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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Past Couple Weeks

We've been trying to keep it low key here at our house ever since the Terrys' visit, which has involved Connor watching a lot of TV.  This past week I've had more energy so we've been trying to limit the TV and go places!  I know I'll probably be using screen time a lot when Eamon comes to help entertain Connor and get some naps in!
Connor enjoying TV and breakfast.
Thanks to the season, we are able to give Connor a wide variety of fruits (not so much vegetables) to try.  He went through a period of intense love for peaches and plums that seems to have waned a bit, but at the peak, he was eating up to 4 a day!  Red plums makes for a messy baby.
To the producers of The Walking Dead: Give us a call if you want to hire our son for an episode.
As Patrick shared earlier, we've been doing a lot of playing with the cardboard blocks we bought. Connor's not as interested in playing them with me since he's done it so much with his dad, but when Patrick offers to build a tower, Connor loves it.  Here's one where Patrick used all the blocks and got it to the ceiling!
It has been really hot outside, but we try to go out there when we can.  There have been some rough days for Connor recently where he has not been interested in food and been really fussy.  I blame his last 2 year old molar, which has yet to make an appearance.  To try and entice him to eat one night, we sat outside with his dinner while he commanded us to do different things for him, like wheel him around the yard.  Poor Patrick.  His back was hurting, but Connor said that Mama would not do and he had to have Dada push him.  We were glad for bedtime that night!

"Why are you taking a picture of me?"
Another joy of summer is ice cream.  Connor has had it enough times now that he knows what it is and knows he LOVES it.  We got him to agree to go to the mall with us so we could get some diapers at Babies R Us by bribing him with ice cream.  Well, that time it was frozen yogurt, but all Connor know is that is delicious.
Sharing a coconut popsicle with Dada.
One of Connor's favorite activities is climbing and throwing himself around on furniture.  He likes jumping on beds, chairs, couches, and climbing up and down on them, or just throwing himself onto them over and over.
Yesterday I had a great shower thrown by my friends' Britni and Jessica.  It was a woodland themed brunch and so cute!  Of course I didn't bring my camera, so no photo evidence, but we had a great time just sitting and talking.  When it was winding down I asked someone what time it was and was really surprised that we had been hanging out for over 2.5 hours!  The time flew by.
Eating shower leftovers.  How preggos do meals.
Baby corner!  Lots of sweet gifts.
Connor has done several new things lately.  We bought him a little potty to sit on and use when he's ready, which we're not pushing until he is, but he's gone pee-pee in it twice!  We invite him to come sit when we are and his diaper is already off.  The first time he did, he was really pleased with himself, and with the fact that the potty sang to him!
I am the mysterious O Zero!
Just kidding.  It's me, Connor!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Blockbuster

Uncle Parks gave Becca a tip about some blocks selling on Woot that the Carpenters had played with when they were kids.  We ordered 48 blocks for Connor, and he's been having a blast with them.  I'll let the videos speak for themselves.

OH YEAH!


Super Happy Awesome Fun Videos!

I sat down to prepare some videos for the blog (which will be in another post to shortly follow this one), and I found a few more videos I wanted to put up.

First one is a shout out to Aunt Jenny: Connor reading "I Spy with My Little Eye" on his own!
I had to put this one on Youtube because the file was too large. It's a little extra work, but maybe Youtube is a better way to do it for all videos in the future.  I'll think about it!

These days, Connor REALLY loves They Might Be Giants' Here Come the ABCs.  His favorite songs are "Alphabet of Nations," "QU," and "Fake Believe."  Here's a video we got of him enjoying the video to the Alphabet of Nations.
It's only a somewhat manic laugh!

Bonus Video: When Connor was wee, we used to watch the Colbert Report with him in the room with us.  We noticed a big reaction from him during the opening sequence, and I got multiple videos of it, hoping to do a compilation at some point.  I never felt that I had the time, and now it's even less likely.  But here's one of the best of the videos, and a blast from Connor's short past!
Pretty soon we'll have another boy even littler than this!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Fourth of July

This year for the Fourth of July we were able to have our friends the Terrys come down and visit us for a couple of days.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with them, even if it was a little silly to try and do anything with three kids between the two families.  Patrick and Kevin did get to go see Man of Steel on Friday and they all went to the Madison Farmer's Market on Saturday morning while I was sleeping off Connor having a terrible night of sleep in our room.  Leslie and I spent a lot of time talking about a mommy group we are both part of on Facebook and all of us adults played a fun board game together on Friday night.  It was a really good time!
Connor really liked Lincoln, who is just over 2 months old.  He was really sweet to him and it made me happy and little relieved.  We'll see how he feels about his own brother when he comes!
Fourth of July cake!  Happy birthday America!
Connor loved us singing that and requested it
several time.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Connor Update Part 2: Development

Oh, Connor.  You are such a gem.  I still remember talking about him in the hospital on his very first day out in the wide world and describing his personality to Sarah and Patrick.  And I still think it holds.  He's a mix between my brothers Will and Henry.  Easy going and stubborn like Will and charismatic and charming like Henry.
Eating a 'nana.
Connor is rather particular about different things; he likes to have doors closed and some things need to be just so, or he has to fix it.  Sometimes it's a mess that's been out for a while that when I clean it up, he messes it up again because he feels like that's how it supposed to be!

