The Wild Rumpus

2011-03-01T17:07:00.001-05:00

We're super! How are you?

2011-02-13T21:04:00.002-05:00

Atlanta weather is completely strange. After what seemed like perpetual cold, we had a 60 degree day today. Linden and I spent the afternoon in the park, pulling the wagon around. She is absolutely obsessed with dogs, our own included. On a day like today, the park is full of dogs and their owners. Linden was bound and determined to kiss EVERY ONE.
"Mommy, kissy dog-dog? Kissy? KISSY?? MOOOMMMYYY!! KISS-SSYY DOG-DOG??!!" It was the neverending refrain of the afternoon. Some dog owners were happy to let Linden slobber all over their pooches (and vice versa), some warned us to steer clear. Luckily, everyone was amused at the little pigtailed kissy-monster.

2011-02-13T20:55:00.004-05:00

For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day we joined our friends the Millers and the Frilingoses for breakfast at West Egg. We had a great time!

Erin and Rybolt at our HUGE table.

All the stinkers: Baikal, Rybolt, Eli, Linden, Jack and Paul

Eli worked hard on a coloring page. Serious business.

Paul

Jack and Tim count pencils. Paul had the right guess!

2011-02-11T12:20:00.002-05:00

Linden's 21 month check up was this morning. Healthy and smart, she's 28.2 pounds, 35.5 inches. She took her immunizations like a champ, too. Way to go big girl!

2011-02-10T22:50:00.002-05:00

I have mentioned this before but it never ceases to entertain our kids: the patio in our backyard often gets clogged after a hard rain. The kids think that the giant puddle it creates is the most fun feature of our yard.
Now that Linden is old enough to enjoy it, I like putting them in slickers and rainboots to see what they'll do in the water and mud.

2011-02-08T22:24:00.005-05:00

We are at the park every time the weather is within a decent range (and sometimes when it isn't as proven by the day we went to the park during Snowpocalypse 2011--desperate times). It is crazy to think of how many pictures I have taken of my kids at this park over the last five years.
I'm pretty sure this was the first one, April 2007, Eli was 6 or 7 months old.

Last December, I took advantage of a beautiful day to take a few of both kids:

2011-02-05T21:25:00.005-05:00

You may have heard that we had a little snow "event" in the beginning January. Now, I am a native Atlantan and I've lived through a few little snows but I've never seen anything like this. The Yo-Sims were trapped inside for along long time but we managed to have a great time. Here are a few shots of our exploits.

It snowed while we were asleep!!

Daddy and Eli doing a little pre-emptive shoveling. It didn't work. We still had a skating rink in the backyard.

And then there were cookies, of course!

Everyone helps

Decorating and eating!

These pictures don't really tell much about the fun we had outside, sledding, snowball (ice ball, really) throwing. We also made box forts inside, had dance parties, read lots of books, watched lots of movies, played lots of games. The ice storm was an inconvenience, for sure, but we ended up having a really good time and spending a lot of quality time together.

2011-02-05T21:15:00.003-05:00

Enough about the rugrats!

I have been given the generous gift of a three-month sabbatical this summer, May-July. The family and I will be traveling around, visiting people we love. While we do this, I am going to be working on a photo project about people's hands, the Eucharist and how we respond tot he call to "be the hands of Christ" in the world.

I am also running the San Francisco Marathon on July 31.

What?!?

Back in October, I injured my knee. Not too bad, nothing to worry about, but I did have to take some time off of running. I just started back in the last couple of days (great timing, the weather has been atrocious) and so far, I feel pretty good. I've had two 30 minute runs. On one hand, I am so glad that I was able to do those two with no pain. On the other hand, I am so aware of how far I have to go. I've run a half before and that was a big milestone, but a marathon? I am terrified that I'm not going to make it and at the same time aware that I am so stubborn that I'll kill myself trying.

In another couple of months, I am going to start a sabbatical blog that will tell stories of our travels and will serve as a journal of my marathon training.

2011-02-04T18:31:00.003-05:00

Rats! So much for blog-a-day February. I can't believe I already forgot one!

A recent conversation in the car.

Eli: Mommy, I am the handsomist guy in the whole world.
Me: Oh? Really? I think you're pretty handsome. But there are other handsome guys, too.
Eli: Nope, I am the handsomist.
Me: How nice for you. Who told you that you are the handsomist guy in the whole world?
Eli: No one. I just looked in the mirror.

2011-02-02T21:51:00.004-05:00

Eli had an awesome birthday last September. It is absolutely shocking to me that he is 4 years old. At his request (with some prompting, if I'm honest), we had a pirate birthday party complete with a treasure hunt and a pirate ship cookie cake. Pictures are saved on a hard drive somewhere. I have no idea if I'll ever find them again.

The truth is I love putting together birthday parties for my kids. I really enjoy thinking about the possibilities of party favors and games, decorations and cakes. I think kids' parties can do things that grown up parties can't, like request their guests to dress up in pirate gear! Arrrgh!

In an effort to recycle, I figured Eli would be a pirate for Halloween a month later. The costume was already all put together. Easy-peasy, right? Kevin had the great idea to make a parrot costume for Linden so she could be the parrot to his pirate and they could ride together in the wagon at the neighborhood parade.

