Connor's Birthday Party

We celebrated Connor's birthday party a few days early on the 8th (instead of the 12th) since we were leaving for the LONG drive to California on his actual birthday.  We had a BBQ at my in-laws house with family and close friends.  I decided to do a "sports ball" theme as Connor loves balls.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs with sides and chips and lemonade.  He was in love with the balloons we got and we tied one to his high chair and fed him little bits and pieces of things.

After dinner the older kids ran around the yard and played on the swing set and in the waterfall and Connor got to open his presents.  He got some clothes, lots of toys and some money.  He was pretty stoked to open the wrapping paper and had lots of little hands to help.  He was not happy when I'd take the present away to move on to the next one.

I made cupcakes and put little soccer ball ring toppers on each one.  I made him a baseball smash cake the night before.  It was a little intensive as the mold wasn't very good and didn't cook the middle very well but I was pretty happy with how it turned out overall.  I forgot to get it out of the fridge early and the frosting was pretty solid for him to dig in to.  It was probably better because he cried when he got it all over his hands.  He wasn't too keen on eating the cake anyway and was really more concerned about being dirty.  We stuck him in the bathtub after and got him all set and he was much happier.  He also got in on some swinging action and I think he had a great time - as did everyone.

I did buy some cupcakes and a smash cupcake for his actual birthday that we did the morning before hitting the road.  We shared the cupcakes with everyone in the car and he (again) didn't like the frosting all over his hands from the smash cake so most of it ended up in the garbage.  I saved a couple presents for him too so we could celebrate his actual birthday.  It got confusing for Zoey because we got her some presents to keep her entertained on the car ride and I think she thinks she'll get presents for Connor's birthday too all the time.  It'll be really disappointing for her next year!

Connor - 12 months

I don't know if I'm in denial that my baby is one or if I've really forgotten how babies should act at this age but everything Connor does surprises me. Lately he:

- Put his hands over his eyes then said, "boo!"

- Says day-do (thank you), ba (ball), bam-pa (grandpa), uh oh, Na ba (no), and he said apple juice clear as day once, even my mom heard him. He also sings "Let it gooooo" it's adorable   But he's hard to get to say or do anything on command, he kind of just does it when he feels like it.

- Is walking between furniture ie. Between a table and the couch. He'll hold on to both and go for it. I've also found him hanging on to door jambs.  He has taken a step and stood but gets too excited.

- Pulls himself up like a pro and really wants to walk but isn't quite sure if himself yet. 

- Looooves Daniel Tiger. It's the only TV show that captures his attention for .5 seconds. He pulls out all the Daniel books and does shakies and points to them excitedly and then he'll give Daniel a kiss.

- Gives kisses a lot now - except to Dallin. He doesn't seem to like the beard. He pushes his face away.  He also blows kisses.

- Seems to understand a ton.

- Loves to unload all my pans out of my oven drawer, unload bookshelves as fast as possible, dump out buckets of toys, climb all over things, and make the biggest mess possible-it's incredible.

- Loves to eat and snack.  He's kind of over bottles and loves adult food.  Especially churros.

- Still is a great sleeper, especially at night. Since we've been on the go this summer he doesn't really take a morning nap and takes a super long afternoon one.

- Has 10 teeth, his bottom 2 molars recently made an appearance.

- Still thinks Zoey is the funniest and wants to do everything she does.

- Loves the water like baths, pools, splash pad.  Loves it all.  Just gotta teach him not to splash in the bath like he does at the pool.

- Is a mommy's boy.

- Busts a move with his whole body.

- Shakes his head for fun.

Connor - 11 months

One more mouth before the big birthday. Man, that flew by. Maybe not the first couple months but after that, it really went by in a blink. I can't believe we'll be having a birthday party next post!

