Friday, April 8, 2011

Playdate Thursday April 7, 2011

Connor Connor Connor Connor Connor - was absolutely delightful. He giggled, laughed, snuggled, played and led me around with the old finger-pull trick like a puppy on a leash. Up the stairs, down the stairs, into the dining room, out to the garage. And granny followed where ever he led.

He amazed his admiring Granny; after we tooted our paper horns at each other he threaded my paper tube into his paper tube. This seemed to me like a complex mathematical engineering feat that he did with out being introduced to the theory, but that bloomed of his very own deductive reasoning. I'm not smart enough to know why this was a great leap forward, but I am smart enough to know it was.

What a great evening; we tooted horns, gnawed on elbows, climbed the stairs, rode the rocking horse and clanged the trains around about.

I watched him put his little rubber frog boots on the wrong feet, so I pulled them off to correct it and he kept trying to put them on the wrong feet -- repeatedly. And then it was as if a grand illumination hit his wee firing synapses brain and he thought, well okay, you are right and he put them on the right feet and took off. He loves his rubber frog boots.

I saw him ride his trike around the garage. I saw him cry when bike riding time was over. He loves that trike. I saw him attack, and attack is the only word I can think of that describes his fascination over his mom's new car. He moved every button, lever, switch, or control in attack mode. He watched me watch him mess with the switches. I still don't know if her loves the car, the controls or granny watching. Too too funny.

The boy was all boy last night.
The boy is thriving, maturing.
The boy is growing up.

Potty training starts Monday. Well, we'll see.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Playdate Thursday March 17. 2011

To begin with Connor was dressed all in green, not because Mama remembered it was St Patrick's Day but because Shannon at daycare couldn't stand it that Connor was in an orange t-shirt so she went to Fred Meyers and fixed him up. He was so dang cute.

He left daycare with his green hat and his bag of goodies; green necklaces, gold coins, candy. When we arrived at his house the new thing he did was NOT go to his daycare candy or Grannies treat tin. He preceded me up the stairs to let Brandy out.

This seems to be his new job or new thrill, going up the stairs, because first we went up the stairs to let Brandy out. Then we went up the stairs to put his gold coins in his penny bank, then he wanted to go up the stairs for me to change his diaper, but I nixed that much to Connor's dissatisfaction. Diapers are to be changed on the changing table upstairs and when I tossed his little self on the floor by the fireplace he let me know he was one unhappy Connor.

The other really cute thing he did was when we went to the bathroom for me to go potty he brought me his new little toilet seat. If it was what he was supposed to use he was sure it was what I was supposed to use. Try explaining to a single track two year old mind that granny really doens't need it but it was really sweet of him to get it for me.

Connor likes to get a thing right. When he was putting his Cars video away he very carefully put each piece of paper under the clips for the paper before he closed the lid. It was done right.

He ate his cookies, didn't want the necklaces, put the hat on everyone at some point or other, played with his car tower for a long long time, and then started showing me how well he can tear paper. His easel was there and he nipped a little piece, looked at me and then ran and threw the trash away. Then he nipped another little piece, looked at me and then ran and threw that one away. He kept nipping bigger and bigger pieces until mom came home and put a stop to it. No more tearing paper for the wee guy, now I know why he kept looking at me. Just waiting for me to say no.

Sorry little guy, we will have to find a new game next playdate. Something that will be so dang cute.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Playdate Thursday March 3, 2011

I mean, I mean, I mean I drove to daycare and picked Connor up. I got to see him run across the floor to greet me. Nothing is finer than Connor running across the floor to greet me..

Granny is back. We did the whole playdate routine from pick up to bye-bye.

Connor did get a little miffed with granny because he wanted his afternoon milk, he kept whining and going to the refrigerator for his milk. There wasn't a drop of milk in the house. He didn't blame mommy and daddy, he didn't blame the refrigerator, he didn't blame the dog -- he blamed his good for nothing Granny who couldn't produce the goods.

Connor was a little woe-begone for the afternoon. Nothing much interested him for long. Puzzles were left lying, trains left un-crashed, books left un-read. Even Brandy was left un-scolded. The only time he really enjoyed was when we played the growling game crawling up the stairs. Nobody will ever see me do that except Connor.


Late in the evening, after mommy and daddy came home, I had the pleasure of seeing Connor go to his toy stash and tug at the Thomas the Train tent I got him for his birthday. Out of the thousands of toys un-played with he wanted the tent set up. He still needs a little help with the pop up part of the tent, but he sure knows how to crawl, hide, flap, flip, and giggle in a hidy hole.

...And I got to see Stephanie crawl through the tunnel. Skinny skinny girl.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Nothing Could Be Finer Than Spending Time With Connor

The winter has melted away and I have been distracted with Claire's and my illnesses and injuries, but two weeks ago the daycare was closed and I was able to babysit Connor for mom and dad. Grandma Fortener took the morning hours so I could go for my diabetic eye exam, but I got the rest of the day.

