Simon x Twenty Five

Yesterday it was pointed out that I favor Cecie a little on my blog. In my real life, this of course is not the case; I am as involved in Simon's every day happenings as Cecilia's. I won't deny, however, that there are more posts devoted to C as well as many more pictures.

There is a very logical explanation for this. First of all, Cecie is an ever-changing baby in her first year of life. There's a lot going on there. Second of all, she smiles and looks at me when I get the camera out. When I tried taking Simon's picture the other day he told me to "stop being annoying." 

I'm going to try to even it out a little today, though. Apparently it's common practice for bloggers to write lists of twenty five things (maybe that's just a rumor, I don't know). So I'm going to write twenty five things about Simon at 4 and half years old.

1. His favorite "dessert" lately is a bowlful of plain frozen cherries (they are pretty darn good).
2. When we play hide and seek he tips me off to his location by yelling "I love you Mumma!" so quickly that is comes out mumbled, and so joyfully that I can literally hear his smile.
3. He said, "I know we can return that timer" about 15 minutes after starting to use one to monitor his screen time. He was excited about it at first, but quickly realized what it meant.
4. He gets really excited to go to Parker's, Macey's and Kaiya's because they all have video game systems. It finally dawned on him yesterday that we could, theoretically, have one at our house too some day.

5. When Grandpa Jimmy brings him candy he goes on the front stoop of our house to hide with it because he knows I will take it away.
6. He says he doesn't like what I made for dinner pretty much every night before sitting down. Eventually he tries and likes it almost all the time, but it's an irritating little ritual that we're trying to break.
7. He sleeps with a night light, his red and green blanket (his Auntie April made), his star blankie (from who knows where), his duck blankie (I think from Julie) and his turtle that lights up his room with colorful stars (thank you again April!). He likes to be carried upstairs at night claiming his legs are too tired, but if we say we are going to beat him upstairs he tears off so as to come away a winner.
8. He can read three letter words if he's focused and/or motivated.

9. He loves to play with other kids and asks who he can play with every single day.
10. His favorite veggies are green beans, edamame, broccoli, corn and peas and he'll never turn them down. He loves all fruit, which is his go-to snack request (along with string cheese).
11. He recently told me the he liked snuggling "more than anything fun" and he was most talented at loving me. All unprompted.
12. He has not retired the use of throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way, but has gotten a million times better.

13. He thinks it's funny when people fall and get mildly injured. He may have learned this from me.
14. Whenever we play superheros together I never do it right. He is constantly correcting me.
15. He can add single digit numbers, but when he is bored or stumped he will throw out a "54!" or something on those lines without thinking about it.

16. He gets jumbled in the high teens when counting and tells me I'm wrong when trying to help him. Once he's past 19 he's good to go again for a while. He also fought with me once that the letter J was not actually a letter. He may or may not yet believe me.
17. When he is helping me cook he pulls up a chair to the counter. I struggle with this because he is in my way and inevitably makes a mess, but I always let him help when he wants to. I'll miss this one day.

(We normally have this up high, but here I am not paying attention to what is in his hand because I am trying to get a picture. Great parenting moment.)

18. He doesn't like mushrooms which is a big problem for me because as far as I'm concerned mushrooms make everything better. I will keep having him try them until one day - hopefully - he likes them. I bet my mom thought this about green peppers when I was little...we know how that turned out.

19. He will sit forever letting me read him books, but doesn't usually think to ask anytime other than at night. He won't typically sit reading a book on his own because he "doesn't know how to read the words." Classic case of the more you know, the more you know you don't know. We have to change this attitude. Or teach him to read I guess.
20. He always wants to know what we are doing today and tomorrow, like he's got plans he's trying to work around.
21. On the weekends, I am nothing to him. He is alllll about Daddy.

22. He loves to wear fleece footie jammies if it's remotely cold at night. In the heat of the summer, though, nothing but undies.
23. He is not usually excited to go on our daily walk, but he usually just deals with it.
24. He gets excited for the bus, for the dollar store, for the grocery store, for friends, for grandparents, for cousins, for food, for dogs, for dinner out, for playing games, for brushing his teeth, for haircuts, etc. He is excitable.

25. He has mostly grown out of wearing costumes every single day, but is still very excited about Halloween. He wants to be a vampire bat. Not sure how I'm going to make that one happen, but he is pretty dead set.

There you have it. Twenty five things about our first and only son. A whole post, just for him :)