Leo’s been here ONE YEAR!

One year ago today Leo showed up and our lives were filled with happiness, tears, anxiety and excitement. All of that is pretty much the same!

These days Leo is busy trying lots of things.

Currently he’s trying to:

--Stand up. We say “Show me how you stand up” and he wobbles his way up.

--Talk. He can almost say lion, hat, knock knock, bye bye, banana, ball and uh-oh which sound like ion, ha, dok dok, dye dye, ana, da and uh-uh respectively.

--Get some teeth and hair. He has lots of hair in the back but not much on top (preparing for a mullet I guess?), two teeth on the bottom and one sprouting on top

--Hold his own sippy cup and set it down on his tray. When he does this we say, “Yeah, Leo!” When he throws his sippy cup we say “No, no” and shake our heads. So now he throws his sippy cup and shakes his head.

And these are things he’s mastered:

--Throwing, bouncing and eating his favorite ball.

--Licking things: windows, toys, faces

--Clapping: Just say “yeah!” and you’ll get a round of applause from Leo

--Baby sign language: milk, more, eat, lunch, dinner, breakfast (okay, all the meals plus eat are the same sign) and all done. We’re working on please and thank-you.

--Splashing in the tub

--Saying bye-bye (or “dye-dye”) at appropriate times: when we get in the car or his stroller.

His favorite foods:

--Bananas
--Cheese
--Cheerios
--Avocados

His favorite trick with his food:
--Throwing it on the floor

His favorite trick with his milk:

--Letting it roll down his chin.

Things that make him laugh:

--When Granny Jo says “God Bless You”
--When Mommy says “I gotta go, see you later” walks away and comes right back saying, “I didn’t go anywhere! I’m right here!”
--Peek a boo. He’s still a sucker for it. But now he likes to do the peeking.


Our favorite thing about him:

Cutest, sweetest, smartest baby ever (in our unbiased opinion).

Happy Birthday, Leo James Simcik!

Rules of Disengagement

The other night Frank, Leo and I were out at dinner and a woman, sitting at a table behind us, asked one simple question about Leo. I answered. She made a comment about how cute he was. I thanked her. And somewhere along the way I got caught listening to a 20 minute monologue about her life. She told me:

All about her family: her kids, her grandkids, her sons-in-law and daughters-in-law
Her thoughts on raising children
About several tragedies that had happened in her life
Her medical history
All the places she’s lived and where she plans to live

My neck started hurting, I was turning towards her for so long. Finally, when our food came I said, “Well, it was nice talking to you” and turned to my table. This didn’t stop her. And so the stories continued.

I’m not sure what kind of vibe I’m giving off but this happens to me a lot. I can’t get away from chatter boxes. You think I talk a lot? No way. I believe that I can tell if someone is getting bored of a story and I will either speed it up or end it. And I always give someone an out before I start: “Are you busy or do you have time to hear this?”

Not these people.

And the worst offenders? The service-industry—pest control, plumbers, roofers…I can’t get them to leave! It’s story after story. I can only nod and smile for so long!

On Monday I met with an electrician:

Him: “How do you spell mechanical?”
Me (after spelling it for him): “And you can trust me because I’m a writer.”
(Pause: Okay, I see how that could beg the question about my writing but it didn’t…it gave him an outlet for talking about another writer.)
Him: I met with a writer the other day…her name was blah blah. She wrote a book about blah blah…and then she wrote another book about blah blah PORN blah blah STRIPPER…
(And as you can see, the subject matter wasn’t even all that appropriate for a discussion between electrician and customer).

And yesterday with the roofer:
Me: I have to leave soon because I teach a spin class.
Him: Spin? Oh, I thought you said swim. I know a lady who teaches swim lessons and blah blah blah…
(Dude, did you miss the part when I said I had to leave soon?)

I complained to my dad about this problem and he said I need to learn how to “disengage.” Here’s what I currently do: “Well, I’ll let you go because…” and I put it on them. But that’s not working because let’s say I tell the roofer, “I’ll let you go because I know you’ve got other roofs to attend to,” he could say, “Oh, no. I don’t have any more appointments for the rest of the day.”

