I know....the most blog entries in a short amount of time....some sort of record I'm sure.
Toys——
2 minutes ago:
Me: Connor, you need to put your toys away (trains all over the living room)
C: but I don't want to.
Me: and I don't want to step on trains
C: just go around them instead.
not much of a response for that one...just do it, kid.
He is picking them up now after he kicked the beachball into the glass of the fireplace (with the fire on) twice and had to deal with a little rant. The last thing we need is colored plastic melted to the glass of our fireplace!
Doctors——
I was just looking through the list of 41 people that "liked" our facebook picture announcement about Baby #2. As I was scrolling down, I got such a big kick out of the fact that my OBGYN "liked" the picture! I don't know why I find it so hilarious, but I do. He is one of Brian's surgeons for work and I was unaware that they were "friends" on facebook.
It is so nice that have a bit more than a doctor/patient relationship. Today he told me to feel free to abuse the fact that I have his cell phone number. (okay, Brian has it) And said even if it is the middle of the night, just to text him and he'll respond within 30 seconds and go right back to sleep. HA. I guess that is a skill you get when you are an OB. Anyway, Dr. Lown is fabulous and I am so happy that he will be delivering this baby!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Easter 2012
My favorite Easter facebook status, by Ric White, the minister and friend that married us 8.5+ years ago.
I obviously have a lot of pictures, so I though the collages were the best way to go for these.
Connor had a blast dying eggs on Saturday afternoon after a full day of spreading mulch (very sore knees) and playing with friends. We only had one casualty out of a dozen eggs, so I thought that was great! (and it was my fault...it cracked when I dropped it into the pot to boil.)
Easter morning, Connor was up at 6:15, but I managed to get him to lay with me (in the guest bedroom) until about 6:45 when he just couldn't wait any longer and I told him to go see daddy. Brian asked him to go see if the Easter bunny had come, but Connor refused. We figured out he was concerned that the bunny might still be there! I'm not exactly sure what made him think this, but last week we saw the bunny very casually ordering pizza at Sbarro in the mall and then he walked through some double doors. Connor can tell you all about it, but I'm guessing this casual behavior led to his concern about the bunny drinking coffee and reading a paper in our living room?? The bunny got very creative this year...my favorite being the Elmo egg driving Connor's toy plane. There was also an Elmo egg operating the Keurig and getting a drink of water from the fridge. There were 77 eggs in all. Unless I miscounted on either end, Connor found 76 (we are positive all the hard-boiled ones were found!) He also got a basket with treats: a large egg filled with Reese's eggs, 3 Chuggington trains (Harrison, Eddie's Carriage House, & Speedy McAllister), as well as a stuffed chick and a package of 4 "Easter Speedster" Hotwheels cars. He was even more excited about all the candy inside the eggs, but was unable to open the rascals. The eggs with a vertical opening are tough!
Brian went for a run following the hunt in preparation for his "Tough Mudder" in Ohio next weekend. He ran 8 miles and then put his suit on and stood in the lake for 10 minutes. His version of an "ice bath". (yes, our neighbors could see and came out on the porch to ask about his sanity). Then we got all dressed up and ready to go. Although it was very blustery, we managed to get a few pictures outside. I love the one of Connor on the left...what a little poser. I look super fat (and not necessarily pregnant in the upper center picture) but oh well. You can only do so much with a timer. The blooms are the Purple Prince Crabapple tree in the front and our center bed with tulips and lavendar. The tulips near the house didn't do so hot. I think the crazy weather has somehow zapped them. By the way, it is snowing. Of course nothing is sticking, but still....craziest weather ever.
Happy Easter!!
That awkward moment when the guy you put to death gets up out of the
tomb, very much alive, and turns out to be the Savior of the world.
Happy Resurrection Day, everybody.
Happy Resurrection Day, everybody.
I obviously have a lot of pictures, so I though the collages were the best way to go for these.
Connor had a blast dying eggs on Saturday afternoon after a full day of spreading mulch (very sore knees) and playing with friends. We only had one casualty out of a dozen eggs, so I thought that was great! (and it was my fault...it cracked when I dropped it into the pot to boil.)
