Connor {ten years}

Connor turned ten a week ago and it just felt so monstrous and huge. Once he started school, the years just seem to fly by. And we are now on the downhill side of when he will be an adult and leaving the house. I felt very aware of that. I felt excited and happy but also a bit sad. A lot of growing up and changing has happened over the past year. Connor didn't even want me to bring cupcakes to his class for his birthday! But that worked out anyway, as on his birthday I surprised him and took him out of school for lunch and let him stay out the rest of the day.

The older my children get, the more difficult it feels to describe them. It feels so personal and they are ever changing (and should be allowed to), so I struggle with wanting to make sure I don't put them in a box or label them, but here goes a bit about Connor. 

Connor is a brilliant person. Truly brilliant. He no longer enjoys school like he used to, mostly sighting that it is boring. But then he will come home and watch videos to learn how to do algebra. The thirst for knowledge is definitely there. Connor is still very obedient in school and also does well. His teacher glowed about him at his parent teacher conference. Connor is playing the cello at school this year and that is perfect for him. He has a knack for music and does so well. He is also doing piano lessons with Ian's mom and plays the piano at home all the time...after we moved it into his room. He really enjoys playing it or really any instrument. 

Connor says he is hungry all the time, like it is a burden. Ian and I are like, "Hello, you are growing!!!" But I guess it could be annoying to feel like you always need to eat. His current favorites to eat are breakfast sandwiches and anything seafood, though I really just keep around tuna and some imitation crab for him to snack on. He also loves teriyaki chicken. For his birthday, I took him to a sushi restaurant for lunch, which he loves, then for dinner I made orange chicken, which he also loves. 

Connor enjoys reading and I find it hard to provide him enough books to read. He particularly likes the funny/slightly inappropriate books for kids and historical books. His favorite author is Stuart Gibbs, but he has read all his books. 

Parenting kids as they get older is an interesting thing. It's being there for them, but also giving them their space. It's allowing them to make mistakes, then talking through it later. I feel privileged to have Connor as a part of our family and know he will go far in life.

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Connor {9 years}

There is just something about your first born. I feel like both of us have grown so much together over the years. Not to mention, Connor is just so sweet with his mama. He still holds my hand all the time and freely gives me hugs.

Connor is such a tender hearted and sweet boy, yet also loves to shoot you at close range with his nerf guns. He loves reading and devours books in a matter of hours. He definitely prefers realistic books and funny books to make believe. He has read a lot of history books, as well as all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and Captain Underpants. He enjoys playing with cars and going on drives with his dad. He also enjoys picking fights with his sister and brother ;) He has such an imagination as well. The things he comes up with never cease to blow my mind. Especially his ideas for making money. He has sold everything from comic books he has written, to paper airplanes. And his latest invention is an arcade game made out of a box that he operates and charges 50 cents for.

Connor also has a love for Harry Potter, which makes this mama's heart happy, as I too love it. We have read through the first three books together, reading them as the illustrated versions come out. But he has gone back and read the first two by himself as well. We have watched the first four movies together as well and he is ready for the fifth.

Connor has really expanded his palate over the past year and I have been very impressed. He loves all sorts of kinds of seafood. We make shrimp at home, but he loves going out for poke bowl and eating the raw fish. He has even gotten to the point where he will eat more and more of the meals I cook without them having to be modified, like he will now eat things with sauce and has even eaten some of the soups I have made this fall. He is just more and more willing to try things.  I am really proud of him and it gives me hope for our other picky eater.

Connor recently started taking showers in the morning before school. It was all his idea and I have to say, it just feels so grown up! There is just so little I have to remind him to do these days and it feels weird.

Connor prefers to be home over being out and about. He likes battling me and Ian at tetherball. He also enjoys playing various board games. Though the thing you can find him doing the most is curled up with a book.


Now for a little interview with Connor:

What is your favorite:

     color - red

     food - ahi tuna

     drink - root beer

     ice cream - cookies n cream

     toy - nerf guns

     book - Diary of a Wimpy Kid

     song - all the songs from the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid

     tv show - The Andy Griffith Show

     movie - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

     thing to do - watch Harry Potter

     game - clue

     sport - soccer

     animal - leopard shark

Who is your best friend? Nixon

What do you like doing with your friends? have nerf wars

Where did you meet Nixon? I don't know, where did I? His house?

