HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Changes

You probably know by now that we're in the middle of some big changes. Without going into too much detail, I have taken a job at Liberty University, which means we'll be moving back to Lynchburg -- or somewhere in that area -- pretty soon. It'll be a little rough for a little while, but in the long run we're looking forward to the change.

I also hope this is the last move we'll have to make, at least from city to city. While I have my roots in the Lynchburg area, Christina is a transplant, but says it's always felt like a second home. We hope that Conner will be happy with his new home as well. Richmond has been nice, but our careers took some major unexpected detours along the way.

Anyway, this blog is about Conner, who will be one year old in less than two weeks! Next weekend will be his first Halloween in which he'll be a firefighter. The costume choices for this age are fairly limited, but he'll look sharp in his red a few times next week.

It's tough to figure out if he'll be walking by Nov. 3. Conner is doing a great job standing on his own and pulls away to whatever he's holding on to, but he knows that he can get from Point A to Point B quicker by crawling.

He's developing a lot of words that at least we can understand. He's known "clock" for quite some time, but now he's added "tick-tock" with a little bit of a dance. Lately he's been saying "hi" to everyone and everything. He likes to pick up books and just babble along like he's reading.

Conner's eating habits are great. He's been off a bottle now for a few weeks and doing all his drinking from various sippy cups. His meals have more and more "real" food -- there's not much he doesn't like. He enjoys feeding himself -- especially bananas -- so that helps a little with feeling rushed while we eat. But when he's done, he's done. He puts his hands behind his head and no more food is going in.

So ... that's about all for now! Have a Happy Halloween!

Funny Faces

Now that Conner is quickly approaching 1 year, his faces and personality get funnier each day. Here are a few recent photos of him showing off ... along with a fancy hairdo.

Month 11 comes and goes

Conner turned 11 months old this past weekend, which included a visit to Lynchburg College (above). Below are a few more recent photos of our little man.

Searching for Conner ... Oh wait, there he is!

Did you know that Conner is 317 days old today. Not that 317 days is a significant number ... it's just one day closer to his first birthday! I thought Christina would enjoy being reminded of that.

So, on to the point of this post ... Conner has been playing peek-a-boo for quite some time now, but we've never really captured it on video. But the other day -- in the newly discovered play area that is the door to our back deck -- Christina was able to finally capture Conner hiding behind a curtain ... and then appearing ... then hiding ... then appearing ...

A weekend at the beach

The great thing about me running races at Virginia Beach is how it gives us an excuse to go on a mini-vacation. While I enjoyed yet another race at the beach, my highlights were watching Conner explore in the sand, opening and shutting doors in the hotel room, sleeping on the couch and listening to him "talk" to other people on the Boardwalk. Here are some photo highlights:

The double-digit little man

10 months? Really? Conner has had a big month in many different ways. He has seen all his grandparents in three straight weeks, which included his third trip to Ohio. As we posted earlier, he learned to crawl, and it didn't take long for him to perfect that. Now he's quite the speed demon. In the past week he has drastically improved pulling himself up too. He now greets us every morning standing in his bed waiting for us. It wouldn't surprise us if he's walking in the next month or so.
The next month isn't looking nearly as busy, which we're looking forward to. There's been a lot of go-go-go lately, so we're looking forward to easing into fall and planning that first birthday party! Tomorrow we're headed to Virginia Beach - his second visit there, but first in which he'll get to play in the sand. Of course we'll have photos to share!