Separated: Eugene and Ireland (Philly & Toronto)

June 18, 2007 Statistics:
Weight: 13lb 11 oz (+2lb 10oz in 1 mo)
Length: 24 inches (+0.5 inches in 1 mo)

So, in January and February, Kelvin had a lot of travel for work. A grand total of 40,000 miles on United Airlines in those two months alone. By the time March came along, we were blessed with no travel until after Simon was to be born. Since his birth, no one has flown anywhere and we've been blessed for the ability to have everyone stay together.

Now, it's all starting up again. In anticipation for Kelvin's week-long trip to Ireland for work, the McFarlane's accepted the invitation to have Susie and Simon stay with them. It was a great excuse to see them again (or have Tannya see Simon again) and provide Susie some company and help while Kelvin's away.

Everything was set for an 11am departure for Susie and Simon to Eugene and a 10:58am departure to Ireland thru Philadelphia. We ended up in different terminals but Susie managed great and Simon was very cooperative. Their flight was delayed 50 minutes but they made it up in the air and they landed easily at 12:30pm in Eugene. Simon stirred a little bit but made no sign of irritation due to cabin pressure.

Kelvin however, had a 30 minute delay which ended up being a 2 hour wait on the tarmac at SFO. he took-off at 1pm (well after Susie and Simon landed in Eugene). After doing a 1hour holding pattern in Philadelphia, he missed his connecting flight Ireland by 10minutes. No other flights that evening, and the same flight the next day was already full. He and about 15 other angry Irish people looked for alternative routes and places to stay. After 5 hours of sleep at a Best Western in New Jersey (yes, all hotels booked for miles) Kelvin's currently sitting at the aiport waiting for his connecting flight thru Toronto back out to Ireland.

Simon's having a great time in Eugene. First he went with everyone to Target to go shopping. Whitney decided for half an hour that she was "Tannya" and that Simon was "her" baby. "I'm Tannya and I'm shopping at Target."

Later that evening, Rob had his chance to hold Simon while Tannya took a picture. Most of the other pictures posted are of Simon laying down. He actually looks a lot different (cuter I think) sitting up. The fat on his face gets distributed a little bit differently. Right as the picture goes, Simon opens his mouth and lets out a "rope" of spit-up. Classic.

It's tough being separated, but it's comforting to know that the Lord provides for everyone. Friends are made to serve and support us when we need it. We are so grateful for the great friends that we have and the ability that we have to support them in their needs as well. We all miss eachother but there is comfort in knowing that all will be well.

Is he Big?

So, it's been this on-going question between the two of us, as to how big Simon really is. Relatively speaking, he looks rather proportional. His head is not really oversized compared to the rest of his body...nor is he super chunky. He is currently 7 weeks old and he's wearing 3 -6 months clothing. Some of his 3 mo clothing barely fit him length wise, and he can barely squeeze his legs and arms thru the holes.

We had some great friends of ours over last week. Their 6 mo old Sienna is a great little ball of joy. Jeff and I are both baby hogs. Sienna, like normal kids her age, feel lighter than Simon because she can hold her balance. Simon's more of a dead weight. We took pictures for the Salters in Hungary (hopefully they read this) when Cara realized the size of Simon's feet.

The following weekend we went out with them again and decided to take Simon and Sienna to their first movie. It was the Drive-in Theatre in San Jose on Capitol Expressway. Since it was Saturday night they already had the Swap Meet during the day and there were piles of trash pushed up against the wall (pretty ghetto). But we arrived early and noticed so many families gathered around doing tail-gate parties. We opened up the truck bed and put blankets and pillows everywhere and the 6 of us enjoyed Shrek. Simon slept during the entire movie and Sienna just enjoyed the company.

We had the great opportunity of helping Jane Dukes out with housing for a week while she was transitioning out of the Bay Area. She was pretty intent on getting a picture of Simon smiling which we enjoyed. I tried getting some earlier but it's tough to get the timing down right. Jane was pretty diligent and out of many attempts, got a couple which were pretty cute. Simon indeed is getting to be funner to play with now that he's starting to try to hold his head up and is tracking people. His smiles are unpredictable, but for now it's usually when he's done eating, right after he poops, or when he makes some cool sounds.