Getting Up To Speed On Life

we've had a pretty busy week so far. connor and i had a horrible time missing Caleb while he was at school and at work. but we are glad that caleb has the oppourtunity to go to college and get an education, and we're very glad that he is enjoying it so far. he is taking 16 credits this semester, classes including history, math, english, some computer class, and a Japanese class. he doesn't have any classes on fridays, so we get to spend a bit of time together each week. this last friday Caleb took me apartment hunting like he promised, and we found the perfect place! and its even in our ward boundaries, just down the street from our current apartment. we're very excited. :) we can start moving in just a few weeks!

during our spare time this week, i decided to open Connor's lego set that his west grandparents sent him for christmas, and he was sooooo thilled. its zoo themed and has several little animals and he has been carrying them around the house all weekend! it was too darn cute to not take some pictures of!
 

of course our apartment is trashed, and the floor is littered with toys, but we're just glad to see smiled on our little guy's face. there's still no sign of a tooth, and he has begun to chew on his thumb to help relieve the pain. and he also insists on having his mommy hold him. he cried when i tried to leave him home with daddy to go grocery shopping, and i ended up taking him with me and he was perfectly well behaved the whole time. and at church yesterday Connor crawled all around the primary room during singing and sharing time and distracted nearly the whole room! he was pretty darn proud of himself. and i was very impressed because he usually doesn't want to play on the floor at church and cries til you pick him up. and another thing that is very impressive is that in the last couple days, sometimes when Connor is standing up he lets go of everything and holds himself up all by himself for a few seconds! i keep trying to tell him mommy's not quite ready for that yet, but obviously he is, so i have no choice in the matter. we can't believe how quickly our little man is growing! we're so grateful to have him in our family!

An Update

We have been extremely busy here. Caleb starts school again tomorrow and is super excited! he's been working his butt off at both jobs as well as he had a three day drill this weekend. even though he's really excited to start school i'm kind of dreading it since we won't ever see him on the week days, and he'll still be busy working on the weekends. Connor missed him a ton this weekend. he kept wandering around the apartment saying "aah-Da!" he says that alot around Caleb so we're thinking thats how his says dad. he was pretty grumpy for me all weekend though. and he dialed my phone by himself for the first time. luckily it was his daddy he called and not some stranger or 911! i was brushing my teeth and i kept hearing a voice and i had no clue where it was coming from until i remembered Connor had my phone. just as i suspected, i saw a phone call in progress, and quickly hung up. but as soon as i realized it was Caleb i called him right back, but he said nope he didn't call us, it was Connor who called him. definitely made me laugh!

while Caleb has been busy preparing for school, i've been busy apartment searching. our lease is up again, and its time for us to get a two bedroom. we wanted to upgrade to one before, but the last opportunity we had was while Caleb was still in training, and i did not want to deal with a move without him. i've decided we are NOT staying in these apartments so we're on the hunt for a new one. we're hoping to stay in this area, but i'm also considering moving more towards his school. Caleb is going to go with me to check a few places out this week in what little spare time he has. the search has been keeping me busy during Connor's naptime. other than that, Connor and i don't do much besides clean the apartment, play with toys, watch movies, or walk to the library or the park. Connor is usually very  well behaved, but this last week he has been incredibly clingy and won't let me put him down at all! so we've definitely been doing alot of movie watching. i dont mind too much though :) i think hes working on his teething some more. we're hoping to see a tooth soon!!!

An Energetic Boy

So lately Connor has been VERY mobile. he crawls faster than ever and he goes all over the apartment, and under and behind everything he can find. and he's also been standing really really fast. he's been making me laugh with his up and down and up and down and up and down. but he destroys everything he can get his hands on, and since he can stand now there's a bunch more space than there used to be. he's kinda leaving a path of destruction through the apartment! lol. the other day i was figuring out the video mode on my camera and he kept trying to climb up on the couch to get me. so i decided to take this video for you to see. since we live so far away from all our family and friends i know that no one can see Connor go through these fun stages unless i blog about it. so enjoy!

 

and i caught a quick video of how much he's improved with his crawling! its on my phone though so its definently not as good of quality. but he is getting sooo fast. he loves crawling through the whole apartment. and sometimes i'll chase ofter him and he tries to run away and squeals and laughs and its soooo cute. we sure love this little guy!

Favorite Habits

Connor has recently started doing the cutest things! he's got such a personality now, and i'm enjoying every second of it! i know i talk about the cute things he does all the time, so i figured maybe it would be nice if i showed a few of the fun things :) i only have two pictures today, but its a work in progress to document his cute little habits. i'll have to keep updating as i get them!

connor loves his pacifier all the sudden! but he just wants to hold it in his mouth and chew on it, he doesn't want to suck on it AT ALL. he hasn't taken a pacifier since he was really tiny, he just didn't really like them. he prefers his fingers. for the last few weeks he was obsessively sucking his fingers  and they got all red and chafed. i kept trying to convince him to take a pacifier to give the poor things a break, but he just wants it to be a chew toy. i guess it works as long as it distracts him from his poor fingers! now whenever he sees a pacifier laying around he crawls over to it, grabs it, and shoves it in his mouth and starts chomping. he even tried to stick one in MY mouth haha.


He also does one of the most unique things i've ever seen for a kid his age. he rolls his tongue... but he rolls it to the side. then he chews on it. its kinda hilarious to watch. i've been trying to get a good picture of it to share. i can't roll my tongue at all, so i'm not sure how he got such a talent! i know Caleb can roll his tongue but i have no clue if he can roll it to the side like that. silly little guy!

