Spending TWO at the ZOO!

Monday after pancakes, we loaded up and headed to the Tulsa Zoo!  It was Connor's first big road trip (well, aside from that whole disaster we dealt with when we took Connor to Mt. Magazine when he was 8 weeks old.....WHAT were we thinking!? I think that's why we waited almost 2 years to take another one lol!). He did very well! Of course, having a DVD player in the Tahoe helped juuuuuust a little :) He also brought all of his snugglies.

Connor had been SO excited to go to the zoo and see the hippos! I don't know why he was so stuck on seeing the hippos, but it sure was cute to hear him say "hipp-ooooo" lol! I asked around and had heard that there were hippos at the Tulsa Zoo, but unfortunately, there weren't any.

We had lunch at the Safari Grill inside the zoo. $6.50 for a chicken Cesar salad that had MAYBE 6 pieces of lettuce and a small handful of chicken?! Guess that's where they make up their profit since it's only $6 to get in lol!  Plus, who cares about my lunch (I just haaaaad to vent)....it was Connor's day.  He had cheese pizza, grapes, strawberries, "tons" (crutons), and a couple fries....it was a lunch fit for a Birthday King! :) Did I mention how much this child is GROWING right now?! Oh, well thats in the next post :)

Our first stop was in Webbers Falls to get gas.  While we were there, he picked up a Spiderman drink! SCORE!

When we got there, the poor guy was a little car sick.....thank goodness we brought a change of clothes.  From Spiderman to Toy Story.  Both winning t-shirts in Connor's eyes :)

Ready for a fun day at the ZOO!

 

Our first stop...the Elephants.  When he say the elephant walk across the yard, he was locked in dead stare. I truly don't think he knew what to think about this massive creature that was very real right in front of him!

Connor loved the mammoth.  Probably more so than the actual real elephants lol!  Go figure :)

After we left the elephants, we headed toward the monkeys.....however we hd to make a 5 minute pit-stop at this vending machine and press every button at least 647 times! Our boy LOVES buttons :)

You can imagine how proud Justin and I were when Connor called the Hogs upon approaching this RAZORBACK!!!!

Oh, and I don't care WHAT this says....I think it's some kind of Oklahoma scam...totally. That way they don't get in trouble for having an Arkansas Razorback in their zoo! ;)

There are deer and turkeys behind Connor in this picture. He thought they were pretty neat, although they were kind of hard to see.

He also loved the black bear.....even though we caught the bear using the bathroom as soon as we approached the fence.  And let me tell you, that was the LONGEST pee I have ever known anyone or anything to take. Goodness!

Connor LOVES to watch "Shrek the Halls" (it's a Shrek Christmas show). He calls it "Shrek Donkey", so when we came across this guy, the Birthday Boy was pretty pumped!

And we may need to work on our zoo animals....Connor was pretty sure this was a cat. :)

 

Leave it to our sweet son to want to love on the one goat who is uninterested in company. He always loves the animals who are kind of unsocial.....he loves mom's dog, Zoey, who curls up in the couch 24/7 in the same position as this goat lol! AND, she is black and white, so maybe he was making some sort of connection. Here, he is saying, "Look, Daddy! Goat!" over and over and over again lol!

Watching him interact in the petting zoo was just too fun. 

This goat still cracks me up every time I look at it LOL! I was glad to get his picture :) I tried to get Connor to stand by him, but he wasn't having any part of that.

Well, since there weren't any hippos, we triiiiiied to play the rhino's off as hippos....unfortunately, I don't think Connor was buying it.

Daddy and Connor hanging out by the sleeping cheetah!

Here we sat, waiting for the giraffe to get his butt back out! Lots of the animals were either sleeping, or were up away from the fence.  I was kind of bummed about that, but the show must go on :) Connor was having a BLAST, regardless!

Connor thought these balls were for the giraffe to play with :)

There he is!

Connor really loves lions, so I took this picture for him since he was far more interested in the plastic lion shaped water fountain. LOL! Go figure ;)

Our last stop was the PENGUINS! They were so cute! Connor kept saying, "Happy Feet!" The penguin in the background was stealing the show.....until Connor spotted the girl in the stroller (who he is looking at in this picture) with the Dora the Explorer shirt. He started pointing and excitedly chanting, "Dora, Dora, Dora!" and theeeeen he busted out his little happy dance.  He had everyone around him laughing.  That's our boy :) I was laughing so hard that I didn't get any pics! Shame on me! :)

After a successful day at the zoo, we all headed toward the gift shop to spend the birthday money that Connor's Great-Grandma Lou sent him!

