Bundle of Joy

If you haven't heard by now, then you're probably living under a rock, but I'll tell you anyway... Connor is going to be a big brother!  He was a bit of a "Grumpfish" when we told him, but I think he'll be very excited to have a baby in the house.  There are two babies at daycare, and apparently he's always trying to help feed the babies.  He's very gentle with them when I'm there, and will gently caress their faces to say goodbye.  It's very sweet, so hopefully that transfers over to his little sibling!  The doctor's *think* it's a girl, but apparently all of the "girlie parts" aren't quite developed yet, so they can't say for certain.  But I think a little sister for Connor would be just lovely!  One of each (and that way, Mommy won't be quite so outnumbered by the boys!).  There seems to be something in the air this year, because I am one of 7 people I know who are expecting in the Spring (many of those just at my work!).  I think it's fabulous, though, because I'll have plenty of people to burn off baby weight with come May!

Profile of Baby Estee's head

Christmas Blessings

As most of you know, Connor and Joey were involved in a car accident this past Saturday night.  Joey and Connor wanted to take a trip to Walgreen's to pick up a few things.  They made it about a half a mile before the accident.  We're still not 100% sure what happened, but from what we can piece together, a girl tried to take a left as Joey and Connor were heading straight through the intersection.  Joey remembers checking on Connor and calling me, but not much else.  It was a scary call to get, even though Joey clearly said "Connor's fine".  As with any Mom, I needed Connor in my arms to know that for sure.  I was at the accident site within a few minutes and immediately grabbed Connor.  Thank GOD, he WAS fine.  Joey, on the other hand, was being strapped to a stretcher to be transported to the hospital.  He was disoriented and didn't remember what month or day it was.  We met him at the hospital shortly after.  His parents and cousin drove 50 minutes just to be there as well.  He had a lot of people VERY nervous.  It was a blessing, though.  Connor doesn't like doctor's offices, and he was no different at the hospital.  All the equipment scared him, so I couldn't be in the room with Joey because I had to stay in the waiting room with Connor.  Once my in-laws got there, we could take turns visiting Joey while someone stayed with Connor.  Turns out, Connor LOVES waiting rooms!  He thought it was a great place to run and play!  He had a blast with his grandparents and Kenny, even scoring some Cheetos and animal crackers for a snack!  

I do have to say, Joey was a very good patient.  Well, he was a good patient up until he kept asking every person to take his neck brace off.  I give him props, he tried everything, but no one budged, and the neck brace stayed on (they really are the most uncomfortable things if you've ever had to wear one).  While Joey was out getting a CAT scan, I was asking the nurses what tests they were doing, and as he told me, he did say that Joey was a "funny guy".  This made me feel better - I don't think Joey would be as funny if he was in a ton of pain.   Once the CAT scan results were in, everything looked good enough for Joey to be sent home.  

No one wants to ever get a call that your loved ones are hurt in an accident, but I am extremely thankful that everyone is fine, and that it wasn't a more serious accident.  I keep thinking about the call I could have gotten and I have to push that thought out of my head because I feel the tears well up when I do.  One of the things that helped Joey while he was in the ER was the reassurance that Connor was indeed "more than fine".  He came away with only two bruises on his arms, and I'm guessing that's where his seat belts had fallen.  Connor doesn't seem to have any residual stress regarding the accident.  We even went to the grocery store the next day and he was happy as a clam to be in the car.  One more thing to be thankful for.

So when I'm opening my presents this Christmas, I'll be most grateful for the gifts that weren't bought at a store - the one's buried in wrapping paper and bows.  

Notice the two small bruises on each arm.  That's it.  Love that car seat!

Fun with Underpants and Other Adventures

For Thanksgiving this year, we had Joey's parents, sister, uncle, and niece come down to celebrate with us.  We had a huge dinner and very full bellies when it was all said and done.  Connor, who had done nothing but talk about Thanksgiving and "turkey dinner" barely ate any of it.  He'd been asking for weeks for me to make him a turkey dinner.  And here it was; sitting in front of him and he had no interest.  I did manage to get him to eat a few bites of turkey and squash, but that was about it.

I did have Connor dressed in a very adorable sweater vest, but he got some water on it (and that's just a big deal breaker with him), so Mimi helped change him.  They were joking around about underpants being shirts and the next thing I knew he came out of his room with his underpants on his chest.  It was really funny, and he thought he was just a little comedian with this outfit on.
The trend seemed to continue through the night, as he did the same thing with his pajamas.  Although this time, the underpants were on the outside of his PJs.  He ran around for hours like this.  I kept calling him "Captain Underpants".

