Steelers v Browns

For those of you who aren't big into football I'm sorry. We breathe football at my house (okay not quite but close) in the fall and winter months! I am a big Steelers fan and my hubby is a Browns fan, his only fault! Our teams met in Pittsburgh on December 8 and were gifted some amazing seats for the game along with the company of my brother, Doug, and his wife, Renee. My team won 14-3 but it was a closer game until late in the fourth quarter for which I'm glad for my husband's sake! Plus I do like Colt McCoy because he's a Christian (I read his book) so sort of cheer for the him to do well!
Again for those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about, google it! Here's a few highlights of our evening!

Christmas Cookies!

I got brave and decided not to worry about the flour mess and let Simon help me do cutout cookies! I'm not sure how much he actually helped but he sure had fun! He was in charge of the star cookie cutter and the scooper that was in the flour which is why he had so much fun! Totally worth the mess to see his smiles :)

Sometimes We Dress Alike

This first picture I have to point out the boots! I got Simon winter boots and he LOVES them! He wore them all day when I brought them home - it was hilarious hearing say 'boots' over and over and over!


And here's me and my cutie pie cheesing it up for the camera before a game! Simon loves to say football, TOUCHDOWN and Go Buckeyes!

Operation Christmas Blessing

This is a horrible picture of me but wanted to document what our family did to bless some people this Christmas. We went to the grocery store (Chris, Simon and I) and bought all the food/supplies so a family in need could have a Christmas meal this year. We did this through our church which encouraged everyone in the congregation to choose a project to do as a family. We had fun shopping together as a family and glad we can give back during this special time of the year.

N'Awlins

Did you know Chris and I went to New Orleans over Thanksgiving?! Just the two of us! We left Simon with my parents for four days and we jetted south for the holiday weekend for a wedding. I had never been to New Orleans before so we tried to pack in as much as possible. I was 14 weeks pregnant during this trip so I was pretty exhausted but it was so nice to get away sans kiddo and the fact that the weather was in the 70s made it so worth it!

The wedding was for G and Hilary (aka Gilary) who are from Louisiana but we knew G when we lived in Seattle. A lot of Seattlites made the trek down south and it was so much fun to see a lot of our friends who I hadn't seen in almost two years.

We did some touristy stuff like the World War II Museum and eating beignet at Cafe du Monde. We walked down Bourbon Street, went to a piano bar and experienced Zydeco music/dancing which I want to learn in a later life!

Pretty Jackson Square decorated for Christmas

Artise and Amy - love these girls and miss them so much!

My hot date for the wedding :)

The happy couple

Full-Blown Toddler

Somehow the days go by and I now have an 18-month old who is just as fun and energetic and bright and I'm so lucky to be his mom! At his well-check he was 24 lbs 3 oz (25%) and 33 inches tall (75%). The doctor seemed impressed with his development and impressed with how many words he says. She said it is average for 18-month olds to say 6 understandable words. This prompted Chris and I (later on) to count how many words we have heard him say. Well over 50 for sure! Simon repeats a lot of things and he likes to say his new favorite food - french fry!





If you want to stop reading feel free. I want to remember what he's doing at this stage!!


Sleeping Patterns - you sleep at least 12 hours at night and one nap in the afternoon ranging from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours





Eating Habits - certainly have your picky moments but you're getting better! We're enforcing "no snacks" and if you refuse to eat your dinner that is your snack later! It's working!! You seem to eat more if you have some ketchup to dunk your food in





Playing - you usually cry a little when we drop you off at church or MOPS but are fine within a few minutes and love to play. You love the sliding board at parks and your dog! You play pretty well with others but of course struggle some with sharing :) You're great at playing soccer and kicking and throwing balls.





It's so fun to see your personality develop! You love to help me around the house and are great at closing doors and cabinets, turning off light switches and putting shoes back in the closet! You rarely sit still but the picture above was a rare moment when you cuddled with dad while he rubbed your back. You are loved!

The Ornery Moments Make Me Laugh

"Mom, I want THIS toy for Christmas!!!"

Hanging out in a box is hysterically funny, don't you think?

Simon HAD to carry his juice, the box of crackers and push his "pooh pooh" toy all at the same time. He kept dropping one or the other and was getting so frustrated! I even showed him how to put his juice in the seat of the toy to make it easier but that was not an option. He had to carry all of the items!

Happy Friday and weekend folks! Hope you get to enjoy some fun times this weekend - I have a date night tonight - two Friday's in a row!! Woot woot! Oh, and may the mediocre Buckeyes beat the mediocre Nittany Lions tomorrow so I have a happy husband :)

Watching his personality develop is so much fun! Love this kid!

