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!

 

Vacation lessons.

A week away. A week of fun. A week, also, of learning about the little jobber’s crystallizing personality:

• Conal needs his time alone.
• He’s not always himself around others.
• He goes wild when overtired and sugared-up.
• He loves the sand.
• But doesn’t love swimming pools.
• He’s become a hugger.
• He hates taking baths in vacation houses.
• He goes crazy for whales, penguins, fish, sharks and other marine life that call aquariums their home.
• He likes to walk backward, crawl backward, wear his hat backward and just say “backward” as much as possible.
• When he gets it in his head that lobster-print swim trunks and striped shirts go together, there is no getting him to change his mind.
• If he could eat chips all day, he would.
• He wouldn’t, however, drink soda.

And I’m pretty much OK with that last one. I’m OK with all of them, actually. He is who he is and his personality is becoming more and more apparent as he grows and develops and experiences more. It’s wonderful.

Now, here’s a little glimpse of our vacation fun!

Enjoying the beach in front of the house.

Enthralled by whatever was in the tank.

Just a penguin.

I wasn’t kidding about the hugs.

Nor was I kidding about the going wild.

Fleeting quite moment.

The lobster-stripes combo. With purse. A good look, no?

Mmm…lobstah!

Fresh ‘n funky.

Lots o’ kids.

 

Valleycats!

Bruce and Owen took the boys to a Valleycats game last weekend. The first of the season!

Bruce and Ethan

Owen and a shy Conal, wearing his new Valleycats hat.

It’s too bad that the ‘Cats didn’t play a little better for the guys. But, that just means they’ll have to go back and cheer the ‘Cats on to a win later this season!

 

Active boy.

To this point in his young life, Conal has primarily been a spectator in the world of sports. Sure, he’s dabbled in golf and he likes to shoot baskets in the basement and the bathtub. But, for the most part, he’s spectated.

Not today. Today, Owen took him to meet up with his pal, Ava, for some ice skating. According to Owen (I stayed at home — it was a sunny day and I had to take advantage of it and get out for a run!), they didn’t love the skating. But at least they got out there.

Conal even hung on the cone a little bit:

It looks like he did a great job when skating with his daddy:

All in all, a good first time on the rink!

 

Boys’ Night Out!

Conal’s social life has extended to the evening. He went to his first hockey game last night, where he met up with his pal, Ethan*.

Unfortunately, RPI lost but Conal had a great time! He was all charged up when he got home (at 9:30!) and he was still charged up when he woke up this morning (at 7:45 — shouldn’t he have slept in?).

I think he’s already looking forward to future hockey games and nights out with the guys.

*Don’t worry, he didn’t go alone. The dads were there, too.

 

The giraffe hits the town.

These are busy days for a little giraffe. Busy days.

(I’m so pleased that the squishy lizard thing made it in the picture.)

 

Hand-me-downs all around.

A friend gave me 5 boxes of clothes for Conal the other night. After bringing them inside this morning, it took about 3 minutes for things to unravel. And now we have this:

He went wild with the clothes. He pulled them out of the boxes with a speed normally reserved for shoving Craisins in his mouth. He threw them into piles and then gathered piles into his arms and threw them up in the air. He rolled in the clothes. Put them on his head and walked around in circles. Fell into the piles.

He had fun. And I can’t really argue with that.

 

Where there were 3, now there are 4.

The lovely Graziano family has become lovelier. Baby Dean joined them on Tuesday morning, shortly after 11. All 8lbs of him are just adorable.

These are happy days.