Merry Christmas- at home

Since we were so busy Christmas day getting ready to leave for our trip we celebrated Christmas at home on Christmas eve. It really helps Santa out getting a head start on the 23rd and Connor got some time to play with his new toys. Most of my pictures were either blurry from motion, too dark or have a black fuzzy blur in them from Tiger getting in on the action-

Oh wow- Santa Claus came, ate the cookies, drank the milk (or coffee as Connor said since it was in a coffe cup) and left a note thanking Connor for the treats for him and the reindeer.

Wow- he left a stack of gifts too!

Connor's favorite gift- a bunch of food to play with! I don't think he would have minded if he didn't get anything else but the food. He absolutely loves going through it and feeding it to everyone-Wow- a Handy Manny tool set that sings! Connor's favorite to play with is the pliers (pwiers)-
After all that hard work opening gifts it's time for a cookie and milk break! Yes, it must be a special day if we get cookies for breakfast!
No Tiger it's not for you-


The food is all put up but that doesn't last for long!
Paw Paw and Grammy stopped by Christmas Eve to deliver some gifts. They had to come early along with Santa since they were preparing to leave for Mexico. Connor misses them already and Colin and I are just jealous- we know they're having a blast!
Connor gets to show Grammy his new food-

Grammy trust me- by the time you get back everyone else will be more than happy to let you be fed by Connor for a while!

Merry Christmas-KC- McCutcheon's

On Sunday December 21, we traveled to Lee's Summit to celebrate Christmas at Nana's sister Kristy, Kemp and Kara's house. This was the first of our Christmas celebrations. We had a great time watching all the kids open their gifts and play. It was great to see everyone since we don't get to see the McCutcheon's much except for at an occasional MU game.
Here is Connor and Nana with one of Kara's dogs, checking out their Christmas tree.
Yea, these presents are fun, you sit on them right?
Oh wow- their's stuff under the paper- and even better it's toys!
Reading one of my new books with Daddy-

This is what happens when you have a four hour car ride, no nap, lots of sugar, and so many presents to open! Seconds after opening his last gift Connor crashed on Daddy-

Christmas Pictures/ Santa Visit

Connor went to see Santa Claus Sunday in St. Louis. We went with his friend Cameron. The Dads had gone up the day before to shop so we met them, had lunch, waited in line and visited with Santa. Connor had a great trip and both boys were wonderful all day long.
When we saw Santa Connor went up and gave him high five along with a big grin. Then when it came time to sit on his lap the smile disappeared! He got the red eyes and did not like sitting there by himself. Santa was extremely patient and talked to Connor after he got off his lap. Connor was quickly back to all smiles and gave him a high five goodbye.
My favorite part of the trip was on the way home when the boys serenaded us with a song they both learned from their Parents as Teachers educator. Joanne would be proud!
We almost didn't get Christmas pictures this year since I forgot to make an appointment early enough and they were booked! Luckily they had a cancellation and worked us in -
He gets so serious about his books-
This is mom's favorite- I just love the look!


I love this grin too but unfortunately in some prints we got of this picture he looks evil!
What a big boy!
We love these even though he looks like he's in jail. He had a blast playing with the girls through the window-

Giving mom some nosey-nosey and kisses in the leaves-



They put the gift on their head to make him smile so he's just following instructions-

Caught in Action

Connor has decided that he likes to stand on top of things- tables, stacks of books, tractors.... I discovered this when I walked in to the living room this afternoon. He was yelling "Sit down." You'll also notice that he's not wearing a shirt. He now insists on feeding himself his yogurt- I couldn't find a bib tonight so there was no shirt after dinner!
I tried to get some video right before bed so everyone can see how much Connor loves to talk. He has a great memory and loves reciting songs, books and rhymes. Here he starts with Twinkle, Twinkle and then goes into his ABCs. You can see him reaching for his new favorite book at the end-



Connor's new favorite book is The Night Before Christmas. Here you can see him practicing his dramatic (sometimes very dramatic) reading of the new favorite-

Thanksgiving in KC

This year we traveled to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting Connor's aunts and uncles that live in KC and getting to see his cousins. Unfortunately they all move really fast and I didn't get out my camera much the whole weekend! It was great getting to see everyone and visit with family and friends over the holiday.
These are pictures of Connor in the hotel room reading his books and seeing if there were any deals that he's interested in on Black Friday-



On Saturday we went to the MU/KU game. Connor stayed at his cousin Harrison's house. Harrison has the coolest play room ever, complete with his own tree that you are allowed to touch!
MU/KU at Arrowhead stadium-
Yea, marching MU-
The flip tiger-
And the snow-
Don't we look like we're warm, happy and having fun?
Well, we were at that point in time. Luckily, our seats were under an overhang so we remained dry and we were pretty toasty in all of our layers. Notice the picture highlights were of the band's performance? The team's performance doesn't deserve to be documented in pictures, but these were all taken early enough that we didn't know any better!

The next day Connor got to experience snow for the first time-

More Fall Fun

I don't have any pictures from the actual parade but we went to the Waynesville Veteran's Day parade. Connor loves bands and flags so what could be better? Before we went down to watch we had some time to hang out waiting in daddy's office.
Connor found Colin's gavel and decided that he too can be a judge.



Connor continued to enjoy the fall weather and getting to play outside in particular. Here is a sample weekend afternoon for Connor-
Playing with Daddy in the leaves-

It just doesn't get any cuter than this-
Okay, maybe it does-

Sweet Connor digging in the mulch (ignore the partially landscaped courtyard- it's a work in progress)-
And then the mulch starts getting thrown on the porch-
And when told to clean up, even more gets thrown on the porch-
Oh no, apparently there is a "naughty corner" on the front porch :(

Mmmmm.....chocolate ice cream makes it all better!Especially when it's shared with Tiger-