Library Visits

This week's books

Connor and I had our third trip to the library last night. We've been going on Tuesday evenings for the 7pm Story Time. I found myself at work excited for the evening ahead of us yesterday. I don't know why it surprised me as I'm a lover of reading myself but I am truly getting excited on library days for Connor.

We get there a little bit before Story Time and I check to see if there are any books available that I put on hold for him and then we head over to the Children's section. Connor likes to grab a basket and put books into it to read. We read books until Story Time and then afterward we go back and read a few more books. Before we head out the door I let him pick out two movies for the week.


I'm thinking the main reason I'm liking library nights so much is because its giving us new books to read at bed time and a new assortment of movies to watch throughout the week. All this new variety in our lives and no money spent!

And boy have times changed in regards to checking out books from what I remember. Connor checked out 4 books last night and 2 movies. I was concerned that he may have hit his max on checking out items and might not be able to check anything out when he went with daycare the next day. I asked what the limit was on checking out books and she said.................."99 books!!" I almost fell over.... 99 BOOKS! That right there would cause me some fines from the library for sure.

I usually try to pick up a new Dr. Seuss book that we haven't read yet (they can get looooooong and man he had quite the imagination) and then Connor picks out a few books. Last week he picked out Pippin by Gerard Moncomble and I really enjoyed it! It talks about how Pippin is a kitten and likes to go at his own speed. His mother is always in a rush and he secretly calls her "HurryMama". His father is always putting things off and he secretly calls him "LaterPapa". There is a concern that Pippin hasn't started purring yet. Its not until "HurryMama" and "LaterPapa" slow down and put him first that Pippin starts to purr. It spoke to me because I am certain that Connor is probably secretly calling me "HurryMama"!! I swear if we're going anywhere I know I'm rushing him all over.

Looking forward to next week! What are some Children's books we should look into picking up?

Leaps and Bounds

We had Connor's 3 year old Well Visit this morning. He turned 3 the begining of this month but due to being sick he couldn't get to his Well Visit until... he was well!

He got a doctor's kit for Christmas and has spent a lot of time giving us check ups and we've spent a lot of time giving him check ups. Good thing, so he knows what to expect.

He fought us on the hearing test but passed the vision test. He's such a character with people it blows me away. He's trusting, silly and can make almost anyone laugh.

The doc said he's pretty much average, healthy and one happy little boy. Connor left the office with two Lightening McQueen stickers and a lollipop. Life was good.

Where did my baby go? He's growing up month to month with learning new things by leaps and bounds. He's asserting his independence more and more. Doing things on his own, not wanting help. Soon he'll be too busy for snuggles and books before bed.... then what do I do? Facebook stalk him? Twitter Feed watch him? Endorse him on Linkedin. Sigh.... so not ready for him let go of my hand. Thankfully we're not quite there yet.

Edit.... His height is 36.5inches... not 3.5ft. Totally heard the nurse wrong!

Encouraging Reading

Yesterday I took Connor to the library to get his first library card. I was super excited and imagined us picking out books together and reading and talking about what we were reading.... how it really went....

In the car on the way to the library
Me: Connor, when we get inside we have to be quiet. We have to be quiet in the library.
Connor (whispering): Ok.

He whispered alllll the way there. As soon as we got into the library. Lots of loud talking and noise came spewing out of his mouth while we took care of paper work for his card. He also had lots of fun swinging the ropes that help define the lines back and forth and back and forth. Sigh.....

So we get the card, the Librarian hands Connor a sticker and we head over to the children's section.

Me: Connor why don't you pick out a book?
Connor: Um, no thanks.
Me: You don't want to read a book?
Connor: Yes.
Me: Then pick one out.
Connor: No you do it.

Sigh.... eventually he picked out a book and we read it before he got distracted by the table with the bendy wire that you can push beads around on it.

While he played I walked around and picked out two books to go home with us.

Me: Connor do you want to read another book?
Connor: Yes.
Me: Pick one out.
Connor: Um, no thanks. You do it.
Me: No. If you want a book you pick it out.

