Christmas: Part II

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I can't exactly say the same for our family. It wasn't that is was bad, but everyone was sick! Poor Connor went down for his nap on Friday (Christmas Eve) and woke up with a fever that would linger around until yesterday! Christmas Day John woke up with a fever, and by the end of the weekend the illness had spread to Grandma, Great Grandma (Busia) AND Great Grandpa (Dziadzia). Ugh!

Needless to say Connor was not up for opening gifts on Christmas. He managed to open a few here and there but we saved his big items for when he would feel better. Fortunately he felt better the next morning, or well enough to open presents anyway! He got all kinds of fun things this year including a tricycle, wagon, soccer goals, tool bench, lots of cars and trucks, books...the list goes on and on.... :) I know Christmas would have been more fun for him had he not been sick but at least he wasn't really into the whole Santa thing yet, otherwise this really would have spoiled Christmas for him. He was so pathetic Christmas Day!

It was really cold in Cape Haze this year. There was even frost on the ground which Papa claims hardly ever happens. So we spent all our time indoors, trying to keep the well well and get the sick better. Connor really enjoyed the toy 'choo choo' train Papa setup for him. It was remote controlled and Connor was an expert at the buttons! We did have to escape outside one day to let Connor try out his new wagon :) BeBe called us on Sunday to tell us it was snowing in Waldo!

We have spent the remainder of our vacation at home doing absolutely nothing. I'm doing my best to get my boys better. I took Connor to the doctor on Wednesday since his fever had been hanging around for awhile. He didn't have anything they could prescribe him medication for, it just has to run its course. He weighed 25.10 lbs....my little pumpkin in thinning out! LOL Today Connor was fever free and in such a better mood. John is starting to feel better as well but not quite in the clear yet. Let's hope 2011 brings a better year for us health wise.

Happy New Year!!!!!!

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Christmas: Part I

Every year our neighborhood gets a visit from Santa on a fire truck. They tend to come pretty late and last year Connor was already asleep. Trucks are his latest thing right now so we didn't want him to miss it this year! It was cold Wednesday night when they came and Connor was already in his PJs. We just threw on a ski cap and ran outside right as they went by. The fire truck entered our neighborhood through the other entrance so we were the last house it would go by on its way out. We were a little bummed it had already turned off its siren but at least Connor got to see it go by.

Saturday we had a visit from BeBe and Grandpa to celebrate an early Christmas together. We'll be heading to Cape Haze later this week to spend Christmas with all of John's family. We were cooped up inside as it was an ugly day weather wise. As I've mentioned before Connor loves his trucks so he was content playing wtih BeBe and Grandpa and showing off all his cars and trucks. He even used BeBe as a road prop!

Connor had fun opening his gifts. He got a fun play tent from the Dixie DeSantiago's and lots of cars from BeBe and Grandpa. The cars were from the Disney movie Cars which he also got for Christmas. This is the first movie he has paid attention to other than Elmo. Again...loves his cars and trucks!

I have been wanting to buy Connor a potty to start getting him used to the idea and the terms that go with it. I also thought it might be fun for him to open it so I wrapped it and gave it to him for Christmas. I don't expect anything out of this anytime soon....but a mama can dream, can't she? ;) Connor enjoys sitting and playing in his booster chair we use when we travel so I had a feeling he would like to sit on the potty. Sure enough, he goes and sits on it all the time now. He even wants to brush his teeth while sitting on the potty :) Last night Connor was playing when he suddenly stood up and said 'poo poo' then ran and sat on the potty. He had a diaper on and had already finished his business before he got to the potty but we were impressed as it seems he has the concept down already.

You may notice in our pictures Connor is always wearing rainbow colored socks. Just an FYI these socks came from Grandma and have Elmo on them. That said, Connor loves them and wants to wear them all the time. Thanks Grandma :p

We leave Thursday after work for Cape Haze and have all of next week off!! We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, Merry Christmas!!

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SeaWorld Christmas Celebration

Saturday we spent the day at SeaWorld with some friends. We went to checkout the park's special Christmas Celebration. In addition to all the animals, shows and rides that the park normally has, they also have a few special Christmas shows and Santa. We did the Polar Express and at the end of the 'ride' was Santa! There was no chance Connor was going to get a picture with Santa on his own this year so we jumped at the opportunity to get in the picture with him. He still didn't like it very much but at least he didn't cry.

