Waiting and Waiting

Dear Connor,

Merry Christmas! I have to give you serious props because you don't normally have a lot of impulse control but you showed extreme restraint this morning when it came to opening your Christmas gifts. Unsurprisingly, you reeeeeally wanted your presents, so you came into my room at 4:30am this morning and asked if you could go downstairs and open them. I said it was too early and that you had to go back to bed. You came in again at 5:30am and 6:30am. I gave you the same answer both times. On the dot, you came in at 7:30am and I said everyone else was still sleeping and we had to wait for Daddy, MuiMui and DiDi to wake up so that we could open presents together. At 8am, everyone was still asleep and you--close to defeat--collapsed face-down on the edge of my bed, sighed the heaviest sigh ever and asked, "Why is everyone sleeping so long???" I was so proud of you for waiting so patiently without whining or making noise--and felt so bad for how torturous all that waiting must have been--that I told you that you could pick one present and open it while the others were still sleeping. You flew down the stairs and brought back the biggest gift with your name on it. And the look of joy on your face when you saw your new Paw Patrol toys--that's why we do what we do :-)

Merry Christmas, sweetheart!

Love,
Mom

A Picture for Mama

Dear Connor,

You came home from school today with a picture you had drawn and said, "I made this picture for you because you earned it for being the best mama. I love you and I love your smile the most. I also like that you have polite manners." You can bet that made me flash one of those smiles you love so much :-)

Love,
Mom

Rich Heart

Dear Connor,

We found two quarters on the floor when we were in Dunkin Donuts today and you were sooooo excited about them! You held onto those quarters tightly and proudly and whenever we saw someone we knew, you immediately told them about your find. You were actually really sweet when deciding what to do with the money. When we went to the grocery store, you asked if you could use the quarters to pay for our groceries. And when you were talking about your quarters with the crossing guard and she told you to save it for college, you said, "I'm going to save it to buy toys for my kids." :-)

Love,
Mom

Soup for Santa

Dear Connor,

Tonight, you suggested that instead of leaving cookies for Santa this year, we should leave him veggies because they are healthier and soup because it is so cold outside. When I said that was a good idea, you shouted up to the ceiling, "You hear that, Santa? We're going to give you soup!"**

Love,
Mom

**You shouted up to the ceiling/North Pole because I told you that Santa is always watching and can hear what you say, haha!

A Little Help

Dear Connor,

I mentioned in my last post that you do not like to follow rules. That is something that your teachers have complained to me about since you started nursery school. But they have also always said that you are a nice and helpful boy and you proved that again today when one of your classmates was trying to get something she could reach and your teacher told me that you asked her, completely unprompted, "Would you like me to get that for you?" I'm always proud of you for being thoughtful!

Love,
Mom

In Debt

Dear Connor,

In your classroom, you and your classmates have the opportunity to earn "Funny Money." Whenever you follow rules or do something nice, you earn Funny Money that you can spend on a toy or book in the class's Funny Money store. Whenever you don't follow rules, your teachers take some of your money away. Today, Daddy asked you--you who does not like to follow rules and instead do what you like to do--how much Funny Money you have. You sighed and said, "It's kind of hard to explain. I owe Funny Money." Oh my god.

Love,
Mom

Connor the Cannibal

Dear Connor,

Sometimes, you eat three dinners. You'll eat what I cooked and still be hungry, so I'll make you a cheese sandwich, but you'll still be hungry, so I'll give you cereal and a spoonful of peanut butter. Then you'll be adequately satisfied! I commented on this one day and said you've been eating like a teenager but things got lost in translation when you told your nanny, "I eat a lot of food. I'm a teenager eater." Haha!

Love,
Mom

Batting A Thousand

Dear Connor,

Today, you asked me how old I am and I told you that I am 35. You responded, "Oh, I thought you were in the 1000s."

Thanks.

Love,
Mom

Roll With It

Dear Connor,

Happy Halloween! This year, you were Officer Connor:

You've done the trick-or-treating thing five times now but I'm not sure you fully understand it because when we were out collecting candy today, you kept entering stores and asking the employees, "Are you selling candy?" I kept telling you that you should ask, "Are you giving away candy?" but you kept saying "selling." I understand the confusion, though; we buy things from stores 364 days out of the year, why this weird holiday where all the stores give away candy for free?

