EEEEKS! CONNOR IS TWO!!!

Okay, I'm a tad late in posting this, but our BABY turned TWO on September 7th!!!! Can you believe it? We're having a hard time....

With this new "age" milestone comes lots of new skill-sets--most importantly, Connor is TALKING--in mini sentences!!!! ;) And, he's singing, too!!! His favorite song to sing is "baht-day to oooh" over and over again. It's so darn cute!!! He LOVES to yell, "Do Buckeyes" very loudly, as well. He can finish my sentences as we read "Goodnight Moon" each night, i.e., In the great green room there was a telephone (or "pone") and a red balloon (or "boon"). We looove this age, and find it so fun to watch this amazing little person develop and become such a little character.

For those of you who we may not talk to on a regular basis, but read our blog, we are happy to announce that we're having another one of these AMAZING little creatures this spring! ;) I am 13 weeks along, with a due date of April 2nd. When we ask Connor if he's having a brother or a sister, he automatically says "broder" (or something to that affect ;), so it will be interesting to see when he/she is revealed at our 20 week ultrasound. I wish we had the patience to wait and find out the gender at the time of delivery, but Tommy and I are not the most patient people, and we're dying to find out what this little one will be!!! And, for the record, will be THRILLED either way (even though Tommy is absolutely convinced it is a boy). All I can say, is if we do have another boy, Mama is going to be in sorry shape, as I'm already surrounded by "mo-mo's" (aka motorcycles), cars, and am being over-ruled when it comes to watching TV at night as Connor and Daddy are all about the Speed Channel.....oye!!!! :) Oh, but the joys these little boys bring.....the Speed Channel is totally worth it!

I'll post a few pics from Connor's party--he loves balloons, as you can see!

VACATION!

We spent another wonderful week at the cabin on the lake in Oscoda, Michigan, our long-time family vacation home! It was sooo relaxing and rejuvenating. The weather was perfect, and we spent many days at the beach (which has a huge playground that Connor LOVED)!

Above are a few pictures....Mom and Dad are still up there, and their camera took most of the shots, so we'll post more later!

It's HOT!!!!

It has been HOT here this week...in the 90's and steamy, muggy, and sticky! ;) Okay, all the Florida readers are rolling their eyes right now, but really--it is hot! I'm sure come November we'll be looking longingly back at this post, wishing for anything that even resembles a heatwave.

Connor has found his own ways to beat the heat....here are some pics to illustrate his new-found source of cool! ;)

STIR CRAZY!!!

Well, since Mommy had her Wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday, poor Connor has had to find some new ways to entertain himself...going to the closet to pull out a new pair of shoes every hour or so seems to be working!!! :) Poor kid--he needs to get outside!

In Our World.... :)

Connor eating OREOS!!!

Funny neighbors, and a gorgeous June sunset!

Well, it's summer in "our world" (and most everyone else's ;). We are loving the sunshine, swimming and the feeling of running around in our diaper..(well, some of us are, at least!!!)

Before my big Wisdom tooth extraction tomorrow (eewww), I figured I'd post a quick update with some new pictures....Connor eating some of Daddy's oreo icecream treat....the neighbor across the street staging a scene from "Deliverance" (or something to that affect :), and the gorgeous sunset from last night!

Love ya'll!!!!

First Pee Pee.......

ON THE POTTY!!!! Woohoo!!! We'll post pix later!!! ;) Now, if we could just get him to do his poopies there! We're working on it!!

Connor and the Puppies!!!!

Last weekend, we took Connor to a dog breeder's to see lab puppies (and King Charles Cavalier Spaniels--the dogs that Grammy and Grandpa have). Anna and Brad were with us, as Brad was interested in checking out the pups. Well, as you can tell from the pics, we were able to skip the "petting zoo" later on--Connor got all of his "pets" in, here! ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

The following is a story I received on-line....too funny! ;)


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the joys of motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car andI am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now, if you have a cat, you know that he is right---their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth. And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's behind.

Hope you all had a wonderful day--we love all of the mama's and grandma's in our life--especially our own! ;)

Lyndsay's Wedding!

My beautiful friend Lyndsay got married last weekend in Asheville, NC, where she and Teah (my other beautiful friend :) are now living! It was a GORGEOUS wedding, and it was so great to spend time with my ladies! Connor and Tommy stayed home so I was without them for three days, but being in the wedding made things extremely busy, so thank you to Grammy and Grandpa for helping out with Connor so we could all have a good time! ;) Congrats Lynds and Stephen--we know your marriage will be full of love, joy, and happiness!!!! Thanks again Teah, for being such a fabulous date!!!! (De and Jess, too! ;) I missed my boys, and was very glad to see them on Sunday evening!

Why Cleaning the House is Not Always a Good Idea...