He picked out another one. We read it and added it to the take home pile. He proudly carried his books up to the front desk while yelling, "Hey lady! Scan my books and card." Sigh....

He sure is proud of that library card though!

"Shhh... quiet mommy we're in the library."

Buzzzzzzzz...

I took Connor out for a hair cut on the way home from work/daycare on Thursday. USUALLY we get a level 3 along the sides and blend it up to the top and then trim the top.... well... in my congested head I got it confused. I said.... Level 3 on the top and blend it down. So..... my little boy's new nickname is Buzz. Oops!

Tent Sleeping

I know I mentioned in my last post that I was blogging about our camping trip from the beginning of this month but that is still in progress. The tent sleeping I'm getting ready to blog about is Connor's new found love for sleeping in his playtent on the floor.

It started with the commercial on the Disney channel where there are kids laying in a tent outside at night looking at an iPad and watching Disney Jr. Because yeah..... if I'm camping in the backyard I'm going to whip out my tablet and watch TV... not enjoy the stars or surrounding nature. ANYWAY.... Connor saw the commercial and wanted his playtent out and put together. Which... I was surprised that he even remembered that he had it. Its been a long time since we pulled it out.

Keep in mind that breakfast hadn't even been put on the table yet and he wanted this tent!!! Soooo I put it together and he played in it for 5 min and then moved on. Yay....

Naptime came around and Connor told me he wanted to nap in the tent. I told him he couldn't nap in it in the living room but we could move it into his bedroom. <--- That was mommy's BIG mistake!! I folded up a comforter so he had a cushion and he went to sleep. Bedtime came around and he again... wanted to sleep in the tent. I rolled with it.

Sunday came and he again slept in the tent. I began to worry. I didn't want him sleeping on the floor. I mean... can it physically harm him? I don't know? Do I want to encourage him to sleep on the floor? No. Either way it wasn't sitting well with me.

There wasn't going to be a, "Wait for him to fall asleep and move him." He literally moved all his blankets, pillows and stuffed animals (in his words, "friends") in the tent with him. Moving him would have been a nightmare.

Wednesday it hit me... I make awesome blanket forts! Off to work I went.... I transformed his toddler bed to a toddler bed tent. He LOVED it, crawled right in and let me take the tent out of his room. Tonight is the second night and he's fast asleep in his little tent made by mommy!

Sleeping on the floor in his tent

In his new toddler bed tent!

With his friends of course

 This is yet another way parenting makes you think outside the box. Have you had to think outside the box lately?

Let the Imagination Begin!

In the last week or so Connor's imagination as been through the roof and I just LOVE it. I just want that part of his brain to grow and grow and grow. I want to give that imagination of his a great big hug and never let anything squash it.

Last week Connor was playing with his cars. He always plays with cars. Usually its just pushing them around, lining them up or making the make noises. Well........... lately, he makes the cars talk to each other. This was one conversation he made them have:

Car 1: Ok, see you later I go to Ms. Heather's house now
Car 2: Ok, I miss you. Bye.
***Car 1 drives away***
***Car 1 drives back***
Car 1: I back from Ms. Heather's house
Car 2: Ok. I poopied in my hiney
***Car 2 drives away***

Another time last week Connor had his play phone he paced the kitchen babbling away. I asked him who he was talking too and he responded, "Pop". Then his conversation got real clear. "Hey buddy. What's up? I love you too buddy. See you later buddy." He just repeated it over and over again while pacing the kitchen back and forth. I totally wanted to video tape but didn't want to leave the room to get the camera.

Then there was last night.... last night will stay with me forever! I took Connor to the playground and it was just the two of us. We did the usual climbing, running and sliding but then he ran under the jungle gym and stood where the bars were blocking him in. He started saying, "Help mommy, help. I stuck!" It took me a minute to realize he was playing. Then he said, "I got my rescue pack" and started singing the song from Go, Diego Go! and blasted around the corner free from being trapped.

Next, he wanted me to be trapped. So I played it up calling for help and Connor ran away then came back saying, "I got Toodles. I get mouskatool to help." Then he'd unlock the bars and I would be free. We did this over and over and over again. It didn't get old and I played it up more and more. We were actually playing together!

