Untitled
Crayon on plaster
Simon Morehead, 2009

So this morning I discovered that Simon had begun to install an uncommissioned mural. As precious as the artist is, the piece was just not what we had in mind for the dining room (thank goodness for magic erasers).

Simon was more than happy to demonstrate his technique for the camera.

He did not, however, appreciate being given an alternative canvas . . .

and banged his head in protest, claiming that Mama was trying to restrain his creative spirit.

This week Simon and I have ventured a bit farther than Cooper Park. Wednesday we spent part of the morning at the Pioneers Park Nature Center. I set him down and, with minimal steering/nudging, let him wander where he may.

We spent most of our time inspecting woodchips . . .

and, of course, digging, which is Simon’s current fave activity.

This morning we dropped Daddy at work and headed to the Sunken Gardens. Most of the flowers have just been planted, but we still had fun watching the fishies.

Simon stopped for a cracker.

And he struck a classic senior-picture pose for the camera.

(And I think May should be a lesson to me not to make any grand announcements about how much I plan to blog. Boo.)

Simon got me some beautiful flowers for Mother’s Day (he claims that Daddy helped, but sometimes he’s just too modest). I, of course, tried to set up the perfect photo op—toddler on a table, what could go wrong? No one was hurt, but shortly after this photo was taken, Daddy had to rearrange the flowers. Let’s just leave it at that.

Tonight we made probably the most surreal purchase that we’ve made as parents so far—a potty chair for Simon. I say “surreal” because I really can’t believe that Simon is old enough to need a potty chair. Well, okay, he’s not old enough to need one, but our pedi suggested that it’s not too early to start getting him used to the idea, and we as dutiful first-time parents trotted off to Super Target at our first opportunity.

I have to admit that I had high hopes. Simon lately has been obsessed with sitting—he’ll back up to anything chairlike and try to sit down (bottom steps are just his size). So I naively thought that, given his newfound interest in sitting and, you know, since he’s such a brilliant kid, he would be a whiz with the whole process (pun totally intended) and that maybe, just maybe, he would get it the very first time. I feel silly admitting that I was actually a little surprised that he didn’t—not in retrospect, mind you, but I guess I’m kind of a crazy optimist at heart. He did enjoy putting his toys in the little bowl and climbing in himself, so, well, that’s how it went.

We also bought the third season of How I Met Your Mother, a show that we have been enjoying in large quantities for the last several weeks. And sippy cups.

Just a quick post to tide us all over today. I am planning to blog more; I’m sick of not blogging, actually. So my plan is to blog weekdays in May (well, with the exception of last Friday, which was May 1—birthday of our beloved Brook and May Day—because it is already gone, gone, gone).

We’ve been enjoying the Tredways’ new pup, Shiloh. It has been so much fun to see Livia get to be a Pet Owner (overheard: “Wait here, Shiloh, your pet owner will be gone for a few minutes. I’m going to get a drink"). We often joke (well, we’re serious, though) that having Liv next door was what allowed Jason to warm up to the idea of parenthood. Now I’m betting that Shiloh will do the same for me with dog ownership (it’ll probably be a few years before we get our own, though). In the meantime, Simon is loving having a new little pal next door.

Simon continually outdoes himself for best. bedhead. ever. This was yesterday’s post-nap ‘do.

It has been a long night. We thought we were on the upside of jet lag (last night Simon actually went to sleep at his regular time of 8:30 and slept until 8 am), but tonight has been a doozy. We’ve been trying to get the little booger to fall asleep since 8:30. He just won’t give in. I came to the end of my patience about 20 minutes ago (11 pm), so Jason tried his hand at it. It’s really quiet upstairs now, and I honestly don’t know who gave up—Simon or Jason.

So to counteract my frustration, I am posting some of the really cute things Simon has been doing (fighting sleep for 3 hours, not so cute, but I digress).

-- If you say, “Where’s Simon?” he will stop and lay down on the ground, face down (like he’s hiding). He thinks it’s funny too.
-- He has taken to saying, “Uh oh” before he drops something (or sometimes “Uh” then the drop then “oh"). It’s hard to feel too sorry for him when he loses his stuff this way.
-- We have recently been singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and when he wants to hear it, he’ll do the “washed the spider out” part.
-- He has learned how to get past the barricade we put up in front of the stairs; the other day when I caught him on the landing, he was proud as a peacock.

And my absolute heart-bursting favorite:

-- “Please give Mama a kiss,” is often met with compliance.

I realize that I need to try to catch these things on video, as they are difficult to translate. But I know what I’m talking about, and now I feel a little better.

We are safe, sound, and only a little worse for wear after an amazingly smooth plane trip. Simon was a great little traveler, and he made plenty of friends on the plane. As a family we seem to be weathering the jet lag pretty well—I’m actually enjoying our middle-of-the-night/predawn family times quite a lot. We have been taking it easy and have been so blessed to spend quiet days with our dear friends the O’Donnells. We are having an incredible time.

We’ve been uploading photos to Flickr as we go (and we’ll try to keep up).

Making lots and lots of lists—packing lists, to-do lists, to-buy lists.
Gathering goods from friends and family and U.S. merchants.
Researching carry-on guidelines, luggage limits, fees, etc.; places to go and things to do in Japan; exchange rates; cultural faux pas; tips for traveling with kiddos.
Running errands, all kinds of errands (I actually love running errands).
Wondering if we’ll have timed it right to see the cherry blossoms.
Getting a haircut—finally, finally. I am not exaggerating when I say it has been at least 8 or 9 months.
Counting down—6 days till we leave, 2 days until Jason is off work.
Packing. Well, thinking about packing anyway.

So, we’re taking this little trip to Japan, and I have a feeling that we’re going to have a decent amount of reading time, since the little pumpkin likely won’t want to be out all night dancing. I’m currently reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I’m enjoying it so much that I’ll probably be done with it before we go. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m guessing it might be a three-book vacation (one or two might be more realistic, but better safe than sorry).

Well, I haven’t been blogging, even though I said I would. Sigh. I have to admit that I’m feeling rather stuck about it—I do want to have written those entries; I just don’t want to write them.

I have, however, been cleaning. Inspired first by Liz’s post, then by Rebecca’s, I’ve been on a bit of a clutter-reduction bender. Right now the house is in the worse-before-it-gets-better stage, and I’m feeling rather overwhelmed about it. Making it all the more troubling is that I realize that I keep cleaning to avoid the even more overwhelming tasks of (a) finishing a proofreading project and (b) preparing for our trip to Japan. Oh dear.

Meanwhile, Simon has a cold (and an ear infection) and has been going through Kleenex like it’s going out of style:

The blog has been neglected lately. Poor blog.

Coming soon (this week if it kills me): parts 3 and 4 of the This Time Last Year series (Simon’s birth story and NICU story), Simon’s 12-month letter, pics of the birthday bash, pics of this weekend (wherein Simon rode a horse). You read it on the Internet. It must be true.

A very happy birthday to both of my guys (Simon on Friday, Jason today). I do love you so.

You can find some pics of Simon’s birthday celebration (aka the Birthday Cake Massacre of 2009) here. Festivities for Jason have not been quite as colorful this year, so no pictures. Sorry.