Easter morning, Connor was up at 6:15, but I managed to get him to lay with me (in the guest bedroom) until about 6:45 when he just couldn't wait any longer and I told him to go see daddy. Brian asked him to go see if the Easter bunny had come, but Connor refused. We figured out he was concerned that the bunny might still be there! I'm not exactly sure what made him think this, but last week we saw the bunny very casually ordering pizza at Sbarro in the mall and then he walked through some double doors. Connor can tell you all about it, but I'm guessing this casual behavior led to his concern about the bunny drinking coffee and reading a paper in our living room?? The bunny got very creative this year...my favorite being the Elmo egg driving Connor's toy plane. There was also an Elmo egg operating the Keurig and getting a drink of water from the fridge. There were 77 eggs in all. Unless I miscounted on either end, Connor found 76 (we are positive all the hard-boiled ones were found!) He also got a basket with treats: a large egg filled with Reese's eggs, 3 Chuggington trains (Harrison, Eddie's Carriage House, & Speedy McAllister), as well as a stuffed chick and a package of 4 "Easter Speedster" Hotwheels cars. He was even more excited about all the candy inside the eggs, but was unable to open the rascals. The eggs with a vertical opening are tough!
Brian went for a run following the hunt in preparation for his "Tough Mudder" in Ohio next weekend. He ran 8 miles and then put his suit on and stood in the lake for 10 minutes. His version of an "ice bath". (yes, our neighbors could see and came out on the porch to ask about his sanity). Then we got all dressed up and ready to go. Although it was very blustery, we managed to get a few pictures outside. I love the one of Connor on the left...what a little poser. I look super fat (and not necessarily pregnant in the upper center picture) but oh well. You can only do so much with a timer. The blooms are the Purple Prince Crabapple tree in the front and our center bed with tulips and lavendar. The tulips near the house didn't do so hot. I think the crazy weather has somehow zapped them. By the way, it is snowing. Of course nothing is sticking, but still....craziest weather ever.Happy Easter!!
"Facebook official"
The title of this post is super lame, but after getting to hear the beautiful heartbeat of our baby again this morning (with a doppler), I am finally confident enough to announce our news to hundreds of folks via good ol' facebook.The baby's strong heartbeat was around 145 beats per minute this morning. (Dr. Lown said that anything between 120 and 160 is great.) I am feeling more baby activity, but it is still pretty random and not something that I will freak out about if I don't feel it every day. I will be 15 weeks on Thursday. :) I also felt better today after Lown told me that my chances of losing this baby now are as low as they are going to get for the rest of the pregnancy, so hopefully the paranoia will go down a little bit now.
Good day.
My next appointment will be an appointment/ultrasound combo. It was originally scheduled for the 15th, but B had a conflict, so yay for us....it was bumped up to May 11th! I will be 19 weeks and 1 day. We should find out the gender, but also the overall health of the baby. I remember this being a long appointment with Connor and although he cooperated to let us know he was a boy, some of the other measurements were hard to get. Prayers continue that this little one is healthy and doing great.
Connor seems to think the baby is a girl. I'm not going to lie and seem to be leaning that way myself, but I also thought Connor was a girl....so my mother's intuition is not so great. Connor calls the baby "she" and kisses my tummy on a daily...if not hourly basis. He says, "I want to kiss your baby." Yesterday, I reminded him that it is Daddy's baby too, and Brian chimed in to tell him that it is his baby as well. So, he can kiss "OUR baby". He liked that and told me on the way to school that "she" was his friend. Be still my heart, little buddy.
The picture at the top was taken in our backyard on Easter Sunday: 14 weeks, 3 days pregnant. I will do another post with more Easter pictures.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Our Sensitive Child
Although I have pretty thick skin in some situations, at other times, when I feel that someone is disappointed in me, I tend to melt into a pool of tears. Although probably NOT so extreme, I know Brian has the same kind of feelings.
Connor does too.
While we were in Georgia there were two instances where it could have been perceived that a stranger "got onto" him. The first was at gymnastics and a woman (who I'm confident thought Connor was probably 4.5 or 5) snapped at him because he passed her daughter on the steps leading to the balance beam. I was not standing right there, but saw her reaction and could read her lips that she was pointing and telling him he needed to apologize. Of course I went over there and she told me that "he startled" her child. God forbid. I agree that he needed to be more careful, but it is gymnastics and he is 3. There is no need to freak out. Her child was absolutely fine, meanwhile, my traumatized child was in tears for the next 10 minutes. At one point he told me he just wanted to go home. Thankfully, 2 uncles arriving at the gym to play helped distract him a bit.
