lynbert

miriam's progress

2012-01-22T22:47:00.000-05:00

the end of december was a little tough for me. miriam's four month well baby visit didn't go so well.

she only gained a half pound in two months and didn't even get on the charts for her weight. so the dr suggested i start mim on first foods to help with the weight and told me she wanted me to come back in a month instead of the usual two months. then she also referred me to a cardiologist for a heart murmur and an opthamologist for an abnormal reflex in her right eye.

i thought i was handling all the concerns pretty well. until christmas eve eve. that night mim refused to nurse. i figured it was a one time thing. but then she did it a few times the next day. it was ok because i was able to give her a bottle of formula each time, but it hurts when your baby refuses and cries when you try to do what is supposed to be best for her.

she continued like this all weekend. i nursed her when she would let me and gave her a bottle when she wouldn't.

i took her to the wic office right after the holiday so i could get more formula for her. i had every intention of just supplementing. but it was emotionally difficult to have her blatantly reject me several times a day. not to mention how quickly my milk supply was going down. i had supply issues with simon too. after just one week of taking the bottle miriam already showed signs of weight gain. that was all i needed to feel good about my decision. when we went to the cardiologist 18 days after the well baby, mim had already gained 1 lb 4 oz. she's still really low on the weight charts, but climbing fast. no more skinny mim.

can you see the roll in her thighs? she didn't have that a month ago.

she's looking so much better and getting so strong.

mim has been to both referral appointments and she is a hundred percent fine. nothing to even blink an eye at. i think she's pretty perfect.

(pictures from 12/22/2011, 1/16/2012, 1/17/2012)

five months

2012-01-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

she's getting bigger.

christmas

2011-12-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

this was our little christmas corner before simon woke up. not bad for our first christmas alone with just our little family.

simon had fun emptying his stocking. oh, here are his christmas eve pjs. i did get a picture.

i think yonkers had the best view of the festivities.

simon "played santa".

simon got a pretty good loot. thanks everyone!

rachel and chad came over after church. we exchanged gifts and played. doesn't it always seem to take forever to clean up after christmas?

rachel and chad stayed for dinner. nothing fancy. a roasted potato bar. so much better than a baked potato bar. all in all, it was pretty great.

christmas preparations

2011-12-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

this is santa at our church party. he has young eyes. and he's actually really skinny too. but none of the kids seemed to notice or care. there was quite a line to sit on his lap. or maybe the line was for the piece of candy they got after they were done. either way, here is mim's first santa experience. (12/10/2011)

on christmas eve eve we went to see santa again. there is nowhere like macy's to go see santa claus. this is the train to the north pole.

and look at this santa. he was worth the 20 minute wait. granted, you don't really notice how long it takes when you're at the north pole. there is so much else to look at. i thought i had pictures of it from last year. turns out i don't. maybe next year. i considered buying the family picture they took for us, but i'm just not ready to have pictures taken of me. mim missed out too because she was sleeping.

after seeing santa we checked out macy's christmas window displays. simon was really into it.

i especially like this last one. he could have stood there for hours.

last year i don't think i did too much to get simon excited for christmas. we didn't talk too much about santa or what happens. plus, we were busy getting ready for our trip to utah/arizona for the holidays. this year i really wanted to help simon get excited. i received an email a couple days before the beginning of december with a printable advent calendar. i think advent calendars will be my new thing at christmas. i loved the countdown. and it really helped simon know when christmas was coming.

one of the things that simon really wanted to do was see the really big christmas tree. we were there literally 2 minutes. it's not worth the fighting the crowds to even get a picture in front of it. just get a picture and go. (12/21/2011)

we had a friend over one day to do crafts. i had this great idea of making santa hats. they didn't turn out as well as i hoped. but i guess they were good enough. robert cut a rubber band and made a strap so that it would stay on simon's head. it was too small to stay without some help. but i think it kind of choked him.

here is what our tree looked like on christmas eve. way too much stuff under the tree already, if you ask me.

and a few more cute faces from our household's best male model.

who doesn't have a tradition of opening one gift on christmas eve? and what parents haven't picked a specific gift to be opened for that tradition? simon seemed a little timid at first.

then we told him to just tear the paper. look at him go.

seriously? i didn't get a picture of the actual gift? well, yeah, it was pajamas, of course. what else?

this is what we left for santa and his reindeer. at macy's he reminded us to not forget the reindeer. and i'm sure the milk was still cold when he got here since we put it in a pewter goblet. probably the best way ever to drink milk.

four months

2011-12-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

height: 24.5 inches, 50 percentile. weight: 10lbs 10oz, less than 5 percentile. head: 16 inches, 50 percentile. she gained 8 oz in two months. at least she grew in other areas.

is it bad that i think skinny little miriam looks kind of cute? is it because most babies are chubby, and she's just different?

christmas in central park

2011-12-04T21:23:00.001-05:00

a floating lit tree on the harlem meer.

decorating christmas cookies.

what simon's face looked like after eating his cookie.

a rare picture of me.

and probably the worst picture with santa. i'm glad they provided a snowy backdrop.

(december 4, 2011)

our tree

2011-12-04T21:18:00.001-05:00

and a couple of my favorite people, too.

(december 4, 2011)

thanksgiving

2011-12-04T20:33:00.001-05:00

we are two for two on going to see the macy's thanksgiving day parade balloons being inflated. it didn't seem as busy and crazy this year. i thought we got there earlier this time, but robert thinks it was the same time of day. the line outside the gates was pretty quick. simon enjoyed his wait on robert's shoulders.

and apparently he made it back up on robert's shoulders for the last stretch too.

it was hard to take pictures, at least i managed to get something with snoopy in it, even if i could only get a good shot of either robert or simon.

I had every intention of taking pictures of our wonderful dinner. but i guess i got caught up in all the preparations. it makes me sad though. i wish i had visual documentation of it. we enjoyed the day with rachel, chad and lee. thanks for making it a day to be thankful for.

(november 23, 2011)

my kids

2011-12-04T20:26:00.001-05:00

i couldn't love them more.

and it looks like simon is warming up to mim more.

(november 19, 2011)

three months

2011-11-26T20:49:00.001-05:00

picture dump for those who have been waiting.

(november 18, 2011)

in the fall

2011-11-18T20:59:00.001-05:00

this is what happens when you walk home from preschool.

they wanted to make sure the stroller was filled with leaves too.

the little one just wanted to be a part of it all. can you blame him?

i took a ton of pictures, but didn't get simon's face in even one of them. but you get the idea. they had a fun walk home.

