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.

Soccer Camp

In the midst of our July heat wave, Simon was signed up for a half-day soccer camp. The heat didn't dampen his enthusiasm, particularly when it came to putting on his equipment. He managed to incorporate "shin pads" into every sentence from the time he put them on until the time I dropped him off. He started off the week shy but in the end he had new friends in all the other camp participants. I just wish he didn't have to start out fresh next week at a new camp.

I was a little disappointed with the people who ran the camp - two days Simon came home without having eaten his snack (I guess because they figured that all the kids could open their own containers). It is sad thinking of Simon sitting there during snack time while all the other kids around him ate. They did keep the kids going despite the heat though and Simon declared that he wanted to go back again next week so it must have been fun.

Here's a before and after.....

Miles' First Haircut

We've been putting it off for months but Miles' hair was getting out of hand. The top was starting to look like a hair piece and was forever flapping in the wind. We took him to the local kids salon and it went much better than expected. The staff were quick, the was lots of entertaining things to look at and it was much cheaper than the barber. Miles rocked the Barbie mobile since the boy car was taken. Here's some before and after shots.

Happy Birthday Miles!!

I can't believe Miles is already a year old. Between seeing him next to Quincy and the whole year-old label, he just seems bigger. We spent the morning ferrying Simon to camp and then met up with Matt at the mall to do Build-a-Bear (or monkey in our case). We did the same thing with Simon on his first birthday so we decided to make it our tradition. Miles' was pretty uninterested with the whole process, so Simon basically took over monkey making duties. He was thrilled to the push the stuffing pedal, refill the stuffing machine, fluff the monkeys and play on the computer. They even refilled his monkey and stitched him up so he won't be hemorraging fluff all over my car anymore. He wanted to name Miles' monkey Frank (like his), then cardboard?? but he settled on Edward.

We finished the day off with a combo birthday party for Miles and his cousin Braedon. Mostly the party was for Braedon but since it was on their actual birthday, Miles got to practice being the centre of attention, candle "blowing" and eating cake.

Miles @ 1 year

-has started to stand independently - about 10 seconds at a time
-loves to eat - avocado, cheese, goldfish crackers and watermelon top the list of favourites
-has just started clapping. He is so proud of his efforts and gets his whole body in on the action.
-is not interested in walking...crawling is much faster.
-likes to climb. We're always rescuing him from the top of his table, the stairs, the bus.....we can't wait until he has mastered the dismount!
-loves Brutus (someone has to!). First thing in the morning he looks down from the upstairs at Brutus and laughs hysterically. It's also very funny when he's downstairs and Brutus is upstairs.
-is into everything. We have had to up our childproofing efforts because he is much more determined than Simon ever was.
-loves to climb in and out of our television cabinet. He also likes to shut his brother and cousin in there if they happen to climb in.
-transitioned like a pro to daycare. He starts full-time at the beginning of August.
-is still wearing size 4 diapers and we anticipate that he will be in this size for awhile.
-wears mostly 12-18 month clothing
-is happy all day long.
-is sleeping from 7:30pm to 7:30am most days
-has eight teeth, four on top and four on the bottom
-is a big wiggle worm when it comes to diaper changes - I usually have to do diaper changes with him standing so he can play with the shutters.
-loves water and will fight tooth and nail to play the water in the toilet.
-captures the attention of everyone, everywhere. He will stare and stare until he engages you.
-is frantic for water from a sippy cup. He is so unhappy if he doesn't have a drink like all his other dinner companions.
-still naps twice a day.