Santa Clause Parade

We bundled up today and headed downtown for the annual Santa Clause parade. As is becoming tradition, we realized after getting Simon decked out that his snowsuit was not going to make it through the winter - again! The unfortunate thing is that at his age, it's just not an option to have a massive snow suit to grow into since he wouldn't be able to keep up with the other kids at daycare. We managed to time it perfectly this year and it wasn't long after we found a spot that the "floats" started going by. There are a few neat displays but for the most part it is a ragtag assortment of random cars, people and dance troupes. Simon enjoyed it though, with the exception of the mascots from which he hid. After an hour and a bit of the parade, Matt and I were glad to race back to the car and warm up. Simon was the only one who seemed unaffected by the cold - next year, mental note to wear snowpants.

Hola

Matt and I headed off to the sunny shores of Mexico for some sand, sun and relaxation. We spent a week at the El Dorado Seaside Suites in the Mayan Riveria. The resort was beautiful, gorgeous rooms, great beach beds and awesome food. Our schedule for the week consisted of waking up, grabbing a bed on the beach and then heading down for breakfast. Once breakfast was done, we would meander down to the beach where I would lie in the shade while Matt would twitch beside me waiting to do some kind of activity. The guys spent most of their beach time snorkelling, playing volleyball, kayaking and driving the beach waitress crazy with drink orders. Around 1:00 we would pull ourselves together for lunch - usually a few hour affair. Once lunch was over, we would basically repeat the morning activity until it was time to dress for dinner. Dinner was always a formal affair, followed by drinks. It was a great change of pace for the week!

PICTURES TO FOLLOW

Mine

We came back from our week in Mexico to a newly acquired word, "mine". Everything is labelled as mine first before handing it off to you. The tone is the best part, he gets a demon edge on his voice and then says "mine" like he's possessed. Very entertaining, at least in the short term!

Simon Fuller had a Farm

At our 18 month appointment, the doctor indicated that Simon was a bit delayed on his speech, however, he didn't recommend intervention unless we didn't have any progress over the next few months. Well we haven't had much progress on words but Simon is a veritable zoo. He can imitate a bear, a lamb, a tiger, a horse, a cow, an elephant, a gorilla, a snake, a dog, a cat, a mouse, a duck, an owl, birds, and the list goes on.

Happy Halloween!

Simon had a busy, busy day on Halloween and his costume got quite the mileage even though we didn't trick or treat. He started the day off going to him Kindermusik class. Matt originally wasn't planning on bringing him in costume but once he saw all the other kids decked out, he quickly wrangled Simon into his. Next stop was to visit Mommy at work. Unfortunately the timing didn't really work out as we had an urgency to deal with so Matt and Simon were in and out pretty quickly. Next Simon went on to charm Matt's coworkers and then home for a nap to rest up for the evening's festivities. At 4:00 Matt and Simon picked me up and we went off to wish my Mum bon voyage, visited with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Eric, showed off to Ursula, visited Grandma and then settled in for an evening of handing out candy. Simon loved all of the kids coming to the door. As soon as the doorbell would ring he would take off to the front door and jump up and down until the door opened. Then once the kids turned to leave, he would try to join them! Eventually we headed outside to give out candy there. It was such a mild evening and Simon enjoyed nighttime bubbles.

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!

Big Boy Room

With Simon climbing out of his crib, we're thinking that we might have to transition him to a regular bed sometime in the forseeable future. With the twin bed, comes a new room since we're planning on keeping the nursery as is for any future children. My focus in the last few weeks has been searching for items to decorate said room. My Mum bought the bedding for us a few months ago. It's a basic blue plaid, stripes, patchwork. The perfect neutral backdrop for any theme. I have the furniture that I bought a few years back at a garage sale (a solid wood dressor, night table, desk, chair, mirror and headboard for $200!) that my Mum is going to paint off white for us. Then comes the accessories. So far, I have a baseball mirror, soccer ball clock, soccer ball overhead light and a soccer ball night table lamp. I have been searching endlessly online and found a series of prints that I love, a fun locker that fits with the sports theme, a striped paint effect that will fit the theme perfectly, sports themed bean bag chairs. I'm also coming up with lots of other projects/ideas - a score board, a basketball hoop over a laundry hamper, a baseball bat hat hanger, a framed Pittsburgh vintage jersey (I think this one may be a bit too expensive for a kids room though), amd I'm trying to figure out how to work a hockey net into all of this! Here's some pictures of my finds/inspiration so far: