Adventures of a spectacularly active, incredibly clever, and insanely adorable little boy.
Birth date: June 15, 2004
Fun Simon Stuff
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The Eleven Month Old
this month's photos
June 14, 2005
[week fifty-two]
This day last year Hava was in labor ALL DAY LONG. Actually, it wasn't that bad; we walked over to a sandwich shop on Castro Street to pick up sandwiches and waited in line while Hava had contractions, we stopped by Starbucks to pick up The Ultimate Pre-labor Snack (a maple oat scone - enough fat to carry anyone through nearly 24 hours without food), and eventually we got in the car and drove to the hospital. If Simon had been a wee bit faster at coming out (perhaps if he had dropped BEFORE labor like he was supposed too), he would have been born today. New things for Simon: Dad took him to his first music playgroup yesterday, he occasionally breathes like he has just run a marathon (he does it for the fun sound), and he likes to look at the world upside down (getting into summersault position with his head on the floor between his hands).
June 13, 2005
[week fifty-two]
Here are more adorable photos taken by someone who has genuine photography skills .... (thank you) Two toddlers in a sandboat ...
June 12, 2005
[week fifty-two]
Today was Simon's very first birthday party. He was so excited at the prospect that, for the first time in a long while, he woke up at 9 pm, midnight, 4 am, and, finally, 4:45. So this morning, we three very grumpy Kagles decided to make the best of it and went out to a pancake house where we found two other families dining with their one year olds at 6:45 am. Breakfast was great which cheered us a bit (especially the commiserating with strangers - even more parents with their one year olds were at the place by the time we left); Simon loved his first pancakes and his first taste of orange juice. After breakfast Simon took a two hour nap so Mom and Dad could prepare for the festivities but missed his second nap of the day and, by the time the party started, he was a little, shall we say, spacey. Family and friends stopped by. Twelve balloons with long strings were carried about and fun in the sandboat was had by Simon and his buddy Calvin. Simon liked the carrot cake (decorated as a tree) and ate it as if he actually had manners. Enough of the talk, you're here for the photos ...  Simon and Calvin playing in the new sandboat.  Simon going after some birthday cake. Simon is really into plants so we knew that he would at least pick at the cake if it were covered in foliage -- in this case, mint leaves. It's a tree! Or a shrub.
June 9, 2005
[week fifty-two]
Simon is currently enamored with books that have pictures of objects and their names. Last night (after he pointed out "DUCK!"), Mom read the words "blue chair" and Simon repeated "chair". This morning, Simon was walking around with our stuffed sheep, Josiah, and Dad said "Josiah" and Simon repeated "oh-sigh-ah", twice. Simon's new favorite word is "up" only sometimes he gets it backwards and declares "Puh!" Yesterday Mom corrected him, "up!" she said. Simon combined the two and walked around saying "up-pah! up-pah!" all afternoon -- our little Greek.
June 8, 2005
[week fifty-two]
Our world has gone topsy turvy. It is cold and raining here in Mountain View, California (why couldn't it be like this last year when over-due Hava was baking?). Not only that but Simon napped for FIVE HOURS yesterday and still went to bed on time and slept through the night. Hava and Matthew woke up before Simon this morning so that they could cover the "sand boat" on the back porch. It is almost together but still needs to be sealed (something the outside of the box didn't mention). All that sleeping might have allowed Simon to come up with a new trick: he squirmed on his stomach in the tub last night and, for the first time, blew bubbles in the water. One more week until the baby is one year old.
June 6, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Hava is back at work today and Simon is home alone with Dad. Tomorrow Simon will have a new friend play with him on a regular basis; providing Matthew some much needed time for his own projects. Nancy (first regular sitter), is from Germany (so maybe someday Simon will be able to speak with Oma in her native tongue) and (get this Amanda) she is a real life pastry chef at a fine dining establishment downtown. We had some fun over the weekend: Friday we spent our last weekday afternoon together at Shoreline Park. Saturday we went to the grand opening of Kiki's Candy Bar in Palo Alto where Simon experienced his first live rock band. He danced and clapped to the loud music - enough that the band dedicated a song to him - "this goes to that little guy out there; we've had lots of drunk people at our shows but none quite so small" (Simon often looks like he has had a few too many when he walks, runs, and dances). Matthew had visions of future Simon in his room, door closed, music blaring. Sunday we had our regular Las Madres play date with lots of babies/toddlers and their parents. Simon missed his nap Sunday morning (we're afraid he might be shifting from two naps to one) and he very nearly fell asleep in his high chair during lunch. New words from the chatter box: "up" (which means either "pick me up" or play "up and down" -- raise your hands in the air and then shrink down as small as you can), "out" (I want to go outside), "Nana" (Mama), "Na na na na na na ... " (I want milk). He says a lot of things but we've found that most of them are things he hears and then immediately repeats - he doesn't actually know their meaning, yet.
