Hazelnut Coffee

Good Morning! I am sitting here at the laptop, enjoying a warm cup of hazelnut coffee, and relishing the fact that it is in the 60s outside. Granted, it is a high 69, but still, what a luxury! I stepped outside earlier just to experience a below 80-90 degree morning. It's probably in the 70s by now, but that is still nice!

Simon and I actually were able to go for a walk yesterday and not be submitted to sweltering heat or air-pollution warnings. We used Simon's "new" stroller from Craigslist. We have made two Craigslist purchases to date and both have been for Simon and for his birthday and were funded by his grandparents in Georgia. We still have an umbrella stroller, but it is only good for in-store excursions, not exactly a multi-terrain vehicle. Our Graco stroller that we received before Simon was born died a couple of months ago. The wheel just fell off. I had just left the driveway for the purpose of walking to Target (only a 10 min. walk,) when the wheel came off. After attempts at fixing it by both Matt and my dad, we realized we would have to say goodbye to the stroller with so many memories. Ah, our 'new' stroller is also Graco and seems to have lots of life in it!

I'll post a pix another day of our other Craigslist find--a glider rocker and ottoman for Simon's room.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I THINK I WILL CALL YOU RIGHT NOW JUST FOR THAT REASON.

NOTE: I am tired of sippy cups that are not really leak-proof, of valves that go missing, of whole cups that go disappearing. We are down to two sippy cups that we like, one of these is missing entirely, which worries me a little that Simon could have 'hidden' it and then might take a sip in a few days! Oh, my stomach hurts for him just thinking of it. We also have one cup with no valve, so it is fairly useless unless filled with benign water, and a free sippy cup that came in the mail that isn't of the best quality, but for some reason, decides to stick around in one piece, so that we are forced to use it more than we would like.

Playdate

Pictured above is Simon and Elia (age 4.) Something about Elia has always captured my heart; I think it is his precious attitude and sweet voice (and he reminds me a little of Simon which is odd b/c Simon is younger, so I guess he reminds me of how I think/hope Simon will be!) In the pix, Elia is helping Simon take off the frog boots!

I had a nice time visiting with Lindsay and was able to get some great ideas for time mangement and some good recipes, too. I think Matt will be excited about the one for homemade granola.

I listen to audiobooks while cleaning, so I usually finish one a week. WELL, this week I listened to one that I (to my better judgment) passed by several times at the library. I would read the back and then think, "nah, that sounds really, really annoyingly predictable. Last week, (against my better judgment,) I checked out the book. BIG MISTAKE. Every little thing about the book drove me crazy: the narrator's voice, the predictable characters and plot. Why, oh why, did I listen to the whole book??? At one point, I considered turning it off, even at the last chapter, but my propensity for closure drove me to the finish line.

I will not admit what book it was. That would be TOO embarrassing. I'm not against Christian fiction, but if I had to judge from this one book ... Well, don't ask. I'll never tell.

What's sad, though, is how horrible this book must have been to drive ME crazy. I have a high-tolerance for bad movies and books. For example, more often than not, if I watch a Mystery Science Theatre with Matt, I actually get into the horribly made B movie that they are making fun off. One night, long time past, Matt bought this DVD for a $1 at The Dollar Tree. That alone should tell you something. He fell asleep around 1:30 a.m., but I stayed awake and finished the movie. It had an interesting plot (sort of.) I remember being kind of frustrated with Matt that night before watching the movie, knowing that he would fall asleep and that I would have to stay awake and finish the movie. Yep, I know myself (and Matt) that well, as that is exactly what happened.

Well, tonight as we were stocking up on audiobooks for our LOOOOOOONG drive next week, I saw the sequel to the book that drove me crazy. Nope, I didn't check it out. I thought I might go crazy listening to any more of the dribble!

Mommy and Simon

Simon's first words this morning: Mommy...more?

That's so sweet if I take it to mean "More of Mommy."

Of course, "More?" is usually a plea for anything and everything. We are trying to teach "More, Please?" Maybe tomorrow I will hear, "Mommy, more of you, please?"

Hey, it could happen!

All Grown Up

Simon's is all dressed up because we took our family pictures for prayer cards yesterday. We really should have done that about a year ago, but...Well, I won't make excuses for us except to say that we are slow to gather sometimes! That's not really an excuse, just an admission of guilt.


Simon looks all grown up, especially at the chalkboard. He is wearing a Christmas outfit (for this upcoming year) that Matt's mom bought him. There is an adorable vest that goes with it, but I already felt sorry for him because it was 100 degrees.

