A Soccer Star in the Making

Simon definitely takes after his parents and has a mean right hoof. He has managed to almost kick the leftover dinner dishes off the table, maim Brutus numerous times, and keep me guessing with his kicks all during this evenings soccer match. Simon and Matt are now in the second half of a marathon soccer match. Simon has two balls on the go and I'm pretty sure that he has outscored Matt. Simon's "net" is the fireplace and he is playing his dual role of netminder and striker quite proficiently, once he takes his shot, he races back to defend his goal. Matt's "net" is the exposed part of the wall and the opening of the kitchen. If Matt dares leave it unprotected Simon gets quite antsy, starts pointing frantically, yelling "ma,ma,ma" and then runs over to tap the spot that he wants his Daddy to stand - and by stand, he means stand. If Matt so happens to be sitting, that earns some more frantic points from Simon. We are now rounding into almost a full hour of this. Matt couldn't be having more fun and is enjoying the change in pace from the usual non-stop reading of Brown Bear. I'm sensing a nightly soccer game in our future.

Picking out a Pumpkin

We took Simon to the local pumpkin patch to pick out a few pumpkins for Halloween. The experience around these parts is limited to picking a pumpkin from a pile but at the very least, it provides a cute photo opportunity. Simon was mostly interesting in finding ways to run around to the parking lot, although we were able to keep him close once we secured a cart. The weather was much more Fall like this year so we didn't have to fake a fall shot like we did last year with Simon in a Fall jacket and bare feet! At the end of the trip, they gave Simon an apple and surprisingly he polished that thing off, I guess I no longer need to cut them into slices!

Evolution of the Kiss

When Simon first starting "kissing" it consisted of just opening up his mouth wide. He finally started putting together the open mouth and making contact with your face. I'm not quite sure I understand the saying, "only a mother could love" because a slug trail was just gross. Matt and I always turned to have him kiss our cheek because we are not mouth kissers and Simon caught onto that so the next stage of the kiss evolution was Simon turning his cheek to us when we asked for a kiss. I was a bit sad not to get those sloppy kisses anymore but it didn't last long. Simon has finally figured out how to pucker up and leave a minimal amount of residue behind. He gives the best kisses!

Haircut Hell

Simon has the most gorgeous thick hair and it grows like a weed. I guess I could let it just grow long but I love the little boy haircut. Too bad my little boy won't sit still for a nice style. We went to the kids salon today again in hopes that the fun environment would entice Simon to sit still. We started off with the scissors and Matt and I pinning Simon down so she could safely cut but with the screaming, howling and wriggling that ensued, we quickly had to change our plans to a buzz cut on '3'. He still looks cute but I miss his little boy style. At least with it so short we won't have to go through that torture again soon. After the haircut was over, it was like nothing had happened. Simon merrily rearranged the chairs, vacuumed, played with a train, etc. until we had to drag him out screaming. A fun time had by all!

P.S. We left a nice tip for the poor woman who had to help wrangle our toddler while wielding a clipper and getting kicked the whole time!