Fat Tuesday

This weekend Connor went to a Mardi Gras celebration with Grammy. I don't want to know what he had to do to collect all these beads. . .

Another Cold Weekend

Three 70-degree days followed our snowy weekend, and then we went from 72 on Thursday night to 26 Friday morning. Whatever! There was cold rain and sleet all night Friday night, leaving a good bit of ice Saturday morning. It stayed icy, since the temperature was about 15 most of the weekend. However, this did not stop Connor from going outside to play baseball!

Note the rosy cheeks and red nose. Too cute!

Just for fun, here is Connor's signature "things-aren't-going-my-way" face:

And if any of you are wondering how I'm doing, I'm 36 weeks along and really looking forward to having this baby in my arms rather than in my abdomen.

Frosty in February

What is all of this white stuff? Don't we live in the south?


If you saw Connor at any time during the month of December, then you have probably heard his rendition of Frosty the Snowman. Last Friday, we finally got to bring the song to life!


After a two-hour car ride home from work and school, we got bundled up and went outside to play in the nice wet snow. Connor loved making and throwing snowballs. (He was even moved to put on his mittens after a couple of bare-handed throws!)


We had watched the snow boarding competition at the X Games a few weeks ago, so Connor was eager to get on his skateboard out in the snow. He soon realized his board was too wet, and that skateboarding in the snow was not quite the same thing that Shaun White had been doing at the X Games. Last night while watching the Olympics, he turned to me and said, "They don't have wheels!" So maybe he is finally realizing that skateboarding and snowboarding are two different sports. But probably not.

My Skating Board!

Last week there was a post on the Fertile Ground blog about how much fun Stacey had taking her family to Skateland. I thought that sounded like fun, and something we might do when I'm less likely to fall and cause myself major harm. Then the next day Connor decided to become a hockey player. (See below.) Needless to say, I couldn't wait any longer - one of the things on my Target shopping list Sunday was "Skates for Connor."

We made the family trip to Target, and found the skates. I was looking through the small selection of skates and the vast array of protective gear while Connor stood next to me, pointing up the skateboards and whining "A skaaaaatiiing booooaaard" repeatedly. It didn't take long for me to realize that A) Connor wanted a skateboard, and B) the skateboards were about a third the price of the skates. I looked at Chip and said, "How about skates/pads/etc. for his birthday, and get a skateboard and helmet now?" Chip, who always trusts my shopping prowess, agreed immediately. Judging by Connor's whining, he was going to like this idea also.

After picking out a Mickey Mouse skateboard and blue helmet, we were good to go. Connor put the helmet on immediately, packaging and all, and wore it for the rest of the trip to Target, the trip to Lowe's, and the trip to Schnucks. This from my child who refuses to wear the hood on his jacket in sub-freezing temperatures! "I'm going to ride the skating board outside when we get home!" "That's right!" (Repeat ad nauseum)

When we got home, we immediately cut the packaging away from the helmet and skateboard and got outside to practice. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it, Mommy!"


Fortunately we have one of those driveways that doesn't lend itself to smooth skating. It made it easy for him to get the feel of it, and he always had to have one foot pushing off the ground in order to go anywhere so I didn't have to worry about whether he would fall off. (Although he did practice some dramatic falling- this comes from watching the X Games, where the competitors fall pretty regularly.) Later on Connor got on his Big Wheel to Fred Flinstone it around the neighborhood (he refuses to use the pedals properly) with the helmet on and the skateboard under one arm. "Do you want to try your skateboard out here on the street?" Connor looked at me like I was nuts and replied, "Not on a WALK, Mommy, only behind our house!" I guess he's not ready to unleash his mad skateboard skills on an unsuspecting public.

Eventually the sun went down and we headed inside for some rest, some juice, and some Dora. The skateboard is for outside only, so it didn't come in with us, but we figured out a suitable way to hold on to the magic of the day anyway.