Our sweet, silly, stubborn Simon celebrated his THIRD birthday this past Saturday… and we partied in true “Simon fashion” with a Firefighter birthday party complete with donuts, juice, and candy (all his favorite things).
We had a VERY simple breakfast birthday party with both Dave and my immediate family members. It was almost no work on my part (except cutting up the fruit and buying a few paper products) and Simon was SO happy!
He is the most fun person to give gifts to — every gift is such a huge surprise and he gets so excited, even if it’s not something he wanted (or even if he doesn’t know what it is!) He just kept opening the gifts, saying, “dis for me?!?… wow!…thanks!… any more pwesants?”
Simon currently loves:
- playing outside (especially riding his big boy bike)
- wearing boots (inside and outside — rain boots or snow boots)
- playing trucks
- doing puzzles
- eating sweets (candy is a big favorite, with donuts, brownies, and ice cream not far behind)
- drinking juice
- wearing “cozy clothes” (pj’s and sweatpants)
- talking (he’s still a little hard to understand, but he talks NON STOP!)
- playing with his siblings
- having people over (“mom, anyone come to our house today?”)
Simon has been officially potty trained for almost 2 months now (before that, he went to the bathroom on the toilet but would only wear diapers). He finally agreed to start wearing undies back in January — and so far, he’s only had 3 accidents (all pee, thankfully!)
He loves wearing his big-boy undies now, and talks about his “Thomas unies” ALL the time. 🙂
Speaking of talking… he has made steady progress with his speech therapist ever since July, and about 2 weeks ago, he officially “graduated” out of the program. He tested off the charts for everything except clarity (it’s still a little difficult to understand everything he says) but he has a large vocabulary, and he definitely understands EVERYTHING others say to him!
Simon is very stubborn (potentially even more stubborn than Nora was at his age) but for some reason, it rarely bothers me like Nora’s stubbornness did.
Simon has a way of instantly turning on the charm, flashing you his sweet smile, and coming to snuggle on your lap — which seems to negate any frustrations I feel when he’s stubborn.
He frequently grabs my hand, my leg, or even my face and says “I wob you mom… you wob me too?” and gets the biggest smile when I assure him that I do, in fact, love him a lot 🙂
Simon is almost completely finished napping — which is actually totally OK with me. He and Nora play so well together during James’ naptime, and everyone has been going to bed even earlier since Simon stopped napping. It’s glorious!
Every once in awhile, he tells me he’s going to “take a rest on the couch” and I know he’ll eventually fall asleep — but I can’t let him sleep for more than 30 minutes or he won’t go to bed at night. He has always been our best sleeper! And just last week, he asked if he could snuggle with me on the couch for his rest time. He was soundly sleeping within 5 minutes and Nora contentedly worked on a craft project in the kitchen the entire time!
Simon plays extremely well on his own, but he also really enjoys playing with his siblings, grandparents, cousins, neighbors, and friends in nursery at church. He is very social — and while he comes off as shy in the beginning, he loves being with other kids.
I’m so thankfully for our smiley Simon — he is such a gift to our family.
Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!
Teresa says
He is such a cute and sweet looking little boy. I love how he talks….my son used to talk like that too. Happy Birthday Simon
Andrea says
yes, 2 and 3 year old speech is my favorite!
JJ says
Happy Birthday, Simon!!!
Kellie says
Happy Birthday Simon! As a longtime reader I can remember when Simon was born – my how time flies! Such a sweet little boy!
On another note…Andrea, I would love if you did a potty training post! Obviously each child is different but I’d love to know your tips since I’m going to do this for the first time in a couple months – wish me luck!
Andrea says
Hey Kellie,
I probably won’t do a post about potty training any time soon — mainly because I have absolutely NO system at all. I just wait until I feel the kid is ready and then we do it. If we try it for a day and I feel they aren’t ready, we stop. I don’t push it at all.
Nora was ready around 2.5, Simon took until he was almost 3. We’ll see what James does.
There will always be people who potty train their kids at 16 months or something ridiculous like that — but that is not the norm. Just wait until your kiddo seems ready and give it a try. And don’t feel bad if you push pause and wait to try again for a few more months. Good luck!
Allison says
Happy 3rd birthday Simon! How sweet you are. You remind me so much of my almost 5 year old Chase! He loves all the same things as you .
Andrea– you should take him to see the local firemen. I’m sure he could get a truck and station tour. My husband is a firefighter and he LOVES to show the kids all the trucks, tools and give tours. That just brightens their day. Your family is just precious and I enjoy hearing about all the things you all do, and not to mention, I learn a lot of great tips! Thanks and enjoy every minute with these precious kiddos .
Andrea says
believe it or not, the local fire station (and police station and USPS mail hub) are all walking distance from our house… so we walk past them VERY regularly. Also, every summer, the fire station puts on a hotdog / ice cream social and kids can come out, get in the trucks, help spray the hoses, get free stickers and tattoos, and learn about fire safety. Simon was too scared to get in the truck last summer, but he did spray the hose 🙂
Allison says
I bet this summer he will enjoy the trucks too! 🙂
Andrea says
I’m sure!
