Sledding in New Hampshire

We had a lovely Christmas in Maryland. We saw lots of people and had a packed schedule. Tuesday we came north for a few days.

We took Simon out sledding twice today. He liked it a lot more this year. Here he is with Mom and Grandma.

Simon's Tonka

Not only are trucks fun to play with but you can also ride on them!

1st Day on the snow

Eileen and I took advantage of the early snow and went snowboarding at
Crystal Mountain over the weekend, which is down by Mt. Rainier. They
had almost all of the trails open though there were some rocks so the
new snowboard is off to get fixed this week. I'd like to get one more
day in before we head East for Christmas.

It's snowing!

They SAID it doesn't snow in Seattle, yet here it is, days BEFORE Thanksgiving, and it's snowing. 

Simon likes the snow much better than he did last year... here we are on our morning walk with Bridget, who's visiting with Eileen for the holiday.

Chilly day in the northwest

It's a chilly day but the sun is out so we hit the playground anyway. Not many other kids made it out which suits Simon just fine.

Out with Dad (part 3)

Before riding the bus home we stopped for a latte for Dad and a steamed milk for Simon though the toy truck was better than a snack.

Out with Dad (part 2)

We rode the bus to Pike Place and walked around the market. There are lots of people to watch!

Big day out with Dad (part 1)

Simon and Dad went out on Saturday by ourselves. Simon got his first bus ride which was super cool.

Taco Night

Tacos are yummy, even if you only eat the refried beans and avocado. These are still two of Simon's favorite things and he still makes a giant mess.

Talking up a storm

Now if only we could understand him...

We have a new neighbor

So to speak.

There's a kitty who regularly visits us on the back deck, eating bugs around the hot tub, chasing birds in the trees, crying at the back door and in general, willing the smallest human in the house to open the door and, "LET ME IN."


Simon LOVES him, or her, I'm not sure which it is. I'm not even sure if it's a stray. This cat seems too well groomed to be a stray, but he/she could have been abandoned, or is lost. The cat started showing up about a month ago, generally out back, hunting for bugs and birds (or tuna, if the female human in the house caves in). Once, I found him crying at the front porch windows, from the settee.

He certainly knows how to work it. Here he is being aloof, pretending to hunt for birds, where Simon can see him...

Farms are fun

Simon got an 80's era Fisher Price farm the other day and he's completely in love with it.  He feeds the cow and horse, and puts the rooster into the top of the barn, along with whatever else he can get to fit... it's quite amusing.

My Boys

What can I say, aren't they cute?
Oh, and GO BROWNS!

Little lion man

We went to the 21st annual blackberry festival in Bremerton  today.  The pie was pretty good and Simon got this way cool little face painting.  Overall, it was a nice way to spend the day.

Worn out

Simon had a long day and hopped into the swing before dinner. It didn't take long until he fell asleep. He didn't even notice the buses driving by.

Loose at Home Depot

On one of our many trips to the hardware store, Simon insisted on getting out the cart. It turns out he just wanted to pull things off the shelves and climb on the boxes.

Uncle John would be proud

I'm sure Simon's not supposed to be watching tv yet but he really enjoys Top Gear.  And the new Porsche 911.

Pool time

Mommy got me the best baby pool. It has a sunshade that rains water down. It's hot today in Seattle so this is great.

More berries

Simon's been gourging himself on blueberries for weeks but today he decided raspberries are all the rage. This is what happens at the farmers market while mom is buying corn...

Mmm, yummy

Three summers ago we spent a glorious vacation in Oregon with our friends Finn and Joanne, picking blackberries on the side of the road and enjoying farm to table dinners.  From those blackberries Finn made the most amazing scones, and we've been dreaming about them since.

So, with fresh berries finally at the farmer's market (wild berries are just weeks away) we paid homage to Finn's scones with a batch of our own.

Yum.

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad

Nana & Gramps (Scofield) are in town this week. We have been having a great visit so far. Today we went on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. The engine is a 1921 steam locomotive that was used to haul timber down to the mills.

The railroad line has great vistas of Mt. Rainier.

Simon had a good time on the train with Dad and Gramps & Nana.

Though he did pass out by the end.

I need a haircut!

