Ole was my "little man," Eli was my "little critter," and Simeon is my "little feller."
Mommy says that at 6 weeks, Simeon wanted company to poop. He didn't want to be alone for it.
Simeon loves a fresh diaper, perhaps more than the older two boys.
Simeon smiles maybe for the first time in the hospital on about Day 2 - but more likely for real at about 2 months. Then lots more and bigger in the subsequent weeks and months!
Simeon blinks SLOWLY, and often with a soft or almost shy smile. It's amazing to watch. I can barely do it when I try consciously. It challenges me to slow down in life!
Simeon first laughs just before he is four months old. He gets super excited after receiving joyful eye contact!
Simeon's smile often seems shy - yet he also seems to look right into you.
Simeon starts getting ticklish at 5 months. Lots of fun!
Simeon sometimes looks like he's chewing his cud.
Simeon starts eating soft real food at 6 months. Elsbeth home-makes a lot of it, and he is NOT very picky at all.
Simeon starts saying "mama" and "dada" at 7 months - almost at the same time. He doesn't seem to know their meaning, but says them often.
Simeon starts crawling at 8 months!
Also by 8 months, Simeon is getting more and more ticklish, has the biggest and most frequent smiles, the purest and most consistent eye contact, and still blinks slowly sometimes.
He still loves to eat, but like his brothers, he has acid reflux and still wakes up frequently nearly every night. Yet for at least half of his life we have both said he is our most content baby!
At 9 months, we sent Simeon into his own room so we could start sleeping again! He took to it right away, going from 4-6 wake-ups most nights down to 1-2. The sleep deprivation was harder on both of us this time around - though possible for fewer total months - presumably because we're older!
Simeon EATS TONS of food both in terms of quantity and variety - including meats, soups, casseroles, spices, rice, fruits, breads, and more. Definitely the most of our boys!
When Simeon crawls, he "stomps" with his arms and hands. So cute! He also loves to chase cars, balls, fruit, or anything else that rolls along the ground.
Simeon so loves our vacuum cleaner with a light that it will calm him down from a full cry, and he will chase it all around and get right up to it (one inch or less).
Simeon doesn't quite walk or talk by his first birthday, but he does sort of play fetch.
For how much Simeon eats, he stares carefully - almost suspiciously - at almost every bite first. Then when he dislikes something (pretty rare), he spits it out with much noise, repetition, and disgust.
Joking about food or drink with Simeon is a total no, no! You can MAYBE get away with it if he has already eaten his fill and is already goofing around himself. And if you and he eat the same food, he smiles big.
At 15 months, we are not walking alone or speaking English yet. He gets around lots and talks much (and mostly happy) gibberish. But he is no rush to graduate!
First words Simeon understands are his name (including nicknames of Simmy or Sim-Sim) and "light." For the latter, since about 6 months, he looooooves looking at bright lights (not the Sun)...no STARING at them for a long time with a huge smile. I often tell him Jesus is the Light of the World, and I pray he gets it soon and always!
First words: brother (budda), daddy, mommy, doggy, belly button (be / be-ye / belly - with much pointing and poking, and if you do it, too, all the better; he also regularly loves to see - or find - other people's belly buttons).
I-eeeeee ("hi," with a long drawl and huge smile before, during, and after - said often to family, strangers, animals, vehicles, etc).
Simeon walks chest first - very proud of himself.
Doodle - everything and everyone is "doodle" and can be greeted as such: Hi Doodle! to us, to animals, to nobody, to vehicles, etc. It comes with great frequency at 17-18 months, many times a day, and with huge, often wrinkle-nose, smiles.
When nursing at 12-18 months, he grabs Mommy's moles / freckles / shirt etc.
Simeon does more wrinkle-nose, squinty-eyed smirky grins than anyone else I know!
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeze (please with a very long intonation and a huge wrinkle-nose, squinty-eyed grin) OR Peace (still with the smile, but very abrupt) - either way, he ALWAYS says it happily, even transforming straight and instantly from whining to cheerful - this went on wonderfully for 4 months or more!
