Gaining Independence

Connor is getting to be such a big boy. He's recently boycotted riding in the cart at the grocery store. Instead, he holds on to the side of the cart and walks with. He tried to stand on the front occassionally, which is NOT allowed. I do put him in the cart when we're checking out and going to the car though.

He takes his plate, silverware and cups to the sink (ok, sometimes they end up in the garbage, but that's easily retrieved...). He has started to potty train himself. He goes potty at least three times a day now, with letting me know. Sometimes he just sits there and plays with the toilet paper/holder, but that's ok.

He wants to "help" with almost everything. If I let the dog out, he opens and closes the door. If I get something from the fridge, he closes the door. If it's snack time, he gets what I ask from the pantry.

We've had a few "moments" lately though... there are times where he will bark at the top of his lungs in the grocery store. "Ruff!" I don't know where he gets that from, but it's annoying and I can't get him to stop once he starts. I've tried putting my hand over his mouth and he just licks me and keeps barking. I've tried threatening, he laughs at me. I've tried ignoring him and he just gets louder. At least it's not a tantrum... yet.

Better Pics of the Girls

I got some better pics of the girls yesterday morning.

Their personalities are something else... Saturday night I had to put them to bed early because we were going to Michigan City to meet up with some friends and wouldn't be getting back until late. They obliged, but weren't too happy. When I let them out yesterday morning, Ruby stood about 3 ft from me, look right at me and I swear she was telling me off... I went to give them some treats yesterday afternoon and they ran from me :) Last night, they put themselves to bed.

Connor also got in on the pics yesterday. He brought me the camera and said "smile!"

This is the only one that wasn't blurry. He kept running over to see the picture after :)

The Chickens Are Here!

I picked up "the girls" on Thursday!

This is Lace. She is a light Brahma.

This is Goldie. She's a Buff Orpington. My niece named her :)

And finally, this is Ruby. She is a Rhode Island Red. My "Idon'twantchickens" husband named her!

They were hatched in April/May of this year and should be laying in a month or so. I hope :) They have settled in well. They came from the same flock and get along. I will get better pics later :)

Chicken Coop!

My Uncle Roy, Jon and I have been busy lately... building a chicken coop! Yay! Here it is so far:

Not bad for $3 paint from Habitat for Humanity ReStore! I love the trim color. It's Sherwin Williams Wool Skein. The red is Sherwin Williams Rookwood Red.

I might still have to do another coat of paint on the exterior. I have to do at least two more coats on the inside. The window is in and screened with hardware cloth. I need to find bird netting for the kennel cover and then we'll be ready to go.

The roost will have to be moved. It's not even 2 inches from the back wall and it's supposed to be 12-18 inches.

I'm going to pick up the "girls" on Thursday from a friend I met on Backyard Chicken. I'm most likely going to get a light Brahma, Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington. I will wait to get my Easter Egger/Americouna until I can find someone who has one. I need a chicken that lays blue eggs :)

Chickens and other things

I had a birthday a few weeks ago and my mom took us to the small zoo in Michigan City, IN to celebrate. Connor finally got to ride on a train!

Jon finally said yes to chickens! He's allowing me 4. I know I want at least two Americans/Easter Eggers for the blue-green eggs. We will be building the coop ourselves (scary!). We have leftover wood from a shed kit that was never put together.

I plan on building a 4ft x 4ft coop using the plans on Purina's website. We should have all of the materials except for paint and latches. My sister-in-law is going to take Connor for one day this weekend so we can get started on it. I don't want Mr. Nosey around when we're using a saw, etc. If we can get the parts cut and panels put together, I think it will go together fairly quickly. How difficult can it be? (famous last words...)

Outings

July 8th, 2011 - Taltree Arboretum, Railway Garden

Connor and Katie had fun! There is only one section right now, so it's fairly small. They put tons of detail into the exhibit. We can't wait to see the next one!

July 10, 2011 - Grandma's 91st birthday, IL

Unfortunately, Grandma J wasn't feeling good and we didn't stay too long. After, we took Connor to the school across the street. I played there as a kid, so did my mother and uncle. Some of the equipment is still the same. I spent countless hours on this piece as a kid!

Displaying Independence

Connor is 2 yrs and 2 months old.

He can count to 15 and knows his ABCs.







He can take his shoes off, lets the dog in and out of the house, knows how to unlock and relock the back door... :) He sings Rockabye Baby and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He knows all of his Chuggington trains by name and how to link them up to make a really long train.