Monkey Puppies

Begrudging Cuddle

2013-04-01T09:03:00.001-04:00

Liz writes:

Edie specifically asked to snuggle with Simon and he begrudgingly agreed.

Halloween 2012

2012-11-01T11:25:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2012

Simon shared several declarations about doctors with people who were giving out candy.

"Doctors are ALWAYS polite."

"Doctors don't get hurt. They fix hurts."

"Doctors are very good at trick or treating."

Appropriate Night Time Shouting

2012-08-13T13:06:00.001-04:00

A few months ago at about 3:30 AM, Simon woke me by shouting from his bed.

"Moooooommy! Daaaaaddy!"

I went to his room. Maybe he'd had a nightmare?

David: What's wrong, Simon? Are you okay?
Simon: I'm thirsty!
David: [Rubbing eyes and taking a deep breath] Okay. I'll get you a drink of water.

After his refreshing beverage, I tried to explain that being thirsty was not a good enough reason to awaken the rest of his family and told him that he could keep some water on his bedside table in the future if he liked.

Shortly after bedtime the next night, Simon started up again with the yelling, "Daaaaaaddy!"

David: What's wrong, Simon?
Simon: Blue and Magenta are downstairs!

I thought for a moment about the magnitude of this crisis...then sat down next to him on his bed.

David: Simon, are you bleeding?
Simon: [checks]...no.
David: Is anything on fire?
Simon: [Looks around his room]...no.

David: Okay, so here's what to remember. If you're bleeding or on fire, those are really good reasons to wake everyone else by shouting. If you have a problem that's a lot smaller than one of those, it can probably wait until morning and it is not appropriate to wake everyone else by shouting. Got it?

Simon: Yes.

David: You're sure?

Simon: Yes.

David: Let's find out. What are two good reasons to wake everyone else by shouting late at night?

Simon: Bleeding or fire!

David: Awesome. G'night, Simon- sleep well.

Simon: Sleep well, daddy!

And I did. He hasn't done it again since.

Simon's Jupiter

2012-08-13T12:45:00.003-04:00

Dusting off this blog just to share a recent bit of Simon awesome.
_______

Simon really likes They Might Be Giants' Here Comes Science, including a song called "How Many Planets."

In the video, a boy and a dog fly in a rocket ship past each planet in the solar system.

His favorite is Jupiter-because it is the biggest and has the deepest voice.

And here's a recent drawing of Simon's (from memory- he hadn't seen the video in at least several days):

<3 div="div">

Screw Diving

2012-06-20T11:14:00.001-04:00

Simon (almost 4): Mommy, I had a DREAM last night!
Liz: What was it about?
Simon: I was in the ocean and I was SWIMMING!
Liz: That sounds like a fun dream!
Simon: [to David] Daddy, I LOVE the ocean!
David: That's great, Simon- oceans are important and very cool.

[pause]

Simon: Daddy, I LOVE being a screwdriver!
David: ...What?
Simon: I love being a screwdriver!
David: You dreamed you were a screwdriver? Wow. That's a really interesting dream. Did you remember if you were a flathead or a phillips?
Simon: No, daddy, a SCREWDRIVER.

[pause]

David: Do you mean "scuba diver?"

Simon: Yes! A screwdriver! Under water!

Simon the Big Brother

2011-11-24T00:49:00.002-05:00

One of Simon's favorite shows is "Calliou," which is about a little boy, Calliou, who has a little sister, Rosie. Calliou is very sweet to his sister and a lot of the plot lines focus on how to be a big brother.

Just today:

Edie was petting Shelby (the cat) a bit rough. I told her "Edie, we need to be gentle with the kitties." Simon piped up, "Edie, I will show you how to be gentle. See? I am petting Bing and being nice and gentle!"

Simon accidentally spilled sprinkles all over the kitchen. When I turned on the vacuum, we discovered that Edie is afraid of the sound of the vacuum cleaner. Simon went over to her, rubbed her back, gave her a kiss on the head, and told her "Edie, it's okay."

Hooray for Calliou for modeling how to be a kind and gentle big brother!

Autumn Fun

2011-11-08T08:20:00.002-05:00

Not the best photo of Edie, but it captures the fun they were having.

Grandma Mimi Visits

2011-11-02T16:30:00.000-04:00

Grandma Mimi came for a visit and it was great. Because they regularly see Mimi and Mel via Skype, Simon and Edie knew her and got really excited to see her in person.

On the way to the airport, Simon and I had a brief conversation.

David: Simon, do you know who mommy's mommy is?
Simon: Nana!
David: Right! And you know that Grandma is my mommy, right?
Simon: Yes! Grandma is daddy's mommy!
David: Good. I'm excited to see your Grandma because I love my mommy.
Simon: I love my Grandma!

Grandma even went to school with Simon on Monday and observed. Like Liz and I, she was really impressed by Penny and Karen and thought it was terrific. From a mother of four and experienced elementary school teacher, that's a pretty high compliment.

Simon and Edie had such a good time and just soaked in the unconditional Grandma love. I'm so glad my mom made the trip.