We rounded out the weekend by attending the Brockton Holiday parade.  This was the first time we've been, and it was VERY long - an hour and a half!  We went with several friends, which made it more fun, and the fact that it was 65 degrees out didn't hurt matters.  Connor had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the parade.  The sirens and loud cars really bothered him.  We've noticed lately that loud sounds irritate him, and when the drivers of the vintage cars revved their engines, he had a bit of a meltdown.  I don't blame him - they WERE loud, and right next to us.  It seemed all of the loud noises happened right in front of us.

Connor did like the horses, especially the one that had to relieve himself in the middle of the street.  It seemed to be a hit with ALL of the kids.  I recommend every parade have a horse that pees -it was a HIT!  He did like the marching bands, too, as long as they weren't too loud.  Overall he was pretty good considering he had some traumatic moments.  A little popcorn seemed to help things, though!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We can't believe Christmas is in less than a month!

Happy Halloween!

What a busy Halloween for our little man!  Connor celebrated at daycare, then again at speech therapy, and then, of course, trick-or-treating.  This was the first year Connor showed interest in Halloween, so I'm glad he got to celebrate it 3 times! He was very excited for the big day, and talked about it for weeks before.  When asked what he wanted to be, his response was always "a pumpkin!".  I think Dad was hoping for something a little more original, but who can argue with an adorable 4-year-old?  Because of that same reason, Mom also knew that Connor could change his mind at any minute, and didn't really feel like spending loads of cash on a pumpkin costume if he ended up not wearing it.  So she had Grammy send down the very old pumpkin costume that she used to wear when she was Connor's age!  It was a little worn, but a few stitches and a hand wash later and it was good as new.  We stuffed the costume with batting, and went out into the streets for some candy!

It was fun to watch Connor get so excited this year.  He'd see pumpkins on everyone's doorsteps and yell "OH, LOOK - A JACK-O-LANTERN!" and RUN toward the house.  He had practiced Trick-or-Treating etiquette at speech, so he knew what to do, and did a great job.  He did forget one time, and after knocking on the door, he yelled out "CANDY!" to the woman inside.  Luckily, she thought he was adorable, and it definitely made for the best moment of the night.  

As with any little one, he made it about a half hour before he showed signs of wear.  His once loud "trick-or-treat" turned into a whisper, and he kept asking to be carried.  So it was back home for us (yet another reason not to spend tons of money on a costume when it was only worn for 30 minutes!).  Connor had a fabulous time, and has been on a sugar high ever since.  Mommy and Daddy *might* be sneaking some candy, too, but that's ONLY so Connor doesn't eat it all.  That's our excuse and we're sticking to it!

We hope everyone else had a very Happy Halloween!

The Office Halloween Special

Yesterday, Joey's company had a Trick-or-Treat event for employees kids.  Connor dressed up as a pumpkin, per request.  He used a costume that I wore when I was a little kid, so it was a little worn, but it did its job.  If I have time I'll patch it up before the big Halloween festivities on Monday!

Connor was quite the social butterfly when he went around to the different offices and cubicles for treats.  He talked to everyone about candy, autumn (yes, he uses that word instead of 'fall'), calendars, etc.  He was quite concerned with one group who had the word "October" written on a white board, but instead of the calendar dates they had a bunch of mathematical symbols written.  He wanted them to erase it and write the calendar in its place!

After hitting up the conference room for some juice and treats, Mommy left Daddy and Connor so she could go have dinner with her friend, Meg.  I guess Joey put Connor to work because these were the pictures that were sent to me after I left.  Enjoy!

September

It's been a while since I've updated the blog, so let's play a quick game of catch-up!

Connor and I took a trip to C.N.Smith Farm in early September to grab a few apples and some mums.  Connor was fascinated with the little pumpkins, and just HAD to pick up a pumpkin of his own.  He still calls it his "new, little pumpkin".  It's super cute.  We also saw the animals they have there, and a baby goat managed to escape and was walking around by himself.  Connor had a great time petting him and the other animals.  We did try to get him to ride on a horse, but he was afraid.  I'm not sure why.  He's been on horses many times before, but I guess it's been a while since our last horse ride and he was a little skeptical.  He pet the horse, but didn't want to ride it.  We'll have to go back to try it again, I guess!

