New Year's Day Snow

On New Year's Eve we had the first of many recent snow storms.  The next morning it was still snowing heavily, so Simon and I went out to shovel and play around.  The last time we got much snow (a few weeks ago) Simon was too sick to go out and play.  So this was the first time since last winter that he had a chance to play around in a snowstorm.  We had a great time but decided we should probably both get some better gloves since our fingers got cold pretty quickly.

More pictures after the jump...

Snow-bound day

It is a super cold, super snowy day and we are all set to tuck in to the house all day (except to shovel). We have chicken enchiladas for dinner, beef stew (from last night) for lunch, and two great kids to keep us entertained all day.

Look at that double height bridge!

Bread pudding with Brandy Sauce for breakfast.

Alan's fancy new coffee maker.

Look at the table out there, 2+ feet of snow on it.
Alan shoveled last night but you can't see even the path due to the crazy wind and snow.

More Simon Quotes...

Simon in bed in the morning, in a singsong voice: I see you! I see you! I want to get up too!
I went in and gave him five books so he could read while I finished getting ready. He was happy as a clam.

Simon screaming: No! No! No! Don't make me go potty!!!!

Mama, give me a favorite? (Do me a favor?)

[runs up holding his doll] Daddy, I need a wipe!  Baby Sarah pooped allllll over the place!

[on potty] Daddy, I have 5 poops!  I'll count them.  One... four... six, seven!  I did AWESOME!!

This is a Dinkel's napkin!  Did you buy this for me??

What did you just did?

Simon: I'll be right back, guys

Parents: Where are you going?

Simon: Oh, I'm running away

I love elephants.  I LOVE elephants.  [sadly, shaking his head:] But I don't know where my fork is.

I won't cry or yell about anything, and I won't cry about my pants.  I promise.

[Holding a toy convertible] Look at this funny car! It has no up-side!

Mama, you can sing if you want to!  Daddy, why don't you not sing.

[Daddy] Simon, why did you wake up so early?

[Simon] I heard a camel, and now I'm a little bit scared

I'll turn on the TV with my XBox voice!

[Daddy] Simon, are you feeling sick?

[Simon] Yes, I've been wiping my boogers on puppy's ear.

[after Lillian threw up all over the place] It's a Lillian-mergency!

Things I never thought I'd hear myself say

Please stop licking the changing table

Blueberries don't go in your nose.  No, not even just one.

Don't try to fix your sister with your toolbox

Yes, your underwear is sad now

If you were brushing your teeth right, there wouldn't be toothpaste on the wall

Did you just eat a dust ball from under the couch?

Yes, you do have to wear shoes when you go out in the snow

You can dip your banana into pasta sauce if you really want to, but you still have to eat it afterwards

Are you a turtle or a horse?

If you're making cookies for other people you don't get to take a bite out of each one

No, don't poop in the shower

Please don't drive on my head

Simon at 2 and a half years old

Amazingly our Simon is already two and a half years old. I don't know where the time has gone. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing little man as my son.

Some things about Simon at 2.5:

