Fast times and wild living with (the former) Baby Whozit…
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jul 3rd, 2010
In late May, Simon said a few things that gave the illusion of his possessing adult understanding or common adult fears. At the time, it was his description of insomnia and stated fear of getting old that caught me off guard. I don’t think he fully understood what he said, but he gave a convincing […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jun 24th, 2010
Sometimes Simon will answer a question with a non sequitur and I just assume he’s bored and wants to change the subject. Of course, most times he’s quite clear on this front and will say things like “I don’t want to talk about that any more.” Other times, I suspect there’s some little boy logic […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jun 21st, 2010
Simon is on a roll. I have a sneaking suspicion that, even when explained, most of these items that made Matt and I laugh out loud and clutch our sides won’t translate into print. I think you sort of have to be here. And probably be (or live with) us, too. But I’m committing it […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jun 15th, 2010
Despite living in a foodie heaven for eight years, I’m hopelessly disinterested in food. I have my standards and favorites, but I’m about as far as you can get from being a gourmand. It took my layoff to finally get me cooking every night, and while I’m enjoying it, it’s much more about nutrition for […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jun 4th, 2010
Well, it’s happened. Three and a half years on, and I have at last come across my parenting Waterloo. So many things could have triggered it before now: Colic? Frazzled and one or two bad moments, but I held up OK. A year of interrupted sleep? I was weary, but managed. The restrictions that came […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Jun 2nd, 2010
Looks like all those super-late bedtimes are paying off. Below is a transcript of an actual conversation in the basement tonight: Simon: “Let’s shoot some hoops, Mommy.” I take a shot from the couch and sink it in his toy goal. Simon: “No, Mommy! Not like that. Slam dunk it!” Feeling silly, I stuff the […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on May 26th, 2010
It has to be one of the oldest clichés in the book, this notion that some young people have old souls. When applied to a preschooler, it’s a marker of something even worse than hoary sentimentality; it’s the type of cheap humor you find in movies starring celebrities on their way down or in any […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on May 19th, 2010
I have always appreciated Simon’s sensitivity, as I have always assumed it is a marker of a kind and gentle person. From the beginning, I’ve had to be very careful in how I talk to Simon and especially in how I discipline him. A few times I got really worked up over something, yelled at […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on May 9th, 2010
Two quick anecdotes before I forget. One: While irregular past tense verbs still mostly elude him, and while yesterday and last week are still more or less interchangeable, we are getting more reliable reports these days. A few mornings ago, Matt and I were awakened by a loud pop at around 6:00 a.m. It sounded […]
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on May 5th, 2010
When I was a kid, “please” was the magic word. Whenever I asked for something and forgot to use it, I was immediately reminded by an adult who said “What’s the magic word?” For Simon, the magic word is “tomorrow”, and it’s not anything we pushed on him. He seems to have realized all on […]