The main show we wanted to see was the Sesame Street Christmas show. For those who don't know, Connor LOVES Elmo. The more he watches the show the more interest he has taken into the other characters but Elmo remains his favorite. We missed the first show at 3:30 so had to see the one at 5:00 pm. Have I mentioned Connor did not nap the entire day? He was too distracted throughout the day to fall asleep but I think it took away from the excitement of seeing Elmo. He still loved it though!

By the time the Sesame Street show was over I was pooped. You're probably thinking, you mean Connor don't you? Nope, I think Connor could have stayed the rest of the night but this pregnant mama was exhausted. As we were leaving it was getting dark so we got to see their 'Sea of Trees' over the water. They were pretty and danced to holiday music.

We plan to go back in a couple of weeks when we're on vacation for the evening shows. I think Connor will enjoy Shamu's Christmas show and the Winter Wonderland show on ice. We'd love to stay and see their fireworks display but that is right before closing at 10:55 pm and something tells me Connor would sleep right through them ;)

The following link is to the rest of the pictures we took at SeaWorld: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EcOGzJm3cN50

Holiday Season

Last weekend we picked out our tree but it took us a couple of days to get it decorated. Connor loves for the tree to be lit up. When he gets up in the morning (and it isn't on) he points to it and says on, on, on...until I turn it on :) At first we had a problem with him touching the ornaments but he has since lost interest.

picking out our tree....

I like this one dada!

The finished product :)

John has lots of vacation days left this year. Unfortunately our company changed their policy and those days no longer roll over, so he's taking every Friday off this month. I am little jealous of all the extra days he has off. Except when he gets to utilize those days working on our money pit, aka house. On Thursday we discovered our kitchen sink was leaking...and had been for awhile :/ John spent Friday replacing the faucet and ripping out the cabinet below the sink. Connor loved it though, he got to play with all of dada's tools! It took all of Friday and most of the weekend but we're back in order :)

Saturday night we got a babysitter so we could go out and help our friend Tim celebrate his 30th birthday! It was a very fun party and Connor was a good boy for Jessica. Happy Birthday Timmy!!!

Sunday we went to the mall to get our family portrait taken. We've been trying to get this done for last 3 months but one thing or another has made it impossible. Tuesday Connor came home with a fresh shiner on his cheek (fell being chased on the playground) but we went ahead anyway. I figure there is always going to be something, may as well go and maybe we can also see Santa! Apparently every else in town had the same thought in mind. Pictures took longer than we expected and by the time we were done the line for Santa was a 2 1/2 hour wait. No thank you.

In other news Connor is now 21 months old. So hard to believe he will be 2 in just 3 short months! It's even harder to believe he will have a sister in less than 4 months! He's doing great though and is so much fun. He sure knows how to turn on the charm too! In addition to his ever increasing vocabulary he has started to string 2 words together here and there. We had a rough spout with sleeping but I think it was a combination of him being sick and us being on vacation. He's back to his normal sleep schedule now :) We're talking up Santa but not sure if he really gets it yet. Either way I'm sure Christmas will be so much fun this year!

Happy Holidays!!

Thanksgiving Break

John and I had an entire week off last week, can you believe it?! Other than maternity leave (which doesn't count as vacation) we haven't had an entire week off since April 2008! My Aunt Beth and Uncle Xavier graciously offered us their cabin for a few nights up in Ellijay, GA. We left after work Friday (the 19th) for Waldo where we dropped off the dogs. Saturday morning we started our excursion to Georgia! We first stopped in Dixie, GA to visit with Beth, Xavier and the rest of the DeSantiago clan. From Dixie we went on to Atlanta where we got to stay the night with my friends Tracy and Rob. Sunday before making the final hurdle of our trip we stopped and visited John's Aunt Tori, Uncle John and their daughter Tyler who live in Atlanta as well.

