More Firsts for Simon

As I am planning to go back to work on June 7, we have been trying to prepare Simon for daycare and the changes that will come with our new schedule. Up until now, he has always been with either me or Mark all the time. We haven't left him with anyone else. But we wanted him to know that even when we both leave, we will return. So we called on our friend and uber-experienced babysitter Ashley to stay with Simon for about an hour this evening. He did GREAT! We said good-bye to him and he didn't even fuss. He was already snuggled up with Ashley to read a book. They got along great and had a fun time. We were so pleased! And he was excited to see us when we returned, which is good. It feels like we have built a healthy attachment and that he trusts us. I hope this is true! It really feels that way. He will be going to day care just half days for the first week and we're going to visit there next week. Here's a photo of Simon and Ashley reading his favorite book.


While Ashley was watching Simon, we went and bought him a toddler bed. He has been sleeping with us since our time in Ethiopia. Simon had some night terrors there and for the most part, they have subsided. However, he is a noisy, active sleeper! Mark and I haven't slept well since Simon has been with us. He talks in his sleep, flails his arms and legs, and moves around quite a bit. He's even been known to giggle in his sleep! While it's cute at times, it's not very restful for us. We didn't intend to have Simon sleep with us but it seemed to be what he needed to help with his transition. Instead of putting him in the crib in his room, we are going to start with the toddler bed in our room and then move the bed to his room. He had been accustomed to sleeping in a toddler bed so we're hoping that this will help. The few times we've had him nap in his crib, he hasn't liked it at all. We're hoping that the toddler bed will feel more familiar to him. He sure had fun investigating it after Mark put it together!

Wish us luck! We're hoping for more restful nights that don't include feet in our faces!

Paver Project

Mark spent Sunday and Monday working on this project for the house. He removed the ratty old bush from in front of the dining room window and gave us, essentially, a front porch by installing pavers! We love it. He did an excellent job! We have since added a plant stand and flowers. Unfortunately, Sunday and Monday were the two hottest days we've had so far this spring but he worked hard at it and got the project done. Slowly but surely, we are making our house our own. Next up: painting the brick and the front of the house!

Swimming Pool or Stand next to the Pool and Splash

Mark set-up Simon's pool on Monday -- it's been such a warm week here! Perfect for a wading pool. But Simon wanted nothing to do with being in the pool. Instead, he prefers to work his way around the outside of the pool and just has a ton of fun splashing. He loves it when we splash him and thinks it's hysterical to splash us back. We had a lot of fun playing around the pool.

Simon thought it was great when I wrapped him in his towel after he was done. "Baby" is another word he's been trying to say and he giggled when I called him my burrito baby in his towel. Such a cutie!

Simon's Sunday

Yes, I've been a blogging fool tonight! Keep scrolling down for more updates about the little man who has stolen our hearts. I couldn't resist sharing a few photos from Simon's Sunday afternoon. Mark spent the afternoon outside working on a home improvment project -- more on that later this week. Simon was content to play with his tricycles, bubbles, the broom, etc. but it was a warm day. We didn't have the equipment to blow up his little pool so I got out a container and filled it with water for him. We also set-up a little sprinkler but I think that the water was too cold for him. But he loved the bucket of water! It's amazing that his diaper didn't just sag right off of him! It was a funny sight to see.

The little pool is now inflated and ready for the warm week ahead! I'm sure we'll have more photos to post later this week.

A Visit from the Ponsler Family

Chris and Sarah Ponsler came for a visit on Saturday with their two beautiful children, Tegegn and Mackenzie. Tegegn was the first child we saw come home from Ethiopia and he has a special place in our hearts -- and THE BEST smile! And Mackenzie is Tegegn's new little sister, born just a few days after we returned from Ethiopia with Simon. They came to the airport to welcome us home and we have appreciated their support and friendship so very much!

It was a warm day on Saturday so we just hung out in the living room and played a lot of cars, trucks and 'catch you.' After supper, we went outside to enjoy the gorgeous evening. Simon got out his tricycles and did a good job of sharing.

It was adorable to see Tegegn take Simon for a ride! He is about 9 months older than Simon.

Then we decided to go for a walk to see the ducks. I think my favorite part of the evening was hearing Tegegn tell Mark to go "faster! faster!"

The coolest thing .... we were standing at the far pond looking at the ducks when the Blue Heron flew in close to us. It was as if he wanted some of the bread we had for the ducks! We refer to him as "Blue Harry" and love to see him frequenting the ponds.

And here is the first group of ducklings we've seen so far this spring. I think that I counted 10 little ducklings. The boys loved them!

And finally, the only photo that I have of Mackenzie is this one -- sorry Mackenzie! But I know that she's in her seat enjoying a stroll up and down the driveway. Simon thought that Sarah was very cool and loved riding in their stroller. We look forward to many more visits with the Ponslers!

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!