Missing Mama

Emily's been out of town for work for a few days this week, and Simon is very noticeably missing her - especially when he first wakes up and at bedtime. When I take him out of his crib in the morning he's happy to see me but soon he starts looking around for Mama since usually if she's not the one to greet him in the morning then she's not far behind me. After more time has goes by and she still hasn't shown up, he gets more frantic and starts signing "milk" (which is also his way of saying "nursing" and "snuggle with Mommy") over and over.  Normally he's very content to play by himself for a while, but after a full day/night of her being gone he starts being more and more needy/clingy/fragile.  And finally today he wasn't his typical cheerful self... not necessarily crying or cranky, but just very serious.

He gets lots of love from everyone, but there's no substitute for Mama

He hasn't been upset the whole time she's been gone - overall, we've had a fun couple days with just us boys.  But we're both looking forward to having Mama back tomorrow morning.

More sleepy serious Simon after the jump...

Picture of the Day: 5/31/12

Bath time, yay!

Put it Away

Simon puts his toys away now!

Picture of the Day: 5/30/12

Cottage cheese incoming.

Cottage cheese eaten.

Picture of the Day: 5/28/12

Memorial Day get together in the back yard. Play in the sprinkler and trying on Joseph's hat!

More after jump...

Picture of the Day: 5/27/12

I made coconut and pineapple homemade popsicles. Perfect in the 90 degree weather! Cool sprinkler and a fun bucket and the world is perfect. Note how many of these pictures he's standing... all of them! He's started taking one step without holding on to anything and then falling. So close to walking!

More pictures after jump.

Eating a Banana

Such a big boy!

Picture of the Day: 5/22/12

Cheerios are a hit!

Stand up!

As alluded to in a prior post, Simon has become a champion stander. He can stand up without pulling up on anything and slowly, with great control, sit back down. The number of squats he does during the day is amazing. And his posture is a dream! He has amazing core strength. 

Picture of the Day: 5/21/12

Guess who leaned to duck?

More Sprinkler Pictures

Lots more Simon vs. Sprinkler pics after the jump...

Sprinkler Play Date with the Neighbors

We had a play date with two neighborhood couples and their little ones. Holden is 18 months and in the 99% for size - big boy! He walks and talks and is a little person. He is super gentle and a lovely sharer - Simon and Maya are good takers, but Holden is quite gracious about it. Maya is the little girl and is 3 weeks older than Simon (but was full term so more like 5-6 weeks more advanced). She is also walking and has been for a couple months (!), even though she isn't talking yet she gets her point across. These little ones have personality so young! Simon is standing much better, but still not walking and very quiet when there are lots of things and stuff going on. Though he managed to get around pretty well anyway.  

It was a really fun day with everyone taking some time with the sprinkler. The sprinkler had lots of moving parts and the water was really cold. It was about 90 degrees out, so it was refreshing if you just jumped through. Because Simon isn't super mobile yet he didn't get in and out of the water like the other two and as a result got chilled and his little teeth started chattering. But he loved the sprinkler so when we pulled him out he just crawled back! Finally we turned the sprinkler off and pulled out a destruction toy - Baby Sized red cups from Target. They LOVED them. We filled each with an inch or two of water and the kids tried to figure out how to drink from a cup. Most of the water ended up on someones lap, but it was fun for kids and adults alike. 

Click here to view these pictures larger

(If that didn't work for you, try this link to an album in shutterfly.)

Baby Bird

Simon learned to drink from a straw! Sort of...

Picture of the Day: 5/18/21

Outdoor fun!

11 months!

More Peas Please

He loves peas. What can I say? Didn't get that from me.

Thanks for the video, Jenn!

Picture of the Day: 5/12/12

It was a lovely weekend - both in weather and in activities. We didn't take any pictures on Sunday, but here are some from Saturday. Lots more after the break.

It's a Sign

Simon hasn't said any words yet, but he's definitely gotten a few signs...

We started using signs and trying to teach him to use them at around 9 months. The first four we did were all food related: more, drink, all done, and milk (we use milk for nursing and a bottle). He understands them all and will initiate more and milk (especially milk!) often on his own. He has turned the sign for milk into a request for Mama as well.  

We recently introduced light, which he picked up really fast. He looks up at the lights and signs light. If the lights aren't already on then the sign is his way of asking for them to be turned on and off... Because a light going on and off is hilarious - which you obviously already know - especially when dad snaps at the same time.

We started Thank you and Please last week. If he keeps picking them up so quickly it won't be long before he has a pretty decent vocabulary.

As a side note, apparently teaching babies sign language is controversial because some people think that learning signs causes a baby to speak later. It amazes me how many people have brought up the delay in speaking when I've told them we're signing with Simon. They usually approach it like a fact and act like it'll cause him to speak years later and I'm permanently scarring Simon. I'm sure it will surprise no one to know that I've looked into this supposed 'delay'. There are lots of studies out there, but even the studies that claim they've proven a delay have only been able to show a max of two months delay in speech and that is well within the huge 'normal' range of a baby's first words (first words can be anywhere from 9 months to 15 months). I personally believe that teaching a baby sign language does not cause a delay in speaking. But even if I thought that there were, it would be well worth 2 extra months of no words to have him not get frustrated by being unable to communicate. Right now he can tell us when he is still hungry (more!) or wants to nurse. That is huge.

As soon as we can get a sign on video (that isn't more) then I'll post it.

Picture of the Day: 5/11/12

Reading!

He has got turning of pages without ripping, now we just have to teach him to stand on his head so the pictures are right side up.

Day after eye surgery fun!

Loving the swings still and sitting on the bench feeding himself like such a big boy!!

Picture of the Day: 5/9/12

Picture of the Day: 5/6/12

So tired after an oddly grouchy day. Must be he is teething. (Saw an old friend today who told me to blame anything I can on teething, but it makes sense.)

They call him Limon Simon

I know Emily already did a post on this, but I have one more video I wanted to share.  This one is right when he first started chewing on the limes and really had no idea what to expect.  My favorite part is how he would look up at us after the bites with a little smile, like "this food makes me feel funny!"

Speedy recovery

Just to clarify, the picture in the previous post is of Simon in the morning *before* his surgery.  That was just a mild example of the crusty eye that the surgery will hopefully fix. 

Simon's recovery was actually incredibly easy and fast.  Once he'd had a chance to nurse with Emily a bit after he woke up, you couldn't tell from looking at him that he'd been through anything out of the ordinary that morning at all (aside from the purple marker above his right eye, but what kid doesn't have marker on their face now and then?).  He was his normal happy self almost immediately, charming everyone that came by. 

Here's a picture of Simon taken in the recovery room about 15 minutes after he woke up from the surgery.  He was having a ton of fun waving around two tiny anesthesia masks the nurses let him play with.

See ya later, Eye Goop!

Picture of the Day: 5/1/12

Bye-bye, Auntie Amy. Thanks for the cool new shirt! It says "I Dig Dirt"

I know there is something cool in here,
I just need to figure out how to open...