At 11 months Connor:
-Can point with his pointer finger
-Opens and closes his hand when he wants something
-Can pull himself up to standing and awkwardly walk along furniture
-Can shake his head back and forth like a pendulum
-His favorite word by far is "uh-oh" and says it constantly
-Is sick of being a baby and really over bottles but I have tubs of it in storage so he gets to keep drinking
-Is in size 5 diapers during the day and size 6 nighttime diapers
-Sometimes forgoes his morning nap and I think he'll kick it before long
-Gets up way too early in the morning. He doesn't have a set time, it's so sporadic, is driving me crazy
-Has to have a binky to go to sleep, and likes a white noise machine too
-Is quickly growing out of his 18-24 month clothes so I had to go but MORE clothes for him to get through the summer.  He fits 24 month and 2T clothes quite nicely
-Gets up on all fours to push to sitting but mainly still army crawls
-Loves the bathroom for some reason so we have to keep the door closed
-Had a blast in swimming lessons splashing and wiggling the whole time
-Loves balls and went to sleep with one a couple of times
-Never stops moving
-Gets so excited and shakes his hands and kicks his feet really fast
-Loves to jabber, loudly, which has also lead to squealing for attention and it's ear-splitting
-His nails grow so fast I have to cut them twice a week and he hates it.  It's a wrestling match
-Pulled the cold air return vent off the wall (it was screwed in).  He's like Godzilla
-Goes to do something he knows he's not supposed to and will stop and give me a grin and I'll tell him "no" and he'll laugh/squeal and scurry away to do it anyway
-Loves his sissy still.  He'll sometimes stare at her baby picture on the wall and smile at it
-Does awesome "shakies"
-Has been trying more table food
-Gives kisses
-I swear he repeats words we say.  He said "apple juice" clear as day the other day (my mom heard it too!) but doesn't talk, I guess he just mimics
-Will lock his legs so he stays standing instead of sitting down
-Is so lovable and squishy!  Random strangers come up to me and ask to squeeze his thighs
-Always the first to smile.  He has the most pleasant attitude and demeanor.  I wish I was like him
-Has 7 teeth
-Needs another haircut

Potty Training

I have arrived at a rite of passage of parenthood.  I started potty training Zoey in March after all the weddings and my schedule opened up.  We hyped her up that the "diaper fairy" was coming and was taking all her diapers away and she was going to have to go to the potty and wear big girl undies.  She was so excited to see the diaper fairy left her some apple juice and proceeded to tell anyone who would listen about it.

Within a day of many accidents, she pretty much had pee down.  It wasn't 100% for a few weeks but she did so well.  Sometime in the last year she had developed this horrible fear of pooping in the potty.  I think it was after a couple poop accidents in the bathtub.  She refused.  It was awful and we had NO idea what to do.  I turned to Facebook, blogs, the pediatrician, books, anything - I was desperate.  The thing with Zoey is that she can't be bribed.  She has an iron will.  Not that it's a horrible thing, I think it'll serve her well later in life, but as a toddler it is really hard to parent.

As she couldn't be bribed, we ended up with a closet full of potty presents for pooping the toilet that she could have cared less about. We tried potty training dolly.

 I even resorted to throwing a tiny bit of tootsie roll in the potty after she peed (before she could turn around and see) and we celebrated that "poop" and she asked if she could go to Lagoon now (another bribe).  You see how this wasn't working out?  She got to the point that she would hold all her poop in until it would come barreling out at any given time and she would scream and freak out.  Luckily, most of this happened at home but there was one choice encounter at the Health Spot and I became THAT mom with the kid that got poo everywhere in their bathroom as she flailed off the seat in pure terror and smeared it everywhere.  It was prime timing as their toilet paper, paper towel, garbage sack and soap all ran out during our trip to the bathroom.  I learned quickly to carry gallon-sized Ziploc bags with me and a change of clothes.

