Well you know my name is Simon

Like everyone else, I’m ready for winter to end. Simon has had a rough few months and I can’t wait for some warm weather and an uneventful spring. Simon has had two broken bones in as many months in two separate falls. He took a tumble down our basement stairs in late January that resulted in a fracture of his right radius (one of the bones in the forearm). I was really upset about the break, but Simon was a trooper. After getting his arm cast off on a Wednesday three weeks later, he stayed intact until that Sunday when I slipped and fell on our patio after a night of freezing rain. I managed to hold on to him, but my leg twisted his leg as I fell and we were back at the hospital the next day. I couldn’t believe it was happening again, but another x-ray revealed that Simon had a fracture in his left tibia (one of the bones in the lower leg). I think the whole experience has been harder on Christopher and me than it has on Simon. He didn’t let either cast slow him down. He continued to use his right arm and started walking on his leg cast after a few days. The leg cast comes off tomorrow and I can’t wait.

The psychedelic arm cast

With Uncey Neil at Smuggler’s Notch

Waiting at the hospital to get his cast off. The doctor loved his shirt.

Walking on his leg cast

In the middle of all this we had a fantastic ski holiday with my family in Vermont. It was a long drive, but Simon was a dream the entire week. He spent three mornings at the daycare and had a great time. On the second day one of the caregivers told us that Simon had eaten two servings of lunch. We told her that was par for the course. I swear that kid has a tapeworm.

Last week we visited with Christopher’s sister, mom, aunt, and cousin, as well as my mom and the three babies. Everyone had fun but Simon wasn’t interested in wearing the bunny ears.

Being uncooperative

Grandmas and babies

Moms and babies

Peeking out the window of Hawksley’s playhouse

Simon loves play kitchens, so his very generous Nana ordered him one from Costco. After Christopher spent the morning assembling it, Simon spent the afternoon playing chef. He loves our microwave, so it was no surprise that that was his favourite part of the kitchen.

Order up!

Better late than never, as usual. This year we started the season with a visit to Christmas Town at Mountsberg Conservation Area. It was a fantastic outing including a horse-drawn sleigh ride, cookie decorating (and eating), a visit to the elves workshop, and of course a visit with Santa. It’s out in the country and a lot more fun than visiting Santa at a dingy mall. Each child gets a private meeting with Santa and Mrs. Claus too. We’re going to make it an annual tradition, and hopefully next year we’ll get the whole family out.

Simon has what Christopher and I like to call an independent spirit, but let’s be honest - there’s a bit of stubbornness in the mix. While we were walking around Christmas Town he refused to hold our hands, and every time we tried he made a noise of impatience and pulled his hand away.

When we first entered Santa’s house Simon was all smiles, but the minute I tried to put him on Santa’s lap he started wailing. No surprise - Simon’s definitely a ladies man right now. Most men make him nervous.

Our next stop was the Shaver house for a Christmas gathering with Christopher’s mom’s family. Simon got spoiled with gifts and attention, and spent lots of time hanging out with Hawksley. He also managed to pinch cousin Claire’s nose closed for a few seconds while no one was looking.

Then we were off to London for Christmas with the Wills family. As you can see Uncle Neil is the good influence we all knew he would be.

The weekend after Christmas we made our way up to Fenelon Falls for a few days with Christopher’s parents. Simon went for a sleigh ride with Grampa and discovered how delicious fresh snow is.

Simon is so much fun right now - very affectionate and communicating well. He still uses sign language most of the time, but he understands direction and has a few words. His first word (or expression) was “uh oh!” Appropriate since he’s always looking for trouble. He also likes to say “Hi!” to other shoppers at the grocery store. They always walk away with a smile on their face after saying hello. It’s great to see your baby make someone’s day a little brighter.

-Leila

On December 7, Christopher and I took Simon for his first haircut at a Milton institution - Mike’s barber shop. Unfortunately Mike wasn’t working that afternoon, but one of the other hairdressers took good care of him. Simon was not impressed with the whole experience, and he especially didn’t like the scissors near his ears, but after the hairdresser offered him a yellow sucker he settled down enough for her to quickly finish the job.

When I look at the “before” shots now I wonder why it took us so long to get his hair cut. It’s pretty long and wild!

Before

During

After

About a month ago Simon started walking in earnest. Until then he was wobbly and often crawled instead, but those days are gone and he’s strictly bipedal now. Lots of people told me it would be even more work once he was walking, but so far it’s been great. He’s able to entertain himself better now, and he seems very happy about mastering this new skill. Plus it’s really cute.

