Mr. Santa Pants

We drove to Avon Lake the afternoon of the 23rd to spend Christmas in Cleveland.

It is a Christmas Eve tradition to spend the evening with Pat's mom's side of the family. Grandma Nealon (Joan) passed away a while ago, but her siblings are all still living. Tammy and Craig Dixon hosted and we all had a nice time. Their kids, Adam and Faith did an outstanding job entertaining Connor. He found one of Faith's dolls. Initially it was kissing the doll....oh, so cute....and then he bit her nose. He did carry her around and wanted to take her down their slide. Hopefully when the time comes for C to be a big brother (no, this is not an announcement) we'll teach him how to NOT bite noses.
Christmas morning was fun. Although he doesn't get the whole Santa thing yet, he woke up earlier than normal and was very excited. I think he could just feel the excitement in the air.

Santa's stocking loot.

still a little sleepy

snuggling with daddy
he found a sucker in his stocking and stopped unloading it then.

Connor came in and walked right past his train table that Santa brought him and went for his daddy. It didn't take too long for him to come back to the table. However, all the track and buildings only stayed on the top for about 10 minutes before Connor turned into Godzilla and was taking out buildings. :) At 16 months, he enjoys the top with the road only and will grow into the rest of it....

It didn't take him long to find the gumball/m&m machine too. He knew exactly what to do. :)

my favorite picture of the day...Connor took out all the Christmas trash and played in the leaf bag himself. He does enjoy his toys too....for the record. :)

Another favorite...hugs for Uncle Scott.


Cleveland didn't have a white Christmas this year, but Ol' Man Winter decided to show up on the 28th and Connor went outside to play.
After playing in the snow, he "played" in the Metro. I'm sure the neighbors appreciated it...

Grandma & Grandpa visit & Big Boy Bathtime

Grandma and Grandpa Nealon came to visit the passed weekend and they had so much fun with the munchkin. The timing was perfect because Brian's company Christmas party was on Saturday, so we had built-in babysitters!!

The weather was actually really nice on Saturday and Grandma took Connor out sledding. Of course he was all bundled up. She said he loved touching the snow on the street as they walked. And I just love his little smile peeking though all the bundling.

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After meeting Santa on Tuesday night, I took the camera in to capture some bathtime moments. It has been a long time since I photographed this fun time. I'm going to make a point to continue to take some of these pictures because I think they are good way to see just how much he is growing!

Hi, Mom. :)

"Connor, where are your teeth?"

Yes, he was throwing water out of the tub....what was I supposed to do, I had the camera and he knew it!

blowing bubbles into the cup

Ok, enough pictures, Mom. (eyes unedited!!)

This is several days later....he got away from us for a few minutes and decided he was ready for his bath.

Connor and the big man in red.

We went to Meijer Garden and Sculpture park again this year for Connor's visit with Santa. Notice I said, "again"....this time last year Brian was working up here quite a bit just helping out and Connor and I came up and stayed for a week. So, he got to see (the very same Santa) two years in a row....click here if you'd like to compare.

Although it doesn't typically take Connor long to warm up to people, like most kids his age I had a feeling Santa might be a bit over the top. I don't exactly hand him over to strangers on a regular basis. He was somewhat cool for our family picture when he was in my lap.......but as soon as I handed him over to be held by Santa, he lost it immediately. Poor kid, you can even see his molars. I will say it is kinda sad that his trauma brought smiles to so many faces in line.Afterward, we pretty much let him run around Meijer Gardens on his own. Of course we were tailing him to make sure he didn't get into too much mischief, but he had a great time exploring. (we grabbed him before he could do serious damage)We were only able to get him to be still for one picture, with a poinsettia.
This is a small glimpse of a handful of the 40 trees that are decorated with ornaments from around the world.
And Connor hanging out outside. He didn't care at all that it was probably about 15º outside and the wind was blowing....bbrrrr.And last one, Connor silouetted against a giant tree full of lights.

First 2009 Snow.

So, I need to change my blog background. "Welcome Autumn" is not exactly fitting anymore when we got about 6 inches of snow this week!

We got a few flurries on Tuesday night and then it really picked up on Thursday night. I think we'd gotten an inch before I even realized it was snowing! (and that is sad...if you've been to our house, you know we have a ton of windows) Anyway, before I knew it, Brian was bundling up Connor to go out and play for just a few minutes.
By the next morning, it was like a winter wonderland. It is amazing how much more it feels like Christmas when there is a cold, white coat on everything outside. :) Connor and I went out to play while Brian was at work. When we went out it wasn't snowing at all, but after about 15 minutes it looked like a blizzard out there. Once C got it in his face and his little cheeks were really red, we headed inside. It was fun for a few minutes though.
Brian got home a little early and was anxious to take Connor back out. The snow was much more mild, so the two of them played out there for over an hour. Brian was shoveling the driveway and Connor was doing everything he possibly could to help. They sledded down our hill and had a big time. After Brian took off Connor's boots, hat, and mittens, he still darted for the snow shovel in the garage and proceeded to shovel some more...in his socks.
I always said I wanted to live somewhere with 4 seasons. Although in February I will be wishing for a much shorter winter, at this point it is great. :) The house is warm and decorated for Christmas. There is a fire in the fireplace and my two favorite boys are watching football in the living room (the bigger boy is more attentive than the little one). We have so much to be thankful for!