happy halloween

it took me a minute to decide what bonzo was going to be this year. if it were up to him, he'd want to be a construction worker or a gardner, i'm sure. however, relishing these years where it's still up to me, i selfishly made the decision: bonz, you're going to be an owl.

i knew a few things right off the bat:

1. it needed to be homemade.

2. it couldn't be too much costume – or he just wouldn't want to wear it.

3. it had to be able to follow last year's act. not an easy feat.

so i ordered a couple tee shirts and some felt and figured i'd just figure it out as i went along. 

my time management skills were not exactly shredding this year, i'll be totally honest. i had a beanie to knit, feathers to cut, things to do. and, when it became clear that i needed an assistant, guess who was at the ready, scissors in hand? the chooch, that's who. just when i thought i could not possibly love this guy any more he takes my vision and turns it into a reality. it is the chooch who's responsible for bonzo's wings and feathered tummy and i cannot tell you the adoration i have for him for it. to see him snipping out feathers individually – "so they'd look more realistic and cool" – and arranging them just so, pretty much sealed the already-sealed deal for me. i love you, choo choo.

i was up well past my bedtime stitching wings on the tiny arms of a tiny tee shirt in preparation for a little family halloween celebration and concert in the park we went to this weekend. and bonzo was quite pleased to wear his "hooty owl costume" – it was a feast for the eyes:

of course, i had to get bonz in the little photobooth set-up they had there and get a little souvenir photo. the photographer said, "smile!" and there you have it. oh, bonzo. i love you so much, buddy.


on a side note, i don't know how the seasonal nature of the pumkin patch is going to go over on the bonz. we've clocked in some serious time there and still it's just not enough. he loves that place like nobody's business. and i get it...

... there are scarecrows,


and horsies!


and pumpkins!


but most importantly, there are tractors!
i've never seen a happier bonzo than a bonzo sitting and steering – and beep beeping! – this old, rusty tractor.


we'll miss you, pumpkin patch.

heaven on earth

if bonzo made a list of his three favorite things to do, at least two of them would involve heavy equipment.

so we packed some snacks and an excavator of our own and headed over to the airport. again.
bonzo was in hog heaven watching all the action – and, of course, demonstrating some machine maneuvering all by his own self, too.


the other day he goes, "mama, can we go to nordstrom and ride the excalators?" there's a tie-in to construction for everything.

L-O-V-E

"i'm gonna write your guys names. S-O-A-P spells mommy and daddy!"
– bonzo, october 23, 2011

this weekend...

... i plan to finish – or at least make some serious strides in that direction – bonzo's halloween costume because, you know, halloween is around the corner in a major way.

... i would like to make pancakes for my guys.

... i would like to go on a cleaning spree around the house.

... i'll be seeing paul simon live – can't wait!

... i'll be smooching this face:

have a happy one!

isms

i know, i know: kids say the darnedest things.
and everyone thinks their kids' sayings are the funniest, cutest, most charming things to ever be uttered.
i know this because i totally agree!
there's nothing sweeter than hearing silly somethings from the little voice of an emerging personality.
it's the best thing ever.

the only problem is that they come at me faster than i can keep up with. sure, i try to jot them down as they happen but i know there are as many slipping through my fingers as there are that i'm documenting.
it's kind of like witnessing something amazing and kicking myself for not having my camera – there's something rad about being in that moment and not trying to preserve it by recording it.

with that said, here's a little sampling of some of my favorite bonzisms from the past couple months – some of which have already fallen out of favor.

bonz calls flip flops "floppy-doppies" and ice cubes "ice creams" – months ago he called jasmine blossoms "jazzmerries blahfsuns" and muffins "mussins". i swear to you i have never heard anything cuter.

instead of "i'm excited!" bonzo proclaims, "i'm exciting!" and likewise for when he's scared, "i'm scary!"

bonzo loves to sprinkle in the phrase "just in case" – and rarely (if ever) in proper context.
"mommy. you look for me right there. just in case. and i will hide and you look for me."

on that note: peek-a-boo and hide n' seek? still going strong over here. bonzo lives for it. and i love how he tells me where to look while i'm trying to find him (see above) and then hides right in front of me – and while i'm asking where he is (at his insistence) he answers from his spot, giggling and squealing. he could do it for hours.

