Connor Walks / 16 month update

Connor took his first steps at 14 months, in early December. He started weekly physical therapy sessions in November because we were concerned his unique crawl could transfer to the way he walked, meaning he'd favor one leg over the other. Thankfully he did really well and after just seven weeks "graduated" from PT. I took this video in December, right after he started taking baby steps. Love the little squeal.



By January he started to prefer walking to crawling. The day he turned 16 months - January 17 - was unusually warm for mid-winter, so we went out on the deck for a little fresh air. It's funny to look back on these pictures where he's using the railing or wall to steady himself, because now I can't slow this kiddo down!











Watching Evan play out in the yard.





Go baby go!

Baby in a Bucket

I started a series of photos of Connor all around his climbing habit. Most of the time this means he's climbing up / on to a particular object, but sometimes it means climbing in. Evan never really was a climber as a baby/toddler, at least not that I recall. Certainly not enough that I had to worry what I was going to pull him down from / off of / out of on any given day hour.

Right after the new year, for some reason this purple bucket was in the middle of the kitchen floor (probably used to drag toys from one room to another). Connor decided it needed to be explored. I love the series of expressions he makes. It was hard to trim the number down to this many to post.



Mmm, toes.







Singing and directing.







He spotted something he wanted.



So we gave it to him.



And...rescued!



I love this little ham.

Christmas Part 2

The weekend after Christmas, Dan's mom and stepdad came down for the weekend to visit. Evan and Connor adore their Nana and Poppy, so they got some extra spoiling as grandkids should. Evan repeatedly asked for one thing in particular for Christmas and Poppy (who can find anything online) totally delivered. The reward is this awesome expression on his face.





That kid just can't get enough of Star Wars and light sabers.

Connor, like most toddlers, enjoyed the gift wrap the most, but that shirt is pretty darn cute too.





And Dan really enjoyed his, I mean, Connor's toy guitar.



Not sure what he thought was in there...





Happy boy, happy grandparents.

Christmas Part 1

If retailers can run Christmas in July specials, then I'm ahead of the game finally posting a Christmas recap in March. We stayed at home this year, which was perfect for the first year in the new house and a much needed break from traveling over the holidays.

I'm really grateful that Evan, for now, doesn't wake us up at 4 am to see what Santa has brought.





Connor got a little more into it this year too.









I have so many pictures of my smiling boy looking at the camera. Six is a magical age.







He even posed with me for a couple photos. <3



Dan takes Evan shopping and lets him pick out a couple gifts. This mug, which he picked for me, just became my new favorite.



Connor, on the other hand, well....





He was diagnosed with the flu two days later, so I'm surprised he was as happy as he was. He did finally come through with a little Merry Christmas wave to the camera. What a great day!