Approaching 8 months!

It's been awhile since my last post; we have been busy as usual! I don't want to jinx myself, but Connor has had a great run of night time sleep!! It has been about a week and 1/2 where he has slept from 8:30-4ish, gotten up to eat, and then gone back to sleep until around 7am! We feel like a whole new family!! We did have one night where he had a bunch of wakings, but it wasn't so bad, especially since we were rested! He has been a little "off" today and I am wondering if yet another tooth is in the midst. He also hasn't been napping as much during the day, so I am thinking maybe that is helping him sleep better at night. Despite not getting much sleep throughout the day, he is still a pretty pleasant baby!

We had a run of great weather this week! Friday we hit temps in the 60s! We were able to go on a bunch of walks with daddy, Liz & Ravi, and Libby & Emily. Connor's great uncle, Dennis, also took him for a stroll or two while he babysat for us last night so that Ryan and I could help Liz celebrate her birthday!

We are getting extremely excited for our upcoming ski trip to Killington, VT. We leave for VT in two weeks! I think we are most nervous about the 8+ hr drive with an 8 month old! We are thinking about making the drive over night. I am sure we will have a lot of pictures to post from that trip!

I have been simply amazed at how much Connor has been getting around on the floor the past week or so. He has been rolling for about a month, but now he can scoot around a little bit and move in a circle to reach a toy if he needs to. He isn't crawling yet, but I am sure that is not too far off. I am actually hoping that crawling waits until after our VT trip because I am sure the condo where we are staying is not baby proofed! Speaking of baby proofing, we need to do that.

I mentioned in my last post about how Connor grabs the blinds when he is on his changing table. Well, no amount of no-nos were getting him to stop so we decided to rearrange his nursery! ha ha. He now claws at the wall!

Another milestone Connor has recently met is feeding himself! I gave him a "puff" the other day while he was in his highchair to try to keep him content so I could clean up the kitchen. A "puff" looks like a cheerio but dissolves much faster than a cheerio. I really didn't think he would pick it up and put it in his mouth, but he did! The last time we gave him one he couldn't even pick it up off the tray! He only gets the "puff" in his mouth about 1/2 of the time, but that is great! I am amazed by how fast he is growing. Ryan and I have noticed that he has been grabbing the puffs with his left hand; maybe we have a lefty? He has also gotten the hang of using a sippy cup and understands that he needs to tip it up in order to get anything out of it.

New foods Connor has had since my last post: bananas, blueberries, squash... next on the list is broccoli (nervous about this one and that it may cause some tummy aches) and some pear flavored yogurt.

Foods Connor is protesting: any and all things green!!

I am absolutely over my anxiety with Connor sleeping on his tummy -- there is no stopping him from doing it!

One of my friends and fellow bloggers is doing a 30 day blog challenge. I loved the idea so much that I think I am going to try it too! I am going to try my best to do it every day, but that may be impossible the days that I work. So, instead of a 30 day blog challenge, I am going to call it a 30 post blog challenge! Starting tomorrow...

Post 1 - Introduce our family

Post 2 - A habit that you wish you didn't have

Post 3 - Short term goals for this month and why

Post 4 - Someone you want to switch lives with for a day and why

Post 5 - Nicknames you have and why you have them

Post 6 - A picture of you now and of last year and how you have changed

Post 7 - What I would find in your bag

Post 8 - A picture of something that makes you happy

Post 9 - Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, excited, mad...

Post 10 - Something you are proud of in the last few days

Post 11 - A picture of somewhere you have been

Post 12 - What you ate today

Post 13 - A moment

Post 14 - Your favorite birthday

Post 15 - Something that upsets you

Post 16 - Something that makes you feel better

Post 17 - Something that makes you cry

Post 18 - Your fears

Post 19 - Your favorite place

Post 20 - Something that you miss

Post 21 - Where you see yourself in 10 years

Post 22 - Favorite vacation memories

Post 23 - A song to match your mood

Post 24 - A TV show you are currently addicted to

Post 25 - Something you don't leave the house without

Post 26 - 15 facts about yourself

Post 27 - Something you could never get tired of doing

Post 28 - Your day in great detail

Post 29 - Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days

Post 30 - One last moment

So there it is.... could be fun! Hopefully Ryan can do it with me, although he's a pretty busy guy with taking classes for his MBA right now.

Until next time!!...

7 months old...and yet another tooth!

Have I mentioned that I really, really dislike the whole teething process??? Connor got tooth #4 this week! He does great during the day (minus the cold symptoms he gets with his teeth), but his night time sleep is greatly interrupted! Last night, he was in bed around 8:30 pm and then was up screaming at 10:30 pm. He also had wakings at 11:30 pm, 1:30 am, and a few others that I cannot remember. The night is a blur. Ryan and I are longing for the night when he starts sleeping better. One or two nights a week, he will have a good stretch of sleep...around 6 hours. On top of the bad nights, he is also an early riser and not the best napper during the day!! He baffles me!! ha ha. We are super happy and lucky that he is so pleasant during the day!

Connor's "thing" this week is clicking his tongue. He does it nonstop! As I write this, I am listening to him over the monitoring clicking away! He just woke up from his nap and is playing by himself in his crib. Every now and then I hear him say da-da and blow raspberries (two more of his favorite things to do right now). He has also decided that he is going to become a tummy sleeper which has given me a little bit of anxiety. The "experts" now say that back sleeping is best for babies. But, I cannot control his rolling. He has become quite mobile lately and has mastered rolling from his back to his belly and from his belly to his back (both left and right ways)!! He can pretty much get wherever he wants. I think crawling is probably right around the corner. I just mentioned he likes to blow raspberries...the kid is phenomenal at it!! He can really blow some good raspberries!! :) In addition to all of that, Connor has also found his hair and learned how to splash with his arms and legs in the bath tub! The past few days he has been pulling his hair and wincing when he does it, yet he continues to do it again and again!

Connor turned 7 months old last Thursday -- where has the time gone?? He is really growing. I swear every day he does something different and new!

Connor is beginning to learn the word 'no'. I know he really doesn't understand right from wrong just yet, and I really don't want one of his first words to be no, but there are a few things he does that definitely warrants a stern no, no, no!!  For instance, with the delightful teething process that we are going through, he likes to bite everything, including my shoulder!! He can bite very hard, and it hurts!! When he does it, I'll tell him no. Sometimes I get a smile back, and other times he'll start to cry like I just broke his heart! He also likes to pull on the blinds while we change his diaper. We naively placed the changing table next to the window!! I try to tell him no when he does it because he really pulls on them hard! I am sure there are many more no, nos to come as he starts to explore a little more.

We have discovered a new place for Connor to play! He loves, loves, loves to sit in the laundry basket with a bunch of toys. He'll sit there for hours!

Connor also went to his first Hershey Bears game!! As you can see below, he was really excited!:)

Well, since this is Valentine's Day month, I guess I'll share the Valentine's Day pictures that I took of Connor a few weeks ago.

That's all for now!

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!!