Music Class #1

Dear Conor,

We signed you up for Music Class.  Now, I know you are wondering why Daddy and I seem to always be taking you places and signing you up for activities.  Truth be told its because you enjoy them!  You loved swimming (so much so that you are signed up for the next session) and you love when we sing to you and any toy that has a sound component to it so we thought music class would be a great fall activity.

We are taking your class through the Little Music Maker and we had your first class on Friday, September 7th.  The class is held in Portland so you took your morning nap on the way to class.  You have several friends in class with you which seemed to make you very comfortable with the class right from the start.

When we arrived you went straight to the drum which was in the middle of the circle and your friend Baby C was banging on it.

The music teacher is very nice and she had lots of songs for us Mommies to sing and lots of things for you babies to do!  She had a bucket of music eggs.  They must have little pebbles of sand in them because they make a sandy sound when you shake them.  You participated in that a little bit but what you really wanted to do was EAT the eggs!  You have started teething aggressively again and the poor eggs didn't stand a chance!

Passing out the shaking eggs - Mommies were supposed to shake the eggs to the beat of the music and encourage babies to mimic.

No shaking by you Con-man - just chewing!

Hoarding the eggs from your friends Baby C and B!

After the egg shaking there was a basket of musical instruments brought out for all the babies and Mommies to experiment with.  There were bells, shakers, noise sticks, and so many other things....

maracas and a penguin tambourine were just some of the things in the basket

bells

and a whale clacker!

After the magic basket was put away we danced with silky scarves to different types of music, read a musical story about the Mother Duck and her ducklings, and then it was time for a goodbye song.

Baby G watching Miss Ellie sing the Goodbye song

Conor listening to the Goodbye song

 Of course, we couldn't leave until you had tried playing the guitar - just once!

You seemed to have a great time at music class so I can't wait to take you again!  Daddy is also going to take you on some Fridays so we will both get to experience music class with you!

xoxo
Mommy

A Pickle off the Old Block

Dear Conor -

Somedays I simply don't know what else to do but laugh.  You have been giving me a very difficult time with solid foods.  You just don't seem to want to eat.  You cry and want my food but then when I try to give it to you I get a scrunched up nose and you shake your head.  You refuse to open your mouth for pureed food and anything I put on your high chair tray ends up as a snack on the floor for Hunter.

So, today (9.6.12) I was sitting on the floor playing with you and eating a deli style dill pickle.  I love pickles.  Your Auntie Cathlin loves pickles and so does your Uncle Sean.  As kids we used to eat a jar a week and always wanted the pickles off our parents plates.  I'm not sure about your Uncle Sean anymore but Auntie and I still love us some pickles!  Funny thing is though - when I was pregnant with you I didn't eat that many pickles even though they say all women crave them!

So, back to our day.  I was sitting on the floor just munching on my pickle when your little face popped up in front of mine and the next thing I know your little mouth is closing in on my pickle!  So what's a Mommy to do?  I let you have it!

Going in for the bite

I admit - I was a little shocked when I did not get a sour face from you and you went back in for more pickle.  You simply kept sucking the juice from the pickle and munching a little bit on the core of it.

Yum Yum!

So, there is no doubt about it Conor - you are a pickle off the old block (ha ha ha)!

xoxo
Mommy

Cousin Love

Dear Conor,

While were were on the Cape for Labor Day we went and hung out with Baby Nolan.  He has grown a lot since we last saw him and he even smiles a little bit here and there!

We tried to get some pictures of you and Nolan but you just wanted to give Nolan kisses or crawl away and lay with the few toys that were on the ground!

playing with the toys

Sweet Nolan

Cousins!

Wanting to love on Nolan

Mommy with Conor and Nolan

We stayed and visited with Nolan for a little while and then we all went to Mashpee Commons to eat lunch and look around the stores.  Grandma and Daddy had fun with you at the Pottery Barn store.

I love the basket that they put you in but Daddy said there is no room in our home for it so we had to leave it at the store.

We had a great time visiting our Cape Cod Family and we can't wait to see them again later this month when Great Grandma comes to visit!

xoxo
Mommy

Friends

Dear Conor,

On our way back home from visiting our family we stopped in and saw your good friend Little Gordon.  We didn't have a chance to visit for a super long time but we stayed long enough for the two of you to enjoy some time together both inside and outside.

Little Gordon has some toys that you have never seen before so you really seemed to like playing with them.  He had musical instruments as well as blocks and an activity table that none of your friends have.

Playing Blocks (or eating them)

Little Gordon - 11 months old

Conor - 8 months old

learning to share toys

After playing inside for a little while Little Gordon took us for a walk down to the playground/splash park near his house.  The splash park was closed because all the kids went back to school but the playground was open and we had lots of fun swinging on the swings.

