A Good Day

At school (a/k/a daycare), we receive a daily report from his teachers to let us know about his day. Until recently, he seemed to be having issues on a constant basis, such as not listening, not using his manners, or playing rough with his friends. For the past week, he received all of his check marks every day. When I picked him up after school each day, he would run up to me at the door and exclaim, "I had a good day!" On Thursday night, after getting all his checks four days in a row, Daddy made a deal with him that if he got all his checks on Friday as well, we could go miniature golfing or bowling. Sure enough, when I picked him up on Friday, he greeted me at the door with "I had a good day!" True to his word, even though Daddy was exhausted since he worked last night, we headed to Mr. Biggs for some fun.

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The course was pretty crowded, so we had some down time between holes. Regardless, we all had a great time playing putt putt. The highlight of the game was when Connor got a hole-in-one on Hole #13. I think it took three putts for both Daddy and I on that hole. Like most other sports that involves a ball, he seems to be a natural.
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When we were done playing miniature golf, we decided we needed a snack. Of course the snack bar is located in the bowling alley. Even though we had given Connor the choice of miniature golf OR bowling as his reward, we decided what the heck. Using the ramp, but no bumpers, Connor did a pretty good job with bowling. Towards the end of the game, he decided he was getting pretty tired. It was a good thing because Riley was getting fairly restless as well. We packed up and headed home. We all had a good day.

TEN MONTHS

As Riley gets older, he and Connor have more and more fun playing with each other. Connor is very patient with Riley and helps teach him all sorts of things.

March Birthdays

With so many family members, my family has at least one birthday each month of the year. We decided rather than trying to celebrate each birthday individually, we would start setting aside one day a month to celebrate all birthdays in that month. Tonight we celebrated March birthdays for Nate, Kristin and Connor. One of our family traditions is to do "heavy, heavy hang over your poor head" with each present. Connor gladly accepted the task of doing it or Nate's gifts. Didn't need to twist his arm.
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Connor was thrilled to receive a bunch of Spiderman stuff, including a Spiderman scooter, in addition to one of his favorite movies, The Chronicles of Narnia. Since he won't receive his "big" gift from us until his party, we still wanted to give him something tonight. I made up an announcement for Disney on Ice and paired it up with Buzz Lightyear. I don't think he quite understands what the announcement is all about. He keeps referring to it as his "golden ticket." I think it will all come together for him in a few weeks when we go to see the ice show.

So Big!

Grandma and I worked up quite an appetite while watching Riley get his hair cut, so we headed around the corner to Chili's for a bite to eat. While we ate, Riley took it upon himself to flirt with anyone within a 10 foot radius. Of course everyone around us loved it. How could they not? He also demonstrated how he is "sooo big."

Shearing the Sheep

Connor was pretty much a baldy and didn't need a haircut until his first birthday. He didn't even need one then, so it was done more as a ceremonial right of passage for him. Riley, on the other hand, was born with a head full of hair. We had a quick cut done right before Thanksgiving, but I don't really count it (mostly because I didn't get to take pictures of it being done). It's been driving me crazy lately though, so I felt it was time for an official "first haircut." We picked up Grandma, and headed over to Lollilocks for a good shearing. He wasn't too sure what to think of it. He kept wanting to watch the girl. Grandma did a pretty good job distracting him though, first with a book, then a toy, then bubbles.

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Overall, he didn't squawk too much. I'm guessing he wouldn't have lasted much longer though. He was fairly impressed with himself when he was done and we all started oohing and aahing. Somehow the haircut transformed him from my little baby into a little boy. But he sure is a handsome boy!

Practicality

It turns out that Riley is quite resourceful. He has a few favorite objects he likes to tote around with him. Many times, he'll be holding one item, then go to pick up another item and realize his hands are full. So what does he do? Inserts one of them in his mouth so that he can pick up the other and continue on his way.

More Connor-isms

Maybe he's just at that age where he thinks he's so grown up . . .

Connor was showing me a picture he had colored for Valentine's Day. He pointed at Cupid and said, "See that guy? If he shoots you with an arrow, you'll fall and love."