Well. Eli saw Linden's parrot costume and decided that he actually wanted to be a parrot instead. So I made a second parrot costume, in a larger size.

Then Linden screamed her head off when we tried to put on HER parrot costume. So we put her in a tiny little pirate dress with Eli's big hat. and Eli wore the big parrot costume. She was the pirate and he was the parrot. It was strange but it worked. Every one was happy.

(thanks to the Millers for the photo.)

2011-02-01T22:29:00.002-05:00

Aaaaaaannnd... We're back!

It has been a long long time since I posted on the blog. It is both hard to keep up and hard to quit. I'm going to try a blog-a-day February and see if this is worth keeping up for a while longer or if I need to find a way to archive what I've written and close it down.

It is totally impossible to summarize the last six months. We've had all manner of holidays and birthdays, trips and celebrations. I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks working on some back logging of the last few months, hopefully recalling some of the really funny stories these amazing and lovely kids have provided for us.

The short version of the last few months is this: we've got an amazing, wonderful and abundantly blessed family. We are totally smitten with our kids and we're in a sweet, sweet time of life. The grownups in the house are working really hard but we love our jobs. It is bittersweet because working away from home means that we're not at home to spend every moment with Eli and Linden, but the time we do spend together is really charmed. It is a good life. I look forward to documenting more of it.

2010-07-14T20:16:00.002-04:00

Eli's bedtime prayer tonight:

Hi God,
Thank you for the rocks.
And thank you for the trees and their roots.
And thank you for the dirt and water and the sky.
Thank you for that little bug we saw that looks like a grasshopper but probably isn't.
And thank you for handlebars on bicycles.
And the fan on the ceiling. And blue.
Aaaaaaannnd the front porch.
And chips.
And thank you for Mommy.
And handlebars. Oh wait, I already said handlebars.
Amen.
Oh and thank you for buttons. I love buttons. Amen again.

2010-06-28T14:27:00.001-04:00

This post is just too funny and so, sooooo true.

2010-06-17T22:33:00.002-04:00

First, let me admit, this was probably NOT a good idea. Live and learn.
I decided to give Eli a haircut with Kevin's clippers. I used a number 3, mostly because I couldn't find the recommended number 4.
Here's before:

and here's after:

Eli has already made it quite clear that he does NOT like his new haircut. Neither does Kevin. Oh well. The good thing about hair is that it grows. Poor little shorn fella.

2010-06-13T22:20:00.003-04:00

The saga of the pond continues.
I surrounded the hole with cinder block since it was filling up with mud from the yard.
Then I ordered some stack stone and began to stack. I stack and stacked and stacked. It was a lot harder than I expected. I mortared everything together late at night after the kids were asleep.
My friend Della was dividing her water lilies and gave me a pot full. One bloomed almost right away! A good omen for sure!
Here is the finished product.

The dragonfly was the first piece of pond I got from Kevin and the kids, for Christmas. It was the last piece to go in place.The pond is finally finished!!!

2010-06-10T22:04:00.002-04:00

So what else has been going on?

Well for starters, Linden is really walking. She is, in fact, running, the little imp. She's still sweet as pie, though she's starting to get really opinionated, especially where food is concerned. She loves Eli so much and will wander the house looking for him when he's at school. They play together really well. He is very patient with her and is amazingly good at sharing and helping to calm her down.

She is talking, too. She's got several words:
shoe
ball
pants
shirt
hat (this may be the cutest thing she says)
dog (and "woof woof")
water
bottle
book
car (she carries the keys around saying "caaaa" "caaaa" and pointing outside).

She knows the signs for "more", "all gone", "bye bye" and she can blow kisses. She's stinkin' cute.

Eli just moved up into the "big kids" class. He's such a leader in his classroom. He is very smart and can write most of his letters and recognize all of them. He can ride a bike (with training wheels) and a scooter (with three wheels). He loves to sing and dance. And OH MAN he loves to talk and talk and talk. He could talk the bark off a tree. He's interested in being a fireman or and astronaut or a doctor or a ballerina. He loves sticks but hates bugs. He's been a great helper in our garden.

It is a happy, happy house.

2010-06-10T21:58:00.001-04:00

There has been some silliness around our house.

2010-06-10T21:53:00.002-04:00

Our backyard is pretty great, but in when we get a good rain, the patio drain clogs and we have a little lake in the yard. Eli thinks it is a giant puddle for his amusement. Bicycle helmet optional.

2010-06-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

I love this shot.

2010-06-10T21:44:00.002-04:00

Linden got this crazy princess car for her birthday. Both kids are great about playing with it together... so funny! One of them will ride while the other pushes. It makes Linden laugh and laugh and laugh. Until Eli drives away then she gets a little grouchy.

2010-06-10T21:35:00.005-04:00

As a birthday gift to me, Kevin, Linden and Eli gave me a pond for the yard. It has been my project for the last few weeks. Here is the beginning

First, there was a hole. I dug and dug and dug.

Then I lined the pond with a plastic pond liner and filled it up.