Poor Connor has been dealing with the lot of frustration, which comes with the territory of being 2.  He's trying to figure out his boundaries with objects and people, which usually leads him to getting really irritated, and hitting or throwing something, whether it's me, the wall, the toy he is playing with, etc.  It is also really frustrating for a mama to watch!  I'm already sick of calling him down and redirecting him, and I know this is going to be happening for the next two years at least.  I know that as Connor learns more words, he is going to be able to communicate better and get less frustrated.  I know if he could just express to me what he wants, then he wouldn't lash out.  And so much of it that might look on the outside like he's being mean or bad, is just him trying to express himself.  So often, I gather Connor into my arms when he is upset, after he's hit me, or thrown a toy, and he just lays his head down and sobs for a second.  I know he is trying to figure out his world and I'm doing my best to make that way smoother for him.  It does get harder when I'm tired or when I haven't had a break, like when Patrick was on his business trip last week.
Dada was taking a nap while Connor did and when Connor got up,
it was snuggling time.
Connor has recently started saying things in phrases.  Most of the time it's just two words phrases.  He has a hard time grasping 3 word phrases like "more please Dada."  When we prompt him, he'll drop one of more of the words we are trying to get him to say.  It's really interesting to prompt him over and over because you can see the wheels turning in his little head as he tries to figure out how to do what we're asking him.  A couple times in the past week has had conversations with me, which is fun, but also can be really frustrating for him.  Once we were on our bed and he was trying to tell me he wanted me to move and sit somewhere specific, but he couldn't come up with any words.  He just yelled "no!" and started crying.  So I asked him if he wanted me to sit somewhere else, and he said, "Else!"  So I moved around a couple places and asked him if that was where he wanted me, all while he was yelling and tearing up in extreme frustration.   When I finally got where he wanted me, which was after I tried to sit there a couple times, he was so happy.
Cheese!
Connor has definitely started paying more attention when we are driving.  When we pull into our neighborhood from the front entrance, he exclaims about the water and I know he knows we're almost home.  I'm also pretty sure he can recognize when we are going to Target, Publix, and Aldi.  He definitely likes being informed of the plan and destination.  He likes it when I tell him the order in which we are going to do things, "in just a minute we are going to go inside, wash our hands, and sit in our chair to eat lunch," and has started being able to follow simple two step instructions.  If he's really processing what I'm saying, I can usually get him to help me do things, which is going to be really helpful when Eamon comes.  He also does a lot of unsolicited things to help, like bringing me my water bottle.  He has an uncanny ability to bring it to me when I'm thirsty, which is really funny to me.  He also likes to throw away his diapers when we are done changing him and usually does it without asking.  I don't even know if I would have known to ask him to do it, if he hadn't picked one up and ran across the house to throw it away one time.  I think he especially likes to do things that have to do with him, like taking his sleep sack back to his bedroom after we take it off.
Connor in his "pirate ship."
Connor loves books and music.  He sings a lot of different songs and recites a bunch of different books.  One of the things we do together in the car is recite different books, especially "Pete the Cat" and "Where's Spot?"  He also makes music requests really frequently, and I do my best to sing to him, even though I can't remember all the words to some songs, like from the movie "Tangled."  If Connor is around several people and he makes a song request, he expects everyone to join in.  On the 4th of July we sang "Happy Birthday" to America several times.  Connor also has learned several of his letters and numbers.  He can recognize all the number 0-9 and most of the alphabet consistently.  He has two puzzles that have those numbers and the alphabet that he loves to play with and he probably does them at least once a day.  He also has a puzzle with colors that he likes, but he has known all his colors for several months.  The one that he still messes up occasionally is orange.  He likes to call it yellow a lot of the time.

One of the best things Connor has started doing is really showing affection.  While I miss him saying "aiya," hearing "I wub you!" is awesome.  He has just started saying it to us without solicitation and the emphasis that he gives it really makes me melt.  I mean, it's Connor, he says everything with emphasis and gusto, but when he yells "I wub you!" to someone over a voicemail or to me when I leave the room for Patrick to tuck him, it's really wonderful.

Eamon's Approach

We're only a month now from Eamon's due date!  We are very excited to meet him and get to know him!  Of course Connor doesn't quite understand what is coming, but he loves his little brother.  He likes to pat, hug, or kiss Becca's belly while he says, "Eamon!"

Now at 35 weeks, Eamon is topping 18 inches, making him about the size of this Dalek Supreme Commander.
Don't worry Eamon.  I won't let the bad cyborg get you.