Connor turned the big 0-5 on October 4th! He was very excited to turn five right up until a couple days before when he started declaring that he didn't want to turn five. I told him that five was cool because he was one whole hand old! When people asked how old he was, all he had to do was hold up his hand! That seemed to work, and he's been celebrating five ever since.
In case you are all wondering why you weren't invited to a party, don't fret - Connor didn't want a big birthday party. I think he gets very overwhelmed at birthday parties, especially those for him, and asked for just grandparents, Auntie, and Paige to come down. He also asked for a "Pigmy" cake from the "Pocket God" app on my phone. Since my last few attempts at creating such cakes hasn't been great, I decided to just print out a photo and bring it to the Stop & Shop bakery. Easy peasy! We weren't allowed to sing "Happy Birthday" because he really hates it, so there was no singing. So if we're ever at your child's birthday party, don't take offense if he doesn't sing!
Connor has never really shown interest in actually opening presents before. He always liked what was inside the wrapping paper, but never had the urge to rip the paper off like most kids do. This year, it was different. We brought out his presents from Grammy and Grampy and he couldn't wait to open them! Hopefully he'll still be this excited about opening gifts at Christmas!
At his "party", Connor got a GIANT dart gun from Mimi and Papa. It can shoot up to twenty darts in just a few seconds. Needless to say Mom deemed this an outside toy. And for good reason: (disclaimer: no babies were hurt in the making of this blog post)
Connor was very excited to eat his cake. But he needed to blow out his candle first. Apparently when he said he didn't want a candle, he meant it. So the "wind" may have blown out the candle.
The cake was a big hit, but very messy. That was some bright frosting!
As I was laying on Connor's bed the other night, settling in to read stories with him, a nagging thought popped into my head. A thought every parent has probably had, and now that Connor is in school, it was now mine. I wondered if Connor's teachers will ever see how wonderful he is. My boy is full of energy, questions, and bounces. He will talk the ear off a stranger - from people he's met at the grocery store to strangers in the elevator. He will ask you how old you are and will come up with nicknames for you (like our friend, Dave, who will forevermore be known as "D"). He loves to dance, and does a pretty mean "Thriller". He loves songs and music (just not when I sing...), loves to be silly, and has quite the imagination. His memory amazes me, recollecting things from three years ago, when I can barely remember where I put my keys. His reading skills are exceptional, and he even knows how to sound out words to pronounce them correctly. He loves numbers and math and can count to over 200. He adores his baby sister, and worships his Dad. He can play by himself for hours, or ham it up with a friend or two. He loves to play outside and is fearless when it comes to playgrounds.
But I worry that his teachers don't get to see this side of him. He, the same kid who will chat it up with any adult, gets shy and reserved around large groups of kids. He always has. He tends to shy away from activities he's good at when he feels uncomfortable. He can be stubborn. Really stubborn. As in total shutdown refusal to listen stubborn. One day that may be beneficial for him, but right now it can hinder his education and learning. His independence is a gift, but it's also making it difficult for him to follow directions. As an only child for over 4 years, he had mastered the art of independent play and learning. Now, all of a sudden, he's thrown into a room with 20 other kids and expected to follow new rules. I have no doubt he'll get there, but it's a challenge now, and something we work on every day.
So I worry. I worry that with all the work on helping Connor through his challenges, that his teachers won't ever get to see the amazing little boy that I love. That, when they're not looking, could make them pee their pants laughing when he dances. That some of the things he says should be quoted for years to come. I worry that they won't see the kid that I see....and just how wonderful he is.
Connor had his very first day of Kindergarten on September 12, 2012. No matter how I try to stop the time, he still continues to grow up. I gave birth to him, blinked, and he grew up. I'll try not to blink anymore! This was the little man before we left the house:
I'd say he was pretty handsome in his new clothes! He seemed like he was looking forward to going. I wouldn't say he was excited, but at least he stopped saying "I'm not going to Kindergarten" after he met his new teacher, Mrs. Pike. I took the day off so I could drop him off instead of having to leave him at extended day. I also told him I would take him out to breakfast beforehand, just us. We dropped off Maeve at Ms. Janet's and had a nice breakfast at IHOP. Connor loves chatting it up with adults, and immediately started talking to Amanda, our server. He ate a huge breakfast of baby pancakes (he got those because Maeve is a baby) and we had some great Mommy-Connor time. This was a big day for him, after all!
After breakfast, it was time to drop off the little man. He did very well, but as we started to make our way to the door, he was asking to be picked up. I think he was getting a little nervous. But he went right in with the teachers. He did look back and say "Mommy" one last time, which was just about all I could take before I had to get to the car to cry. My little baby boy isn't little anymore, and I was just a big ball of emotion all day!
At pick up he was very excited to see me. He does have a few things to work on, but they are things that I knew may be an issue. He'll get used to the way Kindergarten works and hopefully outgrow some of his behaviors. There is a boy in his class, Jaiden, who used to attend daycare with him. They seem to have reconnected because Connor kept saying "I like Jaiden S.!"