June 4, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Since Simon is almost an entire year old, we decided to start some of the more "dangerous" foods; we attempted to feed Simon strawberries last week but he wouldn't eat enough to really tell if he is allergic or not (we'll assume not but he didn't like them at all so the point is fairly moot). This morning we started scrambled egg yolk. If he does well with that over the next few days, we'll move to egg white. Hava had a problem with eggs as a kid (and she can't say she has much fondness for them now) so, though Simon could have had egg yolk earlier, we decided to put it off a while. If Simon does well with eggs he will have his very own carrot cake for his birthday (made by Mom and Dad). If Simon doesn't keep the eggs down or breaks out in hives, he'll be having the date and raisin eggless wonder found in "What to Expect the First Year". In either case the cake will be decorated with cream cheese frosting (we started feeding him cream cheese a few weeks ago). How is weaning going? Well thanks for asking. Memorial Day (the day at the zoo), Simon only nursed twice; once in the morning and once in the evening. We're all very happy with this schedule (though Simon has a bit of boob withdrawal at nap times). Hava's frozen milk supply lasted until last Thursday so now he is getting whole cow's milk four times a day. He is quite fond of the milk as long as it isn't straight out of the fridge cold and, over the past day and a half, has even taken to using the sippy cup without complaint. Hava isn't hungry all the time and she appears to be losing some weight (especially in the chest area). Weaning Simon has turned out to be an incredibly freeing experience (not that she wouldn't do it all over again exactly the same way). For Hava, nursing and pumping took up about 3.5 to 4 hours every day; now we're down to an hour or less.
June 3, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Simon called the police department this morning. We aren't sure what he is playing at (getting his parents in trouble) or even how he managed to do it but somehow he dialed, Matthew hung up, and they called back. We sent him to his room for an hour and a half to think about his actions. When he wakes up, we expect a full explanation.
June 2, 2005
[week fifty-one (again)]
This morning Simon woke up ready for a Hawaiian vacation. Instead, we three Kagles went to the Las Madres Breakfast to play with babies, Mommies, and Dad.  I WANT YOU to take me to Hawaii.
 Dad, the best dance partner.
Have we ever mentioned how brave it is of Matthew to participate in Las Madres events? We should all be so lucky to have men manly enough to feel comfortable at Mommy groups. By the way, Simon's nose is a bit scabbed from a fall last weekend on the back porch. It looks much worse than it felt. Speaking of the back porch, Simon was lucky enough to get his very own sand boat (a sandbox that is a boat) and blue padding for ocean around the boat (so no more scabs) as his first birthday gift. We hope to have figured out how to put it together by his birthday. In the mean time, Simon is enjoying watering the plants on the back porch with a small watering can and sweeping with the broom. This afternoon Uncle Tom stopped by the Kagle Abode to play. Tom has a mustache and mustaches are soooooo interesting. We are thankful that Tom doesn't mind little fingers exploring his face. Tom also comes with way cool equipment including a cell phone with an extendable antennae, glasses, a metal pen and his very own pocket calculator. If only we could have a mini-Tom to keep around the house (we don't have a lot of free space).
May 31, 2005
[week fifty-two] (?!) Somewhere a week was lost ...
The San Francisco Zoo was a great experience. Not because of the animals, Simon could have cared less, but because he napped the way there, had some bonding time with Cindi and Mike, touched a lot of plants, picked up a lot of leaves, ran after a lot of strollers and that all happened before we found the children's zoo (which was the best part). In the children's zoo there were goat brushes to play with, the ducks had a pond to swim in (sorry, Simon, we tag teamed you away from getting in the water), tractors to push, and rakes to pull. Oh yeah, and the roosters and ducks were pretty entertaining. 
Simon chasing a duck.
Garden tools are the best.
Future farmers of America.
Simon, caring more about the goat brushes than the goats.
Still chasing the duck.
Here is what Simon looked like all the way back to Mountain View (40 minutes) and for over an hour and a half in his crib after we got home (his longest nap on record). 