And before we made it out of Tulsa, Connor and his new penguin snuggled up and passed out :)

He was such a happy boy! I kept turning around to watch him sleep, wondering if he was dreaming about his big TWO at the ZOO adventure :)

Happy Birthday to You....You Are Now TWO!

On Monday, March 21st, our baby big boy turned TWO! (I still can't get my head around that!)  I made him special pancakes and Justin and I sang Happy Birthday!  Connor was soaking up the attention, as any Birthday Boy would! :)

Now what two-year-old wouldn't like to wake up to these!!

Annnnnnnd this is the look we got while singing Happy Birthday.....son, was it that bad?



Mr. Personality (and one of the MANY reasons we love him so much!...wonder who he gets it from?) :)



He looks strikingly similar to my brother in this picture....(thanks to Melissa for pointing that out lol!)

Throwing up the "deuces" for the big TWO!



 We love to act silly! :) And check out those colorful tongues from the super cool sprinkles!

After pancakes, we loaded up and headed to the Tulsa Zoo! Stay tuned.......

Dear Connor.....You are TWO!

Dear Sweet Son,

It's 11:11pm the night before your 2nd Birthday.  I can't sleep because I am trying to figure out how the last two years went by so fast.  You have changed SO much over the last year (and also a LOT over the past two weeks!!!). This past year you walked, talked, learned to count to 10 (sorta'.....it's so cute when you do....you always start with two, then "free, four, fibe, six, senen, eiiiiiiight, senen, eiiiiiiiight, senen, eiiiiiight..." eventually you get the "nine, ten" out with a little coaching. And you point to everything you are counting.  Melt. My. Heart!), learned your ABC's (I asked you to recite them in the car just two days ago, and you went through the entire alphabet.....I had no idea you could do that......it literally brought a tear to my eye as we drove down Marble Drive, headed home), decided green is your favorite color, became overly obsessed with Toy Story (I mean EVERYTHING is Buzz and Woody.  Sometimes it drives Mommy NUTS, but I know it makes you utterly happy, so I love it just as much as you do), started making sentences ( last week you picked up my shoe and said "Connor wear Mommy's shoe." Daddy and I looked at each other in total amazement....how did you get so big so fast?), and many many other things that big boys do.

I still remember that grueling 26 hours of labor.....but I will spare you the details.  I'm not going to be one of those mom's who tells you the story of your birth every single year (unless you ask....) lol :)

We absolutely love you more than ANYTHING in this WHOLE world! It's a love that I can not explain to you. You will only know it when (or if) you decide to have children of your own.  We envision only the best life for you, and pray every single day for your health and happiness.  If you could only understand how much we love you......

I am excited to have the day off work to spend with you.  I am going to start your day off with extra special pancakes that include whipped cream and sprinkles.  Then you, me, and Daddy are going to "load up" and head to the Tulsa Zoo.  You are very excited to see the Hippos.  I don't know why, but you just are.  And I checked....they do have Hippos (Thank goodness!). I won't allow any less than perfection for your special day, because each and EVERY day (regardless of the insane fits you throw), you don't allow anything less for me. You make our lives perfect.  That's not to say we don't struggle from time to time, trying to figure out why you are throwing yourself into the floor, or why you are screaming or swatting at us, but those are the struggles we signed up for when we made the decision to try and have a child.

For the next 40+ hours, your Daddy is putting his heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into building you the swingset you got for your Birthday. I am taking lots of pictures so that someday (probably when you are grunting and sweating over putting one together for your son) you will be able to appreciate just how much love your Daddy is putting in to this project. God Bless him......(glad it's not me lol!) :)

We can't wait to see your little face light up all day tomorrow! And someday I look forward to seeing your face light up as you are able to read and understand this letter that I wrote to you. :)


Love You Always,
Mommy and Daddy

Running.....I can!

"I don't run."

"I can't run."

"I only run when I'm being chased (and even then, I don't run very fast)"

"Running hurts."

"I've tried running, it's just not for me."

"I could never run a race, I'd have to walk most of the way."

I have said all of these things COUNTLESS times! Well guess who just finished (without stopping, I might add) her VERY FIRST 5k race?  That's right.....THIS GIRL!  I completed the Reach Out and Run 5k, sponsored by the Fort Smith Junior League, benefiting 3 different programs for underprivileged children, in THIRTY-FIVE...yes, 35, minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was an enormous accomplishment for me, considering I have never been a runner and have never been athletic.

