Day Six!

This is what she spends most of her time doing.

So far, she is waking up three times in the night to eat. Sometimes she stays up a little after one of them, but not enough to make us zombies or anything. (Yet)


A rare photo of a wide-awake Chloe!

Scenes From a Hospital Room

Don't have time to say much (I would if the dang hospital had wireless access)-- so I'll just let these pics do the talking. We'll be home from the hospital tomorrow (Saturday), and we'll put more up then.

Chloe's here!

Chloe Bess Chockley, born 4:38 a.m. on the Ides of March
9 lbs, 4 oz, 21 inches

Getting checked out

Meeting big bro for the first time




Hi mom!

Thanks for all the visits and well-wishes everybody! We'll post more once we get home.

Is it Thursday yet?

Here is an FAQ section with visual backup:

Are you totally huge now? (Oh Yes)

Is the baby's room done? (Yes)

Does Francie have red hair like Delaney? (No, but they have the same mouth)

Have you decided on a name? (Yes- Chloe Bess)



Did you have a fancy Oscar party? (No-just a few people over for dinner)



Can Connor juggle? (No, but he keeps trying)

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.

Hockey Night in Memphis

Connor always uses this toy car as a "skating board." (Against all odds, he has not yet needed stitches.) This weekend he was using a golf club and a rubber ball while "skating." I stupidly asked, "What is this game?" So Connor hit the ball past me and said, "I made a goal with the puck, Mommy!" So wow- he's watched a half hour total of hockey in his lifetime, and now he can play it. I guess he pays more attention to SportsCenter highlights than I thought! His uncles from the North are fighting over who gets credit for this- they're both very proud.

More skating hijinks to follow- I didn't want to spoil you by posting it all at once!

Long Time No Post

Here's our bathing beauty- Sorry we haven't been good about putting up pictures lately. Now that the new seasons of 24 and American Idol have started, we just don't have time for things like taking pictures of Connor! Just kidding- he's just as cute as ever. I keep waiting until he gets a haircut to take and post pics- it is shaggy way beyond the point of cute at this stage! When I was in elementary school, there was this one kid who rode the bus with me (can't remember his name, but I can remember his stop) and his hair always looked like Connor's looks right now. And every morning, someone would say to that kid, "Hey, did your mom brush your hair with the blender?" and we'd all laugh and he'd cry. The point of this story is, I'm just glad Connor doesn't ride the bus yet.

As you may know, we got rid of our old funky carpet and put hardwood in all of the bedrooms upstairs. Then we had to get a couple of new pieces of furniture so that there would be something in the baby's room besides hardwood and a crib. So we ended up letting Connor pick out some furniture for his room and transferring the other stuff into the baby's room. He picked out a bed with a slide on it. It ended up being a good deal, so I figured why not. Same with the chair- it's comfy and big, and it was the floor model so it was dirt cheap. Woohoo! Clark has already used it more than the rest of us. I'm glad I could get something that made him happy.
Now let me go ahead and address your concerns:
1. Yes, I worry that he might fall off of it. But I also worry that he will fall off of any bed/chair/table/etc. that he gets near, because he tends to jump on and off of things with no regard for his own personal safety. Then he laughs when he does fall. But I am not really concerned that he will just roll out in the night, since there are rails on it. Of course, this is his first night in it, so he could prove me wrong any minute now.
2. No, he won't grow out of it in a year or two. Many people told me a kid will use this until they're 10 or older. Imagine Connor sitting under it with a lamp or flashlight reading a book! If you knew me when I was 8 or 9, this would not be a crazy idea.
3. Even though we are 95% sure of the name, we are still not ready to have stuff monogrammed or anything. I like to keep my options open! (I know this isn't a concern about the bed, but it's the other question I get asked the most.)

We'll try to do better with the blog!

Rock n Roll!

As you probably know, Connor got a guitar for Christmas. What you might not know is that he also got a karaoke machine! We've had many fantastic performances since Christmas. What's really fun is that he knows a surprising number of song lyrics, although a lot of times he starts one song and finishes another. If I could post video here, I would show you a great rendition of Jingle Bell Rock.










