Unexpected

Being a mom can be pretty tough sometimes. Not that I am complaining. It is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me, and I don't know what I would do without my two precious boys. That being said, after a weekend with my husband out of town, endless diaper changes, quite a few tantrums, and laundry and toys come out of every nook and cranny in the house, I get a little discouraged from time to time. Then, something amazing happens. One of the boys gives me just enough to know that I can keep doing this forever.

Last night, right after I put Max to bed, Connor was watching the end of some Disney show. I decided to use that time to get ahead of the game and pick up some of the million toys that had been dragged out during the course of our afternoon together. As I was bending down to pick up a well-loved teddy bear Connor said, "Thanks for picking up my toys Mama."

Side note: MAX IS CRAWLING!

Santa Train Ride

We went for a train ride with Santa. It was really fun. Connor was brave, but not too sure about Santa still. Max has a major issue with "stranger danger", and was not a fan of Santa at all! Here are some pictures from our day.

Max is Moving!

Well, he's not really crawling yet, but he is getting around some! Here is a little video showing some of what he can do.

Here is a sweet picture of Max napping. He's using his stuffed animal as his pillow.

He's a Prince!

I went to pick Connor up from school on Friday and met one of the little girls mom's in his class. When she found out that I was Connor's mom she said "Ella talks about Connor all the time." Apparently they discuss how he gets put in time out pretty often...oops! The other day she was playing princess and her dad asked who her prince was and Ella said "Connor is my prince." Watch out ladies!

Mentos Anyone?

Connor was cracking me up today. Right before bed he pretty much always goes totally limp making it next to impossible to get him in bed. We always joke with him and tell him to stop being a limp noodle. Tonight he went dead weight on us again and said "Mama, I'm a limp potato".

Earlier in the evening he was serenading us with the alphabet. He was doing an awesome job, but towards the middle he got a little mixed up. I had to laugh. He sang, "....H - I - J - K - L - MENTO - P".

Turkey and Teeth!

Below are some pictures that Connor made at school in November. The body of the turkey was his foot. We have a nice fat turkey since his foot is a little wide like the rest of the Sanders :)

I forgot to mention on my Thanksgiving post that Max got his first tooth on Thanksgiving day!!! It just barely broke through the gum, so you can't really see it yet...but it's through finally!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a small, but very good Thanksgiving. I cooked almost everything, which was a first for me, but it all turned out pretty good! Here are a couple of pictures from the day. Getting a picture of the four of us is next to impossible, but here is the best we could do!

Almost Crawling

Max isn't there quite yet, but he's almost crawling. Here is a picture of him trying on Thanksgiving Day.













Max loves to play with balls. Here he is playing in one of his new favorite spots.

Soarin', Flyin'

Here is Connor singing a little High School Musical.

Thankful Part II

They sent home a little feather from school that they are going to use to decorate a turkey. We were supposed to ask Connor what he was thankful for and write it on the feather for him to take back to school. When I asked him he said "I am thankful for you and Daddy." (Completely unprompted or directed, I might add!)

A Mom's Secret Desire

Do any of you mom's ever get a little jealous of how great your husband can be with the kids? Shawn is much better at playing with Connor than I am. They just do boy stuff, and I kind of just hang back and watch. I have to admit that a teeny tiny part of me feels jealous.

When we put Connor to bed the other night he wanted nothing to do with Shawn. It was all, "I want Mommy to do it" and "No Daddy, stop. I want to sit in Mommy's lap." If I'm being completely honest here, it wasn't Connor's finest hour. He was being mean to Shawn. Had the tables been turned, my feelings really would have been hurt. (I know he's only 2 and that's silly, but hey that's just me!). Anyway, we talked about that not being nice and how he shouldn't say things like that to Daddy. Sadly, that little jealousy monster in me got a bit smaller through this whole ordeal since I was the favorite at the moment. How horrible is that! Has my desire to be the best Mom I can be turned into a competition for his affection?

As always, Connor kept me in check. After Shawn had given him his goodnight kiss, I bent down to give him his goodnight kiss and Connor said, "No, I don't want a kiss from you. I like Mimi better." OUCH...that's what I get!

Funny Connorisms

Connor: Daddy, put me backwards again.
Translation: Daddy, put me upsidedown again.

Connor: No Daddy, let me do it. I have no control.
Translation: No Daddy, let me do it. I have it under control.

Connor: I have it under remote control.
Translation: I have it under control.

Connor: Mama, when are we going to get to the restauraunk? Is the gourl going to bring us the food?
Translation: Mama, when are we going to get to the restaurant? Is the girl (aka waitress) going to bring us the food?

