6 Months Later

Simon passed the 6 months clean from chemo mark a few days ago.  I forget just how bald he was.  He never looked terribly sickly to me.  He just looked like Simon.  But looking back it must have been pretty obvious he was a sick little boy because I look at pictures and they don't even look like they're of the same kid.  You did it, son.  You showed cancer who's boss.  And someday you'll show the world you're the boss.  You make your mom proud.

He loved looking at the baby on the thermometer.

The Victor.  Just finished with chemo.

Yakkity Sax

Simon more or less quit growing for the 6 months he was on chemo.  He's starting to catch up a bit but it's still a challenge to find pants that will not fall down.  I think I figured out part of the problem.  The boy does not stop moving.  His latest obsession is falling and tries to climb up stuff to fall off.  He runs back and forth down the hallway of our little apartment constantly also.  I am completely convinced his life would best be viewed at 2x speed set to Yakkity Sax.  Heck, I'm not even sure you need to speed it up all that much.  It is great to see him have energy. 

An Afternoon at the Museum

My parents got us a membership to the Children's Museum of Houston for Simon's birthday.  Today I was bound and determined to get him there.  He slept until 2:30 and it was about 4:00 when we got there which left us 2 hours of merriment.  We had the grandest time.  We started out in the baby/toddler area.  He looks so big with the other kids there and definitely took a shine to the little ball pit.  Then we explored some other areas we hadn't been to before that show how things work and whatnot.  He had great fun there as well.  But the bad thing is he's really kind of in between the really little kids and the big kids.  He has none attention span for me to show him what he's supposed to do at the exhibits but spent a great deal of time pretending to talk to Daddy on one of their many phones.  But he didn't really seem to care.  He ran from one thing to the next before zipping on to something else. 

We took a break and had snacks and then went out to the outdoor part that has all these water activities you can do.  He especially loved it because it started to rain, and aside from falling, rain is his other big love right now.  He and I were the only ones out there for a while as other parents had the good sense to come in.  But I didn't much care.  Our lives are pretty well back to "normal", whatever that is but sometimes I think back to what he's been through and just say the heck with it.  If he wants to be out in the rain, he's gonna be out in the rain.

We went back in and walked through their little city shops area and into the vet.  There were stuffed dogs and cats all over.  One spot had an x-ray on the wall of a dog's abdomen.  I've seen lots of pictures like that before, but of a little boy so I kind of took notice. Then I saw there was an arrow pointing to a "mass" in the belly of the dog.  It looked so familiar.  I just stood there and looked at it for a while.  I held Simon a little closer.  We went into the grocery store where he picked out apples and put them back and we got a balloon before heading home.

It was a good day.  He had all the fun and was pretty good.  Now he's fighting sleep by playing in his crib.  Simon, you played so hard.  You've earned a good night's sleep. 

Fall!

Simon's new favorite word is fall.  It's a random bit from one of his books that for some reason he's taken a shine to.  Last Sunday we watched America's Funniest Home Videos which only seemed to cement his love of the word.  He loves to point out when he falls or when other people fall.  It's adorable.  He also practices falling, jumping off whatever low-ish object he can find.  That's my boy.

Stories to Tell Simon's Prom Date Volume I

Actual text message the husband sent yesterday while I was at work.

I go in to check on a napping Simon, and see this:  The neck of his shirt pulled down to his waist.  His pants pulled down to his knees.  His diaper removed and on the floor.  His sheets soaking wet.  Simon soaking wet.  And fast asleep.

That boy loves nothing more than to take off his diaper while he's "napping".

Sunday Fun Gangsta Style

I taught my son how to hold a gun tonight.  A little part of me died when I did it.  He was very good at church today except for one episode so for a treat I took him outside after dinner.  We brought sidewalk chalk and squirt guns.  I put him in his swing and gave him a squirt gun showing him how to hold it and squeeze the trigger.  The whole time I was hoping he wouldn't think of the squirt gun as a gun.  He swang and we squirted each other.  He had some interesting grips on the thing and eventually ended up pointing it backwards so he could squirt himself.  We laughed and had a blast but my mind did wander once or twice to when he's a little bit older and if he should encounter a real gun.  How soon do I teach him about the dangers of guns?  How do I help him see the difference between a pistol and a squirt gun?  For now I'll just enjoy this innocent time when we can go outside and be silly and have fun.

He's Two!

I'm not much of a party planner or thrower.  But after the year he's been through, Simon deserves a party, dangit.  I thought I'd keep it simple, a little pot luck picnic thing at the park.  I'd order sandwiches and got squirt guns, bubbles, and Frisbees.  Of course we got a late start.  Our morning consisted of Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa, eating cinnamon rolls while watching cartoons, and opening a present whenever he got really cranky. 

I went to pick up sandwiches but they were at a different HEB down the road.  It wasn't so horribly far, but at noon on a Saturday the traffic was pretty bad.  Blaine went to pick them up and got back just in time to see Simon dive into this pond thing at the park.  I was right behind Simon chasing after him but was pretty worn out from the heat and the hills and several trips to the car.  I screamed for help and fished him out but we were both pretty shaken up.  Between the sandwiches and party goods getting there late and us recovering from the incident, things dragged on a bit too long and he was cranky and ready for a nap.  The squirt guns didn't work.  I guess no one was interested in bubbles or Frisbees.  I ate a few bites of food while catching up with my sisters-in-law, helped him eat cake, opened presents and got him the heck home.  For supper we had KFC and he was beyond ready for bed again so no dessert. 

I love my boy dearly, but I reckon next year we'll keep it even more simple.  Here's hoping this year goes better and next May we can avoid the BWD.