Of course, you're not one to turn away free candy . . . unless it's candy you don't like. You're pretty picky when it comes to candy (butterscotch Dum Dums and chocolate only!) so if a store or house was giving away something you didn't want, you either declined it (haha, how often do people giving away candy see that?!) or gave it to your sister (as a result, MuiMui had a huuuuge stash of candy at the end of the night). You scored a pretty good number of chocolate bars and Dum Dums and you had an incredibly large amount of Tootsie Rolls--37 in fact. I asked you where you got so many Tootsie Rolls and you said, "From that store. The guys said I could take as many as I want." And well, you did! Hahaha!

Love,
Mom

Tooth on the Looth

Dear Connor,

You'd had a second loose tooth for awhile and today, you pulled it out by yourself! There was that little bit of drama when you lost your first tooth but this time, you just calmly plucked it out on your own and then brought it over to show me! Not so scary this time, huh?

Love,
Mom

To Infinity And Beyond

Dear Connor,

At bedtime, you told me, "Mommy, I love you bigger than space."

:-)

Love,
Mom

It's Out!

Dear Connor,

Look who lost his first tooth!

We were eating dinner and the gum beneath your loose tooth started bleeding when you bit into a piece of bread. I told you to open your mouth so that I could take a look, wiggled your tooth a little and then just, pop!, plucked it out. You didn't even realize what I'd done until you felt the empty spot in your mouth with your tongue, haha! You freaked out a little because there was some blood and this was your first tooth loss and all, but MuiMui sweetly hugged you when you got scared and you quickly calmed down. First baby tooth, OUT!

Love,
Mom

On the Loose

Dear Connor,

You have your first loose tooth! Several of your friends who are the same age started losing teeth last year and I had been wondering why you hadn't lost any yet, but you are finally nearing that milestone! You told Daddy yesterday all nonchalantly, "Did you know my tooth is loose?" It's the one in the middle of the bottom row and it's the first tooth that grew in when you were a baby--so it makes sense that it's also the first one to go. When we push it, it wiggles a lot! And when I first felt your tooth move, I was surprised . . . and then sad. It's been hard enough for me to wrap my mind around the fact that you are currently 6 years old and a first grader, and now you are losing your baby teeth, too! I can't believe how big you are!

Love,
Mom

First Grade, Here You Come!

Dear Connor,

First day of first grade!

Love,
Mom

You're Six Years Old!

Dear Connor,

One of the best words to describe you is, hands down, resilient. From the day you became mobile and no longer spent the majority of the day safely in my arms, you have been privy to an insane number of scrapes, cuts, bruises, falls and bang-ups. You are an active and fast-paced kid and that has definitely come with some consequences but you always bounce back from your accidents surprisingly quickly, oftentimes immediately.

Just yesterday, we were at the park and you were riding your scooter around the track. You were going pretty fast alongside an older boy on his bike when you momentarily lost control and fell off your scooter. The boy on the bike either couldn't or didn't stop and literally ran over you with his bike. This big kid on this big bike rode right over your torso and you had some bad scratches under your arm, but amazingly, that was the extent of the bodily damage. No bruises or broken ribs and barely any blood. You were visibly shaken, but you didn't cry or freak out. In fact, about 20 minutes later, you went back to playing and laughing with your friends as if nothing had happened.

You have had so many close calls, so many incidents like the above where you should have gotten hurt much worse than you did but you have always managed to escape relatively unscathed . . . you must have one amazing guardian angel! And I hope he/she continues to watch over you as carefully as he/she has these past 6 years.

And wow, 6 years! I can't believe you are 6 years old! Happy birthday, sweetheart! It was a major milestone when you turned 5, but you still felt like my little boy. Now that you are 6 and starting first grade tomorrow, it definitely feels as if you have graduated to "big boy" status. First of all, you look like a big boy. You're tall and lean--all traces of the chubby baby-fat cheeks, arms and legs you once possessed are completely gone. Second of all, you talk like a big boy. You talk about everything, from the newest book you read to the camp trip you took to Citifield, with such insight and ingenuity. And third of all, you do so many big boy things: writing your letters so neatly, drawing pictures that are looking more and more lifelike, helping with chores like laundry and cleaning up the toys in your and your siblings' rooms, practicing piano and mastering the songs you've learned, going to the bathroom by yourself in restaurants and finding your way back to our table, fearlessly riding the roller coasters and fast rides at Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park.

I love you very much, Connor! I hope you continue to live life with the same energy, passion, curiosity, intelligence and, yes, resiliency, you possess now.