Haircut and Dismantled Caillou

Simon's haircut looks great! Matt says he is able to do a good job when the top isn't too long. The top part is hard to cut, but all Simon needed this time was a trim on the sides and back. He was started to get some 'duck' curls that would be fine if they were all over and if we liked the British little boy look, but...




Simon was a great customer up until he got some hair on his tongue. He was pretty upset, but even that distemper was brief! (The top pix if after his episode.)




Matt's mom bought Simon this Caillous way back. I think Simon wasn't even 6 months old. Simon really enjoys taking Caillou apart and listening to the "voice box." He has the repetitions and sequences memorized, so he kind of talks along with Caillou. Kind of unusual is the fact that Caillou's voice comes from his rear-end! Matt used this to teach Simon a new word; um, you can guess what word that would be. What's cute is to hear Simon pronounce it, "Bodie". (Rhymes with the name, Cody, instead of rhyming with the name, Rudy)



I mentioned in the last post that Simon discovered his nose. The other night we were driving home and Simon was again exploring his nose.

Matt redirected Simon's attention by purposefully modeling a new behavior: putting your finger in your ear. Hmmm...I don't know if that is much (or any) better. It might even be more distracting because of the unusualness of it...

THE MANY FACES OF OUR FAMILY

Yes, Simon has discovered his nose and we are in the battle many parents are in over the discovery of that very nose!

Matt's favorite cake: Peanut Butter Cake (also featured in the Squidfilm movie, CAKE and CAKE TWO.)

Simon seemed to realize he was two and just jump right into several very characteristic "two" quirks and blessings: um, the nose for one, those persistent molars, the climbing out of his crib, the ever-increasing vocabulary (except that when he says, "Sit," it sounds like an expletive, and he is 'performing' a little more as far as showing affection (giving hugs and kisses.) And we are still rereading some parenting books hoping not to mess up too badly! :)

There are a couple of pictures of Simon exercising along with an exercise video. It is SO MUCH FUN to watch him actually do this. He gets SO EXCITED and just tries his best.

August Does Not Equal Autumn

The top pix is Sunday before Sunday school started and everyone was milling about with coffee and donuts. I just discovered some exciting news about Pirates of the Caribbean. We had gone to see the movie for Matt's birthday, and even though I am not really into the Pirates series, the movie has such a cliff-hanging ending that even I wanted to see the next movie. (Great marketing ploy by Disney.) Well, we were leaving the theatre the night before with Scott and I commented, "Wouldn't it be great if Disney secretly filmed the next movie at the same time and then in just a few months released it?" Matt said, "Yeah, but they could never do that and keep it a secrety; there are spies everywhere." Well, before Sunday school started, the informed youth of America told us, in fact, that Disney had almost done this very thing. (But not in secret.) They filmed the third movie at the same time as the 2nd to save in production costs, and the third movie will be released soon. (I don't know how to define soon.) Of course, this is all "off the record" as I am prone to say!

Simon touching his toes, how sweet!

Simon eating. These three pictures might all seem the same, but I love how each one captures a different expression.

Doctor Visit

Simon had his 2 year well-baby exam today. The other pix are right after he woke up from his nap. I love his 2 1/2 hour naps--I'm able to get so much done!

Doctor visit: So thankful for Simon's health! No big surprises with his percentiles--Simon is still approximately in the 95% for height and the 75% for weight.

As much as I like Simon's pediatrician and office staff, I left today hoping that we don't have the 'pleasure' of seeing them for a long time! His next well-baby (I guess it might now be called a well-child) exam is when he turns 3. (Wouldn't that be something if we went through winter with no doctor visits?)

Simon and I are going to the library this morning on our way to a "playdate" with Benjamin and Josiah. The "playdate" is really an excuse for me to visit with Beth! Maybe I'll remember to take a picture ...

This month is going by SO fast! Pretty soon we'll be heading on the road to spend a week's vacation with Matt's family!
I had a dream last night that Simon climbed out of his crib again. We're just trying to keep him in it until we're back from out-of-town. One more vacation with the security of a restricted sleeping place would be nice!

Matt hasn't left Texas since our support trip in March and I know he is really looking forward to our road trip and beach visit. I hope we remember to check on tropical storms before we go! We've never been anywhere in September before, since the school year always started back in August; I think that we had so much time off with teaching that we kind of took breaks for granted. Consequently, I think we are learning that sometimes less is really more--that you take more pleasure when you only have a week off than when you have 10 weeks off. Maybe:)

Speaking of less being more, I really need to clean out our closet! I always see such stream-lined closets in magazines and secretly hope that they are as fictional as the airbrushed models. Can closets really be that simple?

