21 Months

Only 3 more months til our little guy turns TWO! I feel like it was just last month that he was born, and now he's a little boy. He's just the most amazing little person in our life! He's such a sweet little boy, and he's so kind and always thinks of others. I'd say that he's going through the "terrible twos"... but he's really not terrible. He has his moments where I feel that all day he's crying/screaming and getting into trouble, but 90% of the time, he's a joy to be around. He's got the funniest little personality, and now that he's talking, he's even funnier.

He's been talking SOOO much lately, and now he's even saying sentences. The ones I hear the most often are "I want more" and "Can I go outside?" He just learned today "please." We have been trying for the past year to get him to say please, but he just wouldn't/couldn't say it. He had his own way of saying it though. When we'd tell him to say please, he'd rub you and say "nice" (like we have him do with the dogs)... so he sorta understood the concept, but just couldn't say it. Tonight we were at a Halloween party and I had some smarties, and he wanted one, so I said "can you say please?" (which is what I probably tell him 20+ times a day) and he said "please" so clearly. Aaron and I started laughing and were shocked. Then we gave him a candy and he said "thank you" which he NEVER says either. Then he said "please" and "thank you" another 10 or so times while eating the smarties, lol

His favorite thing to do is the same thing that he's ALWAYS loved doing. Going outside! He would live outside if I let him. When he wakes up in the morning he wakes up his daddy, and says "Dakota outside?" (Dakota's our dog)


When we first got Dakota a month or so ago, we were having a LOT of trouble. Connor absolutely adores her, but he thinks that it's VERY funny when Dakota runs around the living room, jumping on the furniture, etc. So once he threw something at her, and she dodged it... and he started laughing (because he thought they were playing) and kept doing it. But of course the dog didn't appreciate the "play time" and they were getting into fights (to say the least). Also... Connor has softies (which are his little blanket things with stuffed animal heads) and Dakota has decided that they are her chew toys, and will run up to him and rip them out of his hands... which of course sets him off into major tears. So... we've had a few challenges, but we're working through them and hoping for the best!




Connor's had a pacifier(s) since he was born, and he's always liked it, but he's never seemed majorly attached. But recently (within the past few months) he's decided that he always needs his paci and his softies with him. I figured that when he turns two, we'll make it a rule that he can only have it when he's taking a nap or going to bed... then get rid of the paci at 2 1/2 or 3 years. So currently, I constantly hear "pa-pa?" and "sa-sas?" ("paci" and "softies" if you can't figure out Connor-language) coming from him... with tears if we can't find them in seconds. He also thinks that he needs more than one. If I give him one... he says "more?" over and over, until we find more. Usually it takes three until he gives up when I say no! Oh, and sometimes he thinks he needs all three in his mouth at the same time, lol...




He's finally starting to enjoy nursery.. and he only cries for 5-10 minutes when I drop him off now :) And I know he's actually listening and participating, because the other day we were in the car, and he suddenly started singing... and then I hear "pop pop pop" as he does the motions to "Popcorn Popping" (and LDS kids song). I have never sang him that song, so I knew he learned it in nursery. Then he started doing some motions from "Do As I'm Doing." So now all I hear is "pa-corn...pa-corn...pa-corn" with some other words that make no sense, lol. I tried to get it on video... but he thinks that when I pull out the video camera, that means it's time to grab it!



Connor's all of a sudden decided that he loves hats.

He went through a stage where he wouldn't put a thing on his head, but now he's perfectly fine with certain hats. It's not all hats... he's very picky on which ones he'll allow on his head! He's being Cat in the Hat for Halloween, and I was worried that he'd refuse to wear the hat, because it's not quite like a normal hat. But he watched my mom make it, and then we tried on the costume and he said "my hat?" and wanted it on his head. And now he wants it on all the time, and doesn't want to take it off!




He's a great sleeper lately (knock on wood!). He usually takes about an hour and a half nap around 1pm or so, and then he goes to bed between 7:30 and 8pm and sleeps til anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30am. We used to have a little nightly routine where we'd get jammies on, brush teeth, go into his room and read a few books, say our prayers, rock and sing a few songs, and then he'd go to bed, usually fussing for about 5 minutes before giving up and going to sleep. Well, now he's decided that he just wants to go straight to bed. I'll get his jammies on and brush his teeth, and walk into his room and go to sit in the rocking chair and he says "bed" and points to his bed. So I lay him in his bed, say prayers, and walk out of the room as he says "bye... bye... bye... bye... bye" literally 5 times, even after I leave his room, lol. He does this at nap time AND bedtime. But of course this is ONLY at home... so nap time is a bit difficult when we're at my moms or sisters, or at church (we sadly have 12:30-3:30pm church).



