Connor's surgery

Connor had his surgery today and did great. He made an impression on everyone he met, as usual! I'm so glad we went to the hospital tour yesterday - it definitely helped him prepare for the experience so he knew just what to expect up until surgery time. He's home now and will have to take it easy for a few days but everything went well and he'll be back to his crazy self soon! Thanks for all your well wishes :)

Wednesday pics

Just sharing a few pictures of the boys from today. It's getting harder each day to get them both to sit still AND look at the camera at the same time, but a couple of them turned out pretty well!





Looks like he's trying to escape :)

Logan's 9 month appointment

Logan had his 9 month appointment on Friday and he's doing well! He weighs 18 lbs 11 oz (25th percentile) and is 29 inches long (75th percentile). Those are the same percentiles that Connor was in at his 3 year appointment! Logan also had the routine 9 month old blood draw to check his iron levels. I'm not quite sure the logic of drawing blood from a baby's big toe, but it's agonizing for everyone involved - it takes a long time to get a good amount of blood from a tiny pin prick in a big toe! We all survived, though, and Logan took a good long nap afterwards. He's officially 9 months old on Monday!

Arbor Day

We went to Longmont's Arbor Day celebration today and Connor had a great time checking out the huge machines, jumping off tree trunks and climbing a tree! Unfortunately we were running late this morning and forgot our camera so these pics are from Jeremy's cell phone camera - not the greatest resolution but hopefully you get the idea! Make sure to click on them to see the larger version - it really does help especially with the tree shots! :)


About to get in a harness with the help of a St. Vrain Arbor Care Arborist


Pulling himself up the rope


Almost to the bell!

I know it's hard to tell from these low res shots, but he had the biggest grin on his face! He thought it was so cool to go so high in the trees by himself and liked swinging on the rope when he got back closer to the ground. He also got to use the controls on a huge truck that digs up trees (not sure what its called).

Here's a link to the local paper's story about the Arbor Day events: http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=15917
Here are Daddy and Logan waiting in line with Connor and I for the rope climb


And a shot of the boys at Lowe's today. We went to buy some more CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) as part of our small steps to be a little greener. That reminds me - Happy Earth Day tomorrow! Anyway, Logan loved driving the cart right next to his big bro!

Easter, part two

We spent last Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa and had a fun Easter Egg hunt. Good thing the Easter bunny waited a week to hide the eggs since we were in Las Vegas over Easter! :)

Getting ready for the hunt...


Looking up, down and all around...


Good ol' Colorado - finding eggs in the snow :)


Finding lots of eggs!


Hunting behind a big rock with Grandpa


Posing with a couple eggs

I love Southwest Airlines!!!

So in the post below I told you about our travel problems on the way to Las Vegas - we were supposed to take off at 10:45 but had engine troubles and didn't end up leaving until almost 4. Sitting on the first plane for two hours while they investigated the problem was no fun, and neither was sitting in the second plane for an hour while we were de-iced and one lonely baggage handler loaded our luggage. People were upset, especially those that missed their connections in Las Vegas, but I thought the airline handled it pretty well. And like one of our fellow travelers said while we were waiting for the second plane, it's better to have engine trouble on the ground than in the air! Anyway, as we landed in Las Vegas the crew said they hoped our experience wouldn't turn us off from flying Southwest again. The important part was we made it to and from Las Vegas safe and sound and I hadn't really thought about the delay anymore. Until today...

In our mailbox today was a letter from the President of Southwest apologizing for how we "waited and waited and waited some more" (his words) and it included three vouchers for $125 each!!! Our three original tickets cost a little more than $400 so we were basically refunded our money minus taxes. It was a really nice gesture and totally unexpected!

I also didn't tell you about our portable DVD player. We accidentally left it on the plane when we got off in Denver and by the time we realized it the plane had already taken off for Chicago. With a bit of calling around we discovered that it hadn't gotten off the plane in Chicago so our last chance of finding it was when the plane landed in Detroit. Jeremy spoke to a really nice Southwest baggage person in Detroit and she personally went to the plane to look for it. She didn't find it, but the cleaning crew there found it a short time later. Amazing! We thought for sure it would have been taken by another passenger but it's on its way back to us now after an extended vacation in Detroit (perhaps it dreams of being a car someday?)!

So Southwest has treated us well and we'll definitely travel with them again! Especially before April 2008 when these vouchers expire :) haha! Now...where to go?

Vegas Vacation

We spent seven wonderful days in Las Vegas and took more than 500 pictures! I really tried to narrow them down to my favorites but there are still almost 50 pictures below...ready? :) As always, don't forget you can click on the pictures to see a larger version!

Connor watching the airplanes while waiting for ours...


We got on the plane and Logan found a new chew toy...


Connor was really excited to take off and didn't want to wait for the plane to be de-iced (it was lightly snowing that morning)


We boarded the plane only to wait there for two hours and through two cycles of being de-iced, pushing back from the gate, revving the engines and then pulling back to the gate. Apparently there was some engine indicator telling the pilots there was something wrong so eventually they pulled the aircraft out of service, took us all off the plane and we waited at the gate for another plane. Finally, FIVE hours after our original departure time, we left the ground! It was a long five hours but overall the boys did wonderfully.

Passing the time while waiting for plane #2


On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg hunt sponsored by a Las Vegas City Councilman. We felt a slight tinge of guilt when he thanked the crowd for their support and talked about how great it was to live in Las Vegas, but we got over it :) Connor got 5 eggs and a big pink inflatable bunny. Haha!

Tons of kids hunting for eggs...


