High Five!

Celebrating his first Browns victory!

Just a quick update (again). Today, Connor is eight months old! Elle will be putting up a post about that tomorrow, but we wanted to share this video of Connor playing his new favorite game

 

 

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Our Little Mozart

Never had a single lesson!

 

Just a quick post to show off some of Connor's newfound musical prowess.

And as a bonus, Connor enjoying the ceiling fan:

 

 

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From Where I'm Sitting

(excuse Connor's red eyes in some of these pictures and the video - he just had his eye surgery so he's still recovering, but doing great!)

Guess who is sitting pretty handsome!?

Connor has been working on sitting by himself for a little while now and seems to be getting the hang of it. He's great at "tripod" sitting and is working on sitting up straight too.

He still tends to tumble over after a little while (as seen in the video) but he's getting better at it everyday (and Mommy is getting better at figuring out which way he might tumble). He looks so old when he sits! Video sitting evidence:

 

And of course, he's mastering sitting and sucking his thumb because everything is more fun when you're sucking your thumb :)

Thumb sucking, sitting, and playing the piano - what a multitasker!

 

 

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A 6 month letter to Connor

Dear Connor,

Yesterday, you were 6 months old (on Mommy and Daddy's 4 year wedding anniversary!)

Connor is 6 months old - the monkey is getting smaller and smaller

Looking back over the last 6 months, you have grown so much!


We are so proud of all of the things that you have been learning and doing lately! You are expanding your culinary repertoire past rice cereal into fruits and veggies. So far, you have liked everything you have tried, although sweet potatoes are your definite favorite, with bananas and peaches not far behind. You are a great eater, opening your mouth wide for the next spoonful.

Opening wide even for green beans

You also tried a sippy cup for the first time the other day with some water in it. You still need a little practice with it, but we know you'll get it. You look like such a big boy drinking from it!

Hmm, this isn't milk

You love to play, whether it be on your play mat, in your door jumper, or sitting on our laps.

You are great at lifting your head up during tummy time and love looking around.

You are playing more with your toys. Your current favorites are funny bunny and your rattle. You love to shake your rattle and you are now able to pass it from your left to right hand for optimal shaking.

We put you in your door jumper the other day for the first time and you love it! You are a big fan of bouncing and will play happily in there for awhile. You are so smart and figured out quickly how it works.

We are practicing sitting with you while we play. You are doing great with it, but still need a little help

Getting pretty good at this sitting thing

You have 2 little bottom teeth that came in recently. Being the laid back baby that your are, they gave you a little trouble one night but didn't really seem to be bother you otherwise (hopefully that trend continues with all of the others!)

2 little bottom teeth poking through

You are becoming more aware of the dogs and reaching out to pet them (they've been licking you since the very beginning). You reach up to "pet" Graham and Guinness by grabbing a handful of their fur. They love you so much and patiently let you do it. They always want to see what you are up to and what you are playing with (Graham is still holding out hope of getting a hold taste of Sophie).

Divers brothers

You are going to be an avid reader because you're already showing a love of books. We love snuggling with you before bed with a good book and reading to you.

Reading with Daddy - this picture makes Mommy's heart melt

Connor, you are such a laid back, easy going baby. You've been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks (although I imagine we will pay for this with your siblings) and you greet us with a smile every morning when we come into your room to get you. There are so many wonderful things about you, buddy, and you make us smile and laugh everyday. Whether its the way you try to drink your bottle and suck your thumb at the same time, the way you blow raspberries and chat to yourself in your swing or in the car (you often laugh at yourself too. To be fair, you're funny!), or the way you always suck your thumb throughout your entire bath, there is just so much to love about you.

Chatting away on my mat

Speaking of thumb sucking, you are still definitely an avid thumb sucker. It's pretty adorable.

