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