Happy Birthday Simon

Today was Simon's Birthday. We're currently on vacation at the Ning Family timeshare at the Marriott Ko'Olina Beach Club in Oahu, Hawaii. He's been looking forward to this day for the last 3 weeks. He LOVES a good birthday party. He's been to a lot of birthday parties and he just couldn't wait until it was his very own.

Last night, we told him that today was finally his birthday. After telling him we were going to have a party for him, he said, "We can't have a party. There are no balloons, birthday cake, or party hats." Shortly after putting him to bed, Kelvin went to Target and Safeway to get balloons, ingredients for a birthday cake, and party hats.

After a cheese burger for dinner (his favorite), we came back to our room to show Simon the streamers, balloons, presents, cake, and party hats. He looked around, ran around giddy, and announced, "This is the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!"

Here are some of our favorite memories of Simon over the last 4 years.

Simon...you've been a great son. We have enjoyed our time so far being your parents. We love you so much. Enjoy your best birthday ever!!!

Love Mom and Dad

Darth Vader

No introduction necessary....

Simon and Miles

Simon's got a fan club. He has a couple of little girls that think he's the coolest thing ever (besides his cousin Grace). Haley Hatch has got a "HUGE" crush on this boy. She gets the giggles whenever he's around and both of the parents think it's hilarious to see them interact. We told Simon to give Haley a hug and she was just ecstatic.

Simon and Miles are starting to really enjoy each other's company. They're both still very different people but they've learned how to play and have a lot of fun.

Miles does the craziest stuff some times when we go in and check on him. Apparently he went and read books and played Tennis after we put him to bed.



Kelvin went and represented the family at a masquerade party. It was supposed to be a fancy party but he ended up looking like the crazy butler.

Not sure how this video will look, but here Kelvin not only looks like a giant inside of this small trampoline, but he's got the boys bouncing around unable to stand on their feet.

Simon turns 3

For Simon's 3rd Birthday...we decided not to do a party. First of all, April was a busy month for the Nings, and secondly, he doesn't really care.

Instead, we took him to eat Dim Sum and put some candles on an egg custard which he loves to eat with a spoon. He does great blowing out candles.

We found ourselves in Phoenix for a wedding, and we took Simon to visit his Uncle Tay. Tay assured us that his room was kiddie proof and then he emerged with his wake-board. We didn't think he could do anything with it, but all by himself, he figured out how to do this...

Timeout

Simon got a couple of minutes in his room for this one.

Simon turns 2

It's hard to believe it's been 2 years since we received Simon. Last year we had a combined housewarming/birthday party...a bit more formal. This year we invited those who were in the area and that kids who played well with Simon...really trying to keep it small.

We focused on Simon's love for chocolate and fruit, and made him chocolate cookies with fresh whipped cream and fresh fruit.

It was a hot day, and thanks to Target, we were able to get a $7 "Slip-n-Slide" which he absolutely loved.

For everyone else, we made some of our famous BBQ Ribs, corn on the cob, and people brought some great salads. Simon really likes his corn...so he separated himself from all the attention to enjoy it himself.


We love that Simon...he continues to entertain us.

The Boys again....

As you can tell, Miles has been putting on the "LBS". We had a problem trying to get him to sleep during the months of December and January. Apparently, his throat had not quite fully developed, and so he "gasps" at night trying to breathe if he sleeps on his back. What worked the best was swaddling him up and either sitting him straight up on pillows (as shown below) or on his belly (I know...but weren't we all raised sleeping on our bellies?)

Simon still is pretty much oblivious to the new child. He doesn't mess with him, but he does find playing with our shoes and all of Miles' toys quite amusing.

Here he is wedging himself into the Bumbo...he seriously had to tip over to get himself out.

The boys getting bigger...

So, we are getting used to having 2 boys in the house. Simon still enjoys his bath.

Miles is definitely getting bigger...all attributed to the "straight cream" mommy's providing.

Simon finds his Nose

For nearly 2 months now, Kelvin and Susie have been asking Simon, "Where's your nose?" to no avail of getting a correct response. Usually he just gets frustrated and hides his face. Today though, he finally started pointing the right direction.



What part of his face should we have him point to next?

Halloween Turtle

This year, we have a lot more shots of Simon in his Halloween Costume. At the annual Trunk-or-Treat, we actually saw another little kid dressed in the same costume from BabyStyle. This year, he was a little Turtle. He kept the hat on for a little bit, but then, it had to come off.



Since the event was next door, Uncle Cary came by to enjoy him in his outfit. Simon eventually learned to love lollipops and also 3-Musketeers.