This picture is particularly funny to me. He asked me to hold his guitar, but you can tell how badly he really wants it back. His mouth is smiling at the camera, but his eyes and hands betray his true intentions.

More Christmas

Christmas at our house was a lot of fun, especially for Connor. Santa used to leave presents unwrapped under the tree for Chip, but he always left my presents wrapped- so when he visited our house he combined those two methods. As a result, the first thing Connor saw when he came downstairs was a guitar and a bunch of Matchbox cars! He was beside himself over the guitar, and would have played with it and the cars forever if we hadn't forced him to start opening presents. In this picture you can see the art table Grammy bought him, as well as a bunch of cars and the beloved guitar. He actually did a great job of playing with everything he got, including a plastic golf set, a talking Dora backpack, and this train set (along with a lot of other stuff- if I'm leaving your gift out I apologize. Trust me when I say he hasn't gotten tired of any of it yet).



The rest of us got fun toys too, but the day definitely belonged to Connor. If you haven't had Christmas morning with a small kid lately, I highly recommend it.

That afternoon Jackie, Ellis and Tiffany came over for a big meal, and then that evening Chip and I left the aforementioned small kid at home with his grandparents and headed to Tiff's to spend some time with our friends, or as we like to call them, our other extended family. It was an early night for us because I had a bad cold (and also I'm hugely pregnant). This lead to a belated Christmas present for Chip, as I woke up Monday morning with absolutely no voice at all. Nothing but a whisper. Chip was living the dream!

More holiday posts to follow. And yes Bill O'Reilly, I mean holiday, because we celebrated New Year's last week too! And it's Bowl Week for cryin' out loud! That counts as a holiday too! Thus the phrase, Happy Holidays! (I won't even mention Hanukkah. Or spell it correctly, apparently. But you get the idea.)

Cleaning the Holiday Leftovers Out of the Fridge

Ok, we got real behind on posting the Christmas pics...

On the the 18th, we had the extended-family get-together at Mimi and Bwana's house. It was the first Christmas in the new mountain-retreat home.

Oh, the unbridled consumerism!

All the cousins together: (Yes, we're all the same generation, except for Connor.)
And one more from that gathering-- newest cousin Kaitlyn. Lookit her eyes!

Kids say the darndest things...

Remember that show? It was so annoying to me. Now look at me, 10 years later, a doting father. And a bigger dadnerd than Bill Cosby. With better taste in sweaters.

More wisdom from the 2 1/2 year old:

Connor and I were sitting at the kitchen table debating the meaning of life, when Steph walked in and unleashed an alarming pregnancy fart. Connor instantly turned to her and said, "Go POTTY, Mommy!"

...

After another stressful potty episode (they ALL are where Connor is concerned... that boy can fumigate a downtown office building), Connor got up and said "Dassa BIG poop." I looked and nodded in agreement. As if to make sure I knew what I was looking at, he said, "Dat's CRAP, Dad." Thanks, man. Who the $#$@ taught him the word "crap"?

...

Hmm, there's a theme to these anecdotes... perhaps I should move on. Christmas was very exciting for us this year. I'll save the pics and such for another post.

Happy Holidays!

Heh.

Bonus post

Since that last picture sucked, I figured I'd better put up a better one.

Connor wants Santa to bring him a guitar. I mean, I'm sure there are many things he'd like Santa to bring him, but I used my Jedi mind tricks on him and now when asked "What is Santa going to bring you?" he says, "A guitar!*" I feel certain he won't be disappointed. I just hope dad isn't too disappointed if his son plays lefty.

*When asked any question, his new response is to say "Idon'tknow," whether he knows or not. So if you asked, "Hey Connor, what's the theory of relativity?" he'd say, "Idon'tknow!" but if you asked "What is Santa going to bring you?" he would say, "Idon'tknowaguitar!"

Connor's stage debut

First of all, yes I know this is a crappy picture. The no-flash pictures gave me nothing, and the flash pictures flashed on the heads of people right in front of me instead of the kids. But you get the idea.

In case you can't tell which white, blond-haired kid is Connor, he's second from the left (?) in the snowman sweatshirt.

