Merry Christmas!

We've had a very busy few days! I will update with everything when I have more time, but here are a few pics of the past few days.  More posts coming to explain it all!

C-O-N-N-O-R!

Connor loves the new Aquadoodle pad he got from Mimi and Papa so much, that it seems to have a permanent home on the coffee table.  As I was making his lunch last night, I walked into the living room and he had written his name on the pad.  Now, he writes his name ALL.THE.TIME, but this was, by far, the most legible he's ever done it.  AND, he's always had trouble with the "R" in his name, and he FINALLY got it!  I ran for my phone to take a picture (because, it's Aquadoodle, and once it dries, it's GONE!).  He even underlined his name himself.  He's a tad obsessed with his name, and whenever I'm writing something, he's sure to say "C-O-N-N-O-R" as if to say "Mom, don't forget to write my name, and here's how to spell it!".

Needless to say, I'm a touch proud of my little guy.   

















I've also added this picture of Connor eating "popcoins" the other night.  Lately he hates having his picture taken, but he didn't fight me on this one AND has a cute little smile on his face.  Popcorn just happens to be his Grampy's favorite snack, so when we go see them for Christmas, they can enjoy "popcoins" together!

December

Connor has always been very interested in letters, and lately he's been spelling words.  He can spell Connor, Mommy, November, December, jell-o (a favorite), coat, and fox (this after we saw a fox on our street the other night).  It's funny to listen to him spell the different months because he adds "two-zero-one-zero" to the end because he sees it on the calendar.  Hopefully he's not too shell-shocked in a week when we go into 2011. 

His mind is a sponge right now and seems to pick up a new word every day.  He loves the magnetic letters on the fridge so he can put his words together, and he especially loves the iphones where he can just type in the word he wants.  He's improving his hand-written words, but it's much easier to type them if he has the chance.

A Very Estee Christmas

Saturday Connor had a busy day.  We first went to our favorite resale shop, Beansprouts, to have a picture taken with Santa.  They offer this free of charge, which is perfect when you're not sure how your little one will react.  Santa was parking his sleigh when we arrived, but Gingy the Gingerbread man was around and Connor seemed a little fascinated, so we got a picture with him first.  Gingy wasn't quite done getting ready, and you can see the person inside the costume, but it's ok.  Connor was a little more leary of Santa, but a little bribery with a lollipop and he was fine.

We then headed up to Tewksbury for the annual Estee Christmas.  We were all curious to see how Connor would react to the presents.  He understood that they were presents, but the actual process of opening it to get to the toy inside he didn't quite get.  He had a mini meltdown with all the commotion of people trying to get him to open his gifts, so we took a break for a bit.  While Daddy and Auntie went to pick up the food, Mimi and I sat down and explained about the toys inside the presents and showed him how to rip them open.  He understood, and opened his present to find Super Why inside!  He was very excited, and after that realized that if he ripped the paper off, he'd find a toy inside.  He still had his distracted moments, but I think he really enjoyed finding the hidden toys!  He was a bit spoiled this year, since Mimi and Papa are very generous, but he's already enjoying his new presents.

Connor loved the giant Santa Claus in Mimi and Papa's living room, and kept saying "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!" just like the giant Santa did.  I didn't get a chance to get it on video, but it was adorable. 

On the way home we stopped to see the famous Christmas lights on Rockvale Ave in Tewksbury.  The entire street goes all out with their Christmas decorations, and Connor loved it.  We did manage to get a picture of the Clark Griswold house.  Every inch of their house was covered with lights.  It's amazing.  I can't imagine their electricity bill! 

After ending the night eating two ice cream cupcakes (thank you, Auntie Heather), and didn't fall asleep on the way home as planned.  He finally went to bed around 10:30 pm, and slept through his last day of swim lessons on Sunday.  I was ok with this, because we've both been battling colds this week and he needed the rest.  We had a lazy morning, and only left the house to get some much-needed groceries.  He spent the rest of the day playing with his new toys and singing Christmas carols (his favorites are Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the Muppets version of the 12 Days of Christmas).  

We have a busy week before Christmas here, with our regularly scheduled speech appointments and wrapping up some last minute gifts.  Any ideas on what to get his speech therapist?  :) 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!