So I need some good catch phrases to help me get out of these filibusters. And they need to be vague so as not to bring up another subject. For instance, I could say:

Wow, is it 4:00 already? I gotta go!

But I couldn’t say:

Wow, is it 4:00 already? I gotta go to taekwondo class!

Because that would inevitably get the person to tell me about their brother-in-law who started a karate studio and how it got broken into and all they stole were the trophies.

If you have any other helpful breakaway phrases, I’d love to hear them. In the meantime I’m just going with, “Do I look like I care?” Because really, I’d like to know the answer to that.

Future Frat Boy

We know from the last post that Leo is ready for the academic challenges of college. Now he's demonstrated that he's also ready for the extracurricular challenges:

First, there was the milk chugging contest:

Then today when I opened the fridge, he helped himself to a beer...

...and seemed a little too familiar with what to do with it:

Finding Bevo

Look at our little longhorn! What a genius. He is ready for college!

But we better wait until he can identify the lion before we go sending in an early application...

Lessons from the Granbury Girls

This weekend I saw some of my old (or should I say “mature?” No, that doesn’t really fit them either) friends from Granbury Drive--the Granbury Girls.

Cul de Sac Carrie flew to Atlanta and together we drove to Charlotte to see Susan. We had a great time laughing, eating and drinking and somewhere along the way, I came back with a bunch of life lessons:

Dishwasher Dividing: When you load the silverware in your dishwasher, separate forks, spoons and knives so it’s easier when you unload. This came from Carrie via Granbury Girl Wendy. I did it and I think it saved me at least 53 seconds!

Guest room goodies: Now I always leave a little basket of hotel-sized toiletries in the guest bath but Susan keeps hers in the guest bedroom nightstand. She also includes little perfume samples in there.

Pork tenderloin 101: I’m intimidated by pork but Carrie and Susan talked me through how to sear it and stuff it. I’m going to try Carrie’s stuffed spinach pork tenderloin next week.

Patio potting: My patio needs help and the GGs knew just what to do. They said that I need potted plants in each corner. “Great,” I said. “I’ll buy four potted plants, one for each corner.” That’s a gardening no-no, they explained. I need a few here, a few there—not one pot in each corner. (This is the before pic, by the way. I haven't gone pot shopping yet.) My patio is screaming for HGTV, no?



Wine airing: Have you seen one of these things? It's called a wine aerator. Susan had one. It makes any wine taste smoother. I wonder if it would help Two Buck Chuck.

Rolling with the wafers: I have a food chopper and a food processor but the former sometimes falls apart and the latter has too many pieces to contend with. Plus, both are too loud during naptime. So Carrie busted out the rolling pin and just smashed the Nila wafers like this:


Brilliant!

Those Granbury Girls, they should write a book: The Granbury Girls Guide to a Happy Home. I wonder where they stand on gridges

Practicing for Grandpa Ron's Visit

Now who's going to break it to him that his hoop dreams will never become a reality (unless of course someone creates a league involving a laundry basket and a rubber ball)?

He'll be comin' round the mountain...

We got one of those baby carriers. You know, for all the hiking we do. Really, we plan to use it for three upcoming beach trips.

But Leo says he's fine just hiking around the living room.

The Simciks' Staycation

Traveling is so 2008. These days it's cool to save dough and stay close. That's what we did over the three-day weekend. We had family time to the max: we grilled, went out to eat, went to the zoo, had a picnic the park, went to church, had some Easter fun and did a little gardening.

It's pretty much like an all-inclusive vacation except for there was no swim-up bar, or a pool or any kind of bar at all...but except for that...

All Rise for an Easter Surprise

It was right around Christmas that Leo learned to crawl. And now on Easter he learned to stand by himself. Guess we'll need to wait for another religious holiday to see him walk.

Good Talk, Russ

CinderElsa

Despite the fact that we have about seven floor-cleaning contraptions, I have taken to getting down on my hands and knees to scrub our downstairs.

