Life's a Circus

Shhhhh, do you hear that? No? EXACTLY!!! Saturday and Sunday night we didn't hear anything either....Connor slept through the night both nights!!! We are up to 11 nights total! Let's see if we make two weeks! I just keep telling myself he has to sleep. Everyone sleeps. Right?

 A few weeks ago we got to enjoy the "Greatest Show on Earth" with my family. Grandma Glenda secured some amazing seats for all of us to enjoy, and enjoy we did. I love the animals, but there's something with the stunts that makes me uncomfortable. Connor loved it all! Tigers, Elephants, motorcycles, and dragons, he was on cloud 9. Every time the dragon would come out he would get so excited!

 Our fantastic church, First Baptist Church of Ft. Lauderdale, had a Family Fun day recently as well. It lived up to it's name and it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the festivities. The big kids enjoyed the food trucks, and Connor couldn't get enough of each bounce house. He was nice and sweaty by the end, which leads us to his tiger face.

This was Connor's first time getting his face painted and after having seen another child walking around as a tiger, Connor was sold! The lady wasn't sure how still he would be and told me she was just going to do something small. I told her she would be surprised and to just go for the full effect. She couldn't get over what a good boy he was. Nice and still, and so well behaved. Tiger Connor indeed!

I love that our church values the family so much. I love that Connor enjoys going to nursery/Sunday School, and that he has his "friends" there. January has been very full, and yet we are lucky enough that it was spent with family and loved ones. We have gotten to see Great Grandpa Ernie and Great Grandma Jo, we have been to Ft. Myers, and even got to spend an entire day with Connor's buddy Nathaniel. Connor has been fighting a cold for about a week now, but at his doctor's appt they measured him at 36.75 inches and 28 pounds. He is growing so fast, and I am so lucky to be a part of his life. Hopefully this bug will pass quickly and we have our little tiger back on his feet. He sure is grrrrrrreat!

Independent Thinker

"In bad times and in good, I've never lost my sense in zest for life." ~Walt Disney

Last night while talking to Tim I asked, "Are you and I going to go out to dinner for my birthday?" To which Connor quickly and enthusiastically replied "YEAH!", thinking I was talking to him. He then added "and daddy too, and choo-choos." What a cutie!

 Five thirty in the morning is rather shocking, especially if it's on a Saturday, and also your birthday, but that's what time we riled the troops. Rarely does my birthday fall on a day that we can travel, so that's just what we did! Disney here we come! We initially planned the trip for just us three, but after talking about our upcoming adventure we got Uncle Casey and Aunt Arielle on board. Look out, here comes Funville, population 5!

We spent our day at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It was fun getting to roam around and do exactly as we please, each getting to go on rides and drink/eat at your leisure. Tim, Connor, and I even squeezed into Dumbo, and a Speedway race car, at the same time! Great memories. We even got to watch the Epcot fireworks from a special roped off section just for us. What a special birthday it was! After Epcot closed we trudged back to our car, and yes, decided to drive all the way back home (games were necessary). It was a looooong (birth)day to say the least, but absolutely perfect.The night before we had gathered with the rest of the family and Connor got to help me blow out my candles and open all of my presents. It was perfect.

New Year's Eve was spent with our loved ones, and was also the deadline for the photo contest. I am happy to say that I won a Kindle Fire, and I'm so excited to use it with Connor. I wanted something aside from "my" things to use with him. This will be more for him. He is so smart. He is recognizing more and more letters, and just the other day told me correctly that the letter block he was holding was an "A". He's been pretty good about the 4 letters in his own name, but now we're branching out. There are 22 more after all.

He seemed to transition back into spending the day at grandma's very well, though he has been showing signs of being very strong willed over the past week or so. More so than before. The Sunday before school started back up was his first major melt down, all because he wasn't ready to leave grandma's house. He is certainly trying to assert his wants, and testing to see who is boss. It is a very interesting new period in development. It hasn't happened every day, but when it does it's Chernobyl. I know he's frustrated because he wants to say so much more than he is able to, and it has to be frustrating. We just remember to be patient with him, but still let him know we are in charge, we have rules, and he still has to obey. It has gotten better.

My favorite time of the day is saying prayers with him at night. He has been more active in our time praying and I love when we are done and he says "amen". He also slept through one night over break, bringing us to a total of 7 times. That was a nice treat! Tantrums are normal, he really is such a sweet boy and we are so lucky!

Thank You Santa

Santa: "Connor, what would you like for Christmas this year?"

Connor:"Um, tucks, cars, airpanes, and choo-choos."

 Christmas has been so fun with this little goober. He LOVES Christmas lights around the neighborhood, and shouts "pretty, daddy, pretty" in the car when we pass lit homes. He won't stop until we turn and make sure to see exactly which house he is pointing at. Cookies, and baking have been a great adventure with him along to help mix the ingredients, decorate with sprinkles, and gobble up the goodies. He's even a pro and turning on and off the Christmas tree, and insists on doing it himself every time it needs to be done. He takes it upon himself to remind us in the mornings when it needs to be turned on."Tree mommy, tree. On, on!!"

 Winter Break started on Friday Dec. 18, and we immediately drove up to Orlando. Disney has always been special to us, and we decided it was about time to start our Annual Passes back up. Connor is ready, and we're looking forward to a year full of Disney Magic. Merry Christmas to us! We thought it may be a little crowded that particular weekend, but it wasn't too bad. We've been there when it was much much worse. We hit Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom this particular trip, and it was the perfect way to start our Christmas holiday.

