Our First Family Christmas

This year we decided to spend Christmas morning at home with just our family. It was nice to have a low-key, slow paced morning together. The kids slept until 8:30, then we got up and had breakfast. After we got dressed it was time to open presents.

Simon and Miriam were so excited to see what Santa left for them. Miriam knew right away what to do with her presents. Simon on the other hand was unsure at first, but got the hang of it quickly. While each person was opening their present he would yell out, "What is it?". Then when it was open he would yell, "Open it". They both wanted to stop and play with everything right away. I guess that is a sign of successful gift giving. I love being able to see the excitement of my kids. Being a parent during the holidays is wonderful.

I managed to take a couple of videos:

Christmas 1 from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Christmas 2 from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Miriam and Simon even had fun when it was time to clean up, which wouldn't have been complete without costumes. Super Simon and Princess Miriam seemed to have a great Christmas morning.

Miriam's Fourth Birthday

Miriam had a great time on her birthday. She got two dresses from my Mom and in true diva style wore them both (first seen here and here; second one below). She wore the first one to church and the second one for her party.

Miriam is a lucky girl. She got all the things she wanted for her birthday. She was so excited and patient all day waiting for everyone to come join in the celebration. After presents we had brownies and ice cream.

Miriam's Fourth Birthday

from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Miriam: Three to Four

Here is Miriam's Birthday Slideshow:

Miriam three to four from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Forgotten Videos

These are from one of our visits to the farm in October (proof that once Miriam gets going she can talk non-stop):

This one is from a trip to the park in November:

Simon climbing UP the slide

from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Piles of Leaves

Last week I snapped some really cute pictures of Miriam and Simon playing in the leaves.

They had fun throwing the leaves over and over again.

I even managed to get a short video.

And by short I mean less than ten seconds.

Oh yeah, then Miriam wanted to take pictures of us.

Here they are.

Not edited.

Pretty good for a three year old.

Life with a little boy

Last night while I was making dinner I kept hearing this thump. I would come around the corner to see if Miriam and Simon were okay. They were just laying on the floor, happy as can be. I figured they were kicking the floor. Then I happen to catch this on video:

Luckily he did it a couple more times so I could catch it on video. I have no idea why he decided to do this. Simon is such a boy. It is amazing how different he and Miriam are... yet they are the best of friends. Sometimes I am a little nervous to find out what he is doing when I turn the corner. He has turned into a climber, I didn't even know he could get up on the couch all by himself.

Moo Baa La La La!

Do you know this book? It is by Sandra Boynton. We didn't have it growing up, but Michael did. Michael's parents introduced it to my kids... and they love it! It is definitely a worn book and it has only been through two kids. It might just be one of those books that I need two copies of. Anyway, Miriam has the book memorized and decided to read it to Simon tonight. Lucky for you I took a video:

Airplanes!

Yesterday I took the kids to the Air Force Museum at Hill Air Force Base. It was good for the kids to get out and run around. They loved seeing all the airplanes, especially the big ones. Laura and Ashley were kind enough to come with me and help me chase the kids.

While we were inside Miriam decided to teach us all she knows about airplanes. We were a good audience for little teacher Miriam.

Here is a video of her "speech". It is cute, even if you can't hear her very well... you get the point.

Visit to Idaho

On Tuesday we all (minus Laura) drove up to Idaho to visit my Grandma. All of my Dad's sisters and my Grandma's sister were able to come see us for the day. As usual, we were greeted with a ton of food and smiling faces.

I am glad that my kids got to see their great grandma. She is such a wonderful grandma. I wish we could see her more often than we do.

Call Me Maybe from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

On the way back from Idaho I caught a video of Simon and Miriam's new favorite song. Sorry the sound quality is so bad.

This just happened...

 

I had to post this even though everyone will witness my freaking out and scaring my child. I thought he would turn around and stop. Instead he just headed out like it was no big deal. Good thing I heard him playing with the door a minute before and checked to see what he was up to. He has no boundaries and would have fallen down the stairs. House now on lock-down.

fourteen months

This month I feel like it hit me. Simon isn't a baby anymore. At fourteen months Simon...

...tries to join Miriam in the bathroom.

...loves to smile for the camera.

...climbs to help Miriam brush her teeth.

(he fell two seconds after I took this picture)

...always wants up.

 my little Mama's boy

Simon's language is developing rapidly. Every day he is learning new words and signs. It is hard to keep up a list, but here is my attempt (I am sure there are some missing)...

New words: Up, Grandma, Shoe, On, Cheese, Jesus, Book, Hat

New signs: Hungry, Baby, Bye, Potty, Bath, Hat

Simon loves music and dancing. He goes crazy when Miriam gets out Hullabaloo. He loves singing and acting out the songs during story-time at the library. Whenever we have music on in the car he is bobbing his head up and down.

Simon has started to walk a little bit more (just the past couple of days). He can stand up and take a few steps. He tries to go so fast that he still falls a lot, but he is getting the hang of it.  Okay, so I wrote all of that a couple of days ago. This week our little Simon has started to walk. Here are a couple of videos.

(taken Monday June 4th)
Simon Learning to Walk from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

(taken Friday June 8th)
 
Simon walking on the grass from Vanessa Bishop on Vimeo.

Silly Faces

Simon is such a goofy boy. He doesn't really do what I ask on the video (as usual) but he makes some really silly faces. His facial expressions are pure entertainment.

I see the chickens

It is amazing how much changes in a year...

February 2011

March 2012

...and yet I happen to say the same things!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Simon's Birthday

We had such a fun filled day celebrating Easter (more on that later) and Simon's birthday all in one day. Simon wasn't really interested in opening presents. He loved ripping the paper for a while, but his focus didn't last long. Miriam was more than willing to help him open presents.

 

I am not very good at letting my kids get messy, plus we made red velvet cake (not exactly kid friendly), so the cake eating was a delicate process. Simon didn't know the difference. He enjoyed every last bite of cake.

Today we headed to the doctor to see how much Simon has grown. Here are his ever important one year stats: Weight - 23 lbs & Height - 30 1/2 inches. Looks like he is turning into a tall skinny boy like his Dad. Simon is such a fun, sweet boy. I am amazed by how much he is becoming aware of his surroundings. He loves to point at everything he sees. He can spot airplanes and birds like no other. Simon is also becoming very vocal. His excitement leads to grunts and squeals. If he is in the right mood he will copy any word/sound you make. His favorites are ball, Mama, and bath... he also says these words the most. We love our little one year old boy.

Simon: Birth to One Year

A Year in the Life of Simon. Enjoy!

Music - Rob Taylor Reach Out

Matthew West Safe and Sound

Foot Up

The other day while we were outside playing I put Simon down on the grass.

I don't think he liked it very much because he did not put his right foot down the whole time.

It was quite funny.

Good thing I took a video so you could see it too.

How about some pictures too?

Am I a mean Mom because I was taking pictures and laughing while he was crying for help?

I couldn't help it.

I thought it was funny.