Connor: Mama, can I have a peppernut cookie?
Translation: Mama, can I have a peppermint pattie?

Connor: I'm a pimp.
Translation: I'm a pimp :) (Thanks for that one, Shawn!)

Pulling Up

Max pulled himself to a standing position in his crib today! He's been pulling himself to his knees for a while now, but this is the first time he pulled all the way to standing. I didn't get a great picture of it because by the time I got my camera he was leaning way over. The second picture where I'm trying to show his feet is right before he ate it big time...but you get the point! I can't believe how fast he's growing. By the way, does anyone know how I can rotate a picture on here?

Thankful

In the spirit of the season, Connor's class at school went around the room and said what they are thankful for. When it was Connor's turn he said, "Mrs. Tambra, are you thankful when we leave at the end of the day?"

Da-da Da-da Da-da

Well, Max has started saying Dada. I really don't think he knows what it means yet, but it's still exciting! On Saturday, I was playing with him trying to get him to say Mama. I would say it and everytime I said it he responded with Da-da. Shawn loved it!

Lambie Lovin'

Connor has a stuffed lamb that he cannot sleep without. It's his security object that we can never leave at home. I even ordered a backup one from ebay in the event something happens to it because I really don't know what Connor would do without it. Lately, when we put Connor to bed Shawn pretends like he's going to take Lambie with him. The conversation usually goes something like this.

Shawn: I'm going to take Lambie with me tonight.
Connor: No Daddy. Just playing...right Daddy?
Shawn: No, I need an animal to help me fall asleep like you.
Connor: No Daddy. You have Mommy. She's your animal.

I mean...he CRACKS me up!!!

Bathtime Blunders

Night before last I had Max in the baby tub and Connor in big tub together. After being in the tub for about 30 seconds, Max started straining. By the time I grabbed him to try to hang him over the potty to do his business, it was too late. The damage was done. His tub was now officially unsuitable for a bath, and I had to figure out a way to get the boys bath finished by myself so I could get the mess cleaned up. Of course this had to happen on a night when Shawn was on call...lucky him! Well, lucky for me, I have Connor around. He said "Mama, do you think you could pour the dirty water down the commode to get rid of the poo poo?" Sounded like a great plan to me! So, I began pouring. Too bad the tub didn't cooperate and half of what I poured hit the floor....disgusting. (Nice towel number one on the floor to sop up poo water). On to the next plan. The tub has a plug. I'll just set it on the toilet so I can pull the plug and have it drain into it. So I do that. Meanwhile, I had to wipe Max's bottom off quickly, and I'm relying on my 2 year old to make sure he doesn't fall over in the bathtub and drown. I decide Max's bath is over after supervising the draining for a bit, so I take him to the bedroom and throw on his PJ's. I keep a running dialog with Connor to make sure he doesn't drown while I leave him alone in the tub (no Mom of the year award for me!). When I get back to the bathroom disaster has struck again. As the tub drained, one end began to get heavier than the other and it tipped sending the remaining poo water ALL OVER THE BATHROOM! (Nice towel number 2 hits the floor). I give up and grab Connor out of the tub with one arm, hold screaming Max in the other, and head for dry land!!

One good thing that came out of all of this is I realized we no longer need the baby tub. I took this picture last night. The boys love having the whole tub to play in together!

Vampirates and Vegetarians

We have had such an amazing October! From going to the pumpkin patch to having our own Halloween Party in Austin with my family, it has been very busy. As usual though, Connor is keeping us laughing! For those of you that know Connor, you are aware that he is a very verbal 2 year old. It blows my mind sometimes the things he retains, understands, and can say. So much so, that sometimes I forget he's only 2 and really is still mastering our language. For Halloween, Connor was a pirate. All month long when he would try on his costume it was "Shiver me timbers" this and "Walk the Plank" that. Very cute! Since I LOVE Halloween and all things scary, I ordered Connor some Halloween books. One of the books we have been reading is a story about a Vegetarian Vampire. So that his how Connor learned the word vampire. In Austin, my parents have a cute little vampire that sings "Flying Purple People Eaters", and Connor was talking about it and kept saying "Mama, I want to see the vampirate". Kids are so funny! Below is a video of Connor and his cousin Braeden dancing with the vampire.


Max is 7.5 months old now and eating some solids. I think he is ready to move on from being a vegetarian though. He makes the WORST faces when you try to give him peas, squash, and green beans. He is a pickier eater than Connor, which is hard to imagine!

Below are a couple of pictures from Halloween. Connor the pirate and Max the spider! Also, there is a picture of Connor and his buddy Addie trick-or-treating. They fought over who would ring the doorbell at every house, and we had to keep reminding them not to go into the houses!