Our trip to the ER

A few weeks ago, Simon took a little fall and we had to make a visit to the ER. It was 6:15 in the morning and he was up and playing ball with his Dad in the kitchen. He fell and hit his head on our dining room chair and split the skin above his eyebrow. There was blood and a lot of tears, but luckily the cut was not very deep. It was long and wide though so we had to go to Children's Memorial. In order to calm Simon down before we left the house, I took him outside to look for dogs and squirrels which is one of his favorite things to do.

He stayed calm until they had to put him in a straight jacket type contraption so that he could not move. That was the hardest part. He couldn't feel them doing the stitches, but hated being tied down. They ended up giving him six stitches. When it was all over, they brought him an orange popsicle which he had never had before. Needless to say, he loved the popsicle. He was pretty cute in his little gown too.

Nonna was nice enough to come to the emergency room with us. Mommy needed the support because Daddy does not do well around blood. Later that day, Auntie Stephanie and cousins Jackson and Dennie came over to visit and cheer up our little patient.

His stitches came out five days later and he is good as new. The stitches were so well done that it is barely noticeable from far. Our little man was so strong and brave through the whole ordeal. Now he is just wondering when he can get another popsicle........

Simon is 15 Months Old!

Dear Simon,

August was a very fun month for us. We went swimming a lot! We still go to your Aqua Babies swim class and you are having so much fun. Plus, we have been to the pool with Dennie and Jackson a lot too. You are all water babies and have no fear at all (which is sometimes a little scary for the parents!) You love the water so much that you also run right into the big fountain at Welles Park by our house. Even some of the older kids will not go in it because the water pressure is so strong. You are a brave and fearless little guy.

We also spent some time at the North Center Summer Festival. We all know how much you love music and they had great bands. So, you danced your heart out in the middle of Lincoln Ave. We got to spend time with your friend Marisa (you loved tickling her toes) and your cousins too.

Speaking of cousins, we had a very fun play date with all five of our boys. It is so wonderful to see how you are all interacting now. Will and Dennie love to be the "big boys" and the little boys watch/follow intently.

We spent some quality family time with you me and Daddy at the Dock at Montrose Beach. It was a gorgeous day, but the wind was very strong. Hurricane Irene had just hit the east coast and the weather service said that we were feeling the wind. Besides our hair flying around like crazy, it was a great time and you loved seeing the big truck combing the sand.

Your favorite things right now including looking for squirrels outside. You look up in the trees and make a kissing sound with your mouth. You also love to find dogs. Whenever you see or hear one, you say "dog" quickly followed by "woof woof". You even point to dogs in books and say "woof woof".

You also love to bring us your shoes or "doos" as you say and demand to go outside. This was the first month that we really started communicating with you. The first time I realized we could communicate with us was when you brought me one "doo" and I asked you to go get the other. You walked right over, picked it up and brought it over. It has not stopped since then. If I say, "Do you want to eat?" You run right over to the refrigerator. If I ask you, "where is your tummy?" You point and tickle it right away. The words keep flowing and we love to hear all of your sounds and songs. There has been a lot of construction work on our block the last few weeks and you love to watch the trucks working.

Thank you for being such a sweet and loving boy.

I love you always,

Mommy

Great Friends

We are blessed to have two amazing friends named Corrine and Noah Papak. Corrine has been one of Mommy's best friends since high school and Noah is her 4 year old son. When Corrine had Noah 4 years ago, I was her labor coach and in the delivery room when he was born. It was such an amazing experience. I was so honored that she chose me to help her. After he was born people kept asking if it scared me from having kids of my own. For me it was the opposite. It made me more excited to have a baby. But first Russell and I had to get engaged and married (little did I know that he would propose a short 4 months after Noah was born).

Corrine and Noah have been such spectacular friends since then but particularly since Simon was born. The let us borrow a ton of baby equipment and toys that they still had from when Noah was a baby. After Simon was born they came right over to meet him and he and Noah were fast friends. They come to visit us all the time! It is truly touching because they live almost an hour away. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends! Here are some pictures of Noah and Simon playing together and even an "oldie" with me and Noah on the day he was born.

Thank you for being such wonderful friends. We love you guys!

Simon is 14 Months old!

Dear Simon,

You are turning into such a big boy! I keep telling people that you went straight from crawling to running. That is the truth! You are so busy exploring the world and learning new things.

One of your favorite things right now is dogs. It also happens to be one of your favorite words. Nonna's dog Casey passed away earlier this summer and you miss him a lot. As we walk around the neighborhood, you lean forward in your stroller and point and say "Dog!" when you see one. If they look particularly friendly, you get to pet them. You especially love it when they "kiss" you. You are also obsessed with seeing Buster on skype with Gabrielle.

Here you are with Casey:

You loved the 4th of July festivities this month, but couldn't stay up late enough for the fireworks. Sorry.....maybe in a few years!

You have become a wild man in the bathtub too. You love to splash and play. Somehow you and Daddy came up with a game where you fill up your cup and throw it at him outside the tub. It is such a mess, but you laugh so hard that we can not help but love it.

We celebrated your cousin Jackson's birthday this month at a concert for kids at Ravinia. It was a wonderful party. You loved chasing bubbles with Jackson and playing with the bigger kids. You also loved watching Jackson eat his cake!

Every day with you is an adventure and you keep us on your toes. From very early on we knew you were a mover and a shaker. Even as a little baby you never sat still. Your arms would flail or your legs would kick. Now, you just run all over the place. During the day, you never sit still. So, sometimes at night I peek into your bedroom to see you sleeping. I love the see your little "pepette" (that is a cute french word we use for "bottom") in the air as you sleep. As wonderful as it is to see you so still and peaceful, I always look forward to the next morning when you call out "Mama!" for me to come get you in the crib. Then, we start a new adventure.

I love you always!

Love,

Mommy

Family Fun!

We were lucky enough to have three different sets of Belgian relatives visit this summer.

First, we had Uncle Patrick and Aunt Viviane. They came here and got married in Vegas! Next Cousins Christophe and Eva came with their kids Esther and Noah. Esther is 2 and Noah is 8. All of the American kids had a great time with them. Noah spoke a little English when he got here, but by the time he left it was even better! Esther didn't speak so much English, but picked up a few words along the way. She loved baby Simon. Anytime she would see he wasn't around, she would look at me and ask "Baby slaapt?" in Flemish to ask me if Simon was sleeping. Then she would say "Baby Wakker" to ask me if he was awake. It was so precious. She was also obsessed with a Flemish character and song called Piet Piraat (Pete the Pirate) we loved singing it with her.

Next came Cousin Steve with his girlfriend Darlene. They ended up renting a car and driving the original Route 66 from Chicago to LA to see Gabrielle. It looked like an amazing trip!

We also had a visit from Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Masako and Cousin Susie. It was so fun spending time with them as well and can't wait to see them again soon.

We were so thrilled to have all of our family visiting. We love and miss them all!

Here are a few photos from the visit

Sing us a song you're the piano man

Simon's favorite thing to do is play or listen to music and dance. As soon as he hears music, he starts dancing or bopping to the beat. We can be in the grocery store and he'll dance to the overhead music. He even dances if we sing a fast tempo song. For his birthday, we gave him a bunch of musical instruments including a mini piano. He loves it!

We have already taken two music classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music. The first (which we already posted pictures from) was Aloha Baby. And now, he is in a Spanish music class.

Here are a bunch of pictures and videos (at the bottom) from various classes, music festivals and jam sessions. Some are older and you can see he is much smaller, but some are recent. Enjoy!