What's up with Simon? Things. Lots of things. Let's see:
* He likes to kick a ball around the house while yelling "Goal!"
* He occasionally reaches down to touch his knee, then looks at me and yells "Knee!"
* He sings "la, la, la" along with Elmo in "Elmo's Song."
* He loves belly buttons. He touches one (his own or mom or dad's) and says "bee bee."
* I think he understands (but can't say) "penis." He learned this in the bath last night.
* He knows the word "breast," and he thinks it's funny.
* He knows the word "moon" and has said it a few times.
* He likes hiding then popping out and yelling "boo!"
* He's getting good at playing drums. Instead of hitting just one drum during a "jam session," he uses all the drums and cymbals. Well, not the bass drum--that's a separate "session," 'cause he has to stand or sit on the ground to reach it.
* He likes grabbing noses, especially mine. He says "no."
Last week in the doctor's waiting room there was an 11-month-old boy (I asked his mom) sitting in his stroller when Simon, Esthela, and I got there. Simon was fascinated. He walked over to the boy and smiled. The boy smiled back. Simon reached out his hand toward the boy and laughed. The boy also laughed. It was adorable to watch these little guys introducing themselves and "making friends." Usually it's Simon who approaches and does all the work, while the other little kid watches uneasily. Finally, a meeting of equals! These two guys giggled and stuff until the nurse called Simon into the examination room (aka "chamber of sadness").
Sidebar: Who are these children in strollers? How do they get there? Why do they not scream to be let free?
Monday, November 24, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Exhausted
Weekends are hard, and Sundays are especially hard. There's no babysitter helping me out, although sometimes my parents give me a hand with Simon. Michael is constantly and eternally busy, so on any given day he's good for taking care of Simon for maybe 45 minutes at the most. Sunday I'm pretty much with Simon every minute of the day. I probably got about 30-to-45 minutes to myself today, and not all at once. Simon is now asleep, and here is my free time.
I feel guilty for so enthusiastically looking forward to Simon's bedtime, but there it is. Simon isn't the play-quietly-on-his-own type so much, so I'm always on the move, trying to keep up with him, trying to find new ways to pass the time. Simon hates being in the car, which makes it even harder to find entertaining things to do.
Today I forced him into the car for a short trip to the mall. I figured it would be fun to look at all the people--and babies. I also figured Simon would want to walk around and look at all the stuff. I didn't bring a stroller (Simon doesn't really like being in it anyway) or a baby carrier because I was sure Simon would love to walk on his own (well, with me holding his hand). But Simon didn't want to walk. He was so overwhelmed by all the people and stuff, he just wanted me to carry him. He had a good time, though. It was my left arm that suffered. Simon only weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces (he just had a checkup), but that becomes uncomfortably heavy after an hour.
I bought Simon a little stuffed dog at the Disney Store. He loved it and held onto it the whole time we were at the mall, but I discovered something: Simon may act like he urgently needs to have a toy, but he's just fooling you. I don't think Simon even noticed the dog once we got home.
So, an hour of good times at the mall. We got home at noon. Still an entire day to fill. After Simon's first nap, I figured I would force him back into the car to go--somewhere, anywhere. First, though, we went for a walk up our street. Some workmen were working on a neighbor's house and they were playing Mexican music in the front yard. Simon started dancing (in the street) as soon as he heard it, and led me up the street to the source. He would have gone up the neighbor's driveway if I had let him. A couple of the workers noticed Simon and waved. I told them my son liked their music and they laughed. It was pretty cute.
I eventually got Simon into the car. We went just a couple miles down to Ventura Blvd. We went to a baby shop and played with toys (yes, I bought one--Simon fooled me again). Then we walked around outside. This time Simon wanted to walk, so we spent about 45 minutes walking around the area. It was really fun. We saw lots of people, some dogs, hundreds of cars, and lots of trees and flowers. Simon noticed everything and had something to "say" about most of it. An old asian man came up to me and asked, "That your son?" "Yes," I told him. "He look like you," he said and walked on. I almost said, "Thanks," but that wasn't the right response. I don't know what the man's point was. I said, "Good," and left it at that.
