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.
