Christmas Part III

The day after Christmas, Connor, Bailey, and I headed up to Vermont for our last round of Christmas celebrations.  Joey had to work (and look for a new car), so he stayed home.  We arrived in Vermont around 1 and were greeted by my parents, their dog, Sophie, my brother and his girlfriend, and their dog, Tucker.  Tucker is a very cute, very small chihuahua, and Connor adores him.  Tucker LOVES to give kisses, especially those that clean out your nose, and Connor just thinks that's all sorts of wonderful.  Shortly after, my youngest brother arrived, and we unwrapped presents.  Once again, Connor had to be bribed to open them, but he got these pretty cool race cars, and that helped a bit.  Once the tree was done, we had a very delicious dinner of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and veggies.  I love my mother's cooking, so I ate way too much.  But I'm eating for two, now, right?  So it was ok... RIGHT???

The next day, my mother, Connor, and my Aunt Colleen decided to head over the mountain (literally, we had to drive OVER the mountain - see picture) to see my cousin Becky and have some lunch.  A deer hit Becky's car (definitely not the other way around), so we were happy to pile into the minivan and make the trek to her neck of the woods.  We had a nice lunch at a little restaurant called The Big Picture.  Connor was a little grouchy after waking up from a nap, but wasn't too bad in the restaurant.  After we ate, we dropped Becky off headed back over the mountain just as it started to snow a bit.  We knew a storm was coming, so we timed it well.  We were home before any major snow or rain fell.

Wednesday was the day we got the snow.  It began snowing around noon and just kept falling.  My mom got out of work early, and on her 45 minute drive home, she said there was barely any snow anywhere else.  The second you drove over the town line of my little hometown, it was like a different world.  Lots of snow everywhere.  Around 4:30, when the dogs needed to go out, I bundled up Connor in his too-small snow pants and headed outside.  He was THRILLED to be out in the snow!  Other than the freak snow in October, we haven't seen any snow this year, and he was so happy to be able to play in the snow.  He helped Grampy "shovel" a bit, but Bailey HATES shovels, so it's hard to actually get any shoveling done with him around.  He digs at the shovel and barks.  It's hysterical, and he had Connor laughing the whole time.  We did have one point where there were a few tears because some snow got in his boots (due to the snow pants being a little too small), but he was better in no time and back out in the 6-7" of snow.

He hates shovels!

A few tears

Christmas Part II

Connor's second Christmas was on Christmas day at home.  We usually head to Vermont for the big day, but we stayed home this year instead.  Connor understood more about Christmas this year, and he even wrote a letter to Santa!  We left a few cookies out for Santa to snack on, and a partially eaten carrot for Rudolph (it seems Connor got a little hungry and chose to eat Rudolph's snack before bed).

Unlike most kids, Connor didn't have that "wake up at 5 a.m." excitement for Christmas.  He understood that Santa leaves presents, and that he gets new toys, but that excitement wasn't quite there yet (I'm sure it will be next year, though).  A part of me was disappointed, but the bigger part of me was happy that he isn't at that greedy stage where he wants present after present.  He would have been happy as a clam with the only Slinky he got in his stocking.  Don't get me wrong, he LOVES all of his presents, but we had to do a little bribing to get him to open them.  "Connor, if you open another present, you can have ONE more Angry Birds fruit snack...".  Things like that.  I know one year I'm going to want him to slow down a bit, but I think we'd still have a pile of presents under the tree if we hadn't moved him along a bit!

We're not sure why his shirt was off, either.

We did manage to get a little video of his reaction on Christmas morning.  It's very dark - I hadn't had a chance to turn on any lights, but it's funny to watch.  You'll see what I mean about the lack of excitement!  And at the end he goes for a toy he got as a gift the week before.  Go figure!  

After opening up presents, we headed up to Joey's sister's house for Christmas dinner.  Connor had fun playing with his cousin, Paige, and her dog, Gus. Connor adores Paige, and loves to play with her.  Usually we're next door at Mimi and Papa's, but Heather hosts Christmas so Connor got a chance to play with Paige's toys.   He also had a fabulous time playing with Auntie's chair.  He figured out how to put up the leg rest, and turned it into a game, turning the leg rest into a slide.  At one point, he had single-handedly moved the chair into the middle of the room.  He's strong!

We had a delicious dinner of ham, prime rib, hash brown casserole, and veggies.  Connor was pretty lucky, because Auntie Heather made him his own Mac and Cheese for dinner, and he devoured it!  It made Mommy happy because he had basically been fueled by Angry Birds fruit snacks and other sugary treats from his stocking, so getting a decent meal into him made Mom's day!

One of the presents Connor loved the most was his new trampoline.  Connor has a lot of energy.  I mean, a LOT.  He's constantly on the move, and is always jumping on the couch.  I figured a mini trampoline, such as the one they have at speech therapy, would be put to good use.  After using all of my brute strength to tie the bungee cords together, I finally let Connor have at it.  Of course I had my phone close by for a video.  I think this kid has a future as an Olympian.  Check out the mid-air splits in the video!

Christmas Part I

Connor was lucky enough to have three Christmas celebrations this year.  The first, as always, was his daycare Christmas party.  Miss Janet and Mr. Ralph take a lot of time to bake, cook, and teach the kids Christmas carols.  Connor LOVES Christmas carols, but does NOT love singing with others.  So, once again, he sat on the sidelines while the other kids sang songs.  At home he sings up a storm, but I guess he doesn't like the attention while singing in a group. Who knows!?

He did enjoy a bowl of pink marshmallows while he opened up his gifts from Miss Janet and Mr. Ralph.  They always spoil their kids, and this year was no exception!

Playing trains with Mr. Ralph is one of Connor's favorite activities during the Christmas party. He works the switch and makes it go SUPER fast!

I love this picture of Connor and Lauren sharing a snack at the table. They look like they're on date!

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!