19 Month Catch Up

We've actually had some nice relaxing weekends since the Cotton Bowl, which has been a nice change after the Holidays. We've been home in Sugar Land the past two weekends and it's been really nice. We finally put away all of our Christmas boxes and cleaned out our garage, which was a project we'd been wanting to do for months, but didn't have the time to do it. We have also had a chance to get together with friends and even neighbors.

Last Saturday night we tried out our very first high school babysitter, who was recommended to us by a neighbor and she worked out great. As Jeff and I were leaving, we walked in to say goodbye and Connor was sitting on her lap reading stories. It was very sweet and she said he fell right to sleep. We have friends who have babysat before, but it'll be nice to have someone on hand if we need to go out sort of spur of the moment.

Last week during school, Connor got to have a half birthday party. It's sweet, because his birthday will fall after the school year, so they celebrate half birthdays. He turned 19 months, but I guess that's a half birthday. I had thought it was December, but maybe they weren't in school then either. Either way, I got to bring him in birthday treats (I made cake balls) and apparently they sang to him and he wore a birthday hat (for 2 seconds).

Not much has changed in Connor's 19th month. I would say his biggest change is his vocabulary. So I looked back at his 18 month list and I have a few more words to add. He loves to say Twuck, Dump Twuck, and Big Twuck. He still says Duh Duh, but now there are more kinds of trucks apparently. It's hard to tell which gets called which, but you can tell that's what he's saying. It's pretty cute. He also says Star, Dinner (on occasion), Snack, Buh Ba (his request for Yo Gabba Gabba the TV show. Very sad, I know), Wa Wa (water, on occasion), Bee (which means block - no idea why), Moon, Neigh Neigh (horse), Berry, Juice, he calls Oranges something, but I honestly have no idea how I'd spell it, and of course he has begun to say No. We aren't entirely sure if he understands how to use "no" but we aren't stepping up to teach him exactly.

Also, it's kind of funny, because Bye Bye means bye bye of course, but we have figured out that it also means "go away" or "I want to go bye bye." If he's scared of something, like Santa for example, he'll start quickly saying "bye bye, bye bye, bye bye" over and over again. He wants Santa to go away. Or if you are messing with him and he doesn't like it, he'll say, "bye bye" and that might mean, "yo, leave me alone."

Both Jeff and I are looking forward to when he starts saying more two word phrases. The only thing he says on a consistent basis is "Bye Bye Daddy." He'll say that every morning and sometimes just randomly during the day.

Connor has slowly but surely developed into a Daddy's boy. Honestly I'm actually OK with it. It's pretty cute how much he loves Jeff and seriously sometimes when Jeff leaves the room he starts to cry. Maizey usually hears Jeff first when he comes home at the end of the day, so when Connor hears Maizey's tail start wagging really fast he starts saying "Daddy?, Daddy?" Then he stops what he's doing and runs to the door, unless he's eating dinner. He also definitely prefers Daddy's lap. Only Jeff can get Connor to snuggle with him on the couch to watch a little football, and he always seems to fit so well in Daddy's lap when they are reading stories. We certainly have our special moments, but it's sweet to see them be so close even if I spend more time with him.

Well, enjoy some pictures from the past couple of weeks. We've had some fun.

Connor was having fun pushing around his toy elephant the other day. I had to take a picture, because it was so darn cute. He would even get upset if it fell out.

I love pushing my elephant around.

This is a good example of Connor loving snuggling with Daddy. I think they were watching playoff football. Connor does seem to like football and he definitely loves Daddy.

In case you were wondering if Connor has lost some of his cheeks at 19 months, well check this out. They are huge!!! What a cutie.

This month at school, they arranged an event called "Dads and Donuts" where the Dads got to spend an hour with their kids in the room. Of course donuts were served as well.

Jeff said it was really fun and I know Connor enjoyed having Daddy in the room for a while.

Here is Connor at school on the day of his half-birthday party. He seemed pretty happy. I'm sure he had no idea.

After a breathing treatment, Connor was a little chilly, so he bundled up in a blanket. It's been so cold here lately.

It's also been rainy and that is not easy for a little boy who wants to go outside. We've had to get creative these past couple of weeks.

I want to go outside.

Luckily, we FINALLY got Connor's mini playground and all it's pieces, so he's been loving that. It's got a basketball hoop, a soccer goal, a little ladder to climb, and a slide.

Connor sliding down his mini playground.

He also really likes to use it as a car ramp. It is tons of fun.