Conner Update (4 and 3/4 Years Old)

Man, oh man, where do I begin....Conner, Conner, Conner. Love this kid to pieces. He has REALLY grown up these last few months and looks and acts more like an elementary boy. He's starting to remind me of some of my old second graders, and I absolutely love being able to spend time with him doing more big boy things and having our lengthy, humorous, and sometimes quite deep conversations. I miss his company when he's at school, and he actually enjoys hanging out with me and chilling...even snuggling from time to time too. I guess overall, he's just settled a bit and has a more mature, self controlled personality! WHOOO-HOOOO. (I mean, we still have our moments, but we've come sooooo, SO far, and I can see the FRUIT of our persistence in training this child...still training of course.)


I let the boys play in the mud...oh so fun. Conner told me that I was the best mom ever. Made my day.

He went hunting with David for the first time, and they had lots of fun. David summed up the trip by saying that they were...."specifically hunting a deer that was deaf, blind, and very suicidal." Hahahaha!! I'm just so glad they were able to begin the journey of hunting together, and I know there will be great memories shared out in the woods with all my boys. (Maybe us girls too...) Plus, Conner will get the hang of it when he finds out if he's not quiet, he will never get to see the deer...you got to start somewhere.


A few updates:

• Still very entertaining and surprises me daily with his sense of humor!!


• Very smart, witty, and can even hang with sarcasm...we've never baby talked.


• LOVES his baby sister!! He's quite the caregiver to her and very sensitive about making sure she's okay. He makes her feel safe and brings out her brightest smiles.


• He's such a help around the house....he's more independent about getting me things that I need, going in the kitchen and starting the process of getting something to drink, dressing himself, reminding me about various things (in a mature way), etc.


• He's NOT-SO much helpful when he picks fights with his brother or gets too rowdy...but hey...I can deal with it.


• Much more obedient...with implemented "first time obedience" and it's helped tremendously. It's also helped in his impulsive, overly rambunctious behavior.


• I know without a doubt that He loves Jesus!! Conner soaks things up so quickly (good/bad) from things that he hears, sees, and experiences, so David and I started young by pouring the Word of God and His Truth into His heart. I've seen lots of fruit come from this. Not only is He memorizing scripture, he is putting together concepts about living for Jesus! His school has aided so much in teaching character building traits about the way we are to treat others and live. I truly believe something has clicked this year...and like a puzzle, the pieces are beginning to come together.


• He's broken free from the "God is Great" prayer or song prayer...and simply prays the most heartfelt blessings. Just recently he's shortened the actual blessing over the food to a simple..."God I just thank you for this food and all the blessings that you've given us. Thank you for sending your son to die for our sin. In Jesus name, Amen." but if you get him going, he will pray til the sun goes down. One day he said in all seriousness, "Lord, I just thank you for everything you've done for us and I pray for your kingdom. I love everyone in this town...I love you God, you know I do...." ...this went on and on, he prayed and prayed and prayed until our food was basically cold. (which didn't bother me one bit!)He's gonna be a prayer warrior in Jesus name!


• He still loves school and is doing really well. I went to a parent/teacher conference a few weeks ago and got wonderful feedback. He's smart and strives for excellence...unless he doesn't want to participate in a particular song/activity due to his interest level or gets frustrated that it's not up to the "perfection" that's in his head...like handwriting. He wants to form each and every letter just as perfectly as hers. (It's an inward motivation/goal.) His teacher is very understanding and allows Conner to bow out in a non conspicuous manner and rejoin the group when he regains confidence or decides to sing along with the, in his mind, "dorky" songs....he's got a bit of a stubborn streak, but Ms. Elizabeth has so much patience with him. She also said that he will never be run over in the classroom...if anything, our biggest goal for the rest of the year will be to continually teach Conner skills as to how to handle situations where he's not treated "fairly"...cause right now, he'll jump in and handle himself but not in an appropriate way. It's a strength that he stands up form himself, but he still needs to learn a balance.


• LOVES to watch t.v. and play outside


• SO much more, but it's time to get off this computer and take my sweet little boys out to play right this very minute....ha!!

Three funny stories: (There are many, many more. I've finally begun writing them down in a journal so that I can remember them....but have to narrow it down for the blog.)

1. One night when I was putting the boys to sleep several months ago, Conner rebelled and was being extremely defiant about the process. He ended up saying...shouting to me, "I'm not gonna think about God, I'm just gonna think about bad people." I simply responded with a calm toned voice..." Well, sweet dreams honey." Ha!! That made him quite, and he eventually apologized. Oh to witness the sinful nature that resides within our children is heartbreaking....I just pray that the Lord swoops into His life and heart early on. I want Conner (...and all my other children) to love Him and have a far more intimate relationship with Jesus than I ever dreamed of having....it can begin now.


2. One day before Christmas Conner was having an extremely not-so-good day, so I began correcting/harping him about his behavior. Obviously he had to go to the restroom, so he said, "Okay, okay, I'll talk to God about it on the pot." as he walked into the bathroom. Ha! I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.


3. One afternoon, Conner was playing imaginary video games with an old controller. He looked at me and said, "Momma, I just want you to know that I'm playing a PG13 game." That boy....