He LOVES music, but sometimes he's VERY picky on what he wants to listen to. I'll be listening to a CD or the radio in the car and if something comes on that he doesn't like, he'll say "a different one." Normally I just ignore him and listen to what I want... but sometimes he can be very persistent! lol



Connor LOVES cars, trains, trucks, planes, etc... anything that moves! I'm thinking about getting rid of all the toys in the house (putting them into storage) because they are never played with anymore. ALL he wants to do is push around his cars and such. When he was born, we had his bedroom a cute jungle theme... but it's VERY babyish, and so we decided to go with someone else now that he's a big boy in a toddler bed. I searched and searched but couldn't decide what to do. I was thinking about doing a monkey theme because that's what we call him, but couldn't find anything that I liked. So I started thinking about a transportation type theme... and there were a lot of sets out there, but not a lot for toddler beds. But my mom and I finally found a set that I LOVE... but it's a crib set, so we basically bought different pieces of the set from different places (Target, craigslist & ebay) and we're creating our own bedding :) We're going to be working on it in the next couple of weeks, and I'm sooo excited! :) We're almost done painting his room too. There's a middle divider thing, and we did the top the light lime green color, and the bottom the darker/navy blue color. And then we're painting the middle grey, with yellow lines (to make it look like a road going around his room. I'll post pictures when I've finished :) But here's what the set looks like...








Connor LOVES helping me and Aaron. He helps put the laundry into the washer, and then from the washer to the dryer... he helps put away groceries and stacks cans... and he loves to sweep and vacuum. The other day, he had a bowl of cheerios (just the cereal, not the milk) and he spilled the whole bowl on the floor and then grabbed his toy vacuum and started vacuuming them up while giggling and saying "vacuum... vacuum... vacuum." How can you get mad at a kid who's cleaning?! lol



We're kind of at a standstill with potty training. He's still great when he's naked... but the moment he puts underwear on, he pees in them. I'm not sure what to do to fix that issue. And it's been so hot, he's just been running around the house naked, so he was basically 100% naked potty trained (at home, of course, lol)... but it's winter now, and colder... so naked isn't really working anymore. Plus we kinda can't go out of the house naked either ;)



Connor is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY afraid of heights. This is something very new too! But any time I set him on something he starts saying "whoa! whoa! whoa! whoa!" over and over and starts shaking and crying and grabbing onto me until I take him down. But now it's gone so overboard that he's not only heights... it's when he's on anything. My bed, the pew at church, the back seat of the car, the couch... and even last week, I laid him on the FLOOR to change his diaper, and he started saying "whoa... whoa... whoa..." and I just started laughing.... but I think now it's just habit or something.



Connor loves his Daddy! Aaron works from 2-10:30pm... so he's here when Connor goes down for a nap. But when he wakes up, he's gone. And he'll ask for him over and over, and sometimes cry because he's not here. He'll always say "where Daddy go?" and I say "he's at work." So now Connor will randomly repeat "Daddy go? at work... Daddy go? at work... Daddy go? at work..."



I don't know if it's a boy thing or what... but Connor does NOT voluntarily give kisses/hugs. The only way we get them is by bribing him, lol. ("you can have some yogurt if you give mommy a kiss first" hehe) I know that sounds bad, but if I don't bribe him, I'd never get a kiss!! My mom said that she had to do the same thing with my brother, but all of us girls would give her kisses whenever she asked... so maybe it is a boy/girl thing?



Well, I can't think of anything else. I'm sure I'll think of something I wanted to write down as soon as I publish this post... it always happens that way.



Some of Connor's Favorites:


Favorite Foods: yogurt, applesauce, meatloaf, cheese and any & all fruit


Favorite Book: Miss Mary Mack & First 100 Words


Favorite Color: Pink


Favorite Song to Sing: "Popcorn Popping"



Favorite Drink: Milk



Favorite Store to Shop at: any shoe store... he LOVES shoes!
(he's not too fond of Walmart.. I think it's because we're there all the time!)



Favorite TV Show: Backyardigans (still!) and he's started to watch Sesame Street a little bit again



Favorite Song to Listen to: Bye Bye Love by the Backstreet Boys
(he likes songs with a beat... he'll usually ask for a different song when it's slow and boring)

Our Little Pumpkin

I took pictures of my niece for her 6 month session at the pumpkin patch, and it was such a cute little place that I went back that same afternoon with Connor to do a little shoot. Luckily he was in a GREAT mood and had a blast playing with all the pumpkins and climbing on the chairs, hay stacks, etc. First, before showing all the pictures I took... I did a little comparison from last year when we went to the pumpkin patch...

I can not believe how different he is only 1 year later. It really is amazing how much kids change in the first years of their life!

He thought it was the funniest and most exciting thing in the world to line up the pumpkins, sit on them, and fall over...

2 videos

This is what Connor does EVERY time we're making food, he sees food, he's eating food, etc... anything having to do with food!

Connor's new favorite thing to do in the bath!

Connor's words

Connor's vocabulary seems to be sky-rocketing lately. Recently, he's saying at least 1 new word a day. I'm just amazed at how big he's getting. He's not my baby anymore. There's no baby left in him. He's all boy! I just wanted to write some of the words that he says. These are all the words that he uses on a day to day basis. There's a few more that he's said once or twice, but never said again... so of course I couldn't think of those, so they're not on the list.

