Simon family in the snow

The snow is deep but we are staying cozy.  Papa is visiting from California- we'll get a picture of him with his boy shortly.  The photo above was taken by our friend, Robin, also from Oakland, who happened to be driving through.  Thanks, Robin!

Bubbe's Visit (and drinking from a cup)

CUTE ATTACK!


See it to believe it: Jeremy is now drinking from a cup (breast milk, and assisted by his Mama)- initiated by him during a bath, when he REALLY wanted to drink out of the plastic cup we use to rinse him. So, during the next feeding, we put a little milk in a cup and VOILA! He kept wanting more and more. Since he still isn't thrilled about eating from a spoon, we put a little bit of rice cereal in his cup (very runny), and he lapped that up, too. If we keep this up, we may be able to skip the whole 'sippy cup' stage (and its associated problems).

Other news: Bubbe (Mama's mother) is visiting from Cincinnati right now, and (as the photo shows) isn't interested in her grandson at all... ;-) Lucky boy, he gets to see his Papa (Mama's father) next week, as well! What an unloved boy...

Bath Time!

I just had to post these picture for the fans.  His grandfathers were both overcome with emotion when they first witnessed a bath- the cuteness is nearly unbearable.  Let me know what you think of the editing to the second photo- too much?  He looked like an ad for baby soap or something, so I thought I'd give the editing a try.  The first one is more like a surprise shot.  As you can see, he is sitting and pushing up more and better all of the time- don't worry, though, he was within arms reach for both pictures.  Other big news: he has now really, truely slept through the night two times in a row now (i.e., 11 hrs straight).  Can you believe that he is over 5 months old, already?!

Here is Grandpa Simon- I'd show you a photo of him kissing Jeremy after his bath, but you can't see his face.

Baby's First Hannukah

Although it doesn't mean much to him yet, Jeremy has been enjoying his first Hannukah- especially his musical dreidel from Grandma and the gift his Great Uncle David and Great Aunt Trisha gave him: a panel that he can kick to make farm animal noises and music. Kick the cow and it moos, the pig oinks. I don't know what we are teaching him with that exactly, but Fran is eager to graduate him to something with soccer goals on it.

Baby's first solid food

Baby opens wide for the first spoonfull...

...Success! After hearing/reading so much about how difficult it is to introduce solid food to babies, our expectations were pretty low- we only made a tablespoon worth of rice cereal, and planned a bath afterwards. But, boy was our little guy ready! He gobbled up what we gave him (see the open mouth photo above) and could have eaten more. We should have known, considering the way he had been eyeing everyone's plate on Thanksgiving!

(Un)solicited Advice for New Parents

It seems we know lots of folks who are pregnant right now, and several have asked for our advice.  There is so much information out there (e.g., we now own over 50 books now on pregnancy, childcare, and children) that it can be overwhelming.  Here are the top 5 recommendations that have been the most helpful to us (in no particular order):
1) You know your baby: you may not know anyone else's baby, but you will know your own.  Don't let other's advice side-track what you know to be true.
2) Don't criticize your partner's parenting:  It is critical that both parents be involved and bonded with baby; your spouse won't do everything the way you would do it- be open to the possibility that their way is just as good as yours, or that they need to learn from experience.
3) Newborns cry out of need, not want:  For the first three months, babies know nothing of manipulation (much less cause and effect).  Educate yourself about their needs and how to fill them; nothing is more important or more satisfying as a parent.  Toward that end...
...4) Learn about the "5 S'es": When the need of your baby is to calm a new, raw nervous system, there is a science to soothing that many parents swear by.  Read "The Happiest 
Baby on The Block" by Harvy Karp, or watch the video, to learn how.  This is especially 
critical for colicy babies.  We used his techniques starting in the hospital to wonderful effect.
5) Learn about the importance of sleep (for you and baby) and how to get into a good rhythm 
to promote it.  We found the EASY (eat, awake/activity, sleep, you) approach worked well- "Babywise" (another popular book) also promotes the idea of eating upon waking, rather than before sleep.  We liked the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" for advice on sleep and how to promote it. A well-rested baby is a happy baby!

