i can't believe how big he's getting...

konnor sure loves his dog

bonding time

Konnor still loves to help out with Murphy whenever possible. We have these super cool black & white cards with photos of different animals on them. Murphy loves looking at these cards. Konnor decided he wanted to show them to Murphy on this particular day and Murphy was totally enjoying his time with his brother.

 Then Konnor read one of his favorite books to Murphy. The book is about construction trucks...of course.

daddy & son

6 weeks old

I'm a few days late but here is Murphy at 6 weeks old. He had his six week check up with his doctor and she was shocked at how much he has grown. He weighs 10lbs 11oz (he went from being in the 13th percentile to the 50th percentile). He is 22 1/2 inches tall (66th percentile) and his head is 15 3/8 inches big. He is definitely growing like a weed.

visiting the grandparents

Konnor, Murphy, Caesar, and I headed down to my dad and step-mom's house for the weekend for a visit. Konnor had a blast hanging out with his grandparents. It had been awhile since the last time we had been to their house, so we had a great time playing with all five of their dogs, feeding the horses, and taking fun walks around their property. Already looking forward to our next visit. Hopefully, it'll be sooner rather than later.

Grandpa with the kids

Grandma with Murphy

Grandpa introducing Konnor to their horse Murphy. (No, we did not name our son after their horse).

All three of their horses. Aren't they pretty? Konnor loved going into the barn and checking the horses out. 

heading to the barn to feed the horses.

Konnor driving Grandpa's tractor. Definitely one of his favorite things he did at their house.

My brother and his family also came out for a few hours to visit. Here's Alex and Konnor being sweet together. Poor Konnor had an allergy attack while on one of our walks.

The boys walking together.

Caesar also had a great time running around and playing with the grandparents dogs. Caesar was exhausted by the end of the day.

This was the next day. Konnor wanted to go back on the tractor. This time grandpa started the tractor up and let Konnor move the bucket up and down. He thought that was pretty cool.

Then grandpa took Konnor on a little ride around the yard on the tractor. Below is a short video of them riding the tractor. Konnor absolutely loved it.

the fair

On Wednesday, we headed out to the Northwest Washington Fair. Konnor especially had a great time this year. He enjoyed a few rides, a delicious lunch, the animals, music, and all the great vendors. Looking forward to next year!

We hit the rides first.

 Konnor enjoyed checking out the cool tractors and lawn mowers.

 Konnor got tired of waiting in line for one of the rides so he decided to plop down on the grass.

 Konnor enjoyed his corn on the cob, fries, and barbecue pork.

 Will trying to soothe Murphy. Look at those chipmunk cheeks!

 Murphy obviously didn't want to get his picture taken.

 Checking out the animals. Konnor especially liked the chicks and the kitties.

 He wasn't into the pigs...probably because it smelled pretty bad in there. Konnor had to cover his nose with some tissue because he didn't like the smell!

4 years old

Better late than never. Here are a few statistics and things that Konnor is up to as a four year old!

• He weighs in at a whopping 33lbs.
• He is 41 1/2 inches tall.
• His doctor didn't really like that his BMI fell quite drastically (meaning in the past year he grew quite a bit but didn't put on any weight. I think only two or three pounds in one year). The doc wants me to bring him back in at 6 months to check his weight/height again...hoping that he puts on more pounds. Not sure what I can do to get him to put on more weight (he just has a metabolism like his daddy). He already eats like he's a teenager. 
• Wears size 4T pants and 3T/4T tops.
• Shoe size is 10.
• Still takes a 3 hour nap and sleeps about 10-11 hours at night.
• Konnor's favorite breakfast is blueberry eggos. Favorite lunch is turkey sandwich with barbecue chips. Favorite dinner is teriyaki chicken with rice, seaweed, and broccoli.
• Still attached to his blankie...but only when he sleeps. 
• Super interested in learning to read. He is getting tons better at sounding out the letters to form words. He already knows all the sounds associated with each letter.
• He can spell/read all these words but can only write a few of them (although he can "write" all of them on the computer): fox, box, cat, hat, on, no, love, konnor, mom, daddy, truck, stop, go, the, bump. I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them at the moment.
• Starting to enjoy writing his letters. Not sure how many letters he can write without any assistance (I know it's at least 10 letters).
• Loves, loves, loves to read road signs. He's actually quite obsessed with it, especially when we are in the car driving. He's like a really bad backseat driver. His Papa joked that we should just take him to the DMV and get his license now since he already knows what all the signs mean.
• Loves to ask "why?" all, and I really do mean, all, of the time. Even if he knows the answer, he'll ask why just for the heck of it. 
• Loves to dance and sing, especially to one of his many kid cds.
• Still afraid of anything that flies...except butterflies. No many how many times we tell him a fly will not hurt him, he still freaks out if he sees one get too close.
• His cars and trucks are still his favorite toys to play with. He could also spend hours watching real construction trucks working on the roads. He's obsessed I tell you.
• Still the sweetest, most caring boy I know, especially when it comes to his brother. He's one big cuddle-bug.

I love these photos because they show off just how silly Konnor is. He kept asking me to take photo after photo of him making crazy faces. These are only an 1/8 of what I took. He sure loves to be the center of attention.

sleep time with daddy

i think my baby is losing his hair

all comer's track meet

Yesterday evening we went to an all comers track meet. I had just found out about this last week and was so excited for Konnor to participate in it because running is probably one of his all-time favorite activities. This is one sport I can definitely see Konnor doing in high school. There are quite a few events that Konnor can participate in but yesterday we only did three of them because Konnor was starving for dinner. We plan on coming back next week and eating beforehand so he can do the events he didn't get to do yesterday.

stretching with daddy before his first event

long jump

50m hurdles (Konnor loved this event)

50m run

showing off his ribbons with his papa and daddy

a short video of his 50m hurdles race

one month

Has it really been a month since Murphy made his entrance into this world? Wow! In his first month, he has grown so much. I'm not so sure what his weight is (his next doctor's appointment isn't until 6 weeks old) but he has to be close to 8 lbs already since he was already 7lbs 1oz at 2 weeks. This kid is definitely one good eater and when he's hungry he will definitely let you and everyone else in the neighborhood know it's time to eat. He makes the loudest noises when eating as well, as if what he's consuming is the best thing in the world (I totally have to video tape it one of these days). I've actually been worried that he's eating too much but if he's hungry, he's hungry, right? He eats 4oz about every 2 to 4 hours. He's already been switched to formula due to my Bell's Palsy (I've been put on certain medication that doesn't allow me to breastfeed). Oh well, at least he got breast milk in the first two weeks.

Some nights he sleeps really well (3 to 4 hours at a time) and then we have nights like last night where it took me almost three hours to get him to fall asleep and then he was up every 2 hours. I am so looking forward to longer nights. Murphy does not like to sleep in his bassinet. He definitely prefers to be held which is hard sometimes. He just loves to cuddle. His favorite place to sleep is in my arms or in his bouncy chair.

He is getting more alert and loves to look at everything. He is so strong and is getting better at controlling his head. He doesn't like to be swaddled anymore. He prefers to have his arms above his head when he sleeps. He also dislikes baths and hates to have his diaper changed.

(This huge bear was given to Murphy by my best friend Melissa. I've decided to use it as a photo prop to see how much he grows each month.)

birthday party

Konnor went to a friends birthday party today and he had a blast. It was a pool party and I can't remember the last time he had such a great time. He actually threw a little fit when he had to get out of the pool so the birthday boy could blow out his candles and open presents. We will definitely have to make time to hit the pool more often this month.