More food please!

Connor is a champ when it comes to eating. Just like his mom, he never refuses a meal and he has liked all the foods he has tried. A favorite has been tofu, here is a video of him eating it and sharing some with Brooklyn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srw7uGULV-o&feature=youtu.be

Beep Beep, backing up!

Connor is super mobile now! This past week he has been scooting and army crawling a ton, but only in the backward direction! He spins around to navigate around the den or the dining room, but then only moves in reverse. He likes to try to find little pieces of junk/dirt on the ground and today started actually licking the ground (the cold tile probably feels good on his tongue). He likes feeling the rugs and practices his pincher grasp by picking up little debris. As hard as we try to keep the floor kept up, he will find anything we leave behind! As least he will have a healthy immune system. Kathy, our nanny, also found him sitting up in the crib after his nap yesterday so he has figured out home to sit up from laying down and he also flops onto his belly from his sitting position, so real crawling is not far behind. All this movements makes for a hungry boy, so he is eating more and more each day (and night) which is throwing off his sleep schedule. But each day is different, so we are just working through it. Connor will be 9 months old Sunday, which is so crazy to me!

We have teeth!

It's official, Connor is growing up. He has a tooth and a second very close to poking through. And he has taken the teething like a champ! I didn't even know he was teething. He has always been a drooler and loves sticking things in his mouth. Today he was slightly fussy and had a bit of a runny nose (a symptom of teething) so I felt his lower gum line and yep-a sharp little tooth on the right bottom front. Wow, he is getting big!

Big boy swings, with his girlfriend Giselle

Connor went on his first "big boy swing" today at the park with his friend, Giselle. He loved it and giggled a lot. If you are having a bad day, just replay this video over and over again!

sleep!

Connor has never been a great sleeper and after we returned from Maui (where he slept in bed with us) and I returned to work, the sleep was really erratic. So we figured since none of us (not even Brooklyn) was well rested we needed to do something to help Connor get rest. So we researched and found that the Ferber method (although controversial) is very effective. The method basically tells you to put the babe in it's crib at night, awake. They then cry a bit to adjust to the new way of falling asleep (on their own, no rocking, singing, bottle or pacifier). Then you go in at different intervals (5 min, 7 min) progressively to reassure them. The first night was the worst, but he only cried for about 40 minutes. Then he slept from 830 until 1 am, we fed him and put him back down and he slept until 6. The next 3 nights in a row he has fallen asleep in his crib, with under 10 min of fussing. And SLEPT ALL NIGHT! Like 730 pm until 6 am. And what's even better, is he is taking 2 regular 1.5 to 2 hr naps. It has been amazing!

The boy loves to eat.

This kid must be a Cox/Sanders baby. He loves to eat and always has. So we started rice cereal (with lots of breast milk added) last night. He loved it. The first couple spoon fulls ran down his chin but he got the hang of it and was slurping it off the spoon after a couple minutes. He was grabbing at the spoon and cried if mommy was to slow to get it to his mouth. He also tried out a sippy cup with a tiny bit of water in it (just for practice). He really liked that too and grabbed both handles.

6 Months Old!

Connor had his 6 month birthday while we were on vacation in Maui. He is a lucky kid. So we went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor said he is doing great. He is 16.5 pounds and 27 inches long. He is 70% on height and close to 50% on weight, so he is a growing boy! He had 3 shots and an oral immunization and mommy went alone with him so we both did great. No tears shed from either of us!
On another note, we got home from Maui and had a message from the nanny, Kathy, calling in sick. She has a fever and has been very sick for the past couple days. So I had to ask my boss to take me off the schedule for today and Steve is staying home to watch Connor tomorrow. Hope she is better soon.

More Maui Pictures

Maui

Connor tagged along with Steve and I for his first big trip. We went to Maui for our friend's Kristen and Ryan's wedding at the Sheraton Maui in Kannapali. It was warm and sunny and Connor loved it. He got to swim in the pool, dip his toes in the ocean and sand, nap under the canopy of the cabana we rented by the pool, and went out to some nice meals (which he only got to observe). We saw whales breaching in the ocean. Daddy got to go golfing, snorkeling, and scuba diving and mommy got a manicure, massage, and did a little shopping. We all got the best sleep we have had in 6 months (thanks to a very hard crib mattress at the hotel, Connor chose to sleep in the king sized bed with mom and dad). Nana and Papa Cox came too and stayed in a timeshare near by in Lahaina and they watched Connor while mom and dad went to the wedding. Connor was a champ on the plane, slept, ate, played, repeat.

