Simon and Frank

We went to Indiana earlier this month to visit our daughter Ilana, her husband Matt and their two little boys, Frank 4 and Simon 2.  A great time and VERY busy.  A lot of the time when they were home, Frank and Simon were doing this, chasing each other in the family room and kitchen making lots of noise and having a gay old time.  Frank loves having a little brother and he looks forward to a future together (When I grow up, I'm going to have a house so Simon can live in it)  Of course, Simon thinks everything his big  brother does is very important.  But Simon has his own mind about things.  He feels that he is the one who decides what he does.  And he doesn't miss a thing.  A great joy for everybody to see given his birth injuries. 

A cute kid!

 Here's a cute kid, almost two.  The repeated joke and toddler humor!

Informal family picture at Naomi's wedding

 

A more informal picture from Naomi's wedding in late June.  You can't see Scoutie in the yellow dress.  But we have Melina and Chris in the picture.  But everybody's there including my brother Charlie and my sister Pam

Matt and his two sons

 My son in law Matt along with my two grandsons watched the wedding from a little afar.  Dennis took the picture and likes it very much.

Simon walks!

 A week or so ago, Simon age 14 months decided that he was going to walk.  All of a sudden.  He came home from daycare and he could walk!

Father and son

I think they like each other.  Simon age 9 months with his father Matt.  They've been in Tucson this past week observing the death of Simon's great grand mother Grandma Massey, a true matriarch.  Temp in the lower 70s, sounds pretty nice.
 

Tiny Simon at 9 months

 I know that we can't call him Tiny Simon much longer.

But here he is 9 monhs old and doing great.  He gets sitting up and and I hear there's a lot of  scoting around.  Go Simon!

Hey Simon

To see this, you have to click on the facebook link below

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1094687268684171

Hey Simon!  He's 7 months old, really trying to crawl.  Pretty good for a guy who spent his first week in a level 4 NICU.  We'll take it.

Somehow it goes next to a long border collie video, I dunno.

He's pretty dang cute.

Our new family picture

 Here's our new family picture with two new members:  Tiny Simon (5 months old) and Stephen (Naomi's fiance on the far right)  They are getting married next June.

We tried a rainbow theme this year (last year was plaid).  Every family unit wore a different color.  Much negotiation and switching of colors.  At the last minute Melina called panicked, "we don't have anything orange!"  I told her that they could wear black.  Everybody complied.

Per request, we all had a picnic dinner of the Civic Club Special plus Seattle Pops popsicles right there at Hamlin Park

Left to right

Chris
Melina
Jessica
Danny
Dennis
Sandy
Ilana
Simon
Frank
Matt
Scout
Megan
Suzie
Naomi
Stephen

Suzie and Simon

 

Here's Simon (formerly Tiny Simon) with Suzie at Suzie's house.  She and Megan have been so great during this visit.  Their house is set up for toddlers so Frankie has had a great time.  Simon (age 5 months) is looking pretty happy here, he likes to be on his back and kick his feet.  There have been times during the visit when he has just HAD IT.  He didn't want any more of this, nope.

 Some pictures of Tiny Simon.  Not so ttiny any more.  Looks like his older breather.  But he's his own guy!

A gift for Simon

When we were in Bloomington visiting Tiny Simon and his family and a gift arrived from my friends here in the Seattle area.  There's not so many gifts for second babies,  Simon is doing well, he had to have some hernia surgery (not related to the traumatic birth).  Developmentally, he's doing great.  He will be followed by Riley Pediatric Hospital (the level 4 NICU) for awhile.  I'm going to check with these friends.

 

Ilana and her Simon

Ilana and her Simon from today.  Thanks to western medicine that saved both of them from birth injury.  

Cute picture!  Stephen and Naomi are there visiting, appreciate their help. I will have a seder on their return next Sunday.  It will all workout.

Simon's growing.  He won't be Tiny Simon for long! 

Tiny Simon

 

How about a nice picture of Tiny Simon born Feb 13.  I know that we're not always going to call him Tiny Simon because he's going to grow up into a big boy before we know it.  But a nice picture and a lovely smile.  Miss you Tiny Simon!

Simon at two weeks

 

Simon at two weeks with his eyes open!

Hmmm  I think I need a Frankie picture

Introducing Simon Arthur

 

Welcoming Simon Arthur!  He was born on Feb 13 (two weeks early).  It was an extremely hard birth for mom and son due to a ruptured uterus.  Ilana lost a lot of blood and Simon was moved to a high level NICU in Indianapolis.  But everybody is home now safe and sound. Looking good for both of them.  So fortunate for them that Matt's aunt and uncle live an hour or so away.  Aunt Sarah came down and took care of Frank for a whole week.  Known as the patron saint of their household.  Megan went for a week to help out and crushed it.  She'll be home tonight.  Naomi is already on the way for a week.  They might be ok; we show up on March 13, always the plan.

You can see that no blog entries since Feb 13; that's why.