The other situation is almost comical because I have almost been forbidden to mention "the gate". For some reason, he did NOT want Brian to know what happened. We were home for 2 days before I was allowed to tell Brian...and Connor wasn't even in trouble. He was just embarrassed and didn't want Brian to be disappointed in him I guess.
Several days before we left Georgia, my dad took Connor and Torin to the newly inhabited neighbor's backyard. They have a small pool that has a little "fountain", waterfall thingy that the boys wanted to see. No problem. The next day and our last day there, after all the cousins had gone home Connor was outside with my dad. While my dad was doing something else, Connor took it upon himself to enter the gate to the neighbor's yard. I'm not sure how far he got, but he was greeted by a small, black, "yippee" dog. Kailey, the wife and mother of the dog came out running with a broom to make sure the dog wasn't getting too aggressive with Connor. She did NOT yell at Connor or anything like that. I was inside and saw everything that transpired from the point of Kailey swatting the dog with the broom. Connor exited the yard with great speed. He ran 1/2 way around the house and then turned around. I came out the back and talked to my dad. He told me the first 1/2 of the story and I proceeded to look for Connor. He wasn't in the back, wasn't in the front, I went inside and heard sobbing. I found him on the couch, face down, in the pillow. "I was looking for you!" with tears streaming down his face. "You weren't here." I told him I'd come to find him!! I picked him up and he continued to cry into my shoulder. It didn't matter that I wasn't mad or that he wasn't in trouble (even though he did trespass). He knew what he did was wrong and he was devastated with himself.
See, not a big deal. The next day during our drive home, about 5 hours into the trip Connor told me out of the blue that I didn't have to worry. He wasn't going to go in the gate ever again. Within seconds of arriving home and seeing Brian after a week, "don't tell Daddy about the gate."
And now we have this morning.
Prior to our trip, we discovered that if Connor had the opportunity to earn stickers for sleeping my himself in his bed all night that it worked like a charm. Occasionally, he would appear in our room and basically tell us that he didn't need a sticker that day, but for the most part, it was working great. I think our trip threw things off a bit. He got very used to me sleeping in the same bed with him. He has earned a sticker since we've been back, but they seem to have lost a bit of their value in the middle of the night.
I spent the night on the couch in the basement last night (not too uncommon for me not to be in our bed). When Connor got up at 7:30 he came down to find me. The first words out of his mouth were "Can I pick a sticker?". Sure buddy!! We snuggled and watched a Jake & the Neverland Pirates and then went upstairs to get his milk and let him pick a sticker. He chose a John Deere tractor. Several minutes later, Brian came out of the bedroom and asked if Connor got a sticker. Not knowing any better, I said, "Yes! He chose a tractor!". Brian hugs Connor and says, "but last night you when you were crawling in bed with me, you said you didn't need a sticker." Uh oh. CAUGHT! I asked him if he went into mommy and daddy's bed. He looked at me and his lip started to quiver. We weren't mad. He wasn't in trouble. I just told him that he could always tell us the truth. I did not take the sticker off, I just told him that he needed to dress himself this morning so he could earn it another way.
Again, he buried his head in my shoulder and sobbed. Not too bad this time. Brian grabbed him too and told him the same thing....we weren't mad. We just have a sensitive child.
I remember being like that as a little kid too. I also remember refusing to ask adults for any favor because I didn't want to feel like a bother. This included asking for rides or even having to interview someone for a school project. I just hope that Connor does not get scarred in the same way that I was.....whatever it was that happened to me!
So, if you are an adult and you are reading this....be careful with our little man. A little correction or discipline goes a long way.....especially if it isn't coming from me or B. :)
Connor does too.
