Well you know my name is Simon

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