(november 15, 2011)

busy busy

2011-11-18T20:53:00.001-05:00

this guy has some serious work to do.

(november 18, 2011)

post-nap simon

2011-11-18T20:47:00.001-05:00

he wakes up kind of grumpy.

but slowly,

he comes around.

(november 8, 2011)

halloween

2011-11-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

we carved pumpkins this year. and i didn't take a single picture. it's all miriam's fault.that's become a common theme among posts. miriam keeps me from taking pictures.

thank you corinne for taking a picture of ada with robert, and marydee for taking a picture of charles with robert.

simon spent a lot of time playing instead of carving pumpkins. thank you ariel for taking a picture of talia with simon.

simon's preschool had a halloween party and parade. miss amy let simon keep hold of the bell as part of his costume. she's so great with the kids.

i didn't get any pictures at the ward halloween party (thanks again mim), but ariel got a group picture as we were leaving.

friends from church hosted a halloween party for our weekly playgroup. it was complete with face painting. i've tried to get simon's face painted before, but he never had any interest. he was way into it this time. he wanted a firefighter painted on his face, or maybe just a fire.

finally, it was time for trick-or-treating, city style, with liam. first stop was chase bank, then whole foods wine store where they scored a cookie, honest ade juice, and a bag of chips.

these kids had so much fun running and singing happy halloween together. and going into all the stores to get candy. thank you nina for the pictures. any guess why i didn't take any?

while trick-or-treating on broadway we ran into a couple friends. strange how they all put their fingers in the same place.

last year, we didn't do so much for halloween. Just the church party and knocking on doors in our building. looks like he had a lot of fun doing the same again this year.

safety first

2011-11-08T19:58:00.003-05:00

simon wearing goggles and gloves for construction.

his construction site.

first bath together

2011-10-26T16:06:00.001-04:00

mim needed a bath, and simon was awake so we asked him if he wanted to take a bath with her. i'm a little surprised he said yes. not sure why. he wants her to sleep in his room, why wouldn't he want to bathe with her.

(october 18, 2011)

dance class

2011-10-26T16:02:00.000-04:00

sytycd ended a while ago. i was worried that simon wouldn't love dancing anymore. he still does. he doesn't seem to notice that he's the only boy in the class. he also doesn't follow the other dancers all of the time. he does things his own ways. has his own moves. and he does it all with the biggest smile.

(october 12, 2011)

haunted pumpkin garden

2011-10-26T15:44:00.000-04:00

i took simon to the haunted pumpkin garden at the ny botanical garden in the bronx. first we met rachel at grand central terminal and took the metro north train. first time on the metro north. it was nice. took only 20 minutes to get there once the train got moving.

rachel was a lifesaver. there is no way it would have been any fun without her. i had to feed miriam and keep her happy. simon wouldn't have liked that. so rachel played with simon while i took care of mim.

i'm pretty sure simon was pretending to be at an ice cream stand, selling ice cream to the people inside the pumpkin house. and i'm also pretty sure no kids knew what he was doing or how to play with him.

later he found these blocks. he really likes to build, and these blocks are great because they interlock and don't fall down as easily. can you tell simon is saying cheese? he's really good at that. what he's not very good at is staying still while he says it.

(october 10, 2011)

moustache

2011-10-26T15:27:00.000-04:00

simon loves his smoothies, and the moustache that comes with them. i love his smile.

one month, two month

2011-10-26T15:22:00.002-04:00

september 18, 2011

october 18, 2011

two month stats, approximates: weight, 10 lbs 2 oz, 16th percentile. height, 23.3 inches, 65th percentile.
simon's two month stats? weight, 12 lbs, 61st percentile height, 23.25 inches, 65th percentile

race car

2011-10-15T20:44:00.001-04:00

first you have to start the car with the ignition button.

then you drive off as fast as you can.

and you don't ever get out of the car. ever.

not even the promise of mcdonald's could persuade him to get out.

he had every intention of staying in that car all day.

even though it wasn't even plugged in. couldn't even put a quarter in. it was completely stationary, but he loved it.

(september 29, 2011)

a rare occasion

2011-10-15T20:40:00.001-04:00

simon got out of the sand.

i don't usually go to this playground. it kind of smells, especially during rainy season. but i went to see my friend kari. and simon seems to like this playground too.

(september 29, 2011)

he did it

2011-10-15T20:35:00.001-04:00

simon loves mim, but he wouldn't go near her. he slowly warmed up to her, and would give her kisses occasionaly, but he did not want to hold her. i don't know how we got him to do it, but he did. and it made me happy. so does his smile.

(september 26, 2011)

ramps

2011-10-15T20:24:00.002-04:00

we like to pick robert up from school, and the most scenic route is through columbia campus. simon had his scooter with him, but he chose to run instead.

then he coaxed robert into running with him.

then someone got tuckered out.

(september 22, 2011)

book buddies

2011-10-15T20:15:00.001-04:00

first day.

i have good intentions of documenting our lives with photographs, and catching firsts. somehow, it doesn't happen very well. i blame it on the lack of picture taking growing up. i've done so much better than my parents, but that is only because of digital cameras. until i got a digital i was the worst. we have zero photos from our amazing honeymoon in hawaii. sad.

i'm glad i have friends that remember to use their camera. this is simon with his best friend truman at the end of their first day at book buddies. they spend the last 15 minutes or so playing outside. that explains the sweaty heads. thank you liz.

(september 22, 2011)

what grandmas do

2011-10-15T20:09:00.001-04:00

grandmas come visit and help when a new grandbaby arrives. and they take lots of pictures.

they take the older kids to the park with aunts.

they capture awesome faces on camera.

they take all the pictures you would take if you weren't busy feeding the newborn at the westside county fair.

they give you an excuse to go to the zoo.

and take even more pictures while mom once again feeds the baby.

and go to more parks and get to know the city just a bit better.

thank you mom, you helped more than you know.

(september 9-17, 2011)

westside county fair

2011-09-12T16:59:00.005-04:00

i guess this is the closest thing to a county fair in manhattan. it was pretty small, but so is simon.

i didn't get pictures of simon playing at the bouncy houses. i was too busy feeding miriam. we went on the pier to check out what rides they had. i went with simon inside a spinning apple. bad idea. why don't kids get sick on rides? (thank you kyle/ada's dad for taking the above picture.)

this is the apple. simon really wanted to go on the strawberry, but the line was longer.

then he went on the ferris wheel with ada.

i love the tall buildings in the background of the fair. i have a cousin who lives in one of those. oh, and simon finally got to ride in the strawberry.

on our way out we stopped here. i think this was the petting zoo.

