Tonight, I feel like writing about my blue-eyed 17 month old son, Simon.
He'll be 18 months on Saturday - a year and a half! It's exciting watching him grow. I'm so thankful to be at home with him to watch him accomplish the little
and big things in life. He's a bundle of energy - he never seems to stand
or sit still (definitely not a snuggler). I marvel at his curious nature and I find that I am always moving things up or saying "no" as he finds something that his little hands shouldn't be touching. Baby-proofing, definitely is an ongoing thing in our house. Just when you think things are up high enough or in a safe place, baby hits a growth spurt and everything changes.
Communication & Manners:Simon is still not talking very much, although he has started to make more noise. I'm not concerned about his lack of words, I know that when he feels ready, he'll start to talk and communicate with me...and my world will never be dull again. One of the things I hope to install in him are manners. I want my little ones to be polite and not selfish. One of the first signs that I taught Simon and he latched onto was the sign for "thank you". He's quite good at it and will sign it every time I ask and sometimes even when I don't, surprising me and making me melt. I've also taught him a few "signs" that are different then then they are in the book, such as blinking your eyes to say "I (eye) love you" or clapping your hands to say "please" and "more". He is also learning to squeeze his eyes closed (usually only for a few seconds) when we pray. It's the cutest thing. He used to fold his hands when we would pray, but he has recently stopped doing so. Simon is also learning to hold my hand when we walk, he sometimes will take off at a moment's notice, but he's usually good at staying by my side, his hand in mine. I love the feeling of his little hand intertwined with my own...such a sweet thing.
Sleeping (napping and nighttime)I have been blessed beyond measure with an easy baby, when it comes to sleeping. At 10 weeks, we started him on a schedule and after a few difficult days/nights, he took right to it. There are pros and cons to scheduling your baby to sleep - the cons being that it hinders you from doing stuff outside of the home during scheduled sleep times, the pros being pretty obvious...a baby who sleeps, on his own. Simon is down to one nap a day (which usually lasts from 1-4pm). He likes to play in his crib for some of that time, which is nice for me. I use those 3 hours to catch up on cleaning, projects and me-time. :) In the evening, he is usually in bed by 8pm and sleeps through the night until 9am the following morning...sometimes playing in his crib until 10am. This here is one blessed mama.
Food:One thing that I do struggle with Simon is food. My son just happens to be a picky eater, one thing that I wish was different. He's SUPER sensitive to different textures and won't even try most foods. He has discovered ketchup thanks to his dear Uncle Matt, and I have found he will usually try anything that has that red goop on it. Although, if he's able to suck the ketchup off without eating the actual food (i.e french fries), he will. I find that this is something that I do stress myself out about with him. I want him to eat a balanced meal each and every day and when he doesn't I feel like a horrible mom. All I can do is pray for him (and his future wife - lol) and hope that he grows out of this picky eater stage soon.
Nursery:My dear mother never put us in nursery while we were at church. She would keep us with her until we were old enough to go to Sunday School. I had these visions of me being able to do the same thing with my children. Not so (at least not with this one). As I stated above, my son has an outstanding amount of energy and will not stay still for more then 5 minutes unless he is sleeping (and even then, he's a mover). All that said, I love putting him in our Church's nursery, not because I don't enjoy being with him, but I know without a doubt that he's enjoying himself so much more being with other kids and running and playing with the toys. He's also learning (even at this little age) about God and Jesus outside of the home and will one day be memorizing scripture
while in nursery. I love that about our church. He loves being with people, especially little ones. He little eyes get big as he sees little people running around and he grins from ear to ear as he watches them and interacts with them. He's going to make a good big brother ones of these days. :)
Now that I've bored you all to tears, I shall sign off (butnotbeforeapicture).
Notice how he only has one sock on? I'm impressed that he actually has a sock
on. He hates socks and will rip them off as soon as he can. My little barefoot baby.