Weekend Pix

These pix of billiards are from last weekend. The pix of Simon and the pillows are from tonight-Tuesday, August 15th. After getting in from GFA's prayer meeting, we filmed Simon singing (sort of) and then had a photo shoot.

We had a 'back-to-school' shin-dig with the Christ Wesleyan gang on Sunday afternoon. Billiards and pool baseball for the guys and mostly talking for us girls (though I did get a little sunburn.) I'm going to post some more pix from Sunday later so I'll save more stories for then.

More Playhouse/Birthday Pix

Matt and Matt played "Happy Birthday" on the guitars. Simon of course doesn't really understand the whole "birthday" idea, but he really enjoys it when everyone is looking at him and singing and sticking something in his face for him to blow out!

Simon was checking his mailbox, but it was empty! I need to remember to put things in there for him sometimes. Maybe I'll hide his favorite toys and periodically surprise him with them!

Speaking of surprises, I totally forgot that Scott was coming over last night. I usually remember everything, so it was fun when Scott called at 4:30 yesterday letting me know he was 5 minutes away! I think Scott enjoys staying here sometimes, as well as going to GFA's prayer meetings. When he was working as a coach this summer for Mavericks Basketball Camps, he stayed here during the weeks that he was nearby at Prestonwood and another church/school? near Midway.

Not only did Nancy call last week, she was sitting next to us in church Sunday! What a nice reunion after so many months!

Hmmm...Simon decided his birthday weekend was time to crawl/fall out of his crib for the first time. We need to move him to a toddler bed earlier than we were planning. We are trying to wait until the weekend for this change, and we are praying and reading about how to train him in this new privilege.

Birthday Weekend for Simon

Pictured here are some of the initial stages of Simon's playhouse as well as a picture of the first time he saw his playhouse! There is also a picture of Chloe and Caleb in a tree. Simon's playhouse is kind of like a tree house in that is nestled between two limbs and it is very easy to climb onto the tree from the porch!

Dad had built the basic 4 by 4 structure awhile ago and it has been sitting in his garage. He wanted to give it to Simon for his birthday. I was thrilled, expecting it to just sit on the ground. We were more than thrilled, when we saw that it would be elevated off the ground, with a little porch and a slide and a boater's motif. And finally, we had a use for the scrap metal I was saving in case Simon ever got a playhouse (the old mailbox and the 'chimney' which was part of our vent-a-hood that was cut off when we moved in.)

Matt, Dad, and Scott spent several hours (from noon til 8 p.m.) in the sweltering heat on Saturday building this playhouse/treehouse. They finished it up Sunday during Simon's nap. Oh, we actually had a little stormy weather on Sunday and Monday with a brief sprinkling. Very brief. And "sprinkling" may be a hyperbole.

Matt will be 30 on Friday! This age-milestone is hard to imagine. 30. A new decade. I guess we should be mature by now. Well, you know what 'they' say. (Who is 'they?) 30s are the new 20s.

Simon was born in 2004. The year he was born, my mom turned 50, Matt's mom turned 60, my mom's mom turned 70, and my dad's mom turned 80. This is a nice reference point for me as I tend to forget ages easily.

Simon was born August 4, 2004. Gospel for Asia's Bridge of Hope program for children sponsorship began August 5, 2004. I think it is neat to think that Simon is approximately the age of Bridge of Hope. In only two years, over 19,000 children have been sponsored!

The last days? Mom was listening to John Hagee Sunday morning. He thinks we are in the 'last seconds.' Hmmm...

Interesting Play and Discovering Ants

Simon is guilty of the construction mishap.

I am guilty of the pig and the mouse. I am not sure if what is pictured is actually part of the food cycle or not.

Outside today, Simon discovered ants! He got down on his hands and knees to inspect them running to and fro. I think they are busy with some remnants of Sunday's birthday party.

Simon and I just finished a snack/lunch of watermelon. This sweet child loves his watermelon! I think I should come up with a little bit more food for him/us before naptime. I think we are about to do an exercise video together before naptime. Simon is adorable trying to exercise along with the video. He loves to count aloud; I think it is helping him learn his numbers.

Speaking of Simon, we need to get him to sing "How Great is our God" on video. It is so adorable to hear him singing!

Connie and a group of 6 teens from WBC came up for a tour of GFA and for prayer meeting yesterday. We all ate at McDonalds together before prayer meeting. It was easy having the girls watch and play with Simon in the PlayPlace. I think it is only Simon's 3rd time to eat at McDonalds. Matt was noting how even though we ate a lot, we didn't feel full, except kind of a sick feeling of fullness. I didn't feel the 'sick fullness' but it was odd to eat more that I would normally, yet not feel full. Well, there's nothing like the great American McDonalds once in a while!