Happy Birthday Jesus!

This year was so fun to continue some of the traditions that we started last year. It is very important to Cole and I that we teach Connor the true meaning of Christmas and that it is not just a time to open presents. One of the ways that we are doing this is by baking a "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake each year with him. This a great way for us to emphasis the importance of the day on his level. What a precious thing to celebrate the ultimate gift from God that was given to us so long ago.

Mixing the ingredients

We made the cupcakes before church, and waited until we got home to decorate them.

We stopped to take one picture before we ate and this was it. :)

Connor enjoyed throwing the sprinkles on the cupcakes!

Admiring his finished product!

Helping himself to a cupcake!

We also carried on the tradition to go back to mom's house after church for chili. We were more than thrilled when we found out that Cole's parents and grandmother were going to be able to join us. It was so fun to have everyone there!

After dinner there was plenty of dessert!

Connor loved playing with Grandmommy. He also really liked his new turtle ornament and book that she brought him back from her recent trip to Hawaii.

Right before we headed home, Connor opened up his present from Cole and I.

More pictures from Christmas morning coming in a few days!

A Few Dance Moves

We have been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately which has given Connor lots of opportunities to share his dance moves. He only has 2 moves that he very rarely strays away from. Just in case you need a few new moves Connor will demonstrate for you. :)

"The Sway"

"The Spin"

Fun at Mimi's House

Johnson City Christmas Lights

Sunday night we invited Nana, Poppa, and Mimi to come see the Christmas lights in Johnson City with us. Cole and I had been a few years ago, but were excited to take Connor since "tree" and "ight" are two of his favorite words to say!

Our family in front of the courthouse

Nana, Connor, and Poppa

Mimi and Connor

We are blessed to live so close to both our families to be able to do fun things like this.

Connor showing his Nana and Mimi some more lights.

Trying to figure out how he was going to get closer to Mickey.

I love this age where Connor will hold our hands everywhere we go!

Having fun with Poppa

Connor enjoyed the lights, but not nearly as much as he enjoyed watching the horses! Every time her heard the carriage bells ring he would start looking for those horses. We are definitely going to have to come back next year and take a carriage ride!

Counting

After many attempts of getting the camera out and trying to get Connor to "preform", I have never managed to get a video of him counting 1-10. Once he sees the camera he gets too distracted and usually starts doing something else. Last night at dinner he started counting his fingers and by the time I ran and got the camera he was on 6. Here is what we got...

"seeks, se, eigh, ni, yay! ..... (1), tu, tree, for, fi, siks"

Fly Through Our Window

I just had to share these adorable videos from a blog I enjoy reading, Fly Through Our Window. It is a cute young family that has a little boy about Connor's age. These videos are of the 2 big sisters reciting Luke 2:1-14 that they had memorized. It is precious and a great reminder of the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Click the link below to see.

Luke 2

Connor's 18 Month Portraits

My photographer just finished Connor's photo gallery and they are AMAZING! If you are looking for a photographer in the Austin area, Robin Winkles is absolutely wonderful!! Connor has had so much fun both times we have been there. She makes the whole experience fun and stress free!

Click on the link below to see them. Once you are there, click on the left picture (The Site), then click on "Client Proofing." Connor's password is: connor1st

Photo Gallery

For a quick look at the photographers favorites click here:

Robin's Favorites

Kate's 1st Birthday

This sweet little girl just celebrated her 1st birthday this past Saturday (12/12). Cole, Connor, and I drove up Saturday morning and were so excited to get to celebrate this special day with Kate.

Amy had lots of cute decorations up everywhere! My pictures don't do it justice... I think I took most of these pictures with a 31 pound little boy on my hip!

Kate was great during the whole party. She even shared some of her cupcake!

Connor had a blast playing with all the toys that Amy brought over. He especially liked playing in the ball pit with his Aunt Amy!

It is hard to believe our sweet niece is already one! Happy Birthday Kate!