Our little boy is really growing up and I love it. I don't think I'll ever get sad over him growing up until he denies me my snuggles and kisses. Until then.... I'm soaking them up!

Sand and Water

This weekend it was a little too hot to go out to the park or the beach to play. The sun was beating down mid day and the humidity was awful. To get some outside play time in I set Connor up with a sand and water play area on our front porch. HE LOVED IT.

Around Christmas time I picked up some water beads from the dollar store. They lived in my car in the bag until it was time to clean out my car when I traded it in for the Mazda...... yes...... bad....... I know. So now that I had them out I've been wanting to play with them. I used one of the packs for flowers for a coworker and had one pack left.

I put a bunch of sand that I picked up at the beach the last time we were there and put it in a shoe box. I pulled out some sea shells from mine and Kevin's travels over the years and tossed them in too. Then, in a plastic tupperware container I put in the water beads with some extra water and tossed sea shells in too. I grabbed an extra tupperware container for mixing. We took them out to the front porch in the shade and played with shovels and mixed it all together.

When all was done and it was time to come in for lunch and nap, I packed up the sand and seashells but the water beads looked gross. The were sandy and muddy and just plain yuck. Once Connor was taking his nap I pulled out the pasta strainer and poured the beads in. They rinsed off clean!!!! I just added them back into their original container and added water so they wouldn't dry out. They're ready for next time!!

Enjoy the pics!

Let the games begin!

A rock!!

He LOVED the water beads

He only touched the sand to mix it in the water.

Mixing back and forth

He said, "Feels silly mommy"

Muddy mess

Watching the birds fly by

Alllll clean! Ready for next time!

The Memory of a 2yr old

The memory of a 2 year old is very fascinating.....

We don't visit the doctor often. We've been there MAYBE 2 times since the beginning of the year. One was his 2 year well visit and another was for an ear infection back in March. Today I had to take the kiddo to the doctors because he's had nasty congestion in his sinuses since this weekend and yesterday he woke up from his nap at daycare with a fever. Thankfully after a dose of ibuprofen as soon as we got home he went to bed fever free and woke up fever free. I decided to take him to the docs anyway.....

We pull up and park at the doctors office. As soon as we see the building he says, "Lollipop?" I was amazed he remembered the building let alone the fact that the doc gives him a lollipop at the end of the visit. Sooooooo we go inside and we get called to our room and we wait. We wait and wait and wait and wait. While we were waiting I prepped him for what the doctor was going to do. Listen to his heart, look in his ears, ask him to open his mouth and stick out his tongue, and look in his eyes.

Every sound we heard outside the door Connor got excited and asked, "Where's the doctor?".... "Doctorrrrrrrr where arrrrrrrrreeeee yooooooouuuuuuuu" Finally the doc walks in and he says, "Lollipop?" Our doctor had a good chuckle and assured him he'd get one after his appointment. He laughed with me that he doesn't remember the crying, screaming or other bad things that happen in these rooms but totally remembers the lollipop at the end.

Life is good when you're 2 years old...... here's hoping we're fever free when he wakes up!

Let The Sentences Begin!

Connor was always a babbler in his late infant state and early toddlerhood. You didn't understand a single thing he said but he just kept on talking.

Then we moved into specific words. Mommy, Daddy, Baby, Up, Snacks, Off, Animal Sounds, Letters, Numbers, Hi, Bye... you get the point....

Then we ventured into songs. He surprised us by singing the "Ashes, Ashes.... All fall down" from Ring Around the Rosie one day. Next came the ABC's and now he loves Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Apples and Bananas, and Row Row Row Your Boat.

Communication as still been a little sketchy because we only had specific words, ABC's and songs to try and determine what it is that he wanted.

BUT........ In the last week or so (I know I've finally noticed in the last week).... SENTENCES! He's beginning to communicate with us to a point where we can have conversations. Some of theme are useful conversations so we can figure out what he needs/wants and other conversations.... well... I don't know... we get to hear what's ticking away in that brain of his.

