Avocado

We've been offering Connor solid foods for several months and he is really no interested.  At his 9 month doctor's appointment my doctor said he was doing so well exclusively breastfeeding that we can keep doing it until he's a year old.  That's fine with me because I don't have to deal with making him food, cleaning him up, or dealing with solid poop food.

We do still offer Connor food to see how he likes it and the only thing he seems to like a little is avocado.  I usually offer him some on the tip of my finger and sometimes he will take a couple nibbles before getting bored.  Last Sunday we were eating some quesadillas so we thought we'd give him a couple teaspoons of avocado to taste.  My first mistake was putting it in a bowl.  He didn't get it at all.  I don't know how his instinct is to put everything in his mouth, except what I put in a bowl for him.  Anyway, it was hilarious how he ended up after a few minutes...

Connor Lately

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to in the past couple weeks as we've being hanging out day to day.  The weather has definitely gone from cool to hot and we're all adjusting.  Connor picked the perfect time to go up a size in clothes.  Most of his 6-12 month clothes were winter and his 12-18 months clothes were summer.  He only had about a week where he needed 12-18 months clothes and it was still cold.

 Playing games "with" Daddy.

 "Helping" with the laundry.

 So handsome!

 What are all those things in your mouth Mama?!

Connor thinks the flowers on the trees are pretty cool.

Uncle Henry

Last week was Henry's winter break so he came home and Connor and I went to visit him.  On Wednesday we went to the aquarium together.  I am getting my money's worth from my membership!

 The birds that live in the butterfly room.  I think they're so cool!

 They laid their egg in the middle of the room.

Henry got Connor to crawl under the tank to meet him in the viewing circle.

Trouble

Babies are trouble.  Connor is a little hellion sometimes.  He's really a very good baby overall, but sometimes he can really be trouble.  There's a lot of things around the house that either can't be baby-proofed, or I would rather not baby-proof and teach him not to get into.  It's the teaching part where things get interesting. 

He's really learned how to respond to "not for Connor."  My respond I mean either throwing little hissy fits, ignoring me, or just stopping and looking at me to see if I really mean it.  I try to say "not for Connor" for things that he's not allowed to have and reserve saying "No!" for things that will hurt him or the item he is about to encroach upon.

I don't have a lot of pictures of him being bad because I have to try and stop him!

 Trying really hard to get into the cabinet, no matter how many times I tell him no.  

It guess it's just too fun.

 Connor really wanted the coat hangers and was angry with me for not helping him get them.

Video Time!

I have been absent from Connor's blog for too long now. Little guy has gotten to be quite the handful, so it's hard to find time to update here! I also had some trouble getting my computer to recognize my camera, but finally got it worked out.

I'll get us started off with an always-welcome laughing baby video. I was reading The Very Busy Spider to Connor, and when I got to the part where the rooster says, "Cock-a-doodle-doo," Connor busted out a belly laugh. So we grabbed the camera and mined Connor for giggles.

His laughter is always among my most treasured things.

Up next we have a demonstration of Connor's awareness of the camera, which is one of the reasons it's so hard to ever catch a great moment on video. As soon as he sees the camera, he tends to quit whatever he's doing and go for it.

This one cracks me up when Connor gets up in my face.

Last but not least we have Connor's directorial debut. This is a camera in the hands of a baby, so those prone to motion sickness may want to skip it.

I really like the moment at about 19 seconds when the camera hits the floor.

I hope everyone enjoys these videos. I'll try not to wait so long to make another post. Actually, I have an idea for one that's in the works right now. It's going to be my first montage video, but don't worry... it will be good!

Being a Mom and Connor's Progress

I don't get that many stretches of time to type and it takes even longer to get my words together.  During this last sentence I had to stop twice to sit with Connor on the floor and play with toys and get him to stop trying to get the speakers on top of the TV.  And after I typed that sentence, he made me hold him for 15 minutes until I could distract him again.  And considering that I forget what I was saying mid-sentence while in conversation with Patrick pretty much hourly, I'm sure it can be forgiven that I haven't posted in so long.

At the beginning of the month Connor had his 9 month appointment.  There were no shots so it went really fast.  Connor is in the 75% for weight, but only the 25% for height!  Little fatty!  The doctor was really happy with how he is doing and even recommended continuing to exclusively breastfeed until he's a year old.  I still let him have tastes of things when he wants to (which is really rare) but he hardly swallows anything. 

Connor is now a champion crawler and has gotten bold enough to follow me around the house, even if he whines pitifully for me to pick him up while he's doing it.  He can cruise around furniture and use it to move around the room, most of the time to get to me, or some forbidden object.  Oh does he love to go for the things he can't have.  We tell him "not for Connor!"  he throws little hissy fits that are both hilarious and a little infuriating.   He has been making some of the funniest sounds and babel sentences, but no progress on "mama" or "dada."  He doesn't clap or really wave yet, but he likes it when we do.

He loves his toys, but likes things like my water bottle, the remotes, a hairbrush, and other mundane items better, or at least equally as much.  We have recently had to keep him from playing with our phones when Patrick narrowly missed Connor deleting all his contacts.  He just loves using his little thumbs to press any sort of button he can.

I will post a selection of pictures soon!

Week in Chattanooga

Last week Patrick went on an 8 day business trip.  I wasn't about to try and take care of my child by myself when I could go to my mom's and have the help of all those grandparents and aunts and uncles!

We got to Chattanooga around dinner time last Sunday night and stayed until Saturday at 4:30 when it was time for Connor's second nap.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons I went over to the Jemison's and Tuesday night Sarah came over to Mom's the spend the night and the next day with us.  Thursday I hung out with Will because my mom  went to North Carolina to be with my brother and his family for the weekend.  Friday I spent the afternoon with a Tate friend Katherine and her 5 month old Sawyer.  Saturday I packed to leave and spent an hour with Ed at the aquarium before heading back to Huntsville.

 Connor and Happah

 Connor loves Chauncey.

 Nana reading to Connor.

 Aunt Sarah giving Connor a bath.

 Getting ready to see the fishes!

 The aquarium is great on a weekday afternoon!

 River otters are one of Patrick's favorites.

 Hanging out with Uncle Will!

 Playdate with Sawyer.

The aquarium with Happah.

I'm so, so thankful Patrick is home now.  I feel like a huge weight is off of my shoulders.  I was so tired.  I had to let Connor cry so many times just to get things done like eating and packing and getting ready for bed.  I hated being a "single" parent.  I hope Patrick doesn't have to go on travel again for a long, long time.