So we finally made it to Ellijay around mid-day Sunday. It was beautiful, but not as cold as we had anticipated (or wanted) it to be. Leave it to John and I to drive 9 hours north for 70 degree weather in mid-November :p We had a great time, did a little bit of hiking, played in the leaves and otherwise relaxed during our stint there. We had planned on heading back to Gainesville for Thanksgiving sometime Wednesday but the more we thought about it, the more we dreaded the holiday traffic we thought we would endure. So we decided to leave Ellijay at 4 am Wednesday. We managed to get back to Gainesville by noon and avoided ALL traffic. We only stopped 1 time for breakfast! Hard to believe, isn't it? Connor did fantastic in the car. He was preoccupied with Elmo most of the time (thank goodness for DVD players!) :)

Once back in Gainesville we continued on with our rounds. We got to visit Dedi, then Grandma and my Uncle Dominique. Then is was turkey time at my parents house with my brother Chris and Uncle Steve. Friday we got to spend time with my Uncle Rick and Aunt Alison. Saturday we hung out with my friends Jessica and Barry and watched the FL/FSU game. Boo.

Overall we had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. It was hard to return to work today but nice knowing we have another week off next month :)

We took a million pictures over the week - I narrowed it down just a tad for you to enjoy: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EcOGzJm3cN4w

Happy Halloween!

We were in Tampa over the weekend to watch the FL/GA game and to celebrate Halloween. We watched the game over at Jen and Jonathan's new house. Connor got to play with their daughter, Courtney, along with Chelsea and Kaylee. They had so much fun together, especially in the wagon! Florida (barely) pulled off a win, but it was a win nonetheless so we were all happy.

We love staying with Marti at her sister's house in Hyde Park. Not only is it a beautiful neighborhood but we can walk to many nearby restaurants. Sunday morning we walked to breakfast at Daily Eats. It was the best breakfast I've had in awhile...mmm mmm good! Connor did a great job out and thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast too :)

Marti and Chris have a Halloween tradition to carve pumpkins and eat Chili so we did just that. Connor was content playing with all of Kaylee and Chelsea's toys. After we enjoyed our chili that Chris made we got the kids ready for trick-or-treating. Connor seemed to enjoy his Bam Bam costume, he didn't try to rip if off anyways. Kalyee was Thumbalina and Chelsea was a bumble bee. They were adorable! Connor picked right up on the idea and by the end of the night he was a pro. The candy may have been a good motivator ;)

Mommy's pumpkin masterpiece :)

Bam Bam

Time to go!

Trick-or-Treat!

Please enjoy many more pictures from our fun-filled Halloween weekend: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EcOGzJm3cN4S

It's a GIRL!!!!

We had our ultrasound on Friday and found out we are having a girl!!! We are so excited!!!

The ultrasound was a level II scan so they could check the baby's heart in better detail. Not sure if that is why but the pictures we got are kind of scary looking. They show more bone detail than I cared to see, particularly of the face, so I'm going to spare you of those. All that matters is everything looked good, measured good and the baby is growing as she should be :)

Picnic in the Park

A few weeks ago when we got our first taste of Fall weather some friends and I thought it would be a perfect time to get all the kids together for a picnic/play date at the park. Naturally the cooler weather didn't last long but the date was already marked on our calendars. Sunday we all got together for a picnic at the park!

It was great to catch up with some friends we haven't seen in a while and the kids really seemed to have a good time.

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Zoo Boo Bash

Saturday we took Connor to the Central Florida Zoo to check out their Halloween festivities....Zoo Boo Bash! It was your typical zoo experience but with bonus treat stations, hay rides and face painting! We didn't participate in the later but Connor really enjoyed 'trick or treating' at the zoo! He was not that experienced but it didn't take long for him to catch on to the idea. We forgot to bring his bucket so we purchased a Halloween bag for him to use. You could say it as a little too big for Connor but he didn't seem to mind. He would throw the straps over his shoulder like a purse and take off with his ticket. Each booth had to punch your ticket when you got your treat (so you couldn't get more than one goody per station). Connor would drag his bag up to the booth and then throw his ticket at them to be punched, it was hilarious!

We saw all kinds of animals to which Connor seemed interested in but I think he liked the snakes the most.

Before we left we couldn't resist a quick stop at the splash pad. It was really cold water so Connor didn't get all the way in but he had fun nonetheless. At one point this little girl about 10 months old (and already walking!) came wobbling up to Connor. They were so cute to watch as they flirted with one another.

