Where to Start?

Well, I think first of all I need to thank everyone who has been so very generous to Connor. We have been very fortunate to have neighbors who have given us baby cloths both used and new, and toys - we got a Little Tykes play structure today. To our families who have also been so generous with hand-me-downs. Most of all - we would like thank everyone who has been so generous with the greatest gift of all...time! We have had neighbors and friends and family all step forward and offer their time - time to help out and time to watch Connor - and both are greatly appreciated. I try not to take advantage and save those offers for times when I REALLY need them.
For example, today our friend and neighbor Nancy came over (to give us a 1st birthday outfit that she just HAD to buy) and mentioned that the lawn needed mowing - it did. So she offered to take Connor tomorrow so I could get it done. That right there is so huge to me. The lawn has to be mowed or I'll hear about it from the HOA, but it's very hard for me to find the time to do it. It is a large stress for me. Luckily Tom got home early and he got to spend some quality time with Connor while I got the mowing done - so I don't have to impose on Nancy tomorrow.
Now, Connor, what a kid! He is all over the place and into everything. He is walking (since about the 3rd week in March) but feels he needs to hold on. It's as though he's playing a game of tag. Walk walk walk to the couch, hold on and walk along the couch, walk walk walk to the side table, walk along the side table, walk walk walk to the bottom of the stairs, walk along the baby gate, walk walk walk to the front door and stand there watching the world outside. It's so funny to watch.
He has also discovered tippy toes and has a grand time going through my desk drawers. He has a million toys in the den, but all he wants to do is go through my drawers. Highlighters! Canned Air! Wires! Oh My!
He had a bad afternoon today though. After lunch we went in the living room and he went strait for the bookcase next to my chair. He lost his footing and went forehead first right into the corner of the bookcase. He had this perfect blue line and an egg formed within minutes. Then when Tom was watching him (during the lawn mowing) Connor did a face plant and got a fat lip! I told Tom I was almost glad that happened because it made me feel like all the bumps he gets in my care aren't entirely my fault. I feel so bad when he hurts himself, but I feel even worse when we go out and he's all covered in bruises. DCS will be stopping by any day now. On the upside he didn't lose any of his 6 teeth in the fall. He loves to use them, too. He's bitten us a few times, but I think we've gotten across that that is not ok. We're still breastfeeding, too. No problems there.
He had his first bike ride the other day - but I will not be posting the pictures. The way the bike seat is mounted and the size of my butt make them intensely embarrassing. I told Tom if we can't adjust the seat so he can actually see then we'll have to get a different seat. When I'm sitting on the seat his helmet is pinned between my butt and the back of his seat, the poor guy can't look side-to-side. It's plain to close to my seat even when I'm NOT on it. He says I have to ware bottoms with back pockets though. He likes to hold on.
He has also started to say little things here and there. He says Dada and loves to sing song that; I think he even knows it means Tom. Every once in a while I'll hear a Mama over the baby monitor, but I'm not certain that isn't an accident. We have heard Ut-oh, and I think he says WHOA! occasionally. By far the cutest is Hot Ow Burn. This is the most reliable thing he says. He is fascinated with the stove and opening the oven around him is always a worry. He loves to see us cook and hear things sizzle. So we've been trying to instill the stove is dangerous. When my nephew Colby was little the phase Hot! Ow! Burn! was coined for the same reason. Connor has heard it a lot. A few weeks ago I was making Chili and he was watching me stir it as it bubbled away. I held his hand in the steam rising off the pot and said Hot! Ow! Burn! After a few minutes I realized he was trying to say it back. It came out more like 'Ot Oooooo Bbbbbbr. I even called my mom and she could understand it. Now everything is Hot! Ow! Burn! The water running in the tub, the food we feed him and especially the stove. I'm not sure he is 100% sure what it means, but it's something to build on.