A few days before Simon’s birthday party I was surprised when all of a sudden I burst into tears in the shower. I had a little boohoo and then thought, “What the hell was that?!” After a little reflection, I realized that the prospect of Simon turning one was a bit of an emotional land mine for me. It was exciting, but at the same time it really felt like my baby was being replaced by a toddler, and I didn’t feel ready to let my baby go. Of course none of these feelings were logical or rational, but after talking to a few friends I think it’s something most moms go through.

The birthday party was fantastic. We kept it small - just immediate family and two friends, partly so all the hoopla wouldn’t overwhelm Simon and partly to make is easier on us. I’m all for marking the occasion with a modest celebration, but let’s be real - the kid is turning one. Some first birthdays are so extravagant they make my wedding look like a backyard barbeque.

Any emotions about losing my baby are quickly fading as Christopher and I marvel at Simon’s developmental leaps and bounds. He’s still not that interested in walking, but his understanding and comprehension have grown significantly in the past few weeks. As well as adding “milk” and “all done” to his signing repertoire, he now understand a variety of words and sentences. When I ask him “Where’s daddy?”, he smiles and points at Christopher. He also understands what the word “fruit” means. He loves fruit so much that Christopher and I have resorted to calling fruit “The F-word” because if we say “fruit” and don’t produce a piece of melon or pear in .5 seconds it’s a bad scene.

And finally, after (no exaggeration) two months of teething, two more bottom teeth have just poked through. Eight down, 12 more to go. Lord help me.

Simon, the first year was an amazing ride. I can’t wait to do it again and again.

Happy birthday to our wonderful baby boy!  We love you more than you’ll ever know.

Mommy and Daddy
xoxo

I’ll be doing another post this week reflecting on Simon’s first year and my feelings as he turns the big zero one, but before that I’d like to do one more post about some recent milestones and activities.

Last weekend Simon spent lots of time on various farms, first with his dad at Emmerdale Farm on Saturday, and then with both of us at Andrew’s Scenic Acres on Sunday. Both farms had lots of goats and chickens - apparently two of his favourite domesticated animals. Christopher reported that Simon repeatedly squealed with delight at the sight of the chickens at Emmerdale and he really liked feeding the goats at Andrew’s. It’s great seeing him connect with nature.

Watching the goats at Emmerdale

Peeking through the fence at Andrew’s

Feeding the goats at Andrew’s

Let me in!

Playing in the pumpkins

Compare this pumpkin picture to the one last year!

I’ve really enjoyed the past month with Simon. He’s still teething and cranky now and then, but the good stuff has definitely outweighed the bad lately. Both Christopher and I have noticed a huge leap in his comprehension and ability to communicate with us, and not only because he’s learning sign language. We just really seem to understand each other now. As you’ll see in the video, the first sign Simon learned was “more”. He pretty much uses it for anything he wants, not just if he wants more food. So if he sees Christopher’s cell phone (a favourite prohibited toy), he’ll start signing “more” furiously. I’m also amazed that when we’re hanging out in our room in the morning and I ask him if he’s hungry and would like to eat, he’ll sign “more”. I really think he knows what I’m asking him.

Simon also took his first steps on my birthday, probably the best present I could have asked for. He loves standing up now and will often do it without needing something to hold on to. He regularly takes a few steps from mom to dad and is full of pride when he does. Crawling is still a faster means of locomotion than walking, so he’ll do it to get from A to B, but other than that he would rather be standing. Now it’s really obvious just how tall this kid is!

-Leila

Two weekends ago Simon and I (Christopher) had the house to ourselves while Leila was away for her first weekend at teachers college. Of course we missed her, but we had a great time together full of fun activities.

As his dad, it is my responsibility to help Simon develop his taste for speed and adventure. Going for walks in the stroller is a start, but only a beginning. Stroller-blading was the natural next step and the parks and pathways near our house are perfectly suited. I have also installed a bicycle seat for longer trips around town. Simon finds the continuous change of scenery very engaging.

Simon also still can’t get enough of the jungle gyms at the parks - whether it be swinging into the sky, racing across the bridge at full crawl or pushing himself off to go down the slide.

First things first - Happy Birthday Nana! Hope you’re enjoying your holiday.

Please excuse the almost three week gap in posts. It’s been very busy around here while I do endless paperwork to get ready for teacher’s college and we spend time enjoying summer before it slips by. I know it’s a totally unoriginal sentiment, but why does summer seem so short? I love fall, but it’s just a precursor to another long, long winter. But I do have some things to look forward to, like watching Simon play in the snow and seeing him experience Christmas (he was sort of out of it last year - didn’t even notice). I’ve also signed us up for a slew of activities to get us out of the house including more swimming lessons, Baby Time at the library, and Mother Goose and Rock a Bye Babies at the Early Years Centre.