What is your favorite thing about school? I have the nicest teacher in the whole universe

What do you enjoy learning the most? math

What do you like to do on the playground? play tetherball 

Who do you play with at school? everyone who plays tetherball

What is your favorite thing about yourself? That I was born in Scotland

Three things that makes you special:

     1. How good I can read

     2. I was born in Scotland

     3. That I'm the oldest kid in my family

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Connor {8 years}

The night before Connor turned eight, I spent a bunch of time going through old pictures of him to make a photo collage. I had so much fun walking down memory lane. Moments that seem like they happened yesterday, but also feel like a lifetime ago. I really do love how pictures can take me immediately back to that moment. Then Connor got in on the action and his little comments were cracking me up. Him remembering special moments or saying how cute he was as a little kid or requesting for me to find pictures from certain times. I really enjoyed laying in his bed with him doing that. It was a really great way to spend his last night as a seven year old. 

Connor is such a special kid. He can seem so grown up at times, yet is still so tender toward me. He still lets me lay in bed with him and talk. He asks for me to go out on the playground with him at recess when I volunteer in his class. He will hold my hand on the way home from school. I hope we are always able to maintain and open and close relationship. 

Connor is still very much a first born personality. He is a natural leader and tends to do well around adults. He is a rule follower through and through, though does an excellent job pushing his sister's buttons all the time. He loves reading. In fact, that is probably an understatement. He literally reads for hours each day. He loves it that much. His current favorites are the diary of a wimpy kid series and the captain underpants series. He also really enjoyed the jake drake series and books by Roald Dahl. Him and I are still reading through the Harry Potter series together, but that's a him and I thing, so kind of separate from anything else. 

Connor has a very vivid and alive imagination and can often be found drawing complicated things and making up story lines to go with them. He loves playing board games. He isn't picky, almost any will do. He loves playing with friends. He can often be found awake literally hours past his bedtime...poor guy has always struggled going to sleep at night! And he is generally the first kid up in the morning too. 

Connor is quite the picky eater, though has really branched out lately. I laugh about him being picky because he literally will not eat meat, yet he loves shrimp. He would drink gatorade all the time if I let him. His favorite breakfast is currently eggs over medium. The yolks have to be runny or he won't eat them. He also loves egg nog and ramen noodle soup. Oh, and let us not forget munchies and cheetos. He may be picky, but sure loves his junk food! Actually, he will eat pretty much any fruit. He's just not a fan of veggies or meat. 

Here's Connor's answers to the same questions I've asked him for the past several years:

What's your full name? Connor Thomas Booth Grimbleby

How old are you? 8

How tall are you? 4 1/2 feet

What color are your eyes? Blue

What color is your hair? Brown 

What is your favorite...

    color - red

    food - ramen noodles and mac & cheese

    drink - root beer, orange crush and dr pepper (this made me laugh. I know he has had root beer before, but I never

              knew he had had the other drinks before, so who knows!)

    ice cream - cherry sherbert 

    toy - bey blades (he just got them at his birthday party)

    book - Captain Underpants

    song - I don't have a favorite song

    tv show - I don't really watch tv (hahahahah!)

    movie - Cars 2 (he swore he hated these movies up until a week ago!)

    thing to do - play 

    game - monopoly

    sport - soccer

    animal - allosaurus

Who is your best friend? Nixon

What is your favorite thing about yourself? That I'm the oldest one in my family 

Three things that make you special:

    1. I'm the oldest one in my family

    2. I have a lot of friends

    3. I know how to play chess

I asked if he wanted to add anything and he said he wanted to add that his favorite app is super mario cart run. And I would like to add that I found out he was telling everyone proudly on his birthday that he was born in Scotland. That made me smile. I have often wondered what he would think about that the older he gets and it was fun to find out from some of the adults at his school that he was telling all them...which of course led to questions of why we lived there and such. 

This past eight years has been quite the journey. This boy of mine has stretched me more than I knew I could stretch. He has pushed my patience. He has made me love more than I knew possible. And he has made me swell with joy and pride more than I knew I could. That's eight years down and a lifetime left to go. 

In case you want to take a walk down memory lane with Connor, here are his updates from years past - 7 years, 6 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, 2 years, 1 year and 6 months.

