An Illinois Halloween

We spent last weekend in the Chicago area with some relatives on my dad's side of the family. It was a great trip! Dylan was able to play real drums with two of his 2nd cousins in Mt. Prospect, he had the entire kid's section of the Morton Arboretum to himself (it was very rainy that day) in Lisle, he got to play in a great park in Channahon, and he got to see a lot of crazy Halloween stuff in Joliet. It was a busy trip for the little guy. Crystal and I did a long run next to the Illinois/Michigan Canal and it was awesome to see the tree leaves changing color and dropping on the path in front of us. We also visited a Spyder outlet store and I bought the coolest winter/ski coat in history.

The main purpose of the trip was to visit with family, but the timing of the trip was so that I could take part in the huge haunted house that my cousins put on at my Aunt Chris and Uncle Rick's house. This was unofficially the 19th year of the haunted house (Agony Haunted House) and it was truly amazing. I was given a crazy gorilla costume and told to run around and scare people. I had loads of fun and managed to lose my voice in the process (it still hasn't completely recovered). Dylan, surprisingly, wasn't scared of all the blood and gore in the haunted house, but he really wasn't fond of his dad dressed as a gorilla. Dylan was supposed to be dressed as a cowboy, but he refuses to wear anything on his head. Instead he was a soccer player, but we didn't get a good picture because he never stays in the same place for more than a second.

Thanks to everyone for making it a great weekend. Hopefully we can make it back soon!

We are off to Washington in a couple of weeks for the big half-marathon on the 29th. Training is still coming along, but we are ready for the race.

The Day of the Tread

This morning Crystal and I ran the Day of the Tread 10K race. It was fun racing with Crystal after training with her for this half-marathon. I have to say that I am extremely proud of her and that I am amazed at how tough she is as a runner. I've never really ran a race with her, so it was very cool for me.

The 10K course was just 2 laps of the 5K course, which was run through some Albuquerque neighborhoods. There were quite a few hills, so it was definitely a tough course. They started the 10K runners along with the 5K runners, which was tough because we had to pass through the finish line twice and the first time the 5K runners got to finish and we had to keep going. We ran the first 5K in about 22:40 and I could tell Crystal wasn't feeling very well. She told me after the race that that she really wished she were only doing the 5K at that point. Anyway, we had to do another lap and there was a woman who had just passed us, so we had some serious competition for Crystal to try to win another race.

We managed to make it through the 4th mile and the lady stayed about 30-40 meters in front of us the whole time. I could tell Crystal was feeling frustrated, but she just kept chugging along. She picked up the pace during the 5th mile (~ 7:00 min/mile) and every time we would close the gap to the lady in front of us, she would hear us getting close and run even faster. I thought we had thrown our best at her and that maybe it just wasn't enough. I asked Crystal if she thought she had it in her to catch her and she kind of grumbled something like "I guess..." at me. I wasn't so confident in that answer, but I told her my strategy to try to pass the lady about a 1/4 mile from the finish where there was a big uphill climb. I knew if we got too close to her before that, she would just hear us and start running harder again, so we stayed about 10 meters back through the 6th mile. We ran the 6th mile in 6:57 and I wasn't sure that even I had the energy to catch the lady at that point.

We finally reached the hill and I told Crystal now was our chance if she wanted to go for it. Without hesitation Crystal just picked up the pace and smoked it up the hill and through the finish line. We passed the lady very quickly and never looked back. Crystal ended up beating her by about 10 seconds. I couldn't believe how tough Crystal ran. We ended up running the second 5K in about 22:20, which is very exciting because we had negative splits (a running term for completing the 2nd half of a race faster than the 1st half). It was great!

In the end there was a super fast woman who won the entire race (men and women), but it was an exhilarating experience to come from behind at the end and beat that lady. Crystal and I tied for 4th place overall (men and women). Crystal was 2nd for the women and I was 3rd for the men. We got some cool medals and enjoyed the food spread provided by the race organizers. It was beautiful day in Albuquerque and it was fun to be out racing. I am really excited for our half-marathon in Seattle on Nov. 29th. I'm sure Crystal will amaze me again and I can't wait.

18 Months!

Today is Dylan's 18 month birthday. Our little baby is not so little anymore and is certainly not a baby anymore. He is now officially a big boy in our book. He has been sleeping in a big boy bed for the last month, answering yes or no questions like a big boy does, and even eating with utensils more proficiently. He's certainly growing up.

