Eli is turning seven months old tomorrow and he is getting so darn big. He can sit up on his own now, entirely unassisted. He's eating all sorts of fun foods (all pureed): apples, bananas, peaches, prunes, plums, oatmeal, apricots, pears, sweet potatoes and, most recently, carrots. He doesn't like carrots and whenever we feed them to him, he looks at us like we've just given him a spoonful of ground glass mixed with cod liver oil. Oh well, you can't win them all. Earlier today, he was squirming around with a mouthful of unswallowed carrot when he suddenly sneezed. Apparently, covering Mama with pureed carrot is hilarious.

Another fun thing about being a big ol' seven month old is that it opens up some playground possibilities. Eli loves swinging on the swings! We are thrilled that spring is here so we can go swing and swing and swing.

ROCK ON! Check out Eli's new shirt!

Another great thing about living near the stadium is that friends come by to visit on the way to Braves games. Here's our friend Amanda (far right) with Eli and some of her friends eating pizza on the porch before a game.

One of the great things about living in our neighborhood is its proximity to all sorts of interesting places. For example, we happen to live halfway between the zoo and Turner Staduim. Both are within easy walking distance-- for humans and for horses.

The Budwieser Clydesdales were staying at the zoo for a few days at the beginning of baseball season. For several days, right before a game, the horses would walk down our street pulling their wagon (is there really beer in there?). It was sort of surreal but altogether very cool.

About a year before I got pregnant, I started to really enjoy running. I'm not very fast, but I really like going out and just cruising around for a while to clear my head and wear me out a bit. I've finally been able to pick it back up again with some regularity and I really love it! Eli and I have rejoined our Morning Run group now that the weather is so pretty here in the ATL. Yesterday, we ran 4.5 miles together! Yay us! Then, as is our custom, the whole group headed for coffee.

I've posted comments from our run leader, Steve before, but here is another one about yesterday morning:

Little Eli York-Simmons was all smiles this morning. As we headed down to Centennial Olympic Park, he was having a ball taking in all the sights and sounds of dawn in Atlanta. The wind was in his face, and I could sense his excitement over the adventure he was on. You could see it in his eyes, absolutely wide-open, drinking in every experience we had along the way: the cars zooming by, the tall buildings all about, the colors of the banners at the park, the clacking of railcar wheels on the tracks, the conversations of the runners, the roar of the planes overhead, the pitter-patter of our steps, the clouds racing over the tops of the tallest buildings, the sudden pop of the runners' laughter, the bright orange cones that lined the street next to Underground, the shrill of the policeman's whistle, the yellow pollen running in the gutter, the constant whirling of stroller wheels, and the calm, reassuring voice of his mom, right there with him every step of the way. He could sense it all, I think: every move we made, every breath we took. It was all of a piece--maybe not all fully understood, maybe downright baffling at times--but the stuff of life (lots and lots of stuff) experienced in the midst of a community of friends.

Everything was new this morning. Not necessarily understood, but new, very, very new.

In time, maybe ole' Eli will sort it all out. Maybe he'll remember back to this morning and make sense of all he saw, heard, touched and felt. Maybe one day he'll write a reflection about it. Maybe one day he'll set it to music. Maybe one day he'll tell his kids about it. Maybe...

But you know, one thing I know 'ole Eli knew for sure about his morning, as God is my witness. He knew we was loved. How do I know that? Well, he told me with his eyes, and he smiled it all the way home.

It has been only two weeks since the last posts. Looks like I might be turning over a new leaf! all is well in our world. Eli is hilarious, a delight and a wonder. He had he first vegetable this weekend: sweet potatoes. He didn't seem to notice the change and ate them up with his usual vigor. What can we say? The boy loves to eat!

His newest trick is that he can hold a bottle all by himself, provided that it is a small bottle. He is very proud of himself. He has recently started drinking juice as an afternoon snack and the little juice bottle is the perfect size.

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!