But ooooohhhh, it doesn't end there! There's more to the story, but it will have to wait until I get the rest of the pictures uploaded.

2010-06-10T21:32:00.000-04:00

And Granddaddy came to visit, all the way from Pilot Mountain.

2010-06-10T21:30:00.002-04:00

And Linden turned ONE!!

2010-06-10T21:26:00.003-04:00

Eli is awesome in costumes. The Christmas costume box has been put to great use. We're adding bits and pieces (scarves, shirts, shoes, masks) all the time. He comes up with the strangest combinations.

2010-06-10T21:12:00.004-04:00

Okay, where to begin? I'll start with pictures of the last nearly two months since my last post we've been having fun!

Linden continues to be a happy and voracious eater.

She even likes to go shopping in the cabinets. Here she is picking out her own snack.

She's discovered her brother's old rocking horse and she loves to bounce!

2010-06-10T21:10:00.003-04:00

Poor little blog, you have been so neglected!

I am not exactly sorry, I've been too busy out doing things to write about them. I hope to do better, but who knows.

To make it up to you, I've given you a little facelift. I hope you like it. Maybe it will help me get reconnected. We shall see.

2010-04-18T21:46:00.002-04:00

And we busted out the wading pool! This will be a big favorite this summer. Linden would have been happy to stay in all day. Eli preferred to use his lizard watering can to fling water around the yard, but both had loads of fun.

2010-04-18T21:19:00.003-04:00

Summer came on fast here in Atlanta. And with summer weather comes fun times outside! We played with friends at the Piedmont Park playground. The firetruck is a big favorite of Eli's and Linden is learning quickly!

2010-04-15T09:54:00.002-04:00

Our new nephew is here! Big brother Hunter loves him and we can't wait to meet him.

Welcome to the world, little Lucas Michael!

2010-04-15T09:52:00.001-04:00

Linden is 11 months today. That is so wonderful and a little sad. She's getting so big so fast. I am really going to miss her babyhood.

Thanks to Beth Frilingos for this picture.

2010-04-09T22:03:00.002-04:00

Eli and I planted a garden today. There is a sunny patch of dirt between our house and the neighbors house. I bought a small electric tiller and dug up the dirt and mixed in some good organic compost.

Went walked our wagon up to Garden*Hood, our local gardening store and bought two blueberry bushes, some Celebrity tomato plants, jalapeno plants, anahiem chili plants, and this year, I'm going to give okra a shot.

Eli loved digging in the dirt and searching for worms. He stomped on a couple of our newly-planted crops in his gardening excitement, but all-in-all, it was a great adventure.

2010-04-09T21:59:00.001-04:00

Apple eatin' buddies.

2010-04-09T21:51:00.003-04:00

Eli made a fun snack yesterday, ants on a log. Here's how it went...

The ants (raisins) lined up to march across the log (peanut butter on celery). We counted them. There were 19.

As the ants marched across, they got stuck in the peanut butter. Oh no!

Mmmmm...

Delicious!

2010-04-09T21:47:00.002-04:00

Easter was lovely, as were the kids.

Linden and Mommy

Double E's: our lovely friend Esther and sweet Eli in their matching Easter duds.

2010-04-09T21:41:00.000-04:00

And climb...

and climb...

and climb!

2010-04-09T21:36:00.002-04:00

And Eli loves to climb.

2010-04-09T21:28:00.002-04:00

The weather is finally amazing here in Atlanta and we have been taking advantage of it to spend time at the park. Linden loves the swing, just like her brother did.

2010-04-09T21:22:00.003-04:00

Dinosaur dress! Our friend Della made this dress when her daughter, now in high school, was a toddler. It is just right for Linden, a little girly, a little tough. Totally cute.

2010-03-27T20:46:00.003-04:00

I was mother of the year for about half an hour this morning and I'd like to share my triumph with you, internet world.

After putting the baby down for her morning map, Eli and I cleaned the bathroom (one of his favorite activities). Then I moved his kid table into the bathroom and put a giant dollop of shaving cream in the middle of the table. He was in heaven playing with it and I had half an hour to myself to shower.

Bliss!

2010-03-01T22:34:00.003-05:00

Linden (recently dubbed "Moon Pie" for all of her deliciousness) did not get to play in the snow. She liked watching it fall, though! And good heavens, friends, she is pulling up on everything. She is even able to keep herself upright for a few moments without hanging on to anything. Walking is next and we are so doomed!

2010-03-01T22:26:00.004-05:00

I'm a little late in posting these since our snow day was a few weeks ago. The truth is, I really hate snow. A lot. I had plenty of it in the few years we lived in New Haven and I'd be happy as a clam if I never encountered it again. Ick. But even I will admit that this was a fun snow day. The park near our house was absolutely gorgeous. Eli, Arthur and Anna and I were among the first people to come sledding (on a cafeteria tray, of course) so when we arrived, it was still pristine and quiet. By the time we left, 45 min later, it was full of happy sledders and snow-people. Eli had the best ride home, wrapped in a waterproof blanket bundled into the wagon eating a chunk of snow (his choice, I thought it was weird!). Who needs a one-horse open sleigh when you have a one-mommy open wagon?