We were able to spend this weekend with Dylan's Nani and Pops (Crystal's parents) and Dylan's new friends Sandy and Lyle. Dylan loves having so much attention and really has had a blast the last few days. Below is a picture that Sandy took of Dylan at the Balloon Fiesta yesterday. He has become quite fond of footballs and runs around the house throwing them everywhere (including at poor Snoopee's head). It is hard to believe how fast he has grown up. He'll be 2 before we know it.

Happy 18 months to our little bug.

Our Champion Racer!

Crystal ran the Run for the Hills 5K race this morning and finished 1st place overall for females (10th overall in the entire race). This is a picture of her after the awards ceremony. She received a cool plaque that we can use for garage art and also a medal for winning her age group.

She has talked me into training for the Seattle Half-Marathon on November 29th, so this race was part of our 12-week training program. She has been running very well during our training sessions, so I'm not at all surprised that she won the whole thing. I was supposed to run with her but I am nursing a calf injury, so Dylan and I were just spectators.

On a side note... yesterday we took Dylan in for some more professional photos since he is getting close to 18 months old now. I posted a slide show of some of the pictures on the right sidebar. He is still not excited about sitting or standing still, but some of them turned out really well. Enjoy!

Also... Happy Birthday to my sister Jean!

17 Month Update

Today Dylan is 17 months old. He is growing up so fast! Just this Wednesday, at a free kids music class trial that we went to, Dylan ran around mingling with all the other moms and kids and ended up sitting on the teacher's lap. He has started to be quite independent at times. This was one of the first times that it hit me that my baby is not so much a baby anymore. His other latest tricks include climbing on everything, refusing to sit in a high chair (luckily we have a travel high chair that attaches to a chair so he can sit and eat at the table like Mom and Dad), wanting to eat and drink everything that we do, and copying sounds and gestures we make. So far the words he says that we recognize are Mom, Dad, dog, up, sock, Pop (for grandpa Pops), rock, duck, yes, kiss, and boom. In addition to these he babbles constantly with exaggerated head movements. We've fallen behind on our Dylan updates, but hopefully I can convince Scott to put together one of his awesome videos for an 18 month post.

This picture is of Dylan Dancing at Uncle Jim & Aunt Erica's wedding a couple weeks ago. He's hard to get pictures of lately because he is always on the go.

Other updates: I am teaching a Nutrition class again this Fall at UNM on Monday and Wednesday evenings. It is going so much better since this is the 2nd time I've taught the class. I also work at the hospital one day every other week. It was a little crazy the first week, but overall I'm enjoying the balance of work and home.

FAMILY!

August was the month of travel and visiting family. We kicked it off with a trip to LA. Scott went to a training class at UCLA and Dylan and I went along too. The best part was that my Nana & Papa drove to join us for the trip. We spent most of the time playing at Westwood Park while Scott was in class. It is the best park I've ever seen. With climbing gyms for all ages equivalent to over 10 ABQ parks. We also went to the Santa Monica Pier and lots of great restaurants. Thank you so much Nana & Papa for making the trip and for watching Dylan so we could enjoy dinner and a night out for our 5 year anniversary!

Just 3 days later we took a trip to Camas. Unlike LA, where I failed to take any pictures (sad I know. What kind of Mom am I?), we took lots of great pictures. Here are pictures of our trip highlights:

Playing with Nani & Pops at the park

Golf!
Apparently it is never to early to start. Uncle Michael helped Pops cut an old putter to Dylan's size.

Boat rides.
This meant water skiing for me! I even tried wake boarding, but me jumping over the wake is pretty lame after watching Michael soar through the air.

Next we all headed to Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast. It was great to spend time with Uncle Michael, Aunt Mandy, Nani, and Pops.

At the beach Dylan ran straight for the water. Chasing waves was a great game.

Family photo Op

When we got back from the beach we made a trip to the County Fair. Dylan took his first pony ride on a horse named Cowboy.

Checking out the animals at the petting zoo.

During our trip we also got to spend a little time with my Gram & Gramps, Aunt Julie, Uncle Craig, & cousins Courtney & Alexa. They all drove down from Bellevue to visit. Gram was even able to sing Dylan to sleep for a nap while I golfed with the guys. Thanks Gram!

It was a great vacation!

Three days after we got back from WA. Scott's family flew in for Jim & Erica's wedding (Jim is one of Scott's brothers). It was so fun. Our new house was packed with Grandma & Grandpa Connors, Aunts: Sue, Chris, & Maureen, and cousins Kelsey & Lisa. We had so much fun visiting with everyone. It was like a big family slumber party. On top of the fun wedding events we had a family pool party at our house the day after the wedding. We hit the record with 20 people in the pool at once. Even Grandma Connors was in on the fun.