Mommy's back to work

I started work last week and things went very smoothly. Thanks to our nanny and some help from Grandma Sanders, Connor was well taken care of. It felt good to be back to work, although I loved coming home to my little man.

Swimming lessons with mommy

In an effort to get ready for swimming in Maui next week, we started swim lessons today! Connor loved it. He smiled most of the time. He has 2 other babies in the class with him.

Connor and Brooklyn

Connor is obsessed with Brooklyn. He follows him with his eyes all around the room. He reaches for him whenever he is within arms shot. Brooklyn likes to lick Connor, gently. Brooklyn is still pretty shy around Connor and is way more interested in the adult holding Connor than the baby himself. I'm sure this will change.

Sick Baby :(

It was inevitable that Connor was going to get sick at some point and on Thursday night it came on. He had a subtle snore when he was sleeping Thursday night and he slept poorly but didn't really have much more than a little congestion. So we headed up to my parents house because Steve was working in the East Bay for the weekend. Steve and I went out to dinner in Walnut Creek and left Connor with his attentive grandma and grandpa for a couple of hours. We came home to a sick little man. He had a barking cough and stuffy nose and he was not happy about it. He had the classic symptoms of croup. So we steamed up the bathroom and sat in the steam for a while and then held him upright to sleep. We saw the pediatrician Saturday morning and she diagnosed him with croup. He got a breathing treatment in the office. She also prescribed an oral steroid. My mom came home with me to help which was awesome. He was acting like his usual smiley self, he just had a hoarse "voice" and croupy cough. He slept poorly Sat night and was up early on Sunday. He had an okay day today, played, ate, napped, smiled, etc. And we will see how the night goes, by the way it's looking now, it's gonna be rough. He is really fighting going to sleep. He doesn't want to be put down so momma and poppa may not sleep much tonight.
Wish us luck and Connor health.

First SNOW!

We went to the snow this weekend for Connor's first time. He wasn't too sure about the cold substance his mommy laid him down on but once Daddy stood him up in it he was cool with it. We stayed at our friend's house (thanks Gilmores) with 2 other babies and 2 other doggies. Brooklyn has a field day. He was truely in his element. He got to run free in the snow and even swam in the lake! Mom and Dad got to ski while we rotated baby watching duty with the Gilmores and Tanisha. It was a great weekend, can't wait to get the little guy his own pair of skis! Maybe next season!

Sun bathing

Yesterday Connor, Brooklyn and I soaked up the sun in the front yard. Connor was in the shade with his summer hat on. It was a gorgeous 75 degree, sunny February afternoon. Makes me remember why I pay so much money to live in California.

Momma's Birthday SLO trip

This past weekend we celebrated my 30th birthday in Avila Beach and San Luis Obispo. We stayed in some rental apartments overlooking the beach of Avila with my best friends and their families. Allison and Eric, Nikki and Tom, Tanisha and Charley (8 months) and Erica, Mike and Jackson (14 months) all joined us. It was a great time. We reminisced about our college days, ate great food, drank great wine, and walked along the ocean. What more could a girl want? Connor had fun playing with Charley and Jackson. I was just being silly and made it a "mustache themed" weekend and got all the gals mustache necklaces and the boys little mustaches that attached to their beer bottles, which conveniently was just the right size for Connor's binky. At Kelsey winery we got to check out their peacocks. Pics to come....

Bathtime

Just had to post this adorable pic of Connor during bathtime. He loves the water.

Me and my buddies

Connor and I have both meet a bunch of new friends through a new mom's group at the hospital. Here are a couple pics of him with his new buds at the support group and at the Los Gatos library.

Hanging in my crib with my homies

I put Connor on his tummy time in the crib with his Boppy this morning to change up the routine. I lined up his favorite stuffed animals and put on some country music and he happily "sang" to all his buddies. It was pretty cute.

Giggling Connor

Probably the cutest thing in the world is a baby giggling. Connor has been giggling a lot but as soon as the camera is on him, he stops suddenly. Here is the best I could get.

Hiking group

One of the many activities that Connor and I have been up to is a weekly hike up the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It parallels highway 17 up to the reservoir. This is the group last week at the top.

Sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa

Last weekend Steve was out of town on a Bachelor party so my mom and dad came down for a sleep over to help me with Connor. Got a great shot of Grandpa and Connor in the morning.

4 months ALREADY?

