Mr. Natural - first dinner out in Austin

We went out to dinner tonight, our first Austin dining out experience as a family. We went to Mr. Natural, because what could be more Austin than Mexican Health-Food? We were joined by our friends Amy, Walter, and (our special surprise guest) Mr. Tim Eubanks. Dad had the potato and cheese chile relleno while mom had the tofu pipian, I was forced, as usual, to settle for formula... a decidedly not Mexican option!

(The editorial staff has asked that it be publicized that Christie thinks Eric is a dork for discussing the dinner menu. It should also be noted that the staff forgot to schedule a photographer for the event.)

wife beater bjorn

Bjorn introduced its newest, simplest, and most culturally compelling infant carrier to date. This newest model is free from the all of the straps, add-ons, and other schlock that has characterized previous versions of their product. It only requires a somewhat sweaty pot-belly to keep the child securely in place and rings in at $9.99 for a 3-pack. Try out the new wife beater bjorn today!

Back Home in my own bed after a long trip to Florida

Great Aunt Cindy

Great Grandma "Gaga" Wil

Great Grandpa "Papa" Jack O'Brien

Great Grandpa Norman

Grandma "Nana" Grace

Grandpa Dennis

Grandma Cheri

Grandpa Dan

Simon's first flight

Jetblue Flight 1416 direct from Austin to Orlando...

sweet sleep, how I miss thee

I came in from a walk this morning to find my two loves cozy and sound asleep.

*i post this so Chris R. won't shame eric at work...

two weeks

first bath

From skeptical to startled to sedate, it's a journey that first bath...

eric caught with simon's foot in mouth

cupid has a new henchman

eric and I moved quickly to capture wee-one sitting up - that slow, face-first fall comes in a matter of moments...

happy valentine's day, everyone!

simon's melancholy loss

the first of what promises to be a long, long, long sequence of seperations and growing pains began this morning for young simon drescher hepburn, who experienced a profound moment of melancholy at his moment of seperation from his withering umbilical nub.

when pressed for comment, young simon responded, "well, we all knew this was coming, it had been shrivelling up for days, but still, there really isn't anything in the books that prepares you for what this moment really feels like. I'm more than a little melancholy right now..."

the post seperation belly and nub are pictured below, this content may be unsuitable for young viewers. parental discretion is advised.

the name

simon-pure simon

we named the blog today, here's the story:
1. all the reasonable spelling of simon says were taken.
2. simon-pure is an expression that means: of untainted purity or integrity

we think that it worked out well that even simon-sez was taken because we discovered a new twist on the meaning of our son's name.

for the full history, see the following wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bold_Stroke_for_a_Wife

SCE

eyes wide open

they're big, they're brown, they're beautiful... and they have rarely been seen during the day... until now! - SCE

gator baby

a little orange and blue action for the gator fans in the family (and beyond) - SCE

handful of lovin

'nuff said

simon's friend fletcher

simon at 6 days old isn't quite aware fletcher is next to him. fletcher at 5 months knows just what is going on...

hotsling action

christie gets jiggy with the pseudo-self-portrait stylings...

anyway, its a great pic.

simon in a hotsling...

feels like a new (old) james brown song.

SCE

sleepy time

eric gets a little quality bonding time with some on-the-chest snoozing.

SCE

first day home

ahhh, the joys of parenthood.

learning to swaddle.

watching season 7 of the west wing on iTunes.

exploring the first phases of sleep deprivation.

good times

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simon comes home.

simon came home today wearing a very chic oversized hat compliments of sir walter and a swaddlle so large we nicknamed it the 'swallower'.

after three and a half long years to get to this point, it still feels pretty surreal, but we are ecstatically happy to be home with our new family.

unfortunately, our sleeplessness on this first night cannot be blamed on simon, it was our own excitement that kept us up until the wee hours watching him sleep, eat, breathe... and sharing our excitement with many friends and family over the phone...

SCE

simon's first road trip

simon waits for dad to get the car and bring him home. (this fuzzy photo was taken with christie's cell phone in the lobby of seton hospital.)

the journey begins...

simon was born in austin, texas on february 1, 2009 to two loving and caring birthparents.

we, christie and eric, are his adoptive parents and we are starting this blog in his name to chronicle his growing up and as a way to share his experiences with his birth family and his extended adoptive family.

simon shares his birthday with christie's cousin kent and her good friend from the peace corps cathy. grace, christie's mom, missed sharing the birthday by a mere seven hours.

it is our hope that simon can take over this blog when he is ready to journal his own thoughts, but for the meantime, we'll do the writing. the picture above is from the hospital on his first full day in the world.

we look forward to this journey with you.
simon, christie, and eric