Congratulations to Jim & Erica!

See I told you FAMILY, FAMILY, and more FAMILY. Boy are we Blessed! Thanks everyone for a fun and eventful month. Now back to work...

Summer Fun

Sorry, I have been awful about posting updates. Finally, here are a few pictures of our summer fun:

Sandbox Fun (We routinely have sand everywhere..mouths, hair, shoes, you name it)

Mmmm... Mini Popsicles

Bath cutie

Just like his Dad. Dylan LOVES spaghetti! When Scott first met my family in WA my Mom made lobster for New Year's eve. Scott had never had lobster so when we asked him what he thought he said something like..."It was good, but I still prefer spaghetti." :)
I love my spaghetti guys!

Thanks cousin Jeremy for sharing your cool toys! Dylan loves it.

Riding the carousel at the Mall to escape the heat.

14 Month Teething Blues

The past week Dylan's top and bottom molars have been coming in which has led to lots of waking up and screaming throughout the night. Poor guy and not much fun for Scott and I either :(

He is up to his usual tricks climbing on things and exploring EVERYTHING! I came down the hall last week and found him trying on my hat. It was so cute I had to take a picture.

April/May Frenzy, Family & Celebrations

Sorry for the incredibly long break between blogs. Over the past couple of months we have been a bit overwhelmed with all the exciting events. Here is a brief recap in pictures...

Here is Dylan playing in the empty cabinets just before the move. I love this picture because it captures his love for exploring and adventure. The look on his face is the classic "I'm doing something I know I should not be" look.

The day that we moved into the new house my brother Michael and his wife Mandy came to visit for a week. We had a great time. In this picture we are on the train to Santa Fe. We also took the tram and hiked in the Sandia Mountains and took a trip to the zoo. It was so fun having them visit. Thanks for spending your Spring break with us!

Here is Dylan loving the zoo. His favorite animal seemed to be the monkeys.

The weekend after Michael & Mandy left, my Mom & Dad and Nana & Papa came to visit to celebrate Dylan's 1st Birthday and Easter. We had two parties in two days to break in the new house (I will not attempt to try that again anytime soon). I could not have done it without the help from my family. Special Thanks to my Mom!

Dylan's birthday party was so much fun. He loved his cake and all of his new toys!

Here is Dylan playing in his new Sand Box that Grandpa and Uncle Todd made for him. It is a huge hit. He cries when it is time to leave the sandbox and go back inside.

Six days after Dylan's birthday and four days after Easter, the newest member of the Connors family arrived...our sweet little niece Abbie Hope. That weekend we were busy at work getting our old house ready for our tenants to move in. It looks great all spruced up with new paint and molding. Scott put in a lot of work and it was well worth it based on their reaction when they came to move in.
The next weekend we were able to take a quick trip to Chicago. Scott needed to go to St. Louis for work so we all decided to go to Chicago first to visit Grandma and Grandpa Connors and spend time with our family there. It was great to visit with everyone. Here Dylan is loving running around in Great Uncle Dave's amazing yard. That much green grass is a rarity for us New Mexicans.

During our Chicago trip Dylan took his first steps. He went from three in a row to nine in a row throughout the day. By the next week he had given up crawling completely. Now he practically runs around the house. He has quite a few bonks and bruises through the process, but loves this new found speed and freedom that comes along with walking. Here he is back at home headed straight for the stairs.

The next weekend Dylan's Gigi and Gramps came to visit us in our new house from Phoenix before heading back to Washington for the summer. Gramps built the table and chairs that they ordered for Dylan for his birthday. I love that we have a place for snacks and games now. We were also able to squeeze in a golf tournament on Saturday for Scott and the 5K Run for the Zoo for me on Sunday. Although I am not in shape, I can't seem to get rid of my competitive spirit. I ran so hard that I was sore for a few days and then was still disappointed when I found out I was only 8 seconds from third place (and a medal!) for my age group. I did smoke our nephew Jeremy and Dylan's Grandpa Dan, so that was a small consolation prize.

The next weekend was Mother's Day Weekend. It was wonderful to relax and be home. Here is a picture from a couple months ago of me trying to steal a kiss from my little man. It was taken on the camcorder, so it is a bit dark and grainy, but I still love it.

That brings us up to date for the most part. I'll leave you with a funny picture of our little cucumber bandit. Dylan loves to eat anything. One day last week while I was cooking dinner, Dylan got hold of a whole cucumber and took off running and munching. Mmmmm!

