Connor at Twelve Months

Here we are... an entire year of Connor! I'm a teensy bit emotional about the whole growing-up-too-quickly thing, but I also love the sweet little boy he has become over the last twelve months, and the transition from baby to little boy feels really natural and right. Life with him just gets more and more fun!

Connor's Stats:

Birth Weight: 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces. Current Weight: x pounds, x ounces.

Birth Length: 19.5 inches. Current Length: x inches
(Will update after his pediatrician appointment!).

Clothing: Wearing mostly 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers! 

Likes:

Berries.

Bread.

Chasing Mommy and Daddy.

Reading books, especially touch-and-feel books.

Talking in his "monster voice."

The lighting & ceiling fan aisle at the hardware store.

Touching eyes and noses.

Dislikes:

Diaper changes.

Taking his 12-month photos (thank goodness we're done with these now!).

Being stuck in the pew at Mass.

New Tricks:

Listening when we tell him "no."

Drinking out of a regular cup without a lid.

Holding large pieces of food (like cheese sticks or bread) and taking bites.

Happy eleven months, sweet Connor Beckett. We are so blessed that God made you ours!

Connor at Eleven Months

Oh goodness, y'all... we're coming up on ONE YEAR so quickly! This past month has been such a transition period... our little baby is becoming more of a toddler every day. Connor took his first steps about a week after he turned 10 months old, and now he's definitely toddling all over the place! I even caught myself starting a sentence the other day with "When Connor was a baby..." and had to pause for a minute to keep myself from getting all emotional about it!

Jeff calls him "Little Mischief" because he's always getting into everything around the house, but mostly we just love watching him explore and discover. The upcoming holiday season is going to be really exciting to experience with him. Connor has developed his own little sense of humor, and we're finding it so fascinating to see what he does and does not think is funny. He laughs at the most random things sometimes! We've kind of got into the habit of lying in bed and talking about him every night before we go to sleep, which makes me (1) officially really feel like a parent, and (2) wonder how many nights my parents spent lying in bed talking about me (do they still do this?!). Haha!

Oh, and the entire time that I was trying to take his picture, he just kept saying "duh?" (done?) and "deeyit!" (I did it!). Super cute! It's a miracle that I got just one shot of him smiling at the camera. Here's our little boy at eleven months!

Connor's Stats:

Birth Weight: 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces. Current Weight: 22 pounds, 11 ounces.

Birth Length: 19.5 inches. Current Length: 29 1/4 inches. Ish. Based on my amateur measuring efforts.

Clothing: Wearing 12 and 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers! 

Likes:

The TV remote.

Being tossed in the air or onto a bed.

Chick-fil-A.

Watching the laundry in our washer and dryer.

When someone says "gobble, gobble, gobble" like a turkey.

Saying "dada!" repeatedly when I try to get him to say "mama."

Being chased.
Lifting up the corners of rugs.

Dislikes:

Older babies trying to play with him at playgroup.

When Mommy won't let him unroll the toilet paper.

When Mommy won't let him throw the coasters.

When Mommy won't let him pull wine bottles out of the cabinet in the dining room.

When Mommy won't let him pick leaves off the houseplants.

Wearing hats.

New Tricks:

Walking unassisted!

"Talking" in a monster voice.
Doing animal sounds for a bear and a bumblebee.

Walking all the way up to Communion at Mass (and distracting everyone at church with his cuteness!).

Turning book pages.

Eating larger meals than his mama.

Happy eleven months, sweet Connor Beckett. We are so blessed that God made you ours!

Connor at Ten Months

It seems like I was just writing out Connor's nine-month post, but here I am doing the ten-month one already! Time flies when you're having fun. :) Here's our giggly, curious, sweet little boy at ten months!

Connor's Stats:

Birth Weight: 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces. Current Weight: 22 pounds, 6 ounces.

Birth Length: 19.5 inches. Current Length: 29 inches

Clothing: Wearing 12 and 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers! 

Likes:

Playing peekaboo.

Dancing.
Clapping.

Shadows and light reflections.

Being upside down.

The subway in New York.

Dislikes:

The NoseFrida.

Sitting still for long enough to drink a bottle.

When Mommy plays with other babies at playgroup.

