Tampa Roadtrip

Two words describe our trip last weekend to Tampa, Florida: Crazy and Fun...

We ventured 480 miles south because I was a bridesmaid in Carissa and Steve's wedding!  They got engaged in September so Keith and I had several months to plan out the logistics of traveling with a month old baby.

Connor was an absolute dream baby for the 4 days we were gone!  He slept the entire way to and from Tampa in the car and slept through most of the major events of the weekend.  It's funny - when you have a baby, you change from the person that thinks "what the heck are those people doing with a baby in a restaurant" to "I'm bringing my baby out and if he screams the whole time, so be it!"  Thankfully, Connor proved me wrong.

Connor had the chance to meet my best friends from college and got spoiled from all of them - he loved being held, fed, and cuddled by new people!

Here are some pictures from our weekend adventure:

Mallorie and Andy Batson with Connor

 

At the Bridal Luncheon with "The Quad!"

Kristen feeding Connor - this kid LOVES to eat!

The girls ready to go to the Rehearsal Dinner

Connor and his girlfriend, Mackenzie Schroeder.  Christina and Erik had her 3 weeks before Connor... how cute are they together!?

The Slagle family ready for the Rehearsal Dinner (new outfit compliments of the Batson's!)

Connor joined the girls on Saturday morning while we got b eautified - he slept through almost the whole morning - he also loved being held by all of the girls!

I just loved this picture of the bridesmaids - cute shirts, huh!?

Connor's first wedding - Keith did a great job keeping him quiet in the back of the sanctuary :) 

Kristen holding Connor and Mackenzie - while getting exceptionally emotional ;) They sure have lots of love from her!

I love our little family :)

Kristen Bornick and Christopher Reyes with Connor at the reception!

Daddy and Connor... baby was exhausted after a long night of partying!

OF COURSE - we had to stop by the University of Florida for Connor's first visit.  I hope and pray that in 18 years, I'm writing a tuition check here (or perhaps he will get a full ride for football??)

Overall, we had a fabulous weekend!  Thanks to Carissa and Steve for including us in their special day!

This upcoming 2 weeks will be a bit crazy for us - Keith's entire family from the Kansas City area will be here so he will get lots of attention and love from them I'm sure!

1 Month

Connor had his one month birthday on Friday, 5/17... we celebrated down in Tampa, where we ventured for my friend's wedding!

Connor has started to sleep a bit more each night which Keith and I are definitely enjoying.  With that, he is awake more during the day which is fun because we can play with him more! It appears that he is starting to be able to see further because he will occasionally smile in response and somewhat connect with you when you talk to him.

Here are some pictures that I took before we left to show his growth progress:

When I get a chance to unpack and download pictures, I'll post about our Tampa adventure...

Mother's Day!

This year, Mother's Day took on a whole new meaning for me (obviously)!  Keith and Connor did a great job making me feel special - as well as friends and family for sending cards, texts, and e-mails... thank you all!

I woke up to possibly the sweetest card of all time.  The card was held up by personalized magnets that Keith had made - what a cute touch! :)  Funny story about the footprint and hand print - on Saturday, I was holding Connor after I came home from a friend's bridal shower and noticed some green on his fingers.  While I was out, Keith went to his parent's house with Connor so I asked what they were doing that he got green on his fingers.  It looked like food coloring so I assumed they were baking something yummy and it got on Connor... Keith went along with my assumption.  It wasn't until the next morning that I put two and two together and realized that daddy and baby did some "crafting" while I was out.

We spent the day at the Slagle's house, where the boys all spoiled Linda and me with gifts and a delicious lunch!  I was very excited to open my gift from Keith - a Keurig coffeemaker!  In the morning, it is very hard to get a cup of coffee from a slow brewing machine.  By the time you get back to the kitchen to pour your coffee, it's cold.  This problem is now solved for me and I can get awesome coffee instantly while heating up Connor's bottle!  I love it so much - in fact, I'm enjoying a cup right now :)

This Mother's Day also made me realize how fortunate we are with our families - Connor has 2 grandmothers and 3 great grandmothers, how lucky he is to have such great women in his life!!

