At least he’s neat about it.

Apparently, Conal didn’t go for his lunch today. So this is what he left behind*:

Yes, I gave him the heel of the loaf. But there were only two pieces left, so he got what he got. And I got some modern art.

* He ended up eating the rest of the sandwich when he declared that he was hungry before going up for his nap. Stall tactic? Perhaps, but he probably was hungry — two bites doesn’t usually fill his belly!

 

Busy!

It’s true that I “stay at home” with Conal, but it seems that we don’t do all that much staying at home. I like to make sure that he has plenty of time with other kids so I belong to two moms groups through which we’ve both made some great friends. We usually have a playdate or two each week through those groups, which is nice (this week we went to the Saratoga Children’s Museum). And, of course, we have the twice a week speech sessions with Miss Lynn, who Conal has tons of fun with.

But sometimes a kid needs more. So, to satisfy my little athlete, I’ve signed him up for gymnastics class. The session started on Monday and it was terrific! Conal loved it. He walked on the balance beams, jumped on the trampoline, hung and swung on the high bars and parallel bars, crawled through the tunnel, jumped on the stars and somersaulted his way across the mats.

To balance out the athletics, I also signed him up for a science class on Wednesdays at CMOST. The first class was all about bubbles and next week he’ll explore colors.

What fun for a two-year-old!

And what tiring days for a mom. TGIF!

 

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.

 

What happened to four?

Conal does a great job counting to 13 except for one thing: He skips four. Almost every time.

I’ve asked him, “What happened to four? You forgot four.”

He responds, “Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. THIRTEEN! YAY!” And then he claps and smiles. But no four. Four is out of the picture. What does the little jobber have against four?

Who knows? He just doesn’t go for it. But, he loves thirteen.

 

Catching up.

After vacation, we had a few days at home before taking off again. The highlight of our brief time at home was Claire’s graduation party. It was a fun Mexican-themed fiesta!

Conal liked the bouncy-bounce:

Nicki and Conal.

Sean and Conal.

And he and Owen loooooved Claire’s yummy cupcakes:

Conal also had fun just hanging out that night, after the party started to die-down:

Now, the party’s over and Claire heads off to college next week. Conal will miss his Aunt Claire, for sure!

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!

 

Oh, jeez.

Since Conal hasn’t been the most talkative child, I haven’t paid the closest attention to what I say around him. As I learned earlier today, I should.

I had to change his diaper this afternoon and I wasn’t expecting it to be so . . . full. As I opened the diaper, I said a surprised little, “Oh, jeez, Conal!”

And it was repeated right back to me. Over and over. And then it was changed up: “Oh, jeez, Mama!” Over and over. Then back to the original.

Yes, lesson learned: I’ll be watching what I say from now on.