I Love Beautiful Fall Days

We've had some of the nicest warm fall days the past few weeks. Simon and I have loved being able to spend time playing in the leaves and using the "rrrake" as he says. I showed him how to jump in a pile of leaves and he thought that was just hilarious. And we've been working on saying "cheese" when we take a picture to get him to smile. I think it worked pretty well in this picture! Hope you all have had some beautiful fall days too!

A Vacuum Doesn't Make You Smile?!

I've blogged about my beloved Dyson Vacuum before but somehow the vacuum love has been passed down to my son! He can be in the crabbiest mood but if you mention that we're going to vacuum he will light up! He loves to "help" and by that I mean he likes to push the big red power button ON and OFF. Hey, whatever makes you smile, right?!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Simon's vocabulary is really expanding these days. The thing is I'm not always sure what exactly he is saying! He chatters away a lot and I have no clue but it is a lot of fun to make conversation with him! Here's some of the things he says that I've learned to translate:

Micah (his cousin) - Kaikai
Anya (his cousin) - Anyas - it's always plural!
Aunt Ali - Abba
Pizza - Pie pie
Bernie the dog - Berber
Airplane - Aiman
Truck - Trrrruck
Vaccum - Da
Football - Bootball (said just like football but with a b)
Cow - Moo
Banana - Nana
Cocoon - Cocoo
Apple - Appum (but he's getting a lot closer to apple)
Boom Boom means he wants to listen to his special cd in the car or watch his dvd
Lawnmower - lawmower

He's really good at shoes, socks, car, dog, duck, moon, all of his facial features (eyes, ears, teeth, cheek, nose, head, hair) mama, dada, Mimi, Papa, ewww and I poop!

I Almost Fell Off the Bandwagon!

Wow...two months since my last post! I almost fell of the blogging bandwagon but in my defense I had a good reason. Simon's naptime recently became my nap time and logging time on the computer was not making my to-do list. I'm 10 1/2 weeks pregnant and have been EXHAUSTED this first trimester in addition to not feeling real great throughout the day. So that's my excuse!

We are very excited for baby #2 who is due May 27 - our anniversary! Our kids will be pretty much two years apart exactly (May 14 is Simon's birthday) which isn't necessarily the way we planned it but we think it's going to be a lot of fun! Pregnancy second time around is going a lot faster...maybe because a 17-month old keeps me very busy?! And it's true - you do show a little faster but I'm still not quite in maternity clothes :)

I got to hear the baby's heartbeat at the doctor this week which was very exciting. It is so amazing to think something so small has a beating heart already. We feel incredibly blessed that God has chosen us to be parents again.

I will try to be more consistent with the blog in the upcoming months...just needed a time out!

Life Is DESCRIPTIVE!!!

Life with a toddler is an adventure! Going for a walk means we see GREEN trees, PRETTY flowers, WAVING flags....lots of adjectives! It is amazing how much little ones soak in, though! They may not be able to say a lot of words but they understand so much. Every little discovery is so much fun! Here Simon is pointing out the RED slate tiles on the floor. He goes to each RED one and points. I was impressed :)

Summertime Means Freezing Time!

I love to enjoy summer fruits and vegies during the winter. This was the first summer I really started to get my hands wet with freezing. I haven't tackled canning yet (other than strawberry jelly)....maybe next year! Here are some pics of the applesauce I did. My mom did one batch with me and then I did a second batch on my own. It is delcious and it is fun to watch Simon eat it on his own with his spoon! He is growing up and will love homemade applesauce all winter long :)

Simon's First Baseball Game

Last Saturday we went to a local Independent League (like minor league baseball) game here in Lancaster. The ballpark is great - very kid and family friendly as they have playgrounds, a carousel, water bumper boats, and loads of ballpark food. It was extremely hot (6:30 game) and the sun was drilling our seats. So we hit the playground up for some free entertainment until the sun sank a bit. When it had cooled down we decided to give sitting down and watching the game a try. It actually went pretty well! Snacks and french fries can go a long way when trying to keep a 1-year-old occupied. In addition to a straw! We had a lot of fun even though we had to leave before the game was over. Simon got to bed an hour later than normal but didn't have any meltdowns. He told me he liked the baseball game!!!

Mema's 90th Birthday

My Mema (as she's known to my siblings, cousins and friends) turned 90 on July 8! The weekend was filled with festivities which left me exhausted when it was all said and done so I'm sure she was also pretty tired! There was a picnic for more immediate family on Saturday and then a drop-in party on Sunday. Many people came to wish her birthday wishes - from Florida, Texas, North Carolina and Indiana to name a few. She is a special Mema and has been an encouragement to so many during her lifetime.





