Sunday, April 26, 2009

Spring Weather and a New Camera

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous, which allowed for many photo opportunities - especially since I finally bought my new SLR camera. I've been playing around with different settings, but I have a very long way to go. My subjects are very photogenic, however, and allow me to snap picture after picture with no complaints.

Saturday Connor spent the afternoon walking on Castle Island with Mom and her friend, Jenn. It was jam packed, and thankfully my sister-in-law called a few hours before I went and warned me the cops were turning people away due to lack of parking. Luckily, Jenn lives just a few blocks away, so we parked there and walked down. It was beautiful, and I was very thankful that we were able to get out and enjoy this weather. Connor loves to go for walks, so he was all for it. We didn't tell Bailey where we were going - he loves Castle Island and would be sad. It's too hard to push a stroller and control a very excited pug at the same time. Plus, the mile plus walk in that heat would have made him very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures - I did have my camera, but never took it out.

Sunday we were able to play in the backyard, with Connor's new sandbox. Let me say, SOMEBODY loved it! Digging was a favorite, followed by eating the sand a close second. We then came inside and enjoyed a yummy fruit slushy. Later in the day, Auntie Heather came down to visit since she and Daddy were going to "Backlash" in Providence (wrestling for all those not up on their wrestling terms. I envy you). She had time to play with Connor, and he had a blast.

It was very hot on Sunday, which Connor is not used to, so there were some moments of grumpiness, but I can't say I blame the guy. Didn't we just have the heat on and now it's 80? I'm not complaining, but a few 70 degree days would have been nice to ease into this. I still had all my sweaters in my closet! Luckily, we pulled some shorts out for Connor. They were a little big, though, so he did his best impression of Grampy's Benny Hill impression. It was a great weekend, hopefully we'll have more like it!


Yes, BAILEY was the somebody who enjoyed the sandbox. He absolutely loved it! Who knew!

King of the mountain, I'd say!
Enjoying a yummy popsicle.
Having a blast with Auntie Heather.

Benny Hill!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sunday at Grammy and Grampy's - from Connor's point of View

Since Grammy and Mommy have the same week in April off, we decided to take a trip to Vermont to spend some quality time with my family. It's hard to get time with everyone when you're rushed during a long weekend visit. With five days, there's plenty of time to play!

As usual, Grampy has taken LOTS of pictures, and Mommy steals them for the blog (uh oh - I hope she doesn't get mad that I wrote that!). Mommy, Grammy, Grampy, and Aunt Becky took a small road trip to Colchester and Williston on Saturday so that Mommy and Grampy could look for Mommy's new camera. Then we got to eat lunch at the Longhorn Steakhouse where Uncle Andrew works. He brought me chicken fingers and a SUPER yummy sweet potato. I actually didn't eat any of my chicken fingers because I loved the sweet potato SO much. Everyone said I was very good. Why wouldn't I be??

After lunch we hopped in the stroller and went to Dick's and Best Buy. I liked looking at the TVs with Grammy and Becky while Mommy and Grampy talked cameras. It was fun! Then we drove home. I don't really remember the rest of the afternoon - people claim I fell asleep, but I don't believe a word of it.

Before dinner we walked over to the Elementary school so I could go on the swing and the slides. They are a LOT of fun. I especially liked the slides - there were three of them! Mommy has to go down the slide with me, or else I fall. But that's ok. I secretly think she likes it, too.


Mommy had to help me swing - there were no baby swings for me.


Here we go!


I love this part!


Mommy let me go a little bit by myself.

YAY!!!!

Hmmm... what's this?

What? Time to leave? Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Grampy?

This big orange thing was FUN!


If you put your eyes to it, you can see stuff inside!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Easter

On Easter Sunday, Connor woke up to an Easter basket filled with goodies. The Easter bunny brought him a new "See n' Say", puzzle, and Play-Doh. Connor loved the See n' Say - he immediately knew how to pull the handle to hear the animal sounds. He also loved the empty plastic Easter eggs in his basket as well - they make for fun toys!

For Easter dinner, we headed up to Tewksbury to Mimi and Papa's house. Before dinner the annual tradition of the Estee Easter Egg Hunt continued - only this time it was Joey and Heather versus Paige and Connor. Needless to say, Paige and Connor won 13 eggs to 2. Granted, Paige had an inside scoop on where the eggs were hidden, but still. Connor loved the colorful eggs and kept trying to take them out of the basket. Throwing the eggs was also a lot of fun for him!

After the egg hunt, Connor opened his Easter basket from Mimi and Papa - he was very happy to receive two trucks, which he walked around with for most of the afternoon. For dinner, we had a very yummy dinner of ham, potatoes, and lots of veggies. Connor was most interested in the desserts during a little Ms. Spider to keep him entertained while the adults ate.

Paige and Connor were the highlight of the day as they played after dinner. Connor found Paige's baton, and that was his toy of choice after that (after all, it is like a big, giant stick!). They chased each other around the house, all the while Connor kept holding that baton. Every now and then they would stop and Connor would give Paige a big hug. At one point, we asked Connor to say "Paige" and he DID! It was very clear, and we have an entire family of witnesses. After he said it, we all started clapping. Connor saw this, put down his baton, and began clapping himself. But now every time we say "Paige", he sits and claps! It's very cute. Eventually he'll understand that "Paige" doesn't mean "clap".

All in all we had a wonderful holiday - enjoy the pics!


Connor and his baton.


You can tell by the smile he was having a wonderful time!



Lots of hugs for cousin Paige.


I believe he bonked her on the head with the baton right after this was taken.



Connor's new toy truck.


Connor eyeing the truck in his Easter basket.


Egg hunt! Check out how many eggs they have already!


Connor finding an egg.


Connor's new See n' Say.

Working the toy all by himself.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Weekend Fun

This past weekend Connor was very busy. On Saturday, he helped color eggs with Mommy. He didn't quite know what to do with the stickers, so he tried to eat them. He didn't think they tasted so great, so then he spit them out. The most fun was rolling the egg back and forth on his tray. He also liked to bang the egg against the tray - it makes a funny noise! Good thing they're hard boiled!

Connor eating the stickers.

Deciding which pattern to choose.

Rolling the egg around.


Dropping the egg.


Admiring his work.


On Sunday Connor had a playdate with Layla at the park. As usual, he loved the swings, but he got to go down the big slide with Mommy, and boy did he love that! The laughs that came out of him were too funny. He also loved watching the bigger kids slide as well - he laughed just as hard watching them. When playground time was over, we took a snack break - Layla's Mommy, Jess, made chocolate chip cookies. Connor really loved those! We spent some time just sitting on the grass, too. Connor was able to walk around and not get into mischief. He was quite the ham with Layla, though - he kept "eyeing" her and circling around her like he wanted to fight (think "when you're a jet, you're a jet all the way"). Jess and I were on the ground laughing so hard. I don't know why Connor did this, but it was hysterical. We had a great time!


Photo op.


Connor kept following Layla from behind and would tap her head with his hat. I don't know why he kept doing this - it was like he was walking in line.


Connor after circling Layla like a shark.

Waiting for another kid to come down the slide.

Layla having fun on the swings.

Connor having fun on the swings.