And then of course there are the required photos - I love taking pictures of you and LG every time the two of you get together because several years from now his mommy and I will be able to look back and see how much you grew.

Add caption

I also let you crawl around a bit - or I thought I was letting you but you had other plans - you wanted to get to the Hunter!

You decided that you would walk him back to the car yourself......of course, that was not going to happen but you held onto his leash for a bit at the park until it was time to go.

"walking Hunter"

Next time we go to visit LG we plan to be able to stay longer so that the two of you will have more time together...but anytime with friends is time well spent no matter how short :)

xoxo
Mommy

Beachin' with Auntie Cathlin

Dear Conor,

Labor Day weekend we took a road-trip to go visit Grandma and Grandpa and your Mommy's brothers and sisters.  While we were there Auntie Cathlin invited us to go out on the beach with her and her friends.  Mommy and Auntie used to spend a lot of time on this beach and even slept over in a camper every summer weekend when they were little girls.

We used Grandpa's truck and drove out.  Things have changed a lot since Mommy was a little girl but it was still a lot of fun.  Auntie Cathlin was in seventh heaven because she wasn't sure if you would be able to come but you did!

She and Kayleigh (Auntie Cathlin's best friend so she's kind of an auntie too - Mommy has known her since she was a little girl) played with you and loved on you which allowed Mommy to relax and enjoy the sun!  Mommy was very thankful for that time!

Diggin in the dirt with Kayleigh

Loving on Kayleigh!

Beach Walking with Auntie Cathlin

Salt on the skin and sand between the toes - your a Cape Cod Boy after all

You certainly had a lot of fun at the beach.  So much so that you went to bed a little early and slept "like a baby" for the first few hours :)

A tired Beach baby!

Sandy Neck Beachin' is a ton of fun and I know that it will get a lot more fun when as you get older.  Mommy has many wonderful memories from her time growing up on the beach and she hopes that you will too!

xoxo
Mommy

Family Camp Out

Dear Conor,

On August 29, 2012 we went over to your friend Carter's new house to play with him (and some of your other friends) while his Mommy and Daddy worked on getting the house ready for them to move in!  Carter's Daddy and Uncle painted and his Mommy cleaned. 

Babies B, Conor & Carter

When we got home we were surprised to find that Daddy and Hunter had been busy setting up the Jakan Family Campground!

This was a big surprise for Mommy as she had always wanted to go camping but Daddy wasn't too keen on the idea because he was worried about the people we would have to camp around.  This was a perfect compromise and we would be very close to home in the event that you or Hunter didn't 'camp out' well.

Mommy and Conor ready for camping

To get ready for camping I made sure that you were dressed warm.  I put you in a onesie and long jammies as well as a hat.  I also brought your NorthFace and a sleepy hat outside to ensure that you would be warm enough.

Daddy and Hunter with a little camping snack.

While Mommy and Daddy cooked their dinner Hunter had to go inside because he had never camped before and he was getting a little too close to the fire.  We missed him during our meal but it was for his own safety.  While we were cooking our meal you played with your toys - Daddy brought out the ones that light up so that you could play with them while it got dark.

Playing with toys while camping out......and waiting for it to get dark.

Just because you are so cute!

Daddy & Conor playing at our camp-out!

Loving on Daddy

 Daddy even brought out the Adirondack chairs for us to sit in while we warmed out feet by the fire.  By the time we started resting by the fire it had gotten a little colder so we changed your hat to a warmer one and added your jacket.

Daddy and Conor resting by the fire.

the first Mommy built.

 Little by little it started to get darker and that's when your toys really came to life!  You had so much fun playing with your light-up stacker rings!

Shortly after playing with your light up rings we sat by the fire and just enjoyed our time as a family before we retired into the tent for bed.  We all went to bed at the same time to ensure that you stayed in bed because the tent zipper made a lot of noise and you kept waking up when I moved it (but we had to zip it up to keep the bugs out.

We went to bed around 9:30pm but woke up around 1:30 when Daddy said it felt cold in the air and he was worried about you and Hunter staying warm enough.  I agreed that the tent felt colder than it should so I looked up the temperature on my phone - it had dropped to the low 40s!  While we were dressed warm and you were snuggled up in my sleeping bag with me we decided to play it safe and head inside in case the temperature should drop even lower.

When we got inside I took your jacket and hat off, changed your diaper, and nursed you back to sleep while Daddy grabbed a few things that shouldn't be left outside (like phones and your toys).  You slept until about 5:30am and when I got up with you and looked outside the ground was really damp and it still wasn't that warm outside.  When we watched the morning news it said that we had experienced the coldest night we'd had since early spring and that the sudden cold spell had come as a shock.

Overall, our family camp-out as a lot of fun and I hope that we can do it again this summer - but maybe we will pick a night where it won't get so cold :)

xoxo
Mommy

Iphone Picture fun 8.25.2012

Just a little fun with the iphone!