Simon has a cold so we are adjusting our Halloween festivities accordingly. Last night he watched as we cleaned and carved the pumpkins (he had no interest in touching the gooey bits), he decorated cookies, and we all watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - available through YouTube.

This morning he was feeling better so he attended the first of two pre school Halloween parties. He enjoyed "bobbing" for the apples with tongs (the modern version) and wouldn't get near the Snickers bar he was offered - proving that not being adventurous with food isn't only reserved for healthy options. Tonight he has a slight fever so he may have to miss out on tomorrow's festivities.

We started out with four pumpkins but two of them imploded before they were able to realize their full potential.

Making Christmas cookies because, this year, Simon doesn't know the difference and we weren't totally prepared.

Posted by kagledom at 06:29 PM | Permalink

Simon isn't feeling well today. His final baby tooth is almost through the gum and he has the symptoms of bad teething but he is unusually glassy eyed and calm which leads us to believe it isn't just the new tooth. Nevertheless, when we showed him his Bob costume this morning, he was very pleased. He put it on, played with the tools, and took a long look at himself in the mirror before he gave himself a kiss.

And, just in case you want to see movement, here's Simon-Bob on video.

Posted by kagledom at 12:27 PM | Permalink

It's nap time and Simon is actually napping. Hava is home and we three Kagles are celebrating five years married (nine years together) by doing absolutely nothing (we're counting Simon in on the five just because we like him). Sometimes, when relaxing hasn't been high on the priority list, doing nothing is the very best course. For example, it led us to take an anniversary picture of ourselves which turned out to be quite fun. Since we're not incredibly talented or outrageously attractive here is the one (out of a dozen takes) we are actually willing to show:

When THAT turned out to be the best we could do, we decided separate photos might work better:

The Old Man

The Ball and Chain

Last night one of Simon's teachers came over to sit while we went to a live taping of our favorite radio program, Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me! A good time was had by all. (If you listen really hard to this week's show, you will hear us laughing nearly non-stop. It's even better in person than it is on the radio.)

Posted by kagledom at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of the more interesting art projects Simon brought home last week...

(It has a third eye under its snout.)

Posted by kagledom at 07:56 PM | Permalink

Simon's friend Amelie has been spending a lot of time in France recently. When she came over last night to play, it was clear that she and Simon had really missed each other. There were hugs. There was leaning in and screaming. Toys were shared. Fun was had. Amelie was reminded of how frustrating boys can be...

Here is a video clip of Simon joking around with Amelie while she attempts to concentrate on Mr. Potatohead. This is only about half of the clip. In the second half (not shown due to extreme length) Simon helps Amelie with the face pieces and again tries to get her to wear the hat. Finally she decides she has had enough and walks away to cut some pretend food; Simon, of course, moves on to "help."

Posted by kagledom at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Reports from Kagledom are slowing these days and we have a confession as to the reason why. Things have been busy and more stressful than usual and sometimes (although hard for Grandma Whee to imagine) Simon doesn't do anything particularly interesting. Cute? Yes. Noteworthy? Not every day.

We can report that Simon spun his bowl of yogurt last night and it went flying off the table. Matthew missed catching the bowl but did manage to catch most of the yogurt.

We can also report that Simon's current favorite book is The Passover Seder which he memorized just in time to show off his Hebrew for the Feefadders. He instructed the Feefadders on how to open "da Ha-ga-dah" and proceeded to count each of its sections for them in Spanish.

We tried to take Simon to the Children's Museum today but got trapped in our neighborhood by crazy Chicago Marathon running people. We went to Target instead and added to Simon's Bob the Builder toy collection. Just recently Simon has started imaginative play by making his toys talk to each other and pretending that they are doing all sorts of seemingly random activities. Not only is this type of play terribly cute, it can also be self entertaining for up to an hour at a time.

Simon is also having a wonderful time playing with Grandmother's balls of yarn. That little bit of cat in him probably comes from the Rubenson side.

Hava has taken many photos of most of these events and they have all managed to turn out blurry and splotchy and not worthy of public display. Simon has also taken many photos and they are even worse.

