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!!!