Connor Fun

I thought you would like to see something that makes you smile today. This is a little video of me showing Connor his picture on my phone and him laughing at it...now that I say it, I realize this may be something only a mother finds cute!

In other Connor news, he seems to have a love/hate relationship with other kids. When at the movies yesterday (a mom & baby screening) we were sitting by a mom with a 15 month old. I thought Connor would have so much fun playing with her. Nope. She wanted to play with him so bad and he just completely ignored her...well, except when he used her to stand himself up or poke her in the eyes! And today I watched my friend's 2 1/2 year old. Connor was so excited to play with her and she would scream and cry when he got close! Everything she was playing with, he wanted to play with. It was drama!

Transition

I don’t do good living in limbo. Not knowing what is happening next just stresses me out. And I literally feel physically ill. I hate it. That is what has been going on for the past few weeks in our lives.

Basically it became apparent that Scotland was no longer the place for us. It was sudden, yes, but not necessarily unexpected. For a long time now I have been praying for our future. Praying that God’s will be done in our lives and things happen in his timing. I guess his timing has come!

After knowing we were going to leave Scotland, doors started opening up. Possibly too many doors. Options create stress…for me anyway. Ian and I talked over and over about which “door” was the best fit for our little family. The problem was, no door was bad and no door was perfect, making it difficult to make a decision. We weighted the pros and cons, talked about our personal feelings and came up with a decision. A decision that shocked some of the people closest to us (well, close to me anyway).

We decided to move to Modesto, California. Only one of the most miserable cities in America (according to Forbes)…and the car theft capital of America. But, it’s where we are from…well, Ian anyway (I actually only spent 6 years of my life there). And given how much we have given our future to God, I am thinking it is where he wants us as well.

There is a sadness in my heart about leaving Scotland. We have created a life here. Made friends here. Saying goodbye to most of these people is exactly that, goodbye. We won’t see most of them again. And that is sad.

There is also an uncertainty in my heart. Moving is never easy. And with this move, we are temporarily moving in with my parents…talk about feeling like a kid again! We have to sort out a loan and find a house to buy in this buyers market. Also, we have to face another 3 month wait for our stuff to arrive from Scotland. Once all that happens and we settle into our new home, I will be content. The moving will be done (hopefully) for a while.

Also, we are used to living in a different culture. Now we will have to get re-acquainted with the culture we left behind. I don’t want to loose the good characteristics I have picked up in these past three years.

But looking ahead, I am excited. I get to live by my family again. I haven’t lived by my parents since I moved out of their house! And I haven’t lived by my brother since 2004. I get to actually hang out with my friends in Modesto that I have kept in touch with through all these years. Good friends. Friends who have been thru it all with me. That is probably the most exciting part for me.

I don’t do good living in limbo. But I am keeping my eyes on the future. December 9th will probably come quicker than I want it to, but at the same time can’t come quick enough.

Veggie Man

Connor loves his veggies and that makes me so happy. We give him pieces of red pepper, celery, carrot and cucumber and he eats it. Watching him eat it warms my heart. Ian and I love our vegetables and its definitely nice to see Connor do the same.

This weekend we gave Connor some corn on the cob for the first time. I think he had fun eating it because it was messy. He seemed to mostly gnaw on the end and I wasn't sure how much corn he actually got off. But, I saw a bunch of it in his poop the next day, so I know he got some!

Connor's facial expression in this next picture is too funny. It's like he is saying, "What the heck are you trying to feed me?!?"

When Sickness Strikes

It started with Connor and soon followed to me. We both have some sort of cold/flu bug and it isn't fun. Connor is about two days ahead of me in the process. At first, I didn't understand why he was so cranky over a little cold. He stopped sleeping through the night and wanted to be held constantly during the day...and even then was cranky.

My understanding changed on Friday. I was in so much pain. My head and sinuses were throbbing in pain. I finally had to call Ian and have him come home from work to take care of Connor. And I proceeded to spend the rest of the day in bed. It was awful. I then started feeling bad for my little snot-faced boy and all he must have gone through, cold medicine free.

