Some new skills

In the last week or two Connor has really started finding his "voice". In other words, he's adding some squeals and much louder sounds to his repertoire. He's also trying to figure out how some toys work that he used to completely ignore. He likes the exersaucer for about 5-10 minutes at a time and then gets really frustrated or upset - I can't tell which one it is. I think he's a little young for it, but we keep trying because I hope he will love it soon. Here are some videos of him practicing his newest skills.

A boy and his dog

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - we have the best (and most patient) dog in the world!

Don't let the smile fool you

Here's Connor is his new sleep sack - our attempt to wean him from his addiction to being swaddled at bedtime. He looks so happy in this pic, but the reality is that its not helping much (if at all). His little arms start flailing around after he falls asleep and he wakes himself up, over and over, relentlessly, until we break down and swaddle him. He shouldn't be swaddled after 4 months, though, so we're working on breaking the habit. Wish us luck! There are some sleepless nights ahead for the Hill family I'm afraid.

The new Blues Brothers

The future's so bright...

Not only does he tolerate the shades, he actually seems to like them.

Loving the new bathtime

When we were staying in the hotel in Wisconsin we didn't have Connor's baby bathtub, so I got in the tub with him and held him for his baths. He completely loved it - kicking his legs, "talking" to me as he floated with me supporting him, and smiling like crazy. Now that we're home I'm still getting in the tub with him once in a while and as you can tell, he continues to think its way more fun than the typical bathtime. I think we'll need to find a swimming pool to try out this summer.

Wisconsin pics

We had a great time in Wisconsin and Connor thoroughly enjoyed meeting more members of his family - especially his cousin Kathryn who kept him entertained and smiling.

Congratulations Christopher!!!!

Here are some more pictures from our trip:

Playing with cousin Kathryn

With Mom at the hotel

Mom, Dad, & Connor

Waiting with Dad and Peanut (his favorite stuffed animal) to fly home

Connor gets his wings

Yesterday was a big day - the three of us flew to Wisconsin for our nephew Christopher's high school graduation. And I'm very happy to say that it went largely without incident. The only problems we had were mine rather than Connor's, and Brian is responsible for making the trip go as smoothly as it did.

When going through security I kept setting off the metal detector and had to be pulled aside for "thorough inspection", which meant that Brian was left alone with Connor, the stroller (which had to be collapsed and run through the scanner), our carry-on bags, the laptop, the camera, and the liquids that had to be removed from our bags. So he had to juggle Connor while attempting to pick up all these things and get them all put back together again. All I could do was watch from the sidelines. They eventually found the culprit that was setting off the alarm - a pacifier in my pocket! No idea why it would have metal in it, but apparently it does.


Brian navigated security amazingly with a happy, non-crying baby, and we rushed onto the plane - where I promptly got horribly motion sick almost immediately after takeoff, so once again it was Brian to the rescue. He fed Connor, changed his diaper in the tiny bathroom, and kept him quiet the entire flight while I was trying my best to keep my breakfast down. During our layover I took some Dramamine, which helped but turned me into a zombie for our next flight. Connor slept for most of it and quietly looked around at everything for the rest of the time. Here are a couple of pictures from the flight, including one of me looking as haggard as I felt. Connor, however, continued his perfect travel record.

Sleep, glorious sleep

The night before last we put Connor to bed at 7pm as usual. I woke up at 5:30 in a panic when we hadn't heard from him all night. Well, we checked on him and he was fine (although completely at the other end of the crib and scrunched into the corner), and he didn't wake up until 7am! Needless to say, we were totally shocked and didn't expect him to repeat that little feat for quite some time. But last night he surprised us by sleeping 12 hours straight once again! I doubt this will be an ongong trend, but we are certainly going to enjoy the sleep while we can get it.