Here's how I got there: As a wedding present, someone gave me a Swiffer. I love my Swiffer. The only problem is, it's the extra large version so normal Swiffer wipes don't fit it. You have to buy the extra large Swiffer wipes. The dry ones are easy to find. The wet ones, which I prefer, are only at Walmart.

So whenever I go to Walmart, I stock up on extra large Swiffer wets. And to be honest, they're not actually Swiffer brand. They're Grime Boss. I really don't enjoy Walmart so sometimes I run in just for these GB extra large wet wipes and buy up half a dozen packages of them.

As long as I had a good supply of them, that meant I didn't have to go to Walmart for awhile and my floors were clean. Life was good.

But then one day I ran out. I had to make the dreaded trip to Walmart. Yuck. And worse, they didn't have the wipes! I returned another time, still no wipes! Finally, I settled for the regular size Swiffer wet wipes, thinking I could double up on my Swiffer.

It was a floor-cleaning-failure. The small Swiffer wets were falling off my giant Swiffer. And since I didn't want to waste them, I ended up cleaning by hand. I decided that maybe this would be the new way I would clean my floors. I mean, it's not that big of a house. Surely, I can crawl around with a wet cloth once or twice a week...

It sure would be nice to delegate though. If only I knew someone who liked to crawl around on the floor...

Water Baby

On Leo's first trip to the YMCA pool he cried the whole time and clung to us.
On his second trip he cried and clung at first but eventually settled down.
On his third trip (today) he loved it from the first splash!

Snoring, Squatting and Signing

Leo did three exciting things yesterday!

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

Ever wondered what happened to your good friends at Glamour Shots? They’ve totally changed. They’re not so glamorous anymore. And by that, I mean, they don’t utilize boas, cheesy poses or rouge.

I thought of GS because last night at bunco this girl told the best story ever about her experience. After hearing this story I said, “I so wish that had happened to me so I could write about it on my blog!” But then I decided it was good enough to share:

So she was twelve years old and her mom decided to take her to Glamour Shots. Except instead of GS being in a mall, it was at a Super 8. Yes, the motel. I’m not sure it even was the REAL Glamour Shots. So her mom not only takes her to get Glamour Shots at a sleazy motel (again, not a mall or even a HOTEL, mind you) but she actually leaves her there! And this creepy old man put tons of make-up on her and took her picture. “I was wearing a red boa!” she said. Luckily, that’s all that happened and now it’s just a funny story rather than a made-for-television-movie story.

I’ve never had Glamour Shots but I have been known to do the Glamour Shots pose in group pictures:





That’s my favorite one. The old “pull up your collar and turn to the side.” I also admired how they could get a woman’s (or a twelve-year-old’s) hair to fill up the entire 5 x 7 picture.

But now they’ve gone and changed. They’re really like every other photo studio now. You can even get family “glamour” shots. Maybe we’ll do that with our family. I heard there’s a deal down at the La Quinta.

Have you met Jeremy?

I vaguely remember a snot-nosed kid in my first grade class named Jeremy. Ever since then that name has conjured up images of mucus. Leo has had a constant drip since like February. I call snot-nosed Leo "Jeremy."

And you wanna know something really gross? If not, don’t keep reading. When he sneezes TONS of snot comes out. He had such a big sneeze today that when the snot came out both sides I said, “You look like a walrus!” I’m kind of envious of him how he can clear it out so easily.

Now Frank and I are in the habit of referring to Leo as Jeremy. We’ll say, “Who do you think you are, Jeremy?” or “Take a look at Jeremy over here” or “Ewww! He’s a total Jeremy!”

One day we will have to explain to Leo that Jeremy is not his name. It’s just his snotty alter ego.

Leo's been here eleven months

And it is impossible to take a picture of him sitting still and smiling in a chair that rocks. Here is my evidence:

Here is what Leo is into at 9/10th of a year! (Is that the right fraction?)