Wanna know what inspired me to run? Ok, this is going to sound TOTALLY lame, but whatever works, right?  My friend, Drew, was training for a half marathon in Fayetteville, AR.  Everytime he would run, he would post his mileage and time on Facebook (yes, I said Facebook).  I thought it looked sooooo cool when he posted his stats. Also, there's a girl in my neighborhood who runs alot....I always think she looks cool in her running shorts, ear warmers, and iPod.  Oh, and the more cliche reason? Well, I am trying to lead a healthier lifestyle. We are eating better and taking better care of our bodies.  It really does feel good!

Some people ask how I was able to work up to a 5k (which is 3.2 miles).....my answer: I just did. One day I went out and ran a little and walked a little, then the next day I ran a little more, and then a little more the next time I went out.  Next thing I knew, I was running 3 miles.....I. Was. Shocked.  I would finish and think, "Did that really just happen?" 

Running has been crucial to reducing my stress level.  There are so many things that I can't control with my job. When I took up running, I realized this is something I CAN control. When those endorphins get going, I feel like a rockstar! And when I get home, Connor and throw one of his little fits and it doesn't phase me a bit! Lol (yes, we are in the terrible 2's....fits are inevitable). So overall, it's been very beneficial in my life, and I intend to keep it up.  I have signed up for another 5k in April to keep me motivated :)

Here are some pics from the big day!

Race Day Morning!

Rockstar! LETS DO THIS!

My sweet friend, Adrienne.....she says I inspired her.  That makes me feel incredible.

I was SO ready to get on with it!  Thumbs up at the starting line!

Along the way, Adrienne ran into this little guy LOL! He pushed her to her limits, and she finished the race in 32 minutes!!! I am so proud of her!

I was neck and neck with the guy infront of me the ENTIRE race.  At the end, I started sprinting and tried to give him a run for his money....I wasn't successful, but it was a fun finish :)



What a great feeling!



 I thought I was going to pass out LOL!

 Congrats to both of us for finishing without stopping!

I could not have been successful without this man :) He's my biggest fan!



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today, I am on vacation. I love being on vacation and having the opportunity to make a fun morning out of a random fun little holiday.  When I have to get up and get ready and get out of the house, I don't feel like I have enough time to just enjoy the little things with Connor. When I don't have anywhere to be, I take it all in! :) So this morning, I made green pancakes and green milk for my little leprechaun!

By the end of the cooking process, I learned that low and slow was the way to go if I wanted the pancakes to stay green! The one in the middle was my favorite!



Connor was NOT too sure about these pancakes....he pushed the plate away from me about 4 times! I was a little sad, but when I brough the syrup to the table and put it on the pancakes in front of him, he realized that "hey, maybe this is the real deal...."

This child also LOVES bacon! Daddy wanted that piece lol!

 So Connor decided to share....lol! Abbey was jealous :)

 But then he decided he wanted it back......

This picture depicts my boys' personalities perfectly!

 Happy "Patrick's" Day! Love, Connor

Growin' Up a Little.....

Sold this.....

Traded this......(minus the cute little boys...we kept them!)

And ended up with this.....

Our very first family-mobile!

Why did we ditch all the toys, you ask?  Well, we were kind of over the boat. Don't get me wrong, it was a BLAST while we had it, but it was just more of a hassle than a good time.  Several boat owners had told us this: The best days in a boat owner's life are the day they buy it, and the day they sell it.  I couldn't agree more. Maybe again, someday.....maybe not. :) We have also decided that renting a boat for a couple days and walking away from it when those two days are over would be much cheaper and easier....think about it...no payment on the boat, no insurancee on the boat, no winterizing the boat, no de-winterizing the boat, no storing the boat, no towing the boat....just parking the boat and heading home.  Now THAT sounds like a good time to me :)

And the Jeep? When Justin worked his brief stint at Auto Accessories Unlimited, it was like letting a small child work at the candy store. The Jeep ended up going from 33 inch tires, to 35 inch tires...from a 4 inch lift to a 6 inch lift...there once were steps to help me get in....after the big transformation there were no more steps. Getting Connor in and out of the Jeep was NOT easy! Shoot, getting mySELF in and out of the Jeep was not easy either! Oh, and max speed in the interstate? 55. 'Nuff said.

Someone in the Scarlet family has an opportunity that has been in the works since November. More on that at a later date :) But the opportunity is going to require that the "someone" have a personal vehicle, and the deal on the Tahoe was just to good to pass up. We love it....except for that first $69 gas fill up! WHEW! Connor loves it because he can watch "Buzz and Woody".....we are going to have to teach that little guy that everytime he get's to ride in the Tahoe, he does NOT get to watch TV!!

Hope everyone has a great week! XoXo