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!

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!

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?

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!

Look out everyone!

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%)!

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!

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".

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

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.

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.

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.