Embracing Life

Boy lost his first tooth last night.   He is the last one in his class to do so,  and he's been waiting and waiting for this moment!  He was so excited!  I kept hearing "This is so cool!"  from the bathroom where he watched  his mouth bleed for about 5 minutes. ;) We had received a special tooth container  so he carefully put his tooth in it last night  and placed it under his pillow.  This morning, he was stoked to find  a gold dollar coin from the Tooth Fairy! Happiness is sharing in your oldest son's excitement.

You were my first. My little baby boy. July 8, 2006 The first boy, in fact, born in 45 years on my mother's side, which is how you got the nickname "Boy". 2007 You are my light, my sunshine,  my heart and my soul. 2008 2009 2010 2011 July 8, 2012 You will always be my baby boy. I love you, Connor. Our lives are made in these small hours These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate Time falls away but these small hours These small hours still remain Rob Thomas "Little Wonders"

Yesterday morning, Connor's kindergarten teacher sent out her electronic newsletter. In it, she mentioned that on Tuesday (today) the kids could wear jeans and their favorite sports team shirt. Well we don't watch sports.   In fact, we really don't even pay attention to them. Needless to say, someone had to stop at the store last night after working 10 hours at her job to make sure Connor had a shirt for school.....  But isn't he cute?

Lately, Connor has been more helpful than usual. Not sure if it's because of kindergarten, or just growing up. His new thing on the weekends is to make my bed. By himself. He is always so proud of his work. And I'm happy to see him so happy. And despite my OCD kicking in, I leave the comforter uneven and the single pillow sham askew Because it's perfect the way it is. ***Don't forget - last chance to enter my giveaway for 25 free cards from Shutterfly!***

I was lucky enough to be a chaperone on Connor's first kindergarten field trip. I got to meet his two best friends. We painted a pumpkin, rode on a hayride, and wandered a corn maze. I was so glad I got to go. He had a great time, as did I. He told me he was glad I came. He also told me: Mommy, you're my best friend.

I'm the kind of mom that is sad over the little things.  As my soon-to-be five year old heads off to kindergarten, and the twins turn three later this month, I am sad that my babies are no longer babies.  While I am excited to see what the future holds, there is a place in my heart that cries as I imagine a life with no more babies (and no more new babies).  One of the things you do as your children get older is get rid of those things that they are too big to play with.  Connor received a swing/slide castle for his first birthday, and it's seen a lot of play in our backyard.  Tonight, as I watched it drive off to a new home with three little "babies", my eyes were filled with tears of happy memories of time spent in the backyard.  While I know there are a multitude of more memories to be made, I have a hard time looking forward tonight.  I'm thankful for the wonderful times we were blessed to have, and I pray that there will be many more...

A couple weeks ago, Connor and I went out to lunch, just the two of us.  His only favorite place to eat out is Panda Express.  He gets the same thing every time.  For an extremely picky eater, we are quite surprised that he loves orange chicken, lo mein noodles, and crab rangoon with plum sauce.  (This is the kid that would only eat oatmeal for the first two years of his life!) After lunch, we went to Michael's, where he helped me pick out some things.  He also picked out a single flower made from cloth and standing in a little bright blue pot.  We keep in on our kitchen table, as a reminder of our special day together.  I love my sweet little boy.

Connor mentioned making a gingerbread house a few weeks ago.  I found this one at Michaels. I had thought about doing a real one, but this way, he could keep it in his room if he wanted. to.  Instead, he wanted it to sit on the bay window so that he can look at it when he eats. There were two gingerbread people that came with it, but he likes to play with them, so they aren't living in the house right now. ;)

Connor loves Cailou.  I, on the otherhand, find him whiney and annoying. (Cailou, not Connor.) However, Connor talks about Cailou like they are friends.  He also talks about how much fun Cailou has at playschool.  We also talk about how Cailou is kind to his sister and his cat, etc.  So the whiney, annoying, creepy bald kid is actually a good influence on him. A couple of weeks ago, Connor asked if we could make pizza like Cailou did.  Connor is a picky eater and has never asked for any food item other than oreos and ice cream.  I jumped at the chance to make something healthy that he would eat.  He even asked if we could put mushrooms on it because that's how Cailou likes it.  OF COURSE! I responded, all the while thinking finally he is eating a vegetable that isn't fried... Daddy and Connor with the toppings. Yummy! Now, did he eat any???? Of course not. "I can't like mushrooms, Mommy. No pizza for me."