2008 Baby Gap Casting Call

Well, once again, we decided to try Simon's chances at the 2008 Baby Gap Casting Call. Last year we tried, but we he really couldn't sit-up that well. Obviously, we think he's the cutest thing ever.

The rules state that the pictures submitted had to have been taken within the last 3 months. The only good pictures we had were from the pumpkin patch, so most of them were from there. These were the pictures we submitted.




This last shot, Robert Bradshaw took while at our house. He took more photos which are on the link.

I guess what's next is we'll find out in early December if the official judges put Simon in the final round. From there, it's a public voting frenzy to see who wins. If he's up, you better believe we're advertising with links for all to vote (appropriately).

The Emperor's new bed

So, in anticipation of Simon getting ready for a "Big Boy" bed, Susie and Kelvin have decided to train him early in getting in and out of his own bed and sleeping without a rail. We converted his crib to a toddler bed, and hopefully he'll be ready for the Big Boy transition before the new baby needs to be in the crib.

So far, he averages 1-2 fall-outs a week. It's pretty funny...but we shouldn't be laughing about that.

Simon Discovers Tools

Simon recently started to be able to use a fork and spoon. Still a bit messy, and sometimes he resorts to just using his hand.

First Hair-Cut

We decided enough was enough...time to cut Simon's hair. The last straw was probably how much food would get stuck in his hair when he was done eating. Below is one of the last shots of his original baby hair.


We had debated about taking him to some place...but Kelvin insisted he could cut it. In the bathroom sink he went. He fussed a bit but eventually we got it cut. He probably lost more hair than has remaining.


After dinner, Simon went to watch his favorite movie, Shrek 2. We watch it from beginning to end maybe twice a day. He can just sit there and watch it over and over again. He likes Shrek 1, but he absolutely loves Shrek 2. He gets all gitty when he sees the blue screen on the TV which says "DVD Loading."

Head first

Simon loves the park right around the corner. He'll go all by himself and just walk up and then down the slide.

I wish I could take credit for teaching him this, but it was really Susie who just let him do it all by himself.

Behold...he walks

So, it's been quite awhile now that we've known that Simon could walk. He's done 1, maybe 2 steps between furniture, but he always looks for someone to offer his right hand a finger before he really starts to walk anywhere far.

This was kind of annoying for awhile since you ALWAYS had to be there for him to find a finger just in case he needed to move...if you weren't there, he wouldn't be happy.

Of course, on Saturday, he really decided to take off on his own. He's very secure and is walking quite well as you can see in the video.

Simon turns 1

Well, we've finally hit the 1 year mark. At his last check-up, here were his stats:

25.5 lbs (90th Percentile)
32 inches (95th Percentile)

We invited a small group of people, and family to come by and do a housewarming / Birthday party for Simon. The Ning grandparents gave Simon this nifty red wagon. It comes complete with a canopy, seatbelts, and backrests. Simon's here with his greatest new friend, James from the PA1 Ward. Seeing as I changed jobs (maybe I'll post about that later...) I had a couple of days off in between and Susie wanted to build Simon a sand-box. We downloaded plans from Lowes.com and off I went. Jared came by and offered a hand. Apparently, none of my other friends are all that great with a hammer. I felt sorry for the left-handed Jared as he used the rotary saw designed for right-handed people. Oh how the lefties suffer.

Susie made a really simple cake...or should I say assembled a really nice cake. She used the ever-so-hard to find Nabisco Chocolate wafers and layered whipped cream between and on top. She then covered it with M&M minis. Obviously, Simon has never seen a cake that he could eat, so when he saw the M&M's, he went TO TOWN on those little guys.

When he was out of M&M's, he finally got down to business with the cake.

As his proud parents, we could never have anticipated the joy this single baby has brought into our lives. We feel blessed that our Heavenly Father chose us to be Simon's parents. He is always so happy and easy to enjoy.

The Binky Mule

If Binkies were ever illegal, Simon could make a great mule. Susie called me while I was at work saying that Simon had stuffed the entire binky into his mouth. I told her, "of course, that's what he always does." She said, "No, he stuffed the entire binky, including the retainer and ring."

Now there are pictures to prove it.

Simon the Farmer

I know, we haven't had any other pictures of our new place, just pretty much Simon playing in the dirt. He is slowly becoming a red-neck

30 seconds unattended

Since we've "baby-proofed" the house, we've been letting Simon roam around the house and pretty much own the place. Since we're usually in the living room when this happens, the only things we watch out for are the computer cables, Rosa's litter box (which he stuck his hand into a couple of days ago).

Yesterday he crawled into the bathroom. He usually beats on the seat like a drum. He was quiet for 30 seconds and we found him pulling out all the tissue out of the box.

He does the same thing with the wipies...he just pulls them out one at a time.