Simonisms

Me: "Simon we just have to stop at the store to pick-up some potato chips"
Simon: "Can you just get regular chips for me please"

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As heard while Simon is doing a puzzle naked (I have no idea why he's naked)

Matt: "Simon don't play with your penis"
Simon: "I have to because I have nothing to do while putting together my puzzle"

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While talking about the different make-up of families.

Simon: "Does Shawn have a sister"
Me: "Yes he does. His family has a boy and a girl just like Seamus and Quincy"
Simon: "Who is the girl?"
Me: "Quincy"
Simon: "But she doesn't have any hair"
Me: "But she wears dresses"
Simon: "What does that have to do with her hair"

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While talking about our last trip to a "lake beach"

Me: "There are beaches at the lake. When Miles was still in my belly we went to a beach on lake Ontario"
Simon: "It must not be fun to be in your belly, there's not even any toys"

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Upon being caught sneaking out of his bedroom after bedtime.

Me: "Simon, what are you doing out of your room it's bedtime"
Simon: "I just needed to put water on my thumbs"

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While waiting to pick up Terry at the airport.

Simon: "What planet is Terry from?"

Happy Birthday, Sweet Miles!

I can hardly believe you're already 2! You are such a ball of energy and each day with you is a challenge and a joy. At two years old:

-you're starting to get some more words to add to your repetoire however, your favourites are still "no", "more", "show" and "stop".
-you love your monkeys and would carry them around all-day, every day if we let you. We have a collection of six lest we every be without one.
-you are a biter and use it as your weapon of choice when you're lacking size/strength. Poor Simon sported a full dental imprint on his back for a couple of weeks!
-loves playing with bigger kids
-is really bossy about what he wants and where he wants you to be. It's not uncommon for him to grab/push you to get you to go/do what he wants.
-loves going to bed for the evening because that means he gets vitamins.
-is desperate to use the potty standing up but is just not tall enough.
-is a bit of a junk food fiend. He loves Smarties, chips, popcorn, etc. It's amazing how much more lax we've been with our second child!
-you still take an afternoon nap and sleep most nights from 7pm-6am (7am if we're really lucky)
-loves, loves, loves his milk. He'll tolerate juice but water has pretty much been a no-go.
-loves raw vegetables and will often forego dinner so that he can gourge himself on veggies.
-has awesome coordination. He can kick on the run, from the air and can handle himself on the trampoline with all of the big kids.
-looks so much like his brother at the same age. Thank goodness for date stamps on digital photos.
-is obsessed with balls. He has a particular fondness for a beach ball and as many golf balls as he can possibly handle.
-puts everything in his mouth and is forever eating things like sunscreen, deodorent, toothpaste. When it gets quiet, watch out.
-has developed quite the temper. We're sensing the twos are going to be a whole lot more terrible than they were with Simon.

Happy Days

The sun is shining, the snow is melting and we have all shed a few pounds by losing our winter gear! We are all so happy to finally be wearing our spring coats. No one more so than Miles. He has the cutest leather bomber jacket and he has been told over and over again how cute he is in it. He enjoys the compliments so much that he now insists on wearing his jacket in the house. It's only with a lot of tears that we're able to remove it for him to sleep at night. We have taken to calling him, "the Fonz". Let's hope he gets over his obsession before he outgrows the jacket because it will be mighty expensive to keep him in leather for years to come!

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!