The Adventures of Connor and Abby (Mom and Dad too!): March 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I am sorry, but who is this big boy riding the bike? He looks so much like my little baby boy but he is WAY to big! But, no, this is Connor and he is a big boy! Connor finally decided he wanted a "real" bike. We have been trying to talk him into one for about a year. But at Christmas he said he did not want a bike, he wanted the red trike (which Santa brought him). Well, I think he finally decided he want a big bike because Makena had one. So here it is...Connor's new bike. And he is already riding it so fast. (Yes, he wears a helmet! Not in this picture because we had not gotten him a new one yet and his old one was just too small.) Anyway, he LOVES his new bike. Don't worry, he also loves his red trike. For this little, I mean big, boy there can never be too many bikes. He always has time to ride!

Brother and Sister

This is just a cute picture of Connor and Abby playing together. I love these two precious babies so much!!!!! (Ok, I know they are getting big and are not really babies. But they will always be my babies!)

Grandparents Day

Connor brought his Grandma to school with him for a very special visit. His school had a "Grandparents Day." Connor was so excited! They had so much fun together! First, they played outside which obviously included a lot of bike riding. Connor just loves to ride bikes! They also did a special craft, played inside and got their picture taken together. They also went to chapel which is something his class does each week. I think Pastor Roberts talked a little longer than normal because Connor informed Grandma, "This is taking a long time!" After preschool, we took Grandma to lunch. Connor chose Chinese (he loves Chinese food!). Then we had ice cream and Grandma helped us plant a few more flowers in our garden. It was a very special day and Connor was very lucky to be able to spend it with his Grandma whom he loves very much!

Connor and Abby's Garden

We have had so much fun planting our garden this year. Connor was full of ideas on what we should plant. Basically, he believes we live on a farm and can plant a whole field of vegetables and fruit including corn, watermelon, peas, carrots, and pumpkins! Well, seeing as their garden is about 4 x 6, these grand plans were not going to come to fruition. However, we did plant baby carrots, strawberries, sunflowers, snapdragons, pansies, alyssum and geraniums. Connor and Abby were so excited about the whole project. They loved "preparing" the garden space which was very messy and mostly focused on digging and raking dirt and hunting for worms and rocks. They actually helped me plant most everything but I have to say their favorite part is watering the plants. Oh boy they would happily water the plants for hours! (So over watering is obviously a concern!) Abby also likes to water the bird bath but I'm not sure what she is expecting to grow. It was great because Grandma got to help us plant some of our flowers which was very special. Oh and big surprise here...she also got to help us water them! It was so funny because the day we planted everything Connor woke up from his nap and said, "What are we doing this afternoon? Is it time to pick vegetables?" Of course I had to explain it would take a while! We also went to the library and got some fiction and nonfiction books about plants and gardens and Connor is really enjoying reading them. He even insisted on taking a flower book to school to share with his class. He is very interested in the parts of the plant and how they grow. He loves to tell people about plants and recently had a very serious conversation with his friend Christopher over whether a pinto bean they found outside was a bean or (as Connor insisted) a seed. Abby is pointing out flowers all over the place now as well. Every time we go to Connor's preschool, she points to their snapdragons and pansies and "tells" me about them because we have some at home to. It's been a great project and of course they are both very proud of their garden!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

More Fun in the Snow

We had so much fun playing in the snow with Jim, Sara, and Colin! It was a beautiful day and we found a great spot to play (Thanks Lisa!). Connor wanted to do everything he did last time, again. We also took his skis with us so he could ski a little bit more. Connor had a great time sledding and so did Rich. (Good thing he got that Radio Flyer sled he wanted for Christmas when he was little!) This time Abby wanted to sled as well and she thought it was great. After playing for awhile, Abby decided she needed to take her boots and socks off. I know, not the best idea in the snow but there was no stopping her! I had to hold her after she realized how cold the snow was because she still did not want to wear her boots! It was a wonderful day and we are so happy that we were able to share it with Jim, Sara, and Colin! We look forward to many more visits with their family!

