Monthly Update

Simon is so well spoken that you can have a full conversation with him.  There are only a few "baby" words left.  As nice as it is to see him grow up, it is a little sad when the baby words go away.  He still says "Ochans" for orange and "Yeyow" for yellow.

Sometimes when I put him in his crib, he says "You put me in a fence".  It is so funny because if you think about it, it is sort of true.

He also has added a step to the bedtime routine.  Once I am done singing Baby Beluga and I lay him down in the crib, he gets back up and says "Kiss" and he gets one more kiss.  Then, he lays back down and goes to sleep.  It is so sweet.

He likes to ask about our favorite things too.  He often asks me what my favorite color is.  He knows that mine is purple so before I get a chance to answer, he says purple.  Then he will ask other people what their favorite color is and he usually tells them what it should be.  And when you ask him what his favorite color is, he always says green.  He does the same thing with animals.  He asks me what my favorite animal is and always tells me what it should be.  Then if you ask him what his favorite animal is, he usually has a different answer.  Sometimes it is "Rhinososos", sometimes elephant and lately it is a T-Rex.

He is obsessed with a new toy that he got a few weeks ago.  It is basically a crank machine that turns playdoh into little rocks.  He calls it his construction site and he ends up with 7 or 8 trucks on the counter pushing around the rocks.  He says he builds houses and asked me to make a foundation the other day.  I do not know where he comes up with this stuff!

Chatting in the car

The other day, Simon and I were driving in the car. We went over a very bumpy area and here is the conversation that followed:
Simon: Oh, no! What's going on?
Mommy: It's just a little bumpy
Simon: The tires are broken. I need to fix them. I need a tool box to fix them
Mommy: Okay, honey
Simon: We need a new car
Mommy: What kind of car should we get
Simon: A green one

This boy is so funny and cute!

Monthly Update

We had a very eventful month and it flew by!  Simon talks all the time and says really funny stuff.  It is so interesting as a parent when you hear your child say something in your voice.  He often says "This is crazy" or "What's happening?"  (I think those can be attributed to me).
He will also walk into a room and announce, "It's me, Simon".  The other day he told Russell he had a pineapple in his pants (twice).  He definitely understands when he is being funny and really hams it up.


Popo came to visit and brought Simon a fun farm set.  It was a big hit!

We got to celebrate cousin Will's 13th birthday.  I can't believe he is a teenager!  Time really does fly.

We went to Blake Morton's 3rd birthday party.  It was super hero themed and Simon was excited to have a reason to wear the cape Grandma Lin made for him

Super Simon in Action

Very excited about the Spiderman Cupcakes

We also went to visit our family in Colorado, but that will have to be a separate post because we took about a million pictures.

Halloween was so much fun this year.  We went to the Lincoln Square celebration with the Tyrell's.  These boys are just too cute together!

Simon the elephant and Conor the King penguin

 On Halloween, Simon decided to wear a Lion costume instead of the elephant.  Both were equally adorable!  He loved handing out candy to kids in the neighborhood.

Handing out candy to a fellow Lion

Say Cheese!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit!

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Grandma Lin and Grandpa Joe a few weeks ago.  It is such a far trip from Hawaii.  We know how hard it is for them both to leave their businesses and we appreciate it so much!
On top of their visits, Simon still knows them very well from Skype.  A few weeks before they came, the door on our armoire broke.  I mentioned off-hand that maybe Grandpa could fix it.  Needless to say, Simon did not forget that and he had a whole list of things that Grandpa could fix.  We put him to work on his vacation and we are so thankful for it.
Before they arrived, Grandma and Grandpa sent a huge package for Simon.  We hid to box until they got here because we knew it would be too tempting.  When they arrived, Simon was so excited to open it.  It is a custom made barn by Grandpa Joe.  The craftsmanship is really unbelievable.  The doors open and the windows are actual plexi-glass.  It is labeled "Knight Farms" and there is a special plaque which reads "Made by Grandpa Joe 2012".  Also, Grandma has been busy collecting animals to go inside the barn (in actual pens too!)  There are horses, pigs, sheep, a farmer and his wife and a child plus many more.  Simon's favorite seems to be the black and white cat because it looks like Zoe.  It is such a special gift and we will treasure it always!

