The Latest

I haven't blogged in a while.  November was a busy month full of a vacation, Thanksgiving, and visiting with family and friends.  December so far has been full of morning (all day) sickness, tiredness, and no energy.  Oh, and a little boy who is almost one and ALL OVER THE PLACE.  Here are the highlights from the last couple of months.

After Derek SUCCESSFULLY (woohoo!) completed his most recently exam, we packed up and headed for Lake Tahoe.  We stayed in a cabin that belongs to some family friends.  It was SO relaxing.  We didn't do much.  Derek had a sinus infection and I was really "car sick" even when I wasn't in the car :), so we just hung out and enjoyed family time.

We met our friends Jack and Mary who are living in Reno this year.  Connor got his first "This is the most well-behaved baby I've ever seen" comment from the waiter.  Hopefully the first of many.  And he loves lemons!

Connor's first time "playing" in the snow!

Our friends, the Lehmer's.  We had lunch with them on our drive back and got to thank them for letting us stay in their wonderful cabin. 

Next stop: visiting my friend, Angela.  We were roommates at APU and now look at us with all our boys! :)  It was so fun spending time with her and her family.   

Last stop: spending a couple days in Madera with my brother, sister-in-law, and the kiddos.  Here they are enjoying some Barney together.  Caleb is almost 3, Kylie and Ellie are 1 1/2, and Connor is almost 11 months.  Cousin time!

My brother is serious about his spaghetti.  It takes him about 24 hours to make a batch of sauce.  It's fitting that Uncle Josh gave Connor his very first spaghetti dinner, which he loved!

Thanksgiving is full of traditions.  Here is a family favorite: after peeling about 30 pounds of potatoes on Thanksgiving morning, all of us "kids" (even though most of us are in our 20's) head to Starbucks for holiday drinks before heading to the wonder that is our family Thanksgiving.   

Connor and Nana at Thanksgiving.  Between my mom, Hanna, Laura, and Shawna, I didn't spend much time with Connor on Thanksgiving.  I'm happy to share! 

Grandma and Grandpa Cushman spent a few days with us over Thanksgiving weekend.  Connor had a great time reading books with Grandma.  

Connor very happily sharing his breakfast with Grandpa. 

We found out I was pregnant while we were in Lake Tahoe.  I guess I wasn't really "car sick" after all.  I had my first doctor's appointment earlier this month and was so happy to see the little heartbeat on the ultrasound.  I'm due July 24th, so Connor will become a big brother at 19 months old! 

Our family photo at our church Christmas service.  Next up: Christmas and Connor's 1st birthday! 

Big Boy Dinner

I took a picture of Connor's plate of food tonight.  Years from now this will be a crazy thing to do, but tonight it was very momentous.  He has never had a plate of food before!  Usually I have 4 or 5 little containers of pureed veggies, applesauce, cottage cheese, etc.  His meals haven't resembled "normal" until this week, and tonight was the first night he had exactly what we had: sloppy joe meat, homemade macaroni and cheese, and fresh steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

I have no idea if I'm giving him too much or too little, or if this is even ok for an almost 10-month-old to eat (it's all these first-time-mom jitters).  I figure he'll let me know if it's a bad idea.  Well, I think he liked it!  He didn't eat all the food on his plate (nor did he actually eat it off of his plate), but we're well on our way to regular big boy food!

Milestone Week

This week two big things happened.  Connor cut his first tooth and he became mobile.  We've been waiting on these things for quite some time.  His pedi told us at his 4 month appointment that he was teething, so of course any fussiness for the past 6 months has been due to teething.  Well, apparently not!  His tooth finally arrived a few days before turning 10 months old.  And mobility--ahhh sweet mobility.  I say that now, because for the past 3 months or so I've been slightly anxious about why he seems so content to stay put when babies his age and younger are crawling all around him.  Now he army crawls all over the house, and I can take a deep breath and relax.

Lesson learned: Connor is an individual and he does not go by a book.  He has his own time for doing things.  He's perfectly normal and healthy and just right.  I can simply enjoy each day and each milestone, because time really does go by so quickly.  Pretty soon I'll be running all over the house, chasing a little boy who was once content to sit and take toys out of a bucket one by one.  For now I get to watch him explore everything he can for the first time.  Fun!

