Happy Half Birthday Son!

Today Connor is officially 2 ½! The time seems to be flying by more than ever. Connor has really developed his own personality and Michael and I are just treasuring every stage. I wanted to recap on some of the great things about Connor during this stage in his life so we can look back and remember what an amazing boy he was at such a young age!

• Connor is such a talkative little boy! He learns new words each day and it is so exciting to have him share his thoughts with us. He communicates clearly and always has something to contribute. Our dinner conversations get more interesting each day- with Connor taking charge of the conversation. It’s also hilarious to observe Connor talking on the phone (pretending or actually calling someone). He’s able to practically carry on a full conversation with “Hello ____.” “How are you?” “I love you,” “Goodbye” and answering all the questions in between. He loves to call family and chat on the phone!

• Connor is also learning a lot of Spanish. At day care, his wonderful day care provider, Amalia teaches him Spanish throughout the day. Each morning, Connor greets her with “Buenos Dias Amalia.” It’s interesting to watch Amalia talk to him in Spanish and hear Connor answer her in Spanish. Sometimes, I’m not even sure what they are talking about!

• It’s so exciting to watch Connor learn new things. Connor likes to count to 10, recite his ABC’s, read books, and do puzzles. There are many books that Connor is beginning to “read” on his own. It’s fun to watch him recite the books and use the same tone and expression as we do when reading. Connor loves to point out things he sees, and often our drive to work in the morning consists of Connor pointing out objects (truck, car, airplane, choo choo train, houses, birds, tractors, school bus, city bus, etc.). He always reports the weather in the morning and notifies me if it’s dark or light, or foggy or clear. He enjoys talking about the sun rising and likes to look for the moon at night. Lately, we’ve been working on colors and Connor is picking them up fast. When driving now, Connor will say “Green light… Go!” and “Red light… Stop!” He’s becoming a back seat driver!

• Connor loves to sing and perform! He really seems to enjoy music just like his Daddy. Some of his favorite songs right now include The ABC’s, Do You Know the Muffin Man, You Are My Sunshine, Down in My Heart, Wheels on the Bus, and Jesus Loves Me. He also loves to listen to the radio and often sings along with popular songs, which always gives Michael and me a good laugh! Connor often chooses music during our play time… he enjoys playing the drums, piano, guitar, and tambourines. He’ll often hand out instruments to Michael and I and we’ll have our own marching band in our living room. Connor has great rhythm and likes to dance. He’ll watch his reflection in our sliding glass door or our closet door mirrors and really put on a show!

• Connor is such a loving boy. His random acts of affection just melt our hearts. Frequently, out of nowhere, Connor will come up to us and say, “I love you soooo much Mommy/Daddy.” He’ll follow it with a big hug and a kiss. A fun activity that he started is kissing us through each banister on the stairwell… it’s a great way to get lots of kisses because he doesn’t miss one slat. Connor is also very encouraging and gracious. He often says “Mommy, Good job _______!” The blank could be anything from driving, cooking, cleaning, brushing teeth, etc. He’s always telling us that we’re doing a good job. It sounds funny, but it’s a nice reassurance that we’re on the right track!

• Connor is also very helpful! He is always trying to help and assist us. Connor helps us unload the dishwasher by putting all of his dishes away in his cupboard. He also helps by pushing the wet laundry into the dryer for me. Connor is in charge or giving Buddy his treats each day (and he never forgets this responsibility). Connor is also starting to feed Buddy too. Connor is usually very tidy, putting his shoes and dirty clothes away and picking up his toys.

• Connor continues to be very social. Everywhere we go, he makes new friends. He has many friends that he just adores- including the kids at day care (Isabel, Ximena, Alaijah, and Kaitlyn). We also have lots of friends that we have playdates with including Lilliana, Sophia, Jackson, and Maddie. It’s so fun to see Connor play with kids his own age. He talks about his friends a lot and you can tell he thinks of them often. Last weekend, Michael and I took Connor to Chuck E. Cheese, and he chose to get a bracelet for Lilliana with his tickets. What a thoughtful boy! Already knows how to treat a lady! He must learn this from his wonderful Daddy!

• Connor continues to be very athletic. He loves to run, jump, and climb! He enjoys playing catch and baseball with Daddy. We’re often amazed at how good he can throw and bat already. He’s learning to catch well too. I think we’ve got a future SF Giants player… but I may be just a proud mommy. I just took him to the park this week (because the sun was shining!) and I was amazed at how independent he is on all the play equipment! He was climbing each structure, hanging from bars, and going down all the slides independently. Such a strong boy!

• Connor is completely toilet-trained during the day now. He takes great pride in his big boy underpants and is very diligent in letting us know any time he has to go to the bathroom.

• For the most part, we’ve been really blessed with a healthy child over the last six months. Connor hadn’t had a cold or illness in what seemed like a very long time. Just last week, though, he came down with some cold symptoms and was complaining of ear pain. I took him to the doctor, and after a very torturous ear flushing, the doctor confirmed that he had a double ear infection. It seemed like it had been an eternity since he had an ear infection and I was hopeful we were already passed them. Oh well! After a day on the antibiotics, Connor was back to himself! Such a trooper!

• Connor also seems to enjoy art and creative play. He often draws pictures and our Art Wall at home is getting pretty full. Connor enjoys playing playdough and he “cooks” different things for us to eat. Connor enjoys going to Art Beast where he gets to explore with paint, clay, instruments, puppetry, etc. He’s such a creative, imaginative little boy.

• Lastly, Connor has a beautiful sense of humor which I’m sure he got from Michael. He makes up jokes that he’ll tell us (which often, we’re not sure what the joke really is), and then he’ll start cracking up afterwards. I can already tell he has an interest in making others laugh and bringing joy to others. What a lovely trait to have! Hearing Connor’s laugh is the most wonderful thing… he has a normal laugh that he does often, but every now and then something really makes him laugh and he lets out the most adorable giggle. I could listen to that giggle all day long!

These are just some of the things I can think of. If you have something to add, or a special moment you’d like to share, please add it as a comment!

Happy Half Birthday Son! You are an amazing little boy and we’re so happy to be your parents. We love you!