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we are so proud of Elliott for completing his first reconciliation and even reading at the service. He practiced his prayers and is a second grade star pupil (his teacher thinks so!)

Top photo  bedtime cuddles

second photo  loving the Valentine stuffed animals from Nana and Pop

third photo  Conor not sharing the toilet with me  thank goodness the cleaning ladies came earlier this day

fourth photo  cookie making!

We haven’t seen Grandma in four months so thankful for 6 negative COVID tests that allowed us to be together. It’s been pretty chilly- but not as bad as many places. Regardless we just have stayed inside. Tons of games – Clue, checkers, Apples to apples, chocolate candy lane. And Grandma did baketivity kits of Whoopie pies and pudding pops. Don’t forget lots of truck time too!

(last picture is Conor hiding in a container of ginger snaps in hopes that no one will take them away from him!)

8-12 inches of snow have fallen in the last week so we have tried to make the most of it. I took the older two kids sledding for the first time in years. I definitely skipped out on prego and newborn sledding these last couple years. The kids made great snow dens. Conor vacillates between liking the snow and getting frustrated that it’s hard to walk in. He looks so cute all bundled up. Well they all do!

I’m sure not sure Jordan and I have ever had a 9am start to a date… it was great!! Cross country skiing (recommend the golf course instead of hiking trails) and lunch in the van. 

the best part of the date was 12 hours later – Jordan shaved his 2021 beard and instantly became 5 years younger and 3x as handsome. I noticed instantly but the kids haven’t yet. They were distracted by ice cream sandwiches and the BFG movie.

So one person in this house isn’t into the hot chocolate bomb fad – he was upset that the warm milk was melting his chocolate so we had to change course. With Jordan Linville

Happy 2nd Birthday, Conor!    (His birthday was Thursday, January 7th.)  We are so ready for two! He is increasingly less crabby and more fun to hang out with – yay!  Here’s to a strong 2021! **A big thanks to Natalie for helping me write this blog post.**

Nicknames: C-man, Best Buddy Boy (that’s what Natalie says), My C (from Elliott), Conor-man

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Blue (Technically, the outer ring is a turquoise blue, in the middle blue, and then going in, a gray blue)

Personality:  Silly.  Picky.  Cute.  Energetic.  Stubborn.  Insistent.  Excitable.  Adventurous in places we don’t want him to be.  Likes to imitate Natalie.  Trouble-maker.  He is seriously a little stinker… just today, dumped milk on the ground, poured water from a cup into a shot glass (on a night stand), hid behind a curtain because he didn’t want his diaper changed, etc.

*Elliott wants me to note… that Conor always wants his Mama time.  (This is true.)

Favorite Activities:  Dumping water from one cup/bucket to another.  Playing tea (ugh – he’s so insistent and particular about this, it can be very annoying because he wants to use his Dad’s set, not a play set).  Handwashing (also annoying – just sitting in the sink to wash).  Spinning in the chair with Natalie.  Playing with trucks.  Reading books about trucks and dogs.  Baby breakaway to Natalie’s room.    Watch-out Daddy…. Natalie pushes him super fast in Baby Ellie’s stroller.  Being outside.  We rode bikes many times a week when the weather was nice.  Playing in the wagon at Nana and Pop’s house.  He runs a lot; he loves to run free fall down hills.  Saying hi to grandparent pairs on Facetime (Grandma/Grandpa or Nana/Pop – he always wants them to be together and has a disturbed face when they are not.)  Throwing stuff.  In the last week, he and I have played “Matching” with these go fish cards.  We match face-up though!  He is just learning how to scooter too.

Things he is obsessed with: Mail trucks.  He also loves roller trucks and fire trucks.  This is why he likes bike riding so much – you can see a lot of transportation on a bike ride.  In December, he and I probably visited the outside of the fire station 3x a week… there’s only so much to do in the winter in New England during COVID with a toddler.

Mom’s Favorite thing to do with Conor: Snuggle and read (when he will let me – we read a lot, but he is not a big snuggler)

Dad’s Favorite thing to do with Conor: TBD – J has to fill in.

Natalie’s Favorite thing to do with Conor: Cuddling (almost never happens) and spinning in the chair in the living room

Elliott’s Favorite thing to do with Conor: “Wrestling”

Favorite Songs: Like the Zombies Do, Wheels on the Bus

Favorite Books:  I’m Smart.  I’m Fast.  I Stink.  Biscuit goes Camping.  Otis.  Good Night Good Night Construction Site.  Machines at Work.  Little Blue Truck.  Blue Truck Leads the Way.  I love you Stinky Face.  Foreman Farley. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and things that Go and Airport book.

Favorite TV show: Wheels on the Bus on Tubi.  (We wished he liked more things – it would be easier for traveling.)

Words: He knows a lot of words, but he is hard to understand.  Mama, Dada, Eeee (for Elliott), Na-na, Nat-ee, or Nat-Bu’ (for Natalie), cheers (it sounds more like che), I’m Smart, I’m Fast, Nnn-eee ( for Fawny, his lovey. ), P (for Penny)… the list goes on.

First Joke: He says “Bye Bye Natalie” and then Natalie responds “Natalie’s not going bye-bye!”  Then he goes on to repeat this with every person in the room.  On ocassion, I’ll say, “Bye-bye,” and then he goes “No Mama Bye-bye.  No Mama Bye-bye”

Key phrase: “know that” (no dat)… often in response to “Mama loves you.” or “You’re my best buddy boy.” (Natalie says this)

Colors: Can identify and say blue, green, red, yellow, orange, black (is chocolate)

Numbers: He has independently counted to three and can kinda count up to 10.  This is a super new development.  It started with counting up to 7, when counting airplanes in a book.

Favorite Foods: “Hot dog, mac ‘n cheese” and Protein shake (he says all of these items so cute).  Bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter, blueberries.  He also eats peppers with hummus.  For treats, he likes a dum dum sucker (aka lollipop) and chocolate –> we have Halloween to thank for the introduction of those items.

Height/Weight: He has an appointment in February, but we weighed him on the scale at Nana’s and Pop’s house… he was about 31 lbs, which is at least 2 pounds more than Natalie was.

How we celebrated: We are in Florida for an extended trip (thanks Nana and Pop)!  So, we decorated the dining room with blue and orange streamers and balloons, as well as a happy birthday sign.  Mammaw and Pappaw came over too.  We ate his favorite dinner – mac and cheese and hot dogs.  His birthday cake was from the Cake Boss’s bakery in NJ… they freeze the cake, include dry ice and overnight it.  (Jordan’s client had given him a gift card.)  It was a beautiful 6-layer rainbow cake.  Not only did he like eating it, he liked pointing to all the colors.

Morning with Mommy – on our way to “mail truck land”

You the man!

Pants optional

Climbing on the Banyan trees

I fill out this shirt much better than my big bro and Dad

Happy Birthday, Conor – we love you so much!

This cutie just sang “I can’t help falling in love with you” by Elvis to me while we cuddled before bed tonight  This is after he baked cookies with me, ran around joyfully on the beach, and actively participated in his Faith Formation class (I’m his teacher)  He is pretty awesome!