ONE AND A HALF!!

Simon is one and a half today!!!

And a very busy boy!!!

We have enjoyed 1 1/2 years of blessings, joy, and happiness. We are now discovering the little things that make life so grand through the eyes of a toddler. We hope Simon has brought these to you as well. We are absolutely in love with the little guy!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and were quite busy celebrating with family! December 23rd found us at Craig and Lisa's house for Christmas with Eric's parents, siblings and their families. It was so fun to be together and everyone had a great time.

Uncle Gordon gave Simon a great big gift that caused alot of excitement for such a little guy. As you can see, he enjoyed opening his toolbench! And then he sat down and found the battery operated drill. Even Nathaniel appreciated the drill for the brief moment Simon shared it! Simon did not set the drill down the rest of the evening!

As you can see he still enjoys his tool bench!
What a joy and blessing to have family to celebrate Christmas! Annie, Julie, Lisa, Peg, and Becky created a feast beyond delicious! We missed Dolores, who was not able to be with us. The nieces had quite a time together just laughing away on the couch!
Christmas Eve was spent at Gordon and Dolores's house. Uncle Gordon loved having the little ones. Simon is now interacting with Jessica; he walked up to her and hugged her until she was tackled! He also sought out Chloe for the first time and could not stop chasing her, never quite catching her.

After Gordon's, we headed to the 11:00 p.m. service; Becky rang bells and Eric ushered. Simon proceeded to sleep in his stroller in the usher closet for the entire service!

Christmas morning was very exciting for us at 4 West Adams Street. Simon discovered the biggest present under the tree, and is anyone surprised that it was for him? He could not open it fast enough. And once it was open, he did not leave the kitchen alone. He barely took a break to open his other presents!

And then he was done!

TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY, AND WE ARE JOLLY

We have been quite busy getting ready for Christmas! We enjoyed our 2nd Annual Toddler Christmas Soiree! We treasure the friendships that have developed over the last year and a half. What a joy it is to experience childhood with these families! The true highlight was setting all four little ones on the couch, us parents looking at them and flashing away with cameras, while trying to keep everyone content and picture perfect! (Notice the props needed to keep the peace.)

Our family Christmas card picture coincided with Simon's first sledding experience. He was not so happy. It was a cold day and he did not appreciate sledding down a snow covered hill, even with his Daddy to protect him. Needless to say, we climbed the hill once, took a picture, one trip down, and home we went! Slowly, slowly, MN blood will come through and this early training will all be worth it!!

We finally got our tree decorated and the house all trimmed for Christmas. Simon enjoys looking at the tree when the lights go on. He leaves the tree, ornaments, and decorations around the house alone. We say "pretty tree" and sometimes he says "tt tt". I keep telling Simon everyday that all Mommy wants for Christmas are words! He loves his Fisher Price Nativity set that is on the coffee table. He knows who Baby Jesus is and will put him in the stable. He places the angel, sheep and even Baby Jesus on top of the stable to play the song. It's pretty funny to see a sheep on the stable as you hear "Away in a Manger".

Simon has become more interested in his books. He will say "ba ba ba" and hand us a book to read to him. We sometimes read the whole book, sometimes we look at parts of a book a few times, and sometimes only one page gets read. Other times he dumps them out, walks on them, or just carries them around. He occasionally puts his own books away in the the basket or on his shelf. We love how he holds books upside down as he looks at them and turns the pages! Favorites are Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Gorilla, lift the flap books, the small books with pictures of animals, food, clothing, and other categories, and touch and feel books.

Happy Christmasing to you and we hope you are as jolly as us!!!

Love,

Eric, Becky, and Simon

SNOW BEAST!

We all woke up Friday morning to a winter wonderland. Simon walked to the picture window to stand on his stool and look out - without moving for a few minutes. He must have wondered what happened to his world?!?

So then we bundled him up, which was a wrestling match with Simon vs. The Mom (The Mom won) and headed out of doors. Simon, who loves being outside, usually runs right out the door - but not with the snow. He cried when I put him in the snow, and took a few moments to bravely take a few steps. He was stuck. It was wierd to see our little motor machine at a complete standstill on his own terms. Eric shoveled the driveway and I shoveled the sidewalk to our porch, and he was happy as a clam to walk on sidewalk. He then became curious and stopped to touch the snow. We like having the snow boundaries, because now he is contained to the sidewalks and moves slower in the yard!!