little drummer boy

Simon loves drums. He loves banging on things which I know is a definite boy thing, but I do think this boy has some God-given rhythm. And coordination. What he lacks in verbal skills, he makes up in movement and dexterity. Anyway, we just got back from a meeting at the church and, after meetings end, I always have a significant time of chasing the kids around, giving them their freedom while Bryan has conversations with various folks. What I find the most challenging during these times is keeping Simon away from the drum kit. He so wants to play those drums! And I can't allow it because, just being the preacher's kid doesn't mean you can do whatever you want in the church building. When I told him 'no' this time, he tried a couple more times, but then finally settled for a pair of drum sticks he found laying off to the side and began tapping on various things. So, I thought I'd go ahead and mark this down as a possible future talent and see what may come. And, I'll throw in a video just for good measure. This video was taken just after he turned ONE.

ella on marriage

I'm not sure if it's from over-exposure to Disney films, fairy tale stories, or what, but Ella has had an awareness of marriage for quite a while now. When she was just over three years old, she was in our bedroom looking at the flowers on the table by our bed. Her daddy was resting on the bed with her when she asked if the flowers came from my wedding. This sparked a conversation about marriage with her father.

Dad: Ella, do you know who Mommy's husband is?
Ella: No.
Dad: I'm your mommy's husband, Ella.
Ella thinks about this for a moment, and then as her thoughts shift, her face falls and her lip begins to quiver.
Ella: Daddy? Who is MY husband?
Dad: Ella, you are too little to have a husband. You're only three years old!
Ella: But what is his name? How will I know who he is?
Dad: When you are old enough, Daddy will tell you. (quite a funny notion...)
Ella: Well, when I meet my husband I will bring him to this house and he'll say 'hi!'
Dad: He'd better say more than that!

Shortly after this conversation, Ella decided that she was going to marry her daddy. This is a very sweet idea that makes Daddy feel very loved so we never tried to explain to her that that really wouldn't work out too well. Other people have tried to correct her on this notion asking things like, "If you marry your Daddy, who will be your mommy's husband?" She doesn't really have an answer to this question.

From that notion of marriage, she moved on to say that when she grew up she'd marry Simon and they would have their own house. I know later, this statement will give her the willies, but it's just so sweet to me to think that her understanding of being married is being with the men you love most in your life. To her, that's her Daddy and brother. I'm so happy that's the case for her.

This last week, her marital plans shifted. We have a young man living with us for nine months while he does an internship (called the Frontier Year Team) at our church. He's a great guy by the name of Elijah and he is so sweet with the kids. He's like an honorary older brother to them. The other day, we were playing music and the kids were dancing and Elijah was twirling Ella around. She loves this sort of thing and it really made an impression on her. That night as I was chatting with her after lights were out, she told me of her new wedding plans:

Ella: Mommy, when I get big, I want to marry Elijah.
Me: Don't you think he might be a little too old for you Ella? Wouldn't you like to marry someone more your own age?
Ella: Hmmmm....I have a good idea. How about when I get big, I'll marry Elliott!
Me: Well, he'll have to ask you first Ella. The boy asks the girl. Girls don't ask boys to get married.
Ella: (thinking) I have a good idea....When I get big, I'll say, 'I'll marry you Elliott.'

I don't think she quite got the concept of being asked...only that she wanted to make sure he knew she'd be willing. Funny girl. I think we might have to put away our princess movies for a while till this fascination dies down a bit...Girls will be girls I suppose. No use fighting it!

gobbling fish

Ok, so this entry is really more of an excuse to post this humorous moment I captured of Ella at the zoo the other day. As noted in the earlier post, we were in the herpetarium with the fish and lizards and such and I caught her "gobbling" at the fish. And so the hilarity ensues...enjoy...

's' is for snake

We took a trip to the zoo last week for our family day on Bryan's day off and we had loads of fun! The highlight of the excursion was visiting the herpetarium near the end of the journey. This is the building where all the snakes, lizards, fish and turtles live. Simon is 20 months now and still only has a handful of words though his understanding is pretty vast. His speech is funny though because he acts like he's really telling us something but everything comes out sounding like a bunch of s'es ("sssssss" or "thsssssss"). This actually ended up working for his favor in the herpetarium as you will see in the following video.

my little nudist

If you've ever stayed at our house, you've noticed that Simon rarely wears clothes. There are a number of reasons for this:

1. He fills his diapers so quickly, we can hardly keep up with the turnover. Keeping the clothing off reduces the number of steps needed to keep the diaper fresh.
2. He moves too quickly to get clothing on his legs. This is why oftentimes you will find him with a shirt on, but rarely pants. If you see him with a shirt on, congratulate us on a productive day!
3. He loves to be naked. It's a man thing.

Here's a little video of Simon playing on the couch. Take note that he is wearing the uniform.

* Disclaimer *
I know it is bad parenting to let a child climb on the coffee table, but we have too much fun playing this game. I promise to keep him off your coffee table if we're ever visiting.

not so hot mama

Ella really dislikes it when I wear my hair in a pony tail. In fact, I can rarely sneak one by her without her requesting that I take it down. Today was one of those days where I didn't get a shower right away and up went the hair in a pony tail. Soon after, here is the conversation that occurred:

Ella: Mommmmeeeey! Please take your hair down! I don't like it when you wear your hair in a pony tail.

Me: But Ella, it feels good to have my hair up off of my neck.

Ella: But I don't like it that way! Please take it down!

Me: Maybe in a little while, Ella. Right now, I need it up.

Ella: Maybe you could put on a little lipstick to make it better?

HA! I remember having these same thoughts and observations about my own mother as a kid! I thought, "How could someone look so completely different with make up on vs. make up off?" I thought my mom looked so beautiful with her makeup and so different without it. Fortunately, when I asked Ella if she thought I wasn't pretty without my makeup, she wouldn't take the bait and didn't answer. And if I felt insecure at all about this, she evened herself out by telling my I was beautiful in my new night gown last night. Gotta love the honesty, right?

the family bed

Ella has been sneaking into our bed at night a lot lately. She has figured out that if she climbs in and snuggles up next to Daddy, he's too incoherent to do anything about it whereas Mommy will escort her back to her own room. A good part of the week, we wake up with a third party snuggled up in our covers! Last week I talked to Ella about this:

Me: Ella, you're going to have to stop sleeping with Mommy and Daddy.
Ella: Mmmm...maybe someday.

While eating our lunch today, we talked about it again since she had pulled her sneakery again last night. Bryan was telling me he is confused on how she is able to make room since he somehow woke up in the middle of the bed as though she had made him move over. She was eavesdropping on this conversation and piped in: "I found room right next to you Daddy, and then when you got up, I found LOTS of room!" What a silly goose she is. She's a nice cuddler too, even though she should stay in her own cozy bed!