While we were in Georgia there were two instances where it could have been perceived that a stranger "got onto" him. The first was at gymnastics and a woman (who I'm confident thought Connor was probably 4.5 or 5) snapped at him because he passed her daughter on the steps leading to the balance beam. I was not standing right there, but saw her reaction and could read her lips that she was pointing and telling him he needed to apologize. Of course I went over there and she told me that "he startled" her child. God forbid. I agree that he needed to be more careful, but it is gymnastics and he is 3. There is no need to freak out. Her child was absolutely fine, meanwhile, my traumatized child was in tears for the next 10 minutes. At one point he told me he just wanted to go home. Thankfully, 2 uncles arriving at the gym to play helped distract him a bit.
The other situation is almost comical because I have almost been forbidden to mention "the gate". For some reason, he did NOT want Brian to know what happened. We were home for 2 days before I was allowed to tell Brian...and Connor wasn't even in trouble. He was just embarrassed and didn't want Brian to be disappointed in him I guess.
Several days before we left Georgia, my dad took Connor and Torin to the newly inhabited neighbor's backyard. They have a small pool that has a little "fountain", waterfall thingy that the boys wanted to see. No problem. The next day and our last day there, after all the cousins had gone home Connor was outside with my dad. While my dad was doing something else, Connor took it upon himself to enter the gate to the neighbor's yard. I'm not sure how far he got, but he was greeted by a small, black, "yippee" dog. Kailey, the wife and mother of the dog came out running with a broom to make sure the dog wasn't getting too aggressive with Connor. She did NOT yell at Connor or anything like that. I was inside and saw everything that transpired from the point of Kailey swatting the dog with the broom. Connor exited the yard with great speed. He ran 1/2 way around the house and then turned around. I came out the back and talked to my dad. He told me the first 1/2 of the story and I proceeded to look for Connor. He wasn't in the back, wasn't in the front, I went inside and heard sobbing. I found him on the couch, face down, in the pillow. "I was looking for you!" with tears streaming down his face. "You weren't here." I told him I'd come to find him!! I picked him up and he continued to cry into my shoulder. It didn't matter that I wasn't mad or that he wasn't in trouble (even though he did trespass). He knew what he did was wrong and he was devastated with himself.
See, not a big deal. The next day during our drive home, about 5 hours into the trip Connor told me out of the blue that I didn't have to worry. He wasn't going to go in the gate ever again. Within seconds of arriving home and seeing Brian after a week, "don't tell Daddy about the gate."
And now we have this morning.
Prior to our trip, we discovered that if Connor had the opportunity to earn stickers for sleeping my himself in his bed all night that it worked like a charm. Occasionally, he would appear in our room and basically tell us that he didn't need a sticker that day, but for the most part, it was working great. I think our trip threw things off a bit. He got very used to me sleeping in the same bed with him. He has earned a sticker since we've been back, but they seem to have lost a bit of their value in the middle of the night.
I spent the night on the couch in the basement last night (not too uncommon for me not to be in our bed). When Connor got up at 7:30 he came down to find me. The first words out of his mouth were "Can I pick a sticker?". Sure buddy!! We snuggled and watched a Jake & the Neverland Pirates and then went upstairs to get his milk and let him pick a sticker. He chose a John Deere tractor. Several minutes later, Brian came out of the bedroom and asked if Connor got a sticker. Not knowing any better, I said, "Yes! He chose a tractor!". Brian hugs Connor and says, "but last night you when you were crawling in bed with me, you said you didn't need a sticker." Uh oh. CAUGHT! I asked him if he went into mommy and daddy's bed. He looked at me and his lip started to quiver. We weren't mad. He wasn't in trouble. I just told him that he could always tell us the truth. I did not take the sticker off, I just told him that he needed to dress himself this morning so he could earn it another way.
Again, he buried his head in my shoulder and sobbed. Not too bad this time. Brian grabbed him too and told him the same thing....we weren't mad. We just have a sensitive child.
I remember being like that as a little kid too. I also remember refusing to ask adults for any favor because I didn't want to feel like a bother. This included asking for rides or even having to interview someone for a school project. I just hope that Connor does not get scarred in the same way that I was.....whatever it was that happened to me!
So, if you are an adult and you are reading this....be careful with our little man. A little correction or discipline goes a long way.....especially if it isn't coming from me or B. :)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
To Georgia and back.
I have LOTS of pictures to add, but right now let me just say that I am still tired.
