Connor, the graffiti artist....

So, it is funny....now.

Long story short:
Working on stuff for one of the weddings I'm designing.
Ribbon for napkin rings too bright.
Spray painting the 1.5" satin ribbon in the garage to be more "eggplant"
Almost finished with 125 napkin ring/bands.
Hear a spraying sound coming from the garage.
Takes 1.5 seconds for me to realize what is happening.
Run to garage to grab purple spray paint and look for damage.
Connor is clean, no visible paint spot on garage floor.

45 minutes later....

Take 3 large boxes of wedding stuff to post office.
Trying to make it before they close at 5:00.
Toss Connor in the car (seat on the passenger side, in the back...obviously)
Notice a GIANT purple spot on the front passenger door of Brian's car.
His company car....that gets inspected during his "field rides" with his manager.
Go to post office.
Thinking how in the world am I going to get this off....
"Connor, did you paint Daddy's car?"
"Yes, purple pretty....good job painting."
Not so much, kiddo.

Home.
Connor must lay down for a nap before I kill him...no nap yet today and it is now 5:08.
Go back out to the garage before Brian notices I'm up to something.
Windex (with vinegar), liquid dish soap and a pot scrubber in hand.
90 seconds of circular strokes and a lot of pressure.
No more purple paint.
Crisis averted.
Come inside and tell Brian that his car is dark gray again, & no longer purple.

I'm sorry I have no pictures....I thought about it, but it would not have been funny at all if I hadn't been able to get it off.

And for the record, Brian would not have flipped out, but I'm sure he would not have been thrilled. Besides, I was mad at myself for leaving an almost empty can of spray paint on the garage floor. The little bugger is smart and very dexterous...

Mr. Independent

I know I have back posts to do....however, this was worthy of a post.

Usually when I call Connor "Mr. Independent" it is because his determined spirit is shining through. It can be very adorable and simultaneously maddening. When he does "big boy" things all by himself, it frequently takes more than twice the amount of time it would take me. Or if I insist on doing it anyway, there is a good possibility he will throw a fit because he wants to do it himself (alone) and I usually give in. (I don't encourage the fits at all, but it frequently just isn't worth it.) So in these cases the whole scenario takes about 5 times as long as normal. (think getting into his car seat, putting on his own underwear/pants, etc.)

Well, C had a late nap today so although it was late, he got himself out a chocate (cha-ket) pudding (pood-en). I was about to get his drink ready and decided to go was my face and brush my teeth for bed instead. While I was busy doing that, he was alone in the kitchen. Several minutes go by. He comes walking into my bathroom, "all finished, mom". "Good job, Bud! All by yourself!" (and he wasn't covered in pudding from head to toe!!)

The absolutely amazing part is that when I went back into the kitchen to get his drink. He'd turned off all the lights. Then I asked where his empty pudding cup was...."trash, mom". As I was walking over to get his spoon out of the trash that I was sure he'd tossed in too...."did you throw your spoon away?" "No, Mom...in the sink." There it was, in the sink....even on the correct side, opposite the disposer. "All by self, mom!"

I am still amazed at my independent little man. I guess all that time I've spent letting him be adventurous and do things on his own is finally paying off. :) Maybe he'll unload the dishwasher on his own next week?! ;)

After tucking him into bed (following stories and prayers....his prayers are soooooo sweet) I asked if his music was too loud. "Just a little bit, but don't turn it off. Just down." So much for me expecting a simple "yes" or "no".

Oh, and he took his first shower alone today. I was still close by to wash his hair and scrub him down after being in the lake (very chilly lake) but he was in there totally solo!

Connor is 2 and three quarters...

I just pulled these from the low resolution CD.... I have prints for family. :)

By the way, I would have gotten the most of the one on the left, except the stupid background was tan. I hate that stupid background because white people with blonde hair just blend into the background. I much prefer it after a little Photoshopping to make it gray.

So, I got the black ones as the $9.95 special. Besides, you can really see one of his fangs in that one. :)

Georgia Trip • April 2011

I obviously have a ton more pictures....please be patient. I know it is tougher to save the collages for screen saver purposes, but there are so many pictures I want to include, it would be the world's longest blog post.

more to come.... going outside to plant flowers. Happy Mother's Day!

Tired little boy.

The picture series tells the story.
I tried to get him to go to bed, but he kept telling me "Connor want to eat".

Connor is at the tough stage of trying to drop his nap. Some days he doesn't need it and is fine. Then sometimes he absolutely crashes around 5:00. It is typically tough to tell what kind of day it is going to be, so he's fallen asleep in his food several times in the past 2 weeks.

Even as I carried him to his bed (wrapped in a towel because I couldn't remember the last time he went to the bathroom) he was still telling me he wanted to eat. :)