The Tent

These photos are for my friend and Purdue co-worker, Teresa. She gave this tent to Simon as a gift. We just got it out for him on Friday night and he LOVES it! We've been kind of 'rationing' his toys so that we don't overwhelm him with too many things and so that he'll have new things to play with throughout my time at home with him. He likes to go to the open window and pretend that he's going to kiss us and then giggles, denying us a kiss and then turns to the mesh covered window to kiss us. He thinks it is hilarious and we think that his giggle is hysterical! Who knew we'd have so much fun with the tent. Thank you, Teresa!

And yes, even the big kids in the house think that the tent is super cool!!!

Road Trip to Pennsylvania

Last weekend, Mark and I took Simon on his first driving road trip to Pennsylvania to meet our family and friends there. We had been able to visit with my Mom, Dad and Aunt Barbie on our way home from Ethiopia thanks to a long layover at Dulles airport. But many others were anxious to meet Simon so off we went. He was an awesome traveler! He did great on the long drive. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and had just a few hours before heading off to a shower in honor of Simon.

My Mom and sister Heidi hosted a fun shower for us with many family and friends. We had dinner together and then Simon was showered with more toys and gifts than any little boy could dream of. He especially liked eating this delicious cake ... isn't it adorable!?!?


Our oldest nephew Brandon wanted to stay and help at the shower. He is officially Simon's first babysitter. I gave him $5 for being such a good helper with Simon and all of the presents.

Simon and his cousins Mason, Brandon and Andrew got along super! I was especially excited for all of the boys to be together. Andrew kept saying, "he's so cute" and all three boys were great with Simon. A dream come true for me to have all four boys together!

And here is Simon with his Aunt Heidi and Uncle Thinh. They loved playing with Simon but both agreed that they were glad to be out of the diaper stage of children!

Simon and his Mimi got along well too. Mimi just wanted to cuddle and hold Simon and thankfully, he did slow down a few times so Mimi could do just that. I think that he's even making some expressions and laughing a bit like my Mom since we've been home -- pretty funny!

And here's Simon with his Papa. My Dad gave Simon his first fishing pole and he loves to carry it around, even though it's still in the packaging! They became fast friends and had fun playing together. Simon and Papa both even eat the same kind of oatmeal each morning.

And I was especially glad that Simon got to meet his Great Grandma, or as we call her, Grandma Grandma. That's not a typo -- my sister's boys started calling her this years ago and it's stuck. Simon gave her pucker kisses and had fun playing with Grandma Grandma's electric recliner -- he gave her quite a ride up and down! Grandma has made two beautiful sweaters for Simon and we are so glad that these two became fast friends.

And I couldn't resist this photo. Simon did great in the van. Even on Wednesday when he was in the van for nearly 12 hours -- he got a little bit whiney but never had a meltdown. We stopped at a Panera for lunch ... can you tell that he likes their macaroni and cheese?

It was a fun trip that went by too quickly! But we're so glad that Simon got to meet more of the many people who love him so dearly. We hope that maybe some of them will come to visit us soon!

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!