The Rules

This is probably one of my favorite videos with Simon.  He likes to review the rules.  Not all of these are rules that we use at home -- some are from day care.  And some are just made up by Simon.  : )  Enjoy!

Singing with Simon

Just two videos from the weekend.  Simon was really into singing and making videos -- which I love!  Can't wait to pull these out when he's a teenager.  : )

Babies!

Late May and early June brought two beautiful new little ones to our family! Our oldest niece Amber and her husband Glenn had our third great niece, Ayla, on May 21. And on June 1, our second oldest niece (and Amber's sister!) Brittany and her husband Zach, had our first great nephew, Bentley. It's so fun to have little ones around. And yes, I fully admit to hogging the babies and not sharing them. : )  So we now have Braylee, Lily, Ayla and Bentley.  And of course, Simon is in the middle of the bunch.  Mark's parents now have 6 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.  We've got no news on our adoption but we keep hoping to add one more to the grandchildren count in the somewhat near future.

Everybody sing! "There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o!"

Handsome Bentley Alexander on the left and sweet Ayla Rose on the right.

Doesn't it look like Ayla is saying, "Bentley!  Enough already!  You're giving me a headache!"

Simon was so tickled to hold his new cousin.

Proud Great-Grandpa!

Bedtime Zoo Stories

Waiting for the program to start.  Don't let that innocent smile fool you!

Lafayette has a great little zoo.  They do some wonderful programs for kids and Simon really enjoys learning about animals.  So tonight, we went to learn about the tortoise.  It's a pretty simple program: read a story about that month's animal, meet the animal and learn a few facts, hear another story and then have milk and cookies.  It's really a lot of fun for the kids.  Between the bedtime stories and Saturday morning Little Cub Club, we're hooked on the Columbian Park Zoo!  

Watching the tortoise eat a strawberry.

Staring contest!

His favorite part -- getting to pet the tortoise.

I know I've been a terrible blogger lately -- I've got lots of photos and stories to catch-up with!  Many changes taking place at Casa de Ailor but I think we're starting to find our groove again.  Stay tuned for more posts in the coming week!

Mother's Day

I had an awesome Mother's Day!  Mark and Simon treated me to breakfast in bed -- breakfast pizza and yummy berries.  Simon thought it was so cool that we got to eat in our bed.  We then spent the morning together, relaxing and a trip to Columbian Park.  What a beautiful day to be at the park!  One of my gifts was a new-to-me camera.  With Mark closing the studio later this month, he gave me one of his cameras.  I had fun playing with it and learning how to use it -- with my favorite subject, of course!  : )

Loves the curly, bumpy slide!

He loves to climb everything!  He has no fear.

Simon loves donuts!

Best powdered donut mustache ever!

Mark also got me another very thoughtful gift -- a watercolor by Jodi Queenan.  I love her artwork and have admired it on Etsy for some time.  She does art related to international adoption.  I'll have to post a photo of the piece he got me -- I love it.  It reminds me of the most wonderful gift we ever received and I feel especially connected to the painting because of our love of Africa and the one who gave us her most precious gift.  I love my boys and I love being a mom -- each and every day.

Sprinkle Cheese

So Simon had a little spaghetti with his sprinkle cheese for dinner tonight ... he was so proud of himself for pouring his own cheese!  He's seeking more independence each day and it's nice to be able to let him try some things on his own ... just wish he wasn't growing up quite so quickly!

Marigolds

About two months ago, our local hands-on museum for kids -- Imagination Station -- reopened.  I took Simon on opening day to see the new exhibits and renovations.  He loved climbing on the fire truck but he also got to plant some marigold seeds.  He talked about his plant off and on over the next month, wanting to go back and see if it had grown.  So two Saturdays ago, we had an opportunity to return to Imagination Station and pick-up his marigold.  Since then, we have been nurturing it along on our kitchen window sill.  And I finally remembered to get some soil over the weekend so we could plant it in a larger pot.  So tonight, we planted Simon's marigold, along with two packets of additional marigold seeds.  I think Simon's favorite part was watering.

There is literally a whole package of seeds in each of two pots.  Not sure how well they will grow being so crowded in a pot -- time will tell!  My hunch is that Simon will expect to see full grown flowers the next day. But until they do grow, they will be some of the best watered plants around!