Visit to Tim's Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-01T22:04:00.000-04:00

Loudly Being Quiet

2011-10-26T07:46:00.002-04:00

Simon has a nightlight that changes from a moon to a sun at 7:45 AM when it is okay for him to get up, but he knows that, even after it changes to sun, his mother prefers if he can stay quiet and let his little sister keep sleeping.

Yesterday morning at about 8:00 AM, Liz was laying in bed when she heard Simon shouting.

"Mommy! Can you hear how quiet I'm being? Mommy! I'm being QUIET!"

Fun with Cardboard

2011-09-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

It started when Simon put his stuffed Kipper the Dog in a cardboard box and called it Kipper's house. I asked him if he'd like to build a cardboard house for Kipper, and we were both pleased with our results.

Then Simon decided that Kipper (and Miles the Monkey) would prefer to be in space. So we built a spaceship.

Then he asked if we could build a "MommyCar." Mommy drives a Scion xB.

He was so excited about his cardboard MommyCar that he made me promise that HE could show it to Mommy when she got home.

Edie Gets Kisses

2011-08-25T14:43:00.000-04:00

Our friend Annabel took two photos lately that I love.

The first is Edie getting a kiss from Annabel's son, Escher (of whom we are very, very fond).

The second shows Edie getting a kiss on the keppie from her brother, Simon.

Out of the Mouthes of Babes (Simon Rothman Edition)

2011-08-15T13:58:00.001-04:00

"Mama, there were lots of beautiful stars today at the JCC." "Those are called 'The Star of David.'" "No, it's not a David; it's a hexagon with six triangles."

"I love going to Nana's house because she always knows to put food in my mouth."

"Simon, I have loved you since you were a baby in my tummy." "I was in your tummy? WHY DID YOU EAT BABY SIMON?"

To the lady at the JCC: "You all have a lot of letter "Js" and "Cs" on your walls here.

"It's mail! It's an envelope! No, it's a MAILVELOPE."

What's that?

2011-08-05T08:56:00.000-04:00

Last night, Simon was writing letters on the sidewalk in chalk.

Then he took a few careful seconds to draw the image below.

Having finished, Simon took a step back and we looked at it together.

"Is that a letter, Simon?"

Simon just kept looking at it in thoughtful silence.

"Simon? What is it?"

He was obviously thinking hard because he was (as is so rarely the case with Simon) quiet for several consecutive seconds.

Inspiration or realization suddenly hit Simon and he looked at me with wide eyes, raised eyebrows and a big, excited grin.

"It's a banana! I drew a banana!"

And a fine banana it is.

I don't really understand why this amuses me so much.

Simon's Recent Sculpture

2011-07-01T20:03:00.020-04:00

(Water blocks above were a birthday gift from Grandma Mimi and Grandpapa Mel)

Meta-Meta (and mise en abyme)

2011-06-20T04:55:00.000-04:00

On a recent errand to the pharmacy with Mommy, Simon found a toy car that looks EXACTLY like Mommy's Scion. Not able to resist, Liz bought it for him.

Sitting strapped into the back of Liz's car on the way home, Simon's brain made twanging noises as he held it.

"Mommy's car IN Mommy's car!"

Today he thought it was hilarious to put a tiny toy chair on top of a toddler-sized chair. Had he been physically able, I am certain he would have then placed both on top of an adult-sized chair.

I'm going to think about making a Droste effect portrait of Simon just for the fun of hearing his brain stretch a little more when he sees it.

Prediction: Liz will have something clever to say about mise en abyme.

2011-05-29T23:15:00.001-04:00

Edie munches Cheerios while learning Spanish from Pim.

Awesome t-shirt is from Awesome Denise.

Adorable Mess

2011-05-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

Simon Greets Penguins

2011-05-29T22:51:00.001-04:00

2011-05-02T02:48:00.000-04:00

Simon has just recently started to demonstrate interest in Edie's preferences and actions. He'll try to make her laugh and is pleased when he gains her interest (which is pretty much all the time because Edie thinks he's AWESOME). The other night, it was *his* idea that the two of them take a bath together and we enjoyed watching each of them enjoy the other's company.

Edie (9.5 months) Takes a Bath [Video]

2011-04-10T22:55:00.000-04:00

Edie Takes a Bath

2011-04-09T23:36:00.000-04:00

Gah. New camera. Must turn off date/time stamp. :(

Message With a Bottle

2011-03-29T14:17:00.000-04:00

Mark sent a link to this great blog

On May 19th, 2010 I quit my job to be a stay-at-home, freelancer-for-hire and user-of-many-hyphens dad.
As a reminder of everything going on with my writing, I leave Post-It Notes around my office so I don't forget deadlines, meetings and the fact my bank account is nearly empty (it's a sick motivational tool--the yearning to eat).

I decided to incorporate those same organizational principles while watching my son.
These are notes to remind myself what to do, and sometimes more importantly, what not to do when raising a child.

Sesame Street Live

2011-03-19T21:29:00.000-04:00

The highlight of Sesame Street Live for Simon and Jessica appears to have been the Elmo balloons other people's kids had accidentally let go.

If your Mommy is an Art Historian...

2011-03-18T05:31:00.000-04:00

...she might push you around a museum to take photos of you next to works of art.