Summer Video Fest

Since Deborah posted all the good pictures yesterday, I'll post some videos. The first one is his growth progress video from the pictures we take every Sunday.

Simon has been very intrigued by light whether it be the bright sky, the fluorescents in Dr. Bentley's office, or fancy rope lights in our patio umbrella. This next scene reminds me of "Homer's Triple Bypass" (Episode 9F09 from Season 4 of The Simpsons) where Homer is in the hospital playing with the bed. Here's the clip I'm refering to:

http://download.lardlad.com/sounds/season4/bypass9.mp3

And here's Simon with his version of Homer's propensity to be easily entertained:

The last clip is just of Simon making noises. Some are old, some are new. He's definitely becoming much more vocal and it's just too cute when he starts smiling. Whenever he does so, we laugh, which makes him smile even more. What a sweet little boy!

Speaking of noises, today in church, during our moment of silence, Simon decided to offload some gas. The couple ahead of us started giggling, and I just prayed for God to give me the ability to stay quiet. He's getting quite skilled in this department, so much so that Deborah is starting to blame me for some of them. She's usually wrong... most of the time.

Well, this is going to be a very busy week. Deborah is starting to ease back into work and my parent's and sister are coming into town for the weekend for Simon's baptism on Sunday. It should be a lot of fun, but there's still so much to do!

Until next time!!

Smiling Baby

Finally, we have a picture of Simon smiling. On Friday morning Simon was sitting on our bed while I was folding laundry. Something caught his attention and he started smiling. I followed his gaze and realized he was smiling at the ceiling fan. I grabbed my phone and got this shot. Oh well, at least he is smiling...



Here are a few more from the other night. He is starting to wear 3 month clothes, but they are still a little big on him. The shorts in this outfit are cinched quite a bit and the belt (the person who thought that babies should wear belts should probably be shot) wraps around him one and a half times.









Finally, in sad news, my parent's cat George passed away on Thursday. We'll miss him - he was a good and funny cat.

What's in a name?

I've had several people ask me about Simon's name and how we came up with it. So, here it goes...

When we found out we were pregnant, we started thinking about names. We came up with a girl's name right away, but couldn't think of what we wanted for a boy. Once we found out we were having a boy we started going through all the baby naming books, but couldn't find anything we liked. There is a lot of pressure naming a child - this is the name they will have for the rest of their life. Name him something like Bubba and his possibilities are limited...

In May we decided to get serious about finding a name for this baby. We were in church on Pentecost Sunday and the pastor was preaching about the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles, one being Simon Peter. I looked at Paul and said that Simon would be a neat name, so we added it to the list of possibilities.

Ten days later, my water broke. We still didn't have a name, just a list of first names and possible middle name combinations. By the time I had the C-section, we had the list down to 3 name combinations. We wanted to wait to see what he looked like before giving him a name.

In the recovery room Paul and I looked at our new little boy and we both thought that Simon was a fitting name for him. However, Paul had been up for over 24 hours and I was on some pretty good pain killers, so we decided to wait until we had some sleep and then we would name him. After some shut eye, Simon still sounded like a good name. We chose Wesley for his middle name as that is a family name on the Curson side.

So that is it - that is how we decided on "Simon Wesley."

One other note - in Hebrew, Simon means "he has heard" or "he who listens." I hope that he lives up to his name. ;)

What will $282.66 buy you in today's economy?

NOTE: Complete new survey at right before reading this posting. Okay, fine... be that way!

Good evening!

As Deborah eluded to yesterday, Uncle Rich and Aunt Nancy delivered a most beautiful gift to Simon. It is a cradle that Rich hand crafted in his wood shop. It is an amazing piece as seen here:



It's a new experience for Simon as he has not yet experienced a side-to-side baby soothing device since being born, but he has taken to it quite well and enjoys hanging out in it. It's a sturdy 47-pound behemoth and as Rich boasted, it does indeed sit level in the neutral position. Thank you again Rich and Nancy and blessings and prayers to Nancy as she undergoes knee replacement surgery next week.





This weekend we stumbled upon some gigantic marshmallows at the Hy-Vee (nice segue, eh?). They're about five times bigger than your average marshmallow and luckily Simon chose to snuggle with the white one. I felt very much like Homer did in Episode 168 (4F11, Original Airdate 16-Feb-1997) when Bart had to make a decision between chocolate cupcakes and pink snoballs.