2010-02-15T21:04:00.003-05:00

Baby's got berries!

We've had some new adventures in eating around our house. Linden is trying finger foods. She's hilariously bad at it and Tabasco gets some huge meals from cleaning the floor. Occasionally, though, she'll get a food she really, really likes and then she is very careful to get each piece into her mouth. She still misses half the time, but it is fun to watch! Here's Baby Sister and her newest love, blueberries!

2010-02-05T15:09:00.002-05:00

Look out everyone!

2010-02-05T15:07:00.003-05:00

Linden went in for her almost-nine-month pediatrician visit this morning. She is 20.5 pounds and 27 inches. Her weight gain has slowed down a little (she's now in the 80%) but she's still tall (95%)!

2010-02-05T15:02:00.002-05:00

We tried putting both kids in the bathtub for the first time. They both loved it. It is a big old clawfoot tub with room enough for both of them. Linden is still a little small to be left in that tub without some hands-on attention. She's slippery and her little tush slides all over the bottom of the tub. But this was a big hit and we will definitely be doing it again soon!

2010-01-30T21:44:00.004-05:00

Eli got a guitar for Christmas. It is a kid-sized guitar, nothing special, but he loves it. He can't really play and nobody in our house knows how to tune the thing, but he plays it every day and makes up songs about any and everything. He knows how to hold it and even scrunches up his face in concentration like a real rock star. Unfortunately, he sounds like Bob Dylan being attacked by angry cats in heat. Not sure how the superhero costume plays in to the mix, maybe there's a Ziggy Stardust thing going on. He's such a little weirdo!

As usual, I'm having problems uploading video. Here's the first, trying to decide what to sing. I hope I can get the second one up, of Eli singing his "helicopter song".

2010-01-30T21:38:00.002-05:00

Sweet beach baby. I snapped these shots in between fishing sand out of her mouth. Mmmmm... sand.

2010-01-30T21:33:00.002-05:00

2010-01-06T14:15:00.003-05:00

While we were in Florida last week, Kevin tried to teach Eli how to do the Heisman while they were playing football on the beach.

Let's be honest here, it looks a bit more like interpretive dance. Daddy was a little disappointed that this didn't pan out. Mommy, on the other hand, was thrilled that Eli seems to show no penchant for football culture.

2009-12-29T22:39:00.002-05:00

Whew. A lot going on in Linden's world these days. She popped her first tooth a few weeks ago and is very interested in flashing it to anyone who will admire it. We call her the Saber Tooth Baby. It is a very very cute tooth and we look forward to the arrival of its pearly white companions.

She has also figured out how to maneuver herself around a room. It isn't crawling exactly, but she gets places and fast. She can crawl, but she always goes backwards. When she wants to go forwards, she rolls and twists and wiggles until she gets where she wants to go.

Linden continues to be sweet and charming all the darn time. She is such an easy baby, gentle and happy. We are all so smitten with her. Eli loves her so much and is always bringing her toys and giving her hugs and kisses. He is still a great big brother and we're really proud of him for it.

Eli is also a sweet kid. He is SO smart we hardly know what to do with him. He talks nonstop. Really. Nonstop. We are experiencing some of what some of our friends referred to as "three, the new two". He is showing some willfulness and desire to assert himself. he gets really frustrated and acts out when he doesn't get his own way. It is all to be expected but hard to take sometimes. We're all working through it together and he is such a neat kid between the episodes of yuckiness that it balances out. His new favorite phrase is "Mommy, I love you all the way up to the rocketships and back." Heartbreaker, that one.

2009-12-29T22:33:00.002-05:00

Speaking of Matt and Erin, Linden's baptism was a beautiful event. It was a lovely day in November. She and Eli both behaved beautifully and thanks to her great Godparents, we had a really nice party at our house afterwards.

2009-12-29T22:27:00.002-05:00

Linden also had a great Christmas. She got a lot of clothes, much needed clothes. Her Godparents, Erin and Matt gave her this awesome hat. And they also gave her... PINK JOHN DEERE COWGIRL BOOTS. Did you hear me? PINK. JOHN DEERE. COWGIRL. BOOTS. They're a little big yet, but she'll grow into them. Now if only I can find a pair for myself...

2009-12-29T22:21:00.005-05:00

We had a big old Christmas at Casa YoSim. Eli got a lot of great gifts, a tool set, a guitar (!), a great car track racing set and lots of costumes. I had a great time making many of the costumes, an apron, a superhero cape, a doctor's coat. He also got a set of stick-on mustaches, a gold wig, a feather boa and a cat face. He has had a great time with all of his gifts but I have to admit, the costumes have given the rest of us the most laughs.

2009-12-29T22:18:00.002-05:00

I love this picture. This hallway in our house is so amazing, wide and long like a bowling alley. Last week, in an attempt to create more play space and to reduce the echo, we put down a couple of rugs and a toy bench in the hall. It looks great, but I miss this clean open feeling.

