Rubber Ducky may work for Ernie BUT Jackson and Connor prefer Rubber Penguin

and, basically any other penguin that they can find or get their hands on. We started to notice that the boys will ignore the rest of their bath toys in favor of the 2 penguins and it is a good thing that we have 2 because they would be fighting, if not.



And, sometimes you just need your penguin as a cuddle partner...

All Aboard, as we search for the Great Pumpkin

 

It wouldn't have been fall without a trip to a pumpkin patch. We had so much fun at the first one that we opted to go to a second one on the same day. I think that the boys were a little surprised at us just letting them do what they want amiss all of the orange balls and gourds. Connor enjoyed it so much that he tried to share his favorite past time-eating. The pumpkin stem was an obvious choice to put his mouth on.

Swinging Around the Tot Lot

We finally had a free day and opted to take the boys to the Rodgers Forge Tot Lot for the first time. It was so much fun to watch their excitement.

Connor had a permanent smile on his face from the minute that he realized how much fun until we secured him in his car seat.   And, besides his own enjoyment, he was concerned for Jackson and spent a good bit of time watching his older brother.

Jackson was laughing out loud and attracted the attention of another mom their with her boy who indicated that she loved listening to him and that she missed her own boy being that small.

We weren't out for very long but know we need to get them back as soon as we can!! I can't imagine how much time that we will spend there watching our boys grow up.

o.k. Dad, it's time to lower the crib again - XOXO Connor

A note from Connor to his dad...

I know that you just lowered the crib on Tuesday night but I was able to figure how fairly easy how to get on my knees and stand up so that I could look out of the crib. This may seem a little shocking since I really wasn't even trying and the main reason that you lowered it is that I reached up and started grabbing at the top of the crib AND am constantly hitting my head. I also know that you thought it was low enough but I'm trying to catch up with my brother.  By the way, I hate to remind you about this but mommy said that you should probably go to the lowest setting. Sometimes, she does know best. I know that you were trying to help everyone out that has to pick me up but I'm so cute, what's a little lower back pain and I will "try" to help out more when it is time to get out of the crib. As my doctor said at the visit, I am solid, which I think is a good thing.

XOXO
Connor

Time to Lower Connor's crib

He has definitely started to maneuver around a lot lately so this shouldn't have been as much of a surprise as it was but, it is definitely time to lower Connor's crib.

This is obviously a little dangerous as his head could quite possibly outweigh the rest of his body and toppling over is a serious possibility.

Next baby item retired -- baby bath tub

During vacation, we were able to take advantage of the large soaking tub that our master bedroom suite had to offer. I opted to get in with the boys in my bathing suit just in case they maneuvered too much but they both LOVED it so we decided to give it a go at home. We quickly realized that it was time to retire the infant baby tub. Here are some pics of the boys from their last time in their tub.

Jackson and Connor's first bath post on the blog showed off their initial feelings of discontent towards their bath. Oh, how times changed. I had been meaning to post earlier about this but it is kind of hard to take pics of newborns/infants in the bathtub due to safety concerns. 

Jackson almost immediately started to enjoy the tub after a couple of weeks.  He is definitely a splash expert.

It took Connor awhile to change his tense arms and closed eyes approach but in time, he started to enjoy our "squirt wars" and loosened up a lot to the point that he can splash me so much that I wonder who is getting the bath. 

 

Now that their infant tub is retired, we've moved on to more fun in the big bath tub. Lots more splashing capabilities in there.

He's lost his mobile and can't have the monitor -- what is next on the list

About a month ago, I went in to get Jackson up from a nap and he was hanging/pulling on the animals in his mobile. I immediately removed it out of concern that he would eventually get it down as he can negotiate around his crib and shows no sign of fear or restraint when something looks dangerous.

We moved the video monitor to Jackson's crib when he started pulling up on items so that we could observe just how far he could get and it confirmed that he had to be lowered down to the lowest crib setting after watching him get around. In the past week, I experienced no reception and or fuzzy reception and when I went in to get Jackson from a nap, found him either chewing on the cord or playing with it. Well, last night, he sounded like he was hard at work with the cords before he had calmed down enough to go to sleep. When I checked on him around 11 p.m., I found him wrapped up in the cords. Not really sure how he managed it but it must have really worn him out as I basically had to lift him to unwrap the cord and he never woke up. Needless to say, the monitor is going to have to find a new home in the nursery!!

I had initially prepared this post without pictures but had yet to post it. I was finally able to get the pictures to confirm that he is and always will be a cord hunter. I had placed Jackson in Connor's crib to get some pictures of them together for my birthday, and after grabbing the camera found this...



Please do not let the innocent look of Jackson ever fool you as he is always up to something. Michael has finally lowered Connor's crib to the lowest setting so we won't have to stare at the monitor or leave the door open enough to make sure that Connor eventually lays down. Regardless of the danger that it presented, I will miss Connor's beaming smile when I open the door!!

his Mom rocks and his brother is a rockstar but more importantly, Connor is crawling!!!

Connor started with some right arm drags and added a left hook to finish the move and has quickly started to motor around. He has even figured out how to lift his belly off the ground so it looks less like a flop. We are so happy that he can finally get around to where he wants to be in lieu of crying out because he appears to be left behind. However, with his newly tapped ability to roam, everybody around him now has the added pleasure of making sure where he is before leaving a room because you just never know where he is going to end up.

Halloween costume update..

We opted to keep the costumes a secret until the day of Halloween. Despite the picture from "It's the Great Pumpkin," which is my favorite movie for the holiday, the boys are not going as ghosts like what seems to be the preference for the entire Charlie Brown gang. Inquiring minds should know that the boys are going to be animals from different regions that they have learned in Baby Noah. I tried the costumes on when the arrived and they look super cute as they do in most other articles of clothing.

He may be a Rising Star according to Living Classrooms but to the boys, he is Daddy!!

Michael was honored with the nomination and being selected as a Rising Star for Living Classrooms Foundation. In honor of the nomination, he was invited to an event, which we both attended and took place on Friday, October 1st at 6:00pm with a pre-awards ceremony leading into the Maritime Magic party!

Maritime Magic Rising Stars is a select group of young professionals (under age 40), who are recognized for their outstanding achievements in their professional and personal lives, and who are honored at Maritime Magic and in the media for their efforts.

So, he may be a rising star, but to Jackson and Connor, he is dad!!!