Kickball

Michael has been playing kickball for about a year now. I don't know if you know anything about Southerlands (my maiden name), but we don't do sports. We sing, we play piano, guitar, etc. We DO NOT throw, catch, dribble, hit, or kick any sort of ball. 

For some reason I got the crazy idea that I wanted to play yesterday. So I tell Michael, he calls the team coach and I tell him I want to play. It just so happens they need two girls to sub in. He reluctantly agrees to MAYBE let me kick. I tell him, "What's so hard about catching and kicking a giant ball?"

I hang up the phone and then ask Michael to tell me the rules. What is a strike? What do you mean when you say outfielder???? I'm only sort of exaggerating. 

As we got closer to game time, I started thinking, this is NOT a good idea. We go anyway, and bring along my best friend Brittany who is going to kiss on Connor while we wrangle in a victory -we hope. I inform Michael on the way there that I have never played a team sport! 

We start the game. That heart wrenching moment came when Mo, the coach told me that I was "on deck." I looked at Michael and whispered "What is on deck?" Then he took my hand and walked me to the circle to wait my turn. I'm certain everyone was rolling their eyes.

His only instructions: Kick it to 3rd, keep your shoulders low."

I wait for the pitch.

3rd. Shoulders low. Look cool. 3rd. Shoulders low. Look cool. 3rd. Shoulders low. Look cool.

Kick. Goes to 3rd, low to the ground. PERFECT KICK.

RUUUUUUUUUUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! 

I can't remember the exact score, but it was a BLOW OUT. Michael got one grand slam, and one home run. I got a run, but got on base 2 out of the 3 times I was up to "bat".... (there were NO bats??).

So I'm informed this morning that I can stay on the line up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

And there you have it, Mommy and Daddy are playing kickball together. We had a great time, and Connor loved being out there with us too!

Behold the Mighty Connor

Observe our son. Gets. What. He. Wants.



Latin Baby

Yes, my name is Connor. And yes, I am awesome.

I’ve been neglecting the blog. After several inquiries it’s time to update. Let's see...

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Connor had a great weekend. Becca and I did some babysitting (gotta earn that extra money!) and Papi/Mimi came over. Papi/Mimi = Becca’s parents, in case you didn’t know. I actually love it when the in-laws come over, which I’m really grateful for. It gives me a good chance to teach Papi how to play pool at the local dive bar. I always hear the in-law horror stories from people but I’m very lucky and I know Becca feels the same way about my family. We HEART our in-laws.

What’s Connor up to??? Hmmm… He is growing very big and doing a great job of connecting his thought process to his hand activity. Id est: boy sees dangling bird. Boy bops dangling bird. OR exempli gratia: Boy sees hand. Boy begins to eat hand. You get the drift.

We are still waiting for him to roll over, which according to M-O-M was supposed to have already happened. Sometimes I push him on his side and he flops over. I’ve been told this does not officially count. So while I can’t teach him to roll over, I also can’t teach him to be the cutest baby…

I’m okay with both of those things.

Bumpos and Tractor Tires

Observe, Connor in his bumpo. Perhaps that is not the correct name of this contraption, but that's what I call it. There are so many gizmos and devices and baby einsteins and doras and goodnight moons and floaties and teething rings and on and on... Thank goodness Becca is here. In the vast sea of baby stuff Becca is this family's lighthouse.

A google search for "bumpo" provides a colorful assortment of nouns (and verbs, as you might imagine). You can see for yourself here: Bumpo Search

**

In other news check out what I got today:

It's my new 400 pound tractor tire. I can now add it to my arsenal of home grown exercise equipment in my garage. As if my neighbors didn't find me crazy enough already, I'll now be out on the street flipping this thing around.

Or put Connor in it one day and roll him around. CPS would not be happy, but we sure would be.

Guess Who Turned 27???

Sunday was a birthday bonanza that wore us out, but there was still time for a family photo at the end of the day. I knew it had been a busy day when I heard myself, Becca, and my mom suggest we all go to bed at 10pm. I haven’t been in bed before 11pm in years!

(by the way, look how long this kids legs are...)

My birthday was incredible. Skydiving, Saltlick, presents, party, slideshow, family and friends from all over… And oh yeah, my favorite The McMercy Family Band played a full set. At my party! I was positively star struck when they launched into my least-favorite song, Happy Birthday.

 I don’t know how Becca pulled it off but I do know I couldn’t be any luckier. My wife is rad and everyone knows it. It was a great day and part of a great weekend. I'll never forget my 27th (read: 30th) birthday! 

I kept telling Becca that I love all my birthday gifts but the best gift of being 30 is this little guy:

Gramma is Here

My mom came to visit for her birthday. Here is a picture of her and Connor...

V DAY 2012

Written by Rebecca

Yesterday, I got Connor ready for his first Valentine's day... Observe:

He's such a hunk that he scored TWO hot chicks for his first date. Anna and Brittany.

I went over all the ground rules. Open doors. Pull out chairs (not from under them, though). Let them order first. Don't fart.

He told me that last one would be near impossible, especially since he takes after his dad. Most of the time, he would be absolutely correct.

However, since Connor had his hands full with Anna and Brittany, Michael took me on a date!  He was the perfect gentleman.We headed to San Marcos, our old haunt. We walked around the square, reminisced at the Hays County Records Building where we got our marriage license 6 years ago, shared a delicious sandwich/salad at the Coffee Pot and climbed a tower that should have been locked.

