We're Back!!!

First off, Happy New Year everyone!! I know we have been MIA for the past couple of months, but we had a lot of stuff happening at the end of 2010 that kept me a little too busy to keep up.

Ever since Connor was just a little peanut in my belly, we knew Florida isn't where we wanted him to grow up. No offense to any of our Floridian friends, but our immediate families are just too far away and I desperately wanted Connor to grow up knowing his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We both starting applying for jobs and I just happened to get lucky. I ended up interviewing a few times with Goodwin Procter and by some miracle they actually offered me a job! I accepted and the packing began. Connor and I made the big move out of Florida on Halloween weekend. We are staying with Uncle Steve, who has literally flipped his life upside down for us! Mark is still in Florida with Mayhem. It's been a tough 8 weeks separated, but we are working on selling the house in Florida, getting a house in MA, and Mark finding a job in Boston. We hope to have it all come together by early Spring, so we can finally all be in one spot again! We have seen Mark at least once a month, so that has helped, but I have to say I have a whole new found respect for single parents! It is not an easy job to do alone and I am looking forward to having my other half back with us soon.

As for Connor, he is doing great!! He has adjusted amazingly well! He is having a good time at his Uncle Steve's place and likes to visit Nana and Grampy downstairs. He has instantly formed a bond with all this cousins, aunts and uncles. It makes me so happy to see him playing with Alex, Britt and Michael and dancing with cousin Kevin in the halls of the house. It is the reason we made the move and I couldn't be happier for him. As for my family, my parents and brother have been visiting a lot and we are all so happy that we are now only a car ride away. We went to Jersey for Christmas and got to see the whole family, which was so nice. We are planning another trip (weather permitting for the long weekend in January). I love that we can be there for all the big family parties and not have to worry about the cost of flight anymore. It is GREAT to be back up North!

Now we have a had a few milestones in the past couple of months and Ill try hard to remember when it all happened. Connor just turned 17 months the week after Christmas. He is really becoming a little boy all of the sudden. He has such a personality and keeps me laughing all the time. He is talking a lot more and the words are starting to make sense. He LOVES birds (thanks to his G-Pop) and is a big fan of buses too (thanks to Boston for giving him more buses than he can yell for). He has started to develop a love for music that is just too cute. He loves dancing around the room to any kind of beat. He has 10 teeth now (two of which are molars - that was a rough week to say the least) and is finally starting to eat a little bit more. He is still an incredibly picky eater and has some major texture issues, but we are slowing getting there. Just last night he ate some mac and cheese and honeydew melon all by himself with a fork. It's amazing how big he is getting.

Ill post a few recent pictures just so you all can see how big he has gotten and I promise to be back on my game with this blog thing in 2011! We wish you all the best in the new year!!


Christmas Eve bath (getting all ready for Santa)


His most favorite present at Christmas (the box)


My little toddler


Our annual Christmas picture (where no one is looking at the right camera)


Hello gorgeous!

A fork in the road

I am hoping this is it: a new beginning, a turning point.

Tonight I realized (when Connor was trying to stab his food with a spoon) that perhaps he doesn't hate to eat, he just hates when I feed him. He was enjoying dinner more than he ever has tonight. This is probably b/c I started "dinner" with a piece of Uncle Tommy's pound cake. Let me say this about the pound cake - there is not a person in the world who has eaten it that will say it is anything other than the most delicious cake you have EVER tasted and it was clear that Connor agreed. He didn't eat it, he INHALED it! Seeing as he was on a roll, I figured I'd go with it and try to throw some ham and cheese in the mix. That's when I gave Connor a fork and discovered this may be the way to get him to eat. He was so excited and so proud when he actually got the food in his mouth! It was just too cute not to share.

Here's hoping that we have just embarked on a new path towards loving food as much as his mommy and daddy do!!

Say cheese!

Waaaaaayyyy back when I was pregnant, I got a gift certificate to a local portrait studio from my cousins Beth and Lauren. Unfortunately, back in January when I went to make an appointment for Connor's 6 month pictures, I found out the place had closed down. Lucky for us, they were bought out by another company and recently re-opened. They were nice enough to honor the gift certificate, so we decided to get some 1 year old portraits taken this past weekend. It turns out my son, even with two teeth coming in simultaneously, is quite the ham. Despite the fact it was late in the day (smack in the middle of witching hour, in fact) he did really well and we got some really cute pictures.

When we make our trek up North (in exactly 9 days - YEAH), we will come with pictures in hand. Till then, here's a sneak preview!

My baby


Here comes trouble...


Everyone's favorite Pats fan!


A collection of the many faces of Connor

Moving on Up

Today, Connor is officially transitioning into the toddler room at preschool! He had to be fully walking in order to move into the "big kid" room and since he has taken off, he is all set to go. This, of course, means he leaves his beloved Ms. Marie. Marie has been a working moms dream! She is the sweetest, most loving, caring infant teacher I could have possible asked for and I am so upset he isn't going to be with her everyday. Luckily, she will be right down the hall and helping him through this transition.

This all means that my little man is growing up (I know, he's only 13 months), but to see your little baby walking around does a number on your heart. I know how fast time goes by, so I am just going to fully enjoy every single moment. I just ADORE him!!

Ready, set...


And there he goes!

Stepping out

I have been trying to post video of Connor walking for weeks now and today I finally got it to upload. I wanted to capture the early days when he was still walking around like baby frankenstein and extra cautious about each step.



(Now if I could only get it to rotate) AGGGHHHH!!!!

Cake Boss

There was no convincing Connor that the cake smashing thing was fun (or yummy for that matter). My son is a HUGE texture kid. If he doesn't like the way it feels, he will NOT eat it. Needless to say, he didnt eat much of his cake, but he still managed to cover his hands (and my shirt) in icing.

Oh the horror! How dare they give me a cake!


Seriously inspecting this "thing"


Not a fan of the texture



Finally, taking a taste

Fun to be ONE!!

It has been a week long celebration in the Power household for our little man's 1st birthday!! Connor turned the BIG O-N-E last Wednesday and we spent the day with Nonni, G-Pop, and Uncle Moose. I was so happy that my dad was able to come 2 days earlier than scheduled so he could be there on his actual birthday. To top it all off, Connor amazed us all when he took his very FIRST STEPS (2 to be exact) towards his G-Pop on the morning of his birthday. As a working mother, I have dreaded the day where I would pick him up from daycare and they would give me the good news that he took his first steps (and then I would cry b/c I missed it). I love my baby for taking the leap when I was home to see and it was just an extra treat that my parents and brother got to be there too!!!!
As for his actual birthday, we spent a lazy morning around the house and then went out to lunch. As soon as Mark got home we did his birthday cake and presents. My mom has the classic cake smashing pictures on her camera, so Ill share those in another post, but here are some of my one year old on his birthday! I cant believe its been a year already and it has by far been the best year of my life!!

He's a big boy now

and not afraid to let us know how he really feels


His laugh is still contagious

which make us the luckiest parents in the world