nurse could have access to your legs for those horrible shots.  You were scheduled to get 3 and because another child there was having a difficult time with her shots we had to wait a while for the nurse to come in.  We kept you entertained by reading and you decided to busy yourself with ripping up the paper liner on the bench!

You did pretty well with your shots - though you moved your leg very fast and the needle grazed your skin on the last shot causing you to bleed.  The nurse was very upset but we weren't too worried about it.  Next time Mommy will just have to hold your leg a little tighter.  You recovered with a little nursing and some love before getting in the car.  You continued to do well at home.  Shots do not seem to phase you too much though this time you were a little extra fussy the following day but I can't say it was 100% due to shots because you didn't take your naps.....

Our next appointment is in October - I wonder what room we will visit in!

xoxo
Mommy

4th of July Parade & swimming

Dear Conor,

On July 7th (Saturday) you and I went to the Town's 4th of July Parade.  I had never been before so I thought it would be something fun for us to do while Daddy got the last of his work done.

waiting for the parade to start - the sun was right in your eyes

Shriners

Fireman Shriner

Circus Shriner

Savings Bank Bear

Oakhurst Float

Watching the floats go by.

After the parade we went to Grandma and Grandpa Jakan's house to go swimming.  This was your first time in their pool.

Not so sure about this Dad

Mom?

Okay - I like it

And I even stuck my face in!

After swimming you took a nice nap and then you played outside for the first time on the blanket so that Daddy and I could get a little bit of yard work done.

You have had a very busy July so far Conor and it's only the first week!

xoxo
Mommy