Happy 15 Month Birthday!
Dear Connor,
Today, you turned 15 months old. And as I look back, I feel like I can finally say to you “Connor – you’re getting it” and by “it”, I don’t mean sleep, but I do mean a whole lot of other things. Nary a day went by this month when I didn’t have to stop and do some sort of double-take as you displayed some new form of comprehension. And on occasion, that newfound knowledge was used for good rather than evil.
First, those animals. Not only can you make the sounds you made last month (sheep, cow, cat), you’ve added horse “neigh”, dog “ruf ruf” or panting, and snake “ssss”. You can identify each of the barnyard animals in a puzzle you received from Teo just last week (a gift from the Big Birthday Bash the moms group held) and you’re really trying to say a lot of words – like Pappy, hippo, and Bella.
You also seem to understand so many things around the house. Last Saturday, I taught you where your shoes belonged. Sunday, your dad asked you where you shoes were and you quickly went to retrieve them. You will also put them away, if asked. Since the shoe storage seemed to be going well, I also showed you where your coat belonged (a little hook in the hall closet) and on Monday, when Emma got ready to take you to the park, she asked out loud “Connor, where’s your coat” never expecting to get an answer from you, and you promptly went right to the closet door, opened it, and showed her your coat. Boy was she proud! And then Thursday morning, your dad and you were playing with the Turtle peek-a-block builder that Uncle Mike gave you and I said “Connor, show your daddy that there are four more blocks you can build with inside the alligator” and you turned around, opened up the gator’s back and retrieved those four blocks. Our mouths dropped in amazement. We’re getting right on those applications for college, because we suspect you’ll be heading away from home any day now.
You also figured out that dog with the string – and he is among your most loyal friends now, yapping at your heel as you walk up and down the hallway, around the couch, through the kitchen, back down the hallway, to the playroom – and then repeat. On occasion, you’ll turn a little too sharply and the doggie will fall down, but you’ll either call for assistance or pick it up yourself.
Overall, this was a crappy weekend. You caught some sort of bug and we’ve gone through a lot of cloth diapers wiping your nose. You did seem to enjoy getting out to the zoo, and it was quite marvelous when we saw the young elephant swimming in the water playing with an enormous ball. A sloth bear also came right up to the window to say hello to you. There were times today when you were just miserable, but other times we thought you had turned a corner. During one bright spell we went to a shoe store and you are now the proud owner of a pair of shoes with hard soles. The first time I put them on you, you picked up your feet as if you had bubble gum stuck to them, carefully walking around the store in very exaggerated fashion. The saleswoman said this was totally normal. In almost no time at all, you were walking like a little man. Another milestone crossed – real shoes.
And finally, Connor, I knew it was just a matter of time – but yesterday, when nothing seemed to be feeling right, and I was holding you and trying to somehow transfer the pain you felt to me, you reached out for your daddy. And like other times before, your daddy gladly took the load, only this time, it was really clear that all of your faith had been put in him. This is one of those beautiful milestones, Connor. You’ve made it perfectly clear that when the chips are down, you know you have two parents who would do anything for you, and you’ve learned to lean on each of them to figure out what will work the best.
Love,
Mama
Today, you turned 15 months old. And as I look back, I feel like I can finally say to you “Connor – you’re getting it” and by “it”, I don’t mean sleep, but I do mean a whole lot of other things. Nary a day went by this month when I didn’t have to stop and do some sort of double-take as you displayed some new form of comprehension. And on occasion, that newfound knowledge was used for good rather than evil.First, those animals. Not only can you make the sounds you made last month (sheep, cow, cat), you’ve added horse “neigh”, dog “ruf ruf” or panting, and snake “ssss”. You can identify each of the barnyard animals in a puzzle you received from Teo just last week (a gift from the Big Birthday Bash the moms group held) and you’re really trying to say a lot of words – like Pappy, hippo, and Bella.
You also seem to understand so many things around the house. Last Saturday, I taught you where your shoes belonged. Sunday, your dad asked you where you shoes were and you quickly went to retrieve them. You will also put them away, if asked. Since the shoe storage seemed to be going well, I also showed you where your coat belonged (a little hook in the hall closet) and on Monday, when Emma got ready to take you to the park, she asked out loud “Connor, where’s your coat” never expecting to get an answer from you, and you promptly went right to the closet door, opened it, and showed her your coat. Boy was she proud! And then Thursday morning, your dad and you were playing with the Turtle peek-a-block builder that Uncle Mike gave you and I said “Connor, show your daddy that there are four more blocks you can build with inside the alligator” and you turned around, opened up the gator’s back and retrieved those four blocks. Our mouths dropped in amazement. We’re getting right on those applications for college, because we suspect you’ll be heading away from home any day now.
You also figured out that dog with the string – and he is among your most loyal friends now, yapping at your heel as you walk up and down the hallway, around the couch, through the kitchen, back down the hallway, to the playroom – and then repeat. On occasion, you’ll turn a little too sharply and the doggie will fall down, but you’ll either call for assistance or pick it up yourself.
Overall, this was a crappy weekend. You caught some sort of bug and we’ve gone through a lot of cloth diapers wiping your nose. You did seem to enjoy getting out to the zoo, and it was quite marvelous when we saw the young elephant swimming in the water playing with an enormous ball. A sloth bear also came right up to the window to say hello to you. There were times today when you were just miserable, but other times we thought you had turned a corner. During one bright spell we went to a shoe store and you are now the proud owner of a pair of shoes with hard soles. The first time I put them on you, you picked up your feet as if you had bubble gum stuck to them, carefully walking around the store in very exaggerated fashion. The saleswoman said this was totally normal. In almost no time at all, you were walking like a little man. Another milestone crossed – real shoes.And finally, Connor, I knew it was just a matter of time – but yesterday, when nothing seemed to be feeling right, and I was holding you and trying to somehow transfer the pain you felt to me, you reached out for your daddy. And like other times before, your daddy gladly took the load, only this time, it was really clear that all of your faith had been put in him. This is one of those beautiful milestones, Connor. You’ve made it perfectly clear that when the chips are down, you know you have two parents who would do anything for you, and you’ve learned to lean on each of them to figure out what will work the best.
Love,
Mama
posted by Elaine at 8:58 AM
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