We had a really fun day at the zoo, please enjoy the rest of our pictures below!

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Pumpkin Patch

Today we took Connor to a pumpkin patch to pick out our Halloween pumpkin. He had so much fun running around there! He tried to pick up as many pumpkins as he could...even the big ones! The smaller ones he would throw which we had to put a stop to. So we got our pumpkin but we haven't yet decided what we're going to carve it into. Last year's pumpkin was Elmo. We may have to go with that again as Elmo is Connor's latest obsession. To be continued...

Earlier this week we got a special visit from Uncle Andy! It isn't always easy to catch up with Andrew because he has such a busy work schedule. He really hadn't seen Connor in 'action' since he started walking so it was fun to see his reaction to Connor running around and jabbering away. We were even treated to homemade brownies! Thanks Andrew, stop by anytime! :)

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Happy Birthday BeBe!

This past weekend was spent in Waldo to help BB, aka Gram, celebrate her birthday! What happened to Gram you ask? Well, it just didn't take :p We grew up calling my grandmother De by DeDi, so we tried BB for Brigitte. Connor caught on quickly so for now we're gonna go with BB :)

We took our car to my dad's shop on Friday for a brake job. Connor had a blast at the shop! At first he sat back and took it all in but it wasn't long before he was running around like he owned the place. He went with his uncle Chris and BB to check the mail had fun in the office, especially with a car model he got his hands on.

We didn't get a chance to visit with everyone as there is a bad cold going around my family. We don't want nor need to get sick around here! My friend Jessica stopped by on Friday with one of her daughters. Connor and Kaleigh had a great time playing with one another. We also got to see Uncle Steve and Chris when they came over on Saturday for the birthday dinner and to watch the Gator game.

All weekend long Connor spent the majority of his time outdoors. He loves the country! He found all sorts of things to play with....Grandpa's lawn mower, the hose...worms (dead and alive)! Overall a wonderful weekend, pictures included below. What happened to our cooler weather??

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Rumor has it...

...Connor is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!

The sonogram picture below was taken at 10 weeks when he/she was just a little peanut. I am now in the middle of 14 weeks and officially in the second trimester!

The baby is due April 3rd, which will make the Big Brother and the little peanut 2 years apart. We are so excited for our new adventure!

We find out the sex on October 29th......stay tuned!

19 Months Old!

I can't believe it is October already, which means my baby is now 19 months old! He continues to learn and say new words on a daily basis. My good eater has turned into a picky eater though. I guess that is his way of expressing his own opinion which is a step in the right direction, but it can make meal times tough. He still LOVES bananas though! The other day we were driving home from daycare and he just kept saying nana (banana to Connor) over and over and over again. Today we got in the car and I asked him if he was hungry. He nodded his head yes, so I asked him what he wanted for dinner. He replied "nana!!" and put a huge grin on his face.

We are loving the weather October has brought us so far. This past weekend we spent almost the entire day on Sunday outdoors. We started our day at the Maitland Arts Festival where Connor got to enjoy the playground and watch trains go by. After that we stopped for a treat at Jeremiah's Italian Ice. It's safe to say Connor still likes ice cream...but then again, who could pass up a Gelato from Jeremiah's? :)

After ice cream we went home to eat lunch and John had a few things he needed to do around the house. One being put out the 12 bags of mulch he bought for the backyard. Connor is enthralled with any and everything daddy does so there was no exception here. He wanted to be outside watching. Daddy can't wait for Connor to get a little bigger where he can really start helping him out around the house!

Before dinner we took a little trip up to Red Bug Lake Park so Connor could 'practice' kicking a ball around. I think we're being a little ambitious with this one but I guess you can never start too young. While playing soccer with Daddy (Mommy broke her toe last weekend so I was sitting this one out) Connor noticed the playground so we checked that out next. It was a great playground for toddlers, he was able to do a lot of it on his own which he thoroughly enjoyed. I've included a link to many more pictures I took over the weekend (there are a lot) - enjoy!

Next weekend we're off to Gainesville to help Gram celebrate her birthday. We're also looking forward to all the Fall Festivities this season brings....stay tuned!

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