Conner

Here is a post all about Conner:
- When people first see Conner their first comment is almost always about his hair: "Wow, now that is a tow-head!", or "Holy cow, his hair is so blonde!" or "He has white hair!" or "Is it naturally that color?" His hair is a white blonde color and it is very thin and fine. When his hair is wet it looks like he doesn't have any hair, you can just see his scalp. Reed and I were wondering what would happen if we took him to a place with black lights - I wonder if his hair would glow?
- Conner went through a phase where he hated to have his picture taken. In the photo below he is telling me "NO" because he can see the camera. I would try to sneak up on him to take a picture and he would hear the camera turning on or see me and he would get so mad and run over to me yelling "no, no, no" and shaking his finger at me. We tried to have his pictures taken professionally at Sears but Conner wasn't cooperative. We took him and he cried and cried, even though the person offered to let him play with what ever toys he wanted. We tried again a week later and he started screaming when he saw the entry way to the picture studio. After that we gave up.
- Conner loves to play with Alan. In the picture below they are both saying "Na-na, na-na" trying to get Reed to chase them. Lately Conner has really liked wrestling with Alan. He will tackle him and end up sitting or laying on top of Alan (Alan is really good about letting Conner do this). They also love to chase each other around the main floor of our house. They often play really well together but they can also really push each other's buttons. Some days it feels like all I hear is one or the other crying because the other one hit/pushed/threw a toy at/took a toy away from ect.

Conner has pinned Alan down

- Conner is somewhat aggressive towards other kids his age or younger. He especially doesn't like other little kids standing right next to him. I watched this scene in nursery after I dropped him off: Conner and a little girl the same age were standing side by side next to the toy cabinet. I saw them look at each other, and then the little girl reached over and pushed his shoulder so that he had to step over. He turned and hit her and she started to cry. This is something we are working on.
- He is becoming more independent. In the picture below he is learning how to do a somersault. For the most part I really enjoy watching him learn to do things for him self.

Conner put his own swim suit on (too bad he forgot to take off his shorts first)

- Conner has a very expressive face. I think part of that is because he doesn't talk well but he still expresses his feelings with his facial expressions. He squeals and gives a huge smile when he is happy or excited, he sticks his lower jaw out and pulls a funny face when he is worried about something, and when he is sad he looks down, pouts, and his lower lip starts to quiver (it is quite a sad look)
- So about the whole talking thing - I took him in for another check up on his hearing. About 2 months ago I took him in and he was happy and cheerful and they told me he had a double ear infection and a 20-30% hearing loss due to fluid in his ears. So this time two days before I took him in he had a cold and he was rubbing and tugging on his right ear and he was super cranky so I figured he probably had an ear infection and was still going to have fluid in his ear. We went in and they said his ears look healthy (no infection) and there was no hearing loss. Which was good but very confusing. I explained how confused I was and all they could say was "Well, if you ever have any questions come in and we will check him again". I felt like pointing out that the one time that I was sure he had an infection he was just fine and the time that he had a double ear infection I thought he was acting completely normal so how would I know when to bring him in to get checked?
- There is good news on the talking front - he is talking more! Yea! He has added several new words to his vocabulary. Today he even said "Me, please" when he wanted a treat. He still doesn't really put any words together. If you say two words together he will just look at you or repeat one of the words: For example today at dinner he pointed at the whip cream (we had waffles with strawberries and whip cream) and grunted.
Reed: more cream
Conner: pees (please)
Reed: more cream
Conner silently nods
Reed: more cream
Conner: mo (more)
Reed: more cream
Conner: mo (and does the sign for more too)
Reed: cream
Conner: (says something that doesn't sound remotely like cream)
Reed: cream
Conner: cum
Reed: That counts.

Conner is holding a big rhubarb leaf and stalk

Conner and his Dad

- Conner is fascinated by bugs. He points them out every where we go and yells "buh" at the top of his lungs. He loves to go for walks and then point out the bugs on the side walk. Then he usually tries to squash them with his hand or foot.
- He loves to grab your foot and then try to pinch your toe nail on your big toe and pull it. It tickles soooo much and he thinks it is so funny to watch our reactions.
- Conner loves animals and doesn't have much fear of them. We went to a family reunion this weekend and it was held on my Aunt and Uncle's farm. They have a big black lab. Conner walked right up to it and started patting it. When she went to lay down he followed and soon he was rubbing her nose, lifting her hind leg, examining her paws and finally he just laid down on top of her (luckily she is a very nice dog). I kept dragging him away and he just kept going back. They also had a cat and kitten that Conner really liked. The poor things - he kept chasing them all over and when he would catch one he would pick it up (sometimes by the neck) and try to hold it. It can be kind of scary sometimes, like on Sunday there were 4 or 5 labs there and 3 of them started rough housing with each other (snapping and jumping). I looked over there in time to see Conner walk right into the middle of them. One dog was laying on its back while it snapped at another dog that was standing over it and Conner walked right over and flopped down on top of the dog that was on the ground. Luckily the dogs just ignored him.

Conner holding the kitten

- Conner is starting to enjoy books more. Right now his favorite book is "We're going on a Bear Hunt".