Miscellaneous!

We have had an interesting summer. Connell makes sure to keep it interesting. He also keeps us laughing so hard our sides hurt! :) We have definitely noticed some changes in behavior (sigh!) since he turned 2 a few months ago. But really, overall, he's still the sweet boy he has always been. The thing that really balances out the frustrating moments of toddlerhood, is the utter amazement we have looking at how much he's grown, how much he is learning EVERYDAY, and the funny things he says! Since he turned 2, he has just been talking more and more each day, and it's so fun! We can really have little conversations now! Here is a sample of a few of Connell's favorite topics:

• Police cars. ("Pleece" cars) - Having Connell in the truck is like a built-in radar detector. He can spot a police car a mile away. Very helpful!
• Pee Pee on the Potty & Treat Jar (see below).
• Choo Choos and Choo Choo Tracks. He knows where all the train tracks are in town, and gets so excited if we happen to see a train.
• This past week, Connell was counting his blueberries at breakfast and counted from 2 to 10! He just skips 1.
• Connell is now very much into cars/trucks. He has several little ones that he plays with, and last week, we got him a 'city' mat for his room. He drives his cars/trucks around on it to the airport and the school, etc and makes this cute little sound while he drives. It makes me smile when I hear it.
• Connell likes to tell you that the Bible is all about Jesus.
• Singing. Daddy is generally the one that puts Connell to bed at night. Since Connell was a very little baby, Tim wanted to do that so it was their special time. We read a story together and then Tim and Connell do prayers and Tim sings a song to Connell. It's an old hymn called "And We Bid You Goodnight" (done at some point by the Grateful Dead - one of my hubby's faves). About a month ago, I started to hear Connell singing along with Tim. It almost brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it. So, this has become known as Daddy's song. Sometimes when I put Connell to bed he'll ask me to sing Daddy's song, but interrupts me in the middle - I think he only likes for Daddy to sing it! That's okay, we have a Mommy's song too. It's "You Are My Sunshine." I've been singing that to Connell since he was in my belly and he has recently started to sing along with me as well. He also refers to it as the "happy" song - I guess because of the line "you make me happy when skies are gray." And of course, we now have Emma's song - Twinkle Twinkle. I started singing this with Connell to Baby Emma in my belly, and now he will lean right over and sing to my belly, and he can really sing this song by himself now. It's the most precious thing ever. I keep telling Tim we really need to get that on video.
• In addition to singing to Baby Emma - he has been sharing his money with her. He likes to put coins in his piggy bank, and now he wants to put some in her bank as well. Now that is a sweet brother!

As I already mentioned, the POTTY has been a big deal around our house lately. I bought Connell a potty about a month ago, and he peed in it a few times, and then the fun passed. Last Monday, we started putting big boy underwear on him anytime we are home...so diapers only at nap and bedtime. We are also trying to stay home more, which is good anyway! It's too hot to be out. Tim and I are very impressed. He is doing really really well with it so far. That's not to say that he is potty trained YET, but I would say that we are definitely on our way. And I would also say, this child is highly motivated by the "treat jar!" I hope he isn't 10 years old and asking for the treat jar after he goes to the bathroom. Hahaha! It's okay...whatever works. He gets a little fruit snack or an animal cracker. It's a whole lot cheaper than buying diapers! And to top it off, I think the BIG payoff for Connell is getting to flush the toilet. He LOVES it! You have to really watch, he will flush it like 10 times in a row. I see a plumbing call in our near future. :)

Wow, this may be my longest post ever. I am usually not this wordy. Just wanted to share with everyone what's going on in our house these days. Here are some random pics to go along with my random post!

We started keeping the potty chart a few days ago! Of course, this comes AFTER the treat jar!

Mommy & Emma going to play bunco - 32 weeks!

Daddy & Connell having some fun pool time