We love you!

On our way to Wal-Mart, we ran into some holiday traffic.  So, as we were waiting for the traffic to start moving, Mommy and Daddy both turned around to look at Connor for no more than 5 seconds.  Well, at that time the cars in front started to pull away (we didn’t know this because we were still looking at Connor).  Connor had a perfect view of all of this and promptly points forward and says, “Go!”

We quickly turned around to see the car in front of us was a few car lengths away from us now.  We both started laughing and I promptly accelerated.

Thanks Connor — next time tell Daddy to “keep is eyes on the road!”

Over the past couple of months, Connor’s vocabulary has been increasing.  Now he is starting to put a few words together and is even understanding us more.  We’ve noticed that he is starting to get frustrated more often.  I believe that is because he knows he can communicate but does not know all the necessary words to explain to Mommy and Daddy.

His latest words include:

Grandma  (more like “gra-ma”), Uncle Danny, Brenna, Gavin, Uncle Chad, Aunt Catherine, Uncle Phil, Nick, Sierra (he actually repeated her name tonight), Uncle Kenny, Aunt Jeannie, Kuddles, Maggie, Wal-Mart, teeth, lights, ho-ho-ho, uh-oh baby, uh-oh Daddy, uh-oh Mommy, I love you (more like “luv you”, thank you (he says this usually when he gets something he wants), please, milk, more milk, “Papa cookies” (for special cookies that Papa buys him), night-night, morning, wash cloth, yes (actually, “yeah”), snow, Elmo, ball, boat…I could go on all night.  I am sure I have left a lot out…but you get the idea.

And of course is “No”.

Ones he has been saying for quite sometime:

Mimi, Papa (for Grandpa), Mommy, Daddy, Diego, Dora

He is picking up words left and right and he continues to surprise Mommy and me everyday.

Good job, Connor.

This sweater and hat combination was given to Victoria, Connor and I as a “Welcome Home” gift when Connor was born by my Mom (Grandma).  My Mom saved this sweater and hat for her grandson.  With this gift was a double picture frame — one side of me wearing the sweater and hat on my red motorcycle and the other side empty until it could be filled with Connor’s picture.  (I’ll post my picture when I have a chance to scan it in.)

Daddy wore it and Uncle Danny wore it when they each were about 18 months old.

I snapped a few pics of Connor wearing it a couple of weeks ago.  It will now be packed away for the next grandson or possibly great-grandson in 20-35 years  (no pressure Connor).

Love,
Daddy

Connor quite couldn’t put his finger on it…but he knew that wasn’t the “real” Santa Claus.

And a zoomed out version of the same photo shows that all the other kids think “Santa” is fine…but my son knows the real truth.

He knows that Santa Claus wears white gloves and has gold rimmed glasses and looks like this:

Keep ’em honest, Connor!

Love,
Daddy

Check out these images of Connor enjoying a cookie at his playgroup’s Christmas party:

Over the past couple of months, Connor has gotten quite protective of Mommy. It is bordering on “jealously” at times. Mimi is not allowed to hug Mommy and Daddy most definitely is not allowed to hug or kiss Mommy.

It has gotten to the point that even while we ride in the car, I cannot hold Mommy’s hand like have done for the previous 7+ years. If Connor sees it, he starts to fuss. We’ve agreed not to play into his “jealously” but I had to at least get it on camera one time. So…

We went to the outlet mall in Williamsburg this evening (nice night and no one was there). As we were strolling back from a trip to Harry&David’s (Connor is caring the bag of goodies), Mommy and I were walking arm and arm. Connor pitched a fit and was saying, “Nooo….Nooo…Nooo…” We walked a little further and I tried to hold her hand this time (with the video going). Now, you can see how protective he is and how he tries to tell us that I cannot hold Mommy’s hand. You can also see from this video how much more vocal he is becoming.

About a week ago the grandkids got together at Mimi and Grandpa’s house (with the “older kids”).  Connor and Brenna were chasing each other around the house and Gavin was just waiting for his turn to have at the two of them (soon enough my young nephew…soon enough.)

Here is Connor and Brenna playing.

…and surprised Mommy with an early 40th birthday party. Of course, Mommy kept saying she will not be 40 until Dec 23rd (she wants to enjoy her 30’s for a few more days).

Anyways…it took some careful planning, at lot of work on Mimi’s part and some help from Grandpa, Sandy and Phil, and Daddy. I put together the slideshow/video and it made its debut at the party. I think she was embarrassed a little bit (especially on the ballerina pic) — but nothing too bad.

For weeks, Mimi and I have been planning this and trying to keep it a secret. The whole time Mommy was saying she wanted a party and we kept lying to her (everyone is just too busy with Christmas and the holidays). Then I had to pull out all the stops and “invite her” to an office Christmas party at the same location we were having her surprise party. I had one of the guys at work send a fake invitation to our home email address and then I printed it out. Victoria wrote in on the calendar (and that is when I realized she was buying into it).

Showtime…

We pulled up to the our neighborhood clubhouse and 1st thing she notices is that Laura (her friend from down the street) is parked nearby.
She notices a bunch of other cars and says, “That is Laura’s minivan.”
Me: “Is it?”
Victoria: “I think they are having a kid’s party at that house.”
Me: “Probably.”
Then she notices that there are no other cars parked in front of the clubhouse.
Victoria: “Where is everyone?”
Me: “David and Tony are always late for work. Maybe they are running late. Don’t worry about it.”
I “rush” her inside quickly by telling her, “I am freezing…hurry up.”
Then (thanks Uncle Danny for taking the pics)…

She was completely surprised. I got a “slap on the arm” as if to say…”You got me.”

A few minutes later, I got a tearful embrace from her that caused me to cry too. Soon the video was shown and there were a few more tearful eyes.
We all had a great time and I wanted to thank everyone for their help, support, and attending. Victoria truly enjoyed it and was VERY happy!

Whew…Mimi and I are just glad the “secret” was kept a “secret”. Victoria is a tough one to hide things from…she has a ‘sixth sense’.

Check out the gallery for more pics.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!
Love,
Daddy, Mimi, Connor, and everyone else