It was nearly 4 o'clock when we got home. I made some food for us and tried to get Simon to eat it. That kid is not interested in eating lately. He's impossible. Anyway... the day just went on and on and on. Until 10:40 tonight when Simon went to sleep. I'm so relieved. Isn't that terrible?
I feel guilty for so enthusiastically looking forward to Simon's bedtime, but there it is. Simon isn't the play-quietly-on-his-own type so much, so I'm always on the move, trying to keep up with him, trying to find new ways to pass the time. Simon hates being in the car, which makes it even harder to find entertaining things to do.
Today I forced him into the car for a short trip to the mall. I figured it would be fun to look at all the people--and babies. I also figured Simon would want to walk around and look at all the stuff. I didn't bring a stroller (Simon doesn't really like being in it anyway) or a baby carrier because I was sure Simon would love to walk on his own (well, with me holding his hand). But Simon didn't want to walk. He was so overwhelmed by all the people and stuff, he just wanted me to carry him. He had a good time, though. It was my left arm that suffered. Simon only weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces (he just had a checkup), but that becomes uncomfortably heavy after an hour.
I bought Simon a little stuffed dog at the Disney Store. He loved it and held onto it the whole time we were at the mall, but I discovered something: Simon may act like he urgently needs to have a toy, but he's just fooling you. I don't think Simon even noticed the dog once we got home.
So, an hour of good times at the mall. We got home at noon. Still an entire day to fill. After Simon's first nap, I figured I would force him back into the car to go--somewhere, anywhere. First, though, we went for a walk up our street. Some workmen were working on a neighbor's house and they were playing Mexican music in the front yard. Simon started dancing (in the street) as soon as he heard it, and led me up the street to the source. He would have gone up the neighbor's driveway if I had let him. A couple of the workers noticed Simon and waved. I told them my son liked their music and they laughed. It was pretty cute.
I eventually got Simon into the car. We went just a couple miles down to Ventura Blvd. We went to a baby shop and played with toys (yes, I bought one--Simon fooled me again). Then we walked around outside. This time Simon wanted to walk, so we spent about 45 minutes walking around the area. It was really fun. We saw lots of people, some dogs, hundreds of cars, and lots of trees and flowers. Simon noticed everything and had something to "say" about most of it. An old asian man came up to me and asked, "That your son?" "Yes," I told him. "He look like you," he said and walked on. I almost said, "Thanks," but that wasn't the right response. I don't know what the man's point was. I said, "Good," and left it at that.
It was nearly 4 o'clock when we got home. I made some food for us and tried to get Simon to eat it. That kid is not interested in eating lately. He's impossible. Anyway... the day just went on and on and on. Until 10:40 tonight when Simon went to sleep. I'm so relieved. Isn't that terrible?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Simon Had a Birthday!
He's a year old. Here he is dancing to the music of one of his new toys:
It was a pretty good birthday, all in all. Family and a few friends came over. We had music, snacks, cake, toys, and at one point, a heated debate on the issue of same-sex marriage. I eventually had to shut that down, and we resumed the festivities.
Here's Simon on the drums, with the help of Papa:
With all the fires in the area, the air was smoky and unhealthy, but Simon wanted to spend a lot of time outside. Of course. We took him for several walks, but he kept wanting more. There were some sad moments when he walked to the front door and tried to open it, only to hear me say "No, Simon, we're not going outside right now." Here's Simon enjoying his precious walks:
It was a tiring day for me. I can't imagine how tiring it will be when he's old enough to have a big party with lots of friends running around. I'm going to start building up my strength.
It was a pretty good birthday, all in all. Family and a few friends came over. We had music, snacks, cake, toys, and at one point, a heated debate on the issue of same-sex marriage. I eventually had to shut that down, and we resumed the festivities.
