Busy Boy

We often say Simon is a very busy boy, meaning he's constantly in motion...but he's also becoming rather busy schedule-wise, too (gee, given his parents, I have no idea how that could have happened...). Now that the semester has started for Andy, we are official into our spring semester routine, which for Simon includes:

• Time with Mom & Dad. About half of the 'work week' alone with Mom, and half alone with Dad--while the other is at work/school. Most evenings we all get to spend together, though Jess teaches Tuesday night and Andy has an evening class Thursday night.
  
  
• Playtime with Zoe. Every Wednesday afternoon we do a babysitting swap with Jen & Adam, so one week Jen watches Simon and Zoe, and the next week Andy watches them. So far it seems to be working really well, and Simon certainly enjoys having a playmate (you know, as much as babies play 'together' anyway). Here he is, waving goodbye to Zoe after one of their first afternoons together (34 seconds long):

• Fun at the library. On Wednesday mornings, if they get out the door in time, Jess and Simon have started going to a baby storytime at our sort-of-local library (for children 6-23 months old--our neighborhood library doesn't have baby storytime, so we drive just a little ways to a bigger library that does). It is lots of fun, with singing, reading books, and toys to play with. Usually there are about 10 babies/toddlers there. Afterwards we stick around the library for a while to play in the children's section and check out new board books and cds for the next week. They have a little playhouse with a kitchen, food, and dishes--Simon usually makes a beeline right for it. Once he arrives there, he crawls right into the action, regardless of how many other little kids are already there playing--he just crawls right in, takes the food off their plates, out of the oven for them, etc. (Of course if the other children are upset by this I intervene and return what they were playing with and redirect Simon, but surprisingly that rarely happens--usually the other kids look him over for a minute, then go on playing around him, just replacing things as he takes them, or sometimes even handing things to him.)
  
  
• ECFE on Monday afternoons. Simon and Jess go to an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class together. We LOVE it. Granted, I'm a big proponent of ECFE anyways, having done about two-thirds of the parent education certificate program at the U, and learning about it there (ECFE is the main 'market' for parent educators in Minnesota)--but we love it even more now that we're actually participating. We also took a class last semester, and before that when we lived in Northfield. So far we have been able to enroll in age-specific classes (Simon is in a 12-18 month class now)--so the entire classroom is baby and toddler friendly, with all the activities geared right at Simon's developmental level. Being a developmentalist, that's something I appreciate :)
  
  
• Church on Sunday night. We usually go to church Sunday evening at 5:00 pm. This is a little difficult for Simon, as it is right during his usual dinnertime, and he's generally approaching the end of his rope. He's normally in bed by 7:00 pm, so if there is anything after church (and there often is some sort of meal/snack/chatting) we are really pushing it if we try to stay. He often does well if there are enough friendly folks around to entertain him, though--and on nights when Andy and I just need some time to breathe (and actively participate in worship--imagine that!), we have made good use of the nursery, too.