And.....we have a third tooth! Well, at least it is pretty darn close to breaking through. Hopefully this little buggar is the reason that night time has been going so poorly. We had another bad night last night. He was up from 3-4am...wide awake! *sigh* Maybe once it breaks through we will get more sleep???

Connor seems to be really sensitive to the whole teething process. When he got his first 2 around Thanksgiving, he wasn't sleeping, had a runny nose, cough, ect. We are seeing the same pattern this time around as well. I feel bad for him because he has all of those cold symptoms, but he is always happy and smiley!

We have tried two more foods since my last post. We gave him avocado at the end of last week, and that didn't go so well. I am not sure if he didn't like the taste or the texture. I had a very hard time getting it smooth. We tried 3 days of it and then called it quits. We will re-try avocado when he's a little older and not so sensitive to the texture. Yesterday we started green beans. He didn't refuse it, but he didn't gobble it down like he does other foods. I think it is going to be like all of the other times when we have started something new--it just takes a few tries until he warms up to it. Next on the list is bananas!

Ryan & I went skiing/snowboarding at Tussey Mtn last Saturday with my niece, Mariah, and our friends, Joe & Katee. After not skiing for probably 10 years, I am glad to say it was like riding a bike! I forgot how much fun it was, but man....was I sore for a few days afterwards! We have another ski day planned in Feb. Hopefully we can go a third time before our Killington ski trip in March!

We took Connor to the farm show last week. We were not there very long because it was PACKED!! But, he seemed to like it while we were there!

Connor and I trying out the tractor at the farm show!

Connor has a new second cousin that arrived last Saturday! Ryan's cousin, Chelsea, had baby Steven and he weighed in at 6lbs 12 oz and was 19.5 inches long! We were able to visit them in the hospital on Sunday. I can definitely see a resemblance between Connor & Steven from when Connor was brand new! Must be the strong Britt genes showing through!

I am working on some ideas for my next set of pictures that I am going to take of Connor. I want to do Valentines Day pictures! I have everything gathered that I need. I just need to wait for: 1. time and 2. the lighting to be right in our house. If I do it in the morning in Connor's nursery I have enough light that I won't have to use the flash. I am not a fan of the flash! I'll post those pics as soon as I take them and edit them to my liking!

This weekend we are hanging out with our friends Dave, Kristen, & Ethan on Saturday, and then on Sunday we are going to a Bears game with Connor! I hope he likes it and isn't startled by the loud horns & noises. Again, he is sensitive to loud sounds -- what isn't he sensitive to? Some day he is going to get all the girls because of his sensitive side!:)

I've been really excited lately about our new cookbook, The Sneaky Chef. Ryan and I both have intensions of eating healthy, but it doesn't always happen. I heard about this cookbook on the Today Show while I was out on maternity leave and just recently decided to buy it. They have two versions, a grown up version & a kid version. I think both sound delish, but we decided to buy the grown up one first and wait until Connor was eating table foods to buy the kid one. Anyhow, we love it! We've had chicken satay, sweet & sour shrimp, and chicken romano (all with the secret incredients carrots & yams). This week we had fettuccino alfredo with tofu! I can't tell the difference. I really do not care for carrots and yams, and I couldn't taste them one bit! It takes a little prep work; you have puree the veggies, but it is totally worth it! You can do the puree ahead of time and freeze it (same steps we take when making Connor's baby food), so that helps to cut back on the work!

On one last note -- Happy birthday to two of my good friends...Chrissy & Heather!!!

Seriously, Mom?? Not the camera again!

So, in my last post I mentioned how Connor's new thing is to stick out his tongue. I was determined this morning to capture a photo of this; it wasn't that hard! ha ha. Anyhow, I took a ton of pictures, not all of his new trick, so I thought I'd share!

And, here it is!!

And, again!

I caught him in the middle of a cough -- it makes me chuckle!

Chatting away...

As usual, our past week has been busy! Saturday was the last of our Christmas get togethers. The Schell side of our family always celebrates Christmas a week or two after the holiday, which is nice because things have usually died down by then. We spent the day at my grandparent's house with all of my cousins & aunts/uncles and Connor did great! He is starting to not be so "funny" with people he isn't use to seeing on a daily basis. He was so tired after his day with family that he crashed while I was feeding him and he didn't wake up at all when we put him his car seat (first time for that!).