Examples:
Crazy Stuff In His Head
Connor has two Buzz Lightyears. He got them for his birthday. One is a stuffed animal type Buzz Lightyear that does pretty much nothing but snuggle him at night. No noises, no lights, no button that pops wings out... you know.. they way something SHOULD be when you're sleeping with it. The other Buzz Lightyear is the full blown Buzz Lightyear and has every gadget, noise, lights up, pops out wings and is pretty large, heavy and awkward for a 2 year old to carry around. The only thing it is missing is an OFF button. Sigh... thanks Disney! Thankfully he does sleep with the stuffed Buzz Lightyear and plays with the other one during the day.

Earlier this week I was getting Connor dressed and he was playing "BLAST OFF" with the stuffed animal Buzz Lightyear. Then he stops, looks at me and says, "Buzz no wings. Buzz no fly." Then he babbled a bunch of words I didn't understand and then said, "Big Buzz wings. Big Buzz fly." He was totally explaining to me that the stuffed animal Buzz does not have wings and therefore can not fly like the other Buzz.

Helpful Info
I picked up Connor from daycare this week and as I was putting him into the car seat I noticed he had a red bump on his lip. I was torn between worrying he had a cold sore and assuming he had fallen and bit his lip I asked him what happened to his lip. He replied, "Sun in my eyes. Fall down. I ok." The fact that he went into detail about the sun being in his eyes floored me and I thought he might have just added that for affect. When I got home I texted daycare to ask if he had fallen because of the bump on his lip. She replied that he had indeed fallen at the park. So... yes... I guess he could have gotten sun in his eyes and fallen at the park!

Then There is Just Plain Cute
In the car this morning Connor sneezed twice.
Me: "Bless you!"
Connor: "No mommy. Bless me!"
Me: "Yes Connor, Bless you"
Connor: "NO No Mommy... Bless me!"
Me: "Oh ok Connor. Bless Me!"

My, my he is just growing leaps and bounds. What is a momma to do?!

Pasta Strainer Fun!

Last night I pulled out the pasta strainer, pipe cleaners and beads to have some motor skills fun with Connor. I had pinned the idea on Pinterest MONTHS ago and thought "what the heck" last night when we were getting bored with cars and blocks.

From the moment Connor saw the pasta strainer he called it a hat (an actually tried talking me into wearing it into work this morning). His eyes lit up bigger when I pulled out the pipe cleaners. I showed him what to do and he did well. He wouldn't bend it over and do the other side BUT he'll get there. Once I saw the pipe cleaners sticking out the top I ran got the left over beads that daycare sent home from a project he was working on. I showed him the idea of putting them on the pipe cleaners and he went to town before getting distracted by Nick Jr.

Workin it

What?! Nick Jr is on?!?!!

"Its mah hat mommy!"

Dishwashing Fool!

Here are some pictures of Connor helping me wash dishes on Monday evening!

Please don't mind the huge pile of dishes in the background that needed to be done! Our diswasher is the worst and most times the dishes come out dirtier than they went in (hence the huge pile)!!!

Getting the sponge wet

Washing the cup

Allllllllll Done! Give me the next dish!

I'm not going to count this as a post for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Just sharing pics! Post 13 should come later today!!

Momma's Helper

We have ourselves an extra set of hands to help with dishes!

I was trying to wash dishes after dinner last night and Connor just begged and begged to be picked up so he could see the water running. I picked him up and he played a little bit in the water. My arms were getting tired and I knew he would throw a fit if he I put him down so I grabbed the step stool. I also grabbed a new sponge and handed to him. Next I handed him one of the plastic cups that were in the sink. He watched me wash another cup that was in the sink and he went to town trying to wash the cup I had handed him.

He put the sponge under the water then into the cup. Over and over and over and over! He could barely reach over the counter into the sink but that little boy was on a mission. My mom and step dad had to pack him up and take him for a walk around the neighborhood so I could finish up the dishes! Once done I hid the sponges and step stool so he wouldn't be reminded when they got back from the walk.

When they got home he went into the kitchen once to see if I would follow. Thankfully it only took me saying, "No, we're done with the dishes," and he moved his interest elsewhere.

Pictures will follow soon!