Getting out of the car this morning, I told him to be careful because he was wearing his flip-flops.  He slid, just a little, then said: That was a close one. Phew! He yelled from downstairs (where he was alone with his brother and sister): Don't Worry Mommy!  Which translates to "Now is the time to panic." Looking through a toy catalog: You should buy this for the babies to play with.  It was a large truck puzzle, something suitable for ages 4 and up. Mommy, you need Mickey underwear like me. Let's get Daddy a pair too. I'm four, Lexi is five, the babies are two.  Mommy, you are four too.  I need all my friends to sleep with me.  By friends, he is referring to all of the stuffed animals and toys in his room. Every night before bed: Sleep tight, take care, good nite-nite.  He actually came up with that one on his own. Mommy works; grammy doesn't.  Then we had a long discussion about how taking care of grandkids while mommy and daddy ...

I'm playing along today with Leigh  and the Happiness Project, because I need some happiness! This is Connor and his new train set.  I had high hopes for Connor to be potty trained shortly after his 3rd birthday, so that he could start preschool last fall.  Um yeah that SO did not happen.  Fast forward six months, we try again.  Connor is a creature of habit.  Connor loves his diapers.  Connor no like pull-ups. The first part of training went rather easily.  He learned quickly that if he wasn't wearing a pull-up and he peed, it was messy and cold.  But that second part, and I quote, "I only poop in pull-ups." Awesomeness. But mommy got smart.  Mommy used bribery, and mommy is NOT ashamed. ;) I told Connor that we could go to the Thomas store and he could pick out any train he wanted.  He wanted Cranky the Crane and Harold the Helicopter.  He knew that once he was fully potty trained, he would get to go to the store. ...

FUN!  :) My mom was supposed to watch Connor yesterday, while the twins were at daycare.  However, my niece, who lives with my mom, has the stomach flu.  Yuck.  Don't want it ever again to grace it's presence at my house.  It's bad enough Keira was at my mom's on Monday, playing with my niece.  Fingers crossed, prayers said, wishes made that we don't get the flu too. Anyway, my MIL was able to watch Connor for the morning, but had an appointment in the afternoon.  I wasn't sure what to do.  Tuesday, before I knew about Lexi, I had used up my last personal time of the year (I work at a college - our year runs from July to June), so I nicely asked my boss if I could use vacation time on Wednesday (technically we are supposed to go through the process of requesting it weeks in advance, but being that I had no childcare, I didn't have an other option.) I left work at noon and headed to MIL's to get Connor.  I had told him we were going to do ...

Yes, he is wearing a winter boot on his hand.   And two more on his feet.

It seems like in the past couple of months, Connor's verbal skills have increased ten-fold.  Enough to the point where I actually will ask him to please stop talking for a minute (or ten!) Here are some of our conversations: Connor: Mommy, you go to work tomorrow? Me: Yes, I have to go to work tomorrow. Connor: Oh.  Can Daddy and I come to your office and eat Panda like last time? (Last time refers to 9 months ago when Keith and Connor surprised me at work with Panda Express.) ******** Connor: Are the babies older yet? Me: What do you mean? Connor: When they are older, Nana and Bumpa can take everyone to McDonalds to play. They can't go yet because they are babies. And we have to take Nana's car and Bumpa's truck so there are enough seats. ********* Me:  Here are two Hershey kisses.  (Connor asked for some Easter candy.)  Don't tell Daddy I am giving you two of them. Connor:  Okay Mommy. Minutes later... Keith:  Hey bud. Connor: Hi d...