The worst of the pain may be over, but the sickness is now moving down into our throats and chest. Enter the coughing and the ever present snot has not given up. And, Connor loves it when we try to wipe his nose. Just coming at him with a cloth, he freaks out.

Given that I didn't want to be judged, we skipped church today. I was afraid people would say something about me turning up at the nursery with a totally sick kid.

So instead, our sick little boy gets another day of mommy and daddy all to himself...it still counts even if mommy is doped up on cold meds, right?

Mama Bear

Today my friend and I took Connor to a soft play for kids. They had a section for babies and a section for older kids. We took Connor in the section for babies and immediately put him in the ball pit. I was a little concerned that we would have a bubble bath type incident on our hands, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Connor loved the balls. He hit them with all of his might and squealed with delight.

However, in this section was also a little 4-year-old (I'm guessing his age) annoyance of a child who I will refer to as Bubba from this point on. Bubba was not in the ball pit, but was throwing the balls at us. Every time he threw a ball, his mom would tell him not to. He even hit me with all ball and his mom said to him, "How many times do I need to tell you to stop?" but didn't get up out of her chair to do anything about it. By the time Bubba hit my friend, his mom didn't even bother correcting him. The kicker came with Bubba hit Connor in the face with a ball. His mom this time told Bubba to apologize, to which he just ran away...and being the great mom that she is, she did NOTHING.

Honestly, I don't know why Bubba was in the baby section in the first place. Also, I don't understand how his mom couldn't be mortified by his behavior. I would be seriously embarassed if Connor acted like that and it wouldn't have gotten to the point that it did. It just urks me that Bubba can hit my baby in the face with something and totally get away with it. No time out. No nothing. That isn't okay. And in 15 years when Bubba is a menace to society, his poor mom will be crying her eyes out to her friends saying, "I don't understand, I wasn't a bad mother." Sure, you weren't a bad mother, but do you really think you are doing any favors to Bubba or society by allowing him to already be a brat and not listen to you at such a young age?

Oh and seriously, Bubba better watch out. If I run into him again and he does something to my precious little boy...that Bubba is going to have to deal with me throwing balls in his face!

Weekend Update - Connor Style

Connor started walking this weekend! He takes like two steps then falls flat on his face. Seriously. He doesn’t even try to break his fall, just straight down. But I am so proud of him because he just gets back up and tries again. And because I have issues, it was next to impossible for me to get a video of him walking (only got ones of him falling), so instead, here are some action shots of him trying to walk.

I LOVE the expression on Ian's face in the second picture...excitement for the accomplishment of his little boy!

And in some more Connor news, he is one smart cookie. On Sunday at church, as soon as we walked into the nursery, he started crying. I wasn’t even ready to hand him over. He just knew. And when a worker tried to take him, he dug his little nails into my skin and screamed. Such a drama king! I am told he always calms down and starts playing, but what drama!

And because it is too cute for words, a little video of Connor playing peek-a-boo with me thru our mail slot.

Oh the life of the mama raising the world’s cutest kid!

Fall

As the weather changes, we don't seem to be getting many dry days around here...not that we ever do! Most days consist of a lot of rain and a lot of wind. Because of this, Connor and I aren't leaving the house as much. It is hard to motivate myself to get soaking wet for no real reason!

Because of the weather, I don't get the obsession people have with fall. Yesterday, using one of the only dry days we have had in what seems like forever, I went outside and raked our front yard and swept the path to the house. Dirty, wet leaves are a mess and in no way, shape or form are pretty to me. And then having to pick them up with my bare hands...gross. I just kept imagining that some neighbors cat probably pooped in the yard and at any minute my hand was going to find it...poop creeps me out, but that is a whole other subject! Have no fear though, no poop touched my hands...that I know of.

But back to yesterday...Much to my surprise and delight, yesterday was a beautiful day. So besides cleaning up the front yard, Connor and I ran to the park for what will probably be one of our last times at the park before winter sets in. As always, Connor acts as if going on the swings are like a roller coaster. And his squeals with delight make so happy!


He also is so interested in other children. No matter where we are, he always stares at them.


I don't know what I have done to be blessed with such an adorable kid, but I love having him around!