1. Goes to bed at 6 and wakes up around 6:30, naps from 12-2 on a 'normal' day. We are a little more flexible with his times than we used to be, but he still really likes his routine.
2. He has an amazing vocabulary - talks circles around most of his peers. 
3. He speaks in full sentences and if you correct his tense than he will usually remember for next time.
4. Sadly he doesn't fit into my (Emily's) lap very well anymore - with his head on my shoulders he needs to fold his legs up to fit when I'm sitting.
5. Loves trains, matchbox cars and Duplos (big legos). 
6. Goes to the library every Friday and gets a good set of books to read every week. Doesn't read constantly like he did before, but reads for cuddle time and during independent play. 
7. Has started watching some tv. His favorite show is Blues Clues and favorite movie is Cars.
8. He feeds himself with fork/knife for his meals and will eat most everything except veggies. Those he only eats if he is conned or bribed into it - though he usually likes them when he eats it.
9. He usually sits in a big boy chair (not the booster seat). It takes many reminders to get him to sit straight and not hop out of the chair every time he is distracted, but he loves it. 
10. He is not allergic to any thing (so far!) 
11. Simon loves to cook. He regularly helps make breakfast (scrambled eggs or oatmeal), muffins, makes pizza with Jenn and helps with cookies and whatever else we let him stand on his 2 step stool and help with.
12. Simon sets the table and helps clear it. Though it is best if he just does it with his plastic plates since he doesn't quite reach the sink and so things have a tendency to get tossed into the sink.
13. He still drinks only water and whole milk - though every once in a while we'll let him have some of our orange or grapefruit juice. 
14. Loves to sing. He will regularly burst into song when he's riding in the backseat by himself. His favorite song is 'We're not going to take it' (which he sings only with Alan) but he sings everything. He has a great memory for lyrics and will pick up the chorus of a new song quite quickly. Christmas carols were quite popular in this house! 
15. For bedtime routine Mama sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Daddy sings Lion Sleeps Tonight and Jenn sings Edelweiss.  
16. He is getting independent, asking to do things on his own. Today he told me he did AWESOME at brushing his teeth so I didn't need to help (I did anyway, back teeth are hard).
17. He doesn't eat much sugar. He'll have a cookie or two when he bakes them, of course whatever dough he sneaks when I'm not looking, and also whatever Auntie Colleen gives him when they're out (it's what Aunts are for apparently).
18. He loves hanging with his Aunties and Grandparents. 
19. Spends every Tuesday with Karmen and Tyler. Even though he cries as he walks out the door every time, by the time he's in the car he's good and he always has tons of happy stories when he gets home in the evening.
20. He is great at counting to 13. For some reason 14 and 15 trip him up and he often forgets them, but picks up at 16. He is able to show the number of fingers that something is and we are working on 'one more' making a new number and 'one less' making a new number. 
21. He identifies the capital letters of the alphabet consistently and has about half the lower case letters. 
22. Every night Daddy puts him to bed he asks 'Puppy, what are you going to dream about?' and Simon says 'Simon', then Daddy asks 'Kitty, what are you going to dream about?" and Simon says 'Simon', then Daddy asks 'Simon, what are you going to dream about?' and Simon, often laughing so hard he can hardly get it out, says 'Puppy and Kitty' and Daddy says, to more laughter 'IT'S A BIG CIRCLE DREAM!'
23. We have pretty much ditched the stroller and tricycle completely and he just walks everywhere. 
24. He is potty trained during the day, though we still have to be careful about asking because he is not great at speaking up. Oddly he is really good at telling us about pooping, but terrible about telling us about pee.
25. At night he is still in diapers (Pampers #5s!). He is still in his crib for 12-13 hours a night so I don't think it's fair to expect him to hold it that long. Once he gets into a toddler bed then we will start night time potty training. 
26. He loves to run and kick balls. He is so interested in sports. He loves baseball and football especially. He will run and get tackled by invisible people. I have seen him run and accidentally trip and laugh it off by calling it a tackle.
27. He asked Santa for a football helmet and we cheated by getting him a miniature one so he couldn't wear it. 
28. He is rarely shy at restaurants anymore, instead we talk about what he is going to order and he is great about asking them for it. He wins over every server we have!
29. Simon is great about saying thank you and will do so frequently and without prompting. Please often needs a reminder, but he is happy to say it.
30. He is very routine oriented and if you deviate from his routine he will remind you. 'Now a quick lunch then nap.'
31. He is great at independent play. You just have to ask him if he can go play by himself for a while. If he wants to play with you then he'll come and ask. 'Daddy, you play trains with me?'
32. When Lillian cries Simon will look at me and say, 'You feed her, Mama' or 'She's crying. You check on her!'
33. He has started saying "I'm a little bit scared." Usually in reaction to Lillian crying, which she has been doing quite fiercely when we snot suck her nose because of her cold.

Lillian still has blue eyes!

Our little girl still has blue eyes at 10 weeks. If anything, they are getting lighter. 

Simon the photographer

Simon loves using my phone to take pictures. Yesterday he asked to hold Lillian and then suggested that he take a picture of her.

Taking aim...

Extreme Closeup.

A little further away...