Love,
Mom

Back In the Day

Dear Connor,

Nothing makes you feel older than when you realize that something that was so common during your childhood is now so uncommon that it's completely foreign to your child. I grew up with cassette tapes, answering machines and cursive writing--and you have no idea what those things are! I used to write letters to my friends on actual paper using an actual pen but now my hand cramps if I have to write more than a few sentences because I'm so used to typing instead. And when I had to send a paper check in the mail today (versus an electronic one digitally) and write out the address on a physical envelope, the whole thing felt so foreign; I hadn't mailed anything other than a Netflix DVD in years. When I was younger, it was fun to pick out cool stamps from the post office, drop your envelopes into the mailbox and receive letters addressed to you mixed in with the catalogs and advertisements. But "snail mail" is not really going to be a thing for you and that is such a jarring realization. I wonder what other things from my lifetime are going to be phased out during yours?

Love,
Mom

Midnight Coloring Session

Dear Connor,

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night to find you standing next to my bed and clutching a handful of colored pencils. It was not a dream and you do some weird things when you're sleepwalking.

Love,
Mom

Out On A Limb

Dear Connor,

That time I wanted to let you be a kid and climb a tree but I was silently freaking out because you kept climbing higher and higher and HIGHER, oh my GOD.

Love,
Mom

No Dessert

Dear Connor,

We went to a restaurant for lunch yesterday that only accepts cash and when we finished eating, you asked if you could pick out a dessert. I told you that you couldn't because Daddy didn't have enough money. Shocked, you gasped and asked, "Did Daddy stop going to work?!" Haha!

Love,
Mom

Free Toys

Dear Connor,

Daddy: Connor, I'm not going to spend anymore money on toys for you.
You: That's okay, I'll just get them from Santa for free.

Love,
Mom

Cooking Like Mommy

Dear Connor,

When you were helping me cook dinner tonight, you told me that you love cooking. So I said that you could be a chef when you grow up and you replied, "No, I want to be a mommy and cook like you."

Love,
Mom

Kindergarten Graduation

Dear Connor,

Congratulations, kindergarten graduate!

I am so proud of and impressed with how much you learned this year. Your reading, writing and math skills improved a lot, you did so well on your tests (97-100% on most of them!) and you always came home with so many fun facts to share. I loved reading all of the creative stories you wrote in school and seeing the cool drawings you made to accompany them. And I am also very proud of how hard you worked on your homework every day and that by the end of the year, you were able to complete all of it correctly with minimal help from me. Awesome job!

Love,
Mom

Sweet and Simple

Dear Connor,

We went to a bakery yesterday and they had so many interesting options, such as chocolate chip banana bread and red velvet Nutella cookies. There were also chocolate eclairs and butterscotch puddings and raspberry cheesecakes. I let you and MuiMui pick whatever you wanted and you both chose . . . vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. So boring classic!

Love,
Mom

Big Bro's Got Your Back

Dear Connor,

We went to a playground today and it had a section for babies and smaller kids with gentler water jets. However, these bigger 8-year-olds kept running into the section to use the water jets to fill up their water guns. DiDi was waving his hand through a water jet and a big kid hovered over him and tried to angle his way in so he could get to the jet. He got annoyed when DiDi kept playing with the jet and said, "Stop it!" You immediately jumped to your baby brother's defense and yelled at the boy, "You stop it! That's my brother!" The big kid angrily ran away and you shook your head and said, "Oh my god, so mean." I'm so proud of you for having DiDi's back!

Love,
Mom

Closet Capades

Dear Connor,

This morning, I woke up not to the peaceful sound of birds chirping or the soothing song on my alarm clock but to the panicked cries and screams of my two older children. You and MuiMui had managed to lock yourselves inside her closet and were freaking out. When I opened the door for you, you both spilled out with eyes and cheeks a-stained with tears. Oh my god, you two!

Love,
Mom

Decisions, Deciscions

Dear Connor,

After dinner tonight, I gave you a choice of either having a chocolate whoopie pie or mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. And oh, the agony that went into your decision! You nearly got whiplash looking back and forth between the two while trying to decide and said in all seriousness, "I'll choose wisely . . . Which one's wisely?" Hahahaha. You eventually went with the ice cream and by the resulting smile, I think you did indeed make a wise choice!