Posted by kagledom at 01:02 PM | Permalink

Simon had the "best day" at school yesterday. He stopped being aggressive weeks ago but yesterday he apparently was full of hugs for everyone.

In general, his behavior has improved (as has his language). Time outs at home are few and far between. That doesn't mean, of course, that the crankies have stopped. He is especially difficult to feed and no one wants to try to be the person to get him in or take him out of the tub or shower (we've reduced his baths to every other night for that very reason).

His appetite has slowed to that of a normal toddler instead of that of an incredibly hungry adult which means he will forgo food for a while if what he is offered isn't what he wants. Yesterday he refused lunch. Getting him to eat breakfast before school has been a challenge. The other night we had some nice gnocchi with Costco brand pesto. It was apparently so good that he now wants it for *every* meal. When we felt like celebrating the other night (and we were out of gnocchi), we took him to a restaurant around the corner and ordered him a large portion of gnocchi with pesto. Would he eat it? Not a bite. To be honest, it was a bit too garlicy but as soon as it arrived Simon decided he was happy with a slice of bread and butter. Last night he asked for gnocchi again. We gave him a bagel with cheese, green beans and corn. It took quite a while to calm him down. "No-key!" he cried. "Pasta!" he wailed. It was only after Hava lost her temper for a moment that Simon understood that he had reached the limit and agreed to stop and eat his dinner.

On the menu for this evening: The Fee-Fadders are coming!

(Fee-Fadders = Simon's name for Grandparents Kagle.)

Posted by kagledom at 11:59 AM | Permalink

Simon's complete delight at watching the dinosaur eat the pumpkins was enough to make the weekend a success but there were a few things we would have changed:

• Grammy had her cash and her ATM card stolen out of her purse while we were walking to the L.


• We got stuck in very bad traffic on the way back from the pumpkin farm so we missed seeing Wicked (we had two of the only weekend tickets remaining this year).


• It was very, very cold; with wind-chill, most of the past week has been below freezing (it snowed for a couple of hours last Thursday).

Posted by kagledom at 09:05 AM | Permalink

On the hay ride with April

Sitting with our selections

Feeding the sheep

The pumpkin eating dinosaur (the very best part)

(Not) getting lost in the maze

Watching the pigs with Grammy and Daddy

Posted by kagledom at 08:54 PM | Permalink

Simon was sent home from school yesterday. His teachers were concerned about his dramatic change in behavior. They thought he might be sick but apparently his lethargy and disinterest in everything was caused by the impending arrival of his final baby teeth: nineteen and twenty. Simon has been having trouble sleeping the past few nights while the teeth push through. We haven't complained because he has been really sweet about taking some pain reliever (what he calls "med-sin"), talking with us a little, reading with Mommy, cuddling and then going back to sleep. Matthew picked him up from school and fed him some frozen "chellies" (Simon's word for cherries) and then Simon played with Grammy Rubenson who is visiting for the week.

Grammy brought Simon a plush Bob the Builder dolly and pillow. Matthew bought Simon a new Bob Lego set. Simon is a very happy boy.

Sweet things Simon has said over the past few days:

After Matthew performed some magic tricks for Simon: (To Hava) "Daddy is FUNNY!"
After waking up an hour after being put to bed: (To Grammy) "Wanna play Legos?"
All the time (to everyone and everything): "Are you OK (Mommy/Daddy/Grammy/Elmo/Bob...)? Is everything OK?"

Posted by kagledom at 12:26 PM | Permalink

Last week we took Simon into a furniture store and a clerk asked him, "What's your name?" And Simon replied "Simon."

That was a first.

This week his favorite driving CD is one of Matthew's French language disks:

[Man's voice] "Bicycle"
Simon: "Bicycle"
[Woman''s voice] "Bicyclette"
Simon: "Bicyclette"
[Woman''s voice] "Bicyclette"
Simon: "Bicyclette"

...

