Silly boys . . .

Coleman's sweet little smiling face - he is almost always in this pleasant, happy mood! We are so blessed :)

My two silly boys just chillin' together!

Chris and I saw this the other day, and we think it might just be warning us about something coming in the near future. Connor is very mischievous and he loves to climb on just about anything - no injuries yet, but I'm sure they are coming. Guarantee that someday I will find Connor in a situation like this after he has told Cole to come get me! (Lucky that our hardware in the kitchen is handles and not knobs ;)

Our noisy boys . . .

Connor is finding more and more things that make him laugh each day - today he found Cookie Monster particularly funny (See video clip below :) Another favorite lately is the Peanut Butter and Jelly song. AND right at this moment, while I update our blog, Connor is giggling in his crib - at who knows what - when he should be napping!!

Cole is a big time talker - he loves to interact with anyone who catches his eye! His stories get bigger and bigger everyday :)

One thing is clear . . .

Even though our boys are changing and doing silly things daily, we are terrible about taking photos/video footage to document all the fun happenings - I knew we were due for another blog post, but we had hardly any photos, to post, so it became clear that I needed to set a belated New Years Resolution - leave the camera out and use it MORE!! These two were taken yesterday -

Coleman was sleeping so peacefully and Connor was playing independently really well, so I took advantage of this rare occasion by cleaning their bathroom . . . apparently Connor thought that Cole needed a diaper change, because after cleaning the tub, I came out to find diapers stuffed all around his arms - so silly!

Connor has just been staring blankly at the lens whenever a camera is around, so we have been trying to teach him to smile - This one was so cute, but I have to admit it pulls a bit at the mommy heartstrings . . . he looks too grownup!

Introducing . . .

Our sweet baby boy #2 arrived a bit early -

October 28th, 2011

Coleman K. Pinkston

joined our family and we love him so much already!!

Chris and Coleman right before leaving the hospital

Connor seeing Coleman at home for the first time

Connor holding Coleman for the first time - it was so sweet how he held his hand :)

Our adorable, chubby Coleman

Our ward Halloween Trunk or Treat was the day we came home from the hospital -

Isn't Connor the cutest little Tigger ever?!

My mom was able to fly out and help the day Coleman was born - we were so grateful for her help, and we couldn't have survived without her! Dad joined her for the last week of her stay ... we had so much fun and felt so blessed to have them here, especially for Thanksgiving and Coleman's baby blessing - these photos were taken right after the blessing :)

We were lucky to have nice weather late into November, and we took advantage of the fabulous trails around Columbia - This is Grandma Denise with Connor on the day that everyone went biking on the trails by Rocheport.

Connor's latest obsession - horses!

So naturally the carousel at the mall is one of his new favorite things -

My dad is a great photographer, so we wanted to do some family photos while he was here - but between juggling a newborn and an active toddler it proved more difficult than I expected ;)

I think this photo sums it up!

Our Little Climber

Needless to say, we are two very (overly, ridiculously) proud parents - time to start looking for a full body harness for next summer!

Better Late Than Never . . . Right?

WOW - it has been forever since we posted anything to the blog, but things are finally starting to settle down a bit for us here in Columbia, so it is time to play "catch-up". These photos were taken around Connor's 1 year birthday by my father while we were vacationing in Utah. I LOVE them . . . no professional photographer could have gotten these same expressions out of him and I think the quality of the photos is so amazing! In fact, when I went to have some of them printed, the girl helping me requested a copyright release from my photographer - Thanks again for doing such a great job Dad!

It has been way too long . . .

Our life has been completely crazy the last few months, and then flipped upside down the last few weeks - I finally had a moment this evening to blog about everything that is happening ;)

Right after our last blog post in April, I got called to be Relief Society President and Chris got called to be the 1st Counselor in the Young Men's organization at church - Add Connor to the equation, and needless to say, we did not have much spare time on our hands! My normal blogging time was in the evenings once Connor had fallen asleep, but I was also falling asleep much earlier that my usual bedtime (8pm instead of 11pm), because . . . we are so excited to announce that baby boy #2 is on his way and will be joining our family in November!!

Connor has been growing and learning new things every day, sometimes it seems more like every hour! He is a very friendly, personable little guy - he loves EVERYONE and has no fear of strangers. He makes everyone's day - from the ladies at the gym's kid care to the old man at the grocery store - by blowing kisses or waving hello, playing patty-cake or peek-a-boo. He is such a comedian . . . he loves to make other people laugh, and he loves join in the laughing when all the adults around him are doing it too.

We celebrated his 1 year birthday on June 25th with a big backyard BBQ, and then we went out to Utah for the next 2 1/2 weeks to visit family - it was a whirlwind trip and we LOVED it! Connor took his first steps while we were there, and now he is walking everywhere!!

The last 2 weeks have been nuts because Chris found out that he was selected for a promotion to Senior Attorney - we are thrilled (and Connor and I are so proud of him and all his hard work :) The new job is taking us back to Columbia, MO and they want him there by August 1st, so we are in a mad rush to sell our house and get relocated. We are thrilled to be returning to a place and friends that we loved so much, but we will miss our home and friends here in Springfield. Last week we went to Columbia on house hunting trip, and by the end of 5 grueling days, we finally found a home we loved!!

Here are a handful of photos representing the last few months - Utah and new home pics to follow soon!

Connor's 1st Haircut at a salon

Connor's B-day hat

Connor was hilarious sitting in his highchair greeting his guests as they arrived

Two of Connor's favorite things are balls and balloons -

so they were ALL OVER the backyard during the party

This photo is of Connor while we were singing "Happy Birthday" -

at first he looked like he was going to cry, but then he settled into loving the attention

He LOVED his fist taste of sugar and chocolate - who can blame him?

What a fun party!! It has been a great first year and we're excited for the next one :)