Happy Birthday, Connor!

Today is my nephew Connor's 12th birthday. I can't believe he's almost a teenager. He was my sister and her husband's first child, and I still remember so clearly holding him as a newborn in the hospital. I also remember babysitting him for a week when he was just 5 or 6 weeks old. He was too young to go to daycare, and my sister wanted to get back to work, so I stayed with them for a week in Milwaukee. Connor loves hearing this story. I took their dog, Zeus, out for a quick walk while baby Connor was sleeping and later discovered I had inadvertantly locked myself out of the house. What a responsible aunt I was!

Connor is the performer of the family. He loves being on stage and is totally comfortable being the center of attention. One of my earliest memories of him was how he would stand on the hearth in front of their fireplace with arms outstretched and say "Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, it's GUY SMILEY!!!" (that's from Sesame Street) as if to start a show. Now, having just finished 6th grade, he's already performed in the school musical, sang solos with his church choir, is learning clarinet and cello, and this summer is taking improv classes. I wonder if he's going to start a rock band with the new electric guitar he's getting for his birthday.

Connor's just an all-around a good kid. He has tons of friends (he wanted to invite 35 kids to his birthday party), the teachers love him, the girls think he's cute, and he's good to his younger sister and brother. Although this picture is 2 years old and makes him look like he doesn't have any arms, it perfectly captures his animated ways (not to mention his love of presents). Happy Birtday, Connor!