Playing soccer with Grandma Lin

Drawing "choo choos" with Grandpa Joe

They even got to see his gymnastics class.  He loves that trampoline

We love you Grandma Lin and Grandpa Joe and are so thankful for everything you do for us!

Monthly Update

Dear Simon,
You just get more sweet, cute, funny, cuddly, loving and grown up every day.  Some of your favorite phrases include, "What's going on?" "What happened?" "Can we go to the park?" "I need to buy some" (whatever item of food you think we need at that moment). "Can we go to the beach?" "The beach is closed" 

You speak in complete sentences these days and it is still surprising to me that we have complete conversations even though it has been happening for some time.
You are obsessed with the leaves falling off the trees.  You often say "The leaves fall of the trees in fall.  Then comes Santa in the winter"

It is becoming more difficult to summarize your favorite phrases because you talk ALL DAY LONG!  Everyone who meets you remarks on how advanced your speech is.  I may be biased, but I think you are the smartest and most handsome boy in the world!

Love,

Mommy

At the Open Streets Festival on State St.

These giant blocks were a real hit!

Joyeux Anniversaire Nonna!

We celebrated Nonna's birthday twice this year.  Once at home with cousin Will and another with dinner at Millenium Park.  We are so lucky to have Nonna in our lives.  She is an unbelievable source of love, help and support to our family.  

Simon loves to look at himself in the bean

He could have run around all day

Love in LA

Simon and I went to California in August to visit Auntie Gaga (Gabrielle) and Dayday (David) and little Buster.  He is such a great traveler and actually loves to go on airplanes.  Of course he does love anything with wheels or wings or tracks.  Basically anything that "goes".  We had an amazing few days and had a lot of fun California adventures.  We love our Los Angeles family and can not wait to see them again soon!

Fun with Mommy in Pasadena

Simon was very concerned that this statue was missing shoes

Fun times swimming in the pool with Auntie Gaga and Dayday (David)

Riding a pony at Griffith Park

On the train with Auntie Gaga at Griffith Park

I love my Auntie!

He could have watched out these windows all day

Big boy gets his own seat on the airplane now that he is 2!

Pizza Pizza!

Simon is still not a great eater, but he has very recently become a huge fan of pizza.  Here he is at lunch today enjoying some.

Here are a few quotes from today's lunch: "WOW!  Look at this this pizza!"  "Nummy Pizza" "I like pizza" "More Pizza"

Fun with Friends

Simon has been spending a lot of time with his friends since his cousins moved to Colorado.  He misses them terribly but is very lucky to have such great friends around.

Silly games at Matthew's house

Montrose Beach with Connor

Best Buds

Meeting baby Liam for the first time with Sarah

Amber and Blake stopped by on their way to the Sox game

Rockin' out with Marisa at NorthSide Summer Fest

Chillin' with Stewie at Buffy's family house

Mommy's Little Helper

Monthly Update

Simon playing guitar at the Folk Root Festival in our neighborhood

Catching up on the news

Simon turns more into a little boy every day.  He speaks in complete sentences and it is still surreal to be able to have full conversations with him.
A few of his favorite phrases include; what is that?  what is that noise?  what is that place? what happened?  I need that.  I need to do that.

Simon is obsessed with is daddy these days and always insists that they play choo choos together.  Simon takes his Daddy's hand and walks him over to they table. So sweet.  He is also really into brushing his teeth.  He insists on doing it by himself and doesn't even want me to do it anymore. 

He loves to read a book called "Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site" that he got from Mike.  It is a very cute bedtime story where trucks go to sleep after a hard days work.  The story rhymes and Simon is able to finish every sentence by memory.  He also loves to read "Cuso George" or Curious George books.  

Simon loves to go to the beach and asks if we can go everyday.  

He has been very interested in Zoe lately and will call to her "Zoe!  Come over here"  and if we go upstairs he will call to her "Zoe!  Come upstairs please."  He likes to help feed her too which is very sweet.

  

This boy is personality plus and we just love to see how he grows and changes all of the time.