Simeon interrupted a long string of laughter (or ironically, tears, I can't remember) by suddenly lifting his shirt and pointing to his belly button and saying "be-ye."
Faffle (waffle)
Peeeeze...okay! (For 2 months, Simmy very cheerfully and quickly said "okay" after cheerfully saying "please." To us it sounds very sweetly presumptuous, as if he fully expects to get whatever he asked for because he asked politely. He probably got it from us saying "okay" after he said "please.")
Simeon was almost 21 months the first time I heard him clearly say "Hi Daddy!" He ran toward me and said it twice loud and clear with a big smile. I hadn't heard anything close to that before, and not again for x weeks.
Simeon called Aric Milley "the Guy" during one of his visits. On Aric's second and third mornings here - AND for two days after he left - Simeon included "the Guy" in his morning routine of calling his brothers' names as soon as I got him out of his crib.
Simeon loves, loves, loves "the moon" or "la moon" and looks for it and calls to it out the window day and night on many occasions.
Simeon continues to love most foods - and frequently! In the morning we start all the boys with the healthy, tasty cereal Total, and Simeon asks for it with strong 't' pronunciation: ToTal. He also calls other cereals ToTal.
pop - popcorn
side - outside (normally asked or said in a cheerful, rising tone of voice
Boys! Boys! Boys? Boys? (Simeon calling Ole and Eli as we parents do, with nearly perfect pronunciation and intonation - adorable)
Simeon doesn't yet pronounce the "L" in his brothers' names, but often when I get him from his crib / bed in the morning, he immediately and cheerfully starts talking about, or calling to, his brothers: "O-e! E-i! O-e! E-i!" or "O-e? E-i? O-e? E-i?" This happens at other times, too, whenever he hears or thinks about Ole and Eli.
Walkies (socks)
Simeon loves to answer random questions with "yes," "no," "please," "thank you," etc.
At 1.5-2 years old, Simeon cries hard when he hears or sees bathwater but does NOT get to take a bath. In fact, we can't even say the word "bath" around him or he gets excited and runs to the bathroom door.
Ya-yee, Ya-yee! (Daddy, Daddy!)
Pweace, pweace? (sounds like "peace" with a "w" - means please)
One Sunday morning right after Simeon turning 2, he started crying and chasing Ole hysterically when he saw Ole carrying a checkered shirt that looks a lot like one of Simeon's. He thought Ole was stealing it or going to where it or something. Then Ole completely pacified him by bringing him over to his own (much smaller!) shirt. Simeon promptly picked it up while still being held by Ole, and became his normal smiling self again.
Bockey (Coffee)
Two or three times when dressing Simeon, I put both his socks on one foot on purpose, and he laughed. For several months after that, all on his own, he specifically held out his socked foot for me to put his other sock on it as well - or tucked his unsocked foot underneath out of reach - until I put the second sock on it, and laughed. Unlike his oldest brother, who would have wanted me to do this time and again, Simeon just wanted me to "do the joke" one time, then was satisfied to finish dressing normally.
Simeon is not a biter! But once during seemingly normal play, without any warning, Simeon threw his head into my lap while I sat on the couch, and he bit hard and (totally unwittingly, of course) caught the tip of my penis between his teeth - even through my underwear and thick sweat pants!
Simeon loves throwing himself onto any pillows, blankets, balloons, or older brothers that happen to be lying on the ground at a moment's notice!
Simeon's potty training is progressing far better and earlier than either of his older brothers. Thanks to Elsbeth, who started right after he turned two, he may master daytime potty control by 2.5 (instead of 4+)! And does he get proud of himself with each successful "pee-pee in the potty, yaaaaaay!" moment!
Simeon loves to do "big eyes" - staring right at you with his eyes wide open and an open-mouth grin, most often at the dinner table. He loves getting the same response in return. He does it many times a week and usually on his own initiative. And - not usually shy - he does it with people he knows even just a little. Super adorable! He also does all this in the same way and almost with the same cuteness and frequency with "closed eyes" - looking at you and then closing his eyes just barely, then opening again to grin and see if you're still watching.