I'm so proud of my boy and the courage it took to go to a (very big) brand new school without any tears!
We spent this past weekend in Vermont to celebrate Erica's baby shower, and since a baby shower isn't the most exciting place for a boy, Grampy and Connor had a great day doing boy things! First, they went to the library where Connor impressed Grampy by spelling some words. Then it was off to the dump and Uncle Joel's house. Uncle Joel has a very big garage, which was the perfect place for Connor to run. And run. And run. I'm still trying to get all the dirt off his feet from the running! After Uncle Joel's, it was time to go fishing. Connor caught a very small bass and was all smiles in doing so. He's learned a lot from fishing with Grampy this summer, and he even reeled in his own fish! Grampy gets two thumbs up for spending the entire day with a very energetic almost-five-year-old! It's not easy, but he gets a gold star!
Not to be outdone, Miss Maeve showed us that she could roll over from back to front! We almost missed it! Everyone was standing in the kitchen talking while she was on the floor in the living room. I happened to turn around just at the right moment - she rolled over like she'd been doing it for years! We were all so excited! She gave us one more roll, but when Grampy tried to take a video, she fell asleep. It's exhausting work! I was very happy I was able to see her roll over- I was convinced she would do it within her first few hours of daycare and that I would miss it!
To cap off a wonderful summer, I took the kids to Southwick's Zoo the week before I had to go back to work. Connor loves the zoo, and Southwick's is great because it's so shaded. Connor makes no secret of the fact that he hates the sun ("boys hate the sun and like the shade" he'll say), so this zoo is perfect for him. Plus, it's a great activity we can do together where the focus isn't always on his little sister. He has been such a good big brother, but I'm sure he still feels like she gets the lion's share of attention (pun intended), so this was a great way to spend some quality time together. Even though Maeve was with us, she was happy as a clam in her stroller, so Mommy could look at all the animals with Connor.
One of my favorite parts of this zoo is the enclosed petting zoo and deer forest. The deer are roaming free around an enclosed forest area, and they come right up to you and eat food out of your hand. At first, Connor was a little nervous about feeding them, but he did! He would run away afterward, apparently to avoid being on video, but I managed to get him anyway! There was one deer there who was shedding his velvet. I have to say, it was pretty disgusting, but cool to see at the same time.
Maeve was perfectly behaved the entire day - it was a great first trip to the zoo for her! She loves to be outside anyway, so an entire day being spent outside is fine by her! I was really impressed at how good she was since, as you know, she's a bit of a diva. I guess she saved her diva-tude for another day! It was a great way to spend a beautiful summer day with two of the best kids around!
Safari Sue ready to go!
Pure Happiness!
Pointing to elk!
Hey Goat... Say hi to your Mother for me!
Holding my own bottle while big brother was on the playground!
This monkey was scratching the other monkey's belly. It was hysterical!
Having a newborn around makes it a little challenging to keep up with the blog, so I missed out on updating when Maeve was two months. So here are both her two and three month photos. She's still a diva, but she's starting to smile and coo more, which delights her brother. "She's smiling because she loves me!", he'll say. She's also growing like a weed, and has moved into her 3-6 month clothes already. She still loves to eat, still won't take a pacifier, and loves to be held. A LOT. She goes to daycare for the first time in just two short weeks. Mommy is having a tough time with that, since the past 3 months have gone by in a flash. I know she'll do well, but I still want to have more time with her. She's still so little!
Every year about this time, the Bouvier's make their annual trek to Wells Beach, Maine, for a (very large) family vacation. This year it seemed like a larger crew than ever, which makes it all that more special. Tracy, Ben, and Maddie came up this year, just weeks after Chris was deployed for training, leaving for Afghanistan while we were in Maine. It was great to spend some time with the kids and Tracy since we don't get to see them very often!
This was Miss Maeve's first trip to Maine, so we weren't quite sure how she'd like it. I was hoping she'd be like all the other babies at the beach and nap, but she was having no part of that! Miss nosy sat on Grampy's lap and people watched. All. Day. Long. There were a few times where she napped, but for the most part, she watched everything and everyone around her. She just took it all in. I'm sure spending the bulk of her time under a shaded umbrella on Grampy's lap didn't hurt, either! She seemed calm and peaceful, probably her way of telling us to get a beach house! So, if anyone has any cash they'd like to contribute toward that cause, we'd put it to good use!
When we first arrived, Connor was ecstatic to be at Grammy and Grampy's beach house. In fact, I think he thought the entire vacation was going to be spent AT the house. So when we woke up the next morning and started getting ready for the beach, he declared that he wasn't going to the beach and that he was staying at Grammy and Grampy's beach house. Fast forward to an hour later when he was jumping the waves with Daddy and digging holes with his cousins, so I think he had a great time!
We didn't do our usual sight-seeing tours this year. By the time we got off the beach, showered, and made dinner, it was bedtime for the littles. Seeing how this is around our 30th year of going, we're pretty familiar with everything around, so we were fine with not going anywhere.
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