Dear Connor - 26 months

Dear Connor,

I keep meaning to write letters to you and your brother each month, but it seems that when I can get around to it, is the best I can offer at this point. I’ll try to do better.

You are twenty six months old today. In celebration of your Dad’s recent extended time off from work last Tuesday, we decided to take you and your brother to the zoo. Getting out of the house was a major excursion and I truly believe that I’ve taken camping trips with less planning. You Dad made observation that the double stroller takes a lot longer to fold than the single stroller but then decided that once you have enough children to fit in a double stroller you’ve already realized that you are never leaving the house quickly again anyway.

Unfortunately it was naptime for all of the zoo animals. So many were sleeping in far corners that we determined that you would probably think that the zoo meant you got to see only rocks and waterfalls. You really dug the Aviary, because you got to get down and run around, although you were more interested in the puddles on the floor than actually looking at birds. You are such a little boy. The next day we decided that your favorite part of the zoo trip was getting to ride on the Zoo bus back to the parking lot. You were pretty into that.

You’ve been more independent lately, wanting to do things yourself, especially undressing. You sometimes ask for help, as you did the other night before getting in the shower when you had your shirt up over your head and were yanking on it so violently, that it was causing you to spin and disco dance around the bathroom, yelling, “HELP! HELP!”.

 I did not help, only because it was hysterical and I know you in fact, CAN undress yourself. I know this because you’ve decided to take every opportunity to show us that you enjoy being naked. This was especially fun when you were in bed for the night, and stripped down peepeeing all over your nice clean sheets… again and then again. We started putting you to bed in Pjs with the feet cut off turned around and zipped up backwards which seems to do the trick. This all started because we introduced you to your very own potty.

I thought it might be easy to potty train you because for a while you were on a schedule so strict that you pooped each morning at 10:30am. Since that time, you’ve become more sporadic in your pooping, so it’s a little more difficult. But you enjoy nothing more than stripping down in 10 seconds flat and sitting on the potty explaining to us that you needed to go “peepee on da poddy” to keep yourself from getting in trouble for getting naked, yet again. I would be fine with this, if you had actually taken your clothes off because you actually had to pee, but you never do until you decide to get up from the potty and sprint across the living room leaving a wake of urine behind you. You have peed on the potty twice now which you should be proud of, but might be canceled out by the fact that you have also pooped twice on the living room carpet. It’s because of this that we’ve decided to put the potty away for a few weeks and try it again.

Christmas is coming and you are getting pretty excited. You aren’t real clear on who Santa is, but know something about him and his reindeer are a big deal and that you get smiles when you tell people that Santa says, HoHoHo. You are doing really well with the Christmas tree in the living room which is surprising. I thought for sure you would have pulled the entire thing down the first day, but seeing as how we put most of the ornaments on the top three feet of it, you’ve become bored and are content to turn the lights on the tree off and on, until your Dad and I start to feel like we might be having a seizure.

I can’t wait for Christmas. I can’t wait for you to see all of the toys that Santa brings to you, or the excitement you will have getting to see both sets of Grandparents on the same day. I can’t wait for you to look through your stocking. I can’t wait to see what’s in the bag that the preschool sent home with you, that says, To: Mommy and Daddy, From: Connor. I can’t wait to let you tear into the Gingerbread house you are going to make with Daddy. You make the holidays joyful again. Merry Christmas, Baby.

Love,

Mommy