Big boy!

Fall Fun

I'm not exactly sure when fall officially starts, but temps have been in the 60's and I've had my pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, so I'll just say it's here.  We had a fun few days, so I thought I'd post some pictures of our little adventures.

Connor and I had our first experience at a pumpkin patch! (Yes, I'm 28 and this is the first time I've been to one).   

He wasn't really interested in the pumpkins, but he thought the dirt and twigs were delicious :) (Please excuse the gross pumpkin remains in the background).

Connor with his friends, Danielle and Noemi.  "Say cheese" doesn't quite work yet. 

Nothing says Fall like the beach! We headed to Laguna and enjoyed the chilly day.  (Although Connor looks like he's ready to go fly fishing). 

We love the beach!

Our trip ended with Mommy getting a mocha from Starbucks.  The perfect end to a great October day at the beach.

Next was a family birthday party.  Connor got to meet Auntie Cousin Hanna for the first time.  He's helping her play a family favorite card game, 31.  Next year he'll have his own hand. :)

He loves his Auntie Cousin Hanna!

A Visit to Chicago

We just got back from a week in Chicago visiting Derek's parents.  Like our visit last March, Derek stayed in the city for the first few days for an exam seminar (next exam is in November).  Connor and I got to stay with his parents, and Derek joined us for the last couple days once his exam seminar ended.  It was a great trip.  Skype is nice, but in person is much better!

Connor did pretty good on the plane, but we were all ready to eat and enjoy the amazing fall weather.

Connor loved spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa.  

Grandma and Connor enjoyed lots of meal times together, and I LOVED having a break from the mess :)

Grandpa discovered one of Connor's favorite things to do

First time he had a "big boy bath" and it definitely took two of us because that kid is squirmy!

On our last day there, Connor got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday with him at Chick Fil A

We brought a mini DVD player in case we needed to distract or amuse Connor (we don't let him watch any TV or movies so we thought the novelty of it would help).  We should know our son by now.  All he needs is books.  As long as he can turn the pages, he could not be happier! 

The Fair

Last Thursday we went to the LA County Fair.  We went last year when I was very pregnant, and what I remember most is how much my feet hurt.  Silly me--I wore the worst shoes.  Note to self: do not wear thin sandals for hours of walking on concrete when 6 months pregnant and HUGE.  This year my feet were great and so was our little guy. 

Connor was a little unsure of the horses

He has a great view from up there!  No wonder he likes it so much!

Maybe this will make Connor NOT afraid of clowns (but aren't all kids (and adults) afraid of clowns?)

We didn't realize that a "small" corn dog was an option, so we got  this "mega" corn dog.  We were mean and let Connor get this close but didn't give him a bite.  He can have all the junk food he wants when he's a grown up! :)

Our family

It looks like Connor had a great time!

Testing

A couple weeks ago I took Connor in to see his pediatrician.  He wasn't due for another visit until his 9 month appointment, but I was concerned about his weight gain (or lack of weight gain) and didn't want to wait a whole month.  He had only gained a few ounces since the previous month.  He weighed in tall and skinny--28" and 15 lbs 9 oz.  The doctor wasn't too concerned, but he did offer to have tests done just to make sure there's nothing wrong that is causing his low weight gain.

We went back the next day and Connor had a blood and urine test and a chest x-ray.  It was so sad!  For the x-ray, he had to sit in this cylinder contraption with his arms straight up.  I couldn't stay in the room.  I'm so glad Derek was there.  I'm pretty sure getting his blood drawn was even less fun for our brave little boy.  I had to hold him on my lap while two medical people did their thing.  Apparently Connor was trying to kick his way free.  The man sitting in front of us holding his arm said he wished he had worn his cup that day.

After a few days of trying not to worry and struggling to trust God with the outcome, the tests came back completely normal.  He is perfectly fine!  I was relieved, and not just for these tests.  I have worried about Connor's weight since he was about 4 months old.  I've questioned my milk supply, stressed about how many minutes he nurses for, etc.  Now I know for sure: Connor is healthy, happy, and skinny! 

In the past two weeks since the tests, he has actually gained almost a pound (major attempts to fatten him up still underway).  While that is huge progress, it's even better knowing that whatever he gains or doesn't gain, he is just fine.

I just love this little guy!