Here's Simon on the drums, with the help of Papa:
With all the fires in the area, the air was smoky and unhealthy, but Simon wanted to spend a lot of time outside. Of course. We took him for several walks, but he kept wanting more. There were some sad moments when he walked to the front door and tried to open it, only to hear me say "No, Simon, we're not going outside right now." Here's Simon enjoying his precious walks:
It was a tiring day for me. I can't imagine how tiring it will be when he's old enough to have a big party with lots of friends running around. I'm going to start building up my strength.
Friday, November 14, 2008
I'm a Genius
My mothering skills sometimes leave something to be desired. I really should have known better. This evening Simon was searching the top of Michael's desk for something to play with. I skipped by the obvious hazards (loose change, pencils, etc.) and offered him a wrapped Blow Pop lollipop. I figured he'd play with the wrapper for a while and get tired of it, but no. A few minutes after I handed it to him he managed to gnaw through the wrapper and expose the candy (green apple flavor). What the hell? I figured he wouldn't be able to unwrap it, and I was right, but I never imagined he would gnaw through plastic. As soon as I saw that he was sucking on a small exposed patch of candy I took it away. He screamed as if in pain. He'd developed a taste for sugar and he wanted more.
Here's where I made my second mistake. I gave the Blow Pop back to him. I was planning on taking him with me to the pharmacy in a few minutes and I didn't want him screaming even before we got in the car. I gave him the candy and tried desperately to think of a way to get him to turn his attention elsewhere. Very silly of me. He was having a great time with his sticky, sugary treasure.
I grabbed him and put him in the car. The second his butt hit the carseat he went nuts, crying and yelling. I let him keep the lollipop while I buckled him in. At this point he was no longer interested in eating it, but held it clenched tightly in his hand while he cried. Fine. I let him hold it for the entire drive (15 minutes), but in the CVS parking lot I took the lollipop away and threw it outside the car. Littering, I know, but it was necessary.
I took my sobbing baby out of the carseat and took a look at him. He was so damn sticky. Like an animal in the wild caring for her young, I licked his cheeks clean and put one of his hands in my mouth to get the stickiness off. This is when I had a brilliant idea: I should keep some baby wipes in the car so I don't have to tongue-bathe my son.
Here's where I made my second mistake. I gave the Blow Pop back to him. I was planning on taking him with me to the pharmacy in a few minutes and I didn't want him screaming even before we got in the car. I gave him the candy and tried desperately to think of a way to get him to turn his attention elsewhere. Very silly of me. He was having a great time with his sticky, sugary treasure.
I grabbed him and put him in the car. The second his butt hit the carseat he went nuts, crying and yelling. I let him keep the lollipop while I buckled him in. At this point he was no longer interested in eating it, but held it clenched tightly in his hand while he cried. Fine. I let him hold it for the entire drive (15 minutes), but in the CVS parking lot I took the lollipop away and threw it outside the car. Littering, I know, but it was necessary.
I took my sobbing baby out of the carseat and took a look at him. He was so damn sticky. Like an animal in the wild caring for her young, I licked his cheeks clean and put one of his hands in my mouth to get the stickiness off. This is when I had a brilliant idea: I should keep some baby wipes in the car so I don't have to tongue-bathe my son.
Squash
I feel duty bound to inform the handful of people who may read this that Sweet Dumpling squash is very, very yummy. I bought a small one the other day--I chose it at random from the squash bin at the market. Today I baked it, only half expecting it to be edible. It was really hard to cut in half, so I figured it wasn't ripe enough, but I gave it a go anyway, mainly 'cause I wanted some roasted seeds. The seeds are good, but the squash is amazing. I peeled the tough skin away and tried a bite--delicious! It's naturally sweet and creamy. I swear it's almost like eating crème brûlée. Simon likes it a lot. End transmission.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Soccer Baby
Here is Simon kicking the ball around the house. He's been doing this for about two months, and I finally captured it on video.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Great-Grandma
Today Simon and I visited Simon's 90-year-old great-grandmother. I was completely stunned when this woman brought up Barack Obama and said to me: "He's absolutely gorgeous. He's very sexy." I couldn't believe my ears. I gave her a big hug and laughed and laughed. This was the last person I would have imagined finding Obama sexy. She had never spoken to me about him in any context before. Hilarious.
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