Well you know my name is Simon

Three days ago Simon decided he could get into even more trouble if he started pulling himself up onto things after crawling over to them. At first the novelty of moving around was interesting enough on its own, but now Simon has discovered that crawling means he can do all kinds of fun things like getting into the trash, pulling books off the bookcase and yanking cords out of the socket. I don’t know what it is with babies, but they are most interested in the things you don’t want them getting into. Stacking cups pale in comparison to the thrill of the toilet brush.

Along with his ability to pull himself up there are many new things to report this week. Simon’s two bottom teeth finally emerged after an agonizing few weeks of teething. We got a small break, but the ear pulling and occasional whining fits have started up again so I’m guessing the top two are making their way down.

His babbling now includes da da da, ba ba ba, ma ma ma, and na na na, as well as a high pitched squeal accompanied by tongue rolling. Christopher calls it his battle cry.

His best new trick is smacking my hand when I say “gimme five!” It’s so cute that I’m working on getting him to add waving goodbye and clapping his hands to his repertoire. The faux hawk has given way to a full head of blond hair and he has started feeding himself cheerios and using his sippy cup without my help.

I often think how fortunate Simon is to have two sets of grandparents who love him so much. Both my dad’s parents died when I was very young and my mom’s parents lived in Ottawa, so we only saw them a couple of times a year. Simon will have the benefit of the love and guidance of four grandparents who also happen to be pretty great people. He’s a lucky kid.

-Leila