Brian doesn't really believe me that I slept a ton there too, but I swear I have reverted back to feeling like I am about 8 weeks pregnant.....and I'll be 14 tomorrow. I'm not sure how much of it is recovering from the 14 hour drive (it is 12.5 drive time) and how much of it is hormonal, but the last 2 days have been rough. I have a ton of work to catch up on, but I can barely keep my eyes open and I've been nauseous on and off consistently. Top that off with an awesome headache right now that I can't/shouldn't medicate and you have a pretty pathetic looking pregnant lady.
Now that the venting is over...
Connor and I had a GREAT trip!
Brian doesn't really believe me that I slept a ton there too, but I swear I have reverted back to feeling like I am about 8 weeks pregnant.....and I'll be 14 tomorrow. I'm not sure how much of it is recovering from the 14 hour drive (it is 12.5 drive time) and how much of it is hormonal, but the last 2 days have been rough. I have a ton of work to catch up on, but I can barely keep my eyes open and I've been nauseous on and off consistently. Top that off with an awesome headache right now that I can't/shouldn't medicate and you have a pretty pathetic looking pregnant lady.
Now that the venting is over...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Toasted Baby Bump
I joked with my neighbor yesterday that if could get a sunburn in MARCH in MICHIGAN, then bring it on. I got a set of logos finished yesterday as well as lingerie shower designs and read a bit on the chaise lounge on our deck in the middle. Since I was in the privacy of my own deck, Connor was at school, and we were having the hottest March day in record-keeping hisory (86ยบ)....I decided to wear a 2-piece suit and get a little sun. As I said, bring it on.
I read a bit of "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks and proceeded to flip every now and then. That was probably my last shot of getting to lay on my stomach. The chaise is a little forgiving, but I was probably pushing it a little bit. I see a bright white backside in my future. How do you prevent that when you are pregnant?!?
Anyway, it felt fabulous to get a little sun. Since I'll only wear a "bikini" on my deck and when no one else is around, my tummy will likely not see the light of day very frequently.
Let's just say it is a little pink. It really isn't bad, but at one point Brian did ask me if I was trying to bake the baby. Not so much. :)
I read a bit of "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks and proceeded to flip every now and then. That was probably my last shot of getting to lay on my stomach. The chaise is a little forgiving, but I was probably pushing it a little bit. I see a bright white backside in my future. How do you prevent that when you are pregnant?!?
Anyway, it felt fabulous to get a little sun. Since I'll only wear a "bikini" on my deck and when no one else is around, my tummy will likely not see the light of day very frequently.
Let's just say it is a little pink. It really isn't bad, but at one point Brian did ask me if I was trying to bake the baby. Not so much. :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Peroxide and other wounds...
In case you were wondering, 3.5 year olds hate peroxide just as much (or more) than adults and if they've never experienced it before, it is especially cruel.
Connor is still sporting his black eye....that we still aren't 100% sure how he got. We think he caught a rock in the face, but he swears it was an accident (thrown by a neighbor boy that is 4.5) and he never came to the driveway to tell me about it. However, a spill on his bike today (which he can now ride completely independently....getting started on his own and everything (yesterday's frustrating accomplishment)) was quite the different story. He was headed out of a driveway when he heard his mom shout sternly, "Connor" and he knew he had to turn quickly and NOT head to the clubhouse by himself. However, he happened to hit a patch of sand and took a quick spill. I was 2 houses down. I walked calmly telling him to get up and shake it off the whole time. Didn't work. He was bleeding from his knee pretty bad, but he did manage to ride back to the O'keefe's house. However, the pain must have somehow gotten worse. For the next 15 minutes, it sounded like he was dying. During that time, I continued to threaten that he either had to stop crying and play or we were going home. (We did pour some water on it and ice it a bit before I went all hard core on him.)
He finally needed a drink and that was enough for him to be willing to go home. I also really needed to spare the rest of my neighbors from the wallowing and wailing. This was on top of the fact that he got up at 6:40 this morning....I was already up trying to get some work done, but I didn't get much done. So, he was super tired also. He came home and had a little juice and Mickey Mouse and ended up falling asleep in Brian's lap.