On Sunday there was a balloon guy by the pool. He was amazing and made huge balloon sculptures like birthday cake hats with ten candles, mermaids, and a stuffed monkey inside a crystal ball (white balloon) for other kids but Connor only wanted an airplane. He loved it and flew it around our room all week!


Here we are in the flower garden at the Bellagio


Later that night we watched the water show outside the Bellagio. Connor found a unique way to watch :)


Enjoying the huge whirlpool tub in our room, just one of the many perks of our resort which included a full kitchen, washer/dryer, large living/dining room and king size bed. Some of those might not be exciting to you but to a mom with two kids, being able to do laundry and wash bottles even while on vacation is a life saver! :)


Logan didn't get as much camera time as Connor so I have to stick in a few shots with him :)


Connor on the Las Vegas Monorail, which he renamed to the Connorail :)


Daddy and Connor at M&M World


Connor on the big Coke bear...


We watched the lions at the MGM Grand


We did a lot of walking, of course, so by the end of each day we were all tired!


We were there over Easter so, what would Easter be without dyeing eggs?? :)



On the way to the pool one night after dinner


Connor LOVED the pool and especially loved his bright orange goggles


Logan hanging out in the grass by the pool


Connor taking a little nap before visiting Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay


They give you a device to listen to a guide through Shark Reef. Connor listened to each message intently and couldn't wait to hear the next one!


Some of the fish...


Jellyfish!


Feeling the rain and posing in front of the tank at the Rainforest Cafe


What would a trip to the Excalibur be without a complete knight outfit?

By the way, yes, that's a tent behind Connor. Though we had a pull out couch and could have gotten a toddler bed through the hotel, we thought a tent would be a fun way for Connor to have his own "room" and play place as well so we took along his 5 x 5 tent. He loved sleeping in it and playing in there with Logan! In case you're wondering, Logan had a crib on the other side of the room and they did great sleeping in the same space! All hail the bedtime routine :)

Some pool shots...



Posing in front of our rental car


We had a roaring good time at Circus Circus :)




The Frog Hopper was one of Connor's favorite rides - it raises the kids up about 15 feet and then bounces them up and down a few feet. It's similar to the adult rides that raise you up and drop you quickly, but not so scary :)


The Dean boys at the Hard Rock Cafe


Daddy gets a hug while we wait for our food


Logan hitting the bottle at the Hard Rock :)


Connor with KISS, or as he called them, the Guitar Guys


With Elvis' star


A picture I took of Connor and myself in our room


One of Connor's favorite modes of transportation...


At the top of the Stratosphere - the camera was zoomed in as I was unwilling to go so close to the edge as the rest of my family :) haha


Oh yeah, the whole reason we took this trip was to attend Grandpa Larry's wedding, which was postponed, but we got to spend a short time with the rest of the group that had already made plans to attend like us. Here's Connor with his Grandpa Larry and Great-grandma Mabel.


And finally, a picture from tonight. Apparently Logan's suffering from a bit of jet lag! :)


I'm not sure all these pictures do it justice, but we had a fantastic time in Las Vegas!!!! We had a great routine of hanging out by the pool in the mornings and then spending the afternoons exploring the city - it really helped us relax, keep the boys' naps as close to on schedule as we could and enjoy the sights too.

Nikki's favorite part
Hanging out by the pool with Connor. You all know how he's constantly on the go but we would swim for a while and then lay by the pool and watch other people. It was so relaxing and great bonding time for the two of us :)

Jeremy's favorite part
Circus Circus and Mr. Bubbles. He loved going on the Circus Circus rides with Connor and watching Connor be so excited to go by himself too. Jeremy also invented Mr. Bubbles - having Connor push an imaginary button on the tub's faucet and saying "On, Mr. Bubbles!" to start the jets and "Off, Mr. Bubbles!" to turn them off (while Jeremy slyly pushed the real button). It was a great way to keep Connor from turning them off and on constantly and he totally bought into it.

Connor's favorite part
The Connorail, the tent, the sword, the lions, jumping on and off the escalators, being in charge of pushing the elevator buttons, the airplanes, the balloon guy, the fountains in the pool, the buffets, tossing coins in the Bellagio fountains and making wishes (he wished for yummy dessert and then, to be more specific, wished for chocolate ice cream - his wish was granted later that night!), the M&Ms, the easter egg hunt, the easter bunny, the roller coaster, the sharks, "the girl" (the recorded messages at Shark Reef), the jetted tub with Mr. Bubbles, the glass enclosed shower (he took a shower every morning and a bath every night!), the breakfast bar (sitting on barstools was fun!), pretty much everything :)

Logan's favorite part
"Ma Da Ba." I think that translates to "We went somewhere? It seemed like I spent a lot more time in the stroller than usual. I liked chasing Daddy on the marble floors and watching tv with my brother. What was that whole security thing about? Why didn't I have to take my shoes off like the rest of my family?"

A funny story
On most nights after dinner we would go back to the pool for some relaxing swimming before bathtime. One night Connor got dressed and we headed to the elevator. I noticed that he kept pulling at the back of his waistband as we were walking and asked him if the tag was bothering him. He said it was so I pulled the waistband away and looked at the tag. It looked fine to me so we kept walking. As we were waiting for the elevator he pulled at it again and Jeremy and I both realized the problem at the same time - Connor and Logan have the same swimsuit so Connor was wearing the 6-9 month size!!!! No wonder the tag was bothering him! Just looking at him, though, you couldn't tell - they didn't seem tight at all on his little body!!

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but I'll post more later if I remember :) Thanks for reading!