Long Weekend

Some long weekends are great. They are the kind where there is an extra day off work. You get to spend extra time with family. You go out and have fun doing long weekend type things.

Then there is the kind of long weekend we just had. You know, the kind where your two kids and husband are sick. You feel like you haven't slept in days (even though it was only 2 rough nights). Add in a not-one-person-got-dressed-in-anything-other-than-pajamas-stay-home-from-church kind of day and there you have it... a long weekend!

five months

Simon is five months old today! He is growing like crazy. I put away all his six month clothes a couple of weeks ago. He is now wearing a mixture of 9 to 12 month clothes. Colder weather really needs to come soon because Simon is struggling on the clothes front (thus the weird outfit in these pictures). Most of the clothes we have that fit him right now are for winter. Simon has accomplished quite a lot this past month. He is now a rolling machine. Remember when I wasn't sure whether or not he had help? Well, apparently not. Over the next couple of days we caught him rolling from his back to his front a couple of times. Soon after he figured out how to go from front to back. This is totally new to me since Miriam didn't roll until she was 10 months old then went straight to crawling when she was 11 months. We are going to have to keep a close eye on this little boy.

"I just rolled over"

We are practicing learning how to sit up.
He is getting stronger and closer.

He is a pretty calm baby.
He will just lay and play as long as he can see me or Miriam he is content.

Simon is still our blue eyed baby boy. His hair kind of grows like crazy (and just sticks straight up). We have already cut it 3 times. Simon is sleeping a lot better during the day. Those 30 minute naps just weren't cutting it. For the most part he sleeps eight to nine hours straight at night. He eats and then sleeps a couple more hours. Here are some fun pictures of Simon I played with in Photoshop (where I don't have very many skills).

Rise and Shout...

the Cougars are out.

one year ago

The month of August was such a crazy time for us last year. So much has changed in our lives since last August. It has been a great year. I organize my pictures on the computer by year and then within each year by month. It is fun to look back at what things were like a year ago. Here are some fun examples of the changes in our lives.

Miriam (ages 1 1/2 and 2 1/2)
It amazes me how much she has grown up this year.

Simon - age 4 1/2 months
(we found out we were pregnant in August of last year)


Last August Michael was finished with school/CPA exam.
We packed up moved across the country.
Michael was preparing to start a new job.

This August we are settled into our lives in the "real world" as grown-ups.
We actually have an income.
We love the time we get to spend together as a family.
We look forward to what next year will bring.

I swear I was only gone for a minute

Today I left Simon playing like this:



I came back to this:



I think he might have had help from a little girl named Miriam:



They were playing so quietly and being happy that I had no idea!

E I E I O

Miriam reading/singing her book before bed tonight. Enjoy!

Miriam reading Old MacDonald from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

the end of an era

After nearly 32 wonderful months Miriam has finally figured out that she can get out of bed on her own. It is hard to believe that it has never occurred to her earlier. Even though she has been in her big girl bed for about 8 months now, she never got out of bed until we came to get her. Sadly for me, with this new found freedom has come earlier mornings. I don't know why, but this past week she has been waking up around 7:00 am. I know that most of you are saying why is seven so early. You see, Miriam has always been a great sleeper. Up until this past winter she rarely woke up before 9:00 am. Recently she started waking up between 8:00 and 8:30 am. It was great to be able to sleep in while I was pregnant with Simon. So, this past week or so Miriam (and Simon for that matter, but that is a different story) has been up by 7:30 am. She did wake up at 6:30 am one day and I told her to go back to sleep... which she did. Oh well, what can you do. I guess I will just have to get used to this new morning routine.

Good morning Miriam!