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Connor {7 years}

One of my hopes when I take milestone pictures of my kids, is to capture their personalities at that exact moment. These days, Connor is generally reluctant to be in front of the camera. He does it if I ask, but that is about it. Even when he is doing something cute or funny and he sees me go for my phone, he will yell, "don't take my picture!" and stop whatever he is doing. I know all that is part of the process of growing up and becoming more aware. But I also like to document to remember. 

I would say Connor has a lot of the classic first born traits. He is a rule follower through and through. Outside of the home, he really doesn't want to let people down and tries following all the rules. We hear this a lot from his teachers. He is very social. He definitely likes being around people all the time. He is getting better and better at playing alone, but being with friends (or other kids in general) is definitely his thing. He is a boy of routine. In fact, he sits at the same table at lunch, in the same spot, every day, regardless of who is sitting at that table. He tells me of eating with total strangers rather than friends because he wants to always sit at that table. 

Connor is all about Star Wars these days. He could tell you more Start Wars facts than you care to know. He made a lego layout one day where he made all his own episodes, naming each episode and creating characters. He also likes dressing up like the characters. Another thing he really enjoys is playing games. Battleship, Monopoly, Clue Jr, Hangman...the list goes on. He still really enjoys books and is very good at reading these days. In fact, he said his favorite birthday present was the brick bible (a lego picture bible) we got him. Connor also loves writing stories and drawing pictures to go along with those stories. 

This little interview will probably be the best way to get a little insight into Connor at seven years old: 

What's your full name? Connor

How old are you? 7

How tall are you? I don't know

What color are your eyes? Blue

What color is your hair? Brown 

What day of the week is it? Monday

What is your favorite...

    color - blue

    food - ramen noodles and my favorite bread (locally sourced sourdough bread)

    drink - apple juice, I mean icee

    ice cream - vanilla

    toy - all of them

    book - the brick bible

    song - get down (from church)

    tv show - my little pony

    movie - star wars

    thing to do - play with toys, watch tv, eat, get presents, playing with friends, having sleepovers, playing with my cousin Tanner

    game - monopoly and battleship

    sport - baseball

    animal - trex

Who is your best friend? Tanner (his cousin)

Three things that make you special:

    1. I'm good at batting

    2. I have a lot of toys

    3. I was born in Scotland

^^ I love the genuine smile on his face in this jumping picture

In case you want to take a walk down memory lane with Connor, here are his updates from years past - 6 years, 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, 2 years, 1 year and 6 months. And here was Connor's interview from last year. 

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Connor {6 years}

I feel like the last year has seen so much change in Connor. Kind of like how drastic the first year of life is. He really has taken off over the past year and the change has been enormous. He is just so much more independent. Connor's love of learning is huge. Even his teacher noted this to us. He really does have a thirst for knowledge and constantly asks questions that I really just don't know the answer to. The amount of knowledge he has is huge and very soon we will no longer be able to spell things out in front of him. 

Some of Connor's favorites include his legos, playing dress up and really anything that has to do with the solar system. He has developed a love of Curious George ever since he came home with us for a weekend. He has gotten really into nonfiction books and asks me all the time for books that aren't "made up"…like I said, a thirst for knowledge. He plays school almost every day with Isla and if Isla won't participate, Ian or I are his students. Connor still has a sweet tooth like no other and will always choose junk food over other food. But he also loves pears, yogurt, all things made with (yellow) cheese and ramen noodles. 

Connor still likes someone to lay with him at night when he goes to bed. But, more often than not, he stays in his own bed these days. And this kid will wake with the sun…actually, because of the shorter days, he will wake before the sun. Sometimes I can convince him to go back to sleep, other times not. I really think it has to do with him waking from Ian's alarm (at 4:40am) and not going back to sleep…awesome. But, he has gotten really good at quietly playing in his room, if I can't convince him to go back to sleep. 

Connor is so incredibly social. He is the complete opposite of me. His ideal day would be surrounded by friends every waking hour. I feel like because of this, he has gotten real good at playing with Isla. They fight less and play much more together these days, which is really nice. Outside of Isla, he has started this thing about only playing with boys and not girls…he actually will play with girls, but will tell me that he only wants to play with boys. Not sure what it's about, but it's funny to watch these things just develop in kids. 