New Tricks:

Walking around holding onto furniture or just one of our hands.

Climbing up a step or two on the stairs.

Lots of new words: duck, light, downstairs, all done, up, this, that, and yeah (still no sign of "mama" though!).

Following basic commands/questions like "Can you drink some water?" or "Can you turn off the light?"

Sleeping a full 12 hours at night!

Oh, and y'all... he's finally getting some hair, and it looks like it's dark dark dark, just like his mama's!

So now we're less than two months away from the big first birthday! It's hard to believe. It feels like Connor was JUST born, but it's also hard to remember what it was like when we didn't have him in our lives. We say all the time that he was just the most perfect little addition to our family. His little personality just fits with us so well, and Jeff and I are having a blast being his parents.

Happy ten months, little one. As always, we are so, so proud of you, and we love being your mommy and daddy!

Pumpkin Thyme Mac & Cheese

I love baking with pumpkin in the fall. I've posted recipes in the past for some of my favorite pumpkin baked goods: pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, pumpkin spice bread, pumpkin chocolate chip scones, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin cream cheese bars (and more!). I decided the time had come to branch out and use pumpkin for something other than baking, and this recipe ended up being delicious! It sounds a little weird to use pumpkin in a pasta, but trust me - you should try it!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1 lb rotini pasta
2 1/2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 oz smoked gouda cheese, grated
2 oz white extra sharp cheddar, grated
salt and pepper to taste
Panko bread crumbs, to garnish

Directions:
1. Stir together milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk together. Cook flour mixture for 2-3 minutes, then stir in thyme.
4. Whisk pumpkin-milk mixture into flour mixture until fully incorporated. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about four minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, mix grated cheeses and lemon juice. Stir the cheese mixture into the pumpkin sauce just until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir pasta into the sauce little by little and serve!

Pumpkin mixture simmering!

Butter + Flour

Adding thyme to the thickened butter/flour mixture...

Pumpkin mixture combined with flour mixture...

Adding the cheeses and lemon juice...

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Connor at Nine Months

I think 9 months might be my favorite baby age yet! Connor has developed the sweetest little personality, and I feel like I'm constantly on the edge of my seat, anxiously waiting to learn more about the little boy he's becoming. He's loving and joyful and giggly and sometimes a little mischievous, and we're just having so much fun being his parents!

Connor's Stats:

Birth Weight: 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces. Current Weight: 20 pounds, 13 ounces.

Birth Length: 19.5 inches. Current Length: I always forget to measure! I'll update it later.

Clothing: Wearing 12 and 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers! 

Likes:

Playing peekaboo.

Doorstops.

Banging his hands on things.

Beignets.

Going to the grocery store.

Exploring.

Dislikes:

Waiting to eat until we're done praying.

When Daddy won't let him climb out of the bathtub.

Long car rides.

When other babies/children are sad.

Having his face and hands wiped after eating.

New Tricks:

Crawling all over the place!

Pulling up to a standing position.

Standing for a few seconds on his own.

Saying "hi" and "dada."

Happy nine months, sweet Connor! You are such a blessing to us, and we love you so very much!

Bonus photo: here's a little behind-the-scenes action of what it really looks like when we take these photos... :)

Connor at Eight Months

Connor is eight months old today, which officially means he's been outside of my belly for longer than he was in it! He's very busy these days with all sorts of learning and discovering, and it's just amazing to watch him figure out the world. He's a little miracle for sure. :)

Connor's Stats:

Birth Weight: 6 pounds, 6.5 ounces. Current Weight: 20 pounds, 3 ounces.

Birth Length: 19.5 inches. Current Length: 29 inches.

Clothing: Wearing 12 month clothes and squeezing into the last few size 3 diapers! 

Likes:

Food. All kinds of food.

Baby Time at the library.

Standing and walking while holding our fingers or furniture.

Screeching and talking.

Smiling at strangers in stores or at church.

His Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes toy.

Dislikes:

Toys that are out of his reach.

When Mommy and Daddy are too slow to get him the next spoonful of food.

Loud noises.

New Tricks:

Clapping.

Feeding himself food off his tray.

Going from a crawling position to a sitting position and vice-versa.

Scooting across the floor on his tummy.

Happy eight months, little one! We love you so, so much!