This morning at 5 something, Connor woke up from coughing.  He tried to return to sleep but unsuccessful.  We decided to bring him to our bed.  He laid on his back, on his chest, then on my chest, but Connor just could not get comfortable and the cough would not stop.  We just finally gave up and got up for the day.  As his cough was so frequent, we decided to keep him from school today.  I stayed with him this morning, and we had lunch earlier to anticipate an earlier nap.  Then I left for work, and Stuart took over the rest of the day. 

     Connor often gets horrible coughs with colds, and this time is the same.  It sounds very deep and raspy.  His breathing is heavier too.  Connor also has a runny nose with clear discharge.  His appetite is not very good; he was excited with pizza tonight for dinner but ended up eating a few bites along with some fruits.  However, despite the cold symptoms he is having, Connor still enjoyed playing tonight.  He is very into “puppet shows” lately.  He claimed that he was doing a puppet show for us while Logan and I sat down to watch him.  He was dancing and singing his favorite songs “BaaBaa Black Sheep”, “Jingle Bells” and “ABC Song”. 

    So far, Connor has been coughing during his sleep, and it is so difficult for us sitting here and hearing the bad cough through the monitor.  We are preparing for a tough night tonight, and most likely Connor will have to skip out on dinner plan tomorrow.

    At 11:20am this morning, Stuart received a call from Connor’s school reporting that Connor had a greenish nose discharge and he should be picked up.  So Stuart went to school shortly after.  At that time, the teacher had just taken out Connor’s lunch for him, so Stuart just stayed with Connor at a table by themselves to eat his lunch.  Connor’s appetite was still good and ate all of his food.  They then said goodbye and went home.  Other than the runny nose which actually has been going on for a few days, Connor was fine.  Connor went down to take a nap in his room without too much whining.  This afternoon, Connor enjoyed spending time with daddy.  They played with puzzles, trains and Legos, did some reading and watched some TV.  Stuart did suction Connor’s nose a couple of times, but otherwise, Connor was good.  He was happy to see Logan and I when we came home.  Connor ate well during dinner, and played and ran around a lot after dinner.  Will see how his runny nose is tomorrow!

      Every morning when the boys wake up in the morning (usually shortly after 6:35am), they always want to watch some cartoons.  I don’t mind that at all as it gives me a moment to cuddle with my boys and close my eyes.  But this morning when Logan came out of his room, he asked me “let’s draw for a little bit, then we will watch TV when Connor wakes up”.  Logan started drawing his stormtroopers or ninjas with lightsabers or swords.  Then he asked me “How do you write Star Wars?”  I spelled it out to him letter by letter, and he wrote each one out neatly.  I was so happy to see his work, and Logan was proud too as he gave out a huge smile.  He drew some more, and asked me to spell more words “Boom”, “Spooky” and “Game”.  Logan wrote everything out well; the only mistake he made was writing out “P” instead of “Y”.  He immediately knew he did it wrong and had the frustration look.  I showed him how to write “y” on the side, and he corrected his and beamed again. 

     When I arrived at school to pick Logan today, he was drawing another fight scene.  He asked me to spell “Star Wars” for him to write out again.  He was very pleased when the job was done.

   The boys were off from school for Martin Luther King day today, but I had to work, therefore, Stuart had another solo day with them.  They went to the bookstore this morning which they loved.  The boys played with the trains then the Legos while Stuart looked around at books while watching them.  Logan found a little Death Vader stuffed toy that he immediately bonded with, and Connor received a book of his recent favorite TV show, Team Umizoomi.  So both boys were super happy about the gifts from daddy, and they told me about it over the phone.  Afterward, they also looked around at a toy/party store and finally picked up some lunch to take home.  Connor went down nicely for a nap while Logan had some quiet play time. 

    During the day, the boys definitely had some TV time, and of course, Logan enjoyed some xbox game time too.  In the late afternoon, they went to play at a local park for awhile as the weather was so nice.  They came back home just when I returned home from work.  Stuart and the boys all did well and had another great day together.

    Connor is definitely growing up.  We can communicate with him quite well now.  Yesterday before Logan and I were leaving for the show, Stuart had a talk with Connor to prepare him.  When we were backing out the car, Connor was very good, smiling while waving to us.  No tears or whining at all, my brave little boy! 

     Connor has very good memory.  Sometimes I might forget to bring the name card to pick up Logan (school requirement), but Connor would gesture to remind me to pick up the card from the side pocket.  We had run out of gummy vitamins bears recently and have not had a chance to go buy more.  Last night during the bath when I talked with the boys about what we should do today, I suggested going shopping.  Logan said he did not want to go shopping, but Connor said “Yes! Bear Bear!”.  He is good in remembering me what we need.

    Connor and I have been reading a book given by his ex-teacher lately again, and I had reminded him that Ms. Koko gave it to him.  When we read to the end, he always wants me to read what the teacher wrote “Dear Connor, we’ll miss you!”.  Then Connor would hug the book and sometimes may say “KoKo” too.  So sweet!

    Connor can express what he wants despite not able to say the words very well yet.  He asks for what he wants “Me have it” or “Two more minutes” when he wants more time to play.  He tells us when he is not ready “Not me done”.  He can count up to 13 or 14 but just needs help with “5” just like Logan did back then too.

    We hung out with the neighbors in the late afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather.  Logan and Connor enjoyed hanging out with Caleb, Joaquin and Antionio watching Sam shooting the rocket, then later they ran around chasing each other.  They were playing monster (some form of tag), and they all ran so fast around the yards.  Connor, being the youngest one, did not seem that much inferior to the others and he was able to keep up with everyone quite well.  He was even proud to be the monster and managed to catch the bigger boys too.  When the turns were past to Logan to be the monster, he actually stopped running and did not try to catch anyone.  The boys all told him to chase them, and once I heard Logan just verbally pass on the monster title to someone else.  Logan is definitely not an aggressive one.

   When I talked with the boys about their fun time out there, Logan told me “I just stand there.  When they get closer to me, then I tag them”.  He seemed so pleased with his trick.  Maybe Logan did have a strategy.