And So It Begins

Hello All!

It's been a LONG time since I've updated our blog - mostly, once I started working agian, I didn't seem to have the time (or the will?) to regularly update our blog. But so much has changed in the last year and a half, and I'm actively trying to get caught up, especially since there are so many changes going on in our small but growing family.

Moving Day is Nearly Here
It's semi-official - Andrew was offered a job in the Pittsburgh, PA area back in March, and he's been working since April with periodic trips back to Denver. I worked until the first week of July, and now Connor and I have joined Andrew in our new home in Coraopolis, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh). We're sort of temporarily here, since Connor and I will go back to Denver in a few weeks (current plan is to drive back on August 12th) because we want to have our new baby in Denver.

So we're slowly settling into the new apartment and getting familiar with our new home. We have travelled around a bit, and made it up to Erie, PA to check out Lake Erie the first weekend after we moved, and this past weekend, we went to NJ to see some of my family. Both excursions were a bit of a road trip (2 1/2 hours one way to Erie, 5 1/2-6 hours one way to NJ), but totally worth it. This weekend, we're planning on staying a bit closer to home and are thinking zoo or something local, since we're not too far from another long road trip back to Denver.

We did manage to get our house sold - it was on the market for just over three months when we got the offer, and we closed on July 25th. It worked out really well for us, since we were starting to get nervous. It would be a lie to say I wasn't pretty sad when we were officially moving out of it, but it's really nice to not have to worry about a mortgage payment - and the rest of the things that go along with the house. I'm going to miss my nice kitchen and bathroom, though, and hopefully, it won't be too long before we get to be homeowners again.

Baby Updates
We're almost at 34 weeks now. If you haven't heard, we're having another boy, and no, we do not have a name yet. We get to fight over he same names that we already have, so it's slow going. Plus, it doesn't help that Andrew and I were together less this pregnancy, so we couldn't talk about it as much as we did the first time. But I assure you, we will have a name for our new little bundle of boy joy. :)

Pregnancy this time has not been as "easy," so to speak. The baby has been on my nerves - literally! He's sitting on my sciatic nerve (and some other nerve I can't remember the name of) and so I've been quite uncomfortable since about the third month or so of my pregnancy. Totally different than the first time, when I don't remember much discomfort until I was pretty close to the end. In this way, I feel like I've been pregnant for a LONG time. And it is getting pretty exciting that we're getting close to meeting the little guy who likes to kick me so much.

We have a scheduled C-Section (since I had to have one with Connor) on September 9th. We sort of picked the date - my doctor wanted to do it on the 6th, one week before my due date. But we liked the idea of having the baby on a Friday since you get extra "time off" and it also gives the baby a few extra days of development. Or protection from Connor, if you want to look at it that way. :) Also, we really liked the novelty of having a 10/10 baby (Connor) and a 09/09 baby (new baby). We've already discussed that when the amnesia sets in and we're ready to have baby #3 (which is supposed to be a girl, by the way!), we'll have to make sure we plan for 08/08.

Connor
Connor is almost three now - the time has gone by SO quickly. I can't believe how much he's grown. He speaks very clearly in full sentences and can count up to 15, knows his ABCs, and loves to sing. He even has started making up his own verses of songs - instead of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, it's sometimes the Itsy Bitsy Mama! Or Dada! And Baa Baa Black sheep has "one for the little Connor who lives down the lane." He's incredibly creative and imaginative, and he'll crack me up when he's playing by himself with his Dino's or animals and the things that he says to them.

He's very sensitive to boo boos and always wants to kiss them if he sees a one. He smiles a lot and laughs a ton. He tells me when he doesn't want to go down for a nap that he's "not nappy!", but then falls asleep in minutes anyway. He's pretty picky about having mommy rock him, though - he doesn't like it when Andrew does it, or really, anyone else. I am a little worried about what we'll do when we have the new baby, but I'm sure we'll be okay.

Connor really enjoys being in the water - he can't get enough. He doesn't wear swimmies, or like being in a tube too much, so he pretty much has to be carried or pulled in the water unless it's really shallow. Every day Daddy comes home from work, he asks to go the pool. He'll grab the bag that we usually carry all the towels in and stuff and just start heading for the door. It's pretty hard to say no. :)

We're slowly working on potty training. My original plan was to have him trained by the time the new baby comes, but I don't think we'll be all the way there. But we're getting close! Generally, we do really well after he wakes up. After a successful attempt, he has a "Yeah, Pee Pee in the Potty Oreo Cookie!" He's so funny. We're just trying to get him to understand when he needs to go he needs to tell us. He's been really good about being in the shower or bath and saying he needs to potty, and then he'll get out and go. So we're pretty optimistic that in the next few months, we'll have a completely potty trained Connor.

