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

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