Well, once again we've proven today why it's not a good idea to attempt to clean the house with a toddler underfoot! Poor Connor--I was changing the sheets in the guest bedroom--he thought it was so much fun to jump on the comforters and pillows--until he bounced right into the nightstand by the bed. Look at the goose egg on this little guy--OUCH! He's somehow still smiling though!!!

Goodbye, Baba Soph--We Love You!

Connor's Great Baba Soph passed away on Wednesday, March 29th. We celebrated her life and cried over her death at calling hours and a funeral service this weekend. The entire family plus many friends and extended family went back to "Baba Soph and Papa Oc's" house after the service, and it was like old times--we talked and laughed, and remembered how many wonderful years and events took place at 331 Pierson Blvd. We were so blessed to have such amazing grandparents and will miss Baba Soph, just like we do Papa Oc., and make sure to appreciate the blessing of Grandma and Grandpa Hauck (Nana and Papa) who live right down the road!

He's No Dummy!

Forget Sledding in the cold winter snow...playing outside on a 70 degree day is a much better choice!!! :) Connor had soooo much fun playing today. He dug in the dirt, played in the sand, ran all around...he had a blast!

We also visited Great Baba Soph this morning and took her outside in the nursing home's courtyard. Connor had a great time entertaining us out there, too...what a day!

Midnight Snack!

Well, we figured out how to open the fridge last night...just hangin' out, thinkin' about havin' a dew....

First *REAL* Haircut!!!

Oh my goodness, my baby's long blonde locks are gone!!! We had uncle Michael come over and give Connor his first hair cut today. Talk about breaking a Mommy's heart! I didn't think it would bother me, but I really had a hard time with it. I know Connor's hair was getting too long and shaggy, but still...what happened to my baby? Here are some pics...I do think it's cute, just will take some getting used to! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day (A Day Late...but just one day :)

(A pic from last year on V-Day, and this year....wow! :)

Happy V-Day to all! Hope everyone got flowers, chocolates, and lots of hugs and kisses! ;) Connor and I got another snow day--so that was fun! His new thing is coloring with markers and colored pencils, so we had lots of fun making Valentines for our family! It's so neat that we can actually do activities together now, and PLAY! I love the baby stage, and I do miss parts of it, but I've been waiting for this kind of interaction!

Love to all!

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!!!

We are getting pelted with snow today! Because it's finally a little bit warmer, I bundled up the boy thinking he might have *fun* sledding today. Connor HATES being bundled up--as you can see from the pictures below! His mittens last on his hands for about 30 seconds! Here he is crying while sledding.....needless to say, we didn't last outside very long! There is so much snow, I was having a hard time pulling him in the sled......maybe we'll try again later, after Daddy gets home! ;)

Out of order, but here are some Halloween pics!

See, this is what happens when you get lazy about updating a blog--I'm just now posting Halloween pics in February! Ha! I promise I"ll post Valentine's Day pics before the 4th of July! :) Here are a few "duckie" pictures. Grandma (Nana) Hauck and Aunt Penny came to visit during Trick-or-Treat...I'll include one of them, too! Jill brought over her kids and they helped pass out candy and walk the neighborhood with us. It was a rainy night, so we didn't last too long!

Sorry for the delay...yikes! I promise I'll be better about this!

My Goodness, it's been awhile!!!!

It's the dead of winter in good old Ohio! We surely haven't updated this for awhile, so I'm not even sure where to begin!

Connor is getting bigger everyday, even though it's been an extremely tough winter dealing with one illness after another. We are all currently recovering from the nasty stomach flu. Hopefully we'll be granted good health for awhile after this...otherwise I think Connor's pediatrician will have to put a plaque on the door of room number 4 in his name! :)

I'll attach a few recent pictures from the last couple of months and try to update this more often!!!

Love to all!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Wow! Connor is a year old!!! Where in the world does the time go??? We had a small party with family to celebrate...surprisingly enough, Connor wasn't too thrilled about the cake! Here are some pics from the little party we had while Auntie Anna and Brad were in town.

Speaking of Anna--she's now a real employee at her advertising firm--not "just" an intern anymore--we're so thrilled for her! Tommy has to go to Chicago on business next week, so hopefully he'll get to see her a little bit. Mom and I are going to visit in a couple of weeks with the little guy, and we can't wait to see Anna in action!

Grandma and Grandpa Hauck have moved into their Newark condo--it's so wonderful to have them so close by. I think they are adjusting pretty well, although Newark doesn't quite have the scenery that gorgeous Naples does...but they definitely have their fill of great grandchildren. :)

We're sorry we've been so bad about keeping this site up to date, but things have been busy as usual around these parts. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the start of fall!!!!

Love,

Liz, Tommy, and Connor