Bathroom Talk

Dear Connor,

Quote of the day, which you said to me on our way home from school this afternoon: "Mommy, I have to go poop. My butt is so full of poop."

Love,
Mom

Long Line

Dear Connor,

I bought a new book for you and MuiMui and you asked me where I bought it. I said I bought it online and you asked me, "Was it a long line?" Haha!

Love,
Mom

New Hairstyle

Dear Connor,

I went out to run some errands this morning, so Daddy was watching you and your sister. While he was cooking lunch, you decided to style Lila's hair and smear a huge gob of Vaseline through it. How chic . . . and sticky.

Love,

Mom

Burning Questions

Dear Connor,

Questions you asked me while you were sitting on the potty yesterday:

-Does Cookie Monster have a butt?
-Does Cookie Monster have a penis?
-What kind of penis is it?
-Is it a cookie penis?

Well, I guess that last one would be logical.

Love,
Mom

Wet Day

Dear Connor,

Well, today was a wet day in more ways than one. It was raining pretty hard when I picked you up from school this afternoon, which wasn't fun. I had to push MuiMui in her stroller with one hand and hold an umbrella with the other all while helping you with your umbrella, too (you have a kids' umbrella, but after a couple blocks, you always complain that it's too heavy to hold). That was a big enough challenge and then you said you had to pee. There are no public restrooms between your school and our house so you had to go behind a tree. So there I was: holding the stroller with one hand, holding your umbrella over you with my other and attempting to hold my own umbrella over me with my neck and shoulder while rain poured down on us. The icing on the cake? It was windy, too, and while you peed a steady stream of pee, the wind blew it onto your arm and also onto me.

Even better? When we finally arrived home, I picked Lila up out of her stroller only to find that her diaper had leaked and her pants and the stroller seat were soaked with pee. Yay.

Love,
Mom

You're Four Years Old!

Dear Connor,

As you may recall, at your birthday party last year, you fell backward off of a park bench and hit your head so hard that we had to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital. At your birthday party this year, we very thankfully didn't have to call 911 but about an hour after it started, you disappeared.

Your party was at an ice cream parlor and we had booked the whole place for your bash. One minute you were dancing with your friends while the Fresh Beat Band album was playing over the parlor's sound system, the next, Daddy asked me where you were and I didn't see you anywhere. I ran to the front of the shop: no Connor. I ran to the back of the shop and looked in the bathroom: no Connor. I ran back to the front of the shop and still couldn't find you, so I started to panic that you might have sneaked outside and gone into the street while no one was watching you. 

Fortunately, that's when your friend Bella's mom looked under one of the tables and found you sitting under it, quietly hiding from all of the chaos that generally comes with a big party of 23 adults and 21 kids (of which many are *loud* preschoolers). A wave of relief washed over me but yeesh, can we please have a birthday where you don't give me a heart attack?!

Your party actually had a lot more drama than I expected, as we got a glimpse of your teen years and the potential heartache you and your friends will experience. Hailey became a little jealous when she arrived at the party and saw you sitting next to Bella. And you and Marcus got into a shouting match when you both wanted to hug Bella. Four going on fourteen, apparently.

Missing child incidents and teenage drama aside, the rest of the party was fun! You had a blast working on art projects, dancing with your friends and eating your weight in sugar when you consumed two chocolate-iced cookies, a lollipop and two scoops of chocolate ice cream topped with M&Ms, rainbow sprinkles and hot fudge. Near the end of the party, you declared, "I really like my birthday!"

Back at home after the party, you told me excitedly, "I'm four now!" Yes, little man, you are! No longer a baby, no longer a toddler but officially a 4-year-old preschooler. Sometimes I see you and you look and act so mature that I do a double-take because I can't believe how much you have grown already. I love how perceptive and inquisitive you are now; you notice so much in the world around you and ask so many questions about why things are the way they are (ahh, yes, the "why" stage-- it is equal parts awesome and annoying for me). When you ask me why and I'm so tired that I just answer, "Because," you don't let me get away with that but keep questioning me until I give you the real answer (again, both awesome and annoying). I hope you will always be this curious.

I also hope that you will continue to be the amazing person you are right now. You are enthusiastic, energetic and fun-loving. You are affectionate, thoughtful and polite. You are talkative and articulate. You are a sweet and protective big brother. You love reading, playing board games and working on puzzles. You seriously love all things chocolate ("What do you want on your pizza, Connor?" "Chocolate!" "What kind of bagel do you want, Connor?" "Chocolate!" "Do you want a cheese sandwich?" "Do they have chocolate?"). And you make me laugh every day (like with how you say everything that happened in the past happened "yesterday" and things that happened a long time ago happened "all the way, all the way yesterday.")

Happy birthday, sweetheart! I love you so much and am so proud of you.

Love,
Mom

First Day of Preschool

Dear Connor,

Happy first day of preschool!

And yes, I cried as I watched you walk into the school with your new teacher and classmates. Those were the only tears of the day, though, When I picked you up, you were all smiles and said you'd had a good time!

Love,
Mom