Simeon starts liking cow's whole milk at 26 months. No, loving it. He insists (peeze, milk?) with his cereal, which he then eats without his spoon, but with his hands, and then downs the excess milk by lifting the bowl to his mouth. Finally, he asks for "more, peeze?"
Chu-wuck (truck)
Simeon loves coffee - Daddy's, Mommy's, or even from the church garbage bin one Sunday (eww)!
Crabcakes is the latest "grown-up" food Simeon likes...crabcakes?!
Daw-bewwy (strawberries)
Simeon likes to clean up his own messes and then put things into the garbage. And...sometimes he tells us to do the same!
for-LAY-ler (4-wheeler; this was as cute and different from Eli's "FOR-lee-er," as Eli's was cute and different from Ole's "YAY-er")
Simeon loves to join me in the bathroom when I go potty. He literally sits down facing me and watches . . . and often makes comments, especially if I am pooping!
Ba-dee-dees (batteries)
After announcing that I would take a shower, and while getting ready for the shower, but not yet in the bathtub, Simeon (who again joined me in the bathroom), looked up at the shower which I had not yet turned on, and announced that its ba-dee-dees were bad and I needed to give it new ba-dee-dees.
Fuff (for "woof," a little dog stuffed animal)
Wummy (for "lamby," a little lamb stuffed animal)
Amazing Gace (no "r" - Simmy loves it when I sing to him at nap / bed time, and while I sing other hymns or praise songs, he really latches on to Amazing Grace and asks for it regularly, even when I suggest other titles; sometimes when I agree to his request, he quickly smiles, smirks, or giggles.)
Honey, don't play with your penis. It's not a toy! (Mommy to Simeon in the bath. Then to me: Nik, this is one of those things I never thought I'd say!)
Mommy: Simeon, do you want a spanking? Simeon: Yeah. (this exchange has happened multiple times)
Simeon loves to sing loudly and often in his bedroom.
Wilkie / Wilkies (MANY times for 1-2 years; it normally means breast-feeding / Mommy's breasts / hungry for milk; but it can also mean Daddy's and brother's and his own nipples, too. Normally he says it with a smile, but it can be a cheer-up word, too, either said by him or to him by Mommy.)
I pick oo up, peeze. / I gi-choo down, peeze. (Pick me up, please. / Get me down, please.)
Jesus wummie. (Jesus loves me.)
God is green. God is blue. God is big. (random lyrics within some of Simeon's songs)
That one! (or) This one! (He says this cheerfully about or to identify many things on most days.)
Eat with my butt (then he put a piece of cereal down there).
Bayball game (baseball game - he means "Let's play catch.")
Bo-bo (Bilbo, the dog)
Wookseat (worksheet - he loves to do his alphabet / number worksheets)
I go pee-pee in the potty - yaaaaay!
Ha-hot / Co-cold
Not little (he wants more / bigger / longer)
Uh-tares / Dow-toos (upstairs / downstairs)
Badeedees (batteries - many things need badeedees, including lights, plug-in objects, and showers)
Koan-eye come? (Can I come? usually in a super sweet, almost pitiful voice)
I...I (instead of me, me - it actually sounds less selfish)
Simeon walked up to me one day, and announced: "Daddy, I'm a ninkupoop!" After I laughed in response, he marched around for a couple minutes with Eli singing: "I'm a ninkupoop, yay. I'm a ninkupoop, yay!"
Okay (He CONSISTENTLY responds to many questions by saying this word more than perfectly - it's all in the tone - either in the most cheerful or the most compliant or the most pitiful voice, depending on the circumstances and how he feels.)
I wip a book. (I ripped up a book - his first words to me after a nap one day.)
It's okay. (He likes to end tension or disputes between other people - or excuse his own actions - by saying or sometimes yelling this.)
ONLY Daddy / Mommy / Ole / Eli (He started saying this emphatically at 2.5 years old. When he wants a certain person to help him, put him to bed, play with him, etc., he says this - mostly happily, but also strongly - such that if he doesn't get what he wants the happiness may vanish. Hilariously and entirely on his own, he simultaneously started running around quickly, happily, and very intentionally to say "good-night" to everyone ELSE, before returning to the "only" person of the day. Alternatively, if the "wrong" person was holding him at the time, he would lean into them for a quick hug, then slither out of their arms quickly to get to the "right" person.)