2009-12-29T22:12:00.001-05:00

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

2009-12-29T22:04:00.002-05:00

Our new house is beautifully shady and surrounded by lovely trees. Unfortunately, this means a lot of leaves in the fall. Eli, continuing in his love for "helping", likes to rake leaves with daddy. They have a great system for packing the leaf bags. After a bag starts to get full, Daddy puts Eli in the bag to stomp down the leaves. It is great fun for everyone involved.

2009-12-02T11:22:00.002-05:00

And another ridiculous conversation form last night...

Eli: (coming out of his room after bedtime, looking very sleepy but clearly awake) Mommy, there's an elephant in my room.
Me: excuse me?
E: There's an elephant in my room and he's bothering me. A pretend elephant.
M: That's terrible. Say to him, "Mr Elephant, you are being very rude. Please leave my room. I'm trying to sleep."
E: Elephant, you're rude. Go away. (totally without a trace of humor or irony)
M: See, there he goes.
E: Thank you Mommy. (goes back to bed)
E: (ten minutes later opens door briefly then closes it again.)
M: (going in his room) Eli, is everything okay?
E: (very sleepy) No Mommy, there was a pretend giraffe in here and I had to let him out.

2009-11-27T21:06:00.001-05:00

Take a ride with me on Eli's train of thought. This was an actual conversation we had in the car today.

Eli: Mommy, woodchips are not our friends.
Me: Um, what?
E: Woodchips are NOT our friends.
M: Ummmm, okay. Why?
E: Because they aren't people. They don't have bodies. So they can't be friends.
M: Oh. Okay.
E: And they don't have feet. So they don't wear socks.
M: Socks?
E: Yeah. I wear socks so my feet don't get cold. And if I don't wear them, my feet get very very cold.
M: Yes. Very true.
E: And if I don't wear clothes, I am very very VERY cold.
M: Also true.
E: And if you don't wear clothes, Mommy, then you go to bed.
M: Excuse me?
E: Yes. You take off your clothes and put them in the dirty laundry then you put on your pjs and go to bed.
M: Um. Yeah.
E: But woodchips don't wear pjs either.

No kidding, we really had this conversation.

2009-11-23T12:17:00.001-05:00

Continuing in the fine tradition of York-Simmons children, Linden had a great check up at the pediatrician on Friday. She is 18 lbs, 10 oz, 27.25 inches. She is 95% percentile in both. Way to grow, baby girl!

2009-11-20T15:37:00.001-05:00

Want one?

2009-11-20T15:20:00.004-05:00

Some friends of ours gave us a hand-me-down Incredible Hulk costume. It had been through two of their boys and, now that Eli has it, it just may have met its match. He loves that costume and wears it all the time, occasionally adding a hat, mask or scarf to jazz it up. He doesn't know who the Hulk is, he just calls himself "SuperEli!"

Here is a day in the life of SuperEli, three-year-old superhero.

Off to save the day!!

First stop, mow the lawn...

Then, a hoola-hoop break.

Sweep the steps...

Then back to the life of a normal preschooler.

2009-11-15T22:19:00.002-05:00

Tonight's conversation:
Eli (sounding stern, padding into my room in his pj's): Mommy.
Me: Yes, sweetheart.
Eli: Mommy, I am almost out of soap in my bathroom.
Me: Okay. I'll fill it later.
Eli (pointing a little scolding finger at me, with wrinkled brow): Yes. You do that. As soon as you finish getting ready for bed. Fill my soap so that I can have clean hands, Mommy. Fill my soap. Don't forget. (pads back out of room)
Me, to Kevin: I think I just got schooled by a three-year-old.

2009-11-01T22:05:00.003-05:00

Baby Linden was a butterfly for Halloween (yes, another craft!). At the last minute, Eli found an old, hand-me-down Hulk costume and decided to go trick-or-treating in that, with a purple Zorro mask, green rainboots and a John Deer cap. So much for the robot!

2009-11-01T22:03:00.002-05:00

Strawberry baby!

2009-11-01T22:00:00.003-05:00

One of Eli's favorite rainy day activities is to play with shaving cream. He likes to mush and swirl it. Recently, we've been helping him write letters in it. he's getting really good at recognizing letters and can get almost all the whole alphabet.

2009-11-01T21:54:00.003-05:00

Recently, Eli has gotten really excited about helping with household chores. His helping isn't always so helpful but I'm trying to be encouraging and so I get him to participate in any way that he can. Here are some shots from laundry day.

Baby Linden takes a rest from all the hard work in a pile of clean clothes.

2009-11-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

and after the food comes... the bath! She's graduated to the famous duck tub. Here she is, a tub in a tub.

2009-11-01T21:46:00.002-05:00

Shortly after the retreat, Linden started eating solid foods. The photos speak for themselves. She, like her brother, has taken to eating with great gusto. She's now eating applesauce, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes and, of course, rice cereal. She eats a TON.

This makes dinnertime a whole new adventure. The two kids sit across the table from each other and make faces and laugh. We love that they entertain each other. It is really very funny!

2009-11-01T21:40:00.002-05:00

One fun event at the retreat was a costume parade for the kids. Luckily, Eli and I had been working on his Halloween costume (again, with the crafts!).