New Year's Resolutions

i usually don't even bother to do resolutions, because i know i won't remember to do them, but this year i decided it was worth a try. i'm hoing i'll be able to stick to them, and to help with that i decided to tell everyone about them so maybe i'll feel like i actually have to follow up with them. so here they are:

• Make My House A Home - i want to make our apartment cute and homey and i want it to be the kind of place that people can walk into and know its a good place to be. i love nicely decorated homes, but i don't have the skills for it. so i'm going to do my best to learn. i hate that our apartment looks like a bunch of junk just thrown together. i want to learn how to decorate our house in the style i like. but just fyi i'm probably not going to start this goal until after we move. i think theres no sense in redoing everything when i've got to start packing it up soon anyways.
• Cultivate My Talents - i want to spend more time doing things i used to love doing, but always find myself saying i don't have time for anymore. i used to love photography, but quit doing it. i used to love playing the piano, but don't ever practice. i want to improve the talents i already have this year, as well as discover some new ones.
• Learn To Love Exercise - i'm hoping that this year i can learn to make exercising  a consistent part of my life. i hate that i feel like even doing 20 minutes is a horrible chore. tons of people LOVE working out, and do it every single day. i am hoping that i can become one of those people eventually and not have it be a torture for me. i'm sensible enough to know that it won't come automatically, so the goal i'm going to try is to do some sort of activity atleast 5 times a week, even if its short. its hard to do workouts with Connor, so my "exercising" usually isn't much of a workout, its often only 20 minutes or just a long walk. but i'm not pushing my self to loose a certain amount of weight or anything like that, i just want to have healthy habits. thats why i think even small efforts will accomplish the job.
• Catch Up on Scrapbooking - by the end of this year i hope to be caught up on the last two years. i haven't done anything since i scrapped our wedding and i've barely started Connor's book. but i know its just going to keep adding up if i don't start soon. i don't particularly like scrapbooking, but i feel like documenting our lives is something important to do, so i'm hoping if i set the goal it will encourage me to do it.

they may not be the best goals you've ever heard of, but they're the right kind for me. i've got all year to do them, so i'm not going to be beating myself up about not doing them fast enough. i didn't want any goals that would make me feel discouraged. i think all of these goals are ones that i can easily restart if i slack off and still be able to complete the main point without having to feel like a failure. i'm hoping that each goal will help enrich my life and be a good experience for me.

The Ending of a Great Year

i can hardly beleive that tomorrow starts the new year! this year has gone by faster than i thought possible! i figured in honor of that, i'd do a little summary of all the major events that have happened this year for us. i know anyone who got one of our Christmas cards is probably already aware of it all. but i'm including pictures in this one! so don't just pass over it in boredom :) and i might add in fun stuff i didn't even mention before! here goes nothing!

January - Caleb left for Basic Training. Jessica came to stay with me for a few months! She took pictures of us the night before he left.

 


February - My birthday passed without Caleb, and i was sad. but i worked hard and kept busy. and i wrote him a letter every single day.

March - Caleb and i had our first anniversary! i thought it would be miserable, but Caleb secretly had Jessica buy me roses to surprise me with! and she cut out what he wanted her to write on the card so it was in his handwriting :) and i even got a phone call from him :)

April - I got to fly to South Carolina for Caleb's graduation and then drive him to his AIT in Georgia! it was very exciting to see him again!

 

May - probably the most exciting event of our year, CONNOR WAS BORN! my mommy was there with me for it.Caleb came home memorial day weekend to meet him. :)

          

June - My bestest cousin Bethy came to visit me!



July - nothing too eventful happened. except for the fact that i was able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. and that was exciting for me lol. we were anxiously awaiting Caleb's return home.

August - Caleb graduated as a Distinguished Honors Graduate and FINALLY came home!

  

September - We went to Idaho to visit our families and be in my friend's wedding! Caleb's family met Connor for the first time, as well as my siblings and all our grandparents. Connor and his cousin Eli got to meet! (they are only 6 weeks apart!). Caleb was ordained. and we did Connor's baby blessing! it was a VERY busy trip!

Connor's Baby Blessing                                          Eli and Connor
                      

October - Connor and i flew to Idaho for my cousin Bethy's wedding!

Before the Reception                                              On the Airplane

November - Caleb and i went throught the temple for the first time. We were sealed together, and to Connor, for time and all eternity in the Mesa Arizona Temple!

 December - Connor's very first Christmas! we missed our families alot, but were glad to atleast be with eachother.

More pictures of this are on a different blog entry.

      In Christmas PJ's      Looking Cute After Presents

Wishing Everyone A Happy New Year!!!! can't wait to see what's in store for us in 2012! it was a pretty awesome 2011! :)

First Time At The Park

Today i took Connor to the park for the very first time! i had so much fun, but he didn't seem too impressed lol. it was nearly 70 outside and beautiful. he's been teething really bad and was throwing the biggest tantrums today. i wanted to cry cuz everything i tried didn't help. but while we were at the park he didn't cry, so for me it was a nice break. he didn't even make a single sound the whole time.... but he didn't smile at all either. so i was having fun, but i'm not sure what he was having. but, i got some cute pictures to share. he was most interested in playing in the sand, thats when he was the most animated. but i definently enjoyed the slide. but my favorite picture i got has the be the swing one :). such a cute little guy! he's wearing the cute outfit he got for Christmas from his cousin Eli! love him!

I'm thinking i will have to take him to the park alot more often. and hopefully next time he'll enjoy it more! maybe we'll even convince Caleb to come along with us. the park is just down the street from our apartments. super convenient for us, so i've got no excuse not to take him and have some fun! :)