Other Milestones

Dear Connor,

When you're raising kids, a lot of attention is given to big milestones like the first smile, the first word, the first steps. I still remember many of your big firsts as if they happened just yesterday because they were so amazing, but there are a lot of other firsts that don't get their own shout-outs or pages in baby books that are equally incredible. For instance, you have accomplished several awesome firsts in the past few weeks:

-being able to open jars on your own (you especially love to open the peanut butter jar and smell it)

-completing puzzles by yourself (Whenever we did puzzles when you were a few months younger, you worked on them for maybe all of two minutes and then had me or Daddy complete the puzzle for you. Now, you are smart enough to put your firetruck and Sesame Street puzzles together on your own! And it really is amazing to watch you study the pieces and figure out where they go.)

-putting your sandals on and taking them off without any help (once you learned how to take your sandals off, you were all too eager to take them off everywhere, even while we were out at restaurants!)

-washing your hands by yourself (You are so proud that you can do this on your own that you won't let me help you if I try to. You can carry the step stool over to the sink, turn on the faucet, pump the soap out on your hand--though you do always pump out way too much!--rub the soap on your hands, rinse it off and dry your hands all without any assistance from me.)

Very impressive, little guy!

Love,
Mom

Whoa!

Dear Connor,

We are visiting Washington, DC at the moment (though you keep calling it "Washing, CD") and went to the National Aquarium today. You loved it and I felt as if I was hanging out with Joey Lawrence from the TV show, "Blossom" (You will have no idea what that is so look it up on YouTube or whatever version of YouTube you have when you're older. If you even know what YouTube is.). Every time we walked up to a new tank or you saw a new creature, you exclaimed, "Whoa!"

Love,
Mom

Big Tantrum

Dear Connor,

When you came back home from the playground today, you didn't want to wash your hands or change your clothes. You were dirty, though, so I said you had to before you touched your baby sister or any of your toys. This led to a 45-minute-long tantrum. Sweet jesus. And then at the end of it, you calmed down, grabbed my hand and whispered, "Mommy, you're my best friend." *sigh* You sure do know how to charm your way back into my good graces :P

Love,
Mom

Big Boy Bed

Dear Connor,

Goodbye crib, hello toddler bed!

Love,
Mom

Pretty Mommy

Dear Connor,

This morning, I was wearing an old t-shirt and leggings, my hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and I didn't have a bit of makeup on, but you sat down on the couch next to me and said, "Mommy, you're so pretty." Made my day :)

Love,
Mom

Cute and Not So Cute

Dear Connor,

Cute moment of the day: You came up to me this afternoon and said, "Let's cuddle." Once we were sitting on the couch and you were snuggled in my arms, you looked up at me and said, "You're my best friend."

Not-so-cute moments of the day: I keep telling you to cover your mouth when you sneeze but that is a concept you are not grasping. Today, you sneezed all over the quesadilla I was eating for lunch. And the bowl of tofu and peas I was eating for dinner.

Another not-so-cute moment of the day: Tissues are apparently not good enough for you. You planted your face on our couch, blew your nose and wiped your boogers all over the cushion.

Love,

Mom

Online Shopping

Dear Connor,

Whoever invented online shopping must have tried shopping at the mall with her toddler.

Love,
Mom