More Exciting Adventures

Well, we have had another busy week and weekend to distract us from missing Daddy so much. Conor still isn't sleeping great, so I'm trying to keep him busy and wear him out. I think it's just making me tired :)

Here he is posing in honor of Mommy's alma mater! Look at that great big grin...Go Elon!


And so proudly showing off the new "lion jammies" we bought last weekend (see previous post)...wish they made him more excited to sleep!


Saturday we went to a community pool and water park near our friends' house. Conor and Madelyn had a great time. By the end of the afternoon, Conor was jumping in the deep end. First, he wanted to just sit on the edge and slide off into my arms. Then he wanted to stand up and step off into my arms. Before I knew it he was pushing me away and taking a few steps sideways so he could "jump in" without me there to catch him. I am proud of how brave and adventurous he was, but man...we are going to have to keep our eyes on this kid!...no fear!


On Sunday, we went to the local parade for Geneva's "Swedish Days". Conor was so excited about the horses, the fire trucks, and waving the flag!! I think the drummers were his favorite part of the bands. He had a blast!


Afterwards, to cool off, we went over to Conor's godparents'--Kip and Janice's--to swim in their pool. I'm not even sure how long we were in there...more than two hours, I think, but we still had to pull Conor out kicking and screaming when it was time to go. I think he might be part fish! (takes after his mommy???)

We also got to talk to Daddy again today. He spent the weekend in Belfast and also got to watch a Gaelic Football game. He is having a great time, but we're pretty sure he misses us as much as we miss him! Love you Daddy!!!


Have a great week everybody!

Hot Hot Hot

Yesterday, when we got home, we had no power. Bad problem when it was almost 100 degrees outside. Lucky for us, the plan was to get in the new pool anyway. By the time we made it inside for a late dinner and bedtime a couple hours later, the AC was back on. (Good thing, I was trying to figure out how we could both camp out in the basement!)

Lucky for all of you, we promised Daddy we would update the website more frequently while he is gone. Here are the promised pics of the sprinkler from the last post.

We spoke to Daddy today...other than a one minute phone call to say he arrived safely on Saturday, today was the first opportunity he had to email as well as call us! It was great to hear his voice, and though we could tell he misses us, it certainly sounds like he is having a great time. They have already done so much in the past few days, and have weekend excursions planned for the next three weekends. This weekend, they will be heading to Belfast.

We are holding our own here. I find that Conor is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to Daddy being gone. It seems to be most affecting his sleep...difficulty calming down and falling asleep at bedtime, waking up in the middle of the night, and skipping naps. Pretty soon it has to get better simply for the fact that he must be so tired! Also, the near-100-degree temps and itchy heat rash are probably not helping much either. Every night, we watch some videos that Daddy made before he left of him singing songs and reading stories. Conor loves that part of the bedtime routine!

Special Treat and Hot Summer Days

While Daddy is away, Mommy took Conor shopping for a special treat . Here he is showing off the new lion "jammies" I bought for him. He picked them out all by himself and was so proud to show them off for the camera.

It is finally summer here. We have had some wonderful thunderstorms overnight...luckily even the booming thunder and bright lightning don't wake Conor once he's asleep. The daytime temps have been nearly 90 and are supposed to continue to rise throughout the week. Two days ago, I put him down for a nap in just a diaper, and when I went to check on him, the diaper was around his ankles (I took pictures, of course, for future blackmail, but don't think they make appropriate website material).We have been playing in the sprinkler and I even bought Conor a $5 plastic pool (ok, so I guess that makes two special treats so far). Check back later for more of those pics.

Bye Bye Daddy

For those of you who didn't know yet, Adam has the wonderful opportunity to spend 6 weeks in Ireland for a study abroad course this summer. He has always loved Ireland and has always wanted to go there. The class is entitled "Media Culture in Ireland" and, for those of you who don't know Adam very well, he is a movie fanatic (we have 300-400 movies in our basement!!). So this could not be the more perfect or ideal opportunity for him. And, at the encouragement of many, I have decided to take advantage of the opportunity as well, and will head over to Ireland at the end of his trip. I will be able to do the local Dublin exploring he has done for a month while he is finishing his last few days of classes, then we will travel to other parts of Ireland together for two weeks. Conor is lucky enough to spend those two weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's (I think they are as excited about those two weeks as anybody!)

So, today is the day we dropped Daddy off at the airport. Unfortunately, some terrible weather has changed plans a little. The tornado sirens went off this morning as we were getting ready so we had to spend some time in the basement. Then, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings have significantly messed up schedules at the airport. But in typical fashion, God works in mysterious ways. Initially, Adam was supposed to leave Chicago at 1:50pm and have 2 layovers before arriving in Dublin at 10am where he was to somehow meet up with his NIU-student roommate who would be on a different flight arriving at a different time. Now, after several delays and flight changes (and sitting in the airport for 10 hours, chasing down and checking his baggage twice), they will both be on the SAME flight, a DIRECT flight, from Chicago to Dublin, HOPEFULLY leaving at 9:30 tonight. Tomorrow, they will arrive at their host family's home and class begins on Monday.

Here are some Daddy and Conor photos taken just before we left for the airport--notice, Daddy picked a green shirt for Conor to wear (presumably in honor of his trip). :) We miss you already Daddy.

Go Twins!

Well, since Conor has a few White Sox shirts, I made a gentle hint to our MN relatives that Conor didn't have any Twins gear for the summer. Well, needless to say Grandma and Grandpa quickly fixed that problem. Conor can say equally well: "Go White Sox" and "Go Twins" as well as "Chicago" and "Minnesota", so who knows who he will ultimately cheer for. But for today, here he is in his new Twins apparel.


...being silly...

Go Twins!!

Playing at the Park

As promised, here are more photos to make up for the lack of updating recently. Conor absolutely loves the park. Every time we get even close to driving by it, he gets all excited and starts yelling "part...part...part" (not too good at pronouncing his K's yet). Then if we don't have time to stop he gets all sad and whiny and says, "bye bye part". He still loves the swings, but also is really enoying the slides these days and running around exploring all the different areas of the playground. Amazing how much he is growing up and becoming so independent. Sometimes I'm amazed at what has transpired, and he is not even two yet!!

Let's Go to the Zoo

We made a recent trip to the Brookfield Zoo with our good friends Kristine and Madelyn. Madelyn and Conor are only 5 months apart and have been buddies from the beginning. They had a blast checking out all the animals, playing at the playground, and hanging out with each other.

Their favorite part, by a landslide, was the splash park. The water was freezing but they didn't care. Hearing those sweet giggles is one of the most precious sounds in the world, and those smiles and laughter could bring joy to anyone's day!! Totally worth the $8.95 to buy a towel.

I love these pictures of Daddy and Conor.

Laura's Graduation

Well, here is my much anticipated update...
In May, we spent a weekend in Madison when my sister Laura graduated from college. Conor enjoyed the pool and dipping his feet in the hot tub at the hotel. He also loved hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma, Leah and Andy, and Laura. And, of course, he enjoyed the food and getting to stay up late!! Congratulations Laura!!

The proud parents!!...they got three kids through college!!! Congrats Mom and Dad!

The proud sisters!!

Conor hanging out by the hot tub, just chillin'.
Winking or squinting in the sun...either way, it's cute!

Glimpse of the future:

Dealing and shuffling the deck for our family card game to pass the time.

Photo session. We recently got a new camera, so Adam was testing out all the new features trying to get some cool shots. And with Laura's creativity and her brand new art/graphic design degree, the two of them came up with some pretty neat pics!

High five!!

Family photo