Mema with her great-grands...always a challenge to get everyone to look AND smile :)

Simon hamming it up at the picnic

Ready to party!

We know how to eat a little bit!

A cute little party-goer

My Little Piece of Heaven...

...is outside on my gravity chair! When bambino goes down for a nap I try to get a few minutes of peace and calm on this amazing recliner! I often can be found fighting my eyelids to stay open while I catch a few rays. Seriously it is the most comfortable chair EVER! If you've never tried one, make sure you have the $ to buy one because you will be hooked!

My Dog Thinks He's Human and My Son Thinks He's Dog

Simon learned very early on that if he dropped food on the floor Bernie would eat it! Simon has a fascination with Bernie which is not reciprocated! However Bernie hasn't complained yet about the extra snacks :)

Today Simon kept getting the graham crackers out of the pantry. That's fine but Simon doesn't want to eat a graham cracker. He wants to feed it to Bernie. So I got out Bernie's dog treats and let Simon feed one of those to him. You'd think that would satisfy both of them. NO! Simon cried and screamed! I sincerely think he wanted to eat Bernie's treat!

Thirty minutes later Simon wondered into the laundry room and closed the door. When I went in to find out what he was doing in there he had something in his mouth! And there in his hand was a Ziploc bag that had been in the trashcan with a few dog treat crumbs. GROSS! He seemed to like it but I finally was able to retrieve it from his mouth! These two are trouble!!

Ocean City Vacation

Well we survived our first beach vacation! I discovered that my relaxing beach vacations will never be the same...they will be even better! Simon loved the beach and the excitement of the boardwalk!

Chris, Simon and I drove down to Ocean City, NJ on a Saturday and stayed through Monday when Chris left to come back home. Meanwhile my mom and my sister (and her 3 munchkins) came down for the rest of the week with Simon and I. The place we stayed was new to us and it worked out pretty well. The place had about 6 steps which Simon mastered the art of "going down" and now can climb up and down our stairs at home with no problem.

The weather was beautiful. We had one day of rain which was fine with me. I needed a break from the (icky) sand and sun for a day! It was quite the workout to get Simon, myself and all of our stuff out to the beach. I can only imagine what people thought as I got a running start from the boardwalk to the beach in order to push a stroller with a baby, 3 bags hanging off the stroller, an umbrella and a chair strapped to my back! It was quite the calf workout in the sand :)

Simon loved being around all of the people at the beach and the energy there. He made a lot of new friends and enjoyed getting to know the water! The seagulls were fascinating in addition to all of the noises of the rides and laughter on the boardwalk. He got to experience some of my favorites of Ocean City - Browns doughnuts, Mack and Manco's pizza and Hobby Horse ice cream! Can't wait to do it all over again!

Father's Day Weekend

The weather was really nice over Father's Day weekend so we took a family trip to the park on Saturday afternoon. Simon rode the swing for awhile and he looked like he could have fallen asleep. The kid has a cold (still) so I'm sure that was part of it but he sat very still and kept his hands tucked down in the swing! We fed a few ducks, Simon went down the sliding board and then we went for ice cream! Simon enjoyed some of mine and dad's. Then we went to a local bookstore where Simon had fun playing with trains while Chris and I picked out a new book for him. We chose a book about ice cream and sharing - seemed appropriate since we had just shared our ice cream with him!!!

As we did the previous year on Father's Day we also hit up the Parade of Homes and toured a few new homes just for fun! It was a great weekend with lots of quality family time. I'm so thankful for my own dad and for the now dad I am married to! Enjoy a few pics of the park below!

First Trip to the Philly Zoo

My sister and her family live in Philadelphia so last week Simon, my mom and I drove down to her place. We first went to Alison's house for bathroom breaks and so we could all go together. Simon was enamored with the guinea pigs that his cousins have!
It was a beautiful day to go to the zoo. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time there because of Simon's nap but we had a lot of fun while we were there! Oh, did I mention my sister's family has season passes to the zoo where they can take visitors?! Yes, so we will be visiting the zoo again this summer!!!

Simon loving the beautiful fountain at the zoo entrance

Me and Simon....did I tell you that his first "official" word is Mom?!

Feeding the lorakeets (sp?) This was really fun!

The Children's Petting Zoo - Simon points a lot. I told him not to eat the blueberries on the ground!

Not too sure about this goat....

Look! There's an animal!

The giraffe's were very interactive while we were there. Such beautiful and unique creatures!

Looking forward to visiting the zoo again this summer!!