Thinking deep thoughts

These past 6 months with you have been such a blessing and we can't wait to see what amazing things the future holds. We love you so much, Connor, and we thank God every day for the gift of you. You have brought so much joy to our lives, buddy, and we love you so much! Happy 6 month birthday Connor!!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

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This and That

Puppy Love

It's been a busy week for Connor. His repertoire of foods has increased by two, as he is now eating both green beans and peaches. The green beans are more or less tolerated, but he is willing to eat them. Apparently that's more than I was willing to do as a wee one. The peaches were received much more enthusiastically. As you'll see below, he greets each mouthful with an "mmmmmmm" that the green beans just didn't elicit.

Connor is continuing to grow up right before our eyes. His "push ups" are getting higher and lasting longer. The baby who learned to roll over purely as a method of escaping tummy time is even tolerating it for fifteen minutes at a clip.

Pushing up!

We had a lot of family up this week. On Thursday, Nanny, Pappy, and Mudsey came up to visit from the 'burgh. Elle has some good pictures that she will be putting up on a separate post soon. Over the weekend,Connor got to visit with his Aunt Krissie and Uncle Erik who were up from their new place in Cincinnati. He was quite a bit bigger than their last visit (while they were more or less the same size). For some reason, we didn't get any pictures (a real rarity for us in any situation). We did capture an encounter between Connor and Grandma and Grandpa's dog Spike. At least here we have a dog that Connor will outweigh before too long. Not the case here at home.

Finally, here's a picture we took of Connor in honor of his first shark week (although, without cable these days, none of us will be watching much of it). The shirt is accurate, too -- he loves working out his new teeth. Watch your fingers!

 

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What's up, Doc?

Messy eater!

Lately, Connor has been branching out to some new toys. He briefly entertained a couple of the teething toys while those first bottom teeth were pushing through and he's been giving his rattle a real workout lately. The seeming favorite, though, is his funny bunny.

Life is good.

Smiling!

This bunny has been hugged, squeezed, gnawed, thrown, and eyed enviously by Graham. Since he's such an integral part of Connor's day-to-day, we thought it only appropriate to ask him for some input on Connor's next dietary adventure. Sweet potatoes were a smashing success, but where to go from here?

How about carrots?

Carrots it is! It's been fun to see how quickly Connor has picked up eating from a spoon. He's at the point where he opens his mouth WAY up when he sees the spoon coming. As he takes a bite, he makes a pretty cartoonish NOM sound. I suppose after six months of nothing but milk, I'd be excited to eat something new as well -- even carrots. The carrots were a big success, too, as you can see in the video. Trying new foods is fun!

Finally, I'm throwing in one more picture that doesn't really fit the theme of this post, but it's one that I really love. I'm a lucky guy.

Yep, pretty lucky.

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Busy Weekend

Connor's first veggies!

The weekends seem to go by faster since Connor came along, but they're a lot more fun, too. The little guy keeps us busy. It's a different kind of busy, though -- the kind where Elle and I are sitting on the couch at 10:30, getting ready to head to bed, and we ask each other "Where, exactly, did this day go?". The laundry isn't done and the grass didn't get cut, but the baby is fed, bathed, and all played out, so you have to consider it a success.

We spent Friday night watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Connor and I missed the beginning due to bath time (where he was putting the finishing touches on a pretty impressive backstroke). We settled in in time to catch the hundred Mary Poppinses fighting off the fifty foot Voldemort. Connor was not impressed. He did dress to support Team USA, though.

Current Patriot, Future Olympian

Saturday I snuck out for a couple of hours to see the new Spider-Man movie with a friend, so Connor and Mommy enjoyed some one-on-one time. The three of us went out with some friends to celebrate a birthday. Once again, Connor was a superstar at the restaurant. He managed to sleep through a good chunk of the meal, despite our party being somewhat spirited. We had a lot of fun seeing friends, something we are making an effort to do more often now that Connor is a bit older.