We should also report that, though neither of us actually believe he had intent, when we were all strapped into our seats ready to leave for the zoo, we both heard Simon say "wherearewegoing?" Later that day Mike insisted that Simon said "clap" while he was clapping. This morning he said "whatsthat?" a few times while pointing. Though he does actually say these things it is much more likely that his gibberish occasionally turns into something that sounds like English. It is a little too freaky to think that, at this age, Simon is stringing sentences together. Did you notice the little "comment" link below this post? It's new! What do you think? (Hint: Give it a whirl ...)
May 30, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Simon says: Happy Birthday Uncle Art! Saturday, Simon walked up to a yellow Labrador and made friends. He started to talk to the lab's family about the dog and his leash and the woman listened intently trying to make out his words until she realized that he wasn't speaking English. With all his gesturing and inflections, Simon did have her fooled for a while. Sunday Simon met April and Jayesh for the first time. They came all the way from near Chicago; sadly, he fell asleep soon after lunch and no pictures were taken. Today? We're off to the SF Zoo with Mike and Cindi. New things for Simon: he lays down on soft objects and pretends to be asleep for a few seconds before breaking out in laughter. What else is funny? Having his side ribs rubbed by Dad's chin.
May 27, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Carl came over and sat for Simon today. Simon was asleep when Mom and Dad left for Star Wars and they were a bit worried that he would be freaked out when he woke up to someone he doesn't see very often. Of course, Simon is much better at these things than his Mom and Dad so he found waking up to a new person only slightly interesting. In fact, with all the hugging and "pick me up" motions he was giving to Carl, Carl had a hard time getting out of the house. Clearly we are very nervous about leaving Simon with others but apparently he likes having sitters (at least he likes Carl). We hope to have a few regular sitters (or at least one) by the end of next week so Matthew can start to have some free time when Hava returns to work.
May 26, 2005
[week fifty-one]
Sorry for the lack of updates; we're bonding over here. On the weaning front, Simon now nurses four times a day, he gets milk from a cow two times a day and frozen mom milk once. He will drink a few ounces of milk from a sippy cup protesting all the while (shaking his head "no") or he will take up to ELEVEN ounces of milk when offered a bottle so we've been offering a bottle most of the time and are considering trying other types of cups (like the kind with built in straws). He has no problem drinking water out of sippy cups, just milk. When he does nurse, he nurses for 30 to 40 minutes which is longer than pre-weaning by a good 20 minutes. Saturday we will most likely switch to two or three nursings a day and frozen or cow milk the rest of the time and stay at that pace until Hava and/or Simon decide that they are ready to move past using the boobs. On the non weaning front, Simon had a hard time sleeping a few nights back and the next night, when he started out with the same problem, we realized that he was just too hot. Summer is here and Simon is not all that excited (at least while sleeping). He does seem to love the air conditioning as much as his Dad so our electric bills are not likely to decrease any time soon. As for BIG news ... we switched Simon's car seat from rear facing to forward facing. We can now turn around and SEE him, entertain him with the Prius monitor display, and hand him cheerios. We celebrated by taking him through his first car wash; he was shocked but very brave. Here are some pics ....
Forward facing for the first time.
 Yikes! Why are those large red things coming at us!