(september 10, 2011)

three weeks

2011-09-12T16:52:00.002-04:00

any changes yet?

she went to the dr at three weeks instead of two.

8 lbs. 3.5 oz, 21 inches

(september 9, 2011)

one year & two weeks

2011-09-06T18:31:00.004-04:00

one year. we've been in nyc one year. a lot has happened. but first, this is how we celebrated.

we didn't plan on celebrating this way. but this is what we did. the carousolar. there really are a million different free things to do here. and i'm glad that i was able to get out of the house with the whole family. getting out has been a challenge for me.

in the past year, since we moved to new york, we've attended two funerals, landed a job, gone to utah four times, gone to dc twice, got pregnant and had a baby. it has been a whirlwind year for us. but we're settled now, and quite happy.

miriam is two weeks old here.

amazing.

(september 1, 2011)

another introduction

2011-08-27T16:21:00.002-04:00

miriam

born august 18, 2011. 7 lbs, 11 oz. 21 inches.

i think she looks a lot like simon did when he was born.

construction at the highline

2011-08-27T16:15:00.005-04:00

i told you, we love the highline. we went back with robert's family while they were here. they had the best activity set up. there was a section to build your own birdhouse. that didn't interest simon at all. he just wanted to dive into the "real" construction.

i'm so glad nana and rachel were there to play with simon. it would have been impossible for me to get down on the ground like that since i was nine months pregnant. i know. not a single indication of the pregnancy on the blog.

rachel said there were several pictures taken of simon, not just by me. i can't believe other people had to stop and take pictures of him. he was pretty cute in his gear.

see the guys in the background of these last two pictures? i guess they thought simon was pretty cute too.

(august 13, 2011)

friends, again

2011-08-21T20:52:00.003-04:00

remember simon's friends? he's got a few more now.

and they all sleep with him on his bed. all of them. every night.

he usually pushes them off his bed when he jumps. i guess they got to join in on the fun this time.

(august 4, 2011)

playgarden

2011-08-21T20:42:00.002-04:00

a block away from our apartment is a hidden gem. it's a community playgarden. i've known about it for a while. we went with a friend back in the spring. i've only recently started going back. they added the pebbles and it made a huge difference. it isn't so muddy anymore, and the pebbles are almost as good as sand. and the best thing? i don't have to take toys with me because there are so many there already.

and plenty of simon's favorite toys.

(august 3, 2011)

more imagination

2011-08-21T17:33:00.003-04:00

remember the blue blocks from imagination playground? they are being featured at the cooper hewitt design museum. they've been there for a good part of the summer. they had story time on this particular day. so we met some friends and enjoyed the beautiful lawn and great weather.

simon realized they make a great race track.

and he showed jacob how to drive the cars on the track.

and a bunch of other kids too.

we waited with kari and carter for the crosstown bus. simon has never had so much fun waiting. we were under scaffolding, or in simon's words we were in a tunnel. he and carter ran all over. and then they decided to swing.

the pictures are hard to see, but the faces are awesome.

(august 3, 2011)

garage city

2011-08-16T14:52:00.004-04:00

(august 1, 2011)

brooklyn children's museum

2011-08-16T14:47:00.004-04:00

this kid loves loves loves sand. granted, this was nice sand.

even when we are inside and there are so many other things to discover, this is the first place simon goes. he did end up exploring, but it took some coercing.

(july 20, 2011)

garbage dump

2011-08-16T14:42:00.003-04:00

at any given time simon is either a fireman, construction worker or, on days like this, a garbage man. and he took everything to the dump. thank you simon.

(july 6, 2011)

chelsea waterside park

2011-08-16T14:12:00.005-04:00

so many action shots. that should clue you in to how much fun simon had here. i liked it too. there was definitely more shade here than at imagination playground.

there are so many water features. they run along the whole side of the park. so you don't have all the kids crowded in one spot. and there is a wading pool. more than enough water to go around.

it has other features too. they just don't tend to be as popular.

but simon and ada did have a good run on the teeter totter.

i can't believe i don't have any pictures of simon in the sand. oh wait, i stopped taking pictures of that a long time ago. or else that would take up 90 percent of my pictures. i am proud of him for getting out of the sand and trying other things. i probably forgot his sand toys.

(july 6, 2011)

parade

2011-08-15T08:14:00.004-04:00

there is a neighborhood about five to ten minutes away from our house that has the best tradition for july 4th. first, they bring out a fire truck and ambulance for the kids to climb all over. simon was in heaven.

after being on display for a while, the fire truck leads a parade of all the kids on bikes or scooters or whatever. they go up the street for a few blocks then turn around and come back. i was too exhausted to go with simon, so i didn't get good pictures of the parade. but here he is on his way back. can you find him?

here is simon waiting in anticipation.

the firefighters are hooking up the truck to the fire hydrant.

and using their water cannon to spray all the kids.

but where's the excited simon? oh, that's right. he barely got wet. the water was too cold for him. it was really cold.

what an awesome tradition though. can't wait for next time. my friend sharon also documented the event. her blog is better in so many ways. for one, she actually blogs when things happen. and her pictures are far superior.

(july 4, 2011)

imagination playground

2011-08-10T21:42:00.003-04:00

i was really looking forward to going to this playground. mostly based on this review. and my friend was excited about it based on this, and this is how she reviewed our trip.

our time at this playground started the same as it does at every playground. simon goes straight to the sand pit. i don't mind though. at least i know where he is and i don't have to run all around the place. i just feel like he's missing out on everything else the playground has to offer. he played with the water that found its way into the sand, but didn't actually get in the water. then, like at most playgrounds, he doesn't discover anything else until we're about ready to go.

that is when he found these blue building blocks that were out in plain sight the entire time. of course he had a fit when we tried to leave, because he just discovered something really cool.

so this park has two pretty great water features, one that is adjacent to a huge sand pit. it also has a huge space to play with these blocks, and a couple other interesting things. but what it doesn't have is shade. you think you are going to this great place when it is hot because of the water and everything else. but if it is sunny change your plans and go another day. maybe the kids don't care about the heat or sun, but i certainly do. and i worry for simon. look how red his face is. i would go back though, just not at the end of june. and maybe not until september.

(june 29, 2011)

stickers

2011-08-10T21:34:00.002-04:00

this boy puts stickers on the weirdest places.

he was super good at his 3 yr dr appt, hence all the stickers. he had blood drawn and got immunizations. the immunizations were worse, but he didn't cry long at all. not much else to report, except he measured in at 3' 1.5". i think he's grown a bit since then though.

