8 very short months

so, today was Connor's 8 month "birthday" GOSH! how does time go so fast?!?! We have had a bit of a rough week. MOnday went from a morning of decent normalcy, to an evening at the ER with Connor...we were worried he had an ear infection from a cold that had hung on..and after calling and getting an appointment for the next day (soonest available) at the ped's office, my poor little guy began running at BOTH ends...LOVELY!! and when daddy got home from work, couldnt even muster a smile for him. i called back to the office and they said they just couldnt squeeze him in (definitely NOT campbellsville, KY where docs will meet you whenever is necessary...grr..) so we carted him off to the ER to get checked out. The ER here was GREAT!! we were in and out in a little over 2 hours...the staff was great...and Connor, running a fever, having an ear infection, and some sort of virus causing both ends of his digestive tract to revolt....was smiling and flirting with the staff...the nurses, docs, security guards, and other patients were all falling in love with him....and couldnt hardly believe he was sick. So, the kicker of the story is the longer we were at the hospital, the worse i began to feel myself...and on the way out the door..yep..you guessed it...MOMMY had to throw up too!! it was a wonderful and fitting end to a long day!

so Connor and I spent the night doing all sorts of amazing and awful things. TJ was WONDERFUL and stayed up half the night taking care of us...he stayed home the next morning from work threatening to take me to the ER too since i had thrown up all night...but i refused and he went to work after i was able to get up and eat a little something and hold it down. tuesday was a long day...but we were over the worst of it. We've spent the rest of the week just trying to rest and recover...Today was the first "normal" day, although a couple of Connor's symptoms are dragging on. At least he is back to his normal, playing, laughing self.

At 8 months, here's the run down... Although i dont know how LONG he is..he is a whopping 22 lbs and a few ounces..this would be the average size of a 12 month old...but nobody calls him fat...he's just big! "perfectly plump" as the doc in the ER said. he has 4 full fledged teeth and one that has just broken through..the sixth tooth came through for a few days and then seems to have gone back in..this doesnt seem fair..but such is life. He is beginning to give kisses (mostly to daddy) and although they are usually with an open mouth and lots of slobber, they are welcomed with great joy around here. We also think he is beginning to wave...he likes to wave at John who is a friend of TJ's who is staying with us for a few weeks while he's in flight school here...we're not positive it's on purpose, but we think it just might be the beginning!! He is also pulling up on EVERYTHING...he definitely has to have a little help, but it won't be long until he's up on his own and causing even more craziness!! The other current milestone is that he is gaining an understanding of the word NO. this is funny because he gets that he's supposed to stop, but he cries because he doesnt want to...but if you ignore the crying, it stops almost immediately and he (usually) happily goes on about his business. He is also learning to share...at this point, that is usually sharing his pacifier, food, or toys with the DOG..haah! but what are friends for?! The picture below is pretty typical of what you'll find around here..(the big black thing in the picture is our dog, Sampson. he tends to be a black hole in pictures..Connor is holding his ear!)

so life is wonderful and joyful around here. Connor has been the most wonderful blessing, and we continue to revel in seeing the world through his eyes...all things really ARE new!! So, we hope to be seeing a lot of you on our Christmas adventure..we'll be hitting up harlan county, KY, then drivig through Cville for a short visit on the way to IL to see the Shake clan there! wish we could see the rest of you too! love you all...and merry christmas (just incase i continue to be delinquent in the blogging!!)

Here are the "official" 8 month old big boy pictures!! check out the TEETH!