Here are some more pictures from the past few days:

Mattie enjoys joining Connor during this tummy time! 

She also likes to let us know if he has a dirty diaper... 

Connor playing on his activity gym

I tried to capture his smile but he wouldn't keep it for the camera

As for this next week, we have a big adventure coming up!  The three of us are headed down to Tampa, Florida to celebrate my sorority sister Carissa's wedding!  The logistics of taking a baby are absolutely crazy so we're just hoping we remember everything.  I'm sure we will have some interesting stories from that journey... we are driving 450 miles on Thursday and back on Sunday.  I'm hoping there will be a stop at Connor's future college (shhhhhh!), the University of Florida in Gainesville! :)

3 Weeks

Like I said before, I can't believe how fast the past three weeks have gone by!

Connor is definitely a growing boy!  At his pediatrician 2 week follow-up appointment, he weighed in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces... which puts him over his birth weight which is great!  We can tell how quickly he is growing by how his clothes fit (or don't fit)!  He has almost completely outgrown any newborn clothes and has moved into 3 month clothes (wow)!

Stripped down and waiting to be weighed at the pediatrician's office

Moving up to 3 month onesies - thanks Great Grandma and Grandpa Mueller for this one :)

He now eats 4 ounces every 3 hours and is always happiest and most alert after a feeding.  He is settling into a great sleep schedule where he goes to bed at 9, feeds at 12:30 and 4, and is ready to get up and play around 7.  Keith and I have been rotating feeding him pumped milk at night so we can both get more sleep.  We still have him sleeping in his bassinet in our bedroom and will probably be putting him in his crib in his room sometime next week.

Typical daytime nap - mouth wide open

Connor has developed some things he loves and hates over the past week.  He loves swinging in his MamaRoo, being held by anyone, eating, sleeping, going for walks in the neighborhood, tummy time, and falling asleep in his carseat while out and about.  He doesn't like being naked (diaper changes become quite a challenge!) or taking baths.

Nap time in the MamaRoo - I refer to it as his "spaceship"

Saturday was Keith's birthday - celebrations were a bit different this year for us!  We typically have a big Cinco de Mayo/Keith's birthday joined party with Keith's signature homemade margaritas from our Margaritaville machine.  This year, it was a more mellow celebration (obviously, you'd understand if you've ever had one of said margaritas).  We started out the morning by giving Keith his gifts - which included a frame for daddy from baby with their picture in it.  We went out to Keith's new favorite restaurant, Moxie Burger, with Grandma Linda, Grandpa Ed, and Uncle Kyle for lunch - where Connor slept through the whole thing!  No worries friends, we are going to do a delayed Cinco de Mayo party - perhaps Cinco de Julio?!

We also had some more visitors this week - the Rodenroth family came to see Connor and bring us a fabulous home cooked meal that lasted us a few days - yum!  They are huge Dawg fans so naturally we had to put Connor in his Gator onesie!!

I'm wondering if it was a coincidence that y'all wore orange and blue!?  :)

Sorry Mr. R, this was the only picture I had and your eyes were closed :(

2 Weeks

Connor is now 2 weeks old!  We have enjoyed watching him grow over the past 2 weeks and he has started to develop a cute little personality!  He really enjoys "tummy time" and has a strong neck that makes it easier for him.  He also enjoys eating - he now drinks 3 1/2 ounces every 3 hours and is becoming a good sleeper at night, about 4-5 hours for one stretch.  Often times, he drinks so fast that he gets the hiccups shortly after!  During the day, he is more alert between feedings and likes to just sit and stare at whoever is holding him.  We have started to take him on short walks everyday which he seems to like since he falls asleep immediately after being put in his stroller.

Here are some pictures from the past week:

 The Paller's came over to meet Connor - Olivia liked playing with "baby!"

 Lauren with Connor

It was quite the challenge to get a picture of the boys with the kids!

 Tummy Time!

Mattie enjoys tummy time with Connor too!

 Lexi and Connor

Kelli and Connor