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.

 

Catching up.

I’ve been a lousy blogger, just failing to blog about all the things going on. Maybe it’s a sign that a lot has been happening? Yeah, let’s go with that.

So, we had Halloween:

It may appear that Conal went dressed as a dog but, no. He dressed as Kipper. Kipper that droll little British pup, who Conal happens to love. He even wore a “Kipper nose” drawn with eyeliner by yours truly.

We had a great time on Halloween. First, we stopped at Jer & Darci’s house and then we went trick-or-treating in the Graber’s neighborhood. It was a big crowd and that helped Conal get into the spirit. After we finished grubbing for candy, we headed to the Cooney’s house for dinner. The kids ran around and had a blast. It was lots of fun!

I’ll try to catch up on some of what else has been going on in the next few days. Provided Conal cooperates and takes his naps!

 

Apple-y.

The boy looooooves his apples!

October 2008:

October 2009:

 

The Little Jumper.

Conal is a boy who likes to jump. Jump, jump, jump!

Sometimes, Conal likes to jump on his mom and dad’s bed. They’ve always let him do it, even though it has seemed a little dangerous, because he loves it.

One day, Conal jumped and jumped and jumped on his parent’s bed and landed — SMACK! — head-first on the sharp wooden headboard. He screamed. He cried. He held his breath until he turned blue!

His parents were very worried. What should they do? His father ran to the kitchen to get a cold pack for his head. His mother held him and tried to make him feel better.

Soon enough, their efforts worked. Conal was better, with only a big, nasty bruise to mark the injury.

Conal’s mother wanted an end to the jumping. “No more jumping,” she said. “It’s too dangerous.” But Conal still wanted to jump. Jump, jump, jump. The day after he hurt his head, he was back to jumping on the bed, the coffee table, the stairs — all around the house! When his mother reminded him that sometimes little boys get hurt from reckless jumping, Conal became sad.

He didn’t want to think that he could be hurt doing something so fun. And jumping is lots of fun! But, he also didn’t want to get hurt. Conal wondered what to do.

His mother had an idea. She decided to guide him to safer jumping spots, like the floor and the couch, instead of the bed and the stairs. “Jump all you’d like on the couch and this pile of pillows!” she told Conal.

“Hooray!” he thought, and got ready to jump.

Conal is a boy who likes to jump. Jump, jump, jump!

 

Lucky boy.

Today, we were supposed to go to a corn maze. I told Conal all about it and happened to mention that he might be able to have a donut after going through the maze. They sell them there — the warm, yummy cider donuts. I also told him that he’d see his friends, Nora, Leah and Dylan.

Well, things happened and a scheduling snafu made it so we couldn’t go. I felt bad and decided to take Conal to the library so he could pick out books and play with the train. As we were getting ready, he kept asking if we were going to Leah’s house. He was very excited. “No,” I told him. “We’re going to the library.”

And then he asked about the donuts.

“Donuts for Conal?” he asked, giving me those eyes.

“We’ll see,” I said. And then mentioned that we really needed to get shoes on if we were going to the library.

We made it to the library and as he was climbing out of the car he said, “Donuts now?”

I put him off. “We’ll see. If you’re good,” I said. We went inside and picked out books. He played with the train set. I watched him share the trains with another little boy who was much older. When it was time to leave he said, “Donuts for Conal!!!” and practically ran out of the library.

To a two-year-old, “We’ll see” apparently means “Yes.” So what choice did I have? I had to get a donut for the little jobber.

On the way to get the donut, he sat in the car waiting with patience and excitement. When he got out of the car we held hands and he asked again, “Donuts for Conal?” and looked up at me with those eyes. Again. “Yes,” I said. “We’re going to get a donut.”

Still holding my hand, he started jumping up and down. “Lucky boy!” he said. “Lucky boy! Conal! Lucky boy!”

Yes, a very lucky boy. And a happy one at that.

 

Ham for breakfast.

Sometimes Conal can get pretty goofy. Like at breakfast the other day, when he turned into Mr. Funny Faces:

He’s a ham. A two-year-old ham.

 

Smile for the camera. Or not.

Some days Conal just has no interest in smiling for photo ops. He may be having a great time, but he gets in serious mode and you just can’t get the kid to smile.

That was the case when he went to the Valleycats game with Owen, my dad and Claire earlier this week. Serious. He was totally serious.

He came home all smiles and filled with excitement over being at the game with his peeps, but you wouldn’t know it from his expression! The kid is a little Mr. Serious.

 

Thriller.

Someone must have taught the Little Jobber some MJ moves when I wasn’t looking because he’s all about the Thriller zombies these days:

Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch more of his moves because I’m a little slow with the camera. But, he was walking around on tippy toes with his arms in zombie position all afternoon. Post-nap, that is. Maybe he dreamt of zombies?

Only the Little Jobber knows where this zombie act came from and, unfrotunately for us, he’s not likely to tell.