Above all, it's REALLY REALLY nice to be together again - the first morning he woke up that we were out here, he was like, "Where's Daddy?" He always asked that back in Denver, and I would tell him "Daddy's at work." When I told him that this time, he got a little sad look and said, "Oh - we have to take him to the airport." I tried to explain that Daddy would be home at the end of the day, but I don't think he fully understood until Daddy walked through the door a little after 5. The smile on his face was a mile wide. And then he asked to go to the pool. :)

Pictures
Because I give up trying to fit the pictures into the dialogue above, and there are a lot of pictures over the past several months, I'm just going to post them together at the end and put notes below...

The weekend we drove Andrew out in April - the Rockies just happened to be playing the Pirates at PNC Park and we had to come see them. Fortunately for us, the Rox were still on their winning run, and we got to see them win AND have fireworks!



The really amazing view of deer right outside the corporate apartment Andrew had when he first was out here. Unfortunately, the apartment was near nothing (shopping, food, airport, Andrew's work), so we found one a little more convenient for us. While we no longer have deer just outside the balcony, we do have a pretty spacious 2 Bed/2 Bath 1100+ SF apartment that will suit us for now.











It has become a tradition of sorts to go to a Rockies game for my birthday - unfortunately, the first attempt this year met with a snow-cancelled game. We managed to reschedule at a time when most everyone was able to make it (there were like 17 of us!). And again, the Rockies gave us a huge victory.





My dad took Connor to the Denver Aquarium in June, and it's amazing to see how big Connor is getting! He had a BLAST at the Aquarium, and still talks about how Dziadzia took him to the aquarium and he saw sharks.







The B-17 visited us and the airport had a little plane that Connor was able to "ride" - since he was too little to peddle a la Fred Flintstone, Shannon pushed him around in a circle a couple of times. He LOVED it. We did get to go through the plane (my dad took his second flight as well). After watching Shannon climb into the plane and have to get on all fours before standing up, I wisely decided that I would skip the front and went to the back to see if I could just go through there, where the wonderful staff were very accommodating to my un-suckable in belly and inability to navigate stairs easily.











We took Connor to the Ren Fest, and he had a ton of fun. He really liked the Joust with the horses, rode the butterfly ride and fed some animals - and got his very own sword and shield (which is STILL his favorite thing to play with - even though we have to take it away when he gets too excited and hits things he shouldn't be - like Mommy or Daddy!). He also got to ride an elephant (my mom was the only willing volunteer to ride with him). The day went really well, and I managed okay with the walking and sitting.







June was a long month - Andrew wasn't able to make it home at all, so it was so nice when he finally came home for the 4th of July weekend. He also came home the next weekend for a friend's wedding (between the two of us, by Summer's end, we'll have made it to FIVE weddings). This one was in Nathrop, CO, just outside of Buena Vista. Really pretty. And look at the huge baby belly!






The moving crew after they unpacked the truck in less than a tenth the time it took to load it. I didn't do much because I'm restricted to holding anything heavier than a pillow (officially 20 lbs, but they won't let me hold anything!). But Connor and I instructed them all very nicely. :) My Uncle Jim, his daughters Melissa and Hailey, my Grandpa, and my cousin John and his girlfriend Anne Marie all came up from NJ to help. And Connor rewarded Hailey (he just ADORED her) by attacking with a (foam) sword Shannon bought him from Target for a $1. Later, Uncle Jim - not Connor - broke it.

Just a cute picture of Connor, "hiding" and then hanging out in his chair with his Panda.

At Lake Erie - we went to Beach 11 at Presque Isle State Park - where there was no E Coli scare, and where it was in a sheltered bay and had shallow water. It was PERFECT for Connor, because there were no waves and it was really very calm. And of course, Daddy let Connor "bury" him in the sand. They probably played for at least half an hour, just building stuff and then desroying it, and piling sand on Daddy. And when it came time to take our self portrait, Connor would smile until the last second and then turn in to Andrew. He did this three times before we got a half decent picture. He was so funny.






Notice the waves - this is a different beach we drove around to at the park, on the unsheltered side. After seeing them - and the breakers! - we realized that it was really good that I'd looked a little bit of the park up. Connor would not have lasted very long in these waves - and the water got much deeper pretty fast. It was also really neat to see such a large body of water that wasn't ocean. Kinda different for those of us used to land locked Colorado.





Before Connor passed out in the car, we stopped at this place right outside the park for some ice cream. Connor actually really enjoyed it!






We had a lot of fun in our (short) NJ trip this past weekend. I'm annoyed I didn't take more pictures, but I guess we were having too much fun. :) My grandpa and Andrew took Connor to the stables that border the back of my uncle's property, and Connor hesitantly touched a horse (maybe next time, we'll actually get him on top of one!). And no, we didn't put Connor in the trunk - he climbed in himself. The last one is a picture of my Aunt Barb, Uncle Larry, and Pop Pop with us after dinner at Mastori's.

Looking Forward
Well, that about sums it all up. I will try to be much better about updating, though it will be a little difficult once we do go back to Denver, since my computer is staying in PA. But, hopefully, I'll manage. We'll be back in Denver until probably the end of September, and then we'll be trying to settle back in Coraopolis with a brand new baby, who I'm sure will be as much a handful as his big brother.

See you soon!