happy 15 months to simon!

since i didn't do a post for simon's 1st birthday, i figured i should get on the ball and do one now that he's almost 15 months. i'll copy the idea for marcus' birthday and post a list of simon's favorite things...

1. marcus. he loves his big brother, and everything he touches. fortunately marcus is a tolerant big brother and dotes on simon. i'm sure it'll end someday, but for now it's really fun to watch them enjoying each other.

2. simon loves to eat, as is apparent by his size. his favorites are watermelon, quesadillas, smoothies, bananas, ice cream, and anything marcus is eating. he's not shy about what he wants to eat either. if he wants it and you have it, he'll snatch it out of your hand.

3. simon squirms all the time. he likes constant motion. the only time he is still is when he's sleeping, and even that's questionable. he has the jimmy legs when he sits too. he's quite the workout to hold since he's moving the whole time.

4. simon loves to snuggle, just like his brother. he's very content if he's being held or cuddled up with, even though he's usually still moving his legs.

5. simon enjoys being chased and cackles like a mad man if you tackle him from behind. it's great to hear such full laughter out of a little boy!

6. simon is pretty athletic for a 15 monther. he seems to prefer playing with sport related balls to other toys. he attempts to dribble a soccer ball and tries to hit a golf ball with a mini golf club. it's impressive.

7. simon loves hear his voice. he has a lot to say for someone with no understandable words.

8. simon loves to be held upside down. he giggles and tries to turn himself upside down again when he's righted.

9. simon likes to put things where they belong. he's fairly observant and knows what items belong to whom and where things are supposed to go. his really likes giving shoes back to their owners.

10. and to stress just how much simon loves marcus, we'll finish with another, simon loves marcus. life is great when marcus is around!

here is a link to our latest picasa photos for july. you should be able to see the older photos as well.

happy birthday to marcus!

(marcus at the zoo yesterday with the jaguar)

marcus turned 3 yesterday. i can't believe he's already that old, where has time gone??? in honor of his birthday, i thought i should post a list of some of marcus' favorite things.

1. marcus loves turning our couch cushions into trains, airplanes, boats, cars, and spaceships. he can do this for hours. while on/in the various vehicles, he's usually going to target or costco.

2. marcus enjoys having very elaborate conversations with his aunt amanda, when she is not around. he talks to her while trying to not fall asleep, while playing, while at dinner...fortunately, he does also talk with her when she's on the phone or he sees her in person.

3. marcus loves reading. he has some favorite books but mostly he just loves to read.

4. marcus' favorite foods are blueberries, smoothies, oshinko, french fries, and sprinkles for his rice. when all else fails, he will eat these.

5. marcus likes to call me sally and tasha and kevin mater and tyronne from "cars" and "the backyardigans" respectively. he is lightening mcqueen and pablo. simon is austin, he doesn't have a "cars" alter-ego yet.

6. marcus loves his little brother. he decided that simon's crib should be right next to his bed rather than across the room (which really is pretty much next to his bed anyways, but apparently not close enough). they like to make each other laugh when they wake up or are trying to not fall asleep.

7. marcus loves to laugh and has a silly fake laugh that makes him really laugh.

8. marcus loves to see deanna. he gets very mopey if more than a couple weeks goes by without seeing her.

9. marcus loves playing with his legos and cars (from "cars"). we are exploiting this love by bribing him with cars and legos if he uses the potty...so far he only wants to talk about what he'll get if he does it.

10. marcus loves a good snuggle with both his mom and dad, the best is if he's between us.

so there's a bit of marcus. here are some links to january photos, february photos, and videos (this links to one of the videos, if you can't get to the others from there please let me know). enjoy!

the holidays

we're finally beginning to slow down after the holiday rush. it was wonderful to spend so much time with all our family. we were in richland for thanksgiving (where marcus became obsessed with rock band).

we then celebrated multiple christmases in seattle, reedley, and folsom and were back home again for new year's. the boys were amazing in the car on our driving to and from california, though i doubt either of them were thrilled with the near 40 hours they spent traveling. they however completely enjoyed all the spoiling they received.

simon showing his gift opening skills

marcus and his box of legos

marcus is getting excited about his 3rd birthday. he decided he wants to have a fire truck cake but does not want to wait 3 more weeks to make it. we may have to do a test run to give me some peace. simon is busy pulling himself up on everything he can, and just being busy in general. we're expecting him to walk any day, marcus has no idea how his world is going to change!
here are links to our picasa photos:
november
december (thank you aaron, laurie, and jeff for the photos! they are far better than mine would've been.)
january