Heather says
I do so love this little boy!!
Happy 3rd birthdäy Simon!
Barb says
Happy 3rd Birthday Simon!!! Such a sweet post. I’m so happy for all of you that he’s doing so well with his speech! I always enjoy the kids birthday posts.
Andrea says
Yes, Simon is so much happier now that he can communicate better!
Michelle says
My daughter is in the stages of planning a 1st birthday party for her youngest son…he has two older brothers. Since he’s been through a lot this year (just had his 2nd heart surgery the middle of February plus he had a bout of pneumonia then ended up with RSV last fall) she thinks he deserves a big party with everyone they’ve ever known. That, of course, means renting a place to host anywhere between 50-100 people…depending on which guest list she ultimately chooses. She thinks she needs to serve a wedding reception style menu with cake and ice cream also. I’ve been trying to talk her into something much smaller and less expensive. After all he’s only one and is still recovering from heart surgery and doesn’t need the germs or the chaos. Can you tell I’m a little protective of him? She’s putting his birthday party off for another month to give him the time to recover. The cardiologist said he should be up for a birthday party the second weekend in April. I’ll be the one at the door spraying everyone down with Lysol and handing them hasmat suits. Just kidding!
I opened your blog and fell in love with your simple idea and passed it along to her. She likes it too but I’m not sure what she’ll ultimately decide. I have my fingers crossed she goes with simple…for everyone’s sake…especially the baby.
I really LOVED what you did for his party!!! Good job!!! He’s absolutely adorable and sounds like he’s come a long way with his communication. I have two grandsons that are three and it’s such a cute age…most of the time! Ha Ha.
Thank you for sharing him with us. Such a wonderful little personality and a joy to your family. What a perfect time in their lives just to be able to soak in all their preciousness. I smiled when I pictured him grabbing your face and telling you “I wob you!” I love it.
Andrea says
Thanks for your thoughts Michelle — and yes, I hope your daughter goes with a simple party too. It’s SO much easier, cheaper, and actually more fun (at least in my opinion)!
Deb says
He is the cutest little boy! Actually all your children are adorable, God Bless them!!!
You guys are great parents, wishing you the best.
Andrea says
Thanks Deb! I agree about the cuteness — but I’m a little biased 🙂
Hannah Beth Reid says
What a sweet post! Happy birthday to your boy!
Linda says
Happy Birthday Simon! The party was perfect! I love simple sets of it. The pictures of Simon are beautiful. I also enjoyed a laid back picture of the family while Simon was opening his gifts. You are doing a great job Andrea! You have a happy family!
Debbie says
Happy Birthday Simon! I enjoy your detailed description of Simon, and your other children. You know them so well. I guess as their mama you would, but I’m still amazed. He does seem like such a sweet boy and his smiles make me smile. I also like the simplicity in how you do their birthday parties. A breakfast party with donuts, juice, and candy is new to me, but what a great idea it is, especially if the food are the things Simon likes. Being a Filipino, I was so exposed to big parties for kids and even adults. The spread the parents prepare could feed the whole town. It’s so refreshing to see a celebration that’s fun but not overdone. If I had kids I would do exactly what you do.
Andrea says
Thanks Debbie, I’ve never been one to go over-the-top for kids’ birthday parties, but even still — they keep getting simpler and simpler over at our house 🙂
Sandy says
So cute!
Michelle says
Happy birthday dear Simon!! My son is just behind yours. And it’s gone quickly! I know just what you mean about the charm… you need a Popsicle? Ok, sure. And a cookie? Here you go!!
Andrea says
exactly!
sukanya says
Hi Andrea,
How did you get him potty trained trough the nights? My daughter turned 3 last month and she still needs diapers during her nap or at night and drinks way too much water.
Thanks,
sukanya
Andrea says
I think I mentioned that he still wears diapers at night — but that they are almost always dry in the morning. And honestly, I don’t think there is anything a parent can “do” to get their kid to stop peeing at night. You just have to wait until they are ready.
Erin says
Happy Birthday Simon!! I can’t believe how fast the time goes, the kids are growing up so fast. I remember when I started reading your blog (Nora was so little and an only child) and I have watched your family grow and change. You family is so adorable and I really enjoy your daily posts, this is the only blog I read and look forward to every morning. Thank you for sharing all of your thoughts, tips, and family stories and photos. My kids are grown and out of the house at this point, I wish when they were growing up there would have been something like this for me. I often refer young parents to your website, I find it so inspirational. Thanks again.
Andrea says
Thanks Erin! I appreciate you passing my blog information along to others too!
JoAnn C. says
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIMON!!!!! Thanks, Andrea, for sharing.
Deni says
Happy Birthday to Simon…he is such a cutie!!!
Paulette says
He is totally adorable…and he has his Momma’s eyes!
Andrea says
yeah, we’ve decided that Simon looks the most like me — thanks to those squinty eyes!
linda dantonio says
He is so cute. He looks like he would be a sweet boy! God has Blessed you in a mighty way!
Andrea says
he IS 🙂