We took a plan old cardboard box...

covered it with heavy-duty aluminum foil, computer buttons and glitter...

and made a robot! An EliBot, to be exact.
Eli loved his costume and wore it a LOT in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
He was super cute in it!

2009-11-01T21:32:00.003-05:00

Several weeks ago, shortly after Eli's birthday, the YoSims packed up and went to the mountains. We went with our church on a retreat. It was a great time for all. I don't have pictures, but Eli got a bit part in the Friday evening entertainment, when a kids performer did a rendition of Mighty Casey at Bat. Eli got to pretend he was hitting a baseball then ran around the bases. It was very funny but not a bad stage debut. Linden didn't sleep much that weekend, but she was really good toehrwise. Both kids traveled really well and we all had a great time.

Linden out on the dock.

Kevin and Eli are out in a canoe.

2009-11-01T21:14:00.005-05:00

And... we're back!

We've had a fun few weeks here at the Rumpus. Since I mentioned it in my last post, I'll talk a little bout my latest crafting adventures. For some reason, this fall I've been particularly prolific (craft-lific?). Maybe it is the new house, maybe it is the baby, but I've really had a good time with some of my projects. When appropriate, I've included Eli in the adventures. Here's a bit of what I've been doing:
These are the curtains in Eli's bedroom. This house has 10 foot ceilings and big old windows. This room was painted like this when we got here and the colors are perfect for Eli but a little on the strange side. this all added up to hard-to-cover windows. I found some great fabric for them.

Poor Linden didn't have a dresser and all of her clothes were in baskets on the floor. this was working fine until her clothes started to get bigger. I ran out of room! Then I found this dresser on the curb near our house. It was sturdy and clean though kind of ugly. A quick paint job and voila! Linden has a dresser! For the record, this is not the room the dresser lives in.

Eli and I decorated for Halloween. We made paper pumpkins and bats and glued clothespins on them. Then we clipped them to a string in the front window. Spoooooky!

2009-10-26T16:37:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all,
The Rumpus is on vacation due to some technical difficulties. Specifically, my computer is out of space and I haven't bought an external hard drive to get it organized yet. I'm getting there. I promise.

But soon! Very soon! I will regale you with tales of life with two rugrats. I will also let you in on my latest crafting exploits. They have been many, often and delightful. There will be much crafting in my future since Eli's new class requires "homework", often a craft project. this week: totem poles. Heaven help us.

2009-09-27T22:41:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, it is the simple things that keep us happy. Eli loves bubbles and has since he was a tiny little guy. Now he likes to entertain Linden with them.
Here he is with his new bubble wand from our friend Beth the organist.

2009-09-27T22:39:00.001-04:00

And when you're a big 3-year-old, you can have cupcakes in your class with your preschool friends.

2009-09-27T22:33:00.001-04:00

2009-09-27T22:30:00.002-04:00

And in other news, KEVIN IS FINISHED WITH HIS PHD!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a doctor (of philosophy) in the house!!
He celebrated by taking a nap. I put Linden in charge of making sure he didn't get up to quickly.

2009-09-27T22:13:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday Eli!!

It is so hard to believe that Eli is three years old. When he was born, three years could have been a thousand years for as far away as it sounded. But now it is here. He is getting so big and he is so much fun to watch. This year, I put a little more creativity into his birthday party. Kevin had the idea to have a kite party. So I bought some really cool kite-making kits from Kites in the Sky. I highly recommend the company and the product. They were fast and so friendly. We got the Frustrationless Flyers that kids could decorate then take home to fly on a nice day (it was raining cats and dogs the day of the party).

I made a kite-shaped double doozie cookie cake and had a great time doing it. We hung delta kites form the ceiling and mini kites from the chandelier. One of the great features of our new house is the great wide central hallway where we set up little tables (borrowed from the church) for the kids to make kites and eat. It was barely-controlled chaos but so much fun.

2009-09-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

2009-09-11T22:15:00.000-04:00

Portraits with a ruffled bum.

2009-09-11T21:50:00.003-04:00

We really love our neighborhood and for some reason, this summer I've especially really loved it. Maybe because Eli is getting bigger and we can appreciate it even more, maybe because of the new house, I don't know.

A few weeks ago, there was a big bicycle race in our park. The riders went around and around while we stood by and cheered and played on the sidelines. Our little buddy Rybolt brought his tricycle, just in case. Kevin and Eli played soccer, which Eli is getting quite good at. It was a great afternoon! The next day was the neighborhood festival, which is growing in citywide popularity. Eli, Linden and I went while Kevin was teaching. I had my hands full so there aren't too many pictures, but this is one of Eli getting a newspaper pirate hat.

2009-09-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

I do not doubt she will be giving him this look for the rest of their lives.

2009-09-11T21:33:00.002-04:00

We've been busy here at the Rumpus. Kevin and I are both back at work after a delightfully long family-filled summer. We have a great nanny, Cristina, who watches Linden two mornings a week while Kevin is teaching and lucky Daddy gets to be with her the rest of the time. Eli continues at his school where his teachers report that he is a great classroom ambassador and is really growing up into a smart boy. As if we didn't know that!