-Saying “All Done,” “Milk” and most recently “More” in baby sign language
-Saying “Da” for everything—especially balls
-Playing with balls
-Crawling around with one leg kinda dragging behind him while carrying a toy
-Trying to stand up without holding onto stuff; kinda looks like he’s proposing
-Getting the giggles (as you can see in this video)
-Cheerios—he would go on an all Cheerios diet if we would let him
-His Leo CD; he dances and shakes his head when it comes on
-Riding on daddy’s shoulders and eating his head
-Patting his own head
-Clapping when we say “yea” or sing “Pat-a-Cake”
-Playing peekaboo (but now he initiates it and holds up the blanket himself)!

He is NOT into:
-getting his nose wiped
-people not paying attention to him
-getting his diaper changed


One more month of babydom and I think I have to call this baby a TODDLER. Yikes!

Actors, please don't sing

I heard an interview with Leighton Meester of TV’s Gossip Girl on the radio last week. She says she’s got an album coming up. I immediately thought, “If I was that girl’s agent, I would tell her to NOT do an album.”

Why? Well, first of all, it has nothing to do with Ms. Meester, who I only know from seeing her pic in US Weekly and think she’s a lovely girl. I’ve never watched GG nor have I heard her sing.

But I know it didn’t work out for Jennifer Love Hewitt. Or Lindsay Lohan.

I remember riding in the car with this girl in college and I asked her what the CD was that she was playing. She said, “Okay, don’t laugh. But it’s Jennifer Love Hewitt.” I did laugh. Something about it just seemed cheesy.

So actors, if you’re gonna make the transition from acting to singing then you gotta do it like Keanu Reeves, Kevin Bacon, Jada Pinkett Smith and Bob the Bachelor. They’re in these sort of underground bands that tour and play in small venues. They treat it like a hobby. Their attitude is like, “I’m mainly an actor but by the way, I’m also in this little band on the weekends.”

Now, Jennifer Lopez may be the exception. She started out as an actress and has had much commercial success with her music. I have two theories about this: 1). She sang in her first movie, Selena and 2). She gives herself a different identity with her music—J. Lo, Jenny from the Block, etc.

My “acting-to-singing-doesn’t-work” theory does not work in reverse. Singers are welcome to become actors. In fact, it’s encouraged. Like Beyonce. Or Jessica Simpson. Hmmm…maybe that’s not a good idea either.

And which one was Hilary Duff first?

Anyway, my point is: stick to what you know. And be happy with the job you got. We don’t need to see your face or hear your voice everywhere. That can even be career suicide. So you won’t catch me buying Leighton Meester’s album. But I might buy a ticket to see Bob the Bachelor in concert.

Waking up happy

When Leo doesn't nap well, we're both cranky. Here he is after a good one:

Keep the Change

I rolled up to the ATM the other day and BofA had an ad for their “Keep the Change” program. I rolled my eyes. Then I thought, “Why does that ‘keep the change’ deal bug me?”

Then I figured it out: It’s because people sign up for it and then pat themselves on the back and say, “Good for me! I’m saving!”

It’s just like when people park their car far away and walk up the stairs instead of the elevator. Those are both great things to do but not worthy of logging in your exercise journal. It's supposed to be supplemental to your "real" exercise.

I mean, how much money are you really gonna save with that “KTC” system? Let’s say you made 50 transactions in a month and your average “change” was $.50. That’s $25. Big whoop. Sure, that’s better than spending $25 but it may actually prevent you from saving more because you say, “I don’t need to PUT any money into my savings because the bank does it for me.” And don’t count on any interest accruing. I mean, maybe like some pennies.

And same goes for the keep-the-change-style exercise programs. I bet there are people who park far away at a restaurant and then order an extra dessert because they “earned it.”

So really, you could actually gain weight and lose money by participating in such pseudo responsible practices.

My recommendation? Keep your own change in a jar. When you fill it up, take a walk to the bank and cash it out. Then keep walking and get some ice cream. You earned it.

Guys Gone Wild

Leo had fun with his boys this weekend.

Hanging out topless with daddy:

Going for a stroll with John:

Sharing his plastic rings:

Getting a lift from John's daddy, Mr. Josh:

Peeking through the window with the other boys while the women folk prepare the food:

Just being smiley: