My Biker Boys

Before you look at the photo, allow me to share a little background information ...

When Mark and I first started dating and I made my first visit to Lafayette, Mark wanted to take me on a motorcycle ride. I was very nervous, held on tightly as we drove around his neighborhood and just said, "I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok" over and over again. I don't go for rides with him very often but I've gotten used to it and kind of enjoy it! Also, on that first trip to Lafayette, Mark wanted me to meet his dog and to try sushi. We still have the motorcycle and I've learned to loved sushi but the dog is no longer with us. Dillan and I just couldn't learn to live together so Mark found a new home for him -- this still makes me sad.

Anyway, after this visit, I sent Mark a card with a photo of a man on a Vespa with a little dog (Dillan was a Yorkie) sitting on the back of the Vespa. Then Mark copied this photo to send me a card with him and Dillan on his motorcycle. When we got engaged, Mark gave me a photo of him leaning up against a wall with his motorcycle and made it look like he had spray painted, "Wendi, will you marry me?" onto the wall. Are you seeing the history here? Then for our wedding, I had a friend take a photo of me in my jean jacket on Mark's motorcycle. Actually, it turned into a series of photos because it was pretty comical to see me trying to manuever Mark's bike in and out of the garage.

So for my first Mother's Day, Mark had the idea to add little Simon to the biker photo series. Simon loves, loves, loves, to sit on the bike with one of us holding him. He loves to take Mark's helmet and put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off, etc. So here is the front of my Mother's Day card -- I love it! So cute. And Simon certainly seems to have the serious look of a biker, doesn't he? I love my biker boys!!

Simon Dancing

I put this video up on Facebook, but I thought we should put it here also. Since we first met Simon he has LOVED to dance. Even driving through Ethiopia, everytime we passed a car with music playing, he would put his hands above his head and start dancing. This little video clip just makes me laugh. I hope you enjoy it.

The Haircut

I took Simon for a haircut this afternoon. I know that it wasn't his first haircut but it was my first experience at taking my son for a haircut and I wanted it to be fun. Especially because I didn't know how he would respond. I got kind of emotional about it! But lots of things make me cry lately, especially those related to Simon. He was awesome! No fussing, no squirming, no whining, no crying. He was cool as a cucumber. Yay! He loved the little car and watched the kid's music video on the tv. He hasn't seen much tv at home so I think that might have helped to distract him. I couldn't have been more proud of Simon! And his haircut looks so cute. I doubt that we will go to this particular place for every haircut but it was a fun 'first' for me and Simon today.

I like this next photo especially because it looks like he's telling her to "take a little more off the sides, ok?" Too funny!

All done! Now, if I could just figure out how to get him off the car ... he loved driving the car and didn't want to leave!

Handsome, aren't I?

My First Mother's Day and the Week in Review

What a GREAT first Mother's Day! I always wondered what it would feel like to be a Mom and now I know -- awesome!! Simon wakes up with a smile on his face each morning and I love it. Mark made me breakfast and brought it to me in bed this morning -- what a treat! Simon slept through most of my breakfast so he had his french toast later -- it was delicious. I felt very pampered and was even treated to a pedicure earlier in the week. I love, love, love spending time with Simon and watching him as he learns something new every day -- sometimes every hour! He is so smart and we feel like he's on the verge of saying more words. He is learning about one new sign language 'word' a day and amazes us with how much he understands from us and communicates to us. Such an intelligent little boy and we love him so much!!

We spent most of the day with Mark's family. Mark's sister Jennifer hosted this gathering and we had homemade pizza -- yummy. A favorite for all of us. The photo below shows another first for Simon -- his first cupcake (that we know of.) He LOVED it! Especially the icing, if you can't tell. He devoured it and signed for "more, please."

After hanging out at Jennifer's, we stopped by Mark's parent's house to visit with some of their friends. Simon was his charming self and was freely giving 'pucker kisses' today -- even Papaw got a pucker kiss. Look at those cheeks all puckered up!

Simon found the little chairs at Mamaw's house so they had a seat together. Mamaw was very glad that Simon finally warmed up to her and they had fun playing together.

Earlier in the week, Mark completed one of the many yard projects we hope to do this summer. He put in a small flower bed around the Peace Pole that he made for me. The Peace Pole says, "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in four languages: English, German, Amharic and Sanskrit. Simon helped to plant the flowers and to water them. He also learned to smell the flowers -- our way of keeping him interested in the flowers without touching them (aka, pulling them out of the ground!)

I don't know how many of you know that my bachelor's degree is in elementary education so I was excited to do some artwork with Simon this week. First project: fingerpainting. He loved it! And I have about 14 pieces of art to prove it. This was his first piece -- notice his body is paint free. At the end of our painting, he was covered from head to diaper and I had to give him a bath to get all the paint off of him!

He loves pasta of all kinds, especially ravioli. And, he likes to feed himself, as evidenced here:

One of my friends and fellow adoptive Mom's at Purdue made Simon an awesome nap mat and this doll. He is fascinated by the doll -- especially when I make the doll take a drink from his sippy cup, eat a cheerio, etc. It's so funny to watch Simon's face! He even talks to the doll and I love it. His imagination is starting to show and we love his sense of humor. I love this photo and how serious he is with the doll. Thank you, Amy!! We love and appreciate the gifts!