Simon will be partaking in several new adventures this week. Tomorrow night we venture to the Olive Garden to celebrate Ray & Ila Mae's 59th wedding anniversary (much more exciting than taking pictures with giant mallows on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing... way to go Buzz!) and Thursday we meet with Pastor John to discuss Simon's baptism coming up in a few weeks. And then on Friday, Simon gets to meet Dr. Zhang who did not happen to be on call when he was born, but helped a great deal in the months preceding his birth. Hopefully he can get his picture taken with her.

And then this weekend we are going to hang out with our neighbors (who are no longer s'more virgins) and kick it up a notch with the gigantic marshmallows I can't stop talking about. They're crazy!!! And not too long after that, Simon gets to meet Grandma and Grandpa Vieira and Great Grandma Curson. Yay!

So in answer to the question above, $282.66 buys you a 5-day/4-night all-expenses paid stay, a 24/7 nourishment center and a Cesarean section at St. Luke's Birthing Center. Thank you insurance!!



Until next time y'all (that was for you Chandriqua)!

Hawaiian Shirt Day

We've got a lot to blog about this week. Since it is getting late, we'll probably split it into two entries and finish it tomorrow.

We got the Xterra back on Friday afternoon. She's looking good and running even better. But, the best news is that we no longer have to try and contort Simon's car seat to get it to fit in the Mini!!

On Saturday, Paul and I went on a date. We went to see the newest Harry Potter movie, "The Half Blood Prince" and then we went out for dinner and drinks at Hamburger Mary's. Despite the name, they serve some excellent food, not just burgers. My mom came over and watched Simon. It was hard leaving him for a few hours, but it was nice to go out, just the two of us.

While we were gone Simon broke out into smiles. He now smiles at everything - us, the dog, the patio umbrella. It is too cute. Of course, every time we pull out the camera he stops smiling. Hopefully we'll be able to post a smile picture soon.

Today was Hawaiian Shirt Day. I was hoping to get Simon a red stapler as well, but couldn't find one. It is never too early to become an "Office Space" fan.

The biggest news is that Great Uncle Rich and Great Aunt Nancy stopped by today and dropped off an amazing gift. Stay tuned - tomorrow we will post pictures.

It is getting late - so here are some pictures from the weekend:

Relaxing on Hawaiian Shirt Day


Simon is suspicious of his sun


Baby deer in our backyard

1 month down - 215 to go

When you put it in terms of months, 18 years doesn't seem that long does it?

At 2:15 am on Saturday, Simon was officially one month old. He decided he didn't want to miss the exact moment of his birthday so he didn't sleep more than 2 hours Friday night to Saturday morning. I also didn't sleep more than 2 hours Friday night to Saturday morning. :) So, Saturday night we made a bold move. We transitioned Simon from the bassinet in our room to his crib in the nursery. He did quite well - he only fussed for a few minutes and then fell asleep. He has been sleeping 4 to 5 hours at a time in his crib. Paul has enjoyed watching how many bars Simon can get on the baby monitor.

Today was also a big day for Simon. First, he went to work with me for a few hours. I'm still on maternity leave, but my co-workers needed some help, so Simon and I came to the rescue. He did really well - I took his Boppy Bouncer to work and he napped most of the morning. This is a good sign. Simon starts daycare August 17th and I will be going back to work part time starting August 3rd. For those two weeks, Simon will be going to work with me.

Simon also went to his one month checkup with Dr. Bentley. He is now 8.5 lbs and still about 22 inches long. Dr. Bentley commented on how strong our little guy was - he lifts his head and is starting to roll over. She also said that of all the new babies she has as patients, Simon is her favorite little string bean.

Here are a few new pictures and a video of Simon's progress. Like Paul mentioned yesterday, we take a picture of Simon every Sunday, using the same blanket. We'll try to update the video each month so you can see how much he has grown.

Happy Baby


Thoughtful Baby

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... then we had ice cream.

As the title implies, it's been a crazy weekend, but we finally took Simon to the DQ to get some ice cream. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long, but we did get to enjoy most of it on our back porch even though it looks like Rocky got impaled in the brain with a plastic spoon. Hopefully it will make him smarter.



The quest for ice cream actually started Saturday afternoon. We were planning on heading to the DQ after a quick trip to Menard's for some mulch to re-landscape Simon's play area. Shortly after leaving Menard's, Mrs. X (our Xterra) died on the road with no chance of recovery. So Grandma came to the rescue and I got Mrs. X towed to a shop. Her fate will be determined Monday when the shop calls me with an estimate.