Last week we had our second family photo shoot. The first time Simon was only two months old and what a difference eight months makes. Getting him to sit still was like wrangling a wild horse. That coupled with the photographer’s loud, high pitched baby talk made the entire photo shoot kind of crazy, but I’m very happy with end result. I’ve sprinkled the pictures through the rest of this post.

It has become obvious that Simon greatly prefers standing up to being on all fours. If there’s something to hold on to he’ll cruise around until he has no choice but to start crawling again. I think it will be a month or so until he’s walking, and I’m alternately thrilled and terrified at the prospect. Other than his first word I don’t think there will be a more significant moment.

Simon is pointing at everything these days, so it’s hard to pretend I don’t know what he wants. Lately his favourite thing is opening and closing the microwave door, which gets old after about 10 reps, but he points with such gusto that it’s hard to say no. The cutest pointing by far is when I take him for a walk and we get close to the playground. He gets visibly excited and starts babbling and pointing at the swings and the slide. Simon has also started to offer us his finger food and feed us. He thinks this is really funny, so much so that he’ll often forget to feed himself.

I’ve started the weaning process, mostly because once Simon started sleeping through the night my milk production dropped significantly. Right now I only breastfeed in the morning, and I could easily cut that feed out too but I don’t think I’m ready yet. I had a really great experience with breastfeeding and once I wean Simon for good that part of our relationship will end. I’m struggling with that. I know this is just the first of many stages to end, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

-Leila

Well, it’s happened. I’m still in disbelief - it’s like some wonderful dream. Simon is sleeping through the night. More specifically, he goes to bed at 7:00pm and usually wakes up at 6:00 or 6:30am. There have even been a few times where he has slept until 7:00am. To finally have a solid night’s sleep after nine and a half months of interrupted sleep is indescribable. I feel like a new person.

This breakthrough didn’t come easily. As a last resort Christopher and I reluctantly let Simon cry it out. We tried everything else but he was just so stubborn it ended up being the only way. The first night we stayed at the door and reassured him with our voices, but we stayed out of sight. He cried for an hour and a half and eventually fell asleep standing up. Like my mom said, that takes real determination! That was the worst of it and by the third night he was going to sleep within a few minutes of being put down awake. We haven’t looked back since. It was really hard but now that he’s sleeping better he’s less cranky during the day, and so am I. Christopher and I were able to go to our friends’ wedding while my mom babysat with no worries about when he would wake up or if we would have to come home early. I can’t say it enough - it’s wonderful.

Last week Simon and I headed up to Kerri’s cottage on Muskoka Lake with the rest of the Ladybuds and their boys for two days of relaxing, swimming, eating delicious food, drinking wine and generally having a fabulous time. The boys were all so good, which surprised everyone considering we had five babies in a relatively small space. Simon was in a fantastic mood the entire time. The only thing that sort of threw me for a loop was his desire to hug all the other boys. The first day we arrived he chased down two of the other boys and tackled them. I knew he meant well, but he was a little aggressive and he managed to freak out Ben and Brayden with his affection. I actually had to pull him off Ben at one point while he squealed with delight.

Celebrating Thomas’s and Owen’s first birthdays
(from left to right: Simon, Brayden, Thomas, Owen, Ben)

Swinging through the trees

Photo shoot in the miniature Muskoka chair

In front of the Segwun - North America’s oldest operating steamship

This week Christopher and I have been taking Simon to parent and tot swim classes every day. He loves the water and our swim instructors are very helpful. We dunked him for the first time on Monday and have done it every day since. He doesn’t love it but he’s getting used to it. We’ve heard that it’s better to dunk babies earlier rather than later so they don’t develop a fear of being underwater.

At a friends pool party

And in family news, I have decided to go to teacher’s college this fall. I’ll be attending a college just across the border in Amhurst, New York. The program runs two weekends a month for one year, and then I’ll be student teaching in Milton for an additional three months. It will be hard to be away from my family two weekends a month, but it’s so much better than the alternative (not going at all or going five days a week). I’m very excited. It will be great for me and great for my family, now and in the future. I want to do my best for them.

-Leila

Now that Simon can motor around he often tries to grab the kitties as they pass by. They’re a little wary of him so they usually give him a wide berth, but as you’ll see, sometimes Milo’s laziness is more powerful than his instinct to get out of the way.

-Leila