O'Neill Family Reunion- 7/28/07

This Saturday we spent the day at the annual O'Neill reunion in Pennsylvania and had the chance to show Connor off to lots of family. The O'Neill get togethers are always a big adventure with many branches of the family tree coming together to celebrate. As always, we gathered at the Revloc pavilion- about 100 O'Neill, Robine, Ruffley and Burkhart's, ranging in age from 4 weeks to 90 years old! This year there were lots of kids playing games and running around. Connor will be very lucky with lots of playmates when he gets a bit bigger!


Four Generations of O'Neill's- Pat, Rosalyn, Connor and Scott




Connor with his proud grandparents!




Connor was so good all day and barely fussed. He was so patient as he got passed around and everyone complimented his red hair! He snuggled up and even fell asleep in the arms of Nicole, Judy, and Twila.

Snuggling with Nicole O'Neill




One of the highlights of the reunion each year is the sports. Basketball, softball and volleyball are the usual activities. Scott's favorite is basketball and he looks forward to it all year! He was afraid he'd be unable to play this year since he had his knee surgery last fall and has not been playing ball yet this summer. He couldn't resist the urge to play any longer. Three games later, he still felt good and no sign of any trouble with his knee! He was so excited to be able to get out there and play and will likely have more basketball plans in the near future at home.




All in all, a great time was had as usual by the O'Neill clan! Connor was poopered out by the end of the day and sacked out for a nap in the grass!

All Smiles!

We have been tickled to watch Connor become more interactive this last week- lots of smiles, cooing, and laughing in his sleep. The smiles are still somewhat unpredictable, but he has several playful periods each day! I get lots of smiles when he's getting his diaper changed, almost like a big thank you! He's made it clear that he doesn't like to be in a dirty diaper, so whenever he fusses, its one of the first things we check! Here's one smile I caught when he was slowly waking up from a nap... More to come!

The Other "O'Neill's"- Visitors at the Zoo

Scott, Connor and I continue to be blessed by so much love and attention from our family and friends. These past six weeks have been such a wonderful experience and we have felt the constant support of our loved ones, helping encourage us through this time of change. Connor is the luckiest little boy in the world and we feel so lucky to be his parents! We have felt sure that the love in our lives as we grew up would help us to be great parents...and we feel more and more sure of this every day!

Connor is the first grandchild for both sides of the family and has four grandparents who are delighted to be grandparents!

Grandma Mary


Grandma O'Neill

















Grandpa O'Neill


















Grandpa Denis and Sharon





We are planning to go to PA soon to spend a week with Scott's parents and to show Connor off to the rest of the O'Neill family who haven't seen him yet. We are curious to see how the seven hour car ride goes...hopefully we can get there with only one long stop for Connor to eat. He usually sleeps well in the car, so we'll see if it goes well in the truck! We hope to do more and more traveling in the future (Miami in August and Hawaii next year).


Aunts and Uncle

Aunt Mandy lives in Hawaii, but was able to come visit as soon as we got home from the hospital. We hope to go visit next spring, but will definitely see mandy at Christmas time. Connor will spend his first Christmas in Pennsylvania, hopefully with a white Christmas!



Auntie Melissa has been a big help and companion as we get adjusted to life with a baby and Scott's travel schedule. She is always eager to snuggle with Connor and has been called the baby snatcher because she always wants to hold him!






















Auntie Sarah has been over to visit many times and been always wants to wake Connor up so she had hold him. Since he loves to snuggle, he never minds!



















Uncle Ian was so eager to be an uncle and to meet our little one. We were so touched by him rushing back to town from his job so he could be there when Connor was born and he brought us the most beautiful flowers! Ian is so cute when he holds Connor, although he gets a little nervous when Connor fusses!




GGBob (Greatgrandpa Bob)- Connor is also lucky to have lots of greatgrandparents in Durham to keep him company. We look forward to Connor running around at GG Bobs and playing in the lake! When I go back to work, Connor is going to spend time with his greatgrandparents Bobby and Shirley. The luckiest boy in the world!!!























You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family. ~Lee Iacocca

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt

Virginia Beach June '07

One thing Scott and I hope to do successfully is to be able to travel with our kids and still be able to go on trips and help our kids see the world. Many people had given us the advice to start travelling with kids early and then they don't know any different, and it is easier on all. Honestly at this stage, it seems harder on us to travel than it does on Connor, but that will change as he gets older and more used to a routine. Right now, there is no semblance of a routine other than eat, sleep, eat, sleep, and lots of diaper changes along the way! He's starting to get more interested in play time and smiling a bit more. We are convinced now that every smile is not gas!

Last weekend we took Connor to Virginia Beach to visit with some of the O'Neill/Robine clan at the campground. We didn't think camping was a good idea yet, so we stayed at a nearby hotel and visited during the weekend with Scott's family at the campsite and at the beach. We were pleased to introduce Connor to more of Scott's family, as he had only met Scott's parents and sister so far. We are going to PA at the end of the month for the family reunion and a 1 week visit, so he'll meet many more O'Neills soon!

The highlights of the weekend were trying out Connors swimsuit in the pool and going to the beach. He has loved baths, so we thought he'd like the pool...and he might have...if we didn't wake him up out of a deep sleep to get into the pool...and he immediately decided he was hungry! We also took him swimming in the lake on 4th of July and he seemed to enjoy that too. He slept mostly through the beach experience, and stayed bundled up because it was very breezy and almost cool down by the water. Enjoy the photos!

Connor Strikes a Pose!

As part of the maternity photo package, Marie from Phreckles Photography came out to our house to do a photo shoot with Connor at just over two weeks old. Here are some of the favorite pictures. We loved the serious looks and how blue his eyes are! My favorites are the ones that show off his red hair! All in all, he couldn't help but look adorable!