(june 24, 2011)

going to the orthodontist

2011-08-10T21:00:00.006-04:00

simon has been to almost every ortho appointment that i've had here. he's really good, and the dr. and her assistant like him. usually we leave just in time to get there without being late. this time i thought i'd look for something to do on our way there and leave early.

there are not a lot of parks near madison and 50th. especially not any with a playground. i did find this place. it's more just a nice place to eat something and enjoy the waterfall. not as good for a boy that wants to play in the waterfall.

we also found a little surprise.

just in case you couldn't see what simon was looking at.

then simon got out his lightning mcqueen.

and he started having more fun.

no pictures at the orthodontist, but this is what we battled after the appointment.

it was taste of the parks. there were probably twenty or so different food trucks offering free samples of their food. it was delicious.

my favorites? cake & shake had some good cupcakes. among the best i've had in ny. also food freaks grilled cheese was super impressive. but it was so crowded. i was about to leave when i found out some friends had just arrived. so we went for another round, and that was lunch.

(june 22, 2011)

i must really like the highline

2011-08-09T21:02:00.004-04:00

i always love an excuse to go back to this park. it probably isn't the most fun for simon though. he's a good sport anyway, and he usually gets to run around a bit.

there happened to be story time while we were there this time. simon's attention was held the longest out of all the kids. he's been playing with friends that are about a year younger than he is. i doubt he minded leaving early.

not to say he didn't get restless. he actually moved around a lot more at the beginning and settled down when the story was in full swing.

and we found our way back here. definitely my favorite part of the park. maybe simon's too?

(june 21, 2011)

birthday

2011-08-08T13:05:00.002-04:00

since simon's birthday was on a sunday, we had a small family party for him.

many many thanks to uncle lee.0 and uncle chad for the legos. simon loves them.

and also grandma for the grab bag of items. simon has so much fun with the snake!

the hospital tools were perfect. now simon doesn't have to pretend that a hose for a hand pump is a stethoscope.

this is his big present from mommy and daddy.

it is a mini kick scooter. i thought i had a video for this, but i don't. when he opened it he said "oh my goodness!" it was pretty cute.

then we had cake.

(june 19, 2011)

birthday party

2011-08-07T19:59:00.006-04:00

simon had a firefighting birthday party. these are the buildings that were on fire.

these are the fire hoses being loaded.

and these are the firefighters doing their job.

they did an excellent job of putting out the fire.

they did not, however, do a very good job of putting fire hats on fire doggie. nor were they very good at keeping the blindfold on. you'd think if they took the blindfold off they could at least put the hats where they were supposed to go.

this is the cake.

almost immediately after i got my android phone in october, simon started watching youtube videos. fire truck was one of the first searches and it found this video. i've seen it many many times. i probably could have made this cake without the help of the video. but i didn't want to mess up. so when the time came i had the video loaded and other websites up. i also gave myself at least two days to make this cake. i refused to have the difficulties that i had for his first birthday. i'm actually quite proud of this cake. i'd say it was a success.

and the kids all seemed to like it.

then simon opened presents, very seriously.

i'd say it was a good birthday party. thank you friends for celebrating with us. thank you simon for being so awesome.

(june 18, 2011)

rainbow city

2011-08-01T20:53:00.005-04:00

the highline had just opened phase two of the park, stretching from i think 23rd st to 30th st and we decided to go check it out. apparently going to a park on a sunday afternoon sounded like a nice idea for thousands of people. i didn't really enjoy it. it was too crowded to really get a feel for the new section of the park. we made it all the way to 30th st and were greeted by a pop-up art installment by friends with you, rainbow city.

two of the air filled structures were open inside for people to play in, and not just the little ones. robert went inside with simon. i didn't see inside the first one, but i guess you were just supposed to run around in circles. good enough for a 3 year old boy.

the other one was a bouncy house. simon was really unsure of it at first.

but after a while he didn't even want robert to go inside with him.

i have to remind myself that this is the kind of thing that we wouldn't get outside of a city. i really take for granted what this place has to offer.

(june 12, 2011)

governor's island

2011-08-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

i'm not so good at paying attention to weather forecasts. we had been planning to go to governor's island one saturday, but the weather was less than ideal. what do you do? we went anyway. you would never believe how close you are to manhattan while you are there. because we went on a day that was cold and a little wet there were fewer people than normal. even so, i've heard that it doesn't matter when you go, it never feels as crowded as the city. i'll leave it to my friend to do it justice.

when we went there was a community art event called figment. we passed a tribal sounding dj tent. there were random sculptures made from car parts and way more exhibits than i can remember. but the area that simon was most interested in involved bubbles, and that's all i took pictures of.

robert did a pretty good job. simon never got a chance to make bubbles on his own. too many older kids that took the wands.

isn't simon cute in his fireman gear?

(june 11, 2011)

trader joe's

2011-08-01T15:37:00.003-04:00

has stickers. lots of them. and they give them to simon. this is what simon does with stickers.

(june 4, 2011)

this is what happens

2011-08-01T15:17:00.004-04:00

when simon watches so you think you can dance.

(june 2, 2011)

highline

2011-08-01T15:01:00.004-04:00

i've talked about the highline before. i think this may have been my first trip there since we moved to nyc. we started on the lower end, around 16th st i think. and then simon found a water feature and didn't want to go any higher.

ada's mom and i watched from these lounge chairs that were across the walkway from the water. simon enjoyed the pebbles and train tracks.

but he preferred the area with water.

(june 2, 2011)

fdny store

2011-07-20T19:49:00.005-04:00

we went to robert's office one day to pick up his check and take it to the bank. on the way to the bank we passed the fdny store. simon was barely able to make it to the bank first before we went back.

i know the pictures are awful, i think i only had my phone. but this was such a big deal for simon. they had a mini fire truck inside the store. he was in heaven. we've been back twice, at least.

(may 31, 2011)

rain puddle

2011-07-18T20:18:00.004-04:00

there was a lot of rain in may. so we took advantage of every dry day we had, even if the ground wasn't dry. we were on our way to the park with some friends, but we never made it.

this is before simon's pants became completely soaked.

this is after.