So right now, Betty (our Cooper) is the only vehicle we have. We figured we give her a test ride with our alternate car seat installed, but it broke upon installation. It was another minor setback, but once we put in the good one after a small act of contortion, it worked... for a little. It must have been the suspension in Betty, because Simon decided to load up his drawers and let us know about it for the entire trip. But in the end, Deborah got her Peanut Buster Parfait and I got my Girl Scout Tag-Along Cookie Blizzard. Then they all took a nap.



In honor of the Tigers' 10-1 pounding of the Cleveland Idiots, Simon sported his new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Curson.



This was actually from a photo shoot we do on the bug blanket (thanks Sar-bear) every Sunday to track his growth progress. Eventually, we'll put it into a slide show so you can see how he has grown from week to week. The Watch Simon Grow gallery is also on my FB page. Here's an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette of today's photo shoot.



So things could be worse. Luckily the weather should be conducive to me riding my bike everyday so Deborah can get Betty. I'm just getting over a cold too, but the exercise should quash that out. And Deborah got a slammin' haircut from Nadia's (see above). And of course, we have our little pinenut Simon, who you can't help but love with pictures like this.

Sleep Dancer


Moose Ears!!


Kind of Dr. Evil-esque


Catch ya all later!

More Pictures from the 4th

As promised, here are some pictures of Simon and his great aunt Sherry.


Simon and Great Aunt Sherry


Simon, Sherry and Paul


Simon, Sherry and Great Uncle Rich



Simon in his 4th of July outfit. He is not too sure about the hat. I think he looks a little like Rodney Dangerfield in this picture...

Getting Into A Groove

Tomorrow Simon will be four weeks old. He has grown quite a bit this week. According to the Wii Fit, Simon is almost 8lbs. We'll get him officially weighed on Monday at his 4-week check up, but the Wii Fit seems to be pretty accurate.

We are starting to get into a groove. We can predict how long he will nap and are starting to get things done around the house while he is sleeping. It is nice to feel productive again.

Over the weekend Paul's sister Julie visited us and my aunt Sherry was in town from Oregon. It was great to spend time with family!

Sherry got us a really cool gift - a book called "Cooking for Baby" by Lisa Barnes. It has some great recipes in it - things like buckwheat crepes and roasted red pepper and goat cheese spread. Very elegant food for a baby! We can't wait to try things out on him in 5 months or so. In the meantime we'll just read the recipes.



My mom has some really good pictures of Sherry and Simon, so I'll have to wait to get those from her and then I will post those. Here are a few other pictures from the weekend.

Sister, Aunt or Sister Aunt?

For the 4th of July weekend, we have my sister Julie in town who is also a Catholic sister (anunslife.org) and aunt to little pine nut Simon.

Simon's great aunt Sherry is also in town from Oregon and Simon will meet her again this afternoon at his first 4th of July picnic for which he has a very cute outfit.

Simon's been taking to the bottle quite well, although we only give it to him once a day maximum so he doesn't get confused. That gives me a chance to take the 3am shift at let Debi sleep for longer than 2 hours. It's nice to be needed, but it can also be a little too intense that early in the morning. Luckily, he usually sleeps another 3 hours after that.

Simon is starting to notice things in front of his face and grabbing for anything that moves including hair, dog tails, shirt collars and toys. He also has noticed himself in his play mat mirror.

We're still not sure who he looks like more. He's definitely a combo-baby. See the poll to the right to cast your vote for who the baby looks like. Here's another shot from after bathtime to help you decide.

I think he has Deborah's looks and the Curson family build, but he definitely has the Vieira sneeze.

Hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July with all digits intact. Take care.

Firebears, The Rescue Team!

Every night we try to read Simon a book before bedtime. His new favorite (or perhaps our new favorite) is "Firebears, The Rescue Team" by Rhonda Gowler Greene. It is written all in rhyme and the illustrations are too cute. My hope is that Simon learns to enjoy reading as much as I enjoy it.



In other big news, Simon's umbilical cord fell off yesterday. It was a little gross, but now he has a cute "outie" bellybutton. Simon also saw himself in the mirror on his play mat the other day. He was very interested in his reflection. I didn't have the camera near me, so I took a picture with my iPhone. The resolution isn't that great, but I thought I would share the picture.



Tomorrow Simon is going to be three weeks old. I can't believe it. He is growing quite a bit - some of his newborn clothes are too short already. From the way it looks right now, he is going to take after the Curson side and be a tall and skinny kid.

This weekend he is going to meet his Aunt Julie and his Great Aunt Sherry. And, he is going to his first party. We'll post pictures over the weekend. In the meantime, here are a few more pictures of Simon for the past few days.



Nap Time!



Simon and Sara