We've got several updates today...

French

Last Saturday we three Kagles went to a make-up class at Simon's French Program. Matthew regularly reports on Simon's French accomplishments but Hava was able to see for herself how Simon has made himself the star of the class. He knows the routine and grabs the different sacks of props for the teacher. He enthusiastically responds to the teacher's commands. But what is most amazing is that he actually speaks and understands French! We initially were not so sure about the expense; would it be worthwhile? Now we're convinced and have signed Simon up for the next session and plan to continue supporting his Francophile habit far into the future. In fact, when Matthew called to renew, all of the staff knew of Simon - he's a popular little fellow.

The Mystery of the Throbbing Toe

Saturday night Hava and Matthew went out on the town and came back when Simon was asleep. Unfortunately he woke up around 10:30 pm SCREAMING and wouldn't calm down. It wasn't until we noticed that his big right toenail was blue (and he wailed when Matthew tried to put his socks on) that we had a clue as to the source of the problem. By that time we had spent most of the night awake. Medicated Simon crawled into bed with Mama and woke her up by cradling her face in his hands and planting a kiss on her lips. It was the sweetest way he could possibly say "Thank you, Mama. I feel better now."

So where is a podiatrist when you need one? Fortunately, for us, just a call away. Grandma Whee was sent a picture of the affected toe to determine the seriousness of the problem. It wasn't that serious and by Monday he wanted to know why he had a black toe - something we aren't actually able to answer - but he felt fine.

Without a Daddy

Monday Simon allowed Matthew a five minute workout before he cried so hard the attendant called Matthew back to the kid's area. (Here is where we start to worry about leaving Simon at preschool next month.)

The Growing Brain

Simon's languages continue to develop. His stories are becoming more entertaining (since we kind of sort of understand what he is talking about). Hava got a twenty minute instruction on the different kinds of doors and keys the other day. Matthew learned about all the different things that can be on the bus and what sounds they make (the Mamas on the bus say "I love you" while the Daddys on the bus say "Daddy Da Da"). This afternoon Matthew asked him if he wanted to go outside even though it was overcast; Simon sighed and said "I don't know."

We were playing some of Simon's favorite tunes in the car the other day when we heard a toddler version of "Almost" coming from the back seat of the car: "I almost got drunk at school at fourteen where I almost made out with the homecoming queen who almost went on to be Miss Texas but lost to a slut with much bigger breast-es." We stared at each other in disbelief the first time it happened but, with each song, Simon sang (only a few of the words are really clear but he has the cadence and usually the sound of the first letter of the words correct). We're conflicted about nurturing his love of music versus having him repeat words he probably shouldn't know. Neither of us are big on censorship. We tried playing some Disney tunes to balance out the adult content - "NO NO NO!" cried Simon. Now we're working on taking turns with music so we don't have to listen to the same songs over and over (although the singing is incredibly cute) and we'll slowly introduce some songs with better lyrics (promise).