Good luck to all those new parents out there! Taking care of a baby is simple, although not easy. It's a lot of work, but for us, nothing has been more satisfying or rewarding.

Turkey on the East Coast

We have just returned from our trip back East to see Mommy's family, including Grandma and Grandpa Simon (he misses them already!), and meeting Cousin Sarala, Uncle Evan, Aunt Janice and cousin Julianne, as well as Great-uncle Gary, Great-aunt Chris and Second Cousin Marissa for the first time. Other highlights included a visit to Fran's Matron-of-honor and her family, and Fran's old sports buddies, Nancy and Jeanne.  As usual, Jeremy was happy baby on the flight, although on the way out he thought he'd share his new-found shreeking voice a few times.  
Developmental news includes that he is now passing items from hand to hand, and seems on the verge of crawling; he's rolling onto his tummy, then pulling his knees up and rocking on all fours.  Please G-d, let him not be mobile so soon- his mommies are far from ready...

Click here for a video of Jeremy from this trip: http://ourmedia.org/node/369381

JB celebrates Papa's birthday

Well, our little traveller has done it again. His second trip to California to surprise his Papa Monty for his 70th birthday went even better than expected; Dad loved seeing his kids and grandson, and the party the following night was a huge hit, with 50+ folks all there to heap love on him. Jeremy also enjoyed being with his Uncles David and Isaac; it was his first time meeting
Uncle Isaac and Aunt Gretchen, who gave him some very nice books!

Click here for a video taken that weekend: http://ourmedia.org/node/367847
And here for a video of Dad's sister Barbara singing a birthday song she wrote to him: http://ourmedia.org/node/367956

Jeremy is 4 months old

Here is a little video of our boy, now 4 months old.  Developmental news:  He is now taking regular naps- short ones (usually about 40 min), but up to 4 a day.  He is more coordinated each day; now he can reliably find his fingers and thumb to suck on as well as bring objects with both hands to his mouth.

Click here: http://ourmedia.org/node/365891

Baby's First Halloween

Happy halloween! As you can see, Jeremy is a turtle, thanks to a gift from his Grandma Simon. Although we probably won't do much trick-or-treating considering his lack of teeth, we did go to a special children's performance of the Colorado Symphony last night with Ari (the ring-bearer at our wedding, also featured in bowling entry below) and his younger sister, Zoe. Jeremy seemed to enjoy his first symphony, at least the part he was awake for.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Jeremy had his first train trip; returning from Grand Junction where Mama gave the keynote address at a conference (on tamarisk, what else?). By the end of the 9 hour trip through glorious country (over the Rockies), Jeremy was beloved by all- the grandmas on holiday, the Amish couples traveling around the country, the nursery school teacher who wanted to babysit Jeremy on the train... Jeremy smiled at everyone and was an angel.

Below is a link to a film of his last plane ride, as well as his visit with his grandma and grandpa.

click here: http://ourmedia.org/node/364870

Baby's First Snow

October 20th and we have snow in Denver! It isn't unusual to have snow on Halloween, so this is just a bit early (of course it was almost all gone by noon and should be in the 70's this week). We showed Jeremy the snow, who seemed interested, but not overly so. He just loves beeing outdoors, regardless of weather. Other news- he is now rolling over in both directions; unfortunately, he has started doing this at night, which sometimes results in his legs getting caught in the slats of his crib. Since crib bumpers are now considered a safety no-no, this is yet another parental catch-22.

Above, Jeremy is lying on a hand-knit blanket by a friend of his grandma's, Mrs. Guilder, in New Jersey. The outfit below was a gift from his cousin Beverly (Papa Monty's cousin), purchased in Paris. It is very soft and says, "Blue Sky" in French, with little birdies on it. It's perfect for this cool weather!

15 weeks, and rolling over!

News flash for all you FOJ (Friends/fans of Jeremy): our little guy rolled from front to back (the harder of the two directions) for the first time yesterday. Perhaps it was in response to all of the excitement of seeing so many of his grandparents in the last couple weeks (Bubbe in Cincinnati, Grandma and Grandpa here from NJ). Also, Jeremy went bowling with his buddies (Ari, Peyton, and Campbell) this last weekend.

