Lessons learned!

On Labor Day, I celebrated my 28th birthday! I can't believe how much different this birthday seemed than all of the rest. I feel that I have grown and learned more this past year than in all of my prior years! Of all that I have learned this past year, these are my top five...enjoy!


5) "All of us are tempted. There is no one that can't be broken down, provided it is the right temptation, put in the right spot" ....I learned this lesson over the past year in trying to lose the baby weight! Geez...it is harder than I thought. Poor Conner gets so tired of healthy food that he loses his self-control too! Hey, he got it honestly!
4) "The only true cure to OCD is to have a baby". To my former roommate Lindsay, please note that the pantry is no longer organized with boxes facing out by label nor are the items in ABC order!!!

Yep, I even learned to let him get dirty! What is the fun in having table manners anyway?

3) When you have a child, you finally realize that it is true, your husband will always be a little boy at heart and he will never "grow up"! On this point, I have also realized over the past year that I am very lucky to have Jason as a husand. He is a great husband and a great father and I love watching him with Conner. As you can imagine, they are quite the pair!

2) "Life is a great big maze and God gives you all of the keys you need to find your way around. However, He put the keys to motherhood within the special women in your life."

P.S. Notice that I said "special" women...I have to laugh at all of the unsolicited advice I have received from pure strangers! Oh well, at least I got through all of the tears and can laugh about it now!

1) The hardest lesson I have learned this year...."Working and Stay-at-home are adjectives that describe a mom, in no way do they define her"

I still struggle with this one every day and I think every woman will for eternity. Balance in general is hard, but especially when it comes to the greatest love in your life. Some day, maybe I will have an answer. Until then, I am thankful for an amazing day care situation and for the understanding place where I work which is full of wonderful mentors. Without both, I don't know what I would do!

So that is it, in a nutshell. The other 8734 lessons I have learned do not come with cute pictures!

Fun at the Fair

We went to the State Fair with Toby, Tiffany, Brody, Beckett, Aunt Joni and Harrison on Friday night. We had such a great time riding the rides, feeding the animals and eating the fair food. Conner is definitely in the stage where he wants to get down and walk around. As you know, that is barely possible for adults at the fair, let alone little ones! He did pretty well, for the most part, getting pushed around in his stroller. It helped that Beckett and Harrison were in theirs and that Brody kept him occupied.
Conner went on two rides (total cost $10.00...I couldn't believe it!). He seemed to enjoy them but only when they were moving. He didn't really like waiting for everyone to get buckled in. I love the picture below. With his belly hanging out, he definitely fits right in!Conner and Harrison in their fried food haze! The four boys all had bites of corn, fried cookie dough, fried vegetables, big pretzels (no I am not finished) cheesy beef sticks, corn dogs (still not finished) fried cheese sticks, gyros and ice cream (whew! Total cost: $895.00... or so it seemed!)All of the boys always have a good time playing together and causing trouble together! Here they were eating and throwing the pea gravel...we all decided that we are in big trouble in about 10 years!Conner even rode a pony for the first time! He really enjoyed it and it was so funny to watch his little head bob back and forth. When we bought the ticket they guy asked Jason if Conner had ever rode a pony. Jason says very nonchalantly, "No, just a cow." You should have seen the look on the guys face! What was very neat to see was how comfortable Conner was with all of the animals. When I talk to Miranda during the day, I will hear him in the background and she will say, "He's yelling at the cows again." Well, I had never seen him do it in person but at the fair, it was definitely a sight to see. He yells and talks to them like they are human. I think he may have Crocodile Dundee powers!Here he is with the pig. He kept trying to stick his fingers up its nose so Jason had to hold his hands back.Here he is with the lambs and Harrison and Jason. Conner kept pulling their ears, so again, Jason had to hold his hands back!

I love this picture of Jason and Conner! He is doing so well with walking!

Finally, we found a cow (sort-of!) We had such a great time and enjoyed spending time with the Braeger's and the Forestal's!

Happy 1st Birthday Conner

A year has passed us by so quickly. All day yesterday, Jason kept saying, "Do you remember this time last year?" It is hard to believe how much our "baby" boy has grown over the past year. Conner is walking all around. He tries to run, but quickly falls to the ground. He still babbles all of the time and has started saying "Uh, oh" everytime he drops something (usually on purpose). He is developing quite the personality and loves to spend time with his friends and family.

To celebrate Conner's 1st Birthday, we had his friends and family over for a beach themed party. One of my friends from work made his cake and did a fabulous job!

Yes, we decided to give him the entire beach ball as his cake. He was a little hesitent at first, but enjoyed squishing it through his fingers!


Conner got tons of great gifts for his birthday. He is one lucky boy to have so many people who love and care about him!

It was really neat to get all of the kids together. Harrison and Madelyn came, along with Stone, Owen, Sam, Brody and Beckett. Amazingly, we didn't have any accidents all day long!
But, as you can see, everyone (including Conner) was wiped out by about 3:00! Thank you for being such an important part of Conner's life and for guiding Jason and I throughout the past year!

The Great Outdoors...

Conner has been having a blast this summer. He really enjoys being outside, swimming and picking up sticks! He tries to go fishing with Jason, but gets bored after a few casts...One day though, I know he will be like the rest of the guys and fish for hours...

Conner has also been enjoying the farm when he is at Miranda's. Unfortunately for Miranda, and her garden, Conner also likes to pull up the vegetables. The Butler's had two baby cows that they were bottle feeding. As you can see, Conner was jealous that their bottle was so much bigger than his.

He was unsure of the cows at first, but did not want to leave when it was time to go!

11th Months Old!

Conner turned 11months old on the 4th of July! We had such a great holiday! Jason and I took the week after the 4th off, so it has been wonderful to spend time together and with our families. On the 4th, Conner got to play with Brody, Beckett, Griffen, Harrison and Madelyn! He had such a great time! Getting ready for our "wal-mart spectacular" with Brody, Harrison and Beckett

Harrison and Conner watchng the fireworks

How many kids can fit into the pool? (needless to say, this is the second one we have purchased this summer!)

Conner with his cousins, Harrison and Madelyn! Conner also started walking on July 3rd! It was so funny to see him just stand up and walk off. Over the past week, he has become very brave and is walking about the same amount as he is crawling. Here is cousin Jeremiah giving him some pointers...

We also learned that Conner needs to practice sharing...as you can see below does not know what the word means...And to close the 4th of July holiday, Conner rode into the sunset with Gruncle Bill...

Another great thing about our vacation is that Conner met some of his cousins from Ireland for the first time! Ronan, Maura, Laura, Daniel and Stephen spent the week at Mom and Dad's. We were lucky because they came down to the lake twice and we got to go to the zoo with them. It was so nice to see them as Jason and I have not seen them since August of 2005. We had a wonderful time!

When Irish Eyes are Smiling....Conner with Daniel, Laura and Stephen
Conner watching to see what Laura was doing in front of him on the merry-go-round! We will miss the McNulty's, they were so much fun to be around!

Mr. Personality