Two people have called me a girl today. I guess it is time to meet the barber.

Updates!

For the record, the day after Simon first said Momma (with meaning,) he spent the entire day saying Dada. Screaming it actually, from time to time :-) And now he's not really saying it to either of us anymore. Ah well.

Aside from that setback, he's taken a huge leap forward and is officially walking!

It happened this past Friday just before his morning nap. We were playing upstairs and he just let go of me and walked to the other side of the room, turned around and then walked back! He was so impressed with himself... and it is SO cute! He's officially a toddler!

Josh and I are completely shocked at how well he's taken to it. He just walks all over the place now, without any real problems. Sure, he falls down a little and he's still learning how to handle uneven surfaces, but he sure is determined. He just keeps at it until he masters something, like transitioning from the wood floor to carpet.

This first video was taken on his fourth or fifth stroll around the room because I didn't have a camera nearby.



On Saturday, the sun finally came out (although only for the day) so we walked down to the "beach" near our house (it's on Lake Washington) and let Simon roam around. He had a little trouble on the uneven surface but loved every minute of it.

Almost Walking

Simon is almost walking. He wants to walk all the time but holds on to your finger. It turns out he can actually stand on his own without much of a problem and even take a few steps when provoked.

Sorry for the bad lighting, it is 58 and rainy here. I'm not sure if the sun will ever come out for more than an hour.

It's Official!

Simon says Momma, with meaning! Well, he's said it at least once anyway.

He's been saying Momma for a few days now, but not in a good way. I do think he knows what it means, but he's only been saying it when he's whining at me, as in, "momma, momma, momma" with arms outstretched for whatever I've just taken away from him, which he shouldn't have had in the first place. He's even learned to add a little emphasis by throwing down his arms or banging his head on the floor, if he's really mad.

But today, at the end of his nap, he awoke cheerfully and I heard a small stir on the monitor followed by, "momma?" Just one. With the lilt of a question. Just makes the heart melt, I tell ya.

Silly Simon

He has taken to climbing into his exasaucer to get his other toys.

Easter Outfit

Here is Simon in the outfit Aunt Jody knit him for his birthday. He had Avocado Risotto for lunch which is a combo of two of his favorite things.

Lunch in Annapolis

Its a warm day so we went to Annapolis for lunch. We had crab cakes and watched the boats.

Simon's Birthday

We continue to be bad bloggers. We've had lots going on the last month or so and have lots of pictures that hopefully make it up here soon. In the meantime, last Saturday was Simon's 1st Birthday. We had a little party for him. While he liked the presents the cake was a big hit!

This photo was taken by Aunt Jody, we haven't downloaded our photos yet so I borrowed one of hers.

Paralympics

We came to the Paralympics in Vancouver/Whistler as an observer for work. Simon and Joanie tagged along.

Its been very interesting so far. I got to see the technical operations center, the polyclinic at Whistler, and Olympic Park that hosted ski jumping, nordic and biathlon.

Simon just likes watching all the people.

Theater at Delphi

Here is the theater at Delphi. It sat 5000 people for music and dramas. Its still in good shape compared to a lot of the other buildings.

Temple of Apollo

I am over in Greece. The servers we sent over are stuck in customs so we took the opportunity to go to Delphi and see the oracle.

This was an amazing site. There were lots of treasuries where the cities kept their offerings to Apollo.

Big snow

We are getting dumped on in Maryland today. Here is what we woke up to. I will have to take Simon sledding later.

Lake Tahoe

Chris and I snuck off to get some skiing in. The weather has been good
no new snow but fun just the same.

Mmmmm. Avocado.

Did you ever notice that in your minds voice, the sound Mmmmm, followed by any single, other word, has the voice of Homer Simpson? Funny.

Anyway, Simon has been doing really well with new foods lately, eating lots of carbs, carbs and more carbs :-) He loves apples, squash, pasta, sweet potatoes, bananas, cheese (although not always) bread of any kind, crackers, prunes, pears, mangos, blueberries (in pancakes, of course) and oh, did I mention AVOCADO! He loves him some avocado.



He may look suspect but that's only because I've run out of avocado in this photo and he knows I'm about to pawn some other food onto him...