This was a few weeks ago. He's a speed demon now.

After the first week, John, Andie, Anna and Kevin left Eli and me at the beach all by ourselves. We had a blast! He is such a goofball and has so much energy. as long as the weather was good, we were outside in the sand or the pool or at the playground. One afternoon, though, the weather was terrible and so was Eli's mood. We had to get out! Where does one go when the weather is bad but you can't stay in the condo anothe rminute? to Target, of course!

While wandering the toy aisles at ye olde Target, Eli found a tricycle sitting on the floor, ready to go. He hopped on and started to pedal. Where he learned to ride a trike, I'll never know, be he is certainly a genius at it now. We're signing him up for next year's Tour de France.

For the last several weeks, we've heard nothing but "Eli ride bike. Eli go fast. Helmet on! Pedals round and round!" Over and over. Fortunately for Eli, he's really really cute. Otherwise...

Over the last month or so, Eli's vocabulary has exploded! One word that he picked up at the beach is "frisbee". But it sounds more like "piseebah". In any case he loves throwing piseebahs.

Eli's also a little bit of a nutjob. I love that about him.


goggles and pj's

little surfer

hilarity at the kiddie pool

There's been a posting drought here at Casa York-Simmons. Dear readers, I deeply apologize. In short, there's a LOT going on around here. No need to go into any tedious detail, but I'll let you in, instead, on the fun trips and experiences we've had recently.

Back in July (approximately 100 years ago), we went to the beach for a little much-deserved R&R. The amazing thing about Eli at this time in our lives is that he seems to keep getting cooler and cooler. The beach trip was so much fun, and the fun was compounded by the fact that we were joined by our great friends John and Andie and our Goddaughter Anna (8 months). Anna is so beautiful, round and delish, and a total charmer. And Eli was a perfect gentleman, very gentle with Anna, and very good at sharing his toys.And it was great having our friends around! Andie helped me haul my carcass off the couch for several morning runs. God bless her for that.

In honor of my friend Laurel's new book Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains or in Search of a Suitable Princess, she has invited all of us (you and me and everyone out there) to give a brief story about what we would be unsuitable at doing and why.

In honor of my trip to the beautiful countryside of Abingdon, Virginia, to visit my in-laws and nephew Hunter, I have to confess that I am entirely unsuited for country life. It was incredible to get out to the AMAZING fresh air, cows, bike trails, etc, and so lovely to visit with David and Jaime and Hunter. I can't wait to go back! But I'm not good at quiet. And it was really really quiet. Truth is, as much as I love dirt, I also like concrete and next door neighbors and walking to restaurants. I like parks and zoos and aquariums. I like quiet for vacations and relaxing and rejuvenating. I like the other stuff for everyday life. Lucky for me, I have great family to visit in beautiful places like Abingdon and a life in a city to come home to!