Happy Halloweenie!

Hey Y'ALL, Happy Halloween! I am 6 weeks old TODAY, and it's my first Halloween!



This morning was also my first time going to a whole service at church. I heard my Daddy singing an awesome song, "I Will Rise", with all of the choir, and Mom gave me a bottle when I started to fuss. It was only the third time I've had a bottle, and Mom realized that I make a pretty big mess - time to pull out my cool "C" bib!



Mommy found me a costume that is something Daddy loves...a HOT DOG! Don't you dare call me a weenie though, 'cause I am one tough dude!



I tried it out before it was time to show it off...Mom had to put some blankets in the bottom because she thought I would fall right in. I'm pretty long, but not quite that long!

I am starting to show off my handsome smile a lot lately - although usually I wait til both of Mom's hands are busy and she can't quite get the camera on time. I know she'll catch one eventually. Mom and I were both sporting our Halloween socks today. Mine are from Summer Ray (thanks Summer!).

Our church has a special event for Halloween called "Trunk or Treat". Many cars get all dressed up and their owners hand out candy! Hundreds of kids come through the cars. The Jones' had a car this year - here is Levi with their trunk. He did a good job handing out candy!

I met lots of people from the choir who had been waiting to see me, and I did what I usually do in very loud crowded places...slept in Daddy's arms. This is Mommy and Daddy's friend's granddaughter - cute, huh? Mom doesn't know her name....C'MON MOM, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALL HER NOW?!

They have games and inflatable bouncers and at the end of the line, HOT DOGS!

Daddy was ketchup...

Mommy was mustard...

And here they are with their little hot dog!

Hey...wait a minute...I know I'm sweet enough to eat but don't do it!

When we got home, there were still many trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood so Mom and I handed out candy for a while. In fact, there were so many trick-or-treaters left that we almost ran out of candy and had to start handing out single Starbursts - obviously not the best house on the block to go to!

I'll catch you all at 2 months!

Love,

Connor

Flashback Friday: Halloween!

Let's flashback to one of my favorite costumes ever....

The climbing wall.



In May of my first year at TCU, Laura came to visit me and we decided to try out the rec center's sweet climbing wall. That day, I did not even make it to the top on an easy route, but I was hooked (should I say tied? With a figure 8 knot?). I quickly paid my dues for a climbing wall pass and spent many hours through the next year climbing those ever-changing holds and routes.

Tying in!

A couple of times throughout the year, the rec would hold climbing wall competitions. The first that I competed in was the Halloween Costume Climbing competition. Points were awarded for completion of routes with varying levels of difficulty, as well as for the best costume, of course. So what better to dress as than a climbing wall myself? I blended right in!




Not to forget the nerd though...oh my friend Marla, rec center worker extraordinaire!



Well, you're going to have double flashback today, along with some current events! Since we've been married, Jonathan and I have gotten to have an awesome night of carving pumpkins with his sister Sarahann and her soon-to-be husband, Jay. For two years in a row we carved the most interesting designs we could think up, roasted and ate pumpkin seeds together, and took plenty of pictures. A great time! That was in VA. Sadly, now SAS and Jay are a 14 hour drive away from us and this year they carved pumpkins with the rest of the Schallmo family in NY.

Ahh memories. 2008!





And 2009!






So this year we asked the Jones' if they had any interest in carving some pumpkins with us. Turns out, they didn't get to carve one last year so it would be Levi's 1st pumpkin and Connor's 1st pumpkin!



Here are the guys scooping out pumpkin guts. Though I love to do it, my hands were busy with baby holding this year! They are using our brand new picnic table that Jonathan built a few weeks ago all on his own (go honey go honey go)! Levi enjoyed it too.




We had a great fall dinner: chili, rolls, and pumpkin pie (made by Daniela!). I will disclose chili and pumpkin pie recipes, but only if Daniela gives me the go ahead on pie and if my Dad wants to give out his "award-winning" chili recipe, which Jonathan decided to try out! We had pumpkin seeds later on too. :)



Daddy decided to carve out Mickey Mouse for Connor's 1st pumpkin - so he got Mickey Mouse ears!



The boys were getting to know each other, it will be fun to see them grow. Levi found his reflection in the dishwasher and was cracking us up!





Carving away...



Finished and lit!



Family and friends photos!







Isn't pumpkin carving a great tradition???

Letting Go...

Sigh.

I am sitting downstairs on the couch with the monitor blasting, while little boy is upstairs trying out his big crib and huge nursery for the first time. When we set up the crib in his room, I thought there was no space for anything else to fit - it is a tiny space. Tonight though, when I laid him down in his super-cute crib, I felt like he was going to be swallowed by this big dark cavernous area void of his mom and dad!

I know, I know....don't be a wimp Lindsay...but when he's slept a mere two feet from me since he was born, the nursery across the hallway seems eons away.