Love,
Mom

Car Crazy

Dear Connor,

Oh man, you and your vehicles! The stereotype is absolutely true in your case because you are a boy and you looooove cars, monster trucks, fire engines and all things that go. You have to do creative writing for your homework every week and all you ever want to write about is cars and trucks. You have a cartooning class after school every Monday and all of the drawings you bring home are of cars and trucks. You were taking an art class at the neighborhood library and when the assignment was to draw fruit, you drew fruit . . . on the flatbed of a truck. Wow.

Love,
Mom

The Chicken or the Egg?

Dear Connor,

We had this conversation this afternoon:

You: Where does food come from? Like apples?
Me: From seeds. You plant the seeds and then the apples grow.
You: Where do the seeds come from?
Me: From inside the apple.
You: But where does the apple come from?
Me: Well, from the seed.
You: But how do you get the seed if you need to get the apple first that needs a seed?
Me: Well, um, so do you mean where did the very first apple come from?
You: Yeah.
Me: Uhhh . . .

You stumped me, kid. I said I actually don't know where the very first apple came from and you asked me if God made it :-)

Love,
Mom

Shattered Illusions

Dear Connor,

There's no guilt like the guilt you feel when your kid discovers that you threw his artwork into the recycling bin instead of cherishing it forever like he thought you did with all of this artwork.

Love,
Mom

Chocoholic

Dear Connor,

Few things are more amusing than watching you try to scrape every last bit of chocolate pudding out of your chocolate pudding cup. Like seriously every last bit because you want to make absolutely sure that you eat all of the pudding in the cup. Boy, do you love your chocolate!

Love,
Mom

The Consummate Bachelor

Dear Connor,

Over the weekend, we had talked about how when you become a grown-up, you won't live with us anymore because you'll get married and start a family of your own. Apparently, you do not like this plan. Yesterday, you asked me if you have to get married when you grow up. I said you don't and you looked relieved and said, "Good, because then I never have to move out and I can live with you forever. Because you're the best." Then you gave me a tight hug. Awww :-)

Love,
Mom

Monday Blues

Dear Connor,

"All right Monday, what kind of crap you got for me this time?"

Mondays are rough for a lot of people and I am no exception. I don't have any help from Daddy or your nanny on Mondays so I am on my own with you, MuiMui and DiDi and it's . . . a lot. You are at least in school and your after-school cartooning class until 4pm, so I only have two kids to take care of during the day, but then you come home and it's a marathon to bathe, feed and care for the three of you until you're all pj'd and in your beds by 7:30pm. Whew!

Today, though, was a little rougher than usual. DiDi threw up twice while eating his avocado and MuiMui had a bad reaction to the fresh pineapple she had for dessert, plus I've been having awful back pain since yesterday (Mama's getting oooold) and it hurts when I have to stretch up, bend down or twist to the side (so every time I move, basically). Since I had to take care of your younger siblings (and clean up the vomit), I didn't have time to sit with you and do your homework like we normally do, so I asked you if you could go in the study to try and do as much of it on your own as you could. Fifteen minutes later, you made me so proud when you emerged with *all* of your homework completed correctly! Some of the instructions were a bit involved but you were able to read them by yourself and finish every part correctly. You are so awesome!

You were also very helpful all night. You stayed with DiDi while I cleaned his high chair and threw his laundry in the washing machine and you helped me clean up the tons of books and toys that were scattered all over his room. The best was the impromptu song you made up while you were cleaning his room. You sang in a deep, booming voice, "I'm cleaning up your room! Because Mommy needs my help! Books go over here! Toys go in there! If the toys make noise, remember to turn them off!" Hahaha!

Thanks for being so great tonight, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Shout It Out

Dear Connor,

We were in the kitchen the other day while MuiMui was upstairs and I asked you if you could tell her to come downstairs for dinner. Instead of going upstairs--or even to the foot of the stairs--to ask her to come like I expected you to, you stayed where you were and screamed at the top of your lungs, "LILA! COME DOWNSTAIRS FOR DINNER!!" Well, I could have done that!

Love,
Mom

Pizza Pizza!

Dear Connor,

You just shouted out in your sleep, "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" Haha, hungry?

Love,
Mom

Two Days of Nothing

Dear Connor,

It was Mother's Day today and you were so sweet. For the past several days, you have been insisting that I get "two days of [doing] nothing" for Mother's Day and you followed through on that today and kept asking me what you could do for me. "What can I do that you normally do?" were your exact words and when you were out with Daddy earlier this morning, you told him, "Let's go home and cook dinner so Mommy doesn't have to!"

