Conner is 9!!!

On 9/9/11 our baby, my cuddle bug and family pancake baker, turned 9. He seems to have grown up so much faster than the other two, since he has always been trying to keep up with them. He hardly played with Rescue Heroes and opted for little Legos and Bionicles instead. He barely has a recollection of Barney and Blues Clues because Tegan and Riley didn’t like them any longer. He has always had a “do it myself” attitude, which has made him seem more independent and mature than he is at times. For all this fast growing up he is still the first to cuddle with me, the first to ask to go to bed, and the first to conk out every night. It’s a tough job trying to keep up when everyone is bigger than him.

Conner is a tough cookie to crack. Is it because the other two are so demanding of my time, that I don’t feel like I have the time to figure him out, or is he just so different and quiet about himself that it’s tough to know what’s going on in his little head? He certainly likes to be independent and he gets so frustrated when he has to ask for help, but then there are still times when he’ll gladly play the baby and let everyone else do things for him. He’s not a real difficult guy, but it’s hard to figure out where his heart is at times.

“Work before play” is a lesson he’s had mastered for two years now, while his brothers still can’t grasp that concept, but he will fly through all his work without a care as to how the final product is. He just cares that he can check it off as “done.”

“Early to bed, early to rise...” is another lesson he has down. I always know the first few hours of the day are going to be rough for him if he arises after 0700, because he absolutely hates when he gets a late start on his chores and school work and it all snowballs with his bad attitude that he beats himself up with when he starts late. When he’s getting to bed on time we often hear him early in the morning banging around downstairs as he gets his chores accomplished. He used to try to get up at 0530 to get a good start on everything, but we had to put an end to that because he woke everyone else up and would usually have a meltdown by 0700 due to tiredness.

I am continually impressed by his work ethic and initiative when it comes to getting things done. His thoughtful and pensive nature allows him to learn much through observations and it’s amazing what comes out of his mouth at times, when you think he had no idea what was going on. It is awesome watching him grow up. I never had a doubt that he would be his own little person, far different from his brothers, and he is doing a great job following his own path, the one that God has laid out for him.

With the buddies at his "party" - a small play date and movie

One big box, beautifully wrapped, containing many other presents

He insisted on lighting his own candles, because he can do it. He requested a chocolate chip mint ice cream cake, so I baked the cake and then cut it in half and added the ice cream, fudge sauce and Oreo crumbs to each. We had one cake for his family birthday dinner and one for with his friends.

Making his big 9 year old wish

At his first swim meet. He decided he liked using a swim cap because it keeps the water from entering his goggles when he dives in :).