Simon's Trip to the Emergency Room

Last night Simon had his first trip to the Emergency Room. I doubt it will be his last. He was jumping around on some pillows and fell backwards into the coffee table. And right away, blood started dripping from the back of his head. It was awful! Fortunately, the bleeding stopped quickly - but it was obvious that the cut was bad enough that he needed medical attention. So, off we went. Simon seemed to feel fine and had plenty of energy. The Emergency Room was pretty full when we got there, and I worried we'd be in the waiting room for a long time. But it only took about a 45 minutes before we went back to a room. Well, it wasn't really a room - more of a curtained area. But you know what I mean. Simon was less than excited about having to sit and wait, especially when there was lots of fun and dangerous medical equipment sitting around calling his name.I tried to snap a picture of his head, but he was on the move most of the time. in this photo you can kind of see the spot - but we'd already cleaned up his hair. Initially, the entire back of his head was a big red mess.
It turned out that Simon needed two staples to close the wound. They had me hold down his body while two nurses held his head still. He was screaming the whole time since he hates being held down. The doctor leaned in to put the staples in and then paused to ask me if I was going to pass out. I wanted to smack her. I work in a hospital! I'm not upset because he's having a procedure! I'm upset because he's upset! Just get this over with!

Here is a photo of Simon after they had finished. Doesn't this picture break your heart? He looks so sad and pathetic!
Here's what his head looks like today:

Garden Harvest

It's an exciting time 'round the old homestead. We're able to harvest the first few vegetables from our garden. It's so exciting to have fresh produce at our fingertips. Kristin loves to come out and help pick veggies. So far we're getting zucchini, yellow crookneck squashes, and lots of cherry tomatoes. Most of the tomatoes are from the volunteer plant that came up along our fence. But there's loads more on the way! Look at how pretty our vegetables look! I love those vibrant colors.

Simon Turns Two!

Can't believe this little guy has already been with us for two whole years! For his birthday, we had the usual family dinner at our house: a BBQ (burgers and chicken) with potato salad, corn on the cob, and watermelon. And of course, birthday cake for dessert!
We got a cake from Costco, because they're fairly inexpensive - but of course, you get a TON of cake. Look how enormous that thing is compared to Simon! It's almost bigger than he is!
This piece of cake is actually WAY too big for him, but doesn't it look nice and manageable compared to the whole cake? Simon was very interested in the frosting, in particular:
He thoroughly enjoyed his cake and got it all over. Even in his ears! And he ran his fingers through his hair a few times for good measure.
Then we opened presents. Simon was particularly excited about this Wonder Pets book he received, and wanted to read it right away.
Of course, of all his gifts, I had my own personal favorite:

Star Wars in Concert

Star Wars in Concert came to San Diego in May. And, OF COURSE we had to go! Matt, Joey, Kristin, Wendy, Sean and I all had a great night out! First we went to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (a favorite, to be sure) and then we headed to the Sports Arena to geek out! Star Wars in concert is a show that hosted by Anthony Daniels, the voice of C3PO: He'd give a bit of the Star Wars story as an introduction to a certain musical piece. Then a full orchestra would perform a song from the movie while images from the films were projected on a screen. Did I mention there were also lasers? It was really an outstanding show. If this show ever comes to your town, I really can't recommend it enough! So much fun!

Gardening Bliss

This is our first gardening year and so far it's been a success! We have all kinds of things growing. Tomatoes, melon, corn, beans, squash, berries, cucumbers, herbs and flowers. It's been amazing watching everything grow. Look at us, keeping plants alive!

We don't really have a very large yard, and I didn't think we had a ton of space for gardening. In my mind, I always pictured a garden as being a giant rectangle with long rows of veggies. I only had this little 2 foot raised bed along the back and side fence. I was amazed with how much I could fit in that space! We are going to have a TON of vegetables at the end of the season. I am so excited.

Here is a recent photo of my "Three Sisters" garden. I planted a circle of corn, followed by a circle of beans (pole beans, which will grow up the corn stalks), and then a circle of various squashes. I can't wait for the squashes to get a bit larger. I think this is going to be so pretty when it fills in.The kids are having a great time helping in the garden with watering and weeding. It's been hard trying to keep Simon from walking all over the plants, though. He was used to climbing around in the area that is now our vegetable bed. But he's learning. I can't wait until later in the season when the kids can help me harvest the "fruits of our labor" and taste how delicious homegrown veggies can be.

My dad used to tell me how fresh vegetables taste better than any other, and in particular he would mention how sweet corn was when you'd pick it and cook it right away rather than letting it sit. I can't wait to see what he meant. And, of course, can't wait to have homegrown tomatoes. The funny thing is that I really don't care for tomatoes UNLESS they're homegrown. They taste vastly different when they're fresh from the garden. Mmmmm. Can't wait. Grow, little plants! Thrive!

He's a Pepper

What's this in my dining room?Why, it's black pepper! It's all over the floor, all over the chair, and all over the table. Looks like someone was playing in it. Sort of finger painting in it. You can see the finger marks in this little pepper pile.
Wow. Whoever did this probably has black pepper all over their hands now. Hope they don't do something silly. Like put their hands in their mouth. I'm sure that would be fairly unpleasant. Don't you agree, Simon?
"Water, give me water!"
"And a bath would probably be nice too...though my tongue is still on fire."

Kindergarten Performance Night

Last week at the school was Kindergarten Performance Night. We got to see a song or dance from each of the kindergarten classes. Kristin's class did an extended version of the song they performed for the International Fair. All the kids had to wear their animal costumes. Kristin, as you might remember, was a zebra. I'd sewn her a simple tunic, but it was really too long. So we cut it a bit shorter, and then we used the remaining fabric as a headband. Simon was very interested in all the music and dancing. Since the auditorium was really packed, Matt held Simon up on his shoulders so he could see. I thought it was funny how Simon basically used Matt's cheeks as hand grips.

After a while, Simon got tired of being held all the time (and I'm sure Matt was tired of holding him, too - that kid is heavy!) and wanted to sit in his own chair. Joey agreed to stay with him to make sure he didn't get into trouble. Joey is such a great big brother.