And finally, we ended the week with having Chris, Brian and Sean over for dinner on Saturday night. Sean is almost 5 and instantly became friends with Simon. Simon gave Sean a hug without anyone's prompting -- it was so cute! And Sean was teaching Simon how to have good manners at the dinner table, much to his parent's surprise! After dinner, we went to the first Mosey Down Main Street of the season. It was very cold outside but we enjoyed watching the boys dance to the music -- they both love music and we loved watching them dance.

So there it is! My first Mother's Day come and gone along with another fun week of being home with Simon. I think I've done pretty well at keeping my emotions in check today. I've waited so long to become a Mom and I hope that I can be the kind of Mom that Simon needs. I hope that I appreciate him enough, teach him the right things, and show my love for him to him daily. He has turned my world upside down and at times, I feel like my heart is going to burst because I love him so very much. Mark is an outstanding father and parenting with him by my side is such a privilege. He's so great at being a Dad! I spent some time this evening writing things down in Simon's adoption journey book -- I'm already afraid that I'm going to forget some things! I also spent some time thinking about Simon's birthmother and hoping that we can honor her in how we raise Simon. He is the greatest gift either of us has ever or will ever receive and we love him very deeply. I am so very, very thankful that I have the opportunity to be a Mom!

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Simon has a special message for his Papaw Ailor ... (and yes, Daddy had to help Simon stand still long enough to take a photo!)


Looks like Simon is worn out from celebrating Papaw's birthday ... or it could be that he had just woken up from a long nap.

Happy Birthday, Papaw! I can't wait to see you again on Sunday so that I can wear your hat, push the buttons on your scooter and give you lots of high 5's, hugs and kisses. Love you!

Fun with Friends

We were so excited to have some friends over for dinner tonight. If you want to see a few of the fun photos that our friend Jenny was able to take in the midst of the craziness of 4 boys running around, visit her blog here. You'll see a two great pictures of Simon and Ashenafi. They are 10 days apart in age but Ashenafi is nearly a head taller than Simon. We are hoping that maybe Simon's hair will curl like Ashenafi's! So fun to see these four guys -- Harry, Xander, Ashenafi and Simon -- together and we can't wait until Xander's sister Ayla is home to join them. We're kind of hoping that she may have a calming influence on these boys! Ha!

It was a great evening with some great friends and a great way to end the weekend.

Simon Goes to the Zoo

On Friday afternoon, Mark and I took Simon to the Indianapolis Zoo. We have had some hints from him that he enjoys animals and thought that this would be a fun family outing for us. The zoo was a good first outing for us because we went to the Indy Zoo on Sept. 22, 2008 -- the day we started our adoption process and Mark's birthday. Little did we know at that time that Simon Kebebe would be born three days later in Ethiopia.

Here are some photos of our day together. Check out Simon's stylin' ride -- thank you to Aunt Heidi and Uncle Thinh for passing on Brandon, Andrew and Mason's wagon. This wagon has many miles on it!

Simon watched this elephant for quite a while! He didn't have much to say to the elephant. What I don't have photos of that he really enjoyed were the dolphins and meerkats (sp?) The Indy Zoo has a really cool domed walk-out in the dolphin tank where you are surrounded by water. You can watch the dolphins swim all around you. Simon LOVED it! He was shrieking so loudly we thought the glass dome would shatter. Other zoo guests were laughing at him -- he was in his glory trying to find the dolphins swimming in the water and when he did, oh the screaming that commenced!

We have two photos of giraffes from the Indy Zoo hanging in Simon's room. Mark took the photos during our trip to the zoo in Sept. 2008. Simon talks to the photos all the time. He really liked looking at the giraffes and wasn't intimidated when Mark and he went to feed them.

Another favorite was watching the seals, sea lions and walruses swimming. Notice the cup of cheerios in hand. What would we do without them?

Now this was one activity Simon wasn't too keen on -- petting the dog sharks. It's a really cool exhibit where you can actually pet the sharks and the sharks seem to like it! Simon gave one shark a quick touch but that was enough for him.

And yes, once in a while, Mom gets to hold Simon too and here is proof. When it's just me and Simon, we are best buddies. But if Dad is around, well, Mom isn't even allowed to pull the wagon! It is all Dad, all the time. We spent the day together today and I got lots of kisses and hugs. He is such a joy!!

We ended our day in Indianapolis with a trip the Ethiopian restaurant, Abyssinia. Simon chowed down! The wife of the owner brought him his own plate of yellow lentils and injera. He amazed us again with his ability to tear off a piece of injera and used it to pick up his lentils. When it comes to Ethiopian food, the boy can eat! He chatted up the restaurant staff and made a good impression as a restaurant guest. In fact, his bib was clean -- the only food that he doesn't waste on his bib!


We had a really fun day together as a family and look forward to many more trips to our favorite spots in Indianapolis with Simon!