Lake House 2010

The week of Labor Day we rented a house near Lake Geneva with the family to celebrate Nonna's birthday. Simon had a wonderful time. He really loves to be outdoors and adores spending time with his family.
Here he is goofing around. You really get a sense of how curly his hair is in these two pictures (and how much lighter it has become since birth)


Simon loves spending time with his cousin Jackson. Simon is six weeks older, but Jackson has grown so quickly that he already surpassed Simon in size. It is so fun to watch them grow and we can't wait until they can really play together.

Here is Simon with the whole group and spending some time at the lake with his Mom and Dad


We went to the county fair and Simon loved watching his Nonna on the extreme jumping machine!

Watching the horse contests

And here he is dreaming of the day when he will be big enough to ride the merry go round with his big cousins

Thanks to our lovely family for an amazing week!

Simon is 3 Months Old!

I'm posting a little early because we are heading to Wisconsin for the week (more on that in a later post).
Dear Simon,
This has been an exciting month. You just grow bigger and stronger everyday. It's amazing to see that one day you look just like Daddy (it's all about the eyebrow action) and then the next you look like Mommy (the coloring and the eyes).

Last month you were just starting to smile and now it is non-stop. You laugh and coo like crazy as well.
You are so happy in the morning and you love to talk to your little lamb while it makes whale noises

You're holding your head up stronger

What a water baby you are! You take a bath every night before bed and I love to watch you look at us as you splash around. You haven't been in a pool yet, but I know you are going to love it.

And you finally got to spend some time with all 4 of your cousins! Seeing the fab five together was so amazing and special. You boys are going to have so much fun together and the biggest cousin is going to love teaching you things.

We love you so much and we're enjoying every minute of this summer with our happy little family


I love you always,
Mommy

Meet the Grandparents

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Joe flew all the way from Hawaii to meet Simon and he could not have been more excited. They arrived very early in the morning and he smiled away at them.



We went for Simon's first visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Check out the Giraffe behind us!



And then walked a little closer to the lake to see some of the air and water show


We took walks to the park



Simon dressed up in his Sunday best to go to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues





And then the grown ups were off to the Cubs game, but Mommy and Simon stayed home. You'll go next year Simon when you are a little bigger. Of course, Simon still dressed the part.



He even got a bath from Grandma Linda



After all of the fun Simon was exhausted so he took a nap with the blanket that Grandma Linda knitted for him



Now after a quick few days in Canada, they will be back for more fun this weekend. We can't wait!

Snugglesaurus

The Snugglesaurus used to roam the plains of North America during the Jurassic period but is sadly absent from our modern work-a-day world....until today!

The rare Snugglesaurus was spotted on the North Side of Chicago in his native environment, a dual-reclining microfiber sofa



The Snugglesaurus can be identified by his pointy ears, his plush dinosaur feet, and the words "Snugglesaurus" on his onesie.




The Snugglesaurus kicks in place to keep himself in top condition should his nemisis "Mamasaurus" try to swaddle him and put him down for a nap.




The Snugglesaurus prepares himself to meet a lady Snugglesauras 26 years from now (after medical school when his parents might be ready) by practicing his confident point and wink.



And there you have it, the cutest Snugglesauras to have ever walked the earth!

Simon is 2 Months Old!

Dear Simon,


I can't believe another month has gone by! Time seems to be flying and you truly get bigger everyday.
You spend a lot more time awake during the day now and your little personality continues to develop more and more. The biggest new this month was that you started to smile! You are especially smiley during the morning and it warms my heart every single time.

Your sleep pattern is also starting to get better and you've even had two nights where you sleep for 6 hours at a time! I really appreciate that.....you'll understand one day.
We've had a lot of fun adventures this month.
We went to the Old Town School of Folk Music Festival where you danced with Nonna and Mom and Dad




There were many trips to the park with your cousins. You will love to play in the fountain like Dennie one day!




And, today you went to the beach for the first time. We spent the afternoon at the Evanston beach with our family. You love being outside and you found the beach relaxing enough to take a nap on Mommy while smiling in your sleep.





You have grown so much over the last month and we're looking forward to an exciting August. Your grandparents are coming from Hawaii to meet you and they can't wait. We love you more everyday and can't wait to see what this month has in store.

Love,
Mommy

Smiley Simon

Simon started smiling today! We knew it was coming soon, but he started this morning and hasn't stopped!

Enjoy!

A new cousin for Simon!

Stephanie and Mark had their new baby on Monday, July 12th at 3:14pm. His name is Jackson Oliver Erbland. He weighed 7lbs 6ozs and was 21inches long. Simon is so excited to have a new cousin and they got to meet over the weekend. Almost all of the cousins were together (except Stefan) and there are some pretty cute pictures which i'll share below. Stephanie and Jackson are both doing great. As for the big brother, Dennie, he loves his new little brother! He loves to kiss him and help Mommy with him. We officially have 5 boys in this family that started with all girls! It is so unbelievable! Russell has officially named them the "Fab 5". We're debating whether to start a basketball team or a rock band....we'll keep you posted.

Simon is on the left and Jackson on the right. These pictures really show how big Simon has grown in 7 weeks compared to Jackson.