Schell Family Christmas

Connor & Great Grandma Schell

Connor LOVED Laura's hat and necklace!



On Sunday we were able to travel to Arlington, VA to visit our friends Chase & Jenny who just had baby Emma. She is such a sweet little thing! She looked so little beside our giant Connor! She was born 6 weeks early so she was exceptionally little! She was 3 weeks old at our visit.

The boys + Emma!

The girls + Connor!



Chase, Jenny, & Emma

Our upcoming week is just as busy. I was able to grab dinner with a friend last night. Tonight we are going to make a shopping trip for ski supplies! Tomorrow night we are taking Connor to the Farm Show in Harrisburg. And then this weekend we are travelling to State College to brush up on our skiing/snowboarding skills in preparation for our big ski trip to Killington, VT in March! I bet we are going to be super sore after this weekend! 

Connor is still loving his solid foods, although we are starting to see favorites emerge. He definitely loves apples the best; I'd say peas are second and then carrots. We started avocado this morning, and it didn't go well. I had a hard time getting the avocado smooth enough. I don't think he liked the lumpy texture and it made him gag. We might have to save that one for when he is a little older and more use to textures.

He has stopped blowing raspberries and now loves sticking his little tongue out. It is really cute; I hope we don't kick ourselves in the future because we are encouraging it now. We probably will.

Sleep is still a big mystery. He is going down fairly well for naps during the day, but not sleeping well at night. He is getting up 2-3 times per night and usually ends up in our bed (bad habit, I know). I am wondering if he is hungry and if we need to make changes with his feedings.

Well, that's all for now...

The Secret Meeting of the Toys

Welcoming 2011...

Our holiday season was super busy and flew by with the blink of an eye! I think I left off last time as we were getting ready to head to Philly for a weekend getaway! We had a lot of fun on our trip! We went to an aquarium, which Connor loved!! We also went on a carriage ride and visited the Reading Terminal Market where we met up with one of Ryan's college roomates, Mike. Below are some pictures from our trip:

The next thing we knew it was Christmas time! Ryan was able to take off 12 days over the holidays which meant lots of Connor & Daddy time! I had to work 3 of those days so the boys were home by themselves! Ryan and I have started a few holiday traditions since we've been married and also started a few new ones this year! I think the little traditions are going to be what Connor remembers as he grows up. Ryan was excited to start all of the "Santa" traditions this year even though Connor obviously did not understand and will not remember. We put out food for Santa's reindeer and, of course, milk & cookies for Santa. Ryan made sure to put out lots of cookies for himself, I mean Santa to eat. Ha ha. Christmas morning was so nice waking up with my boys and spending the day together.

New Years Eve was nice and relaxing. We had a few friends over for a quiet night. We are all fairly new parents, so we didn't last much past midnight!

What's new with Connor???

- Connor started solid foods on Christmas day! He has had rice cereal & oatmeal cereal, but we just started the "good stuff". He got carrots on Christmas day, which took him quite a few tastes to get used to. He also has had peas and now we are getting ready to start green beans!

- He has also started to sit up by himself!! He loves it when we sit him on the floor and surround him with toys! He can occupy himself for quite awhile.

- Blowing raspberries has been his new thing! It is rather funny to watch!

- He has also been sleeping better the past week or so with one brief waking around 3am! He is also going down for naps & bedtime much easier! All of this is unswaddled, so that is a huge step in the right direction!

We were at the pediatrician's office a week ago for his 6 month check up. He weighed 16lbs 10oz and was 25 3/4 inches long! His height and weight were in the 35th percentile & his head circumference was in the 92nd percentile! Lots of smarts!! ha ha.

January isn't too busy for us, thankfully! This weekend we are going to my grandparents on the Schell side to celebrate a late Christmas. On Sunday, we are going to visit our friends, Chase & Jenny, who had baby Emma a few weeks ago! We are very excited to meet her!!