Today was a big day, too. After a few weeks of "training" with rice cereal, Connor took his first run at veggies today. We opted for sweet potatoes, as that was a favorite for both Mom and Dad. It was a rousing success. Connor thoroughly enjoyed them, at one point even voicing his frustration when Mom failed to reload quickly enough. We are hoping for a similar level of success with his greens next week. We even noticed a couple of teeth that are threatening to push through any day now. We did capture the whole thing on video:

After a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa, we wrapped up the day with a quick walk down to the park and some time in the baby swing for Connor. He simultaneously looked so big ("He's old enough to sit in a swing at the park?!") and so small (He's still swallowed up by the swing). He really seemed to enjoy it, giving us a few of his signature laughs (which are coming more and more often these days). All in all, another great weekend!

Fun at the park

 

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Exploring the World

As always, Connor has been doing great. He's really starting to explore the world, rather than just watching it passively. He's at the point where everything he sees has to go into his mouth. He's always grabbing someone's finger (or Mommy's hair) and chomping down -- I had no idea baby gums were so hard! I guess it's good practice for him, though. He started rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and is doing great with it (although the poor kid seems to have inherited my table manners).

We start fruits and veggies this weekend, so hopefully he doesn't share my unfortunate distaste for all things green. In the meantime, though, the little guy is having a lot of fun everyday. He's laughing more and more, especially at his "funny bunny". Here are a couple of videos featuring this master of hilarity and some other favorite toys.

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Daddy + Sophie = Comedy Genius

It's so exciting to watch Connor learn things and do things for the first time! Sometimes we notice him "practicing" tricks and then all of the sudden BOOM the trick is perfected and he shows it off. We noticed some "ha has" coming from him recently, but no full blown laughs - until yesterday.

I've always known that Joe is funny - it's one of the many things I love about him and one of the many reasons I married him - he can always make me laugh. It was no surprise to me that he got the first laugh out of Connor - I get it, Connor, he's funny! When Connor is older, I'm sure he'll appreciate Daddy's puns and wit, but for now, it's Daddy's silliness (and Sophie) that's hilarious to Connor.

 

Even before I was pregnant with Connor, I heard about the magic of Sophie the Giraffe to babies. Supposedly, babies LOVE Sophie. Connor, at least at this point, is somewhat indifferent to toys - except Sophie - he loves that giraffe. He holds it, chews it, and loves on it all of the time. I give you exhibit A:

Connor is not the only one in love with Sophie. Graham wants Sophie SO bad you can see it in his eyes. He wants nothing more than to run off and chew and squeak Sophie 'till his heart's content. However, like the good dog he is, Graham resists the edge to snatch Sophie (it would be like stealing candy a giraffe from a baby) and simply stares longingly at Sophie and steals an occasional sniff.

"Back off Graham, Sophie is mine"

Sophie is popular in the Divers' house.

It's not surprising that Connor's combined love of his Daddy and his giraffe elicited his first laugh. Hearing him giggle is the best sound in the world! I give you, Connor laughing:

You'll be laughing at Daddy for many years to come, Connor - he's hilarious, even without Sophie!

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Connor Rolls Over

Speaking of missing firsts while I'm away, Connor decided to roll over for the first time today.  Luckily, he was more than happy to put on a repeat performance for me once I got home.  Connor's never been much of a fan of tummy time, so he seems pretty pleased that he can escape it on his own terms now.  At about the 40 second mark, you'll see a cameo by Graham showing Connor some love.


Seeing him rolling over and pushing up has been really exciting for us.  He's been a bit behind on some of his gross motor skills over the past months, but it seems he's catching up quickly.  And just for fun, here's the trailer for Super Connor.

Connor Tries Rice Cereal

Just a quick update for now.  Here's the full video of Connor's first experience with rice cereal.  It was a pretty surreal experience to put him into a high chair and watch him eat from a spoon for the first time.  I guess it's a cliche thing to say, but it's hard to believe how fast he's growing up.  I'm always grateful for the opportunity to be there for these "controlled" firsts (I find it unlikely that he was going to make himself some rice cereal, climb up into the high chair, and eat it), since I never know what I'm going to miss while I'm at work each day.