Last weekend, we travelled to North Carolina to see Grandaddy Norman and everyone in Pilot Mountain. Eli always likes to see his Great Grandma.

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 calls the "high-tailing". I call it one cute bum!

The problem with hand-me-downs and big baby feet.

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!

Can you believe it? Eli turns SIX MONTHS OLD today!

I'm a terrible picture theif. I nabbed this picture from the Frilingos' website. Here's Baikal, Paul, Tabasco (the dog), Kevin and Eli reading books at the beach.

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.

I confess, I'm an addict. I can't stop taking pictures of my kid at bath time. I'm not sure what it is, the intoxicating smell of baby soap, those cute little hoodie towels, that squeaky-clean little bum... Whatever it is, I need to get over this urge before he hits the teen years as I think it will not be so well received then.

Baby in a bucket, anyone?

This month, Eli also had his first trip to the beach. We went to Amelia Island with a whole posse of friends that included Paul and Baikal, 15 months and 14 months, respectively. At 5 months old, Eli was defintel the runt of the litter but he was taking some serious mental notes: "Ahhhh... That's how to eat cheerios." and "Okay, this walking thing is really odd." We had a great time even thought it was really cold.

Oh no! Apparently I have set my camera too high so the blogger will not load the big photos. Sorry, Faithful readers, especially since the pictures on that last post are really cute. Here are some smaller files (I hope) and some bigger ones for those of you with fancy computers.

A couple of weeks ago, Eli was welcomed intot he Body of Christ. Baptism day! It was a wonderful day and Eli acted like a little angel. He looked pretty cute, too, in a gown that I made him. the recotr of the church did the baptism, but I presided over the Eucharist. We loved getting to see our friends John and Andie, Eli's godparents. We also had a great time visiting with Elis uncle David and Grandaddy all the way from North Carolina.

Not much is happening around our house these days. That's a good thing, actually. With all of the holidays and the travelling, we were getting a bit worn out.

Here are some updates on what has been happening in Eli's world:

In the last few weeks, Eli has become an expert eater. He seems to really dig the rice cereal (yuck) and chows down a whole serving and a half without any fussing. He even tries to help, grabbing for the spoon and the bowl with gusto. Yesterday, I held the bowl a little too close to his face, so he took advantage of the moment by putting his whole face right down in it. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair. He didn't get it at all and got very irritated with me. We've added the occasional blob of mashed banana which he eats politely but he's still not sure about it.

He is really learning to use his hands and grabs for everything in sight. Kevin has to be careful or his glasses will get flung across the room! His favorite game right now is to lie face-to-face on the bed with me or Kevin and pat our faces, tug our ears, grab our lips. It is really sweet!

He is figuring out how to roll over a little at a time. He still only does it mostly by accident and it makes him really mad when he does. As in, "Why the heck am I now on my stomach?!? How did I get here and will one of you idiots PLEASE flip me back over??"





And now for the big announcement:
We are all sleeping!! Hooray! The first few weeks of Eli's life there was no sleep in sight. Then we learned to swaddle and that worked for a little while and we'd get 3-4 hours of sleep at a time. But he outgrew that and sleep disappeared again. Last weekend, I moved Eli into his own room and his own crib. He took it like a champ and although we missed having him in our bedroom, we all slept a little better for the couple of hours a night that he slept.



Then the breakthrough occured. In a fit of desperation, we decided to let him cry a little bit at bedtime after putting him down. It worked like a charm and within three days, Eli was sleeping 10-12 hours a night. Some nights he wakes once to nurse, but otherwise, he sleeps through the night and takes good naps in the day. He is happier, I am happier and Kevin is happier. I have a couple of hours each night after he goes to bed to organize my life (like now) and even an hour in the morning to exercise!

I have no illusions that this will last forever. He'll cut teeth or have a growth spurt and we'll go through some rough times, but for now, I'm high as a kite on sleep!

Finally, Next Sunday, Eli's getting baptized! We are very excited.