Wishing he had more stylish parents

Lately, Connor has taken to playing dress-up with Ed’s and my clothes. Ed’s shirts my be a little too big, but at least he’s not bothered by sleeves that don’t completely cover his wrists - a cause of great concern two days ago when I put him in a (gasp!) ¾ sleeve length shirt.


My clothes, on the other hand, are perfect for hiding under and running around the house. He can’t quite see where he’s going, so he bounces off the walls down the hallway like a pinball.


But shoes…now those are the best! And actually, he prefers my black, knee high boots, but he needs assistance getting into those.


Elaine

'Uh oh' is not

walking over to a bucket of water left out on the deck, splashing to your heart's desire, and then looking up as if it were an accident. But boy is it fun when Dad comes home and he'll actually listen to your command of "on" in reference to the hose.

Elaine

"I'm glad...

you do incredibly stupid things with him too." - Ed

Happy 19 Month Birthday!

Dear Connor,

Today, you turned 19 months old. This month’s theme, much like last month’s theme, was talking. You can say almost anything, and many of your words can be understood even out of context. We’ve finally gotten a little bit of insight on the random functioning of your brain – and Connor, I think I understand why you don’t sleep more than you do. You’ve got a lot going on. For example, we’ll be sitting at the dinner table, talking about food and all of a sudden, you’ll turn your head around, look at the birdcage and say “bird!”, as if it’s the most logical think to be thinking about. You frequently give a running commentary on your activities, letting us know you’re running “run, Connor”, or walking “walk, walk, walk”, or when you get to the edge of the bleachers, “be careful”. I’m glad our words are starting to sink in. But, my most favorite thing of all is when you say something in complete gibberish, stare at me as if I’m supposed to respond, and when I don’t, you have actually said the gibberish slower AND louder – as if that will help! You will make a perfect Parisian traveler some day when you don’t know French and wonder why everybody pretends to not understand your English when you know they do.

For your first birthday, your dad and I had intended to get you a sand and water table because you seemed to enjoy it so much at your cousin’s house. By the time we made it to the toy store and figured out which one we wanted, they were no longer for sale. So, this past weekend, you finally received your first b-day present. It did not disappoint, though it did nearly make my head pop off. I got a glimpse into my dad of many years ago. You see, when I was a kid, there weren’t fancy “sand and water tables”, complete with shade umbrellas and covers so the kids stay out of the sun and the sand never gets dirty with rain water, bird droppings, or become the home of random critters – like spiders, which I detest. No, Connor, when I was a little girl, your grandpa got a giant tire, threw it out back, and poured sand in it. From the day the tire arrived until the day my dad finally got rid of it, my dad was constantly cautioning us to “keep the sand in the sandbox” - because he claimed it killed the grass. Well, Connor, that keeping the sand in the sandbox is presumably a very important rule, because your grandpa doesn’t have a lot of arbitrary rules – and this was a multi-year crusade on his part, so I felt obligated to pass it along. You, much like me, felt no compulsion to follow that rule. After all, dumping the sand on the deck is so fun! The most aggravating thing is that you clearly understand I am trying to impart an important rule because on your second day with the sand and water table (which, I might as well add, we were not foolish enough to put water in so it could become a mud table), you told me “sand” followed by “no, no, no”. But just when I thought you were going to comply with my request, you filled your little bucket up and dumped the sand on the deck. My friends tell me this goes on for about a year and then the concept sinks in. I have decided to embrace this phase of life and purchase stock in a play sand company.

You also received a bubble mower from your grandma. While we were on vacation, she gave me money to purchase you one so she wouldn't have to mess with shipping. Well, Connor, she gave me too much money - so I purchased the mother of all containers of bubbles to go with the mower. This is very cool. Though almost all of your toys are primary colored, the mower is pink. I suspect the store only had pink ones left, because everyone knows that mowing the lawn is NOT woman's work, so the target audience just wasn't buying the pink mower. I'm all for equality, but I do not mow the lawn. A few years ago, our neighbor's girlfriend mowed his lawn and I immediately told him he should never let her do that again because it was clearly man's work. That, and I didn't want your dad to realize that there is not some genetic reason why I refuse to mow the lawn. You seem to enjoy the pink mower, as I suspect all the other lawn mowing boys in training will when they get their pink mowers.