Posted by kagledom at 02:24 PM | Permalink

When we lived in Mountain View, Simon used to spend most Friday afternoons at one of several nearby Starbucks locations visiting with Hava's friends. As soon as he was mobile he crawled, cruised, walked, and then ran through the sitting area. Hava or a friend gave chase and this person was often unable to carry on a conversation for more than 20 seconds. For the past couple of weeks we've been taking Simon to our local Starbucks for "hot coffee" (steamed soy milk) and, instead of strolling outside with our coffee, we sit at a table sipping our drinks, conversing, and watching the world go by. It is during these times when Simon is at his most calm and polite, often asking for a napkin and placing it on his lap, swirling his cup before sipping and exclaiming "ahhh" in imitation of Mommy and Daddy. He sits in his chair and tells us about his life and the life of the people outside the window. When he is finished he slides off the chair, climbs into his stroller, and enjoys the ride home. No one can appreciate these moments as much as us, his weary parents, always trying to be one step ahead and nearly collapsing from exhaustion at the effort.

Posted by kagledom at 02:51 PM | Permalink

We're glad Simon doesn't have any. But, if he did, how would we know?

Posted by kagledom at 08:57 AM | Permalink

Simon always wakes up in the morning asking for things. Usually he asks to see the parent not in the room first, but, after that issue is resolved, he requests food; cookies, cake, pancakes, and macaroni and cheese are all popular choices. Today his first request was Daddy. After both parents were present and accounted for he asked for whipped cream. Not getting the desired result he changed his mind. "See da hell-copper?" Hava told him that there wasn't a helicopter outside but they could probably find a picture of a helicopter. Apparently Simon misunderstood: "Say cheese, hell-copper! Hell-copper, say cheese! Say cheese everybody!"

Posted by kagledom at 02:47 PM | Permalink

Tonight Matthew was working. Hava and Simon went to family night at Simon's school to meet his teachers and some of his classmates and their parents. Hava doesn't spend much time at Simon's school so tonight she got a full report...

He asked to use the potty for the first time at school today.

His teachers describe him as rambunctious but very sweet. They both say he has "the cutest voice" and talks constantly (most of the time, of course, he is speaking Simonese), he loves music, and he will dance at any and every opportunity - even when there isn't anything to dance to. He has been getting much better about using his "nice hands." The assistant teacher said she would love to baby sit him. She also said that she loves that he listens.

While we were there, two two-year-old girls came up to us with their parents at different times and said "That's SIMON!" One even gave him a hug. Simon smiled but didn't seem to have a great deal of interest in either girl. One girl's mother said all they hear about at home is Simon. A third mother stopped by to say hello to Simon. Apparently she sees him on a regular basis and says he is always "so cheerful."

In sappy news, yesterday Simon told Hava she was "cute" just before he gave her a kiss and gave Matthew a hug. For the past week he has been telling Matthew that he loves him before being put to bed.

Recent interests include: standing on his head (he usually attempts to get close to a wall and climb it with his feet), mother goose, calling out for Gilbert (Caillou's cat), asking for Chinese food, spinning around while staring at the same point until he gets overwhelmed with dizziness, being carried around in the laundry basket, and learning how to be a back seat driver by repeating directions after our new car GPS device: "Turn right, Daddy!"

Posted by kagledom at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Simon had a very social weekend.

Saturday we drove to a very lovely Chicago suburb to visit our Bay Area/Chicago friends April and Jay. We walked around the downtown playing with the colorful (and sturdy) art displays, had breakfast, visited a toy store, and then hung out at a magic shop where a young teen boy showed Simon some slight of hand tricks that made Simon squeal in delight. Matthew bought a couple of easy tricks to entertain the boy at home.

Sunday we had a couple of Hava's coworkers over for pizza and jasmine pearl tea infused chocolate pots. Simon danced with Sei-Jeong and assured Tim that his whip cream pot (no chocolate at night for the sleepy boy) was "good!" He also gave them a tour of the house at one pointing pointing out "da shower", "da toilet", and "da tub."

Speaking of toilets...Simon has progressed from the potty to the toilet. He is very proud of himself and the M&Ms are working as an incentive and celebratory dessert. He still isn't to the place where he will tell us that he needs to go but he will go when we provide the opportunity.

Posted by kagledom at 08:03 PM | Permalink

Simon got his hands on the camera again this morning...

Posted by kagledom at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)