Connor was sparkling. He smiled, talked, played and enchanted me with his sweet demeanor. We did whatever Connor wanted to do. He showed me how to play his computer games; how to turn on his mum's computer, how to locate the game, start the game, and then play the game. It's an interesting world when the two year old can show the old granny the how to's of technology.

It was a day of regularness: no grand event, no illness, no particular need, just Connor in his world and granny watching. He interacted with me, with the dog, with the refrigerator, the high chair, the books, toys, games and puzzles. Connor threw himself gently onto the floor as though he was going to throw a temper tantrum, but no noise came out of his mouth. He just gently went down and lowered his head, I read it as a sign that it was nap time and took him to bed. He lay down and I think he was asleep before I was out of the room.

Two hours later a smiley Connor woke up for more regularness.
He is a wonder and a delight.
We played, read and puzzled until the family came home.

Here's a few pictures of the regular event.


And I get to do it again today.
Nothing could be finer than spending time with Connor.




Saturday, February 12, 2011

Nothing Could Be Finer Than Reading Time With Connor

I arrived at Connor's house and he was all happy to see me, but then he turned and ran away. I thought, well I guess he wasn't that happy to see me. What I didn't know is he was running to collect his books and was waiting for me at the couch with the collection I had given him for Christmas before I was even in the house. AFTER he had his little treat from the treat tin we commenced to read.

We read Pat the Bunny, and Pat the Bunny, and Pat the Bunny again until he moved on to The Polar Bear book, The Big Red Barn book, the Nursery Rhyme book, the Foot Book, the Blue Truck book and also more than once the I Want a Pet book. He sat in my lap one book at a time. We would finish one and he would dash off to put it away and bring another one. NOTHING could be finer than reading time with Connor.

His nose had miraculously dried up and I was there for two hours and didn't wipe it once.

I fell right after his 2nd birthday party so I didn't blog about it, but the party was wonderful; sweet, cute and loving. He was surrounded by family that loved him.

Here are a few photo's of the event:
Grandma Fortener and Connor
and the menfolk...

Friday, January 7, 2011

Playdate Thursday January 6, 2011



The many faces of Connor: Beauteous child.

Connor had his two year old medical check up, so I met him and mum at his house. He smiled when he heard me before he even saw me, he was waking up from a wee nap in the car when low and behold, there was granny.

He opened his personal treat tin granny carries to find the expected treat inside and munched his cookie. He tried, in vain, to open his banana and after a wee head start from granny he munched his banana too, sort of. He wasn't too impressed with the nana, but he did like peeling it. Can you munch a banana? Anyway, half of the banana was left un-munched, as was most of his chicken and peas dinner, however he did discover he could use the end of the banana as a glue stick for picking up peas. Not that he ate them, he just liked sticking his banana on them and picking them up.

Checking out his world one bit at a time, oh the things you can discover when you aren't interested in eating peas.

Mom left for her personal training class and dad wasn't home yet so Connor and I had some delightful, wonderful, superb one on one time. He scoped out his new Christmas puzzle and put it together with Kingly, no Princely confidence about seventeen times before he wandered off to explore boxes, bags, cars, binoculars, tools -- lots of tools. Then he "finger pulled" me to his books and we checked those out -- thoroughly.

Then he did his wonderful "bag" trick. He pulls any bag with a strap on it around and about, I think the heavier it is the better he likes it. He kept trying to open his mom's computer bag but it was smarter than him. Granny's bag and the lunch bag and the diaper bag he mastered a long time ago and can open like Houdini. The new bag tonight that he got his hands on was daddy's camera tri-pod bag. What a delight, it had two straps on it. He hissed at his mom, held on with all his strength, and told her a very firm NO when she tried to take it away from him. He scored that round.

He kept Brandy in line; kept telling her to "stay" or "no." Connor's job at 5:30 pm is to feed Brandy. He missed just a little bit when he dumped the food into Brandy's food dish so he kept walking around pointing to all the tidbits Brandy was missing, telling her where they were, then he started picking up the little bitty nubbins and taking them to Brandy's dish. Connor likes order in his world.

Except for the two-thousand or so toys strewn about, those he pretty much left strewn, but Connor and granny read, snuggled, crashed cars, sung, nibbled and pretty much played the evening away. Next stop on the Connor express is his big two year old birthday party scheduled for Sunday. I can't wait. Christian will be there so granny will just watch from the sidelines.

The faces of joy, of wonder, of concentration, and confidence. What's a granny to do except love the child.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Nothing Could Be Finer Than Christmas Time With Connor

It was a fine day celebrating a second Christmas with Connor. He was all smiles and joy as he explored his wondrous new delights; dishes and books and tools and flashing lights and pop gun. Connor doesn't get frantic or overwhelmed, he just moseys around picking up one thing after another and checks it out. He shared with me, and then he shared with Christian and he shared with Christian and then he shared some more. Christian was definitely the fave this Christmas day.

The cutest thing was he received Home Depot toddler tools from both sets of Grandparents. He was in tool heaven. Tools buzzed, whirred, snapped, stretched and clamped for most of the afternoon. And Connor was all smiles. That boy loves to push a button.

Nothing could be finer than Christmas time with Connor.