Dear Connor,
I wasn’t sure at first if I’d keep writing you these monthly missives, but you still change so much so fast that I’m afraid I’ll forget something if I stop writing everything down. The last two years are such a blur that sometimes I refer back to my own blog to remember what happened when.
The thing that’s on the forefront of Mommy’s mind right now is your health. You don’t have a scary disease or anything — it’s just all the little, normal illnesses that toddlers get. Since you have a family history of allergies and ear infections, it just makes things more interesting.
It’s barely fall and you’ve already been treated for an ear infection. Twice. That makes six ear infections in one calendar year, which your pediatrician says qualifies you for a trip to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. Mommy made that appointment today — there will be an audio screening, then a visit with the doctor. You’ll probably get to have tubes put in your ears, just like Daddy did when he was little, so that the fluid will drain and you won’t get all infected every single time you get a little cold.
You also have what we’ve been calling a sensitivity to eggs. That is, if Mommy tries to feed you an egg — scrambled, or cooked into a pasta sauce, or in a casserole — you will throw up before the meal is over. You do like eggs, though, which was especially unfortunate for Mommy and Daddy when we took you to our favorite Chinese restaurant a few months back and got the scrambled eggs and shrimp dish and you ate a ton of it. We were glad the owners love you to death (and have kids of their own), so we weren’t embarrassed to go back!
Anyway, your doctor is having us take you to an allergist to have that looked at (because we can’t get you a flu shot until we’re sure if you’re allergic to eggs, since the flu shot is made using eggs), and Mommy made that appointment today, too. It’s going to take two hours, from 9am to 11am, so I hope Mommy can keep you happy for that whole time. (It’s a little early for Daddy to be there, too.) We’ll have to stop giving you your Claritin for seven days before the appointment, so I’m sorry about your impending runny allergy nose.
In happier doctor news, you really seemed to enjoy your first trip to the dentist! You let the hygienist look at your teeth and clean them, and you let the dentist put some fluoride on them, too.
We got to play video games before and after your visit — your dentist’s office is especially for kids, so they have a whole game room full of arcade games that Mommy and Daddy love — that everyone can play for free! (One of those games, Bust A Move, was one that Mommy and Daddy played a lot while we were dating.)
Other things have happened in the past month besides taking you to doctors, though!
You’ve started to understand emotions. If someone tells you they’re scared or mad, you’ll kiss them on their arm to make it all better. Sometimes that’s the only way that Mommy can make you listen: “Connor, you’re making Mommy mad.”
You’re also super clingy to Mommy lately. One of your catch phrases is, “Carry you?” You’re a 30-pound little boy, so carrying you has actually sent Mommy to the chiropractor for an unexpected mid-month visit.
You’re still exploring your sense of humor, and you’re quite the jokester. When Mommy told you to brush the backs of your teeth, you pretended to brush the back of your neck. You ran with that joke for weeks. You also discover what makes other people laugh — like giving Mommy a running-start hug, or deliberately falling down on your bottom — and you’ll do it over and over to get that positive reaction.
Speaking of brushing your teeth, bedtime has become a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde affair. It’s gotten better since Mommy set a three-book limit on book time, but sometimes you’ll still try to run laps around your bedroom or hide in your closet or just plain fight being put in your crib. You love love love the quilt that Fake Aunt Sheryl made for you, and you like Mommy to sing Three Blind Mice (that’s one of the nursery-rhyme-themed squares on the quilt) while the quilt is hanging on the back of your crib so you can see it. Then, if Mommy (or Daddy, at quiet time) doesn’t put it on you just right — green side down, or blue side down, or under you — you throw a hairy conniption fit.
But sometimes you’ll do just fine, and have books and a couple of songs and then declare, “Night-night!”
Your vocabulary continues to explode, and your pronunciation has improved a little. There are still plenty of things you say that even Mommy and Daddy can’t understand, but most we can. Blueberries are “boo-ies” and grapes are “geeps.” Sometimes Mommy can’t tell the difference between a tickle and a taco and Daniel Tiger.
At least you say please and thank you on a regular basis now! Manners for the win.
Something else that’s cute is how you’re experiencing things for the first time — even things you’ve done before, like wearing footie pajamas. It was so many months ago that you didn’t remember them, and when we put some on you once the nights got chilly, you were enthralled by the “shoes” in your jammies.
Last, but not least: you’ve graduated to the Toddler Two room at school!
We were just waiting for some space to free up, so you could be in the classroom with two to three-year-olds. We’re also planning to move you up from just two days a week to three days a week when more space opens up. You’ve been doing three days a week for the past two weeks, to make up for a week of sick days a while back, and you seem to love it. You also nap much better in Miss Jill’s room, which is awesome, and you drink out of a cup. No more sippies at school!
It feels like I’ve written a novel this month (partially because I’m a few days late getting this written), but so much has happened — and, like I said, I don’t want to forget any of it. These toddler days will be gone before we know it (as hard as that is to believe right now), and I want to freeze these moments in time while I can.
