Connor's first Christmas

Sorry for the overload of pictures, there are just too many memories I'd like to share.

Family picture after Christmas Eve service.
Mom made Connor a stocking but we didn't get it till we went down to Vulcan so we used a gift bag instead.

He got his 1st John Deere tractor. Uncle Dave & Auntie Naomi gave him his first tractor but it wasn't John Deere.

Connor was more interested in Tim's gasline antifreeze bottles than his toys.

Trying on Grandma's teddy bears' hat.

Jesse was Santa. He had to turn his shirt inside out so there wasn't any logo on his stuffed tummy.

Connor was having fun playing in the laundry basket. Lane & Damon liked playing with him and kept putting the santa hat on him.

Tom and Ruth got him this wagon. It also came with skis so we can go walking thru the snow wtih the snow shoes I got for Christmas. I can't wait.

We were at M&Ds on the 26 &27. Connor is now 9 months old.

Connor is being introduced to the newest member of the family: Benjamin Brian Markert born Dec.1. We tried to get down to see him before Christmas but it just didn't work out. He is a very content baby and slept most of the time. I think this was the one time I saw his eyes open.

My sister is expecting their 3rd June 14. Owen will be 3 in April and Gav will be 2 in August. It is going to be a busy house.

Bath time with cousins. Connor didn't really like sharing his bath with them though!

The men were playing with a couple balls. Connor has started throwing balls now.

After breakfast Owen and Gav quietly pulled Connor into the living room to play with him. It was super cute.

Connor got this farm set from Mama & Papa. He loves playing with it and his tractors.

Tim loves and appreciates getting wall hangings that my mom makes. While quilt stuff shopping with my mom I mentioned that Tim would love a bald eagle picture. This is what Tim got from my mom and dad for Christmas. This is the 3rd wall hanging she has maade for us.

Well before our tree fell down this year Connor helped Tim put the star on the top. Connor loves the lights on the tree. And yes, Tim & I were watching a movie upstairs when the tree fell, breaking several ornaments. Needless to say we junked the plastic tree stand and splurged. We got a $60 tree stand. I can't believe it but it is steel so hopefully it'll work - so far so good.

I was doing books the other day. Connor is quite content to sit on his blanket and play with toys. He hasn't gotten the crawling thing going yet but he does love to roll around. He eventually worked his way under the chair. It brought a picture to mind of Connor helping Tim under a vehicle in the shop and brought tears to my eyes. Connors' story telling is expanding and we do get quiet an earful of sounds.





The other day I was cleaning out his dresser and put him in his crib. It took him about 15 minutes and he was pulling himself up. I don't know what to call this sound - a laugh? a grunt?. I don't know but it is very infectious. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

Connor still loves to be outdoors. Saturday afternoon was beautiful so I strapped Connor in the snugly and strapped the skis on and went cross country skiing. I broke about a mile track before turning back. For the whole 2 miles it took me almost an hour. I should have had some snowshoes instead. There were time when I couldn't see my boots or skis!!

Sunday night Connor gave us an early Christmas present - he slept 12 hours. But the last few have only been 10 1/2 hours.

Winter Getaway

We used some of our airmiles to stay at Fairmont Resort this past weekend. It was an absolute glorious time. I believe it was well below 30 degrees here at home and it was about - 12- -15 in Fairmont. With our stay we got unlimited use of the hot springs which we took advantage to the fullest.

Connor is getting excited about swimming. He just loved the water; as can be seen in the pictures below.

We would go swimming in the big pool in the morning. They even had the lane pool filled with hotspring so I was able to do laps in the morning. It was quiet an experience doing lengths in an outdoor pool when it was -20 at 8 in the morning. I loved it and realized how much I miss swimming. The resort has a private hot spring pool for guests so we would use that in the evening.

We went for several walks in between Connors naps. The cold didn't bother him one bit. He loved being outside.