Well time does fly, and Connor is now 4 months old. I can't believe it. Feels like just yesterday I held him for the first time. He's growing well, the doctor is happy with his progress, and he is hitting his milestones (grabbing at toys, repeating sounds, watching faces, rolling over, holding his head up). He's 25.4 inches long and weighed in at 13.4 lbs. So he getting bigger. He got his shots and was a sleepy man the rest of the day. Here is a shot of him with daddy before the shots. Also, here is his 4 month photo shoot. Mom got the lighting wrong, he's pale but not this pale.

Trip to Wine Country

We felt the urge to "get away" this week so we decieded to invite ourselves for a visit to our good friends, Gio and Robin's place up in Windsor. We got up early Saturday morning and dropped Brooklyn off at the pet hotel for the night, Connor was great and slept like a champ for the drive, we met up with Gio and Robin and spent the day eating yummy food at Willi's seafood, wine tasted at 2 places in downtown Healdsburg (mommy didn't really taste, but did get to sit in the park nursing Connor and enjoyed the nice weather), had amazing maple and bacon cupcakes and lattes at Mustache (a cupcake shop run by 2 men), then had one more wine tasting at Kokomo winery on Dry Creek. We headed back to Gio and Robin's place for dinner, daddy made salmon on wine barrel wooden planks with the potlatch seasoning Gio had left from our wedding favor along with delicious butternut squash and spinach. Connor went down to sleep around 7:30 and we all stayed up playing a game of Monopoly. A very fun, much needed "get away" from the day to day.

Trying to keep busy

If you know me at all, you know I am a busy body. So now that Connor and I have a little more of an understanding/schedule down during the day we have become more and more active. This week we went to the gym, walking with 4 other moms and babies, went to Weight Watchers (Connor's trying to lose some weight, ha!), went shopping, went to the library for storytime, went to yoga, went to new mom's group at the hospital with 15 other friends, went for a hike and coffee with some other new moms and tomorrow we are going to another library and lunch with 23 moms and their babies from Las Madres (a mom's group/playdate group we have joined). I started a Facebook group for some of my friends with kids to coordinate activities and it has been nice to spend time with people who have new kids.

What's new.

Lately we have been focusing on what we will do when I go back to work. It's a very emotional thing for me to be dealing with, not because I hate my job, I love it. But I love being with Connor a lot more. I know realistically that I need to work and I know myself enough to know that this will be in my best interest (and Connors and our families) that I go back to work but still it's hard to think about. So we are interviewing nannies. We looked at a daycare but I pretty much wanted to run away when I heard that one caregiver can have up to 6 kids at once...no thanks. Not to be a brat but my kid needs more attention than that right now. I can see it when he's older but not now. So even if I have to eat ramen noodles for the rest of my life, I want a nice nanny to give Connor the attention I want him to. But the idea of having a nanny worries me too, we have to find someone whom we trust not only with our only child, but our home, our dog, our belongings, etc. So the search is on, we have had 3 interviews so far and 2 coming in the next week. We haven't "fallen" for anyone yet, so we will see if we find our Mary Poppins.

It's been a while...

Hi all, so no recent posts mainly because our computer hard drive crashed. This is particularly devastating to me because Steve and I had planned to buy a backup hard drive literally the week it went out. So now we have lost all our photos of our precious baby and the videos that we have taken of him. All photos pre-baby have been backed up (thanks to Steve), this got done before Connor came after weeks of nagged from his annoying wife). So now we have to ship this hard drive to who knows where and pay $500-1000 to *hopefully* recover our photos/videos. I am pretty bummed about this.

Getting older, more grown up!

Today was the first day that Connor has been left with a "stranger"...don't worry it was a controlled situation. I left Connor (in his carseat for a nap) at my gym daycare while mommy got a much needed workout/ass kicking. He was good, just slept for most of the time. It was a nice "practice" for me because I was in the building. Gotta get used to the idea of having to leave him while I'm at work. We are starting to interview nannies now and going to visit a daycare on Friday. A sad but necessary thing. Makes me sad to think about leaving him, but I know it's whats best for us and for Connor.
We also went to the Los Gatos library today for "Bouncing Babies Storytime". A bunch of babies sitting on moms, dads and nannies laps listening to baby books and singing sounds. Connor liked seeing the other babies and listening to the reader. We went to coffee after with his buddies Giselle and Mariano and their mommies.
This afternoon Connor sat up in his big boy highchair and flipped through a book and played with his toys. I can't believe how big he is getting. Photos to come...