2 days with mama

Jenn moved on May 1st so asked for both the 1st and 2nd off so she could have some time to get settled. As a result, Simon had 2 days with mama. Here are some photos, most after the jump...

Bagel breakfast at Einstein's because Safari Cup is closed. :( 

A sad discovery about Safari Cup

I'm home with Simon today and is my custom we headed off first thing to Safari Cup to have breakfast with Sharon and Dave.

Imagine my shock when I walked up to the storefront and it was EMPTY. Nothing there at all. No sign, no window dressings, no furniture at all - the entire space was simply empty.

I honestly looked around to see if I took a wrong turn somewhere since we had just driven by on Sunday and saw Dave and Sharon (owners) getting out of the car and walking in. But it was the right place, they had just disappeared.

Looking into it we found out that Sunday was their last day in business. I so wish we had gone but there were no signs or notice. Starbucks had purchased the three (yes, 3) stores next to them and started construction this spring to merge them into one very large location. I guess they just didn't think they could complete.

Safari Cup has been our favorite local hang outs for years. We have more pictures than I can count of Simon and almost every person who has visited us on those black couches with the elephant pillows. It was the first place I walked to after I had Simon and he spent so many hours sleeping on me in the wrap while I read and drank iced herbal tea. I will so miss it.

Beautiful evening.

Last night was such a beautiful evening, our first really warm day.  When I got home Simon and I went to the grocery store to pick up chicken and asparagus for Alan and my dinner and while we there we also got grapes. They were perfectly ripe and juicy and the sun was hot. So we snacked on them the walk home and then ate more of them in the back yard since I just couldn't stand to go inside yet. Simon learned to pull them off the stem and generally ran around like the almost-two-year-old that he is. Little video at the end, but you can get the idea from the pictures. 

ABC's and pop quiz

This video is from last week. Simon says most of the alphabet and answers questions!!

I might have already posted this but I will do it again because it is SO cute! He is repeating 'cool dude' over and over!!

Day at the park

Friday funday!!

Dentist and Pacifier

On Monday Alan and I had appointments with the dentist. Like every other time we've had appointments since Simon was born, we had him swing by to visit. He looks at the fish in the lobby, meets the dentist and sits in the chair. This time was a little different because when he sat in the chair, Ginger, the dental assistant, showed him Mr. Thirsty. Mr. Thirsty sucks the water from a cup or from your mouth! She let Simon hold the cup and the sucker and showed him how to put it into his mouth a couple times (which made him laugh). He got more comfortable and let her check out his mouth and even let her put the mirror in there so she could see his teeth. He has one of his 2 year molars and all 16 of the other kids teeth we'd expect him to have. They look great. (He does brush twice a day!) But she noticed that his front teeth are a little pushed forward and she guessed that he still used a pacifier. She suggested we get him off the pacifier soon, before 2 and his teeth should adjust themselves. After Simon's dentist visit it was Alan's turn. While Alan got his teeth cleaned Simon and I walked to the lake and found a cute little park with swings and boats. Alan joined us for a bit before we went home for dinner and bed.

Luckily Jenn is awesome - she started transitioning Simon away from pacifiers at nap time ages ago so the next steps we hoped would be easy. On Tuesday there was a serious conversation about throwing the pacifier away and then Simon threw it in the trash and said Goodbye. On Tuesday night before he went to bed I reminded him about throwing the pacifier in the trash and he remembered but he still looked around for it when I set him down. Another quick reminder and he stopped looking and settled down. Then Simon went to sleep just like normal - meaning he talked to his animals and waived his feet in the air for about 20 minutes after I left before falling asleep. He slept all night, no issues! In the morning there was a brief period of looking for the pacifier (usually it's lost in the blankets, so that's a routine) and when I reminded him again that he put it in the trash, Simon stopped looking and was fine. Wednesday night Alan reminded him again before bed time and Simon went to sleep like normal and this morning no looking. It might be a bit early to declare complete victory, but I cautiously present that we are pacifier free.

Here are some photos of the park on Monday:

And I'm UP!

Now how do I get down?

Birds!

row, row, row your boat!