22 Months

This past month Connor has really picked up his speaking. He can spell his name. He has actually been doing this for about a month and a half but just within the past 2 weeks he spells it himself and includes both "N's". He uses mainly 2 word "sentences" to communicate now. Although I try to get 3 words out of him, he will resist (usually) and just pick 2 of the 3 words I want him to say. Cute and funny. Ex: I fed Connor Chicken Soup with Stars and then Chicken Soup with Cars (pasta). Instead of saying "soup with stars or soup with cars" he says emphatically "mommy" "soup, stars" or "soup, cars". Our other favorite thing is the fact that Connor will answer any question you ask him. If he doesn't know the answer, he has a canned reply which sounds something like "HMGAWAH". It is the "correct" reply for anything that he doesn't know the answer to.

Speaking of emphatic (aka bossy). Connor insists on doing pretty much everything "self". It started right after we got back from a visit to Baltimore (more on that later) and hasn't stopped. He must walk up and down stairs "self", he must feed himself soup "self". "Mommy, Self" are the 2 most often used words - Elmo is a close 2nd. So, going along with his new found independence, I innocently inquired as to whether Connor wanted to take a nap "by self"? Too good to be true? Yep. We are making progress with the nap. He is laying on the floor in his room with a pillow and the snuggie as a blanket - george in one arm and elmo close by. The catch is that I must lie next to him with my own pillow and blanket. Good news, I get a nap, bad news . . . still no time for getting anything done around the house. But we have moved out of the nap chair and on the way to transitioning to a big boy bed.

On that note, Colin and I (with the help of my parents) moved our office from the room that adjoins Connor to the giant multi-multi purpose room downstairs. We decided after 11 months of not using the office for fear of waking Connor, we should move the furniture so we can actually get some work done and (gasp, file some paperwork - I have an embarrassingly full file drawer of "to be filed". After some work, the transition is complete. Next step, getting a mattress for the old office and move nap from floor to comfy mattress. Baby steps.

PS - I am still holding out hope that Connor will want to nap "self" soon.