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

Uh-oh!

Well, he may not know how to say much yet, but he knows when he (or the dog) has done something wrong.

Put me in the Zoo

The 4th of July here was a wash out. I know we live in Florida, so we have sunshine A LOT and I shouldn't complain, but it really stinks when you get a long weekend and it rains for almost all of it. On Monday, we decided to venture out to the Miami Zoo and take our chances with the rain. It turned out to be the perfect day. It never really rained, but the sun never came out, which was great because we were able to walk around without sweating our you know whats off. Connor was such a good boy too! We saw lots of animals, did lots of people watching, and he rode his first merry-go-round!

Ready for the long car ride

(he needs constant entertainment in the carseat or he will scream - the ENTIRE time)

Asian elephants

His locked in stare when seeing the elephants

Riding the carousal

Kicking his feet up enjoying the show

Countdown to ONE!

Time seriously flies!! I cannot believe we are less than a month away from my baby's FIRST birthday!! He is really starting to grow into "toddlerhood" now. He is talking up a storm (although none of it sounds like English yet), he can high-five, shake his head "no" (thanks a lot, Big Bird), clap, feed the dog (and then crack up when Mayhem licks his little hand clean), and use his little walker to move from room to room. There is part of me that REALLY wants him to walk (I know, I'll regret saying that when I have to chase him), but he hates being carried and always demands to get down. He cruises around everything, but he has yet to be daring enough to let go and take those first steps on his own. I guess we will see if he decides to step out on his own this month.

Connor 11 months big!

Using his walker from the wrong side

My little toddler

You make bath time lots of fun

One of my most favorite times of day with Connor is bath time. He LOVES the water and even if he is in the worst mood beforehand, a quick dip in a bath and he is all smiles. The other night I just happened to have my camera in the bathroom. I have no idea why it ended up there, but as most parents know, you tend to put things down in the most random of places when running after your infant. Anyway, I snapped a few pictures and wanted to share.

Anxiously awaiting me to draw the bath

Finally, we can play!

Perfect 10

My little man turned 10 months old yesterday!! We celebrated with another trip to the doctor for...take a guess...poop. I am happy to report that he didn't loose any weight despite not keeping much of anything in him this last week. He is feeling much better now and is back to his old "not sleeping" self (more on that in a future post). We had a nice quiet weekend and Connor got to go swimming with his cousins again. Even though it always feels like summer in Florida, Memorial Day will always be the start of summer for me. Which only means my munchkin's 1st birthday is right around the corner! We can't wait!

Pulling all the toys out at once is his favorite thing


but he flashes his "up to no good" smile and I cant help but laugh

Poopapalooza

I have coined this week "poopapalooza". I assume you can deduce why. My poor kid has never had an easy time with digestion. In fact, he eats prunes 4 times a week to help him in that area, so you can imagine my shock when the complete opposite hit home this week. I could not have ever imagined that so much poop could come out of someone so little. So on this, the eve of munchkin's 10 month birthday, my wish for him is a poop free day tomorrow. I am sure he needs a break, after all he has been putting on quiet a show for 3 days now.