A very good day

Today was a very good day. Simon woke up at 6 am, not bad considering the sun comes up at 4:30. We started the day with the very entertaining and lovable, Count Dracula, and some freshly squeezed orange juice (Simon loves juicing oranges and lemons!). While I washed up the dishes Simon played independently for about five minutes (this is really good for him!) and then came into the kitchen, carrying his train which had broken. He handed it to me with a sweet "ahhh" which seemed to mean "Can you fix my broken train, muma?"

Fix it? My first instinct was to tell him that "Dada" would fix it when he woke up. Then I decided to do more than fix it. An hour later, with the help of duct tape, my sharpie pen, and some cardboard we had the train fixed and an entire railroad line constructed. I felt very proud of myself, thinking of the smile my dad would have had on his face. Yeah, that was a dad moment for sure.

My good friend Natalia showed up at 8:30 with her sweet little Abi, and we played with the trains and a puzzle for an hour before heading over to a playgroup. Oh yes, via Aldi's as this week's special included a baseball, glove, and bat for a bargain and I was set on getting them before the other mad Aldi shoppers arrived. The car park was full when I got there. I've never actually made it on a Thursday morning before and yeah, the reports of hundreds lined up to get inside when the doors open might actually be true!

Playgroup was a success. Simon's first playgroup and he managed to not hit anyone, bit anyone or throw a tantrum. Not bad. He loved all the new toys, especially the lawn mower which he pushed around most of the time. Simon LOVES anything he can push. He seemed to enjoy the other kids too and just kind of cruised along. Natalia even taught him to wait his turn today when he and Abi both wanted to play with the Etch a Sketch. I was impressed. He sat and waited and seemed quite pleased with himself. I was definitely pleased, both with Simon and Natalia. She's an amazing friend to have around, complete with excellent advice on parenting and strategies for challenging situations.

We left Playgroup early, as it was Simon's nap time. He didn't want to leave but has responded well to my new strategy of asking Simon where the car is and tricking him into getting inside and then keeping him happy with pretzels, "fishes" and listening to the one children's "tape" we own which features Skip to My Lou, The lady with the alligator purse, and Miss Mary Mack!" We either need to buy some more tapes or install a CD player SOON! :) Simon likes going and getting things when you ask him to find something. Today he put our laundry away - Andrew handed him a towel and asked him to take it to the bathroom, which he did. Then he asked him to take our clothes to our bedroom, which he did. Pretty cool trick, Si.

After a two hour nap (mummy fell asleep with him for one of those hours!) we woke up to listen to more Count Dracula, have lunch (kanga banga's which I highly recommend)and then got ready to go to the pool because it was a "hot one" as Andrew says. We managed to convince Andrew to procrastinate on his assignment which is due tomorrow and join us. Not bad. The pool felt amazing and I swam laps while Andrew and Simon played in the water. Simon was dunking himself, throwing balls and loving it. Then we headed over to the cricket oval with our brand new baseball bat, glove, and ball and had a play. Andrew was very impressed with my swing. Simon looked adorable, walking along on his own carrying the baseball and holding it like a pro. I just wished my dad could have been here to see it. He would have been proud and would have had a huge smile on his face, I know. One of his dreams in life - to teach his grandchildren to play baseball. We're gonna do it for you, Dad.

Dinner was omelets (tofu for me!) with zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms and olives, on Simon's favorite German pumpernickel bread (also just like his Papa!). Simon sat in his high chair for most of the meal (something we're working on - the boy can hardly sit still he's just so "busy" as his Grandma Steggall says). Half way through the meal we watched the DVD of "Baba" aka Papa aka Roger Lewis made for my dad's Yemen memorial service. Simon loves this DVD and we watch it about ten times a day. He will take my hand, say "BABA" and lead me to the living room and point to the TV. Then he gets all excited when I say we can watch it and he climbs onto the couch and sits up like he's king of the castle and watches and wants me to sit with him. Then he climbs into my lap and squeezes my hand (again, exactly like his Baba!). And when the DVD is finished, he waves "Bye-Bye" and then does his sign for "more". Something about that really feels healing to me. It's like, in his own childlike way, he's giving me a way to grieve- remembering, accepting (waving goodbye), but then asking for more remembering. I love watching the video throughout the day because it allows me to remember my dad, connect with him, share him with Simon as we talk through all the different images of my Dad, and just miss him.

It's cute. Simon has become quite verbal these past few weeks and he loves to say "Muma, Dada, and Baba" before he goes to bed and when he wakes up and when we're driving. Like he's going through his happy list. I'm trying to teach him to say "nama" (aka grandma! so that my mom won't be left out! :) ) Hopefully by the time we get to Yemen in two months, he'll have Grandma in his vocabulary.

So Andrew left for work at 6:00 pm, just as it had begun to pour down rain. I love storms. Was hoping the rain would put Simon to sleep but no chance. More than an hour and a half later, having rocked, patted, nursed, changed to the bed to the cot to the sling and back again twenty times, Simon's asleep. But he had a nice time winding down (all the time in the dark with Celine Dion's baby lullaby CD which we listen to way too much!) and he didn't cry at all. Maybe the No cry sleep solution book Nat gave me is helping! And he seemed to really enjoy himself and I managed to as well. Especially the huge cuddle he gave me which lasted about five minutes and included a sweet "mmmmmmmm" noise that I realized he was imitating from me! Finally, though, he's asleep and I'm gonna forget the things I need to do on my constant "to do list" and watch a movie, I think. A good end to a good day!