Amazin Gace; Shout to da Lord; It Tis Well; Holy Ghost (the Doxology); First Noel; This Is the Day (various hymns / praise songs Simeon loved for me to sing to him at nap time and night time; he normally tries to get 2+ songs out of me - I normally aim for 1-2 - and sometimes he'd say "not...such and such" a song, too - quite picky!)
bu-lue / bu-lack (two syllables for "bl..." words)
Daddy: What are you doing, Simmy? Nonchalant answer: "I'm shooting Daddy." (Well, thanks for your honesty!)
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. (With naked butt up in the air as he was eating cereal on the floor one morning, a month before turning 3...he rapidly sang this verbatim and at good pitch and rhythm - one of his longest grammatically correct sentences yet! And both big brothers had just been humming and singing it around him while doing chores - so they helped teach him!)
almots (almost); toats (toast); firts (first); all these evolved into an extra 't,' rather than just a reversed 't' - to become almotst, toatst, and firtst
Baby, Did You Know (one of Simeon's favorite Christmas songs - Mary, Did You Know)
Since his first months of life, I read Simmy the story of his namesake Simeon and Baby Jesus in Luke 2. By the time he was 2, he recognized the story and would cheer loudly for this or that part.
Cu-me (excuse me; always in a polite voice - but as an announcement, rather than a question / request)
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle hay hay hay.
Toon / Turn on this light off. (Turn this light off - frequently for months)
That's the one! (with great frequency and enthusiasm - whether it makes sense or not)
That's a big / good one! (frequently for months)
Nate one (Simmy says this clearly, daily, and for months - with various apparent meanings: "again," "too," "very much," "only" - no clue where he got it)
By 3 years, 3 months, Simeon had the entire first verse of Amazing Grace memorized (lyrics, notes, pitch, rhythm)...and he loved to sing it out loud with a big smile, whether alone or before an audience - as at Elsbeth's 40th birthday party with us 5, Dad, and Zak and Kara and kids.
Dancy, dancy, dance, dance! (with full action and smiles and repetition - many times at 3 years old, including sometimes in bed at nighttime)
Daddy, you dance. I play the piano.
Yes? Okay! (Simeon would often ask a yes / no question, then - without awaiting an answer - ask "Yes?" and then - also without awaiting an answer - decide / announce "Okay!")
One day at home Simeon joined me in the bathroom when I needed to urinate. He mostly just played and babbled near the bathtub. But then I heard him clearly and randomly say, "Pastor Bryan goes to the potty, too."
Very many cute versions of "a because of a": I like that one because I do. Eli did that because he did. The door did close because the door did close.
Mommy: Did you get a spanking? Cheerful Simeon: Yes. Mommy: Did you learn from it? Cheerful Simeon: Yes. Mommy: Are you going to stop doing that? Cheerful Simeon: No.
Holy Macar-ole!
Too and... or Too 'cause... or ...too (he loves this word and its emphasis - 20x a day at age 3.5)
On one Sunday at church, Eli got hurt downstairs, and he was sitting down. When Simeon saw him, he pronounced Eli "dead." Later that day, while watching a "condensed game" of the Twins-Rockies, he saw the first base coach (standing), and pronounced him "dead" as well! Finally, after watching the game and I asked him if he liked it, he said, "Yes, it was berry, berry fun fun."
We're both naked! (Simmy likes to comment on the obvious - with a big smile - when we shower or change together.)
Simeon likes to join Mommy and / or me in the bathroom any time through age 3. With me he likes to check on my potty status - including looking into the toilet during business. When I was finishing up one day, he got some toilet paper and went behind me and said he wanted to help me clean up! (I didn't let him.)
Simeon likes to gesticulate with his index finger. If he is telling or showing something important, he likes to raise one finger by way of emphasis. Very frequent - and very cute.
