Half a year

Almost a couple weeks ago Conor turned 6 months.  It is a joy everyday to see this little man grow and how much we have all adjusted to the changes as he has become so much bigger, smarter, curious since the day we met him.  This little man is the greatest delight in our life, he makes things better even when I thought he had made it harder seeing his smile and hearing him giggle makes the hardest moment easy to pass to the present joy.

Just wanting to share some of the amazing photos from his 6 month photo shoot with my dear friend Amy.  Perfect time with the decorations up and his need for a nap came too soon as we tried to wrap it up.

Merry Christmas!

Five, what?!

Conor turned 5 months, Five months, FIVE months.  When did this all happen?! Despite my tired eyes and sometimes aching body, the pure exhaustion, where did I go?, who am I? and so many other thoughts and feelings we have now been parents on what will soon be 6 months.
I can count more laughter than tears, because even when I want and have fallen apart I find the gratefulness for this journey and this little man who has stolen me away from the future to focus on the present.  I work really hard to stay in the moment and all too often realize that he will not always be so small and hold in my arms a few more minutes before laying him down.  Also wanting to plan for his future as the constant list maker and planner that I am.  I can constantly wonder what he will become and how I can shape his character, beliefs, morals and so much more but tomorrow is not promised and I want to live for the right now and know that this is my story so far, just be thankful.

These are the moments that make it all worth it…

So strong as he holds himself up in his jumper.

Conor tends to attack me when its time for a feeding. Rather have this than crying any day.

Getting comfortable.

He likes to stand nice and tall, being held between my legs for support.

His first time on a swing.

Had to share this, can't see his whole face but he was slightly giggly as he was being pushed.

A beautiful fall day, and leaves to crunch under us.

Daddy put his onesie on, needless to say this was his second time wearing the sailor outfit and first time that it was put on backwards.

Such a giggly little man, showing off his bib from grandma and grandpa D.

Trying to take more photos of him smiling.

Again with the "kisses," this time I got bit before we started to eat.

Check up at the doctors office, he loves to look and play with mirrors.

First taste of rice cereal, Conor wanted to take the spoon and he did a few times. Learning how to get it all in his tummy and not all over himself.

Sometimes Conor gets put into a basket as to let me get some things done.

 Conor and I spent some relaxation and I had an amazing turkey burger in the hotel while Daddy finished his run in Vegas.

Testing out the high chair at breakfast.

Licking off every last bit of cereal from the spoon.

Pawn Stars, to see in real life what we catch on Tv.

Having fun.

Conor's first flights to Vegas and back went amazing, he is the best wee traveler.

 Back home again, a great getaway.

Growing

Conor turned 4 months old this week, wow.  He has been growing and continues to bring joy and laughter into our home.  He is so nice that for about a month or so now we have been getting 10 or more hours of sleep at night and that is amazing.  Now if we could only figure out a way to be ready for bed just as he goes down, but instead some of the house cleaning gets taken care of, us time and some unwinding occurs before we get beneath the warmth of our blankets.

Last month Conor got to spend some time with his big cousin Tegan, Ama and Apa.  Tia Edina got settled in and we are getting into our groove.

Tegan had fun with Conor but as most 4 year olds the questions kept coming.  "What does Conor eat? why does he not talk? Why does he not walk?"  Because apparently Tegan does not recall that she was not born doing all these things herself.

This is my favorite, as they talk to each other.  Conor is quite the babbler and of course Tegan cannot stop talking.

Tegan also let us in on a secret, "I wish he was a girl."  I asked Tegan why she wanted Conor to be a girl and she simply replied, "So we could be best friends."  Of course I explained that as her cousin Conor could still be her best friend and only male best friend until she got married.

Conor can be quite the character, he likes to lean back and just babble.  He now has 2 teeth making their way up the gum line and he is getting better at not biting me.

Seriously?! Too much.