I am so proud of this kid. He is so incredibly energetic, yet is such a rule follower (for rules other than his parents make!). He is so social and friendly. And his thirst for knowledge is incredible. I am so enjoying watching him grow up and seeing the person he is becoming. 

In case you want to take a walk down memory lane with Connor, here are his updates from years past - 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, 2 years, 1 year and 6 months. 

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Connor {5 years}

Weight: 40lbs, 8oz

Height: 44.75 inches

I was thinking about how I would describe Connor to someone that had never met him. The kid is full of life. He has crazy amounts of energy. And, as my brother learned first hand last weekend, he literally doesn't stop moving until he falls asleep. Connor LOVES being around other kids. In fact, he is disappointed if we go somewhere and there aren't other kids for him to play with. He ie fiercely independent, yet when it is time for bed, he still wants someone to lay with him until he goes to sleep. 

Some of Connor's current favorites include egg nog (a boy after my own heart!), milk, icees, yogurt, mac & cheese and cinnamon apples. Connor would try to live off junk food alone if his mean mom would let him! Connor will still pick a minion shirt out every day, if I let him. Connor still really enjoys The Berenstain Bears books and still will calm down and let me read to him. In fact, he asks to be read to at bed time. Connor's current favorite tv show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Despicable Me 2 is his current favorite movie. It was The Lego Movie, then he switched back to Despicable Me 2.  

Connor has a very intricate and detail oriented mind. He always wants to know how things work. And he doesn't just want a simple answer. He wants the nitty gritty of exactly how the power moves through the power cords. Often times, I find myself having to tell him that I don't know the answer to the detailed question he is asking. Of course, then he wants to know why I don't know the answer! 

Connor really seems to be having a thirst for learning to read. He now knows that you read from left to right...and I think this has also helped him stay sharp on his rights and lefts ;) He always wants me to tell him what things say and he likes me to sound out the words for him as he points to them. 

Connor still sneaks into our bed every night and cuddles up close against me. Given that I did this for yeeeaaars, I don't expect it to stop anytime soon. Most mornings he wakes before me and goes and finds Ian to give him breakfast. Then, as soon as Ian needs to leave for work, he pounces on top of me and tells me to get up...like I said, he is full of energy.  

I don't know what I have a harder time wrapping my head around, the fact that Connor is five or the fact that I have been a mom for five years! So much of this parenting gig seems like it just happened yesterday, yet so many of the details are already fuzzy. I'm thankful for this boy of mine. Thankful for the noise, joy and laughter he brings to our home. 

 

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Connor {4.5 years}

Weight: 37.8 lbs

Height: 44 inches

Accomplishments:

Recognizes all the numbers

Can count up to 100

Gets himself dressed

Buckles himself into his car seat

Can spell "Connor"

Watching kids grow up is a blessing because you can watch them grow and change before your very eyes. Like when you are driving and hear from the back seat "Connor, C-O-N-N-O-R, Connor". Or when the fear of dogs barking is gone, just gone. Day to day, it's hard to see the changes. But then they come and just smack you in the face. And the pride that comes from your child learning and growing is like nothing I have experienced before. 

Some of Connor's current favorites in life are all things Lego and Minion. He would prefer to be playing with his friends all day long, than being at home with his 'ole mom. He has an obsession with ham, thanks to my dad. And really, he would rather eat sweets over anything else. Water is about the worst thing in the world to him and he will choose milk to drink over water any day. Connor has declared his favorite color blue. He still enjoys reading, which makes me really happy. Some of his current favorite books are The Berenstain Bears and too much junk food, Warning:Do Not Open this Book, The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark and anything Dr. Seuss.

Connor's imagination is alive and well. He can often be heard in bed, talking away. The same goes for car rides. And I always find it fascinating and funny when he starts talking as soon as his eyes open in the morning. I figure it is something he was dreaming about, like, "I want to go get a minion shirt where the minions are at the beach." He has gotten really into role playing with his legos and really enjoys having there be a good and bad guy. And if Ian is playing with him "one more time" before bed, Connor won't arrest/catch the bad guy, so he can stay up as long as possible. 