Our monitor has lights that "show" the noise level...one red light for a little squeak and up to five red lights for a big cry! While I don't enjoy running up and down the stairs to stick that paci back in as he is falling asleep, at least I can tell that he is breathing and doing fine (and plus I could probably use the stair workout anyway)!

Although I would love to take pictures of him in his ducky pajamas and sleep sack, I don't dare let the flash go off in there! Sorry, a picture-less post. Maybe in the morning.

I know I'll toughen up and I know he'll do great. Now, what am I going to do when he goes to college???

Brand New 'Do's!

Let's face it, we have a panicky dog. I mean, in general, he is sweet, protective, likes to play, and likes to cuddle. However, one thing he does not like? Getting a hair cut.

If you have ever owned a Bichon you know that the BEST part is that they are pretty much hypoallergenic. For people who love dogs but are allergic to pet dander, like me, Otto is "the perfect dog". The worst thing about owning a Bichon is that since they don't shed, they need their hair cut a lot. I mean often. I mean, if you've let it go 8 weeks you get comments like, "Look at Otto's fro! He's so shaggy! Otto? Can you see in there???" Bichons have such nice, fluffy, curly hair that easily becomes knotted, matted, and a big mess when it's not cut often. For this reason, it is usually a very expensive cut as well.

Shortly after Jonathan and I were married, Otto went to a groomer in VA, where we were living, for the 1st time. Supposedly this groomer was good for "nervous dogs", though he had never had trouble in the past. When Jonathan picked him up that evening, he looked like he had been through a traumatic accident, in more ways than one! The groomer said that he was the worst dog that she had ever worked with...yet he shook for hours after he came home - um, maybe she was the worst groomer he had ever worked with?! I remember Sarahann came over for dinner the next night and asked, "What happened?" His hair was all uneven and he had patches of his perfectly pink skin sticking out. It was then, after the nightmare appointment and $50 cost, that I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I asked Jonathan some questions - have you ever cut Otto's hair before? Yes. Did you use scissors? No. Did you use an electric razor? Yes. Did that work? No.

Oh...

So when his hair started growing out again, I took a pair of Fiskars from my desk, his brush, a comb, and some strong willpower and sat down on the bathroom floor to cut Otto's hair. He was so relaxed as I combed and snipped my way down his back. He didn't mind as I got his neck and worked on his face. Well. Here are the places Otto does NOT like to be touched: his legs, his paws, his tail, his ears, his stomach (he likes scratches but not how I had to turn him to cut his hair), or ANYWHERE NEAR his bottom and other more "private" parts. Sigh. For two years I have tried multiple ways of getting him groomed to looking half decent, and it often takes me more than one day to do it and a whole lot of back pain.

The last time I cut his hair was when I was 8 months pregnant and we were on vacation at the River - I snipped away while he sat on what was left of my lap and I threw all of the hair right into the water. No mess, at least! After that, I was too pregnant to even think about grooming him and then Connor came and frankly, Otto gets a little less attention than normal.

Last week, as we touched his extremely knotted ears and realized that he could barely see past all the fuzz on his face, we decided it was time to call in the big guns. And by the big guns I mean our friend Kelly at "Kelly's K9 Kuts". If you live anywhere near us and have a dog, you must go there to get him or her groomed. I'm not recommending here people, I'm telling you - YOU-MUST-GO-THERE!



See?



Isn't he handsome?



Connor thinks so too...maybe...



They do such a great job and even though I heard that Otto (Snotto) did not want his legs or ears touched (typical), he came home a happy, clean, and well-groomed dog! AND it is cut short enough that hopefully we can wait a while before he needs to go again - because really, though I try my best, he does not come out looking like that when I do it!



Well, if you're still reading this blog you must either really love Otto, know how to bear my stories, or are just waiting for more Connor pictures I'm sure.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am the other new 'do! YES! I hadn't gotten my hair cut in 8 MONTHS and it was SO good to go and have it washed (isn't that the best when someone washes your hair for you? I don't even really like having my hair touched but I love having it washed when I get it cut!) and trimmed! Connor has already found the joy of wrapping his little fingers around my long-ish hair, but I am just not ready for short hair again yet.

Here is Connor at the beauty salon, with our sweet friend Jeannie who did my hair. She describes their place as "Steel Magnolias" style (which I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing - I better!) - and I will say it is very laid back and full of Southern charm. I should've taken a picture of the hanger on the door which read, "Happy Fall, Y'all!" Connor was loving the white noise of the hair dryers and slept through the entire thing - just woke up long enough to snuggle with Jeannie for a minute and then went back to sleep and is still asleep now - hence the reason I am writing such a long post! It may come back to bite me in the butt when we try to get him down tonight - but he doesn't have a very regular sleep schedule yet so who knows!




I'll leave you with some all baby boy shots - loving sports and loving Momma!