(may 19, 2011)

utah

2011-07-13T19:25:00.004-04:00

the first 11 days of may were spent in utah. i hate traveling alone with simon, but then he goes and does something like this in the airport...

it seems like there are so many more things for simon to do at nana and papa's house. but that's only if we stay at the house. we go out a lot more in nyc. i love how his mind is developing. this is a picture of the train tracks that he made with scrap wood he found outside.

nana makes smoothies everyday now. simon kind of looked like the joker after drinking out of her big cup.

the best thing about this drawing was when i saw it simon had already finished the face, but told me he wasn't done yet and still needed to draw ears.

we went to thanksgiving point. they have a fish pond. simon fed some fish.

but we went for the tulip festival. traffic was bad and it took so long to get there. we didn't have as much time as we would have liked. and i didn't get as many pictures as i would have liked. we saw a garden snake, but it was gone by the time i had my camera out.

my sister decided to come visit our dad while we were there. it was fun being there together, even if i do see her 2-3 times a week in nyc.

a while back nana bought a bench for simon. good thing he came to visit or she may not have ever assembled it.

we went to lunch at taco time our last day there. simon and papa john had a lot of fun making faces at each other.

simon had a lot of fun and asks to go back almost everyday. we took the red-eye back to ny and simon went straight to his last class of book buddies after we got home. he did really well, but fell asleep when we took a walk to get a delicious frozen treat. he usually doesn't fall asleep while walking.

(may 1-12, 2011)

ny int'l auto show

2011-07-07T08:51:00.005-04:00

there was one reason why we went to the show.

the saab phoeniX concept car. it was pretty. and really different. but i think saab enthusiasts get it. a lot of classic saab lines.

simon had so much fun driving in cars. he was definitely in heaven. while robert and i were there to see just one car, simon wanted to see and get into all cars. he really misses them.

but i think this was simon's favorite part.

(april 30, 2011)

easter

2011-07-05T21:17:00.010-04:00

we started with making cookies.

and somehow it turned into playing with trucks.

when the cookies were done we then decorated them. simon did such a good job.

he's so proud of his frosted butterfly.

i discovered a while ago that it is impossible to do something like this without some licking. it was simon's lucky day.

growing up, the easter bunny would tie a string to our basket and run it all around the house. when we woke up the end of the string would be next to our bed and we had to follow it to find our basket. the same bunny came to new york this year for simon.

and he found some eggs along the way.

it took a while for simon to really understand what to do. robert had to follow, and sometimes lead, and gather the string. i think simon will be a pro next year.

there it is!

(april 2011)

catching up is not easy

2011-07-05T20:45:00.005-04:00

when you've taken many many photos.

rolling around on a rock in central park. (showing off for an older woman trying to study)

making dinner.

very serious work to be done.

running and jumping around.

awesome bath time with bubbles.

spring started to show itself, but it was still cold enough to bundle up. this tree is right outside our apartment. it was so pretty.

one of simon's best friends had a cars themed party. they each had their own box that they put lights and decals on. then they went on a race.

he wasn't even close to first, but they all got a medal, and simon was very proud of himself.

simon loves to be the statue of liberty.

the weather started warming up a bit, so after we went to the library we took our new books to a lawn on campus.

(all photos taken in april 2011)

touch a truck

2011-06-20T14:11:00.012-04:00

it is pretty much what it sounds like. a bunch of trucks for kids to touch.

ambulance:

it was a super sunny day, and i either don't know how to use my camera properly or i just don't have a good camera...or both. the ambulance was the first truck so there were a ton of kids trying to get in. simon got in long enough to get a picture, but then was sort of kicked out. but then he got to put on a helmet that was way too big for his head.

garbage truck (i think):

garbage trucks are huge. i couldn't get a picture of the whole thing and still be able to see simon. but you can see how huge the tires are compared to simon.

there was a pretty big line to get in the truck. i waited while simon explored with rachel and chad.

fire truck:

probably his favorite truck.

even though there isn't a lot of room once you get inside. i don't think they were letting people into the driver's seat.

but simon tried anyway.

police car:

who knew the back seat could be fun too?

they even left the mic thing on.

and simon got to see a real policeman. we tried getting out to talk to him, but he was too distracted or busy, or just didn't want to talk to us.

truck farm:

garbage truck again, on the way out:

it was really hard getting simon to leave. somehow one last climb onto the garbage truck was good enough? probably not. i think he was crying the whole way out.

on our way home we stopped to get simon a cheeseburger from mcdonald's. did you know that even in brooklyn you can get normal priced food there? it is just more expensive in manhattan. awesome.

(april 9, 2011)

boats

2011-06-15T20:11:00.005-04:00

one of the things simon loved about hong kong was all the different modes of transportation. sure, i think new york offers all the same options (except for trams), but we took the star ferry all the time in hong kong. there aren't as many occasions to take a ferry here.

the star ferry was a quick ride to kowloon, where there is a ton to do. the staten island ferry takes 30 minutes, and i don't even know what there is to do there. we just got off the boat and got back on.

the ride did provide some pretty great views of downtown. simon loved it. and i think lee really enjoyed sharing the experience with simon.

(april 03, 2011)

art class

2011-06-06T14:13:00.004-04:00

i took simon to a ten-week art class. his friend madi was in the class too.

every week they started with crayons or pencils, then water colored on top of that. then, they got a new piece of paper and made collages with shapes made from construction paper. then they would get a new paper and paint with tempera paint using different objects like forks, sponges and corks for different textures.

every week. by week 8 simon started to get sick of it and couldn't sit through a 45-minutes class.

(march 9, 2011)

simon's rides

2011-06-06T13:26:00.007-04:00

it was hard for me to sort through march's pictures. none of them really seemed to have a story, and i didn't want to bore anyone with a mass of just cute pictures. but i think i came up with something.

crosstown bus, march 1, morning:

simon is very serious about his bus rides. sadly, i have no idea where we were going. probably going to a park somewhere because simon has a bag draped over him. but it was cold. maybe if i ever catch up on blogging i'll have accurate explanations for my pictures.

is he sleeping?

nope!

bus/firetruck/ambulance/whatever simon can imagine, march 1, afternoon:

he's good at taking turns driving. he's a good passenger.

he's also a good driver, making sure he doesn't run into anyone.

boxes also make great cars, and frisbees make great steering wheels, march 6:

megabus, march 11:

simon has made two round trips to DC on the megabus. the second time dad went with us. the best part is simon calls them meego buses.

city bus again, march 26:

i'm posting this picture just for simon's lips, not so much his ride.

sword dancing

2011-05-24T20:42:00.004-04:00

i tried really hard to find things to do during the winter. when i saw information on sword dancing i was intrigued. i had no idea what it was, but i definitely didn't expect this.

does it still count as a sword if there are handles on both ends of the blades? and if it is a strip of flexible metal that may not actually be sharp on either side is it still a sword? it probably doesn't matter to a two year old boy that may not even know what a sword is. he seemed entertained enough.

can you tell i was a little disappointed? again, i didn't know what to expect. but i was kind of thinking the dancers would be better? i didn't realize these were after school and weekend clubs where regular people practiced their skips. and there were several different clubs, doing very similar dances. good thing there is a place where they can all come together to support each other. just so you get the full effect, i've included a short 7 second video. if you want a longer video just let me know.

