Happy Birthday, Simon!!

Me: "Your birthday is coming soon you know"
Simon: "I'll know it's my birthday when you put my cake in front of me!"

Well the weeks of anticipation were almost too much for Simon but he finally reached the 4 milestone. We celebrated with 13 of his closest friends at our house. We expected pure chaos but it was actually quite an orderly affair. Matt had made each of the kids their own monster truck costume and they raced around and did their own smash up derby. Simon loved being the star of the show and indoctrinated everyone into his monster truck culture. He was thrilled with his giant tire cake, topped with a monster sized monster truck but the other kids were disappointed not to be able to eat the masterpiece! Miles spent the whole party stationed next to the cheesies bowl! I was pleased with how all the details turned out. Simon waited until the door closed on his last guest to indicate that, "next year I want a race car party".

Simonisms

This kid cracks me up.

We were talking on the phone and then he says, "I have just one more thing to ask you. Can you buy me a new monster truck?"
"I want Prowler, no I mean Pouncer"
"Daddy showed me the big Pouncer and I want one"
"Thanks, bye"

So much for the birthday surprise! I'm not even sure if it's too big to
fit on a cake!!

Miles Big Boy Room

We're getting an early start on Miles' big boy room. I have been collecting for quite awhile to get the perfect mix of accessories for his beach/surf themed room and I can't wait to get the furniture and see it all put together.

Here's a poster board of things I've got/things I plan to acquire. The walls are vibrant green, the furniture will be a java brown colour and the trim/shelves are bright white. I can't wait to see it all come together.

Miles @ 18 Months

Miles is 18 months old! He is such a joy and very much a busy boy, with spunk. At 18 months, Miles:

-is obsessed with his monkeys. He has a monkey at Ursula's, Nana and Granddad's, Gramma and Poppa's and three at home! It's so cute seeing him cart them all around. When he needs some comfort, he is always seeking one out.
-is starting to go down to one nap a day. There is usually a few days per week that he just can't make it but he's getting there. As a result, 6:30pm is the new bedtime most nights.
-will not sit still to read a book or watch television - he is full steam, except when he's sleeping.
-is not shy about letting you know when he's hungry; he'll either climb up into his high chair and start shouting, bring you his snack bib (basically a portable trough), or grab his own snack.
-loves to share his snacks with Brutus, play ball with Brutus and if we're not watching carefully loves to kick Brutus
-is a little dare devil and a trusting one at that. He will leap from anything and just assumes there will be someone there to save him.
-has many nicknames - Maximum Destruction, Mad Max, Monkey Miles, Milesy Boy
-is a great sleeper. When it's nap/bed time, he's out. He still wakes once 50% of the nights.
-still takes a bottle and likes his milk nice and hot. He will drink it cold from a cup though too.
-loves to drink out of an open cup and does really well most of the time.
-puts everything in his mouth and if we try to stop him, it becomes a game.
-is not patient...at...all. He will yank, kick, scream if he's trying to wrangle something out of his toy box. His favourite toy at this moment...the Leapfrog caterpillar.
-wears size 12-18 month pants, size 4 diapers and 18-24 month tops.
-always has a bruise somewhere on his head.
-is very chatty but not saying much in the way of meaningful words.
-loves to watch his big brother Simon for inspiration on how to get into trouble!

Simonisms

I haven't posted many of these for awhile so here are some memorable ones from the past few months....

While up in his room and rearranging the hats on his numbered hooks.

Simon: I going to put this "one" here because Pittsburgh "won".

I swear, Matt doesn't brainwash him much :) He almost made his Uncle Eric cry the other day when he insulted the Senators and he tells everyone that Pittsburgh beat Ottawa in the playoffs (like 3 years ago but Simon keeps it fresh).

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On a Friday with Nana.

Simon: "Can I watch Dora"

Nana: "How about a show for Nana"

Simon: "We catch watch Dora, it says 'all ages'"

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While getting ready for our photo shoot. I was putting a white oxford shirt on Simon and he was protesting, "no, I don't want to wear my TaeKwon Do outfit for the pictures."

Recognition Stripes

Simon had his first recognition ceremony for TaeKwon-Do tonight. We were so proud of him. He was the first kid up and he handled himself like a champ. He stood perfectly with his hands behind his back and almost knocked me down with his exuberant hug before getting his stripe. It's so much fun to watch him in the class. He has improved so much since the first class where he didn't participate at...all. Now he's able to able to kick, punch and block with the best of them. He can't wait to graduate to the 4 class.

Santa Claus Parade ... The Downtown Version

Well we didn't luck out with the weather for this one but despite our last minute arrival, we did manage to score a pretty decent spot to watch the parade. Miles was mesmorized by all of the lights and was quite happy to sit in his stroller and eat a candy cane. It was fun to see both of the boys waving at all of the floats and both of them really got into the Christmas spirit by putting money in the passing Fireman's boots. We were rewarded at the end of the parade as Santa's float stopped in front of us for a good 5 minutes - of course, we didn't manage to get a decent picture!

Snowy Halloween .... Balmy Santa Claus Parade?

Go figure, Halloween was cold and snowy and the Santa Claus parade two weeks later...almost balmy. We were definitely over dressed in our winter wear but the boys seemed happy enough with the parade and non-stop candy! It was fun watching Seamus get all pumped up for the parade but not quite knowing what it was before it started passing. The three boys were perfectly behaved and enjoyed waving at all the people on the floats and seeing Santa.

A Stars Wars Halloween

It certainly didn't feel like October 31st after an overnight snowstorm but kids and Halloween is really non-negotiable so we added a few extra layers and enjoyed the festivities. We started off at the local mall as a warm-up. Miles wasn't at all interested in fighting with the crowds so he stuck with me while Simon and Granddad collected candy from the stores. It wasn't long before Simon was done with collecting and wanting to get started on consuming it all. I managed to appease him with a box of Smarties.

After dinner, we had the boys ready to go and were waiting for some signs that trick or treating was starting up. Miles joined us for a few houses and then stayed home to hand out candy. Simon was a trooper. He endured the cold and snow for not just one trip out, but two. A child after my own heart.

The Halloween aftermath wasn't so hot. Matt was up most of the night with a sick child and we were changing the sheets and playing musical beds. We don't think it was a result of the candy spike but I guess we'll know for sure next Halloween :)

First Steps

Miles took 2 steps yesterday. He can do it, now he just has to want to.