Your grandma also had the audacity to send you an Easter-themed Arthur book. For the most part, I have steered clear of this new book so it is not yet making me want to beat my forehead on the wall. I suspect by the time I write your 20 month note, there will be a flat spot on my head. But, I will get your grandma back. I will be sure to include it among our books when we travel to see her this summer.

Tantrums, knock on wood, seem to have been a short-lived phenomenon. But, your dad and I consider ourselves warned, and I suppose you’re probably just waiting for something really good to protest. I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for as soon as you can read the newspaper.

You used to laugh loudly when your dad would sneeze, so much so that he’ll fake sneeze just for the laugh. So, just for kicks, you learned to do this yourself. You will look at someone and say “Ahtoo”, and you always get the reaction you’re looking for. You’ve also found other ways to please a crowd. Just a couple of nights ago, we were eating dinner at a friend’s house. You insisted that your mushy green beans be placed in the little bowls meant for olive oil for bread – and at some point, you decided doing a header into the bowl and eating much like a dog would make for a great party trick. You were right – though it is always odd to clean green beans off of a forehead, nose, and chin. But hey, I’m just happy at least a portion of the beans went down, and you were pretty happy while I got to enjoy a very nice meal.

You’re becoming both more independent and more assertive. You can now play outside a bit without me right next to you, which allows me to do a little yardwork while you play. I have even dared to run inside to do a quick task like adjust the oven and both times I have done this, I have looked out the window to see you carrying random objects down the deck stairs. So far, your efforts have been successful. When we play together, you are much more likely to dictate what my role should be – “up” (pick me up) “house” (build me a house) “shovel down” (put the shovel down now, and nobody gets hurt). I have a feeling this could get old.

You continue to be such a joyful member of the family, Connor. Both your dad and I are really glad you’re here.

Love,
Mama

Gloating

As most people who know Connor already know, he has approximately 1.2 million Little People. As most people who know me already know, I do not like it when any piece of any toy is missing. Connor is like me. When we go to the library and he sees the puzzles on the table (almost all of which are short at least one piece), he must tell me approximately 100 times the piece is missing before he can even begin to think about dumping out the rest of the pieces and reassembling them. I do not think Ed suffers from our affliction, but he does support it.

Before heading to Breckenridge, Ed assisted me in a thorough counting of the LP, and much to my horror, the lion and monkey that go with the A to Z Learning Zoo were missing and the tiger that goes with the train was missing. I was horrified. While Connor does have a second lion (which goes with the other LP zoo there is no other monkey. And sure, I could interchange the remaining tiger between the other A to Z zoo and the train - but it means he and Ed can no longer play 2x2 with the animals we used to have 2 of.

When Connor's nanny showed up yesterday, I mentioned the 3 missing pieces and she said she'd look for them during the day. Much to my relief, she located the tiger. And...when Ed met Connor at 4:00 yesterday, Connor showed Ed both tigers, and said "tigerS". Ed reported that Connor could now correctly use a plural noun, but Connor wouldn't answer the question "what do you have in your hands?" so I could not see this new skill for myself. I told Ed I didn't believe him.

This morning, Connor was playing with the two tigers (which he went to sleep clutching) and when I came upstairs after my shower, Ed asked Connor "Hey Connor, what's in your hand?" and Connor smiled and said "tigerS". You should've seen the look on Ed's face. He was so proud - and so happy to prove that my instinct to not believe him was wrong. Score 1 for Connor and Ed.

Elaine

Back from Breck!

We spent the last week on our annual ski vacation out West which, thanks to my retired parents who are willing to put in a week of nanny duty, has not been interrupted by the addition of Connor to the mix. Which is not to say the vacation hasn’t changed. First, Ed and I no longer try to convince his brother to go out for a drink at night, instead we play Rochambeau to see who is stuck waking up in the morning (because my little friend has not figured out that it is totally acceptable to sleep past 5:30 on vacation) – and we spend the evening trying to figure out what might be fun for Connor the next day.


Day 1 was full of travel. Drive to airport = 1 hour; wait around in airport for an hour and hook up with Ed’s brother and dad, then fly to Denver = 3.5 hours in the air; drive to Breckenridge = 2 hours. Then, my parents decided to go out to eat and while normally this is something I dread, Connor actually make it through the long wait for a table and then ate dinner, in a seated position, acting like he totally knew what to do in a restaurant. I was completely impressed, so much so that I blew his cover and told my parents that never in a million years could this feat ever be repeated.



