April

Oh, April, how I’d almost like to forget thee.

It was a tough month. Some good, sure, but also some bad. Some really, really bad. And the bad had me thinking I needed to turn in my mother card.

It started out fine. We took Conal to the town Easter Egg Hunt, which was really just a candy hunt since there were no eggs and, honestly, it wasn’t much of a hunt at all. The candy was just scattered around the lawn at the town offices and when the horn blew, the kids ran off and gathered as much as they could, trying in vain to avoid the pushy parents. It was chaos, but the little jobber seemed to have a decent time with his friends.

On sunny days when we had no plans, we picnicked:

And just played outside as much as we could:

Then we hit a rough patch. At the end of April, we decided to head to Long Island, with a stop at Columbia University to watch one of niece Delia’s last lacrosse games. There would be lots of family at the game and it seemed like a good idea. Only Conal wasn’t 100% — far from it, in fact. So far from 100% that we ended up at the emergency room, with him later being admitted for an overnight stay. It sucked. He had croup and ended up fine but, seriously, it sucked. At the time, I wrote about it over here.

So that was that. A fun family weekend that turned into a stay in the hospital. Too bad we weren’t done.

A few days after the croup episode, I scratched my cornea. Since I did it right when I woke up, and because I’m pregnant and couldn’t really take anything for the pain, it was a full day of hell with intense, searing pain. It took several days to start to feel better and the whole time I felt like an idiot because I had scratched the cornea on nothing other than my own (apparently too sharp) fingernail.

To this day, it flares up at least once a week, the searing pain and tearing waking me up at night. It doesn’t last long, but it hurts like nobody’s business.

And that is how the month ended. A little jobber recovering from croup, his mom just trying to keep it all together, and a few smiley moments tossed in for good measure:

Recovery boy

 

March

I haven’t blogged in ages. It’s been so long, in fact, that I had a hard time logging in today. Had to wrack my brain to come up with my password. Sad, sad state of affairs.

In an effort to catch up, though, I plan to run through the last few months and share what the Little Jobber’s been up to. We start with March . . .

Like last year, Conal and Owen started the garden work early, planting seeds for tomatoes, peas and cantaloupe. Conal was into it:

“Cheese!”

Busy at work.

We had some warm weather in March and Conal made the most of it by playing outside, most notably pushing his imaginary sea lions (named A-Rod, for some odd reason) around the driveway:

Don’t really know what that was all about. But, he was all about the sea lions and now, in August, he’ll sometimes remember them and ask to take them for a walk. Why sea lions? Why not!

 

The last game.

Owen took Conal to see RPI’s second-to-last regular season home game. The last game of a fun season for Conal. He’s enjoyed going to the games and has even worked up from calling the team “Arppy Pie” to being able to clearly say R-P-I.

Conal and Owen before the game.

Conal and Puckman.

Awaiting a high-5.

The highlight of the night: High-5s from the players!

Until next season!

 

There will be fun.

Back-to-(almost)-back birthday parties. A river walk. The “Elmo show.” A trip to Grandma’s house.  This little jobber has the life!

First up, Nora’s party, where Conal went crazy with the scarves:

And enjoyed some cake:

Before hitting the zip-line:

Two days later, it was Maddie’s party at Chuck E. Cheese’s and Conal loved it. Especially all of the ball games:

Then it was a trip to the river:

Followed a few days later by Sesame Street Live or, as Conal refers to it, the Elmo show. He waited patiently to get in:

And then waited patiently for the show to start:

Once it did, the boy was mesmerized. Absolutely mesmerized:

That evening, we headed south to Long Island. After lots of fun with his cousins, Conal was all set to come home on Sunday. Apparently, the ride home called for being fully wrapped in his favorite blankets:

Ah, the whirlwind life of a toddler!

 

We’re all cute.

Morning, as Owen is getting dressed for work.

Conal: You look cute?

Owen: No, I don’t look cute.

Conal (concerned): You look cute?

Owen: No. I don’t look cute.

Conal (smiling, head cocked to the side): You look cute?

Owen: OK, yes, I guess I look cute.

Late morning, after combing Conal’s hair and washing his face.

Conal: I look cute?

Me: Yes, you do. You look very look cute.

Conal: I awfully cute.

Me: Yup. You sure are.

Conal (smiling, head cocked to the side):  You cute, Mama.

I guess we’re just a bunch of cuties. In Conal’s mind at least!

 

Happy New Year!

These aren’t the best photos I’ve ever taken of Conal, but they’ll have to do. Here he is on each of his three New Year’s Days:

January 1, 2008 (6 months old)

January 1, 2009 (18 months old)

January 1, 2010 (30 months old)

He’s gone from baby to kid –and remains tons of fun.

 

Merry Christmas!

In the words of the Little Jobber, “Happy holiday! Happy holiday! Happy HOLIDAY!”

And, “Jingle bells. Jingle bells. Jingle BELLS!”

 

Getting into the spirit.

There’s a bit of Christmas fever going on at Chez Little Jobber. Conal is very interested in Santa Claus, even if he wants nothing to do with him whenever he’s been around. He’s also very interested in the idea of presents. He talks about presents, trying to sort out what, exactly, they are all about.

And, of course, he likes the lights. When we drive around after dark, he points out all the decorative snowmen and Santas and says, “Oh, wow!” when we see particularly bright displays. He’s into it, this year. Really into it.

So we took him to the Capital Lights in the Park on Monday, and there were plenty of ooohs and aaahs as we drove through the lights:

After riding through the lights, we went to the Washington Park Lake House to check out the displays:

And then it was back outside to ride the carousel:

And this other up-and-down type ride:

It was a fun evening! Conal surprised us with his desire to go on the rides. I guess we’ll have some amusement parks in our future!

On Friday, we went to the town’s holiday party to meet up with Santa. The “photo op” didn’t go so well:

But the crafts table was a hit:

Fun times for the Little Jobber. And more ahead, for sure.

 

Thanksgiving.

First, before we hit the road, there were some crafts:

From Wednesday through late Friday, we were at Grandma’s house on Long Island. Thanksgiving day brought lots of fun with cousins, especially Casey:

The next day, it was time to meet Santa at the Cousins Party:

And have some more — very wild — fun with Casey:

Then, back home for the big surprise 40th anniversary party on Saturday:

Five whirlwind days: Lots of late nights and lots of fun for the Little Jobber!

 

Hockey boy.

It’s hockey season and that means that Conal is in full-on fan mode. He’s already been to some RPI hockey games, he’s all geared up with his Uncle Jer’s old jersey, and he’s now sporting Henrik hair.

Henrik hair? What’s Henrik hair, you may ask. Why, it’s hair in the style of Henrik (as in, Lundqvist, NY Rangers goalie), of course. A true fan, this little jobber. A true fan.

And now, some recent hockey-palooza pics!

With Ethan at an RPI game.

Wearing his “new” jersey.

Gearing up for a game.

With Pop-pop at an RPI game.