Sluggish

Boy, you can tell I live in MN. The frigid temps are even affecting my blogging. Just can't seem to come up with a single thing to talk about. It's about all I can do after work to make supper and then crawl back under the heated throw. We did have a wonderful weekend. No basketball, which always makes for a nice weekend because it feels less hectic. Not that I don't like to watch the boys play, it's just so darn busy first thing in the early AM on my day off! Once we get there, then it's a good time. Connor was invited to his first official birthday party. He had been invited to one before but Noah was invited to that one too, so it wasn't quite his own. He got to bowl so he was pretty happy. We also ordered some new furniture this weekend! I am very excited as we needed it badly. We got a new couch, chair, ottoman, and recliner. Here is the couch: All but the recliner will be here next week. I had to special order the fabric for the recliner. Scary for me since I can't visualize. My mom came with and helped so hopefully it looks okay. The kids are excited because we will use one of the old couches to make a lounge area in the toy room for them. Can't wait until it's all here. I have conferences the day it's delivered so I guess I will fall into it when I get home exhausted at 8:00 that night. Until the creative juices become unthawed...... LB

"A New Birth of Freedom"

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics." ~President Obama "This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." ~ President Obama Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations." ~ President Obama It's a brand new day, ladies and gentleman, a brand new day! Filled with Hope, LB

Star Wars...chick style

I found this video on youtube last year. I even played it for my 6th grade science classes because the Star Wars movie came out last year and there was a lot of hype surrounding it. I don't know why, but I could watch it over and over and I love it more each time. Maybe it's that longing for a girl coming out again, who knows. If you don't know the characters she is talking about, you won't get the video. But, you will think it's cute...or Darth Vader will GETCHA! Erin, if you are reading this...show Nicholas! (No one is a bigger fan of Star Wars than Nicholas) Be sure to turn off Little Big Town (music)on the right side!

Messed up....updated

I am getting closer....glad to have my "goods" back. Just have background issues left to fix. Enough for tonight though. As you can see, I messed up my blog. My posts are all still here, I just lost all the blogs I follow, all the gadgets I had added, and I don't know how to get it back! I think I clicked something and changed another thing and now even how I edit is different. I was trying to be all fancy and add a cool backgound I found on a different site than the one I was using(thecutestblogontheblock.com). So much for that idea. All my posts are here so that's what matters. All the usual places I went to edit my posts are not there. What's up with that? Grrrrrr! HELP!

Bowling, baby

Last night Noah had a sleep-over at Granny and Papa's. That means one-on-one time with boy #2. We went shopping and bought him some new basketball shoes and then went bowling. A little body language to help that ball along: Hoping and Wishing: Notice the worn out knees. This is what 90% of his jeans look like. I can not keep knees on my boys' pants? Can anyone relate to this? Stacey, Erin, Kari, Kirsten, Shari.....you all have boys. Does it ever end? Do they ever walk around with jeans without knees that look they have been kneeling and spinning like a top....which is pretty much what they have been doing. Woo Hoo! This is the look he gave me when his ball went across to the other lane: We ended the night with a trip to Target for a Lego purchase (we really should buy stock in that company) and then went downtown for supper. He slept until almost 11 this morning so we must have worn him out! Enjoy your Sunday everyone, Lee Anne

B-ball action

Noah got to play basketball during half time at the high school game last night. He also got to shag balls for the players during warm-ups, and line up and give high fives to the players as they were announced and ran onto the court. Pretty cool.

To be honest, he was slightly disappointed. He really thought he was going to get to play more than the 4 minutes that they did. He couldn't believe they sat there for close to two hours for that! But, he did a great job! His team didn't score a point, but he was aggressive while guarding... Dribbled up and down the court:

Granny and Papa, Grandma Cindy and Dave also came to the game. I can't say enough how lucky my kids are to have such great grandparents. We appreciate how much they support and cheer for our kids. If you know me, you know it takes everything in me to post a blurry picture. So, I apologize for that. I spent about 2 hours last weekend resetting all of my settings on the camera. While I like how it takes certain pictures better, I had trouble getting it to take action shots last night, which I have never had trouble with before. Any suggestions from the camera savvy people out there would be appreciated. I think I was just too far away in poor lighting. When Noah wasn't playing I spent a lot of time checking out the newspaper reporters taking pictures and seeing what they were doing! Ha!

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! Noah is having a sleep-over at Granny and Papa's tonight, so Mike and I will do something fun with just Connor. Not quite sure what yet, but stay tuned!

Much love, LB

A conversation

Me: Connor, did you go to the bathroom today? (It's been four days and he hasn't been eating. It's stressing me out) Connor: Um, no. Me: You never had to go to the bathroom, even after lunch? Connor: Yeah, I had to go. Me: Then why didn't you?!? Connor: Because I wanted to play a game with Grandma. (She watches him every day until school) Me: Connor, you are going to get very sick if you don't go potty. Connor: Well, then I could stay home from school. What? He's five! Little pooper (no pun intended). Or maybe it was.... For those interested....the eagle has landed.

Connor David

Now it's Connor's turn.

Connor is 5 years old. He is interested in Lego's, video games, Spongebob Squarepants, and most sports including baseball, soccer, and basketball. He loves to hang out with his cousins, sleep overnight at Granny and Papa's, and play with our neighbors Ron and Sondra. Many a summer night you will find him playing baseball with our neighbors, despite the 100 mosquito bites he receives.

Connor's favorite foods are macaroni-and-cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. He is a great eater and has never been picky.

CD was a horrible, horrible sleeper as a baby. H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. This child had us up every 2 hours until he was 11 months old when we decided (after much research on how to do it) to let him cry it out. Now, he is the best sleeper and will sleep until 10-11 a.m. in the summer. I think I am in trouble when he's a teenager.

When he concentrates, he sticks out his tongue. It's comical.

I have shared with my friends that I have not figured out Connor's love language. He is complicated and has changed so much in 5 years. I am still watching closely to see what develops with him!

He is shy when you first meet him. He was never one to greet the Target lady when she said hello or answer when someone asked his age, he would rather hide behind my legs. He would pretend to ignore the doctor when she asked him how he was feeling. As he gets older, he is becoming more comfortable and we are proud of his progress in this area.

Connor is ALL BOY. He's one tough cookie. He can shake off an injury quicker than most. Many times I have ran to him after watching him fall, only to have him pick himself up and carry on with his activity. People comment on this quite often. Rarely does he cry (got it all out of his system when he was 0-11 months. See above). If there are tears, I know it's bad and it's hard to get him to calm down once the tears have started.

Connor has had many injuries in his life including two trips to the ER for falls on the head, an ambulance visit while at a water park where he slipped and fell on his head and blacked out, and a surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. I think his parents took all of those harder than he did. He certainly keep us on our toes.

Connor is thriving in school. I am told he is a wonderful helper and is entering a special reading program because he is excelling in that area. Thank goodness for conferences because Connor tells us nothing about school. He can't seem to recall anything about his days there, just that he likes it! He's finally getting to perform and do all the things he used to go and watch his brother do (concerts, plays, sporting events) and he is quite happy about that!

Connor's determination to keep up with his older brother and cousins amazes me. I often have to remind myself that he is only 5 years old. Sometimes my expectations are quite high, but he always strives to get there and never considers for one minute that he can't succeed. This is a quality I hope he keeps throughout his life as it will take him far.

Although Connor came into our lives and turned it upside down being as difficult as he was, he has become a funny, thoughtful, full-of-life boy and we can't wait to see the ride he's going to take us on!