We have been blessed with over a week of warm spring weather. What a nice break after an unseasonably cold Texas winter! Yesterday afternoon, when Matt arrived home, after a short game of miniature basketball in the backyard, we put Simon in the stroller and walked to a park that is about a mile away. Then, we we took a detour on our way home and went by the Asian supermarket for a zuchinni (needed for our black bean salad that night). Matt thoroughly enjoyed the Asian store and is temporarily convinced that we/I should do all of our shopping there.

So, I make the black bean salad when we get home ... and I forget to add the zuchinni. :)

Yesterday around lunch my friend Cheryl came by to borrow the movie Curious George. Simon was pretty sad to see it go, but after explaining that his good friend Lorena would get to watch it, he seemed to show genuine generosity. In fact, I thought he forgot about it...until naptime. When he woke up from nap, his first words were, "See Monkey? Nina see Monkey? Watch George?" He was happy while asking, but I was struck by his memory and pleasantly reminded that he really does understand concepts.

Active Toddler

The pix of him checking his mail was around Valentine's Day. Next year maybe I'll remember to put a valentine and gift in there!

I love the pix where he is running and right behind him you can see the orange hazard cones.

He has a block that he says, "like a hammer," when he picks it up. When he saw Pops working in the kitchen, Simon went to get his "It's like a hammer" block.

Lately Simon has been crying out once or more (usually more) at night. We've gone in there to check on him since he has had a cold and we don't want the crying to escalate to gagging. As soon as this cold, passes, though, it's back to 'tough love' during the night. We keep thinking maybe he has an earrache or just feels miserable, so we go in there and usually just a few words and a nudge back in the pillow direction get him back asleep.

WELL, last night around 3 I went in there when he was crying and his eyes were closed, he was sitting up, and he said, "Cook?" in the middle of his crying and then "Cake." So, we can either take this as a sign that he is hungry at night, or that he dreams fitfully about eating cake and cooking. (He loves to wear his "cook" clothes which are aprons or even overalls.

Bath Pictures

Yesterday afternoon when Simon was in the bath, I had to run and get the camera. He was sitting with his little chin on the edge of the tub next to the fish, just smiling at me. I asked him to wait a minute while I went to get the camera, and he was still in the same position when I came back! Just smiling and posing because, like his daddy, he loves the camera! Precious.

Home and Garden Network

Sarah and I created a meal that we thought was original, until I talked to my cousin Sarah the next day and discovered that the EXACT SAME dish is served at Applebees.

Clean up was a cinch with two people cooking; I forgot how much fun it was to cook with other people. Sarah and I planned a Nacho Libre party for last Saturday and we created adorable 'Girls Night In' Invitations on EVITE. I think we had 15 or so girls here to watch the movie.

Apparently some of the men used the free night to um, make dry-ice 'bombs' and drive around and throw them in fields. Relatively harmless, but more importantly, lots of fun for guys who enjoy the opportunity to wear black, tie black t-shirts around their faces, use google earth to plot their path of destruction, and make a chop-shop of dry ice in their kitchen.

When they came back to retrieve the wives, we were able to see the video of their adventures. Then the laptops were whipped out and quake was played until 2 a.m. You wouldn't have expected these were the same men who the night before were at all-night prayer! (Meaning that you would think they would be tired, not that they wouldn't be playing quake or dry-ice bombs--that behavior is very much wild at heart behavior :) }

I think Simon's cold is 99% gone, and I am looking foward to resuming fellowship this week with the outside world.

My friend Amanda who is expecting her third child soon is pictured next to her windows that we decorated during the Super Bowl. I'll never forget the look and Matt and Daniel's faces when we asked them to go find us a brach. Anyway, I need to do a little reworking with the branch, and it defintitely looks better in person. The theme of the room is Sweet pea, so the curtain is kind of supposed to look like peas in a pod. Anyway, I totally stole this from Sarah's decor. (Thanks, Sarah!)