(this list is mainly just for me and my journaling purposes)

words

hi

bye

ball

ow

help

pull

on

off

go

go away

up

water (wa wa)

yellow

train

outside (ow-i)

mine

no

shoe

sit

more

milk

doggie

key

softies (sa-sas)

hug

where

uh-oh

cheese

light

music (mu)

hair

eyes

nose

hat

truck (tru)

flag

balloon (boom)

door

bubble

bath

red

all done

car (not sure why, but he calls these "neeeees")

names

Mama

Dada

Grandpa (not sure how to spell how he says it, lol)

Grandma (Mama... but said a little differently than how he says mama for me)

Bethany (Ya-Ya)

Nate (Na)

Kate (Ka)

Ollie

Brileigh

Ellie

Dakota (Doe-da)

sounds

moo

quack

ruff

meow

baa

sound of an airplane

and a cute picture collage from today just because no blog post is complete without a picture! :)

P.S. I think he looks a LOT like my brother (as a toddler) in the black and white picture... what do you think? (I should find a picture of him when he was little and put them side by side)

OCD?

We (my mom, me, sisters, etc.) often discus about how Connor has/might have OCD. I don't know if he actually does or not (my grandma has it, and it is genetic), but if he doesn't, he has some major detail/order issues! There's a lot of things that he does (to name just a few 1. when there are two lights in a room, but only one of them is on... he will cry and say "on... on... on..." until you turn the other one one 2. when we're out shopping and something is not right (spill on the floor, something off the shelf, etc.) he will say "uh oh" over and over until I fix it, or let him fix/clean it 3. he hates to be dirty and will cry until I clean his hands of food, dirt, sand, etc.) but one of the main things is that EVERYTHING has to be in a straight line. If there's a pile of something, or things in a wacky order, he has to fix it. He puts anything and everything into a line. Sometimes he can't do it, and he gets really frustrated because it's not perfect. So sometimes I help the line so that he doesn't start crying. But here are some of the things he did all on his own... I find stuff like this all over the house, all the time...

(if you can't tell, these are Del Taco hot sauce packets, juice bottles, DVD/videos & his train/bus/truck... he's also been known to line up my mom candles (she has 15+ of them), cups and/or bowls, his blankets, shoes, etc.)

Our new addition

I got a call from my brother about a week ago. He'd gone to PetSmart with his wife, and together they found an adorable puppy that was there trying to be adopted out. They fell in love with her right away, and even though they already have 2 dogs at home, decided to adopt her. They bring her home and called the home owners (they rent from my SIL's aunt) to double check that it's ok they have another dog (like I said, they already have 2) and she says absolutely not, and that they have to get rid of her. So, back to the call... he asked me if we would be willing to take her. Aaron and I have been thinking about getting a dog for quite some time (so it wasn't one of those quick decision moments) and so I said yes, as long as Connor was ok with her. Connor either loves or hates a dog... and he picks and chooses which ones. He will see some dogs and be perfectly fine with, and see others and scream and cry (and it doesn't matter the size.... he's hated tiny ones and loved big ones, and vice versa). So I told my brother that I'd come over with Connor and see how he was with her, and it was basically Connor's final decision.

So Connor and I drove over there (Aaron was at work, but I called him... already knowing his answer would be yes... he's the main one who has been wanting a pet) and when we walked into the house, the dog came up to us, Connor smiled, petted her and said "nice" (that came from us with my parents dogs, trying to get him to be gentle and nice) and trying to lay his head down on her to give her hugs.

So... we have a dog :) There's been some trials this first week, for a few reasons...

1. She got sick - she started throwing up, had horrible diarrhea & was VERY lethargic. We thought she might have parvo, but we were lucky, and she pulled through :)

2. She's not potty trained - we don't have a fenced in back yard, and we don't have a door that goes to the back yard... so potty training is tough. Especially when I have Connor here by myself, and I'm trying to hold him while having her on a leash... but we're working on it :)

3. Connor and her act like brother and sister - Connor thinks that it's funny to throw things at her. He's not trying to be mean or malicious... but when she runs or dodges the object, he starts laughing hysterically. He just thinks that they're playing together. But the dog doesn't like this (of course not, who would?!) and starts barking at him, and a couple of times she's nipped at him. So I have to constantly be watching the two of them and I'm always breaking up fights!

But... despite those things, we love our little girl. Oh, and her name is Dakota (Connor calls her Doe-da)

Connor thinks he's a puppy too...

Bethany leaves...

One of my best friends that I've ever had is my little sister, Bethany. She's always been there for me. She's the most awesome person in the whole entire world. She's sweet, spiritual, kind, giving, honest, loving... and one of the best aunties that is on this earth! Connor and her are like two peas in a pod. He LOVES his Auntie Ya-Ya.

Bethany's been thinking about school, job, life, etc... and prayed about it, and through a lot of trial and more prayers, she found a job in Taylorsville, Utah. She's working as a nanny for 2 little ones. They have a little boy who just turned 1 year old, and a little girl who's 8 months. The parents were in the middle of adopting the 1 year old when she found out that she was pregnant. So.... they didn't only have one child, but two!

We are going to miss (already do) Bethany so much. But we know that she's on the right path for her, and hope that she finds all the happiness she can, because she deserves it more than anyone I know!

Here are some pictures at the airport as she was leaving...

We love you, Ya-Ya!!