Leap Day Bike Ride

Neighborhood bike ride! It might not look like Simon enjoys it, but once we get going he says "wee" the whole time! Some yards have little statues of birds and geese, etc and of course, he says "duck" for all of them! 

More Zoo fun

Well it may get old for those who read our blog, but the zoo is always something new and fun for Simon! This week, we spent our time enjoying a crane, the king penguins, the homing pigeons, and the barnyard. Of course he thought the pigeons were ducks, so we are working on that!

Up close (possibly too close) and personal with the penguins. Notice how the video stops abruptly... yup, he took a little nibble on Simon's hand! Next time, we'll hang back away from the fence :)

Simon watching the "ducks"- otherwise known as homing pigeons :)

Another nice day at the dog park! Funny how we never take pictures of the dogs while we are there! Oh, they used to be our babies!

Cincinnati Ballet

The Cincinnati Ballet put on a children's "Toy Box" performance last weekend. Although it started at 1:00 pm (aka NAPTIME), we wanted to spend some time with some friends and check it out!

Considering we made him dress up, go out to lunch, and THEN sit down for the ballet, I'd say he did a pretty good job!  We made it about halfway through the perfomance before Dave and Simon exited to the lobby! By the time I had a chance to meet them, Simon was already happily enjoying himself like crazy- running around the empty lobby and playing with Dave.  We will definitely do it again when Simon gets older- until then we'll stick to the park :)

The look on Simon's face in the picture below pretty much sums up how he felt about the whole situation :)

My Boys :)



Simon, hamming it up before we left- all dressed up!

And last but not least... Simon "Happy Tapping" just like Elmo! He loves his new shoes! 

No, No, No

Well, it took Simon 496 days to figure out how to say (and use) the word "NO"! Uh-oh, let the fun begin.  I'm sure that all you parents out there can appreciate this too... when he says it, he says it at least 3 times in a row- as if I didn't understand him the first time! 

Kentucky Style Fun

Well it sure ain't the Kentucky Derby, but we have a race track about 10 minutes from our house called Turfway Park where there is always live racing!  Just found out they do $1 beers and $1 hotdogs on Fridays, so we had to check it out!  There's nothing like a cold 6 oz Bud Light and a cheap, nasty hotdog!!!  Ha! Even Simon won't eat those :)  We brought him some grapes and PB&J, and headed out for some good 'ole Kentucky style fun!  We watched 3 races and were home in time for bath, books and bed! My kind of night!!! 

Making horse sounds :)

And they're off...

Blake Shelton, Baby!

Dave said it's been 20 years since he's been to a concert and I can't remember the last time for me, so we broke our streak with Blake Shelton! It was AWESOME!!!  That's all :)

Love my cowboy!!!

Valentine's Day Fun at the Aquarium

Lucky for me and Simon, Dave has a very flexible work schedule. So, when mommy woke up on the wrong side of the bed on V-Day... he changed his plans and decided to spend the day with us! I was just having a too-much-to-do-around-the-house-and-not-enough-time-to-do-it, kind of morning! So we decided to blow it all off and go to the Aquarium!

It may seem like we are here all the time... and we are! We have a yearly pass (thank you Auntie Susan) and Simon LOVES it!

We had to stop at Tom and Chee for some delicious grilled cheese and tomato soup first! 

Never get sick of these guys...

Hello pufferfish!

Feeding the Lorikeets.  Mommy even left with a special "treat" on her shoulder! Yuck!

The divers always wave "hi" to the kids from the tanks, but today she came over and gave Simon a High 5! He loved it and clapped afterward, so she gave him another one!

New friends!

Another view of the shark tank!

Valentine's Day fudge to end the day! Yummo! This boy loves his chocolate!

 And his daddy is ridiculous. Always smooshes the chocolate over all his teeth and smiles and says, "Man I love fudge"! I always get so mad, and laugh hysterically at the same time! Gotta love my hubby!!!

 

Aquarium Videos- 2/14/12

Playing the Drums

Octopus Moves!

It's a little dark, but it's so cool!!!

16 months

So typical to say this, but we can't believe Simon is 16 months old!  All of a sudden he looks like such a big boy! His hair is growing like crazy... more in the back than in the front- but it's not a mullet yet :) No plans to cut it anytime soon! 
He is starting to say more words each day. A few favorites are:

"bubbles"

"phone"

"meow"

"octopus"- his version sounds like "ah-p-s", but he tries so hard I have to count it!
and my personal favorite- "cracker" which sounds more like "cackgar", and he repeats it until he gets one!

We've been spending more time with friends that we have met at Gymboree and are really getting along with other kiddos!

He is a more picky eater than we would like, but I've had lots of success with sneaking veggies into his favorite foods- like cauliflower in his mac n cheese, butternut squash in his grilled cheese, etc. It's like having a baby again with all the purees I make, but worth it to fill his tiny tank with healthy food!

Occasionally the little guy throws a tantrum, but they are usually fixed pretty quickly. Dave and I are very lucky to have to have such a fun, outgoing, and happy little boy. The last 16 months have truly been a blessing for us.

 

The "UnMusuem"

So the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati has an entire floor dedicated to kids!  There are only a few exhibits, but they are super fun and allow the them to explore all kinds of art!  We ventured in while Auntie Susan and Cousin Jordan were visiting and got to do an Edible Art activity, and then we romped all over the 6th floor with all the big kids! 

Simon only had a minor meltdown when mommy wouldn't let him climb all over his Vanilla Pudding Finger Painting Masterpiece, but other than that, we had a fabulous time! 

Every letter is it's own exhibit

Said Finger Painting Masterpiece :)

More fun with food!



Playing Peek-a-Boo

Loves his Auntie Susan

Hangin' tough with the big kids! Can you spot Simon? :)

***Warning***- XRAY of my new hip below!

I cannot believe this is my body. Had my post op appointment this morning and my doc is pleased with my recovery so far!  Says I'm walking great and looking good!  He expects that my next appointment (in 4 weeks) will be my last!  Still going to therapy 2 times a week and really working on my range of motion. My strength is good and I LOVE that I can ride the bike with no pain!