Message from the North Pole

Santa sent Connor a message all the way from the North Pole this afternoon. Click here to watch it.

Family Christmas

This past weekend we had 2 events with Cole's extended family. Saturday we headed out to Nana and Poppa's house to celebrate Christmas with Grandmommy (Cole's grandmother). We had a wonderful brunch with everything thing you could imagine to eat! One of the best surprises of the day was that Matt and Lori were able to come with their baby, Will! It was our first time to meet Will and he was just as sweet as can be! His precious smiles can just light up the room. :)

Emily, Will, and Jeanne

Will happy to be in his Grandma's arms!

The kids had lots of fun opening all the gifts.

Grandmommy got Connor a new Cozy Coupe just like his Daddy use to have!

He couldn't wait to get it out of the box!

Sunday after church we all headed to La Carerra for lunch with Pop and Saundra. We weren't sure how long Connor was going to make it after a full weekend and morning at church, but he did great so we were able to join everyone over at Pop's house afterwards for dessert.

During lunch Connor couldn't stop smiling at Betty and when we arrived at Pop's house he followed her around everywhere she went. He definitely found a new best friend! We tried to get Connor to help pass out gifts, but he ended up giving them all to Betty! Thank you, Betty, for keeping are little boy so entertained!

Richard, Cara, and Michael

After opening so more fun gifts we headed home for some much needed rest. We did not even make it out of the neighborhood before Connor was fast asleep!

Cole and I are thankful for a wonderful family and the time that we get to spend with them!

Santa

It seems so hard to believe that this is Connor's 2nd Christmas! Last year when we went to see Santa he was only 6 months old so he was easily distracted and did not mind sitting in his lap. We even managed to get a little smile!

This year was a different story...

He was watching Santa while we waited in line and didn't seem to be scared.

Well, as soon as he realized he was going to sit in his lap he started crying. :( They say that this is pretty typical for this age, but it was still so sad!

Here is the picture we got... Connor managed to stop crying long enough to look at the jingle bell they gave him. You can see Santa's "elves" were trying everything they could to get a smile.

So we might not have gotten a great picture out of the trip, but we definitely made some memories. It was also fun that Connor's cousin Kate, Aunt Amy, Nana, and Mimi where there as well. We tried getting a picture of Connor and Kate together, but you can imagine how sad it was to see them both crying!

To end on a happy note I will leave you with some pictures of my little Santa!

Happy 18 Months Connor!

Can you believe he is already 1 1/2 years old?! This morning when I went to get him out of his crib I told him how big he was and that he was growing up so fast. Then when I picked him up he gave me a sweet hug and said "baby!" Apparently, Connor prefers to be called my "sweet baby" instead of a "big boy." Ha!

Now that Connor is 18 months...

-Height: 36 inches (98%)

-Weight: 31 lbs 3 oz (93%)

-Will hold your hand to lead you where he wants to go

-Helps me clean up. Connor puts all the toys away after bath time and also will put his cup in the sink after he drinks his milk! (This is one of my favorite new things!)

-Wakes up in the morning or naps counting to 10! Not sure what he is thinking, but Cole and I joke he is counting to see how long it will take us to get in there.

-Said A-J of the alphabet by himself! He can say the whole thing if I help him along.

-Curious and into everything!

-Has such a fun sense of humor and almost always has a smile on his face.

-Loves getting to spend time with his Dada

-Knows how to "un-childproof" the doors! Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

-Likes grouping his toys together (especially his cars)

A day has not gone by in the past month where we have not played with a train, truck, or car. Can you tell what this little boy likes to do?

-Learning lots of new words. Here is a short clip of one of the new animal sounds he says... Instead of saying "Hee Haw" he draws out "Haaawwww" every time!

-One of our favorite things to do during the day is read. He still loves these word books and has started "reading" them on his own. It is cute to watch him point to different pictures and whisper the first sounds of what he is looking at!

I saved the best for last! The 3 sweet words that every mom wants to hear...