After a good nap, a burrito for dinner, seeing firetrucks, a haircut, sucker and a quick late night bike ride it was bath time. Imagine putting a cat into a bathtub....it was kinda like that. Once I finally got him in, I basically just bathed him as quickly as possible and we counted while scrubbing his knee. He agreed to that because I told him that if we didn't clean it it would get infected and his leg would fall off. He said he wanted it to heal and allowed me to clean it. Is that logic beyond reasonable parenting boundaries? I hope not, because that is the only way I was able to get peroxide on it too. Once out of the bath I poured the peroxide on some cotton pads. Perhaps that tactic was more for me. I know as a kid as soon as I saw that dark brown bottle, the pain set in immediately. So, I tried to avoid showing him the brown bottle.
Thankfully, I had some Neosporin+Pain Relief that seemed to help a bit and he FINALLY let me put a big bandaid on it. For some reason, our child could care less about bandaids and he would rather NOT have one. I just really don't want Neosporin all over his sheets.
So, to sum it up....it looks like we beat our kid. He has a black eye, bruises all over his right leg (from frequent falls learning to start his bike by himself), and now a pretty big gash on his knee (required the largest bandaid we have). Thank goodness he still has a beautiful smile on his face and he looks less ratty with a new haircut. :)
Connor is still sporting his black eye....that we still aren't 100% sure how he got. We think he caught a rock in the face, but he swears it was an accident (thrown by a neighbor boy that is 4.5) and he never came to the driveway to tell me about it. However, a spill on his bike today (which he can now ride completely independently....getting started on his own and everything (yesterday's frustrating accomplishment)) was quite the different story. He was headed out of a driveway when he heard his mom shout sternly, "Connor" and he knew he had to turn quickly and NOT head to the clubhouse by himself. However, he happened to hit a patch of sand and took a quick spill. I was 2 houses down. I walked calmly telling him to get up and shake it off the whole time. Didn't work. He was bleeding from his knee pretty bad, but he did manage to ride back to the O'keefe's house. However, the pain must have somehow gotten worse. For the next 15 minutes, it sounded like he was dying. During that time, I continued to threaten that he either had to stop crying and play or we were going home. (We did pour some water on it and ice it a bit before I went all hard core on him.)
He finally needed a drink and that was enough for him to be willing to go home. I also really needed to spare the rest of my neighbors from the wallowing and wailing. This was on top of the fact that he got up at 6:40 this morning....I was already up trying to get some work done, but I didn't get much done. So, he was super tired also. He came home and had a little juice and Mickey Mouse and ended up falling asleep in Brian's lap.
After a good nap, a burrito for dinner, seeing firetrucks, a haircut, sucker and a quick late night bike ride it was bath time. Imagine putting a cat into a bathtub....it was kinda like that. Once I finally got him in, I basically just bathed him as quickly as possible and we counted while scrubbing his knee. He agreed to that because I told him that if we didn't clean it it would get infected and his leg would fall off. He said he wanted it to heal and allowed me to clean it. Is that logic beyond reasonable parenting boundaries? I hope not, because that is the only way I was able to get peroxide on it too. Once out of the bath I poured the peroxide on some cotton pads. Perhaps that tactic was more for me. I know as a kid as soon as I saw that dark brown bottle, the pain set in immediately. So, I tried to avoid showing him the brown bottle.
Thankfully, I had some Neosporin+Pain Relief that seemed to help a bit and he FINALLY let me put a big bandaid on it. For some reason, our child could care less about bandaids and he would rather NOT have one. I just really don't want Neosporin all over his sheets.
So, to sum it up....it looks like we beat our kid. He has a black eye, bruises all over his right leg (from frequent falls learning to start his bike by himself), and now a pretty big gash on his knee (required the largest bandaid we have). Thank goodness he still has a beautiful smile on his face and he looks less ratty with a new haircut. :)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Competition & St. Patty's Day
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| Helping make green pancakes and showing off his healing black eye. |
I really just wanted to post about Connor's "brand new shoes". The child LOVES shoes. The other day (when it was 80ยบ in March!!) Connor desperately wanted to go to Target to get flip flops. (I kid you not.) I was concerned that they would not be comfortable for him because after a winter of wearing boots and closed-toed shoes, it even takes a couple of outings for my feet to get used to flip flops again. He did not back down. We found some for $7.99 that were cute and had a back strap to help them stay on a bit.
