Happy Holidays!

Fall going by fast

I don't know quite how it happened.  Winter is almost upon us already- as a testament to how time has felt this season I have only one other posting this month(!).  Apologies to our regular blog visitors.  We've spent wonderful quality time with many friends of late, including Jeremy's friends Gavin (who gave Jeremy a wonderful, two minute long hug at departure), and Spencer (who came for dinner).  Both gorgeous, smart, happy friends have two mommies like Jeremy.

 Jeremy continues to amaze- he now has over 50 signs and (hard to imagine) over 50 spoken words.  There is much overlap between the lists.  Yes, we do keep a list, although I doubt it is up to date.  It seems he has something new for us each day- Jeremy said "doggie" on our walk this morning clear as day (he usually only signs this one), and signed "apple" beautifully soon afterwards- a relatively new sign for him.  

His newest obsession is music- we have a pink plastic electric keyboard Mommy found at a neighborhood junk sale he can't get enough of, and his most frequent sign is the one for violin- usually meaning that he wants you to turn on the classical music station, KVOD.     

Final note- I am reading the book Child of Mine about raising children to be healthy eaters and it is a MUST READ.  My cousin Jessica recommended it and now I am recommending it to everyone I meet.  The essential kernel is this: delegation of responsibility.  It is the parents responsibility to provide healthy food and a nice atmosphere for meals at appropriate times.  It is the child's responsibility to eat- as much or as little as they like or not at all.  Problems happen when this breaks down- such as when the child dictates what or when to eat or the parents try to regulate intake of food.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Obama Wins!

Hard to believe, eh? I was in tears watching the acceptance speech.  Dad was so anxious about Obama winning- is now anxious about him staying alive.

So glad to get Musgrave and some of the other hate-mongering Republicans out of there. I have new found respect and love for my fellow Americans.

And yet, a sad note as gays and lesbians have their rights stripped in California. Progress, not perfection. Sadly, all of the gay rights measures have gone against us in this election (Arizona, Florida, Arkansas). More sad, still, is its reflection of gay rights issues within the African American community. May we continue to progress in all communities.

By the way, this photo is my Aunt Bonnie with Obama, back when he was running for the Senate.  I'm so proud of my family- Bonnie is the President of the Dems of Evanston, IL, my father working the campaign full-time all month, my mother running outreach efforts from her house and using her weekly salons for the cause... I love you all.

Happy Halloween!

As you can see, Jeremy dressed as a puppy (a Swiss mountain dog, Fran's favorite breed) this year. And, as you can see, it was a hit with the ladies. Jeremy didn't go trick-or-treating this year (not much you can do with a Snickers bar when you only have 6 teeth that are all incisors and are allergic to peanuts...), but he did dress up for two parties, one with friends we know through Jewish Baby University and another with his class at Fisher.

Other news is that our sweet visit with Papa is drawing to a close. Papa has been working for the Obama campaign all month and was rewarded with front-row seats to see our candidate here in Denver (Jeremy and Mama tagged along too). We are grateful for his service to our country and to our family!

L'Shana Tova: Days of Awe

Happy new year! As we have every year for the past four, the Simon family attended Rabbi Jamie Korngold's (the one who married us) Rosh Hashana retreat: Hike, Bike, Yoga, Pray in the mountains. This year it was held at the YMCA of the Rockies, and we had the special treat of being joined by Jeremy's God parents, Diane and Charles. Jeremy had a wonderful time, being the nature boy he is, especially enjoying the children's musical program and blowing his plastic shofar! We also did a little program for Jeremy's daycare class for the holiday- Mama baked a raisin challah and we read a story about Rosh Hashana. All very well received.

Jeremy Starts "College"

What a month! We are very busy here with events, including Jeremy starting at "college" (ok, it's Fisher Early Learning Center, daycare located at the University of Denver) a couple weeks ago. Jeremy had an amazing first week, in the words of his teacher, Miss Diane, "the smoothest transition we have ever seen". Of course, after the honeymoon, we have hit the oh-this-isn't-a-novelty-anymore period which means less happy goodbyes in the morning, but still happy days full of water play, good naps, and communal meals around the tiny table (boy is it cute)!

Party for Tenure

Fran just threw me a wonderful party in honor of my receiving tenure at DU. About 30 folks came, and we had gorgeous weather. Phil, my committee chair, said some really kind words, the kids played in the grass, we ate a yummy cake, and fun was had by all.

Yesterday, Jeremy received his first salon haircut. He was a little squirmy, but did very well and the cut looks great. Other news (fairly major) is that we were accepted to Fisher Early Learning Center at DU after being on the waitlist for over 8 months. This is the 'Cadillac' of daycare. The sad part is that we won't have our beloved nanny anymore, but the main benefits are that Fran should be able to get more work done, and Jeremy will have a new environment to explore. We've visited twice so far with him and he seems to really like it and the teachers.