Connor and Colin

Our good friends Jim, Sara, and baby Colin came to stay with us so that we could all go up to the snow. Connor just loved Colin! It was so cute to watch him play with him. He was so excited! We had a great time playing with him as well. He is too adorable! It was also a lot of fun to catch up with Jim and Sara! We wish they lived closer so that we could see them more often!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Connor's First Time Skiing

One of the moments Richard has been waiting for since Connor's birth finally arrived this year. We took Connor skiing! Connor was so excited about this trip with Mom and Dad. (Grandma had a special day with Abby at home.) He was just a little ball of excitement when we went to pick up the skis at the store. Then all the way up the mountain he was watching out the window for the snow and eagerly anticipating our day. When we reached Snow Summit it took us forever to get us all ready to ski. By the time we actually got to the slope, Connor's enthusiasm had waned and we were not sure there would be any skiing going on. (OK, I just have to say that this is one of those moments when I thought to myself...Connor is soooo my child! I love skiing but I absolutely hate all the effort involved in actually getting on the slopes!) We coaxed Connor on to the slope to watch Daddy go down the slope a couple of times. Connor thought that was pretty cool. I think Connor was a little afraid of the lift and when we explained that we could just walk up the hill a little bit, he agreed to give it a try. That's all it took! He had a great time going down the hill with Daddy holding on to his little ski backpack leash thing. It was fun to watch him grow in confidence. It was a lot more fun when we realized there was a little conveyor belt we could ride up to go down a small portion of the bunny slope. Connor skied for a good while. We stopped for a late lunch at about 2:00. Connor fell asleep in my lap before Daddy could even get the skis locked up. Rich and I ate some lunch while Connor napped. Then Rich went and skied a little bit while I sat with Connor while he napped. I called Grandma and Grandpa Whitlow and told them all about our day. After Connor woke up, Daddy took him down a few more times while I went to get the car. We all had a great time and I know it was only the first of many ski trips in our future!

Valentine's Day

Here are some pictures of Connor and Abby on Valentine's Day. Notcie Connor had to have his harmonica in the picture! It was really cute because this year Connor decided to make Valentine's cards all on his own accord. He made one for Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, Abby, and Makena. It was very cute to watch him as he made each one and decided (by himself) who they would be for. On Valentine's Day Connor had a special day at preschool and Abby had music class. That night we had a special dinner at home.

Making Cookies with Grandma

This year we made Valentine's cookies with Grandma. Connor and Abby had a lot of fun making and decorating cookies with Grandma. (And even more fun eating them! Abby LOVED the M&M's. She kept saying, "More chocolate please!") They also had a great time playing in the backyard. They rode their bikes and fed the birds. After we finished making the cookies, we went and delivered some to Uncle Gary at his classroom. Connor and Abby had a great time playing in his room. They especially liked his blackboard and whiteboard. Then we went to Grandpa's classroom and delivered some cookies. They were so excited to see Grandpa! We stayed for dinner and went to John's Incredible Pizza Company which is like a Chucky Cheese times 3. We had a great time eating pizza and ice cream in the cartoon room. The room has tv's with cartoons on and it is decorated with a cartoon theme. Then we played games and rode the little rides. Connor really liked the bowling game. He also like the train ride which I have to say was more like a mini roller coaster. It went so fast! I thought he might be scared but we had a great time laughing together during the ride. Abby liked riding the Thomas the Train and the little carousel. It was really sweet because when it was time to turn in our tickets, Connor wanted to get something for himself and something for Abby. He got himself a harmonica (he believes one can never have too many harmonicas!) and a princess wand for Abby. I thought it was very sweet! He was so excited when he gave it to her!

Friends

Check these pictures out! They show our Valentine's fun with Makena, Grace, Christopher, Kendall through the years. (Brody and Camryn are not pictured in any of these :( ) Connor and Abby are so lucky to have such good friends that they have known since birth!

February 2005 Playdate
Look how small they are!