Thank you so much for spoiling me today with your awesome cards, the yummy cherry blossom mousse cake you and Daddy picked up for me from one of my favorite bakeries and for helping me Swiffer the second floor (even if it did take you painfully slow to finish). I loved my special day of "nothing!"

Love,
Mom

Your Body Is A Wonderland

Dear Connor,

Things you've said recently:

"My penis is big. It's big because it's made out of wood."

Me, after a particularly busy day: I'm sorry I didn't have time to play with you today.
You: Well, you should have thought about that before you had more kids.

You, after misreading a sign at the aquarium that said "Hippo Haven": I want to go to Hippo Heaven. I want to see what happens when hippos die.

You: Mommy, can I explore your body?
Me, shocked: Excuse me?!?
You: Can I go inside your body?
Me, so embarrassed because we are walking down a busy street and people can hear us: What?!
You: Can I go inside your mouth? Or your vagina?
Me, red from embarrassment at this point: Oh my god, Connor, stop talking! Why are you asking me these kinds of questions?? [light bulb goes off] Did you watch an episode of "The Magic School Bus" or something where they traveled into someone's body?
Connor: Yeah, they went inside Arnold's body.
Me, relieved: Ohhhhh.

You never cease to amuse me with the funny things that come out of your mouth!

Love,
Mom

The Big Talk

Dear Connor,

We had this conversation during your shower yesterday:

You (as you were cleaning your private parts): What's inside my penis balls?

Me: [stifled laughter] Penis balls? Those are actually called your testicles.

You: Oh. What's inside my testicles?

Me: Nothing.   <--- what I should have said
Me: Well, when you get older, they'll have stuff to make a baby.   <---what I actually said, opening up the trap door

You: There's a baby inside my penis balls?!

Me: No, no. You need a boy and a girl to make a baby. You need the stuff from your penis ba--I mean, your testicles and an egg from a girl. When girls are older, they have eggs inside their bodies.

You: Do the eggs hatch?

Me: No, they're not like birds. You need to put the stuff in your testicles together with an egg to make a baby and then the baby grows in the girl's tummy.

You (asking the obvious next question): How do put the stuff in your testicles and the egg together?

Me (realizing this is as far as I want to take the birds and bees conversation this time): You can ask Daddy when he gets home.

You: Ok.

Oye. Luckily for Daddy, you forgot all about this when you saw him!

Love,
Mom

Friends Forever

Dear Connor,

This morning at breakfast, you moved to sit next to MuiMui and told her, "I'm going to sit next to you because that's what friendship is all about." Aww :-)

Love,
Mom

Super Spouse

Dear Connor,

After dinner tonight, Daddy sat down on the couch, picked up my iPad and said he was going to have fun and play a computer game. You told him--completely unprompted by me--"Do you know what's even more fun? Spending time with your wife." Meet Connor, future Husband of the Year!

Love,
Mom

About Face

Dear Connor,

The other day, you were looking at your reflection in the bathroom mirror while you were washing your hands. Afterward, you proudly told me, "I like the way my face is made." Me, too, sweetheart!

Love,
Mom

Snuggle Time

Dear Connor,

When I was helping you get ready for bed last night, you asked me, "Can we snuggle?" How could I say no to that?

Love,
Mom

Lost Hats

Dear Connor,

We have two more months of winter left and you have already lost three winter hats! Three! Grrr, I can't keep buying you new hats!

Love,
Mom

All A's

Dear Connor,

I checked your grades online today and on the three math tests you've had this year, you scored a 94% on the first one and 100% on the second and third ones. Awesome job, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Tummy Trouble

Dear Connor,

I said I had a stomachache today and you asked me, "Why does your stomach hurt? Are you pregnant again?" Hahahahahaha, NO.

Love,
Mom

King Luther, Jr.

Dear Connor,

It's always interesting to hear how you interpret the things you learn. Today, for example, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so I asked you what you learned about the man in school and one of the things you told me was, "King Luther, Jr. [you mixed up his name a little] died so he's going to miss his birthday party today."

Love,
Mom

Health Nut

Dear Connor,

I recently introduced you to rocky road ice cream and you asked me what was in it. I told you that it was chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and almonds and you said, "Oh, then it's healthy because it has almonds in it and almonds are healthy." Yep, that's my reasoning, too!

Love,
Mom