Jeremy's cousin

One of the benefits of having the DNC in Denver was that Fran's cousin, Sean, came to visit from LA, and Anna's Aunt Bonnie came to visit from Chicago. We all got to hear Obama's acceptance speech (thank you Paul and also Jan!). This photo was taken on Flagstaff Mountain after shabbos services with Rabbi Korngold, the one who married us. Jeremy loves his cousin and great-aunt!

Obama- we were there!

The time is flying by too quickly; I apologize for such a long lag between postings. Some of the big news from us is that we had the privilege to be present for Barak Obama's acceptance speech for his party's nomination. We were seated behind the stage, and as such had a great view of Obama's back, but we could see his front well on the two jumbo-trons. It was no less than electrifying and motivating. Obama doesn't support gay marriage (strange, given his very supportive voting record), but does support equal rights. We'll deal with the 'separate-but-equal' issue later; in the meantime, I would be thrilled to have a president who isn't afraid to bring up the issue, as he has done frequently. My favorite is in the context of an illustration of what "Christian values" means to him (i.e. being loving and accepting). GObama!

Check back later for photos (and maybe even video) of the event from our vantage point.

(not to worry) The cat stays

Several of you have emailed concerned that Jeremy's allergy could mean getting rid of Lincoln- not to worry, the allergist said that his allergy would have to be pretty severe for him to reccomend that, and actually his allergy is fairly mild. Good thing, because Jeremy loves his kitty! He calls him "Lidle-lidle-lidle" in a high pitched voice (meowing sounds? an attempt at "Lincoln Kitty"? Isn't clear), and still loves to face-plant into him (kisses). So Jeremy rubs his nose afterwards- doc says it's alright, so long as we don't let the cat in Jeremy's room. Actually, we don't let him in there already, even though he'd love to take naps with Jeremy- here's Lincoln snuggling up with the baby monitor, instead!

Not eggs, peanuts! (and also three movies)

Newsflash: We took Jeremy to the allergist to check what we thought was an egg allergy, and it turns out that he's not allergic to eggs but is allergic to peanuts and cats! Fortunately, it is a myth that kids can have reactions from being in a room with peanuts, and he's not so allergic that he can't have things processed in plants with peanuts. Also, the doctor said that we had about a 50:50 chance of him growing out of both (whew!), so long as we avoid peanuts until he is 3, and while we're at it, we should avoid fish and shellfish and tree nuts too. And I do mean "we"; so long as I'm nursing, I can't have any of the allergens either. However, he also stressed how great it was that I was still nursing- he says that my antibodies are still protecting him, and it is certainly the reason why Jeremy has never been sick. "Don't listen to anybody who tries to pressure you to stop- nurse for as long as you and he enjoy doing so. Most of the world nurses until after age 4." I can't see lasting that long, but it's nice to get a doctor's support.





And here are some little videos: most recent first- http://ourmedia.org/node/442358 This one is Jeremy walking a local dog.
Also: http://ourmedia.org/node/442378 This one is of Jeremy playing with his friend, Jacob. Very cute!
And finally: See how far Jeremy's walking has come.
http://ourmedia.org/node/442376 This one is of Jeremy at the Pride Parade this year, and taking some of his first steps.

Trip to Milwaukee

Jeremy, Mama Anna, and "Papa" (Grandpa Monty) had a wonderful (albeit exhausting) 5 day trip to Anna's Ecological conference in Wisconsin, coupled with a drive down to Chicago to see Jeremy's great-grandmother, his great-aunt Bonnie, his Uncle Isaac and Aunt Gretchen, and second cousins Marc, Jenna and third cousin Mahalia (whew!). Mommy stayed home and got lots of work done. She said that Jeremy seems to be walking so much better even in just one week. Jeremy had such a good time with Papa; he's still asking for him three days later.


This weekend, Jeremy has enjoyed watching Mommy play her last softball games of the season (she played well, even if they lost). He especially liked playing with the dogs.

Jeremy the walking boy

Jeremy has had a long learning curve with walking but is really getting the hang of it! He's been fitted (size 4.5), and seems quite proud of himself in his new shoes. They were a gift from Grandma and Grandpa, who had a wonderful visit here last week. Jeremy is also having quite a language explosion- just this last week he had two new signs (fish and keys), and at least three spoken words ("eye" being his favorite, accompanied by poking the nearest person in the eye).
On another note, Jeremy is allergic to eggs- our doctor had told us that it was alright to feed him whole eggs... but alas, his face turns red and his tush is worse. He gets an official diagnosis later in August with a trip to the allergist, but parents beware! Do wait until a year to offer egg white, at least.