(february 19, 2011)

catching up is easy

2011-05-24T19:56:00.003-04:00

when you realize that you didn't take any pictures.

simon is really great on the airplane. he doesn't sleep the whole time, but he's never had a screaming fit in the air. i am a very grateful mom.

(january 12, 2011)

simon opens

2011-04-25T21:09:00.003-04:00

how is it that for all of christmas i have three pictures, and they are all basically the same, and they are basically the same as the pictures from the year before?

trains excite

2011-04-25T20:52:00.004-04:00

i tried to do as much free holiday stuff as i could in new york before we left for utah. grand central terminal had a holiday market, a light show, and a train display. sadly i remembered the times for the light show wrong and we missed it. rachel came with us, which led to simon getting a new plush rabbit for christmas.

why is it that the new york transportation museum (in brooklyn) has a gift shop at grand central? i've heard the actual museum is great for little kids, but i don't get to brooklyn very often. at least at christmas time there is a huge train display at the gift shop. simon loved it.

i can't believe all the detail in the display. we will definitely go back next year. also, next year, we plan on being in new york for more of the holiday season, and we can go to many more events.

(december 17, 2010)

santa poses

2011-04-25T20:39:00.005-04:00

what would christmas time in new york be without going to macy's santa land? i had a lot more pictures, but they must have all been bad because it appears that i deleted them all.

santa land is great. the line weaves all around the north pole and has so many things to look at (and touch). There were penguins, trains and so much more, including these bears.

at the end of the line they whisk you away through a maze until you come to a room with a santa waiting for you. one of the best things about this santa land is they will allow you to take your own pictures. you don't have to pay for the ones they take. i love free things in new york.

(december 16, 2010)

robert studies

2011-04-11T20:03:00.007-04:00

i have developed a habit of leaving robert alone during finals. i mean i physically leave, go to another state. i believe it started his second semester of law school when i went to see my mom in arizona. in his third semester i went to visit a friend in dc. we were on a bus for about 5 hours. simon was quite the trooper.

when we got to dc our friends took us to eat at a chicken place. they really just had chicken and your choice of 3 sides. simon was starting to get restless, it was much past his bed time. so i gave him the ipod to help calm him. unfortunately, the ear buds don't stay in his ears very well.

i took pictures of simon waving hello to his daddy. we missed him. but i'm sure his studying was much more productive with us gone.

yonkers went on a metro ride with us.

so did the concrete mixer.

we went to a smithsonian with clara. sadly, none of the pictures with her came out very well. here is simon with a homosapien.

we were going to eat at founding farmers, but the wait was very long, on a weeknight. we certainly didn't expect that. instead we ate somewhere quite inferior (i imagine), baja fresh. but it was good enough. we were hungry.

documenting events with photographs really isn't my thing. i'm horrible at it. we also went to eastern market for breakfast. it was good. we ate at cheesecake factory. mmmm. and because i'm writing this post about four months late i can't remember much else.

i'm not sure why i don't have pictures with our gracious hosts. they let us stay for about a week. it was a great week. thank you sunny and jonathan.

(december 2010)

simon pulls

2011-04-11T19:36:00.003-04:00

uhm, simon, what's that in your hand?

oh, it's just a tuft of grass that i pulled out of the ground.

am i in trouble?

but i picked it for you!

november 12, 2010

family thanks

2011-04-07T13:41:00.003-04:00

you might think with members of our family in new york, dc, beijing and provo that everyone might be on their own for thanksgiving. nope, not the case. everyone ended up in ny.

nana and papa stayed at a hotel for a few days so simon and i went to visit them and have lunch. simon was reunited not with his favorite people, but his favorite toy, nana's ipad.

the day before thanksgiving, the parade balloons are filled and on display by the museum of natural history. we waited until nighttime to go so that everyone could be there. we were in two groups though, so we had to take a minute to wait for the others to catch up.

i wasn't planning on going to the parade, but we had nothing better to do in the morning since nana and papa ordered our entire meal premade from whole foods. so we went. on one hand simon had the best seat/view, but because he was up high he wasn't kept warm from all the body heat, so he got sick. i hope simon felt it was worth it.

it was kind of hard to get pictures where simon and papa were both making good faces and there was a view of the balloons.

that pretty much sums up thanksgiving, 2010.

chrysanthemums bloom

2011-03-31T23:36:00.007-04:00

korean chrysanthemums bloom every fall in the central park conservatory. luckily, i found out about it just one or two days before the "event" ended, so i dragged simon with me to check it out. i don't think he was too thrilled about posing for this.

but i did somehow manage to get this awesome face out of him.

i thought this fountain was pretty, but simon still didn't want to cooperate for a good picture. and when he did i kind of forgot about any photography lessons i'd learned about the rule of thirds.

i'm glad we went when we did, because the park was in a rush to clear out the flowers. half the garden was already pulled.

(november 20, 2010)

rock-sitting returns

2011-03-24T21:17:00.002-04:00

this time, in central park.

(november 9, 2010)

simon haunted

2011-03-19T21:21:00.004-04:00

he decorated. a first for us. he also redecorated daily.

he dressed up. a second for him. remember last year's mummy? no homemade costumes this year. rachel came over one day with this wonderful astronaut suit. yonkers completed the costume. pigs in space was a success.

the super in our building hosts a halloween "party" in the lobby of our building every year. kids who live there and kids who used to live there come to take pictures together then roam the halls looking for decorated doors to trick-or-treat at. it was already passed simon's bed time so he only knocked doors on one or two floors. he got plenty of candy though.

boys paint

2011-03-19T20:46:00.004-04:00

simon and i made our first trip out to brooklyn to paint pumpkins with liam. much easier than trying to carve pumpkins with toddlers.

i think liam is trying to explain to simon what you're supposed to do with finger paint.

this was simon's first encounter with the stuff. he wasn't sure what to think. he generally doesn't like to get his hands dirty. so dainty.

not the case for liam. he knows finger paints very well.

after a while the colors all mix together and you can't even tell what you started with.

