Fall Fun

It's been a busy fall for the Michigan Huffords. After our trip to Florida, we set about visiting some fun fall destinations in Michigan including an apple orchard and beef farm. Connor did a little trick-or-treating this year too. You can check it all out in the pictures below. Things are going very well for us. Nathan is all settled at work and Connor and I are busy with activities and watching the 22 month old daughter of a friend twice a week. Connor is getting so big and talking up a storm; he now says over 40 words!

Connor and Daddy at the trick-or-treat parade. He was a little confused by all the people walking around in costume. His lion costume was a big hit!

Mr. Independent must now do all things by himself. He has gotten pretty efficient at feeding himself with a spoon and is also working on using a fork. We are even working on a little potty training. He "tries" every morning after breakfast while we sing "The Wheels on the Bus" twice.

Molding playdough is a new favorite hobby. He doesn't even try to eat it.

This kid can eat! One day he saw me take a bite of an apple and decided that is how he wanted to eat his apple. He can eat an entire apple all by himself!

Animals are one of Connor's favorite things. Here he is at the petting area of a local apple orchard. It's really close to our house so we have been to visit a few times. There are pigs, goats, cows, ducks, and chickens for C to chase. And for Mom and Dad, there is fresh cider and homemade donuts (a Michigan tradition). YUM! He also had a great time visiting Lamb Farm, a certified organic farm that raises lamb, chicken and beef fed on pasture. The farmers were so nice and even took us to "herd the cattle" in the old farm pickup. Now we just have to buy a big freezer so we can buy meat in bulk!

Destin, FL

We went to Destin, FL for 4 days with Lindsay's mom & dad for vacation. Below are some pictures.

Connor terrorizing the cats at Nana's & Papa's house.

Connor & Nana in the back seat on the 6.5 hour drive from Orlando to Destin.

Connor looking out to the Gulf of Mexico.

Destin has white sand beaches and turquoise water as far as the eye can see.

Connor decided to try and feed himself an entire tangelo one morning.

Connor in his float. Nana would snorkel and put hermit crabs and shells in the mesh part. We called it the Sea Circus.

\

Connor, Lindsay, Nana, and Papa floating and relaxing in the Gulf.

Connor, Nana, & Papa outside of Pompano Joe's.

Connor & Mom at the beach.

Connor and me at the cabin.

End of Summer

We have been really busy the past few weeks and I have had very little time to update the blog. So this post will be kind of a catch all :) The end of summer has been beautiful in Michigan, sunny warm days and cool nights, so we have been enjoying lots of outside activities like parks, orchards, and long walks.

Over Labor Day, we visited PA. Some highlights were seeing Aunt Elaine and Uncle Gary, visiting with Jamie and Amie and their kids, Abs Cap, Pitt and Ali Baba's, and spending time with Tyler, Renee, Tracy, Rob, Lex, Zack, and Teresa. It was a really busy 4 days and you can check out some pics below.

On the Connor front, he is saying more words (duck, ball, da-da, car, uh-oh, no, dog, etc) and has started to dance, which is hilarious. I have added a dance video for your viewing pleasure.

First Haircut & Shades

About a week ago we realized that Connor was beginning to resemble a hippie/clown. He woke up one morning and his hair was sweaty and matted to his head. We ran our fingers through his hair and it stuck out every where. I guess it should have dawned on us that his hair was a bit long when everybody we met in Michigan kept telling us that we had a pretty daughter.

We decided it was time to cut his hair.

I tried to tell Lindsay that if we let his hair grow another couple of months that Connor could have a comb-over beard. She didn't seem to fond of the idea.

We had grown fond of Connor's locks, which Lindsay affectionately dubbed Connor's "schmugs".

From behind Connor most resembles a zoo exhibit instead of a little boy.

Connor wasn't thrilled with the idea of having shiny vibrating clippers dragged across his head.

It was hard to cut his hair because Connor kept trying to look at the clippers.

We strapped him in his high chair and tried to distract him with food. I'd hide the clippers from him and when he wasn't paying attention to me I'd try to ambush his head. I could make about 2 passes with the clippers before I had to start the process again.

Eventually, he started to get used to it.

The first hairs.

The end result was a fairly even, non-bleeding, haircut.

He kept rubbing his head after we were all done.

This is Connor with a balloon. We went furniture shopping and the sales man gave Connor a balloon. Connor did not let that balloon out of his sight the entire day. When it floated too high he would melt down until we brought it back down again. This one is going in his high school year book.

Connor will finally leave sunglasses on.

The Nony

Connor received a "nony" for his first birthday from Nana and Papa Neveu. A nony is a horse on springs and was coined by Uncle Drew when he was little and couldn't say pony. Connor was unsure at first but now he requests to ride the nony by standing next to it, bouncing, and signing "more".

Connor Walking & the New House

Connor started walking a few days after his birthday. He is still a little wobbly but very confident.

Here are some pictures of the new house

Click here to view these pictures larger

Connor's First Birhday

We had a party at our new home for Connor's first birthday this weekend. It was a lot of fun. Connor really seemed to enjoy visiting with friends, opening presents, and, of course, eating cake. Below are some pictures and videos for the day. (The pictures are in a slideshow format. We will probably be using this new format a lot. It allows us to post lots of pictures.)

Click here to view these pictures larger

Singing Happy Birthday.




Cake time!





Opening presents.