The program was in the Fellowship Hall at Idlewild, and it was standing room only. First the Unicorns came out and shook instruments and twirled around to Run Run Rudolph- very cute. Then they were "claimed" by their parents and the Toucans came out and jingled some bells while singing "Jingle Bells." They looked pretty amazed by all of the people in the room (except for a couple of kids whom you could tell were used to performing at church or somewhere). None of the Toucans cried- something that can't be said for the Unicorns! And surprisingly, I didn't cry either. Not at the program, anyway. But I digress. After the Toucans were rescued from the stage by their parents, the 3-year-olds (Koalas? It doesn't cleverly incorporate the number so I can't remember it. They should be the Triceratops or the Three-peats or something.) sang a couple of songs- really sang!- and then the 4-year-olds sang (Quadrapeds? Forefathers? I have no idea.), then the two oldest classes gave us the big finale of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It was fun, and we figure we will be able to sell the video footage to VH1 someday for this one girl's Behind the Music episode. (She was a pro! Reminded me of Sandra Korpitz.)

Afterwards we went to Huey's and saw at least two of Connor's classmates. It seemed so grown up to be at a restaurant and run into some of your friends! We got home late, so he got to skip his bath. (Meaning today he smells smokey like Huey's. Nice!) As he was getting ready for bed (well, pooping, but that put tears in my eyes for different reasons) he looked at me out of the blue and said, "All those people were clapping! Did you clap, Mommy?" It was too much! So I recreated the times I clapped and why, and he was very happy. And so was I!

Dinos

Miscellaneous conversations with a 2.5 year-old:

The other day, I took Connor to school. Right by our house, I turn one way when I take Connor, and the other way when I don't. I made the wrong turn, but then quickly turned back the right way. Connor said, "We not going that way, daddy."
Me: "Yes, Connor, I almost went the wrong way, didn't I?"
C: "We not going that way daddy."
Me: "Nope, we're going this way."
C: "We not going that way daddy."
Me: ...
C: "We not going that way daddy."
Me: ...
(See, I think sometimes he slips into this Tourette's mode, and I just chose to ignore him, perhaps to impart the fact that it's socially inappropriate to say the same thing more than 3 times in a row. Probably not good parenting, but...)
C: "We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy."
Me: ...
C: "We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy. We not going that way daddy."

I had in fact turned to stone by that point.

I guess at that point Connor felt he had lost me, with all the silence...
so he said, "Daddy! I talking to YOU! We not going that way!"

Perhaps ignoring him is not the way to go with this.

Another random quote:
After a particularly stressful bathroom episode:
"Daddy, I pooped a dinosaur!"

Where does he get this stuff from?

O Tannenbaum

This weekend we got some Christmas decorations out of the attic. For the first time, Connor was totally into it. So suddenly he's into opening presents (as of my birthday in August, he wasn't interested in them) and enjoying the holidays (mixed emotions about Halloween, but totally into it now!). This Christmas is going to be so much fun!

I was glad I rescued this little tree from the Chockleys- Connor really wanted a tree, and we weren't ready to get a real tree up yet. I found some sports ball ornaments I had bought last year during the after-holiday sales for just such a situation. I threw on some red lights (where did those come from?) and Connor went about the fun task of decorating his first tree. He also had a couple of ornaments Beth brought him last weekend (thank you Beth!) and was excited to make the connection as to what they were for. I have honestly never seen him more proud of himself! When Cullen came over Sunday, Connor couldn't wait to take him upstairs to show him the tree. He lovingly touched each ornament, explaining what it was, and just gazing at the wonder of it. Then Grammy came over and brought Sesame Street and Dora mini-ornaments (those six balls weren't enough!) and we had another big round of decorating. You can see in one picture how he clumped the important ornaments together in the front- the football, Elmo, Dora, and Backpack. (He may have my love for Christmas trees, but not my anal need to space decorations out with a ruler!) Several times since the tree went up, he has turned to me and whispered, "Mommy, can we go upstairs to look at my tree?" I can't describe how much it melts my heart. Adorable!

I can't!

