Monkey See, Monkey Do

Simon's new favourite game is monkey-see, monkey-do. He is into copying everything he can. His newest favourite is the head shake. Matt started it with him when he needed something to keep him awake on the car ride home. Basically he shakes his head and then says to Simon "your turn" and then Simon shakes his head. This has evolved and Simon can now connect the words no, with a head shake. So if you say, "Simon, no thank-you", he smiles, shakes his head no, and then continues doing what he was doing. We can't wait until the day he can connect no with stopping what he is doing - does that day ever come??

Simon has also taken to copying Brutus. Tonight at dinner, he and Brutus were wrestling with Brutus' giant moose. Brutus would grab onto to the moose and then do his kill head shake, Simon would then grab onto/flop onto the moose and also do a killer head shake. It was hysterical to watch and we caught a few still photos which obviously don't do the whole thing justice but fun to see none the less.

Stepping

Well they aren't the first steps that he has taken but they are the first steps that he has taken with a purpose of actually walking and not just diving at an object. Simon was standing by his bus while I was a few feet away refueling from all the heavy moving with a Gatorade. He decided that he needed some (as he does with all of our drinks) and cautiously started to walk towards me. Five steps later, he was there and sipping out of my bottle. He took a few more steps here and there this evening and we're thinking in a few weeks when he gets a bit more confident (and a bit less excited about the whole thing) that he'll be a full-time walker.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

In honour of our Irish heritage - Simon is 1/8 Irish although everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day.

Simon's Birthday - Family Party Edition

Well the family party was a bit of a scramble since our floors were in the process of being replaced so there wasn't much time for the monkey themed party part II, like I had originally planned. Instead it was lunch and store bought cake. It was kind of disappointing since I was so excited for his first birthday but in the end I was worn down from our week of being homeless and in upheaval. Simon didn't seem to mind though. After a long cuddle with his uncle John to start the party, he jumped right into the festivities. He loved having his high chair in the row with all of the other adults - especially since the ones beside him were feeding him ice cream. The balloons were also a big hit, both for Simon and Braedon and Emjae. I'm thankful that I got two bunches since Emjae and Braedon both wanted ownership of one. We had to blow up a balloon for Simon to play with on the floor so that he could get in on the fun too! Cake was not Simon's favourite this go round. The chocolate cake was a bit too rich and made him a little sick. He got some great gifts from the party goers. Granddad and Nanna bought him two table and chair sets - we had wanted one large table but we saw this little one and it was too cute to pass up so we got two! Grandma and Grandpa gave him a hooded towel and more money for his education fund as did Granny Lay. And the aunts and uncles got together to give Simon a tricycle which Simon loved to climb all over - the box that is. I was a bit of a control freak when it came to the gifts because we have so much stuff already, but it was so nice not to feel overwhelmed by more toys. And last but not least, Great Aunt Kaye (emphasis on the great) bought him some more bibs (the bibs from England are such great quality and design and I love everyone she picks as my new favourtie) and two cute t-shirts with attitude. I can't wait until the summer so that I can get pictures.

Finger Painting

Being couped up for the winter is getting old. I feel like Simon may be getting a little bored with the same activities day after day. When the weather breaks we take him outside as much as possible but this year it seems that warmer weather always brings snow which equals blowing snow by way of all of the shoveling and snow blowers. So needless to say, aside from frequent trips to Costco and the mall, we have been really housebound this winter. Cue the finger painting. We needed a new activity and thought that markers and finger painting would be fun for Simon. Well it was fun, but mostly for me and Granddad. Simon did like to hold the markers but he was really offended when you tried to show him how to make marks on the paper. And the finger painting. He didn't really show much interest until we put the paint on his legs and even at that he didn't want to relinquish hold of his markers to smear the paint round on the paper. He did manage to get really messy though - mostly from the way he was holding the markers. Thankfully for Crayola, the mess washed away quick and painless. Next time we're hoping for a more enthusiastic participant.

Cake: The Prelude to the Party

Mum thought that it was necessary for Simon to have cake on his actual birthday (in addition to his party later on in the weekend) so he had a trial run of some cake and ice cream. I think he would like to make this a regular event!

Build-A-Monkey

We wanted to do something special as a family for Simon's first birthday, but activities for a 1-year old are limited (especially for a 1-year old who still naps every 3 hours during the day!). We decided to go to the Build-a-Bear workshop in Bayshore, which we figured would provide entertainment and a lasting gift in one shot. In honour of our new little climber and to make it reflective of Simon's first birthday theme, we choose a monkey carcass to turn into a cuddly animal. Simon was tired and spent most of the time cuddled up to his daddy when he wasn't trying to eat fluff off of the floor. The whole experience was cute and something that Simon would definitely enjoy more when he's older but we got some cute pictures and Simon loves having some company in his crib; he spends the first few minutes of the day telling his monkey about his dreams and the last few minutes before falling asleep chatting about what he did at daycare.