He wore them out of the store, but his first time walking in them was when I got him out of the cart. That didn't go so great. C: Mom, I'm bleeding! Me: No you aren't, but you must not walk toe-heel. Put your heel down first. Connor proceeds to walk like he just had his toe nails painted....hilarious. After getting home, he wore them for another 5 minutes before taking them off again. C: Mom, I want to try again. (I put them back on him). C: I love my brand new flip flops. I promise I will try again tomorrow. (if you call them shoes he gets upset and corrects you....they are not shoes, but FLIP FLOPS)
Sure enough, he put them on the next day and has been wearing them ever since. He is now putting them on himself (about 50-50 on the correct feet) and yesterday he even ran about 1/3 of a mile straight around our little neighborhood loop.
That brings me to another point. I guess he comes by it honestly (between me and Brian), but what do you do with a child that is so competitive and must win? He creates competitions for himself....yesterday it was racing around the loop against his almost 5 year old friend, Jaxson. I'm sorry to say that I was internally very proud that my little 3.5 year old in flip flops smoked him. :) I still can't believe he ran so far. I never dreamed he would run the entire stretch. I should have known though...it was a race....he had to win. Winning is great, but I was disappointed that he didn't want to cheer on Jaxson the rest of the way. That is something we will have to work on. "But I already won."....doesn't matter kiddo, you have to be a good sport and a good friend. Next time I guess I'll have to have him race Ian and/or Liam...they are 8 & 9...
Of course I almost killed him today too. I rode bikes with Jaxson and Connor over to the clubhouse. Never again by myself. Both C & J can ride 2 wheelers, but neither one of them can get started on their own. I refuse to "push" but I will hold the bike so it doesn't fall over while they get themselves started. This presents a challenge as I can't do 2 at once. Connor insisted on being the "line leader" and J didn't seem to mind (him going too slow was part of the problem too). Connor was getting too far ahead. I find myself yelling at him to slow down, to wait for us, and finally just STOP. I know he heard me. He kept going....right into the street. Thankfully there isn't any construction going on at this stretch of the street, but I was still absolutely irate. He finally stopped. I was so torn. I couldn't leave struggling Jaxson behind to race off to get my own kid, but I also couldn't just let Connor keep going. Connor was crying by the time I got to him because he didn't want to stop. NOT THE POINT. I proceeded to be "that mom" and am not ashamed to say that I took him about 10 feet away (not sure why....didn't make much of a difference) and he got quite the spanking. Of course I talked to him about it too and explained exactly why he was in so much trouble....but he already knew. He repeated it back. Later he told me he didn't stop because he didn't want us to catch up to him & beat him. Oh my goodness, kiddo....not everything is a race. Like I said, I will NOT be taking both boys to the clubhouse again alone anytime soon.
Brian is really hoping that all of this competitive energy can be focused on baseball....sooner than later. B was very frustrated last night when C hit about 5 balls (of about 15 pitches) and then was more interested in his friends and riding his Graffiti Razor Scooter and his bike. I tried to tell Brian that it is just the age and he was excited to see his friends. I think Brian may have better luck getting him to focus if he takes him out of the neighborhood and too the park to hit balls....fewer distractions.
Anyway, we have a competitive one on our hands. Good thing he is so cute.
(To help with the visual, Connor currently has a right black eye. We aren't exactly sure how it happened, but I believe it was when he was playing under a neighbor's deck the other day. He told me that Justice (and 4.5) threw a rock and it hit his face. "It was an accident." I was in the driveway at the front of the house and he never came to me crying or even mentioned it. I just asked about it because his cheek near his eye was red. Two days later, it is not all black and blue. Although my Dad has called me "Shiner" (short for Sunshine") since I was little, I think the name might be more appropriate for him now!)
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Also...before I forget to document. Connor HATES it when you replace his middle name with a name other than "Patrick". Brian does this to him on a regular basis just to make him mad. Yesterday, Brian was calling him "Connor Peso Nealon" (Peso is a character on one of his favorite shows, "Octonauts"). After dinner last night, Connor started calling Brian, "Daddy Kwasi Nealon" (another Octonauts character). I couldn't help but laugh. Instead of getting mad, he decided to dish it back. :)
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