Connor went through a period where every sentence started with "I need. . ." Sometimes there wasn't even an end to the sentence- he didn't know what he needed, but he was sure he needed something. While that's still in his repertoire, it has been replaced in sheer volume by "I can't. . ." This phrase actually means "I don't want to"- maybe he thinks "I can't" carries more weight. An example can be seen in this picture:

Connor, pull your pants up.
I CAN'T pull my pants up!

So a typical evening sounds like this: I can't wash my hands! I can't eat my chicken nuggets! I can't take a bath! I need some candy.

PS- Once I busted out the camera, he pulled his pants right up! When he becomes a teenager? Pwn3d!

5:57 a.m.

Our family had a hard time with the time switch last weekend. No one slept right all week, especially Connor. He got up just before 6:00 a.m. EVERY morning this week. Well, every morning except today, when he spent the night with Grammy and slept until after 7:00. Hopefully that will happen again tomorrow!

Crazy technology stuff

Ok, I've finally changed www.chockley.com so that it points to this page. Easier to remember for everybody. Also, the first link on the right hand side points back to the "old" chockley.com, where those scads of of old pics are. I may still update that site to serve as a sort of picture repository, which I can't really do with blogger. We'll point you over there if we put anything up.

One more Halloween thing

Here's a pic of one of the cool pumpkins Steph and I did. We've come a long way from the butcher-knife smiley face pumpkins, huh?

Halloween

This Halloween has been a bit of a bust. We've had this cool frog costume for months. We've talked about it, jumped around like frogs, made the noises... but never actually tried it on.



Then the time came-- Sunday, there was a Halloween shindig at a neighborhood church. We brought the costume to Connor, and you'd think someone had just shot Dora. He fussed, cried, resisted, and protested in every way he knew how. "No I don WANNA wear da frog!" I mean, this was serious. We pretty much forced him into the costume, and the antics intensified. We tried to speak to him calmly, with promises of candycandycandy, but he was having none of it. We gave it time, to see if he'd get used to it. No dice. He was hysterical. So finally, we relented. We were disappointed, but his will was an immovable force.

The next morning, we tried again, since Connor was supposed to wear his costume to school. Same reaction. So, we sent him to school in just a regular outfit, with the frog costume in a bag, hoping that the peer pressure would overwhelm him into wearing the thing.

Steph picked him up from school, and you guessed it, he had never put the costume on. He did have a big bucket o' candy, which he caressed in the car all the way home. I greeted them at the driveway. There he was, huge grin on his face, one hand in the bucket and another clutching a (still wrapped) sucker. Tightly.

We took him inside, where he immediately started sorting the candy into little piles (where does he get that from?), and began a marathon sucker session.

We somehow managed to force him to take a break to eat some mochacheese (macaroni and cheese) to buffer the inevitable stomach ache. After that, he immediately resumed the intense sorting and sucking.

We tried to entice him into the frog costume once again, with promises of actual trick or treating, and even MORE candy. He had absolutely no interest in that -- the frog costume had by that point become a symbol of all that is evil in the world, and he had all the candy in the world right in front of him. Why leave this nirvana?

Steph and I were just a bit too disappointed over the frog costume, and the refusal to participate in "real" Halloween activities. Obviously, Connor was ecstatic with all the candy. And hey, the Halloween stuff is for HIM, not us, right?

Big brother Connor

As you may know, Connor loves to eat "birthday cake" in any form- this includes cupcakes. Right before eating this cupcake, he calmly accepted the news that Mom has a baby sister growing in her stomach. He gave us the Aunt Bethany look and continued with his dinner. It makes me feel better that he "knows" - I really felt weird about keeping it from him. I'm not going to be good with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and stuff. I feel really guilty when I lie about things to him, even if the truth would spoil the fun!