This was one of Conor's first gifts, Grandma and Grandpa D gifted it to him at Christmas.  He is really enjoying the noises and grabbing onto his various toys.

Yes, we are getting closer to holding our bottles completely.  The less milk in it the easier, all those nutrients weigh a little bit.

Trying to get him to burp one night and I realized how peaceful he was, Conor sure has captured my heart.

We were ready for game day this past weekend.  Conor sure is going to be a football fan, he enjoys the sounds while it is on.  Not sure what sports he will take to most but I am guessing baseball and running might be in his future, football scares me now with concussions but hopefully technology amps it up.

Right now we are looking forward to Halloween as we will get Conor all dressed up and even have a costume change.  Pumpkin carving with his cousins and most of all seeing what other new developments Conor makes as he continues to work on rolling over and exercising his legs.

Back to Life

Back to reality.
I made my way back to the office on Tuesday, before I went on maternity leave I was asked when I thought I would be back in and taking care of my duties.  And I let my amazing bosses know that I planned on being back after Labor Day.  I would have had nearly 3 months at home and I could be back in with time to get things together, including my brain, for some upcoming deadlines and preparing our office for tax season.   Of course, it was hard this week (even with 2 partial days).  I found myself anxious about being away from Conor, ready to see him, worried that he might be acting up, missing some big milestones, but most of all missing him and our time together.  I got hooked.  Hooked on being with Conor and having time to be around the house taking care of things that are now looking daunting as my time is being split in many ways.
My Kid Sister, Edina, is helping us out with Conor and as I called to check in each day I worked and give her my coming home status she was calm and collected.  This made things easier, giving me an update on how he did and what his feedings were like as well as the days activities.  Tummy time, reading, naps and walks occurred while I was away.  He is growing up, my favorite part is coming home and he is all smiles without a care in the world but ready to eat shortly after my arrival.  Which means some us time would be in order and we would have some bonding allowing all the anxiety of leaving him to melt away.  Thank goodness children have no concept of time.
The biggest blessings have occurred in all of this, my amazing office family supports me.  From pregnancy to entering into motherhood.  With Anna taking care of the office all summer and my bosses allowing me so many luxuries from taking the entire summer off to allowing me to transition back in and so much more.  Being able to have my sister  with us to help and knowing that Conor is not only being taken care of but most importantly he is being loved while I am away. 

I am now looking forward to 3 day weekends before tax season comes, such a blessing to be in an amazing work environment but I love spending my free time with Conor and my family at home.  With 4 of us in the house I am ready for our big adventure together in seeing Conor grow up and Edina having her own valuable learning experiences and fun as well.  Next week, full days and a 4 day work week- I might be a little unstable for a couple days as I again adjust to being away on a normal schedule but also getting back into my groove at the office.

We have been working on sitting up, 

still a little wobbly as Conor works on controlling his upper body.

Morning of my first day back at the office.

Just another evening walk, the 3 of us, my sister has joined us for some exercise.

After surviving my first week back at the office and Conor being with his Tia Edina.

Today Conor is now 3 months, so big compared to bringing him home and such a great personality.  Love his smiles and babbles as we continue to learn about each other.

He is getting on a schedule that is nice, a couple naps during the day, an evening nap and 6-7 hours of sleep at night.

Conor also gave both sets of grandparents a Grandparents day card with his little handprint.  

Looking forward to seeing that handprint grow as he continues to send as his signature to family and friends.