Apologies for not posting in a while, work is really intense for JB's mothers right now. Also, I have some nice movies, but no time to post them right now. Maybe later!

Grabbing Toes

Jeremy has found his feet! He also slept through the night for the first time last night; that is, fell asleep around 10:00 and didn't wake up until 5:30. He had slept that long, in hours, before, but it had never corresponded so well with our schedule. Hurrah!

Past the "4th Trimester"

Many people are surprised to hear how old Jeremy is; "He seems so much older!" they say, in response to his length/expressiveness/alertness/facial features/muscular development. As proud as we are in such moments, it is alarming how quickly the time is passing and how soon they change from newborn to little boy. Even without talking or walking, the image of the latter is appearing.

The weather is simply perfect these days between summer and fall; we are enjoying long walks and dinner on the front porch, both of which Jeremy loves. When we return from Cincinnati (to see Bubbe and Uncle David), the evenings may be too cold and dark for such pleasures, so we relish them now.

Click here for latest video of our boy: http://www.archive.org/details/A.SimonJeremy12weeks/

shana tova

for the most recent video, click here: http://www.archive.org/details/ASimonJB_12WKS/

Jeremy's a baller

Well, you might come to your own conclusion after viewing the video below, but Mommy is sure that we've got a basketball player on our hands.  He certainly loves playing ball with her, in anycase!  Mama's maternity leave is quickly coming to a sad end after a good 3 months.  She'll be half time until January, at least.  

Click here for a movie of ball-playing, laughing, and playing with Great Aunt Trisha!: http://www.archive.org/details/AnnaS.Jeremy11weeks/

Happy New Year, Happy Boy

As is the Simon family tradition, we went to the mountains for Rosh Hashana with Rabbi Korngold (aka the adventure rabbi) for "Hike, Bike, Yoga, Pray".  Despite the corny name, it is truly the best high holiday services we have ever attended- more meaningful, more interesting, more spiritual.  Jeremy did really great at the services, and the whole two days there people couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful he is, how expressive, how mature, how well-behaved... his mothers couldn't stop kvelling!  
The movie below is of our boy smiling... and LAUGHING!  He's laughed even more heartily than is shown here, but it gives you a taste.

Click here: http://www.archive.org/details/A.SimonJeremysmilingandlaughing/

The Joy of Diaper Changing

Here is a movie documenting one of Jeremy's favorite activities: Diaper changing.  Some news to report: Jeremy had his two month doctors appointment and passed all tests (and shots) with 
flying colors.  He is now 24 inches long and 11 lbs- that means 3.5 inches 
and almost 4.5 lbs of growth on breast milk in just 9 weeks!  Jeremy also went to his sixth and last concert of the 
season- a Celtic musician named Natalie McMaster- she was great, even though we had to sit in 
the pouring rain to hear her!

Click here for the video:  http://www.archive.org/details/ASimonJeremyat9weeks/

The Boy who Laughed

Well, we don't have a video of it yet (sorry, fans) but we are happy to report a major developmental milestone: Jeremy is laughing!  About 50% of babies his age are doing this (not that anyone here cares about such things! (;-) ).  Grandpa is giving us a hard time about not posting a video recently, but here is a lovely photo taken by our friend Robyn.  Weigh in 
with a comment if you think that we should change our title photo (above) to this one: 
 

First trip to the mountains

Jeremy had his first trip to the mountains, in honor of his mothers' second wedding anniversary.  We stayed in a B&B in Winter Park that had a huge 'Koko the gorilla' stuffie in our room.  We went on two hikes, got caught in the rain, and enjoyed the mountain air.  The movie link is of Jeremy talking with his Mommy and then talking in the car about his trip.

for the movie, click here:  http://www.archive.org/details/AnnaSimonJeremyat8weeks/

Baby reunion

Our prenatal class, "Jewish Baby University" had its first reunion today- all seven couples made it to the BBQ at Robin and Brian (and Brayden)'s house.  These are photos (from top to bottom) of the moms and babies, 4 of the 7 babies (Emma, Norah, JB, and Gabby), and JB with his friend, Norah.