I used to think that I didn't want to know the sex of my kids until birth. But I'm the type of person who likes to read TV spoilers on the internet, read the chapter titles before starting a book to see if I can guess what's going to happen- I knew I'd never really stay in the dark about this. And the ultrasound has turned out to be a big turning point for me in both pregnancies. Seeing the baby and knowing what the sex is really makes the whole thing more concrete, and changes my whole attitude towards what's happening. Suddenly I want to get a room ready, and I want to think of names, and I want to buy clothes and diapers. All of the negative feelings I had about being pregnant (I'm sick! I'm fat! I'm tired!) are gone and now I'm feeling positive about it. Beth told me she felt the same way after her ultrasounds. (She also had one this week, and she's also having a girl!)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on ebay looking for bedding for the baby's room . . .

Family Jam

So we've finally gotten Daddy to start playing guitar for us. Connor will either sit in front of him on the guitar case paying rapt attention, or play along on the drums or piano. Sometimes Daddy plays songs we know, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Connor can sing along. I can't get enough of that! He needs his own guitar, because he really wants to play Daddy's. (Santa has already been consulted.)

Random Connor Update

Things I think you should know:

His favorite song is still "Since You've Been Gone," although I think it's just because he knows all the words. He's content listening to the radio or a CD until something he "knows" comes on, and then when it's over he immediately requests "Sinceyoubegone." I guess he wants to keep his monentum going or something. Other songs he knows the words to include "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and most songs on Transatlanticism. And oddly, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5. (Did Daddy play that one for him?) But usually by the end of any song he can sing along with the chorus- he's a good mimic.

He's learning to talk on the phone a bit- there are now usually 2 or 3 exchanges with the other person (instead of just hello) before he turns to look quizzically at the phone.

After recently celebrating Uncle Shannon's birthday with a cupcake and a phone call, he now thinks every birthday is Shannon's. On Aunt Marsha's birthday he took the phone and said, "Happy Birthday Shannon!" I'm not sure she found it funny. Hopefully he will do better Sunday on Dionte's birthday. (He calls Dionte "my-onte" which makes sense considering most words are preceeded by "my.")

He still loves every sport- shock! We try to watch the Mexican soccer league play across the street on Sunday mornings, and then follow that with a day of football. Baseball is important, too. He likes to go outside to "play bats" - we have various games that involve the baseball bats, but not all of them resemble baseball. Most of them include running the bases, though. Per Uncle Shannon's request, we have watched some hockey. He astutely noted its resemblance to soccer, but is perplexed by the lack of a ball. And I think he'll be much more interested in golf now that Michelle Wie has turned pro. (Or wait, maybe that's Daddy I'm thinking of. . .)

The potty training is going pretty well. He never wears a diaper anymore, even for sleeping. We still have some accidents, but I guess I consider him potty trained. We'll see how it goes when we travel to Nashville this weekend. We will have a potty in car- that should be fun. And might come in handy for me! (Gross! I'm kidding, Chip!)

I am in that stage where I just look fat, so I'm trying to wear maternity clothes to make it obvious that I'm not trying to bulk up before my winter hibernation or anything. I feel pretty good though- the first trimester is thankfully behind me. I go on October 27 for an ultrasound. No, I'm not particularly hoping it's a girl, but I think Chip is. And I know Grammy is. Once we find out, we will start talking to Connor about what's growing inside Mommy's belly and all that. I think he knows something is different, but I will feel better bringing him into the discussion once I have something specific to tell him.

Just a picture

Imelda

Guess what colors we've been learning at school- red and blue! So the red shoes are getting lots of wear.

I wasn't lying- he's rarely without the soccer ball.

D.C.

So I went to visit D this weekend in Washington, D.C. I really had a great time seeing all the sites, eating all the food, drinking all the ...water and stuff. I had never been before, so I was anxious to see all the sights. And I almost did. Really. We were on bikes for a lot of the time, so that allowed us to zip from one place to the next much more quickly than if we'd been on foot. Saw the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the World War II Memorial, FDR Memorial, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Freer Gallery, Sackler Gallery, the White House, Capitol Building, U.S. Botanic Garden, Holocaust Museum. All very cool. I was blown away by being inches away from Monets, Renoirs, Van Goghs, and Gaguins. I had no idea all that stuff was there, and it really wasn't that crowded. And FREE! Like everything else listed above. Our tax dollars are hard at work there, that's fo sho.

I liked the nightlife and restaurant scene too. Had some amazing sushi. I really dig the town.