On day 2, Connor howled when we left, because apparently he didn’t realize that my dad has an infinite capacity to reread “Artur” books over, and over, and over – something I eventually told Connor I was done doing. On the bright side, he took a 3 hour nap which is pretty much unheard of, though quite welcome. My mom also read books to him and plied him with cookies. Turns out, he prefers Snickerdoodles over frosted cookies. Guess it’s good my mom comes prepared!



Day 3 was a bit easier in the departure department. I quit skiing earlier than the others – because it turns out, I’m a total wimp when it comes to cold, windy days. I stopped by the Children’s Museum on the off chance that the crew was there and indeed, my dad and Connor were busy performing engineering feats with the various building materials. They were learning about magnets and fishing, and physics, and all sorts of other good stuff. Connor pretty much had the run of the place, which is always nice.



Day 4 was an off day for skiing, which in retrospect turned out to be a bad idea because the sun came out. We started out at the indoor ice arena where my father-in-law was able to strap on a pair of skates and acted like he knew what he was doing, something my mom, Ed, and I were unable to do. Connor thought seeing Grandpa skating around was super great. I was next on the ice, and once Connor saw that, he knew this was as good as he suspected.













He walked to the ice entrance and told Ed “Connor ice, Connor ice” and it was unmistakable what he wanted. So, I went back to the front desk, rented the smallest pair of skates they had and a helmet, connected Connor to a walker for the ice, and handed him over to his grandpa. He actually skated a bit, but would’ve face planted absent the assistance of an adult. I went around with him a bit, and eventually he was exhausted, though I do believe he enjoyed it. And hey, sometimes you’ve got to try things that seem impossible and decide if there’s a way to make them possible. I appreciate that spirit in Connor and most other kids his age. My dad might refer to this as a lack of common sense, but I prefer to think of it as a zest for life.




After nap, we headed to the rec center which had been recommended by a co-worker who used to live in CO, and it did not disappoint. My dad had sat out the morning activity but was more than happy to barrel into the water with Connor, which is a good thing because Connor decided to show us that he knew what “under” was as he said “under” then took a step and bobbed his head. Quite scary for a parent, but also thrilling. He’s also somehow figured out how to hold his breath because even when he slipped and went under, he didn’t cough at all when Ed and I fished him out (unnoticed by the 10 year old lifeguard, I might add).



Later that evening, Ed sent Connor out to me to get him ready for a bath, and no sooner had Connor told me “clothes” had he noticed that I was eating a bowl of ice cream – which obviously was intended for him. Ed waited for a bit before coming out to find us both covered in ice cream. Yum!


Day 5 Ed, his dad, and I headed to Keystone for the day while my parents hunkered down with Connor enjoying a book marathon, a little Elmo tickling, and naturally, some sweeping. Connor’s love for the broom probably endears him to my mom. She appreciates a clean place, after all.


Day 6 was back to Breck, cold and windy.

Day 7 the boys headed back to the slopes, but my mom and I went t-shirt and candy shopping while my dad and Connor took a nap. We tried to hook up with them at lunch but missed each other, but it gave Connor a chance to ride a Gondola, which I have to admit didn’t seem to impress him much until he looked out the window and spotted a dog. Then Connor and I headed out to a nifty toy store my mom and I had discovered while we were out earlier in the day. Connor has never been fond of rocking horses – but rocking dogs, that’s totally different.

That evening, we went on a sleigh ride – pulled by HORSES, much to Connor’s delight. It was cold. Just ask my parents. Afterwards, there was a little skit while dinner was prepared, and Connor felt totally comfortable joining right in.



Day 8 was a reverse travel day and thankfully, Connor was once again a total champ about all this travel. It really made the trip bearable. It was super nice having Ed’s dad and brother in the airport because it meant there was someone else to chase Connor around and play with him. They also made for great entertainment on the plane as Connor would pop his head up and peek over the seats at them.



On Sunday, Ed let me sleep in while he took Connor to the zoo. I did get up and manage to get the laundry well underway and the ski gear back in the attic – a task made much easier when Connor is not around wanting to climb up there.