With our package came a $60 dinner for 2 in the dining room. It was delicious. Connor did wonderful. Thank goodness for Baby MumMums - they entertained him nicely so we could enjoy our dinner.

We have been trying to get Connor to drink out of a sippy cup but he doesn't care for it very much. In the summer he loved it. So we are trying different ways for him to get used to water. He loves drinking out of our glasses. It is so fun watching him grow up.

Our drive home yesterday was beautiful. This was taken from inside the truck.

I have a bit of a habit to buy pottery when I go on vacation. There was a pottery store going out of business in Fairmont and it was all 40% off so this is what I bought.

We decided to stop at Costco on the way home. I couldn't leave without getting this lovely poinsettia. Can you believe it was only $15.

UHHH!

Translation: Mom help!! The other day I was making a birthday cake for Gramps and Connor wanted to sit in the sink. I moved everything out of harms way and gave him a few toys and kept on baking. Then I hear UHHH and a bit of grunting and this is how I found him. There are so many places that are no longer save with him figuring out how to move. I love watching him!

8 months Old

It is hard to believe that our little guy is 8 months old already. My brother is expecting his 1st kid anyday now. It seems so long ago that Tim and I were in and out of the hospital with Timbit. Connor loves standing. I had some wood in the house for the stove and figured he might like to play with them. And he did!!

You can just see his brain turning.

He had so much fun going from one to the other. This morning I was playing soccer with Connor. If the ball didn't come back to him we practised walking over to it. He did super good - lifting both feet when necessary. Before we had to move his left foot then he would move his right.

He loves to sit and play on his own now. I try to put him on his tummy to get the idea of crawling, but he just rolls over. Sometimes if there is a toy he really wants he will reach for it but instead of moving to it he will pull the blanket to him and the toy will come with the blanket.

Every morning before chores we go over to Granny and Gramps'. He loves to sit in the sink and watch everybody.

Yesterday Dennis, Kristina and the kids came out to get a Christmas tree. Thanks for the visit.

Look At Me

Connor is loving exploring different body positions. I try to get him to stay on all 4s or even of his tummy - but he just wont. He much rather lay on his back or stand in his jumper or saucer. This past weekend we were at my parents fixing fence around the pasture. He has started to lift his own feet when we hold onto him to walk. A week ago he had tooth #4, 5 & 6 poke thru on consecutive days.
The family got together at Pams for Sunday brunch. Owen and Gav just love Connor and visa versa. Owen would want to sit and read a story with Connor then decide Connor needed another toy and crawl over Connor to get it. Connor didn't mind at all. Both Owen and Gav are super affectionate boys and wanted to give Connor hugs and kisses.

Owen discovered that he could look at the picture in the camera so he wanted to take a few. With very little guidance from me he took the above picture and below pictures.

Uncle Bri is getting his practise with Connor. He and his wife are due this Sunday. We all think it is a boy and will be shocked if it is a girl.

Owen really wanted to get a picture of Uncle Tim. I would say Owen did pretty good taking pictures.

I love getting together with my family. I am so thankful we all live fairly close so we can get together regularly. It is so much fun. Although this weekend we missed Naomi. I can't wait till Christmas!! Only a month away.

Quickie

Well not much has been happening in our lives. Connor has had 3 top teeth break thru in the last week. The 3rd poking thru today. He is such a happy content baby that they don't even bother him. When put on all 4s he stays there for a while and then whimpers a little, then rolls over. He gets stronger every day and trying new things all the time. I am loving this stage. The other night in the bath I was pouring water out of a dish and he tried grabbing the water!! He doesn't like being with other people very long if mom and dad aren't there. But every time he goes a bit longer.

Today we sold the calves. Sorting them was a very dirty job today with the horrendous wind blowing dirt in our faces. Connor was in the backpack and loved every minute of it. He got a little sleepy so he just fell asleep. He woke up and was talking and chatting to the calves. While he is teething he has massive amounts of slobber; combine this with dirt and he had one dirty face!!