Dre reminded me of this quote today: "Mommy, when will I be a man?"

If our timing is right, sometimes Rita's mom shows up at daycare at the same time I do after work. If that happens, Connor and Rita will play "hide and seek" while Jennifer and I chit chat. After doing this one evening, we loaded up in our cars to head our separate ways. Rita used to live in the same area as us, but moved a few months ago. When Connor watched them turn the opposite way out of the parking lot, he asked where they were going. I reminded him that Rita moved into a different house. His response was, "you mean she doesn't live at the ball Cheetos house anymore?" I told him no, they live in a different house and he should remember since he's played there before. At this point in time, he informed me that we need to move as well. I asked him why, and he stated it's because "our house doesn't have ball Cheetos either. We need to move to a house that has ball Cheetos."

NINE MONTHS

Well, apparently I forgot to have Riley pose for any 9 month photos. However, what better way to sum up Riley at this point than a picture of him doing what he loves to do . . . give kisses. For adults, this consists of him opening his mouth as wide as possible and sucking on a cheek or chin. For ill-fated smaller persons, such as Lexi or Kameron, he throws his entire body into it and it becomes more of a mauling.

The Great Escape

Now that he's mobile, it's pretty hard keeping Riley contained to a specific area in the house. We've come up with a couple of options to barricade him in the family room, but just when we think we've figured it out, Riley figures out a way out. He climbs over, under, or through whatever obstacle we attempt to put in his way. He's very persistent, and somehow makes it work in his favor each and every time.

Taking It For a Spin

We finally had a day where it was nice enough to take Connor's new bike for a test ride. For never having ridden a bicycle before, he did a great job. I thought it would be fun to have him ride it to the park near our house. Not thinking ahead, however, I forgot about a pretty big hill on the route we were taking. Daddy was nice enough to help him walk the bike up the hill. Once we got to the park, Connor was off, climbing and sliding. Riley, on the other hand, was perfectly happy sitting in a swing.

Holding Hands

With the way the boys' carseats are situated, they can easily see each other. As I was running errands today, both boys started giggling. When I looked back, I could see they were holding hands. For whatever reason, they both thought it was pretty darn funny.

Lexi Turns ONE

It worked out that we were able to celebrate Lexi's first birthday while Jules and the kids were still in town. Hard to believe she's already turning one. And, it turns out, already has a motherly instinct. When Kameron was given his bottle, Lexi decided she needed to help him out with it, just like she does with her dolls. Kameron didn't seem to mind though. Nate and Dre (okay, so we all know it was really just Dre) planned a game for everyone to play where everyone walked around a circle as Lexi's favorite music played. Once the music stopped, Dre called out a number and the person standing on the number was out. As they were called out, however, each person received a goody bag. It came down to Connor and Jules, walking back and forth between two numbers. Connor was thrilled that Jules' number was called and he became the official winner. The game was followed by presents and the ceremonial first birthday cupcake, which she loved.

Over the River and Through the Woods

There are several routes to choose from in order to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house, and Connor knows every one of them. Some are more direct than others. The fastest is to take the toll road, but obviously since it's a toll road, it can get costly. We happen to have transponders on all our vehicles so we don't have to stop at each toll booth when we choose to take that route. It costs us an arm and a leg, but at least we don't have to stop. Aunt Tin, however, does not have a transponder. She surprised Connor by picking him up from daycare right after his nap this afternoon, and drove out to Grandma's so he could play with Kenner. When she stopped at the toll booth to pay, Connor informed her if she just went on the "other side," her car would just beep and she wouldn't have to stop. As they got closer to Grandma's, he began looking for airplanes. Once he spotted one, he commented, "I'm way too big for that airplane."

EIGHT MONTHS

Even though it's throwing off my schedule of getting his picture taken every 3 months, I had to take advantage of the holiday and get Riley's picture taken in the Santa suit. He filled it out even more than Connor did. In fact, the jacket kept popping open. He's just so adorable! And now I'm off the hook for the professional pics until he turns one.