Eli has always taken an interest in housework which pleases his mother to no end. He especially loves running the vacuum cleaner and using the swiffer mop. I have a funny feeling that this infatuation with cleaning will wane just about the time when he is old enough to do it unsupervised.

Anyway... this morning, I mentioned I was going to clean the bathrooms and Eli enthusiastically exclaimed that he wanted to help. We suited up with rubber gloves and paper towels and I gave him a spray bottle of vinegar to clean the sink with. I figured that vinegar is non-toxic and won't damage anything if he starts going haywire with it or gets it on his clothes. Bathroom #1 gets cleaned beautifully with my little helper on sink duty while I did toilet, floor and tub. We moved into bathroom #2 and just as I lean over to scrub the toilet, Eli starts to scream. He squirted vinegar IN HIS EYE. So I put him, fully clothed, into the bathtub and start flushing his eye under the faucet, practically waterboarding the poor child, meanwhile hollering to Kevin "Google 'vinegar in the eye... VINEGAR IN THE EYE!!!'"

Thought traumatized, Eli was fine after a good eye flushing and actually wanted to go back to cleaning the bathroom. So we dried him off, changed his clothes and went back into the bathroom to continue.

A few minutes later, Eli says to himself, "Now I'm not going to squirt it in my eye 'cause I've already done that."

He. Is. So. Weird.

2009-09-06T23:01:00.003-04:00

People ask from time to time where our children got their names. Kevin and I thought long and hard about what to name our kids. I grew up loving the fact that my name has a good story attached to it. I know where it comes from and why it was chosen. I wanted to make sure my kids could know about the stories behind their names, too.

Eli's given name is Ellis Justus. "Ellis" is for Kevin's great grandfather, Ellis Washington Mills. Grampa Mills was a wonderful person, from what I hear, and his legacy in the Simmons family is all of the furniture he made by hand. We have a few pieces in our house. We wanted to give our child a biblical name, so we nicknamed him "Eli" after the prophet. "Justus" was my great grandmother Pearl's last name. The Justus family founded Rabun County, Georgia, I'm told. Justus is also biblical. He was the runner up to fill in the apostle chair left open after Judas defected.

Linden Holly is named after her grandmothers. Kevin's mother Linda died shortly after Eli was born. We really wanted to name her granddaughter as a tribute to that amazing woman, but recognize that she's not a carbon-copy, but her own little person. So we came up with Linden. The linden tree is also known as the tree of justice since it was where court was held in Germany in the olden days. Guitars are made of linden wood. Her middle name is Holly, after my own mother. "Holly" has been one of my favorite names (and favorite people!) my whole life and I am glad to have a daughter to pass that one along to.

2009-08-22T22:40:00.001-04:00

From the doctor yesterday:
15 pounds, 10 ounces (95%)
25 3/4 inches (95%)

Cute as a button and a delightful patient!

2009-08-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

Eli took this one.

2009-08-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

The light in this house is so amazing.
The kid's not too shabby either!

2009-08-18T22:41:00.003-04:00

Sunday afternoon, I put a quilt down on the porch and laid Linden down while Eli and I ate popsicles on the swing. He couldn't resist lying down with her. As previously mentioned, she loves any attention from him, so the two of them rolled around on the blanket and giggled at each other for a long time.

2009-08-18T22:38:00.002-04:00

Eli calls Linden "my baby" and likes to dress her up in whatever he can find around the house. The bicycle helmet is definitely a favorite and he puts it on her head a lot. She pretty much adores him and will tolerate just about anything he does as long as he pays attention to her.

2009-08-18T22:21:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are a few nice photos of our new house. I realize this isn't exactly what folks were thinking when they asked for pictures, but these are some of my favorite spots in the house.

Here are our new comfy chairs for TV watching (and computing, apparently since I'm sitting here now). Also of note is one of the FIVE fireplaces in the house. Only one of them works, but they are so beautiful, three have original tilework.

Linden and I spend a lot of time on this swing. It is so comfortable and the porch is so inviting. We have a great neighbors that stop by from time to time and lots of friendly foot traffic.

This little guy is a ceramic pie bird that was my maternal grandmother's. You bake him into a pie with his beak sticking out of the top crust and when the juices start bubbling, the bird's belly contains them so that they don't spill over. He just looks so happy in the window!

We have three beautiful stained glass windows.

The kitchen is so sunny in the afternoon. These flowers were my anniversary gift from Eli and Kevin.

These are MY CABINETS! When we bought this house, I realized that I wasn't going to have a room for all of my craft supplies like I had once dreamed of. However, with the way our furniture has worked out, these cabinets don't have any other use, so I've co-opted them for my sewing machine, paints, papers, beads and assorted other crafty stuff. I'm also sharing the craft cabinets with some of our desk supplies, but it is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The cabinets are in the dining area, so I can pull things out and work right on the table and clean up is easy. I've already done my first project: curtains for Eli's room. I might have pictures of those someday, too.

2009-08-18T22:18:00.002-04:00

I'm back at work these days and we're settling into a routine. So far, the routine has actually been good for us here at the House O' Rumpus. I'll speak for all of us, though, when I say we miss each other during the day. After a summer of so much transition and family togetherness, it is a little hard being apart for hours at a stretch. It seems like Linden gains three pounds every day while I'm gone and Eli is getting smarter and sassier by the minute. They are good kids, really good kids. We're incredibly lucky parents.

