Kid Amnesiac

It’s been a year, and this time I’m going to write first and then look back at last year’s to determine how much has changed.

What rocks Simon’s world these day? Here’s what:

1.      Scooby Doo and Star Wars, especially the episodes with the Harlem Globetrotters (really) and “Episode VI”. The majority of Simon’s Christmas and Hanukkah games are relate to one of these shows, unless they are/were

2.      Board Games! Simon loves to play games and can do so four hours on end. He loves Candy Land, Hi Ho Cheerio, The Cat in the Hat I Can Do That, Sequence, The Ladybug Game, Ice Cream Scoops of Fun, and the Curious George Picnic Name. And Memory, I can’t forget Memory. Currently, he’s learning Tic Tac Toe, and is good enough that no one wins most of the time.

3.      Light Sabers. Related to #1, Simon adores playing with his light saber. Even better is when Matt gets out his light saber and the two of them can reenact scenes from Star Wars. The usual favorite is Luke’s final battle with Darth Vader as the Emperor looks on.

4.      School. This year Simon has no hesitation about school at all. The two main reasons are Ms. Tammy and Ms. Shana, his teachers. They are kind and creative, and they get him. If I could convince them to teach the 4s next year, I’d be very happy indeed. Barring that, perhaps we can just keep Simon together with his…

5.      Friends. Simon continues to build the skills that allow him to develop and maintain friendships. From Baron and Ruby and Caroline at school (and others, too, but these are the ones we have the most play-dates outside school with), to first friends Leah and Sophie, to friends Taylor and Jimmy when he visits Grandma, Simon’s world is populated with little people for whom he has big feelings.

6.      Hot Wheels. The love of all things wheeled has not abated. These days its primary expression is found in Hot Wheels Cars, of which one may never have too many, and the four-lane race ramp we have, upon which can never have too many races.

7.      Maurice Sendak books. They are classic for a reason. The first time I read Where the Wild Things Are, he was enraptured. Ditto In the Night Kitchen, the more surreal, less accessible book about Mickey in cake.

8.      Christmas. Hanukkah is fun and all, but Christmas rules. The lights! The tree! The presents! How the Grinch Stole Christmas (book and TV special). The only consolation about Christmas being over is that, in his mind, that means Easter with its candy baskets and egg hunts, cannot be far behind. It’s going to be a long winter around here….

9.      Trips to the coffee shop with Daddy. Sometimes Mommy is allowed on these jaunts. But only sometimes. The highlight is the icing on the cupcake. The cupcake itself is less important, and usually comes home in a box uneaten. As I like the cake but not the icing, we make the perfect team.

10.  Grandma/Bubbie days. Once a week Simon goes home with my mom, and once a week he goes home with Evie. Bubbie days mean trips to Breadworks and Pauls, lots of games, Hot Wheels in the basement, looking for Eddie, and playing hide and seek when we come over to pick him up. Grandma days mean trips to Noah’s ark, play-dates with Taylor or Jimmy, endless rounds of the ice cream game, basketball in the basement, family dinners, and aerobic playing with TJ.

11.  Speaking of Eddie and TJ, Simon loves all the new cats in our lives. From Jim and Evie’s TJ, who joined the family in April, to Mom’s Eddie, who arrived in August or late July, to our Cambria, who is about to celebrate his three-month anniversary with us, Simon loves them all and can recognize and appropriately respond to the personality of each.

12.  Giving directions. In the car, Simon is a zealous guardian of appropriate turn-signal use. He wants to know (and can frequently tell you) which highway you are on (including East vs. West), wants you to use your “super brights” whenever possible, and asks if you are on your brake or gas pedal all the time. He is also mindful of perceived speeding and a variety of other moving violations. If we can keep him from driving before he’s 16, it will be a miracle.

13.  His Trike. He asks to go for rides nearly every day. Even when it was 15 degrees out. I hated saying “no”, but Mamma was not going to chase him in 15-degree—lower if you count wind chill—weather.

14.  Last but not least, running. We still run a lot. At parks, in basements, down long halls, etc. The only change is that now Simon prefers “chasing” to mere running.

Just peeked. Wow! Grandmas and cars and running remain constants, and he does still go to bed with Dirty Dog, Dirty Dog’s Twin, and Funny Monkey every night, but the rest is new and just screams “big kid” to me. He doesn’t seem that different, but the list doesn’t lie!