This month we also started soccer at the YMCA.  Connor has shown an interest in soccer over the past few months, so I thought it would be good for him to attend.  On the first day, however, shy Connor made his appearance.  He was extremely apprehensive about joining the other kids, and it was a challenge for me to coerce him into participating.  There were times I literally moved his leg so he could "kick" the ball.  By the end of class, he would at least kick the ball to other kids, but it had to be a "backwards" kick.  Week 2 (this past week), went better, but still not great.  He at least followed a few of the directions (like sit on the black line, wait in line, etc).  But the first half of class I was still trying to get him to kick the ball to another boy.  Once he finally did, we had to move on to a different station.  Baby steps, though!  He did well at kicking the ball in the goal (which was a HUGE improvement from the week before), so I was happy with that.  He even understood that when his turn was over, he had to wait behind the last kid in line.   I was happy with that.  I was worried he'd throw a fit if he wanted to keep kicking the ball.  He did have to dribble the ball in a square formation, which was challenging for him, but at least he participated.  Every week he seems to be making improvements, which is great.  I just hope he gets over his shyness and meets some new friends.  A few faces are familiar from swim lessons, so I hope he comes out of his shell to get to know them!

Last week we headed up to the Stone Zoo, and thanks to a Groupon we got half off two adult admissions!  Joey was out of town, so I took his parents with us!  Connor was thrilled to spend the afternoon with his Mimi and Papa, and I'm sure they were thrilled, too!  The zoo was nice, but not one of my favorites.  We still had a nice afternoon looking at all the animals, though.

 

Zoo!

Since we haven't been all season, Connor and I went to the Capron Park Zoo yesterday.  It was a beautiful day to go - not too hot at all!  I'm not sure Connor remembers going last year, but he loved seeing all of the animals.  They all seemed to be close to where he could see them easily, so that was a bonus.  He especially loved the rainforest display.  He's very much into Angry Birds "RIO" right now, so seeing all of the birds made him quite happy.  He also liked the Meerkat exhibit, especially since they were right up close to the glass.  He even took some pictures of them on his own!

The only disappointment was that the Otter's were napping inside a log, so Connor didn't get to see them.  He loves to watch them swim, but they were just too tired that day!

Connor is getting a shot of Mommy!

Not too sure what to make of Ron McD!

Stoughton Town Beach

While waiting to pay for my salad one day, I was reading the local paper. They had a picture that was taken at the "Stoughton Town Beach". WHAT? Stoughton has a beach? I knew there was a pond around, but I'd only ever seen lily-pad infested areas and didn't even realize there was a beach area to the Ames Long Pond. A few clicks of the mouse and I found the location!  Score! I thought it'd be a great little afternoon activity for Connor. It's PERFECT for small kids. It's a very small beach area, fenced in from the road, complete with bathrooms just feet away. There's a dock in the water, and kids can walk to it since it's so shallow. The other side of the dock is the "deep end" where bigger kids can swim and jump, but we stayed on the shallow side. There's also lifeguards on duty, who are active in making sure the kids walk on the dock and follow the rules. Even Connor had to be spoken to when he was "stomping" on the dock instead of walking. My little rebel! I did have to keep reminding Connor to stay on the inside of the docks, and after doing so the lifeguard said "thanks for your help, Mom" Anytime, Lifeguard. Just making sure my kid doesn't end up in the middle of the pond!

Anyway, the water was nice and warm, and after convincing Connor all was well, he was a fish! He didn't want to come out of the water. Only his hunger brought him to the shore! I definitely recommend it for an inexpensive afternoon out (there is a cost, but it's minimal).

Connor's "Raisin Hands" after being in the water for so long!

Beach Days

Family vacation in Maine means...

Playing with Emma...

 

Crabbing...

Reading with Emma...

Hangin' out with Uncle Nate...

Making dirt "meatballs"...

Digging in the Sand...

Falling asleep playing Angry Birds....

Braving the water with Daddy...

Smiles...

Releasing lobsters back into the ocean...

Shoulder rides with Uncle Andy...

Eating peanuts with Grampy...

Walks on the beach...

Fishing with Grammy...

Cuddle time with Mom...

Learning to walk JUST LIKE DAD...

And naptime at Nubble.
What a great vacation.