Better Late Than Never - 17 Months

Conner turned seventeen months on Sept 1st. He is already almost a year and 1/2!!! I wanted to jot a couple of things down to remember so please skip this post for those who are not interested in the boring details.

• He is obsessed with keys!!! He loves cars, but especially keys. We have to hide our keys from him because he wants to carry them around, turn my car alarm off and on constantly, and try to fit the keys in any door knob or opening he can find around the house. He loves to play in the car too. I sometimes leave him playing in the car while I unload the groceries, etc. (Don't turn me in! I check on him a lot I promise!!) He jumps from the back seat to the front and pushes every button he can find. I doubt this will be safe much longer.
• He is over the top obsessed with shoes. He especially loves his new tennis shoes Nana bought him. He has to wear them every day. It is cute because he will bring 2 - 3 pairs of either mine or Zack's shoes and lay them all around us trying to put them on our feet. He loves trying our shoes on and thinks that you must wear shoes at all times when you are awake.
• He has noticed and pointed out several airplanes. It has been so fun for me to watch him pointing in the sky when he has not been prompted or shown. (Don't worry, I don't think that he is the smartest baby or anything, but it is really fun to watch him notice the world around him!)
• He loves to spin around and around, even to the point of getting dizzy and falling down.
• He blows kisses to say bye-bye. I would like to say this is reserved for pretty girls and loved ones, but he tends to even do it to guys who serve us at restaurants that we don't even know. We have got to teach him to be a little more selective.
• One of the funniest things he does now is call out for Zack. I get so tickled to hear him yell for Zack similar to what he has heard me do when I need Zack's help. He definitely calls him Da-da the majority of the time, but every now and then he throws a Zack in there. Ironically, he hasn't a clue who Jenny is :)
• I think he has gotten 5 teeth in the past month. I cannot tell exactly which ones because it is impossible to pry his little mouth open other than to brush his teeth (and he hates doing that too). He definitely has a mouthful of teeth now.
• He is biting Zack and I... mostly, it is playful biting and so far it has not happened with anyone else, but we are trying to get it under control before it happens at school. Time out seems to be the most effective form of discipline for now. Spanking just makes him laugh, which scares me for later!! Needless to say, I am already reading Dare to Discipline and plan to start on the Strong Willed Child next.

Okay, I guess that is enough for me to have down for memory sake. It is unbelievable how fast I forget things these days and hate to not be able to share some of this with him later in life.

Labor Day

We went to Oxford to spend time with Uncle T, Amy, and Baylor on Labor Day. Conner had a blast with Baylor, enjoyed meeting their BIG dog Ella, and loved celebrating the Rebel victory with his daddy, Uncle T, and Amy.

Thanks to Amy for the pictures! Conner giving knuckles! Conner and Baylor enjoying a bubble bathConner and Baylor traced in chalk.

Happy Birthday Miss Priss

Mary Bishop turned one last Friday!! It is so hard to believe that she is already a year old and this time last year Conner was welcoming her into the world. We went to Tupelo to celebrate her special birthday on Saturday. Blair did such a wonderful job with all the little details and the party was such a perfect chance to celebrate her life. Conner thoroughly enjoyed himself and cannot wait to spend time with his cousin again. We love you, birthday girl!

Back to School

It has been awhile since my last post....We have had lots of changes over the past couple of weeks!! Conner started back to school and I started back to work! Needless to say, we are working through some kinks in order to get into a new routine. It has been tough on all of us, including daddy. I know that it will get much easier every day. His teachers are great and already seem to love him so much. I feel so comfortable leaving him and know he will be happy as soon as he can work through the separation anxiety. He is also sleeping on a nap mat on a cot - CRAZY!!!, taking only one nap, and eating breakfast and lunch seated in a little chair at a little table with all of his other buddies. Is my baby boy growing up or what?

And just because a post is boring without pictures... here are a few recents:

A Few of Conner's Favorite Things

• Being outside!! I am pretty sure that he thinks every time he is with Pops he has to be outside at all times.
• Riding the four wheeler. Dad had a golf cart at their house this past weekend, but that was not fast or loud enough for Conner. He had to ride the four wheeler.
• Wearing his hat! He likes to wear it down so low that you can barely see his eyes. He has run into things at home not being able to see where he is going. I got this cute picture of he and Pops "being cool"!

• Riding the tractor (well, really anything that is green or slightly resembles a car)
  

And last, I just thought this picture of my little man with wild hair was too cute not to share!

Savoring Every Moment Together

Last week, we enjoyed several fun filled days with Conner's buddies and cousins. We started out by hitting the Splash Pad and Celebration Park playground in Gardendale with several friends from the neighborhood on Tuesday. Conner is sure going to miss spending his days with John and Ava after he starts back at school this Wednesday. We will definitely have to do some late afternoon playtime with his buddies.

On Wednesday, Gram brought our cousins, Cameron and Madeline over to Birmingham for a last hoorah before they started back to school on Thursday. We really did it up...starting at the zoo, heading to Chuck E Cheese for lunch, and then finally on to the pool for the afternoon. Conner thoroughly enjoyed their visit and cannot wait to see them again soon. Cameron even told Conner that as soon as he got a little bigger he could come spend the night at their house. Okay, Marlo, I plan to take him up on that one soon!! :)

Our friends, Laura, Ann Luckett, April, John, Ava, and Amelia Kate all joined us at the zoo. We visited the Lorikeets for the first time and Conner loved seeing all the colorful birds landing on everyone. The birds especially loved Madeline and Cameron. Conner rode the carousel for the first time and enjoyed it despite being extremely hungry!! Daddy met us at Chuck E Cheese for lunch. Conner loved Chuck E Cheese the mouse in person. He even got up on stage with him and danced. Zack also took him over to see the one walking around the restaurant where Conner proceeded to reach out and grab his nose. The boy is not afraid of anything!

To round on the week, we headed to the Galleria for another ride on the carousel with our friends Brooke and Madeline and lunch on Friday. The two of them were cute sharing a kids meal and ice cream! Madeline tried to show Conner how big girls and boys can walk around without being confined in a stroller, but as soon as I decided to let him out, he took off. He pushed the stroller around the food court and center of the mall...into everyone and everything. I think that we still have a way to go before he can be free to roam around!

Strong Willed at Sixteen

Conner turned 16 months on August 1st. It is hard to believe how fast the months are rolling by!!! He is very active and keeps me on my toes. A few of his most recent accomplishments are as follows:

• Climbing on the couch, chairs, coffee table, toys, etc - ANYTHING he can find to climb
• Pointing out his eyes, ears, nose, teeth, tongue, feet, hands, and belly button
• Jumping off the ground - Although he has been attempting to jump for several months now, he has just recently caught air once or twice.
• Walking over to our neighbor, Ms April's house and knocking on her door to see if his buddies Ava and John can come outside to play
• Pointing out Mommy, Daddy, Pops, Gram, Nana, T, and Max in person and in pictures
• Shaking his head "no" to every question (I guess I do that all the time!)

He has also developed quite a temper when he does not get his way. This mainly comes out when he is either reminded to stay out of the street or told to come inside when it is time to eat dinner. He stomps his feet and throws himself around in a such a fit! I do my best to ignore his tantrums and continue to reinforce the rules and who is boss around here :). It is hard to believe how early they start asserting their independence and will. Between Zack and I, we knew that we would definitely have a strong willed little boy!!