3-0

Last year at this time I was so excited to turn Thirty, so excited that life had been such an amazing adventure and even more that I was ready for continued growth.  We knew that we would be on a journey to expand our family at that time, but we did not know it would happen so fast.  Finally my life in pen brought a truth, to have a child between years 29 and 30 of my life.
With Conor so much has changed, there was no party for me to plan and more travel than I thought would occur.  No opportunity to parade in the outfit I bought as a gift to myself a month before and host some of my closest friends as we enjoyed some socializing.  No big to do of fun on such a big moment as I left my 20's and entered into another transition in life.  Last year I was hoping for a cruise but of course here comes the biggest life changer in Conor and parenthood, while it is all wonderful it does change life.  Plans cover our calendar even more as we make time for family and ourselves, summer trips leaving me exhausted there was no way I could pull it all together.
And things changed as my kid sister was in town.  We ended up driving North to take her home while Darren went back to work.  It started off great, dinner after church with my siblings and mom, some great sleep, Conor behaving minus the tummy trouble and then breakfast at one of my favorite spots in town.  The one place that we always seem to choose for birthday breakfast, nothing super special about it but it hits the spot.  Mom brought up shopping and so we ventured once again but with Conor it was not as easy as it once was and before I knew it I gave up and was ready to drive home.  Some fussiness on the way home and just wanting to erase the troubles of the day I decided we would not hold off on birthday dinner and got dolled up.  Conor had a full tummy and out the door we went, as he fell asleep in the car.
Needless to say in the end we ended up with takeout and I spent more time getting ready than we did seated in the restaurant- and I do not take long to get ready.  Ah, yes, parenthood to a little man that must have sensed our desire for some us time and to enjoy a dinner I was very much looking forward to.  On the plus side we did make it through our entire anniversary dinner without so much as a peep from Conor just a little over a week before.  One out of two is not so bad.
After all of this I decided that I get to celebrate years 30 and 31, somehow, someway we will make it happen.

Littlest traveler

Last month we were very busy, we had our first trip to Toronto and Conor is ready to be a jet setter/traveler.  Three passports and we will see so many places together.  But first it was an IndyCar race in Canada.  I will not hide the fact that it made me nervous to be away and be on the road for so long with someone that needs attention, fed every 3 hours, and most of all the idea of Conor being stuck in a carseat for that drive.  But Darren was so helpful in regards to stopping and checking on us as we sat in the backseat.
The weather did not go as planned, while the 70's were actually perfect for the three of us the rain was not pleasant.  Last year it was unbelievably hot, constantly reapplying sunscreen and downing water this year was about keeping dry and warm on Saturday while Friday was beautiful and Sunday went from a dreary day to a warm day in the sun.  We also decided to leave after some lunch at the food trucks and before rain came in for parts of the second race.  Best idea ever, as we got in bed at a decent time and the drive seemed to be easier on everyone.

 The first outfit Conor has outgrown, it was so tight on him and hilarious. Too bad the photo does not show what we experienced that day.

In Canada, Conor and Darren overlooking one of our favorite vineyards.

Conor did really well on his first big trip. Getting a big stretch in.

Per Darren's request I decorated a shirt for Conor to commemorate his first IndyCar races. 

We found a backdrop to take their photos of Conor's big race experience.  Although most of it was spent sleeping and/or being held.

Had to take some cover as it lightly sprinkled, glad we packed his hat.

After all the fun in Toronto we came back home and tried to get back on a normal schedule, for a week at least.  One night Conor was just looking around and wanted to be propped up but next thing I knew he conked out in the seated position.  Just showed how tired he was and finally gave in to sleep.

After less than a week home Darren had a race in Iowa so he thought we should make a stop before packet pickup to Antique Archeology, American Pickers happens to be a show that is watched often by us.  Conor again got to relax most of the trip.

 Darren purchased a brick in support of the Bix a couple years ago and wanted to have Conor take a picture next to it.  I am interested to see him grow from this photo although Darren is thinking one more year of this race to complete his goal of 10 on the course.

Conor's sleeper states, Daddy's MVP, one of Darren's favorite outfits with the bonus of a baseball.  I imagine that one day we will have our very own baseball player, just like daddy.

So at 2 months old Conor has been to both of our  hometowns, family reunion at the Dunes, Canada and Iowa. It has most definitely been a busy summer with only 3 more weeks before I head back to the office.  Hopefully it slows down so we can enjoy every minute of it.