On the "baybee" front, Winslow has shown signs of normalcy in the past few days; desiring cuddling time with Matthew and not being as afraid of the downstairs. New things for Simon: he is starting to run, he doesn't really like peekaboo anymore but he is thrilled by a good game of hide-and-seek (played by hiding behind a door he has closed or behind the curtain under the stairs), he talks ALL THE TIME and sometimes very loudly And, since we haven't done this in a while here is an update of Simon Taste:
HOORAY! (like): tools (real or plastic), slides, electrical cords, being chased, closing doors, dirt, plants, water, (and especially a combination of the last three things), walking up stairs, copying what Mom does (trying to sweep, pretending to clean a spot out of the carpet, pretending to run a bath), asking us questions in gibberish and waiting expectantly for the answer, mozzarella and Gruyere cheese, reading books, ducks, and dogs (he actually literally chased one for 20 minutes around the park the other day) NO WAY! (dislike): swings, French Ementhaler and Gouda, bananas, having his teeth brushed or his face washed, milk from a sippy cup, sleeping past 5 am
May 23, 2005
[week fifty]
Saturday Simon, Hava and Matthew walked down to the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival (twice) and (the second time) Simon walked up to Mountain View's very own Guitar Man. Simon was hesitant to get too close but the more the man sang, the closer Simon got until he was right up next to the guitar waving his right arm up and down as if he were strumming it himself. The man held out the guitar for him and, as he continued to sing, Simon actually strummed through all of the strings in the correct place while the man held down the cords. Guitar Man made money off of Hava and Matthew for providing such a great experience. We may have to hang out at the post office (his usual haunt) more often. Sunday we hosted our second Las Madres play date. Simon was a little confused by all the wee ones playing with his things but mostly enjoyed having the crowd. Here are a few shots of play ... (pretty much everyone seems to have had baby boys in 2004)
Sunday evening we had the best real estate agent in the Bay Area over for dinner, our friend and agent, Danuta. We aren't looking to sell right now but we did ask her about real estate in Palo Alto (which has some of the best public schools in the country). She suggested looking elsewhere. Three bedroom homes in Palo Alto - even fixer uppers - are now over one MILLION dollars. *Geesh*
May 21, 2005
[week fifty]
Simon says: Happy Birthday Grampy Grumpy and Aunt Arlene! Simon has a new game called "Shut the Door." This game is particularly fun in the bedrooms and bathrooms. It is played by walking into a room and closing the door behind you. The result is either a laugh or a cry on Simon's part (depending on his mood). This morning he managed to lock himself into Mom and Dad's room; they rescued him pretty quick and, luckily, that time it was funny.
May 20, 2005
[week fifty]
Wednesday Simon said goodbye for a while to Grandmother and Grandfather. He was very sad to see them go and provided lots of hugs, pointing, waving and clapping. He also ran into a real life fire fighter who gave him a real wrench to hold which made Simon silly with delight. Simon proudly displayed his fire fighter sticker on his chest all day which is quite a feat for a kid who destroys all paper products in his path (in a good, "wow, it is fun to crinkle and rip" way). Here is Fire fighter Simon: 
May 18, 2005
[week fifty]
Day three of mother-son bonding and, so far, we are having a great time. Yesterday Mom learned how to put Simon down for both naps without using a boob and it worked just as well as putting him down for the night. This morning, Simon and Mom woke up early; let's rephrase that; Simon woke Mom and Dad up very early so Mom and Simon were out of the house, down to the main street, and back with a grande nonfat latte in hand by 7 am. We have also witnessed some pretty great developmental milestones over the past twenty-four hours: The Yaba Daba Do Milestone: Both this morning and yesterday when placed on the changing table for the first time of the day Simon very distinctly said "daba daba daba daba do." What is particularly amazing is that he reached this milestone without ever having seen or heard about the Flintstones. The Farting in the Tub Milestone: Last night Simon farted in the tub for the first time and he laughed; not just a chuckle but a full-bodied laugh. He laughed so hard that he fell backwards in the water, which was a shock, but then he sat back up started full-body laughing again and fell sideways. It took about fifteen minutes before Mom and Simon stopped laughing about that fart. Wait tell Mom tells him about what she was thankful for a few Thanksgivings ago (that farts aren't blue). It is nice to know that Simon, Hava, and Matthew are all on the same page.
May 17, 2005
[week fifty]
We lied. No really fun birthday pics were taken. Instead, here is a random shot (taken yesterday morning) demonstrating what it is like to take pictures of Simon: 
Simon has had a really hard time napping these past two days seemingly because he has a whole slew of teeth coming in (at least he keeps try to put our hands in his mouth as if to say "HERE!", "HERE IS WHERE IT HURTS"). It looks like he has three coming in on the top right and three on the top left all at the same time. Poor kid.
May 16, 2005
[week forty-nine]
Simon says: Happy Birthday Daddy!
Simon woke up in very good spirits this morning; he sang Dad a happy birthday song in baby-speak and had a great time playing with the packaging of the presents. New things for Simon: he has a fifth tooth coming in (upper right), he helps Mom and Dad put his clothes on, and he has started to kick balls around the house. Later ... pictures of the big day!
May 15, 2005
[week forty-nine]
Simon is eleven months old! Watch him age.
Today is a rather busy day. This morning we are hosting our first Las Madres play group and then Grandmother and Grandfather will stop by to play and to dine at La Fondue (we're celebrating Matthew's pre-birthday). Trivia: Matthew was born on 5/16, Simon was born on 6/15. Simon liked the cow's milk and he didn't have a problem with drinking it out of a sippy cup. Hava found it a little sad to give him that first cup but she got over it quickly; Simon drank most of the milk on the way to the park.
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