Feeling Helpless

News stories like this and this leave me feeling helpless. And it's so much more personal now. And I want to help and I want to make a difference but I don't know how. The sentence from the headline, "he died peacefully from hunger" haunts me ... I can't stop thinking about it. It's overwhelming to think about and if I feel that way, how must the situation feel to those who are living it? What can I/we do?

First Swimming Lesson

Simon started swimming lessons tonight. We signed him up for eight lessons at a local pool. He has no fear of the water whatsoever so we thought it would be good to help him learn some skills to go with his fearless attitude. We have been talking about it quite a bit and encouraging him to listen to the teacher. He did ok in that department, but not great. We'll keep working on it. There are only 2 two year olds and the other little boy isn't as fearless as Simon. The teacher had to stay on her toes because as soon as she turned her attention to the other little boy, Simon was going underwater, running and splashing. I think Miss Sadie earned her money tonight!

Here we go! All ready for his first swimming lesson. I just have to chuckle because these are the same swim trunks from last summer -- size 12 months -- and they fit perfectly on our skinny, tiny butt boy. : ) At least they are above his knees this year!

Working on floating with Miss Sadie

"You want me to do what?"

Overall, Simon did really well and I'm excited to see what kind of progress he'll make in the next few weeks. The other up side is that we eat dinner later due to the timing of the lessons and he ate really well tonight! He also fell asleep very fast. Gotta love that!

Punk Rock Girl

Mark doesn't sing the most 'traditional' children's songs with Simon ... but Simon doesn't seem to mind!

Fourth of July Weekend

We started the weekend with our weekly trip to the Lafayette Farmer's Market. Simon and I like to share a scone. It's become a fun part of our week. Simon likes to see his friends like our neighbor Morris.


We went to the historic 9th Street Hill's Box Parade for children. Kinda mass chaos but fun to see the creative boxes that the kids had. Simon liked the fife and drum band. We had a good time visiting with my friend Jill and her daughter Elizabeth.

We also went swimming this weekend at a little neighborhood pool. We thought it would be really crowded but it wasn't bad at all -- even with the 100 degree weather! Simon did great in the water. He starts swimming lessons this week.

Mark got a few fireworks to do at our house, just to see if Simon liked them. Let's just say he barely tolerated the sparkelers and hid behind me for the spinners, etc. I really wanted to take him to see the fireworks tonight but he doesn't seem ready for it.

We also made a trip to campus so Simon could run in the fountain by my building. He has been talking about it all summer and when we got there, he was too intimidated. Granted, it is pretty loud when you're standing right next to it! He did have a little bit of fun once he realized that he could basically run under the water without getting too wet.

We wanted to have a 'picnic' lunch at Dog and Suds but they were closed today -- boo! So we settled for Sonic. Simon loved eating outside ... and sharing his french fries with the birds. I loved that he wanted to sit with me!

Tonight, we had a picnic at our friends, the Mroczek's. The kids probably enjoyed the brownies and ice cream for dessert the best. They play so well together and had a blast running in and out of the pool.

And this photo just cracks me up ... Simon all kicked back and enjoying the picnic while sipping his milk in a cow cup.

It was nice to not have to leave town this weekend! Mark got several projects done around the house and we made some fun memories as a family. Hard to believe the 3 day weekend is over!

A First

We've been wondering when this would happen. And today it did. Simon talked about his skin being brown. It wasn't in a comparative way, just a statement -- "Hey, my arms are brown" and then he went back to telling us his belly is happy after eating pizza. We just said, yes, people who are born in Africa have brown skin. Mark asked him where he was born in Africa and he said, "E-pe-e-pe-ah." (That would be Ethiopia!) And that was the end of the discussion.

Just wanted to record this for my memory. We've been trying to introduce more books about adoption but he's not fond of the ones we have. So if you've got a good book recommendation I would love to hear from you!

Simon Says

This post is probably more for me than anybody as a way to remember some of the funny things that Simon is saying lately. We are starting to realize how much of ourselves is being reflected back to us through Simon. Scary!

"Daddy, do you understand me?"

"That sounds great!"

Mark isn't feeling well today and in response, Simon put his hand on his forehead and declared, "I don't feel good either. I have a headache."

"Good job, Mommy!" after helping him get dressed.

(Burp) "Excuse me. Hey, I used my manners!"

I hit a deer with our new car last weekend. Thankfully, Simon slept through the whole ordeal of the actual accident and then waiting for the police to arrive. And we were all fine, too. But the next morning when he saw the car he asked, "Hey, what happened to new car?" And Mark just said, "Mommy wrecked it." Simon said, "Mommy, you go to time out!"

Of course I can't think of all the things I wanted to record when I finally have a chance to do it! Oh well. This is a start.

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Growing Up

I knew this would happen. Simon is growing up too fast. It seems like each morning he has grown another inch and his vocabulary has increased by 20 words overnight. And while I'm thrilled for how he is developing and growing, I don't like how quickly this all seems to be happening. I don't like it one bit. I kinda want to freeze time and keep him this age because he's so funny! And he still likes to snuggle and give and receive kisses. He still fits well on my lap to read books ... but now he's starting to read the books to me. Sigh. I am using the word 'read' rather loosely but he can turn the pages and tell you what is happening on each page. Blows me away.

He is also becoming quite independent. He is almost potty-trained. He likes to dress and undress himself most of the time now. Simon also likes to choose his own clothing and pajamas each day. Here is a recent example:

He didn't actually wear the socks to school but he thought his outfit was just great! What you can't really see in the photo is that the socks have dinosaurs on the sides and they are tan, lime green and orange. He loves wearing is "flip flops" so it was kind of surprising that he wanted to wear socks with them. The biggest dressing dilemma lately, however, is whether to wear Cars or Thomas the Train underwear. : )

Simon has also become a master on the swing. This boy LOVES to swing! On Sunday alone, he was on the swing for an hour without stopping. Mark has already had to move the chains up a notch so that his feet don't hit the ground. He likes you to push him "big high" and he will talk your ear off about everything under the sun while you push him. It is a fun way to hear what he did during the day and what's on his mind.

We've also noticed a lot more expressions (see the eyes rolling below), character play and a variety of deep and high voices from Simon. He is very good at directing us how to play with him and pretending to play different things. It's so fun to hear the little scenarios and role plays that he shares with us. He is also very into mimmicking life, like telling us it's time to get ready for bed and then reciting the bed time routine that we need to follow as we play.

Another funny little quirk about Simon is that he likes to recite his routine. For example, as I am getting him ready for bed he'll say, "First I read stories then Daddy rock you. I go to bed. The sun comes up. I go to Mommy and Daddy's room. I get in bed. I get dressed. I brush my teeth. I go to school. I play. I take a nap. Mommy, Daddy come get you. I go home. I eat dinner. I go on my swing. I watch cartoons." This boy loves having a routine and doesn't forget a thing!

We took Simon with us to the Farmer's Market last week to pick up our harvest basket. He loves exploring the market. Last week, we let him have a little treat -- popcorn. Doesn't he look so grown up sitting there and eating his popcorn?

We are doing our best to savor each moment with Simon. He is rounding the corner to turning 3 and is already talking about his birthday! But I am going to treasure each moment of him being 2 as long as I can.