Another Trip

Connor and I made another trip out to Utah this weekend, taking advantage of Columbus Day being a government holiday, and therefore having a 3 day weekend. The main reason for the trip was to help celebrate cousin Kenner's first birthday. It just so happened that Dre was going to be having a bridal shower the same weekend, so we got to go to that as well. We flew in on Friday, and immediately started the rush to get many things done in a limited amount of time. First, we had to go say hi to Grandma and Grandpa. Then we loaded up and headed to WalMart to get the birthday boy a present AND to have pictures taken of the two boys together. That didn't really go so well. Neither boy had an afternoon nap. Just as we would get one boy situated for the picture, the other would move or start throwing a fit. I think the end total was one good picture of the two of them together, and one picture of each of them by themselves. They were not happy campers. When we were set to leave, we walked to the exit and found that while we had been inside, a storm was brewing outside. We had to load everything up in the midst of a torrential downpour. In the 45 minute drive back up to Grandma and Grandpa's, we thought for sure the boys would fall asleep. Uh, no. Not quite so lucky. We arrived in time to turn right back around and head out for dinner at Chili's. After waiting a bit to get seated, and then waiting what seemed FOREVER for our food to arrive, you can imagine the impatience of the overly tired boys. To say the least, it was an experience. Luckily for us, the next day was a complete turnaround.

Around noon on Saturday, Grandma, Aunt Tin, Jules, Connor and I headed north for Dre's bridal shower. It was actually more of an open house, with many, many people coming and going. We couldn't believe how many people came! Connor kept himself entertained by wandering around, flirting, playing with other kids, and munching on his plate of food from time to time. Unexpectedly, very low maintenance. At one point he decided to help Dre open her gifts. Unfortunately, we had to leave before it ended in order to make it back for Kenner's party.

Kenner didn't join us for the bridal shower because we wanted to be sure he wouldn't miss his afternoon nap. We felt that was imperative for his party. No one wants a grumpy birthday boy. It really paid off. He was in a great mood and was loving every minute of all of the attention he was getting. Without the intention of sounding like a mean aunt, let me just say that Kenner is usually a big pushover and doesn't put up much of a fight when someone tries to take something from him. But I think his birthday was a turning point for him. At one point there was a tug-o-war over Mickey Mouse between Kenner and one of his older cousins. He would not let go. At another point, Connor tried taking one of his new toys away from him. Again, he wouldn't back down. He's a big boy now.
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As I've said before, the highlight of all first birthdays is to see the child's reaction to their very own birthday cake. Unlike Connor, Kenner dove right into his. After letting him have at it for a few minutes, we sent in Connor as back up (not that Kenner needed it) - basically giving Connor a second chance on the birthday cake since he didn't take advantage of his own. However, just like his own birthday 6 months ago, he really didn't want anything to do with it. Brrrian finally took Connor's hand and plunged it into the cake. He didn't like that at all. We've come to the conclusion that Connor may suffer from OCD. He does not like being dirty.

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While on the trip, Connor and Kenner taught each other some of their tricks. Kenner was kind enough to teach Connor to throw his arms in the air for "touchdown!" In turn, Connor taught Kenner how to "fight" with himself - randomly throw himself down on the ground and roll around like he's wrestling. Also, sometimes Connor would crawl alongside Kenner instead of walking. Since it's been a while since Connor has crawled, Kenner could out-crawl him pretty quickly. When that happened, Connor would jump up and run ahead of him. Connor also proved himself to be helpful by not only feeding Kenner his breakfast on Sunday morning, but by giving Kenner his first taste of strawberries. Yum!