Talking

Simon has been cooing and "talking" for a few weeks now, but he's really picked up in the last few days. Here he is sitting on my lap after we'd been "talking" for a while. Of course, he was smiling a lot more through it earlier in the afternoon, but by the time I thought to pick up the camera, the smiles were gone. But you get the general idea!

Talking from Anne Reynolds on Vimeo.

A day in pictures, part 2

After our walk, Simon might sit on my lap:

while we read some stories:

Then often he'll sit in his bouncy seat in the kitchen while I start getting things ready for dinner. At this point in the day he might be a little bit cranky, so how much I get done depends on his mood!

Then Daddy gets home from work! He is always so excited to see his little boy:

After dinner, it's bath time:

And then Simon gets his bedtime "snack" and it's off to bed. He's most often sleeping for pretty long stretches at night now (we've had several nights where he'll sleep 6-7 hours before waking, and one where he slept for 9 hours!) We hope it continues!

A day in pictures, part 1

Simon's day usually starts pretty slowly. Daddy gets up with him and gives him a bottle early in the morning (around 5), then puts him back to bed and gets himself ready to go to work. After another hour or two of sleep, Simon will get up for a short while. After breakfast round 2, usually he will consent to nap for about half an hour:

That half hour nap is when Mommy scarfs down some breakfast, showers, makes the bed, and perhaps starts some laundry and/or puts away some dishes.

When Simon wakes up, he's usually in a pretty good mood. Often he will hang out with me in our bedroom, gazing up at the ceiling fan while I fold laundry:

Then we might have some tummy time, which he is getting extremely good at!

In the afternoons when it is nice out, we try to get out for a walk, so Simon can get some fresh air and Mommy can make some vitamin D. This doubles as Simon's early afternoon nap:

(Rest assured, I kept him shaded when I wasn't taking a picture of him.)

Part 2 to come!

More visitors

This weekend, Simon was visited by his Grandma Barb, Grandpa Jim, and Great-Grandma Minnie! It was a great day today especially, complete with a trip to Old South (where he got to hear Mommy play handbells), followed by lunch at the Barking Crab and then a trolley tour of Boston. Simon was a real trooper throughout the whole day!

More later, but for now, a photo of the four generations!

My new favorite Simon photo

We have a very happy boy!

2-month appointment

While Simon will officially be 2 months old tomorrow, we had his 2-month appointment with his pediatrician yesterday. The vital stats:

10 lb. 13 oz. (25th percentile)

22 1/4 inches (25th percentile)

I said to the doctor upon hearing the percentiles, "Oh, so he is small." And the doctor said, "No, he's perfectly proportioned!" It's perhaps not surprising that Simon is a little on the smaller side, given everything he went through. (He was on IV nutrition only for ten days after birth.) But overall, the pediatrician was enormously pleased with his progress and said that Simon is doing everything a 2-month-old baby should do. Hooray!

Of course, the other part of a 2-month appointment is the first immunizations. I was nervous because I know that babies often are fussy afterward. The shots themselves went fine - of course he didn't like them, but he recovered quickly. But he was pretty unhappy for the rest of the day, sleeping on and off and absolutely needing to be held all the time. Thank goodness for infant Tylenol, and for Grandma Karen who spent nearly all afternoon and evening holding him! And today he seems to be feeling much better.

We already miss Grandma Karen, who left this morning after an absolutely wonderful week. Once again, she cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, made sure I was eating enough and drinking enough water, and spent lots and lots of fun time with Simon. Below - a photo on a walk by the Charles River on Sunday. Thanks for everything, Grandma!

New photos

We had a great weekend. Saturday it was cold and rainy, so we didn't do much. But Sunday was beautiful out and the four of us went out for a lovely walk by the Charles River in Waltham. (Photos on Mom's camera, so will post later.) Today, Troy was back at work, but Mom and Simon and I got to go for another long walk, this time around our neighborhood.

Tomorrow is Simon's 2-month well baby checkup, at which he will receive his first round of a number of immunizations. I know that babies are often pretty cranky after these shots, but I'm hoping Simon will be okay. It will be Grandma Karen's last day here, so our fingers are crossed that he'll be in a reasonably good mood.

New pictures! First, the three generations:

Next, our cute lil' sailor (note he even has a pacifier with sailboats on it!):

Simon still prefers sleeping in someone's arms to any other place:

Finally, a picture with Grandma Karen and the BEAUTIFUL blanket that Simon's great-grandmother Peggy made for him. Grandma Karen finished it by embroidering his name on it. We love it!