Photos from Jeremy's Birthday week

The following are a small sample of photos from the last week, including Jeremy's first haircut, our trip to Northern CA and his party there, and his birthday party here. He flew home on his actual birthday, and we even got to visit the cockpit! For more photos from Roxanne's wedding (and our trip to Humboldt County) click HERE. For more photos of Jeremy's Birthday, click HERE.

Happy First Birthday, Jeremy!

We are just rolling in from California, but I thought I'd take a moment to acknowledge this momentous day. Godparents Diane and Charles threw Jeremy a wonderful birthday party yesterday and we are having another on Saturday. I'll post pictures as soon as I can, but right now I'm off to bed. It was fun flying on Jeremy's birthday- the United Airlines staff gave him the royal treatment, including letting us take a photo of him in the cockpit!

Go Team Simon! Baby's first Pride

Jeremy has thoroughly enjoyed his first Gay Pride and has had a wonderful time with his "Auntie Nana". We even convinced Mommy to let us wear our matching "Team Simon" shirts Mama got her for the first Mother's day. Jeremy waved his rainbow flag, ate chicken on a stick, pulled up grass, and beamed at everyone smiling at him. Whew!

Vote for our boy

Well, the madness has officially started- we have entered Jeremy in a 'cover photo' contest with Parents Magazine.
If you think our boy is adorable and should be recognized for it, please take a moment to go to the Parents Mag website and vote for Jeremy. On our gallery page, rate the main photo (and any others you feel compelled to look at) 5 stars (by clicking on the stars) and then click the "reccommend this photo" also at the top. Get there by clicking on the following link: http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=214400444
I also want to make a note that we have turned back on the 'comments' function on the blog- someone had used it to plant a virus, but we now have made it more difficult to do that (e.g. we screen each before it goes live). We hope you will take advantage of the comment feature often! We have had over 1,500 hits now, and many of you say that you are frequent visitors- leave your mark!
Our friend Lyna is currently visiting from CA- will post some cute photos soon...

ASL signing montage video

Check it out, folks.  I've created a little video of Jeremy with just a few of the now 22 signs he knows.  Keep in mind that when a baby does sign language, he does it in 'baby speak' just as he will say words- i.e., not perfectly articulated but unmistakable nonetheless.

Click here for the video: http://ourmedia.org/node/404730
 or here: http://www.archive.org/details/ASimonJeremysigning_0/

Anna's Tenure is official

Newsflash: I now officially have tenure at University of Denver Department of Biological Sciences.  Whew!  For folks who are interested in what it is I do there, check out my professional website: www.anna.sher.com.  I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out the bizzare phenom that is the fecundity of my research group.  Since fall of 2006, we have had SIX pregnancies/births (including my own)- about a baby every three months.  The first was Caitlin, born to Michelle, my PhD student, and the most recent is the birth of Ellawyn to my student, Stephanie, on May 22nd (see photos below).  The next will be Jenny, the manager of my department, due in early August.  

Jogging with Jeremy

This photo is of Jeremy and Luca on a walk in the double stroller our nanny Courtney bought on Craigs list (as you can tell, we are big fans of Craig's List!).  Apparently, we became the talk of the neighborhood when this double (read TWIN) stroller showed up on our porch!  Too funny.  Anyhow, Jeremy and I (Mama Anna) are now putting the single jogging stroller to good use; now for two mornings in a row we've gone for a run.  Wish us luck on continuing doing it...

Happy LGBT Blogging Day

      Just another quick blog in honor of the day;  I wrote a long peice yesterday (please see below) especially for it, but I think the idea is that we are blogging on the actual day.  Here's the theme of today's blog:  Jeremy's "signing cluster"!  Jeremy is 11 months old tomorrow, and just as his teacher said he would, he is suddenly doing a new sign practically every day; he now has 20 under his belt.  We started teaching him American Sign Language (ASL) because we heard that it helped decrease frustration in very young children.  Sure enough- I'll give you an example from this week: We're eating dinner and Jeremy begins to get agitated and throws his banana on the floor.  
       "Tell me what you want, Sweetheart"  I encourage him. "Use your hands" and I touch his hand.
        He signs "water".  I give him water.  He's happy.  Simple as that.  I would not have guessed he wanted water had he not been able to tell me- major frustration avoided on both parts.  The other day, I was deciding whether to feed him dinner (it was time for it) or just take him up to nurse and go to bed - he did look a little tired.  So I asked him, while signing "eat" and "milk".  He very clearly signed "milk" and reached for the stairs.  Fantastic!  Thank you ASL and Signing Smart!  (BTW, the photo above is from our birthday card to Mommy Fran earlier this spring).