 Over the past few years our tradition has been to spend Christmas Eve at our house before heading to the Candlelight Service at church. This year's menu consisted of an appetizer of Cheese Bread Dip (that turned out perfectly thanks to my Nelson-Hamilton ladies), then onto potatoes, carrots, and a delicious Prime Rib Roast. I'm always nervous putting this meal together. There have been some interesting stories in the past, but thankfully everything turned out as planned this year. Actually I think the roast even surpassed my expectations, though Connor couldn't be bothered with it. It isn't mac and cheese after all. The Candlelight Service was beautiful and we were able to spend the wee hours of Christmas morning singing praise to the Lord, and with our loved ones.

 Santa certainly visited our home, and Connor was very satisfied with his list he so sweetly asked for. As I write this he is sitting on the floor with his die-cast Chuggington set having the choo-choo's circle round and round. Of course mommy and daddy added some more things to his Christmas haul, but we couldn't help ourselves. The picnic table has been used every day, and Connor loves sitting at it for breakfast, and all other times he plays. We figured he grow into his bicycle over this next year. He was very excited for it and was able to climb right on top of it. He has no idea how much fun that bike will hold in the future, but it has wheels and he's thrilled!

 Connor came out and immediately sat down at his new table! He may have even eaten the leftover cookies that Santa didn't eat. What a cookie monster!

 His stocking had lots of fun toys inside, including plastic animals and lots of Cars Vinylmations to open up. He liked his stocking so much he almost wasn't ready to move on to the other presents.

 Connor got many toys, but a majority of them either related to Mater, or Chuggington. We have attempted to organize and control the amount of track he has, but after purchasing one rubbermaid bin for his die-cast set, and one rubbermaid bin for his interactive set, we have found we need more bins, it doesn't fit!

 Grandma's house on Christmas morning is magical in and of itself. It always has been. The Guise family knows how to do Christmas, and everyone always feels so special and loved. Connor knew the rocking horse was his, and right away became the perfect cowboy on his bucking bronco.

 Grandma Glenda made sure everyone got their perfect present. Aunt Kaitlyn got the boots she'd been dreaming of, Uncle Casey got the DVD box set he'd been hinting at, Daddy got the golf shoes on his list, and little Connor got an iPod! Though he is only 2, our smarty pants knows just how to work the thing and has a list of favorite apps already. From puzzles, to counting, to letters, it is the perfect present for him. Grandma got me the perfect present too, she printed my blog. Hard cover, almost 200 pages, from pregnancy to Connor's second birthday, pages and pages of memories all packaged in a beautiful book. I cried.

 Papa got Connor a Cars scooter that he figured out very quickly. A few wipe outs, but he's learning what it takes to balance on it, and would immediately get back up and try again. He's all boy!

 Great Grandma and Grandpa Hebebrand came down the day after Christmas and spent a few days with us as well. They of course spoiled Connor, and couldn't get over how much he had grown and developed since the last time they were with him. We are blessed to have four generations together no matter how crazy it can get. Family is family, and we will always have one another.

It's New Year's Eve and I am in awe at how fast 2012 has flown by. We are adjusting to our new normal, and there is never a day that goes by that I don't think of Dad and miss him. Some say the holidays are the worst, but I really don't see a difference in holiday or not. I know he would be so proud of Connor and I miss being able to just talk to him. 2013 holds so much potential. I have many goals, hopes, and dreams for the new year. We will see which pan out, and which will wait until 2014.

 “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them– the LORD, who remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:5,6).

Christmas Card 2012

 Top 12 of '12

12. Various travels: Nashville, Louisville, Lynchburg, Gainesville. 

11. Connor's First Haircut at Walt Disney World. (Read more here)

10. Tropical Storm Potty Training. (Read more here)

9. Kristin Directed/Produced "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Play) at her school. (Read more here)

8. Connor's Mater Halloween Costume. (Read more here)

7. Red Sox game at the new Marlin's Park. (Read more here)

6. Guise-Petersen trip to Key West, Fl. (Read more here)

5. Tim ran A1A Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon. 

4. Retirement Ceremony for Gy Sgt Scott Guise. (Read more  here)

3. Tim & Kristin Celebrate 5th Year Wedding Anniversary in NYC. (Read more here)

2. "Harriet's Family Reunion" in North Carolina. (Read more here)

1. Connor turning 2 at Disneyland in California. (Read more here)

Connor is a constant source of pride and joy! We cannot get over how smart he is! For only being two years old for such a short time he is soaking everything up like a sponge. He has surpassed counting to 10 and now goes onto the teens. We are up to 19 already. It is so cute to hear him say his numbers. Also, over the past few weeks he has been showing off his color recognition skills. You can name any of the colors in a crayon packet and he will hand you the correct one. He especially enjoys pointing to the colors when it comes to Christmas lights. The blue snowflake, or the red mickey peppermint. He is so smart and clever. He is also mastering his name, and even recognizing his letters. While reading books to him, he will point to the letter "C" on the page or "O" etc. I am constantly amazed. He loves to sing, and it's adorable how he tries to chime in on the alphabet song or "You are my Sunshine". He knows all of the names of the Chuggington and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, and they are his morning friends. The things he says and does are just incredible, there is never a dull moment!

We always have so much fun taking pictures together, and we are usually able to set up and shoot very quickly. We smile, we pose, we laugh, we get pictures taken. Connor was a little harder to keep still this year, but that made it a memory in and of itself. That was the challenge this year. Get Connor to sit still and smile long enough to get the picture. Of course we got creative, and because of that we have such special pictures! I'm so glad that we were able to get my friend Anthony to be our photographer again this year, he always does such a nice job, and we cherish the pictures we get together. It captures a moment in time, and I am blessed to have my whole family involved. When it comes down to the top of my list, they are it. They are my constant, my joy, and where the Lord blesses us the most. They are the ultimate Christmas gift, I need nothing more.