We were soooo ready to give up but I didn't feel like I could go backward with how well she was doing going pee, it just didn't make sense. So we decided to have her tell us when she needed to go poop and we put a diaper on her.  We started slow and small and would just make her stand in the bathroom and poop in the diaper.  After a few days of that, we made her sit on the potty (lid up or down) with a diaper on and poop.  Until we graduated to cutting a hole in the diaper and she pooped in the potty!  It was the biggest celebration and I thought we had turned a corner.  Oh, no.  Now she didn't want to poop in the potty OR in a diaper and it was just chaos and she held it in.  Again.  So more Miralax it was.  Our doctor told us to pick a reward that could be easily taken away or given on a daily basis (i.e. TV instead of Lagoon) so we took away TV.  It may have been harder on me because I didn't know what to do with her while I showered.  But it worked and threw a fit she did.  We went THREE whole weeks without any TV.  Remember I told you about her will and how she couldn't be bribed?? It was actually quite pleasant and got us back into a routine of playing more instead of a TV babysitter.

So we were at Mike and Mary's one Sunday about a week later (after the hole in the diaper poop) for family dinner and she had had so many accidents there (three, I think) that I was out of spare underwear and by some miracle she had a spare pair of pants.  And that was all she had, no undies, just pants.  So the next time she needed to go she asked to go in the potty (WHA...???) and SHE DID (!) and hasn't looked back. She's earned all her potty presents and filled up her sticker chart and got to go see Finding Dory.  She still wears a night diaper at nights even though she tends to wake up dry, I don't want to chance it until she's doing it super well because if she wakes up in the middle of the night we're generally up for hours.  I'm so proud of her.  I don't know what clicked in her head but she decided to do it and has been ever since.  She poops so much now, I can't believe how horrible she must have been feeling to hold it in for 4 days at a time.

We finally figured out that she wasn't afraid of "losing a part of her body" like most kids are, she genuinely just thought it was disgusting.  If we held her hand of covered her eyes for the first few times, she did really well.  Now she likes to look at it and tell us what it looks like.  Nice huh?

So we survived.  I thought it would never end and just like that, it was over.  And I'm so glad.  What's nice too is Connor is in the same size diapers as Zoey was so we just continue to buy the same stuff.  But it's so nice to do it for one child instead of two!  To all those still in the trenches of potty training, my prayers are with you.

Connor - 10 months

Where has the time gone? Connor has turned into Godzilla baby/toddler and keeps me hopping from 6:15 am - 8 pm. He's so stinking cute and exhausting. At 10 months he:

- Launched himself over some pillows on our bed and rolled off onto his face and gave himself a bloody nose
- Loves to eat, still hates green beans. Sits and cries if we are eating and he isn't, even if he just ate
- Can army crawl. Still faster rolling but now prefers to crawl.  He ends up filthy by successfully dusting my floors all day every day.  Makes me feel like a slob, so gross
- Gives the cheesiest smiles, especially when he squawks and you give him what he wanted
- Says "uh oh", "woof", "ball" and "hi"
- Waves bye bye and hi

- Claps his hands for signing "more" and waves his arms like dancing to sign for "all done"
- Loves music and dances
- Is into EVERYTHING, he is so curious. He loves to try and put his fingers in light sockets, pull cords, open drawers- especially the one under the oven, play with door stoppers and play with anything that's dangerous.
- He's super strong. He's successfully kicked a slat off of his crib, like full-on broke it and can push various things over with his chunky legs.
- He's working on pulling himself up, he mainly just gets on his knees
- Really wants to walk or stand.  He's getting less wobbly when we hold him up but struggles taking steps
- Is an early bird. I hate it
- Doesn't nap terrifically, an hour around 10 a.m. then 90 minutes around 2 p.m. With swimming lessons he's kind of all screwed up and will take a really long nap after we get home at 11 a.m. and then no more naps the rest of the day.  Not sure I'm ready for him to transition to only one nap

- Is really social
- Got his top two teeth. They were on the verge forevveeerr and finally broke through
- Is so good to let me lay him down and he goes to sleep with minimal fussing
- Loves to blow raspberries, especially with a mouthful of food

Cheesy smile with glimpse of two
new top teeth!