There are so many things that Connor can do on his own now, it is almost weird to me. He can fully get himself dressed. And if he doesn't like what I have laid out for him, he goes in his drawers and picks out new clothes. Basically, if I didn't lay out a minion shirt, he goes looking for one until he finds it! He can also completely buckle himself in his car seat. He is still in a 5-point harness. While he is buckling himself in he repeats, "Don't go, don't go, don't go...ok you can go now!" It's actually really cute. 

Connor has figured out that people seem to come in pairs. He loves asking people, "Who is your man?" or "Who is your girl?". Then it is usually followed with a, "Is your man at work?" He is definitely learning how our family works and has learned through asking so many questions that other families don't work the same. After learning that one of my friend's works and her husband stays at home, he suggested to another friend that maybe she should go get a job so her man could stay at home. It was pretty funny. He also suggested that my sister-in-law and brother should get together after realizing that they each didn't have someone in their lives. That kid! 

Connor is definitely a daddy's boy. He much prefers his daddy to tuck him in at night to me. If Ian isn't around, then I will do, but he then will ask over and over, "When will daddy be home?" Ian and Connor have taken to reading books in bed with a flashlight and it is pretty sweet. Connor still sneaks into our bed pretty much every night at some point. Some days it isn't until Ian is already up for the day. Other's, it is right after we got into bed. But I don't mind. I like having a cuddle bug around. 

If you care to check out past updates of Connor, you can here. 

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Connor {four}

Weight: 36 lbs

Height: 40.5 inches

Accomplishments:

recognizes his name when he sees it somewhere

knows what traffic lights mean...and tells you if he thinks you ran a red light!

can swing himself

can ride a scooter and his balance bike

Favorites:

teacher at preschool is Eileen

friend at preschool is Jessie

toy is legos and minions

food is all things cheese

jumping off of things

Four is a funny age. This little person is completely their own person, yet they still have this little dependence on you. And they aren't quite to the age where they don't want that dependence on you (which I am oh-so-glad about). Thus I still get those cuddles I want but Connor will take himself to the bathroom (for the most part). 

This kid is full of personality. He loves to talk. Literally any time we drive around, he talks the WHOLE time. For the most part I find it super cute. Especially when he is talking away (asking questions and all) and I respond and he says "I not talking to you mama. I talking to myself." I saw somewhere the other day that a four year old asks more than 300 questions a day. I would certainly say this is true with Connor. And I generally find it rather cute because I realize he is trying to learn everything about the world. What isn't cute is if I say didn't see a sign that he had a question about and it then leads to a meltdown because I can't properly answer his question. (Thankfully Connor meltdowns are nothing compared to Isla meltdowns!) I try to make sure and challenge Connor too by telling him to tell me the answer to a question he knows or asking him to count things for me. 

Connor is a very social little guy and would happily play with other kids all day. And I find it funny when he describes the kids he had fun playing with by what they were wearing. "the boy in the striped gray shirt." And slowly Connor is actually learning the kids names in his class and no longer describing them by their clothes. Except for the girls. He seems to have no interest in the girls. 

Food wise Connor seems to be all over the place. Sometimes he eats hardly anything, other times he eats everything and keeps asking for more. What he liked yesterday, he doesn't like today. But in general "he eats what we eat". Usually that looks like him eating the meat, pasta/rice and fruit on his plate and leaving the vegetables behind. Oh and the kid LOVES butter and bread. Love is almost an understatement. I think he would eat a stick of butter if I let him. Which this is funny to me because we never use butter at our house. 

Connor goes to sleep every night in his room. Thankfully he grew out of wanting his overhead light on and is fine with just a nightlight. He likes music playing...because of those pesky dogs...as well. Ian usually puts him to bed and lays with him until he falls asleep. Most nights that is just a few minutes because he doesn't nap so he goes to sleep easily. Most nights Connor also finds his way to our bed. I never know when he does it because he literally doesn't cry or anything. He wakes up and crawls into our bed (almost always between Ian and I) all by himself. 

And because I figured another whole post on Connor's birthday party would be a little overkill, here are a couple pictures of him getting sung happy birthday to then blowing out his candle. 

Connor had a ton of fun running around and playing with his friends at his party.  And of course enjoyed his presents. He wanted to open and play with each present he unwrapped, but I kept him going. Of course, all afternoon he ran around playing with a balloon one of his friends bought him...see, its the little things in life! 

Happy birthday little man! I hope you felt special on your day!