Then, after a little G rated smoochin' and some hootin' and hollerin' from a nosy ultimate frisbee team we made our last stop at Target where we bought diapers and chocolate, and headed home.

All in all, it was a great night! Thank you Anna and Brittany for helping us get out and about! What more could a little guy ask for?

Dear Connor,


Last night you tried spitting up on my face while I was laying down and twirling you above me. With luck, and due to my cat-like reflexes, I was able to avoid the dribble and it landed on my arm and shirt. Such behavior is not acceptable and will not go unremarked.


Allowance for this week will be $0.00.


Dad

Progress

Connor has begun bopping and grabbing things in front of his face. Hello motor skills.

Look at those little fingernails!

Baby Gaga

Written by Rebecca

This is him smiling in his sleep. Go ahead, kiss that sweet face.  Then wipe the smudges off the computer.

Connor and I have had a busy and productive week. Of course, productive has a different meaning these days. Getting out of the house before noon is difficult. Getting out of the house before 10am, and not looking like I just walked out of the Appalachian Mountains after a night of moon shinin' is a pure miracle.

I digress. My goal this week was to exercise every day and not make excuses. I have to plan this well in advance. I think "after the next feeding, I will immediately change in to work out clothes and get going." I typically start with a long walk so he can sleep. But one day, he was very much ready to play. No excuses. I turned on the Lady Gaga Pandora station (not necessary because I like it but it keeps you moving. OK, maybe it is also little catchy...  My entire workout included Connor. I did push ups above him. Squats and lunges while holding him. Chest presses with him as my weight. Danced around him. He LOVED it. He particularly smiled each time Gaga sang "Paparazi" in the chorus.

Nothing can make my heart smile more than seeing his toothless grin. And hearing these squeals...

(For our non-computer-savy dears, click on "these squeals" above to see a darling video.)

I'm writing today from my iPhone... Tomorrow I'm going to tell the story about Connor and Lady Gaga. Yes, you read that correctly.

Two Tuesday Pictures

Drive In, Pizza, Music, Back to Baby

This weekend Becca and I celebrated our six-year anniversary. We checked out a new little drive in movie theatre downtown and discovered a pizza trailer to rival the all-sacrosanct Home Slice. Then it was off to Flipnotics to hear some of our favorite music. All in all, not a bad night.

Or even better--all in all, not a bad six years. Each day I know and see and feel that Becca is the best wife to me and mother to Connor. Having Connor is the best thing that's ever happened to us. It's been such a great two months.

The whole time we were out Becca missed Connor sooooo much. She is with him literaly 24 hours a day and leaving him was hard for her. We had a great time but it was good to get home and see the little guy.

Anniversary Bliss

Written by Rebecca

I am in love with two different guys. They are both adorable and sweet and smell good. They both make me laugh. They both cause me to loose my breath when I think about how much love I have for them. Michael and Connor. Connor and Michael.

It is not lost on me how blessed I am. I now get to celebrate the 6th anniversary with the man who snuck into a court room with me six years ago and married me. I will never forget what he said: "Most men are walking out of here free today." Well listen buddy, you're not going to be free for a long, long time! My great grandma lived to be over 100 years old, and your grandfather is turning 94. We've got good genes, you and me. So, you are mine forever!

We have had such a wonderful and exciting run. We've traveled to 13 different countries, and countless states together. We have been skydiving, hang gliding, paragliding, canyoning, kayaking, canoeing, spelunking, rock climbing, bouldering, hiking, glacier hiking, bike riding, horseback riding. We've moved 8 times, had four pets, and gained two degrees. I'm so thankful to be married to a man who loves adventures just as much as I do. Yet, we are just as happy eating cereal for dinner and watching tv.

And, we've started a family. I never thought I could have loved Michael more. But then, Michael helped me through the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and we became parents together. Once again, I can't imagine how I could possible be more in love.

Here's JUST A FEW pictures of some of my favorite memories of the past 6 years. There are many many more that I would looove to include but, you know, there's only so much bandwidth.

Playing at the Arc de Triomphe

Riding bikes in Amsterdam 

Being silly in Germany

Canyoning in glacier runoff water!

Hang gliding/ Paragliding in Switzerland

1st Anniversary

7 days of backpacking the Grand Canyon

Graduating College

Getting Macy!!!

Sledding in Ohio

Makin' a baby!

Hiking at 9 months pregnant. Come out Connor!

Hours after the birth of our first child.

Michael, I'll love you forever. Here's to the next 70 years together. 

More and More Handsome

Here are two pictures I took last night before bed time. I guess Connor had got a head start on the bed time routine. He just lays there and he's perfect. We need to get this child into modeling.

I wonder if every parent thinks that... I wonder if I'm being too subjective--but I really think I can objectively say this kid is beautiful. But even then, isn't that what every parent says? Honestly we all know, not all babies are always good looking.

 **But I'm pretty (say, completely) sure I kind of (say, absolutely) know what I'm taking about. This baby gets better everyday.  

Long Legs

Connor likes to lay on my stomach on is back, if that makes sense. That way he can really stretch out. If you lookto the upper left you see his little foot hanging of the couch. This kid is getting super tall. Might be a basketall player--you never know!