when we got a new car in may, bonzo called it the "new ours car". it's now just "ours car"– still.

oh and this one we hear throughout the day, "i do it all by my own self!"

the other morning, "mommy, can we have some dinner for breakfast?"

he calls tortoises "turt-oises" and i die every time.
and the gibbons at the zoo? "givens".

when he rubs my back he says, "i'm ooh-aaahsing  you, mama!"

a week or two ago he pulled his little stool next to me and said, "let's chat about birthdays!"

and the words recognize and actually are peppered in daily conversation – and properly i might add.

he'll prepare a bite on his spoon or fork and then hand it to me and say, "mama wants to feed it to me!"

and anytime we've been apart he always spends the rest of the day reminding me, "mommy always comes back for the dee-dee!" and "we're never apart for long." oh i love him.




and there you have it: silliness.

sunny day sorta-smoothie

it has been unmercifully hot in santa barbara for the past few days.
now, i love me a sunny day but i have to say, this is getting a little crazy. and bonzo's appetite in this heat? almost non-existent.

so yesterday morning we made our new favorite smoothie with the juice of an orange off our tree, some plain organic whole milk yogurt and a splash of coconut milk.

the constancy and flavor of this can vary majorly depending on how you like it – bonzo likes his a little thicker so i just do more yogurt, less liquid.

we just juice an orange and add it to a cup or so of yogurt in a mason jar. then we add a splash of coconut milk (vanilla if we're feeling decadent and have it on hand – we only use a smidge! otherwise unsweetened) and screw the lid on tightly. then we shake it like crazy and out comes an orangey, creamy smoothie. easy!

machinery

last week, me and bonzo met our best buddies for a little look-see field trip at the newly remodeled and almost completed airport.

as soon as we parked, we saw major construction equipment tearing up and moving old asphalt. excavators excavatin'! loaders loadin'! workers workin'! it was awfully exciting. i mean, that could have been the entire outing and bonzo would have napped a happy camper.



then we made our way to the outside waiting area at the terminal to watch the planes but something else immediately caught bonzo's attention: george rhoads' kinetic sculpture, good time clock IV (1984).

bonzo was mesmerized. it's a really mesmerizing piece. but he'd never seen it before and he could hardly believe his little eyes. the chain carried balls up to the top then start them rolling down the track and he'd squeal and happily stomp his feet watching them take different turns, go different directions, bounce, loop and chime the chimes as they made their way back down to start it all over.

it's such genius. so totally elaborate and well orchestrated. and so entertaining.


remember mouse trap?!

intensity

dude. what a weekend. let's just say that bonzo had some massive feelings that needed to be felt. frequently and loudly.

even so, it was a great weekend. it really was. there was plenty of time spent content and happy. and it's not like big feelings make for unhappy days. it's almost always the opposite, really. and sometimes they come up at times that aren't ideal. that's just how it goes.

but let me please tell you: bonzo had both guns-a-blazin' this weekend. i'm sure the near-full moon and the molar pushing through poor bonzo's gums didn't help matters much, either. but man oh man, there has been some serious upheaval around here.

guest post: today and yesterday

i have a guest post over at tales of me and the husband again today. check it!
and if you missed yesterday's, get to clickin'.

guest post: today and tomorrow

i have a guest post over at tales of me and the husband today. and tomorrow, too. check it!

wordless/wednesday

right. now.

one of the million zillion things i love about bonzo is his ability to be in the present – in the now – fully immersed in his reality, with his feelings, in the moment.
when he's sad, he's fully in it. and then when he's felt his feelings he doesn't hold onto it. the new moment is like a brand new day.

it's pretty amazing how it comes so naturally to babies and children. and it's pretty rad how, if we let them, these tiny people can really teach us so much.


(these few words sure sum it all up, don't they?)

last bits of summer

after a weekend of roasting temperatures and a naked baby playing in the backyard, we took a trip to the beach with some dear friends to soak in a little more summer this morning. the weatherman says it's going to rain wednesday. maybe then it'll actually feel like fall.

we're not complaining either way. we sure love sunny days but cozy, rainy ones are alright by us, too.