No hands

On Saturday night we went up to Tom and Ruth's to watch the hockey game cuz we don't have tv. Although we are thinking about getting it for the Olympics this year. Tom was playing with Connor and went to grab his hands. Instantly Connor pulled away. We watched him for the rest of the evening and yesterday and have come to the conclusion that he doesn't like having his hands touched. Oh well.

Connor can sit up really good now - but topples over the odd time. While we were getting ready for church yesterday we had him propped up against the pillows so he could see us. He loves my old pooh bear and decided he better tell him a story. It looks like the story was putting him to sleep as well.
He has been doing tummy exercises lately. He rolls around quite a bit but when he wants to sit up and watch me he tries to do it himself - hence this picture.

Howdy

Just wanted to say hi to everybody. Connor can sit up quite well on his own now. He loves reading books and helps me turn pages. His smiles come very regularly and warm our hearts. He can give 5 - not very enthusiastically but none the less he gives 5. He has 4 new teeth coming in now and not super grumpy!!!
This past weekend we spent at my folks. Tim was helping my brother lay hardwood in their living room. While mom and I stretched my quilt. We taped the backing on the floor, then taped the batting on the floor and then worked all the wrinkles out of the quilt. Once everything was set we safety pinned it about every two inches. Mom has all the slickest quilting tools - she had a gizmo that made pinning it really easy, fast, and bloodless.

Just a couple close ups of the blocks.

What the quilt looks like without pins. I had a hard time figuring out what border I wanted but in the end I was really pleased with how it turned out. Mom is going to quilt it with her fancy machine. Tim always says there is something wrong with the machine cuz it never sews in a straight line. Although there are several blocks and corners that don't match up perfectly, I am pleased with it. It is was a lot harder to get the points matched than I thought it would be.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing this quilt and love having quilts around the house. Now that our 4 seasons of quilts for our bed have been made I think I will do a lap quilt for watching tv. After sewing this one I realized that my machine isn't really made for much more than the simple quilting so I am going to have to save for a better machine.

7 months old

The only really exciting thing that has happened in our lives, or Tims I should say; is the number of phone calls he is getting. We bought a truck a while ago and put the car up for sale on kijiji but nobody was biting so we put it in the local buy and sell. Well I didn't really want to pay for a big ad just to sell the cars so I went to the free ads. Thinking free adds meant a free ad not a free car. Anyways I think Tim has gotten about 100 calls on the free grand prix. Every time his cell rang I would always giggle. He said for my Christmas present he is listing a free truck and listing both my cell and the house number!!!

Sunday afternoon we took a stroll through the pasture and took some pictures. We have lots of pictures on Connor (obviously), Connor with Tim, but not so many with me and Connor. So Tim wanted to get some pictures.
I somehow seem to take pictures with Tim's head cut off when we use the timer. I guess we are going to have to bug somebody to take a family picture of us so the top of his head is included.

Connor has been lovin' his baths now that we finally moved him to the big tub. The small one on the counter was so much easier for us. Our little guy is now 7 months old, I can hardly believe it. The other night we were watching Tim play hockey. Of course Connor wants to see everything so he had his face plastered to the window. But when he finally got bored he found a bolt holding the two panes of plastic together. Also around that time I brought a book out for him to look at. It was super cute cuz he would look at his book for a bit and then play with the bolt, then look at his book again and then try the bolt again. What can I say???

Fall

Last week Connor discovered how to eat baby mum-mums - and it doesn't take long!!
Last week I came home to Sadie dancing in the garden. Then I realized that there was a really hairy thing in the garden with her too. My first thought was a rat. But then after calling Tim I realized it was a mole. I know you are all laughing at me now. But until then I had never seen a mole. You can see it jumping at Sadie. It was very comical to watch.

After Connor's nap this afternoon I decided I needed some new pictures of him. So below are a few that I captured.

This one is my favorite. He always finds Sadie very amusing and always gives her this smile.

No this wasn't posed. He just fell over and was totally content still.