Grandaddy Norman gave Eli the coolest toy ever. It is a dashboard with a steering wheel, a horn, turn signal and an ignition. It makes car sounds and talks... Oh and it sings the alphabet and teaches numbers and colors, but we like the car sounds!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Now, to interrupt this picture collage with a few words. It has beena good couple of weeks here in Casa York-Simmons. Eli has been a jewel. He is getting really fun, sleeping and eating well, laughing a lot. He's a charmer for sure.
Kevin got a family Zoo Atlanta membership since we are so close and the two of them go there at least twice a week to check out the gorillas and to look in on baby Mei Lan, the panda who is right about Eli's age.
Eli started The Music Class last week and it is a blast. Eli and I go on Friday mornings and learn songs, play instruments and dance dance dance! He is in class with his friends Caroline and Baikal (forever the ladies man). Eli is especially excited to show off his singing skills to his Aunt Elizabeth in Boston. She's a great singer, too. Now if only he could get the words right...
The biggest news of this week is that Eli has started nursery school! He is going to Bright Horizons two days a week and he is in Miss Glenda's class. Glenda evokes a big smile from the little flirt, so we have nothing to worry about. He had a great day yesterday and came home all tuckered out from playing.
Kevin got a family Zoo Atlanta membership since we are so close and the two of them go there at least twice a week to check out the gorillas and to look in on baby Mei Lan, the panda who is right about Eli's age.
Eli started The Music Class last week and it is a blast. Eli and I go on Friday mornings and learn songs, play instruments and dance dance dance! He is in class with his friends Caroline and Baikal (forever the ladies man). Eli is especially excited to show off his singing skills to his Aunt Elizabeth in Boston. She's a great singer, too. Now if only he could get the words right...
The biggest news of this week is that Eli has started nursery school! He is going to Bright Horizons two days a week and he is in Miss Glenda's class. Glenda evokes a big smile from the little flirt, so we have nothing to worry about. He had a great day yesterday and came home all tuckered out from playing.
Well, here we are again with another big stack of pictures to share. Seems like this would be easier if I could just get around to doing this every few days instead of every few weeks, huh?
First, in case you didn't get enough applesaucy goodness the first time around, here are some of the little stinker eating. He has a brand-spankin'-new high chair that he likes a lot. Put him in it and he turns into a squawking baby bird ready for dinner!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
As I've mentioned before, Eli and I occasionally join a Saturday morning run/walk group at our church called, appropriately, Morning Run. The leader of the group, Steve, sends out a meditation after the run each week. Eli and missed the exercise this week, but I really enjoyed Steve's meditation about our little friend Paul, so thought I'd share it here:
This morning, as we were all making our way back to the ASC parking lot, scanning the sidewalk for road change and continuing the conversations we had started an hour earlier at Starbucks, the most delightful thing happened. Little Paul Frilingos was walking with his dad. Actually, he was proudly walking with his dad, holding on to his right hand as if his life depended on it. And so, caught up in the delight of the moment, I walked around to Paul's right side (his dad was on his left) and took his right hand to balance out the equation.
Now you all know what happens with young children when you offer them your hand, or even your finger, for a walk: They grasp it...firmly. Actually, they grip it--crush it--tightly without hesitation and then appear so immensely grateful for all the help. This was most certainly little Paul's response, since his expression screamed: "Look everybody, I can walk all by myself (with a little help)!" He had two adults balancing him, one on his left and one on his right; two adults framed this huge grin from ear to ear: nose running, shirttail hanging out, pants kind of falling down. But delighted, absolutely delighted, in what he was accomplishing all by himself (with a little help...but for now, let's ignore the help).
And you know, it hit me then right between the eyes: This is precisely what we are. We're not runners or walkers or coffee drinkers or road-change warriors. Not really. We're participants in each others lives. We're part of each other's world, and every one of us is like little Paul really. We're catapulting through this life, sometimes with a little reckless abandon, but all the while holding on fast to those we care about, fed by them, supported by them. We're doing it all by ourselves, right? Maybe...but with a little help. We might think we're all in command of our lives, but deep down inside, we're holding on fast to our friends and loved ones--maybe even our God--for support, sometimes with our n ose running, shirttail hanging out, pants kind of falling down, but delighted, absolutely delighted in what we are accomplishing all by ourselves (with a little help ...but for now, let's ignore that help part).
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The child is father of the man. And you know, children are the fastest runners and the best walkers. I know that because I can still feel the grip of that little hand in mine. I can still see that wide grin and that delightful smile in the mind's eye.
This morning, as we were all making our way back to the ASC parking lot, scanning the sidewalk for road change and continuing the conversations we had started an hour earlier at Starbucks, the most delightful thing happened. Little Paul Frilingos was walking with his dad. Actually, he was proudly walking with his dad, holding on to his right hand as if his life depended on it. And so, caught up in the delight of the moment, I walked around to Paul's right side (his dad was on his left) and took his right hand to balance out the equation.
Now you all know what happens with young children when you offer them your hand, or even your finger, for a walk: They grasp it...firmly. Actually, they grip it--crush it--tightly without hesitation and then appear so immensely grateful for all the help. This was most certainly little Paul's response, since his expression screamed: "Look everybody, I can walk all by myself (with a little help)!" He had two adults balancing him, one on his left and one on his right; two adults framed this huge grin from ear to ear: nose running, shirttail hanging out, pants kind of falling down. But delighted, absolutely delighted, in what he was accomplishing all by himself (with a little help...but for now, let's ignore the help).
And you know, it hit me then right between the eyes: This is precisely what we are. We're not runners or walkers or coffee drinkers or road-change warriors. Not really. We're participants in each others lives. We're part of each other's world, and every one of us is like little Paul really. We're catapulting through this life, sometimes with a little reckless abandon, but all the while holding on fast to those we care about, fed by them, supported by them. We're doing it all by ourselves, right? Maybe...but with a little help. We might think we're all in command of our lives, but deep down inside, we're holding on fast to our friends and loved ones--maybe even our God--for support, sometimes with our n ose running, shirttail hanging out, pants kind of falling down, but delighted, absolutely delighted in what we are accomplishing all by ourselves (with a little help ...but for now, let's ignore that help part).
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The child is father of the man. And you know, children are the fastest runners and the best walkers. I know that because I can still feel the grip of that little hand in mine. I can still see that wide grin and that delightful smile in the mind's eye.
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