Happy Birthday Simon!!

It's hard to believe that at this time last year, I was in the hospital in labour. It's even harder to believe that you would wait until almost midnight to make your arrival. Our life hasn't been the same since. We have a whole new appreciation of the words love, family, tired and broke!

At ONE year, Simon:

-has mastered standing independently and can do so for up to 10 minutes as long as something captures his attention.
-loves to eat, as long as he's feeding himself. His favourites: pickles, ice cream, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, pears, peas, ham, Cheerios, cheese, raisins and animal crackers.
-loves to go out - Costco is his favourite, especially if I get a vanilla ice cream! He is the biggest ham when we line up at the cash - lifting his shirt to show off his belly, waving, chatting and of course smiling.
-gets a look of glee when he's using his walker especially when Matt and I are at either end of the room helping him turn.
-is not walking independently. I think it's a result of his look of glee as he smiles with his whole body and throws off his balance.
-is still waving like royalty - it's his favourite thing to do of all his baby tricks. He even waves to his food as he throws it from the high chair.
-likes to join in on clapping - when he's watching rugby with Granddad, at the hockey game, when the wheel is spinning during Wheel of Fortune....
-is a bit of a bully when it comes to the dogs. Brutus knows to stay away but Olive and Oxford are of the opinion that any attention is good so they stick around for the grabbing and the slapping.
-loves to get into everything! The liquor cabinet is his favourite and he has quite the attitude when you tell him no.
-is going to daycare 3 days a week and spending the other two with his grandparents.
-is still wearing size 4 diapers and we anticipate that he will be in this size for awhile.
-wears mostly 12-18 month clothing
-hasn't been weighed or measured for awhile but we have a doctor's appointment at the end of the month so we'll update his one year stats then
-smiles about half the day, sucks his thumb the other half
-is sleeping from 7:00pm to 7:00am most days
-has seven teeth, four on top and three on the bottom
-is a big wiggle worm when it comes to diaper changes - one day soon he's going to succeed in throwing himself off the change table
-loves to be tossed about - he is happiest in the air or upside down.
-captures the attention of everyone, everywhere. He will stare and stare and has even been known to shout until people look at him.
-loves to be cozy and warm. If we gave him a feather duvet in his crib, I think he would burrow down and sleep for days on end.
-likes his milk warm and from a bottle, no chilly stuff or sippy cup thank-you
-does not like his toys to be put away. First things first, every morning he dumps the containers out and spreads the chaos around.

Let it Snow

Well we are almost at a record breaking winter for snowfall. Yesterday alone, we got approximately 50 centimeters of snow. Matt shoveled twice yesterday and still this morning he woke up to knee deep snow - almost shoulder deep on our front walk. I bundled up Simon and we went out to "help" Matt. It turns out that we weren't much help but Matt did manage to flag down a passing snow plow and paid the guy $20 to finish of the heavy stuff.

Here's some pictures of Simon all bundled up outside at my parents and some pictures with Granddad that give you some perspective on exactly how much snow that we have.

Back to the Grind

This was my first week back to work after a year on maternity leave. I am so glad that we have the luxury of being able to take that time off since he changed day to day. Matt and I have staggered our hours to maximize Mommy and Daddy face time. The downside is that I don't even see him in the morning and Matt spends a good part of his time with him eating (Simon is the slowest, most dramatic eater!). It was tough to get going this week - particularly since we had two horrible snow days that made for a long commute. We also had to juggle our care arrangement on Friday since we also needed my Mum to watch Brutus who was under the weather.

Simon has adjusted like a champ. He loves going to daycare and judging from the notes we have gotten back from Ursula, there are no real issues. He's eating, sleeping and getting into everything, much like he does at home.

From Ursula:

Simon was great, he's a very busy boy and no drawers or cupboards are safe from him.

Simon is very interested in the cat but cautious with her. He will stand close to her and laugh but he is not touching her (yet!).

The boys were really good with him and Simon enjoyed watching their antics. He got very excited and was "jumping" up and down, slapping his thighs laughing.

Simon had a brillant day! It's like he's always been coming here. He crawls straight to the kitchen to see who's here (only slightly distracted by the potted plant and humidifier today) and then goes to flip his basket of toys.

Simon spent Thursday at Granma and Grandpa's - he helped them out with childproofing the house and rearranging the cupboards. I'm guessing the next week everything will be nailed down/shut.

Friday was spent with Nanny and Granddad. He did his usual rotation of beating up the dogs, typing on Granddad's computer, throwing all of the stuff off of the play kitchen, crawling through the chairs and watching the dogs play outside.

This coming week will be a bigger test with the time change throwing off his schedule at bit. Not to mention that our floors are being ripped up and replaced so we're not sure what we're going to do about sleeping yet!