(october 16, 2010)

family gathers

2011-01-22T20:42:00.009-05:00

our family arrived in nyc on sept 1, and on sept 30 we found ourselves back at the airport, returning to utah. robert's grandmother passed away and so his parents helped us go back to celebrate a life well lived.

the service we had for grandma was not at all sad, but a true celebration of her love. the following day we drove up to the burial site in idaho and toured the town where grandpa grew up. Simon couldn't make it through the tour. we did everything we could to keep him comfortable, or more accurately, keep his head up.

it obviously wasn't the best nap, but he was in a good mood after he woke up and did a great job on the rest of the road trip. (we drove back the same day.)

funny story about the root beer bottle in simon's mouth...involves simon needing to go pee pee, no rest stops in sight, a moving car and an unbuckled car seat. don't worry, this picture was taken before that all happened.

simon's last hug before papa goes back to china

simon and i stayed in utah for an extra week after the funeral. one of the things we did was go to the pumpkin patch with some friends.

all the kids were feeding the goats random leaves off the ground. none of the pictures came out though.

this was some random "ghost house" with flying pigs.

this was not part of the decorations. but there was no way i was going to be able to keep simon away from a front loader.

simon drives, part II

2010-12-01T13:34:00.002-05:00

i know our apartment is small, but we couldn't leave simon's car behind in utah. he actually seems to have more fun with it here. we even take it to the park sometimes.

i love how smart this guy is. but i guess he's not smart enough to realize that those aren't car keys, and his car doesn't need a key.

i love it.

(september 8, 2010)

family moves

2010-11-30T20:51:00.006-05:00

to new york. i can't believe we actually left provo. and i feel there couldn't be anywhere more different that we could have moved to.

the leaves barely started changing colors in the middle of october. they also didn't stay on the trees long after the season changed. it's a shame. i was really looking forward to it.

this guy is often at the subway station by our house. he's really good too.

there are many parks near our apartment. the closest one is riverside. on our first day exploring the park simon found some dirt. it took another week or two before he found the sand pit.

we met some friends at the park. how nice of annabelle and liam to look at the camera. no thanks to simon though.

then simon decided to push liam around on the stroller. simon was happy because he was pushing. liam was happy because it was a different stroller than he was used to, and he had the trucks. i love how they are smiling at each other through the crack under the canopy.

when we're not outside playing simon loves looking out the windows, and playing on the windowsills.

this is a view from our bedroom.

this is proof we live across from tom's restaurant.

simon at the window, dump truck full of snacks.

simon's first time on the "big piano." i don't know if he really understood what was going on. he might not be heavy enough to get music and lights out of the keys.

but he tried.

dirt entices

2010-11-15T19:00:00.000-05:00

thank you, moles, for creating these giant mounds of dirt for simon to play in.

simon finally figured out what to do with dump trucks.

(august 27, 2010)

simon succeeds

2010-11-14T09:45:00.005-05:00

up until this point we could not get simon to go number 2 on the potty. he would hold it until we put a diaper on him, and then there were a few time that he didn't. either way, he was going number 1 on the potty for a couple weeks already. we decided maybe there was too much pressure, and that he just needed to relax. so we gave him his plan toys catalog.

it worked. simon finally got his marshmallow for going poo poo on the potty.

(august 25, 2010)

simon finds

2010-11-13T07:08:00.001-05:00

dirt.

(august 25, 2010)

woody greets

2010-11-12T14:35:00.003-05:00

simon, where's woody?

our neighbor told us when she was potty training her boys she would get them their favorite showtoons underwear and tell them, "now don't get your teenage mutant ninja turtles wet/dirty". thanks barb, love the idea!

(august 15, 2010)

grandma visits

2010-11-10T20:38:00.002-05:00

my mom was already planning on coming up to utah, but she had to come early if she wanted to see us while we were still there. also, she kept me occupied while robert was gone for 18 days (working in china and interviewing in ny).

we went back to the aquarium. i really needed to maximize the value of my membership. (this is a joke, because if you go twice you've paid for the membership.) but i did want to take my mom because she hadn't been before.

simon cooperated with the frog a little bit better this time. just a little bit though.

they have a boat there. don't worry, it doesn't go anywhere. but that didn't stop simon.

oh my.

grandma, these are pretty cool fish!

i should learn a lesson here about blogging three months after the fact. i don't remember anything else we did with my mom, and i don't have pictures to remind me. but i'm so glad she and richard could come out and keep me company while robert was gone. thank you.

(august 11, 2010)

allergies persist

2010-11-09T12:49:00.004-05:00

i took simon to the allergist before we moved. i've had one doctor tell me he'd grow out of it, and another tell me that a peanut allergy never goes away.

the allergist asked if there was anything else i wanted to test for. the only thing i could think of was cashews (because someone said they were the closest related to peanuts). i wish i had thought of cats. the doctor decided to test for the usuals too, i.e. dairy, wheat and eggs.

simon was a good sport. he always is. i think it was hardest for him to sit still and not turn around.

he was to restless to stay down while we waited for the results.

and then it was time.

no surprises here. the red patch on the bottom of the screen is a control scratch. it always has a reaction. the bigger red patch is the peanut scratch. not a severe allergy, but definitely a strong one. no reactions to anything else.

the doctor said twenty years ago he'd get a case like simon's about once a year, and now he gets them everyday. they don't know why there has been such a spike in cases. they figure it is something in the environment but haven't been able to determine what. sadly, only one out of five kids with a peanut allergy grows out of it. the good news is they know a lot more about allergies in general. a lot of the rules are changing. there have been a lot of clinical trials to treat allergies. that's what i'm hoping for. getting simon into a trial that would treat his allergy.

(update) after halloween rudy (the super) offered simon some candy. i grabbed what i thought was a peanut free chocolate. i was wrong, and didn't realize it until simon already had a bite. he did have a reaction, although it wasn't too bad. his lips got a little red where he slobbered, but no hives. he seemed like he was doing ok, so we just gave him some benadryl and went out for a walk. he was fine. thank goodness he doesn't have a life threatening allergy like some kids.

(august 9, 2010)

simon types

2010-11-02T21:09:00.003-04:00

simon is a very serious typer.

uh oh, he's been caught.

how embarrassing.

(august 9, 2010)

dinosaurs excite

2010-11-01T10:51:00.005-04:00

thanksgiving point museums were practically free on tuesdays during the month of august. so nana and i took simon. we first went to the nasa exhibit, but it was way too old for simon. so we headed to the dinosaurs. he loved it.

he may have loved this one just because it had a steering wheel.

somehow, only nana's arm made it into pictures. but simon seemed to love every dinosaur he saw.

he did not like the sand pit so much. he really didn't want to get his hands dirty.

the shark may have been his favorite.

(aug 3, 2010)

rachel surprised

2010-10-17T19:06:00.012-04:00

aunt rachel made a surprise visit to utah for papa john's birthday. we took a lot more pictures and did a lot more than usual.

for instance, rachel takes pictures of simon sitting in his car seat.