2009-07-28T15:05:00.003-04:00

We spent last week at the beach with Aunt Jaime, Uncle David and Cousin Hunter. I didn't get many pictures, but am hoping that David and Jaime will send me some. I know they got some great ones.

The boys got along famously and helped us decide that this should be an annual event. Linden is going to have her hands full chasing those boys around next summer. We all had a great time!

Here are the boys with their popcorn at the Friday night Boardwalk Bash. They are serious about popcorn.

2009-07-28T15:03:00.001-04:00

We planted some herbs in the windowbox (they died, but don't tell Eli).

2009-07-28T15:01:00.001-04:00

The new house has a big clawfoot tub in the hall bath. Eli loves his new bathtub!

2009-07-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

2009-07-28T14:46:00.002-04:00

We visited Pilot Mountain and Linden got to meet Great Grandma Reeves!

2009-07-28T14:36:00.004-04:00

One of the things I worried about when we found out that the new baby was a girl was whether or not the two would get along. My own brother and I weren't very close growing up (thankfully, he's turned out to be a stand-up kinda guy) and I hated the thought that my kids would have a tempestuous relationship, too. Now, I know there are still many years ahead of us, the teen years of special note, but as of yet, the two get along famously. Linden is a source of neverending delight to Eli (he calls her "my baby") and the reverse is true, too, as she smiles when she hears his voice and she loves to watch him play. You can almost see the little wheels in her head turning when she is watching him, trying to figure out how to do each thing that he does.

Eli has been acting larger-than-life recently, and with all the changes, it is no wonder he has been having a tough time. mostly, though, he is a trooper, and when he acts out, he is usually expressing outwardly what the rest of us are feeling: tired, cranky, uprooted and confused. He is such a great kid, so enthusiastic about everything and so hilariously energetic. Linden has a lot to learn from her big brother (and, I admit, a few things, I'd prefer she not learn...).

I took these one morning when we were all lounging in bed.

2009-07-28T14:32:00.002-04:00

In other news, Eli is turning out to be quite a little athlete. I wish I had some pictures, but he loves to play all kinds of sports. His current favorites are tennis and swimming, but he's also a huge fan of football, golf and baseball. There is a full-sized basketball goal (though we lowered it!) at the new house and Eli's favorite pastime in the afternoons is shooting hoops. Luckily for him, he has his father's coordination otherwise he'd be more suited to checkers.

Early this summer, Eli just decided one day that he wanted to swim and so he did. he still wears his swim vest in the pool, but he can motor around on his own while he's wearing it. We've practiced a little bit of swimming without it. He can do it for short periods of time, but he loses confidence quickly. No fear, there's another month of summer and a whole lifetime ahead for more swimming!

2009-07-28T14:23:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned, Linden's a peach. She is what I have heard referred to as an "easy" baby. We have no experience with such so this is a delightful surprise! She is the spittin' image of her daddy, especially when she furrows her brow. She is a spitter, like her brother was, so I am changing clothes several times a day, oh joy, oh rapture. But otherwise, she's about as perfect as a baby gets.

2009-07-28T14:13:00.008-04:00

I want to back waaaay up, pre-Linden. I found a bunch of sweet pictures of Eli on a camera that hadn't yet been downloaded.

With an attitude like this, my money is on Eli over the rhinoceros in a one-on-one.

We bought Eli a little baby doll to practice being gentle before Linden was born. He did a great job and really likes to dress and feed her. As we've recently been getting Linden used to a bottle, he has gotten his baby's bottle out and is practicing for when he gets a turn with Linden. He is a great big brother. She is a lucky little girl!

Early in the summer, we hosted a family of robins on our (old) front porch. They were in the perfect spot to watch out the window without having to go outside and bother them. We watched Mama Robin feed the three babies and watched the babies leave the nest, one by one.

Poor Eli is cursed with hair like mine, very fine and straight. So when it goes crazy after a bath, it is reason to celebrate! Although I did just notice that his hair looks just like the birds' nest, above.

2009-07-28T14:07:00.003-04:00

It has been a phenomenal summer. I mean that, this is one of the best summers of my life, despite the chaos.

Linden is an amazing baby, so lovely, so quiet. She's a good sleeper and has been from the start (my posting this will guarantee me three sleepless nights in a row, of course, but whatever...), which helps the attitude of the whole household. She has an incredible smile that lights up a room and she uses it liberally, much to her advantage. And did I mention she is deliciously fat? Yum!

Our new house is beautiful, twice the square footage of the old one. It is an old center-hall Craftsman with room for everyone and our stuff. I love the big kitchen and the DUAL VANITIES and the huge wraparound front porch with its swing. We're still working on where everything goes, but the chaos is being driven out, little by little. A brief shout-out to Kevin goes here: he moved our entire household by himself in a week. One day my brother helped him with the heavy furniture, and thus Arthur gets a big old THANK YOU!! But otherwise, Kevin did it solo with nary a complaint. A good man, that one is!

Now for some pictures...