Phew! I’m ready to go back to work for a break!

Elaine

ON the growth chart!

Today, Connor had his belated 18 month appointment. Not only has he FINISHED immunizations for a few years, but he has gained enough weight to make an appearance on the growth chart my doctor uses. It's not a big number, but I cheered (which caused Connor to cheer) when Dr. R. announced he had made it to the 5th percentile (which is not even the lowest bar!). He's still in the 75th percentile for height and head size. When Dr. R. said he had a big head, Connor grabbed his head and said "big". She about fell over when Connor counted to 10 and was totally impressed with all his yammering in the office. She said that he talks a ton, particularly since he's a boy and boys often talk late. Ed's response to that news "well, I guess he takes after you in some ways". Connor also barely cried when he got his two shots, and was quickly over it when he was rewarded with two stickers. I look forward to finding where he decides to put those two stickers when I come home this evening.

Elaine

Counting, and other new developments

A couple of days ago, Connor displayed his latest skill - counting to 10. And this is a great skill, since that's about the number of words he seems to add every few days.

Connor enjoyed Ed’s 3-day weekend by hanging out at the zoo all day on Monday. He woke up talking about the zoo (after asking to go the zoo all day on Sunday – but that was not in the cards). Ed and Connor learned that though the grounds of the zoo typically open at sunrise, the zoo doesn’t really open up until 10:00. And on Monday, the grounds were closed until 10 because snow was being cleared at the zoo. So…they spent a couple of hours hanging out in the neighborhood playing in the snow. But boy were they ready when the gates were opened!


On their way home - many hours later - Connor and Ed picked me up from work. Connor was pretty dazed at the time, but later he told me all about the hippo (it's big), elel (also big), the ball - which apparently was an armadillo that Connor got to get very close to. He even got free cookies since we have finally become zoo members. Now that's cool!


This morning, Connor informed Ed he would like to go to the farm. These photos are from our most recent trip there. I’m sure my family will be proud to see Connor riding on the tractor as if he knows what he’s doing. I’m looking forward to warmer weather because then the farm has hayrack rides, which should be quite fun.


Connor is becoming quite adept at building towers and castles (which are remarkably similar) with giant legos. During our last visit to the Building Museum, he and Ed built this: And, it seems like every day I come home he and his nanny have built a new structure, which she informs me must NOT be taken down until mama gets to see it. For a while, I wondered whether it was Connor or his nanny building the structure, but after playing blocks with him a bit yesterday, I'm fairly convinced he plays a major role in the process. I'm sure his Pappy is proud.

Connor also has two friends - Bubba (aka, Isabella) and ZoZo (Zoe), that he really seems happy to see. Bubba shares a nanny with Connor, and she's been gone the past 3 weeks. Surprisingly, he really seemed to miss her. But luckily, Zozo's nanny started bringing her over to play regularly, which seems to work out quite nicely.

Elaine

Happy 18 month birthday!

Dear Connor,

A few days ago, you turned eighteen months, and I can hardly believe it. You’re changing so fast now, that it’s tough to keep up with you. The day after you turned 17 months, we were playing at the park and you looked up at me and said “bye” quite distinctly before heading off to take care of some important toddler business like running, or climbing, or eating dirt. And a few nights ago, you started telling your dad “ni ni” and waving when you’re ready to drink your bottle of milk, snuggle up, and prepare for bed. Your vocabulary has exploded this month and this, quite frankly, is simultaneously fabulous and nerve-wracking. When we understand you, it’s usually fabulous (unless you’re asking for a “k k”, in which case we can no longer ignore you and pretend we don’t know you want a cookie). But at the same time, it’s super frustrating when you are very clearly telling us you want something and neither your dad nor I have any idea what you’re talking about. You try to be patient with us. You look us right in the eye, say the word slower, and repeat it several times. Still, sometimes we just don’t get it. Sorry about that.



The playground used to be a little bit of a harrowing adventure when we went without a second adult. Now, Connor, you own that equipment. I can start you out at the bottom of the structure, then you climb to the top, and finally slide down on your tummy.


