we have an entertainment center that is about 50 inches tall. it is covered with all sorts of crap, mainly things that we don’t want simon to get into. a few weeks ago he was standing there trying to reach something on top of the tv and i realized his hand was only about 6 inches from the top of the stand. i knew it was still going to be quite a while before he could actually reach to the top, however, i hadn’t taken into account that there are some little shelves on the bottom of said entertainment center. He has been spotted trying to step up onto the shelf and reach to the top…ahhh! it’s got our giant tv on it and is very wide, so i’m not worried about it tipping onto him, but really…where in the heck am i going to keep things now!
since Simon turned 2, his favorite phrase is “big kid”. he says this whenever he wants to do something he thinks is a little beyond his normal activities, or when we suggest he try something a little different. He claims “big kid” and usually we help him find a way to make it happen. Some situations where “big kid” has been invoked: climbing really big ladders at the park, walking the dog down the street, walking without holding hands in certain places, pouring his own juice, milk, water, carrying large loads of just about anything, going to the potty on his own, etc.
Simon has always been a very physically capable boy and it’s proving a little tricky since he’s also a very tall boy. It’s hard to tell him he can’t do something at the park because it’s for “bigger kids” when the kids that are doing it are smaller than him (even if they are a year older). He is quite capable though and with help he can usually try whatever it is he wants to. He is doing really well with knowing to come get help if something seems a little out of his comfort zone.
It’s so great to see him learning about his abilities and limits, testing them and gaining new ones every day!
well, as you can see, the blog fell apart when we moved. so much happened in Simon’s 2nd year. We moved to TN, Rick started his new job as a German Professor at University of TN Chattanooga. We were busy finding our way around town, making new friends, trying to keep in touch with old ones.
I decided to start trying to blog again. This time there will probably be more writing and fewer pictures. I want to document all the great things he’s learning about, and especially all the new phrases and ideas he’s coming up with. This stuff is priceless and I don’t want to forget it all someday when I’m old.
simon went swimming in the hotel pool while grandma and grandpa breese were here this past weekend. he had a great time. he and mommy will have to get out to the pool more often.
simon’s favorite thing to do these days is to climb. hopefully it will be warmer more consistently and we can get out to the park more where he can romp around. until then, he will make do with whatever he finds inside!
this is the best phonetic description i can come up with for what it sounds like when simon says CAT. he loves Dharma soooooo much. he says his word for CAT much more than anything that sounds like mama or dada.
Dharma is a saint when it comes to Simon. He follows her around, he tries to sit on her, he pounds on her, grabs her collar, pulls her tail, pushes the chair around when she’s sitting on it, etc. Usually she just moves a few inches and sits back down, waiting for more “love”, sometimes she rolls over and bats at him. sometimes she asks to go outside. only twice can i remember him actually getting a scratch. i still watch them very very closely for both of their safety though. i tell them both to be gentle, be nice, easy, etc. i separate them when necessary and am always on alert to know when they’re in the same room together.
yesterday i was thinking it is a little glimpse into the future if we have another kid, simon will be the 2 or 3 year old that the baby is following around, pulling on etc. i’ll be trying to keep him from batting at the baby, I’ll be saying gentle, be nice to both of them again. the obvious difference though…i won’t be able to just shoo simon out the door like i do dharma when i get tired of dealing with them! neither will i be able to close the door on simon when he’s eating so the baby doesn’t get into his food like i do when Dharma is eating in her bathroom now.
hmmmm…maybe we’ll just get another cat 
mommy and i are still babysitting for Amber’s kids on Monday mornings and we have started going Thursdays too. i like it because they have lots of fun toys for bigger kids, and they have a big house that i can crawl around in. it is hard to get a good nap in the morning though because there are so many exciting things to do over there. i like to play with alexa too, but she’s running and talking and seems to think i’m a little silly sometimes with my crawling and grunting. i guess when i start walking we’ll have more fun together again.
We bought our family a membership to the museum as a family christmas present. It’s a really great place for kids and parents. When I get older I could learn a lot about weather, sounds, shapes, insects, astronauts and more. For now though, there is a fun younger kids play area and lots of animals outside. The butterfly house is mommy’s favorite, i like it too because it’s a nice quiet place to sit and nurse after we look at all the outside animals. We took our friends Tonya and Brenda with us and also met up with Wendy and August.
so you thought you were going to take a cute little picture of me reading did you? i will instead attack you and the camera!
well it’s official, simon has now been out in the world longer than he was in my belly. it’s funny talking to pregnant people now and thinking back to the end of pregnancy when i wanted so badly for him to be out for so many reasons: i was big as a horse, so we would know if he was a boy for sure (i was pretty convinced), so we could get started on the great adventure of parenthood, and not the least of which: so other people could hold him.
well, i’m still trying to keep up with the calories he nurses out of me, he’s definitely a boy, it’s an adventure, and he won’t let that many people can hold him for very long yet.
there are those moments when i wish i could put him back in (after redirecting him away from the cat, dog, cat’s dishes, dog’s dishes, stairs, computer cords, garbage can, etc for the zillionth time), but all in all it’s been a wonderful 9 months. he’s an amazing boy, curious, strong willed, eager, independent, loving, and cute as can be.
