we had some friends take this after Thanksgiving dinner so we actually had a photo of the 3 of us together. Simon cooperated quite well in this shot.
simon’s standing skills have steadily improved since he began around Halloween. He is cruising a bit from couch to table, from mommy and daddy’s legs to the chair, etc. he can reach the top of the kitchen table, the office desk, all the living room tables, the racks in the kitchen, well you get the picture: we can’t leave anything anywhere anymore! He is much better at plopping back down now too which is good, since he would get a bit frustrated with just standing in one spot for so long.
In this picture he is doing some serious reading, note the location of both hands on the book, he’s getting pretty sure of himself!
i think the picture speaks for itself.
i think this might turn out to be simon’s motto. apparently he gets it from his daddy. oma tells us that at this age, daddy was picking up rocks, cleaning them in his mouth and handing them to her to keep. simon hasn’t started that quite yet, but otherwise, he’s into just about everything in (and out of) sight. here are a few pics to demonstrate.
we’ve had a couple of warmer days here, so we’ve been checking out the local parks to see which ones are the best for wee ones to play on. simon has enjoyed swinging, which is the obvious thing to do with him at the park. there are mini climbing walls at a couple of the parks that are fun to practice gripping, standing and bending on (all with spotting by mommy of course). he also enjoys the bells and drums they have to bang on at Anderson Park where the dog park is. this works out well for family outings, Duke goes to the dog park, Simon goes to play music and eat mulch.
here’s a cute pic of Uncle Sam and I looking up at mommy…of course we were so cute she couldn’t move to get the camera, so she had to take the picture with her phone, that’s why it’s a little grainy looking.
Last month we went to Spence’s Farm for their annual Fall Festival. It’s the farm where mommy used to be the Assistant Director. I had my first pony sit (we won’t say ride since the pony didn’t move). the only reasons the pony didn’t move is because mommy was a little worried everyone thought she was nuts having her 7 month old riding a pony (she wasn’t worried at all), and because there was a little boy watching that was probably about 18 months and we weren’t sure he was getting a chance to ride and we didn’t want to make him feel too bad seeing this even younger boy ride the pony. as you can see, I clearly knew just what to do, I held onto the horn with one hand and my helmet (since it didn’t fit at all) with the other hand. I’m planning on going back in the spring when i’m a little bigger to do it again and then i’ll actually make the pony move.
we lost the littlest member of our family this past weekend. she was hit by a car. we think it was quick and a neighbor found her so we could bury her and say goodbye. Daisy was only about a year and a half old, she came to us last July just before we knew we were pregnant with Simon. We tried to find her another home at first, but she made it very clear she was meant to stay with us. She was sweet and cuddly for a while, but once she discovered the world outside, there was no keeping her in. She was out and about all the time. She would play with our neighbors dogs and cats, sleep on whichever neighbors porch was sunniest and follow us when we walked the dog. Everyone knew Daisy and loved her. She had even convinced some guy across the way to let her in and feed her once in a while. She was “rescued” several times by other neighbors in a big apartment complex next door, since she was soooo friendly and could make you think she was starving. If she was hungry it was her own fault, she wouldn’t stay indoors to eat for more than a few minutes before climbing the blinds and calling to be let back out. Once in a while she would come in and rest hard, sleeping soundly in a ball on the couch or bed, recharging herself for the exploration of the next day.
She was a sweet darling little girl and she will be missed, I know she was with us for a good reason and so that must mean she’s gone for a good one too. She certainly didn’t let life pass her by, she was in it, living it up every minute.
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- daisy teaches dharma to share
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- lounging
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- sunning
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- tiny Daisy
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- sharing
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- racing
we were pretty busy in PA, we started off visiting Grandma’s office, all the ladies oohed and ahhed over me. we went to see Great Great Aunt Nancy, Great Grandma, Great Great Aunt Tess. we played with Great Aunt Sue and Great Uncle Dave and Aunt Ami. we went to play with Janelle and Taylor, the daughters of mommy’s friends Jessica and Kristie from high school. we also got to meet Lily, mommy’s friend Janie’s little girl, she was a little young for playing just yet. grandma had a brunch for her friends to meet me on sunday, that was fun and i got some nice new toys and clothes.
grandma and grandpa got me some new fun toys and i had a good time trying to avoid Uncle Sam’s slobbery kisses. i slept well, ate some crackers, crawled around, and had a great time over all.
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- Janelle and Simon
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- 4 generations of Stankavages
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- Great Grandma and Aunt Ami with Simon and Mommy
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- meeting Lily, Janie and Don
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- playing with Kristie and Taylor
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- Great Great Aunt Nancy and Simon
mommy and i went to visit family and friends in PA the day after the election. we flew from Raleigh to Philadelphia and then to Scranton. I was interested in looking around and out the windows as we waited to take off but once the were up in the air, i fell fast asleep. i didn’t cry once on the plane on the way up or the way back! everyone around us seemed really happy when we landed and told me what a good boy i was…apparently other kids can get pretty upset on these plane things.
happy travelers