You’ve been honing your climbing skills in a gymnastics class, and your dada reports that you are the only kid who on occasion, will – for no apparent reason – begin running around screaming with pure joy. Those are the moments we live for, Connor. Of course, you will sometimes go to class and spend the whole time conning your dada into going to the water fountain and never really doing any of the class things. You don’t appreciate the stretching at the beginning (after all, the equipment doesn’t have any of those other children on it!) and the end of class is a little boring as well, because there’s a brief activity with a parachute. One would think you would enjoy this, but you are very skeptical.

Your dada hung a Grateful Dead poster at the top of the basement stairs (an appropriate welcome to Grateful Ed’s Brewhouse in our basement) and the first time you saw it, you were totally shocked. You looked at me as if something was really out of place and Connor, I wanted to tell you how much that poster scares me, but I am trying very hard not to project my irrational fears onto your psyche, so instead I smiled and said “Dada’s poster”. Ever since then, whenever you see the poster, you smile and shout “dada”.

You’ve started playing actual games that random people might recognize. For example, you can play ring-around-the-rosey – and you certainly understand you’re supposed to fall down at the end, but you’re more interested in seeing your dad and I on the ground. Perhaps because we have a much greater distance to travel than you. You can also play “round and round the mulberry bush” and you make the most excellent “pop” at the appropriate time. Your dad was singing to you the other night, and he taught you to sing “toot toot” in a couple of appropriate places, and this might be the best yet.

You have also thrown your first, full-on tantrum. It was hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but I kept a somber face and after giving you a few minutes to go nuts, I explained that we all have bad days sometimes, and lots of people wanted to run into their room, slam the door, and lay down screaming on their rug. Then, I distracted you and it was over. You repeated this feat twice, though you haven’t had to pull it out in the past couple of days. Mostly, I think you were tired when you put on these fine displays. I fear for our future Connor, because you have the will that could only be possessed by your mims’ German relatives.

A few days ago, you totally freaked me out, but I think I have finally recovered. Before your nap, you were talking up a storm about the “zhoo” and the “ba pa” that you enjoy being carried around in. I told you after your nap we could go to the zoo and dada would carry you in the backpack. You took your nap, and after about an hour, you stood up and called for me. I went to your room and you looked me right in the eye and shouted “zhoo” and though I didn’t really mean we would go to the zoo the minute you woke up, I figured you deserved some credit for remembering the promise, so off we went. It was about 40 degrees outside – which means your dad was overheating but normal people like you and I were a little chilled, so we went into the “el le le” house and you stared at those enormous animals for over an hour. This was good, because it meant I could shove a huge amount of food in your mouth because you were distracted. Then we went to the gorilla house and I have to say, Connor, if we ever need a babysitter in a pinch, that mama gorilla might be perfect. She was playing the most exciting game of “sheet” ever with her toddler, one of your favorite games.

You successfully used your potty chair – and dumping it was very exciting. I have no dreams that you’re close to being potty trained, but I figure it can’t hurt for you to get used to the thing. And hey, if you happen to take a shining to it and no longer need diapers – woohoo!


You have learned to climb up on a stool, which provides you access to many things we used to keep out of your hands. You also completed your first couple of painting projects, with no unwanted casualties. We sent these to your grandparents for Valentine’s Day.


The collection of “emma” [animals] in your bed is growing. Sometimes, you insist on sleeping with “do do” the dog, err Siamese cat, just like the good ol’ days. Others, “buh buh” the pink bunny is the only animal that will do. But a few nights, “ssss” your seal is number one and “duh” the duck is also likely to be the animal that has won your heart for the evening.

You have really fallen in love with your nanny, and this is fabulous, because often in the morning when she arrives, you just show her what you’ve been playing with and invite her to come on over. It really is the sweetest thing.

Love,
Mama

MilesTone

On Thursday, I came home from work, and Ed asked Connor whaT the birds drink. Connor puT on this very impish grin and said "waTer" and, in case you were curious, he drinks milk from a "boTTle". Previously, these words were "wawawa" and "baba". So now, noT only does Connor have an ever expanding vocabulary ThaT is nearly impossible To keep up with, folks besides Ed, myself, and Connor's nanny can even decipher some of thaT vocabulary. Amazing. Simply amazing.

On the downside, I think all of these new words are keeping him awake at night - or causing him to wake up early. This is not good for anyone's sleep, and I'm hoping he settles back into an 8:00PM - sometime after 6:00AM pattern very soon. Not sure I can cope much longer.