- Loves to sit with his bucket of toys and move from thing to thing
- Can cluck his tongue
- He frequently gets his toys stolen by his sister who insists that the toy is "mine" but he's a good sport... For now...
- Is very mechanically and physically inclined. Can figure toys out and how things function quite easily
- He's really coordinated also.  He can hit a balloon in rhythm and throw a ball
- Loves to swing
We love him to pieces!

Connor - 10 months

Where has the time gone? Connor has turned into Godzilla baby/toddler and keeps me hopping from 6:15 am - 8 pm. He's so stinking cute and exhausting. At 10 months he:

- Launched himself over some pillows on our bed and rolled off onto his face and gave himself a bloody nose
- Loves to eat, still hates green beans. Sits and cries if we are eating and he isn't, even if he just ate
- Can army crawl. Still faster rolling but now prefers to crawl.  He ends up filthy by successfully dusting my floors all day every day.  Makes me feel like a slob, so gross
- Gives the cheesiest smiles, especially when he squawks and you give him what he wanted
- Says "uh oh", "woof", "ball" and "hi"
- Waves bye bye and hi

- Claps his hands for signing "more" and waves his arms like dancing to sign for "all done"
- Loves music and dances
- Is into EVERYTHING, he is so curious. He loves to try and put his fingers in light sockets, pull cords, open drawers- especially the one under the oven, play with door stoppers and play with anything that's dangerous.
- He's super strong. He's successfully kicked a slat off of his crib, like full-on broke it and can push various things over with his chunky legs.
- He's working on pulling himself up, he mainly just gets on his knees
- Really wants to walk or stand.  He's getting less wobbly when we hold him up but struggles taking steps
- Is an early bird. I hate it
- Doesn't nap terrifically, an hour around 10 a.m. then 90 minutes around 2 p.m. With swimming lessons he's kind of all screwed up and will take a really long nap after we get home at 11 a.m. and then no more naps the rest of the day.  Not sure I'm ready for him to transition to only one nap

- Is really social
- Got his top two teeth. They were on the verge forevveeerr and finally broke through
- Is so good to let me lay him down and he goes to sleep with minimal fussing
- Loves to blow raspberries, especially with a mouthful of food

Cheesy smile with glimpse of two
new top teeth!

- Loves to sit with his bucket of toys and move from thing to thing
- Can cluck his tongue
- He frequently gets his toys stolen by his sister who insists that the toy is "mine" but he's a good sport... For now...
- Is very mechanically and physically inclined. Can figure toys out and how things function quite easily
- He's really coordinated also.  He can hit a balloon in rhythm and throw a ball
- Loves to swing
We love him to pieces!

Connor - 9 months old

This little muffin has been out longer than he was in. He's really coming into his own and has quite the pleasant personality.  At 9 months he:

- Weighs 20 lbs 10.5 oz, he's in the 99 percentile and weighs as much as a 20 month old

- Is 30.5 in high, which is the 97 percentile and the size of a 15 month old

- Head is in the 95 percentile

- So he's proportionally huge. A toddler baby. 

- He has become super wiggly and wants to get moving but can't.  He rolls like a champ and is trying to get his knees under him but that's a lot of body mass to support.  He does tuck his toes and launch himself.

- He learned how to clap his hands and loves patty cake. 

- He throws his head back (especially into his high chair) to get our attention. Especially when we're not feeding him fast enough. 

- Loves his baby food and puffs. He can feed those to himself and eats them by the handful. 

- Hates to watch other people eat and wants in on the action.  He's also doing quite well biting off pieces of banana and cheering them.

- His top two teeth are soooo close, they'll break through any second.

- Hates to be left alone or left out.

- Sleeps from 8 pm - 7 am ish. He's become quite an early riser and I am not. 

- Looves to play with toys.  He will sit in Zoey's room and pull toys out of a bucket and play for exceptionally long periods of time.

- He's really strong and has broken a few toys by pulling them apart. 

- Is a nightmare in sacrament meeting. He is constantly on the move and it is exhausting. Perpetual motion.

- Graduated to size 5 diapers.