Bye Bye. See you again soon!

The Joy of Packing

We have been packing up our house these past few days. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate after only about 5 years! We will most likely be closing on the house in the middle of next week and moving immediately after that. Fortunately, Dylan was around to make the packing more bearable. We stuck him in a box with a few toys and he loved it. Here are some of the shots we got of our little mover...

11 Months

Dylan is 11 months old today! Just one more month before his big 1st birthday party. Dylan has really taken to a variety of foods this month. He seems to love everything from peas to celery, apples to bananas, chicken to salmon, and rice to bread. The key is that he has to feed himself or his mouth is sealed. He has not mastered the art of spoon-eating yet, but his finger dexterity is excellent. It is actually a lot more relaxing for us at meal time because no one has to feed him.

His absolute favorite food is peas, which he eats almost every night. If there are peas on his tray in the midst of other foods, he always makes sure to hunt down all of the peas before eating anything else. We call him Mr. Peabody sometimes. Also, he has recently started to eat larger food items instead of having us cut them up first. For instance, he doesn't like apple chunks, he just prefers to eat the whole apple.
In other family news, we bought a new house! I came home from work one night in late January and Crystal informed me she was ready to find a bigger house and that she wanted to start looking as soon as possible. The little man and all of his stuff have caused our house to look like the great baby explosion and I had to agree that we had already outgrown it. After much searching and some frustration, we finally found one that we both love. It has 2 stories, 4 bedrooms (with an optional 5th one), 3 bathrooms, and even a swimming pool. We didn't intend on buying a house with a pool, but it works out nicely because Dylan loves swimming so much. So if you want to come stay with us, come during the summer. We have plenty of extra space, but I'm not going to rent out swimwear, so bring your own.

Here are a few more pictures...

First Haircut

Yesterday we took Dylan to get his very first professional haircut. Crystal had trimmed back some wild stallions around his ears a few months ago, but Dylan was definitely due for a real cut as you can tell from this picture taken last week...

So off we went to Mop Tops, which is a salon dedicated to keeping little ones cropped and cute. Instead of regular barber chairs, they have little animals for kids to sit on like you would see at a playground. Dylan loved sitting on his elephant and watching Mulan on his own personal little TV. We were not sure he could sit still for more than 5 minutes, much less the time required for an adequate cut, but it turns out that our little guy is actually a model citizen when it comes to getting his hair cut. He sat relatively still for the entire 20 minutes and didn't fuss or cry once, even while other little ones were screaming around him. Here is a good picture taken in the middle of the cutting process...


In the end we were very pleased with the whole experience. We saved a few of his longer curls for scrapbook purposes, got a number of pictures, a bit of video footage, and one handsome, little man to take home. It is amazing how grown up he looks with his new haircut. We haven't gotten him to settle down enough to get a really good picture of the new do, so this one will have to suffice for now...

Sooo Big!

This past weekend my parents (Nani & Pops to Dylan) came to visit for a long weekend. We had a great time. On Thursday my Dad and I went skiing in Santa Fe while my Mom watched Dylan. When we came back that night Dylan proudly showed off the new game Nani taught him. How the Sooo Big game works: We Say, "How big is Dylan?" Then Dylan raises his hands in the air and we say Sooo Big. Next Dylan gets a huge smile and claps for himself. It is super cute. Here he is in action...

The excitment continued throughout the weekend: my Mom & I got manicures and pedicures on Friday, and Saturday Scott and my Dad played in a golf tournament. Sunday we went on a hike in the Foothills and then took Dylan to the park.
Here are some pictures of Dylan with Nani and Pops on our hike...

Thanks for the fun weekend Nani & Pops. We love you!!!

10 Month Update

Here is Dylan after a bath. Can you tell by his expression that he is ready to play and explore. He is always ready to go. Our days are busy, busy, busy. I try to keep up as he crawls and walks pushing things around the house. His favorite thing to push down the hall is his toy train, which he uses as a walker. Coming in a close second are the kitchen chairs. Don't be fooled by his size. He is very strong.

Another one of Dylan's favorite things to do is to play the piano. He figured out that he could reach the keys and that it makes noise and then there was no turning back. Dylan loves anything that lets him make noise. We may have a future musician on our hands.

Meal times have been more fun lately now that Dylan is eating more and more table foods. So far we know that he loves bananas, pears, peas, ground beef, chicken, cheese, and tortillas. As for baby foods... we still try but unless his hands are full, Dylan figures out a way to grab the spoon when Scott or I look away for a second and the meal ends up looking something like this...