It is probably the most common advice any parent gives any new parent. Of all the tips about sleeping when the baby sleeps, and infant acid reflux, toilet training, etc., “Don’t blink” is by far the one we heard the most. And WOW are these kids growing up fast. Yesterday we took Connor and Josie to Hope Presbyterian for their first day of fall preschool. Now this is Connor’s third fall and Josie’s first. The ladies who were Connor’s first teachers have been watching Josie from newborn to yesterday with anticipation for her to be in class. It was the sweetest thing when Mrs. Michelle saw Josie, extended her arms and said, “Give me that beautiful girl. I’ve been waiting almost two years for you.” Then she hugged her tightly and Josie’s smile was as big as could be. After class Michelle said that Josie talked non-stop.
Connor’s first day was equally impressive. He walked in and the teacher said, can you find your cubby and put your back pack in it? Connor identified his name and put away his little back pack. He told us about the books they read, who he played with, and how his day went. This is the same little boy who had to bring his lovie and pacifier with him. Wow, where did the time go. I still remember taking the picture of a pregnant Nita walking Connor in his little froggy rain galoshes to his first day of school. Was that really two years ago?
One of the requirements of preschool for Connor was being potty trained. Now the funny thing is Josie has been watching Connor’s potty training and all the positive attention he’s been getting. So guess what? She has decided she wants to sit on the potty like a “big girl.” The problem or rather funniest thing is she doesn’t want the little seat cheater. Since Connor doesn’t use one, she doesn’t need one either. I obviously am not going to post a picture of this, but imagine a little 22 month old girl straddling an adult large-mouth toilet seat hanging on for dear life trying to do her little business. Now I know she is only trying to double the treat production for her and Connor. But I appreciate both her effort in trying to go potty and her connecting the dots that going potty means getting treats. If she could somehow be out of diapers by the time our cruise rolls around next year, well that would be something.
I started a website to share pictures and videos the day Connor was born and it has been pretty fun to go back and see what Connor was doing at a certain age compared to Josie. Now to be fair Josie loves to mimic Connor and wants to do what he is doing. But there are some things that Connor hasn’t shown her, but he did at her age. For example Bat races. It is basically spinning around until you get dizzy and fall down. Josie has been doing this for a few weeks; Connor discovered this and was taped on September 19, 2010. I even got to make the same joke. “Daddy usually spends $50 on bourbon for that feeling.” In any case, Josie was doing it just before dinner and was having a blast. She is now running through the house at all opportunities. No more casual walking, she’s got someplace to be.
Halloween is going to be interesting. Josie is FASCINATED with it. She wants me to tell her stories about it constantly. My hunch is that she likes both dressing up and candy and Halloween seems like the perfect intersection of the two. She is also a little wishy-washy in that she keeps changing her mind on what she wants to be for Halloween. I have this incredible feeling that we’ll have two 2T costumes this year. Plus Nita has lost control of the situation. I had been steering the kids into the Wizard of Oz. Now we all know there are four main characters. Dorothy, Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin man, right? Well, so far, Josie wants to be Glenda the good witch and Connor wants to be Toto. Come on! How do you mess this up! We went to a costume store last weekend and bought Connor an axe. So I’m trying to re-groom him for one of the main guys. But that means that my dumb ass will probably get stuck in a lion suit. Oh well, it’s all fun. And just teasing Nita, I think Josie would be an adorable Glenda and Connor is already practicing his barking.
I’ve been making up stories for the kids bedtimes and dinner fodder for years. I basically start with Prince Connor and Princess Josie and just kind of go crazy from there. It has led to some funny results. First we got so many compliments from Connor’s teachers on his imagination. They said he would make up these wonderful and creative stories. So Tuesday after nap the babysitter was feeding them a snack and Connor was practicing his doggie bark and kitty cat “meow.” She asked if he had a cat. He said, “We used to have a dog when I was little. Then he ate the cat.” Her eyes got really big and she looked at me and I said, “Well, not really. We had a dog, but he never ate a cat. He got skunked once, but that was about it.” She said, “I can’t believe I fell for that, but he was so believable.” Uh oh.
Speaking of blinking where did the 90s and 2000s go? Nita and I went to the Def Leppard/Poison show two nights ago (and yes my ears are still ringing a little). Wow am I a party loser?! I cannot hang like I used to. Now seriously, to my old high school and college friends, and some into my 30s…Could I bring it? You know I could find another gear. Now, I’m stuck in second with a flat tire and an oil leak. Seriously, Nita and I were in bed before midnight and 7AM felt like a sledgehammer. In fact, I could use a nap.
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