(july 12, 2010)

she also took all the pictures from the most recent "simon poses" post. those weren't even all the pictures.

she managed to get a picture of simon and papa john, although we don't have pictures of rachel and papa john, or even a birthday surprise picture of papa john. that's ok though, simon loves his "baba on".

(july 14, 2010)
there's a nice little aquarium in sandy. i was a little embarrassed to take rachel since she took us to the baltimore aquarium. it really doesn't compare. i hope to post pictures of the brooklyn aquarium soon. we have to go first though. the following pictures are proof of both doing a lot and taking a lot of pictures. really, this is just a fraction of the pictures.

simon really just wasn't that interested in the frog. we had to coerce him into staying on it just to take pictures.

these lobsters were just about as big as simon.

we tried petting the manta rays. whenever they came up and splashed on the side of the pool simon would get scared.

just the same as any other time we went to the aquarium, simon spent most of the time watching the penguins.

(july 16, 2010)
i personally don't like mcdonad's large straws. but they fit over simon's straw cup quite well. he had a good time with this one.

simon discovered his pockets.

this mcdonald's playland really is the best. it is great for all ages of kids. but this time, simon decided to just sit inside the cubby and look cute for rachel. which is why there are about 20 photos in this series. i picked my favorite two.

(july 16, 2010)
since i was hosting guests, i had to plan things to do for about 10 days. i really am not a fan of hiking. but i had been on the stuart falls trail before, and it wasn't that bad. mind you, it was getting dark the one other time i went, so we turned around early. i never found out how long the trail really was. at least it wasn't a difficult hike, unless you have a 2 year old boy with you, that decides about 15 minutes into a 2 hour hike that he doesn't want to walk anymore. also, i don't think this hike is supposed to take 2 hours. warning, if you have a toddler with you it WILL take that long.

at the end was a pretty decent waterfall (is that what's supposed to make hikes worth it? the view at the end?). sadly i don't have good pictures of the fall. but i have pictures to prove we made it to the end.

(july 17, 2010)
we ran into some other hikers that said the trail from the other end was only 20 minutes long. clearly, they didn't have a toddler with them, because it still took over 90 minutes to make our way out...carrying simon the entire way, who had to pee, but didn't have a diaper on and wouldn't go in the woods. that was an incredibly exhausting day.

more pictures of simon that i probably wouldn't have taken myself ;) (in all fairness, rachel didn't know simon would be moving to the same city that she lives in)

our last outing together was to the bean life science museum at byu.

(july 20, 2010)
we were so happy to have rachel and papa john stay with us for so long. we took a good rest after they left. and then grandma and granpa barnes came a few weeks later...

simon wrestles

2010-10-07T23:45:00.001-04:00

simon's got this pillow in quite the hold. it isn't going anywhere.

(july 14, 2010)

simon drives

2010-10-07T23:36:00.004-04:00

simon loves to drive. probably because he is used to seeing his mom and dad doing it all of the time. i think because this car is convertible they couldn't lock it. we tried the other car too, it was locked. after this it was very difficult to walk past the car in the mornings when we "walked the mall".

(july 14, 2010)

simon poses

2010-09-11T12:09:00.006-04:00

this is one of those rare occasions that we were able to take pictures without simon trying to get the camera into his own hands.

maybe he stopped having fun.

and he's done.

(july 14, 2010)

droid helps

2010-09-10T19:10:00.004-04:00

did i mention the reason for simon's nakedness in the simon sits post? in an attempt to ease simon into using the potty we just left him naked. or at least half naked. a lot. rachel came to visit and simon stole her phone. then sat on the pot. i don't know if he actually used it, but he certainly looks at ease. (july 12, 2010)

simon pulls

2010-09-10T19:04:00.003-04:00

nana arrived. simon helped with her luggage. what a nice kid. (june 30, 201)

we arrived

2010-09-02T08:01:00.003-04:00

not in the sense that we have reached some economic status that allows us to purchase only not-from-concentrate orange juice. i mean we arrived in NYC. give me time. to catch up on the blog. right now there are suitcases everywhere and boxes arriving tomorrow. ugh.

boxes shipped

2010-08-28T00:05:00.001-04:00

this is really happening. we're moving. i'm going to live across from tom's diner. what?

simon laughs

2010-08-18T22:04:00.002-04:00

simon watches

2010-08-13T00:16:00.002-04:00

buzz.

(june 26, 2010)

simon sits

2010-08-13T00:11:00.004-04:00

i know these images aren't great, but can you see his face? what an expressive guy.

also, do you see what he's sitting in? yeah, a magazine caddy. i didn't know he was that small. but he sure seemed to be enjoying himself.

simon waits

2010-08-04T21:09:00.005-04:00

one day we waited on campus for robert to talk to his boss. we played in the grass.

this picture is perfect. it has two things that simon loves. buses and mcdonalds.

after a while we went inside to the bowling alley/arcade.

(june 24, 2010)

simon swims

2010-08-03T23:50:00.003-04:00

we wanted to get simon in the water this year, but we ran out of time for lessons before we went to hong kong. but then i realized it would probably be a great way to get simon adjusted to the new time zone. i don't know if it did. but we got plenty of daytime sun.

simon did really well the first day. he even let the teacher use him in a demonstration. then it went down hill. he got worse everyday. seriously, everyday. swim lessons were mon-thurs for two weeks. the first weekend after lessons started we went back to the pool just for play time. the whole next week simon just tried to run to the fun kid area. lessons became quite difficult.

i honestly don't know if simon learned anything. plus he didn't really learn how to swim. just how to go under water. maybe how to blow bubbles, if he didn't already know. but it was good. it gave us something to do. and i do think he likes it. (june 24, 2010)

simon aged

2010-08-01T14:12:00.005-04:00

buses, pizza and cupcakes.

we returned from hong kong the night before simon's birthday. we definitely didn't have big birthday plans. but we did make it memorable.

while in hong kong simon fell in love with buses. sadly, there are very few buses in provo. he can't just look out the window at any given moment and see one. so we decided to go on a bus ride. we drove to the mall, caught a bus to byu, played in the grass, then caught a bus back to the mall. simon was happy.

one thing i did want to do for simon's birthday is get cupcakes from the cocoa bean cupcake cafe. but i just ordered two instead of a whole bunch like i would have done if we were to have a party. they had a new flavor, irish cream. so i bought that one and one of my favorites, luscious lemon blueberry. we took them to pier 49 pizza and met my dad there. it was nice, just the four of us to celebrate simon turning two.

yum.