Presidential Pumpkins

I'm totally smitten with these presidential pumpkin carvings I saw at BHG. Incredible detail and WAY cuter than a tacky lawn sign if you ask me.

"One Special Lollipop"

So earlier this month we made a deal with our lil' guy. His daddy + I would take him trick-or-treating on Halloween, but immediately afterwards he turns in his bag {in its entirety} for "One Special Lollipop" and a secret basket of non edible goodies. We closed the deal on a handshake, and he trotted off the happiest 3-year-old on the block. Ever since he's been telling anyone {I mean ANYone} who'll listen about the "One Special Lollipop" he's getting on Halloween. It's a HUGE deal to him, so there would be no skimping on style + size. Last Monday I settled on a retro rainbow Whirly pop. It's classic + colorful. The boy is still bragging about the rainbow ribbon frosting I put on his birthday cake a month and a half ago, so I figure this sugary confection will suit him just fine.

image: brungrrl on flickr

Old Photo Friday

A stroll down Memory Lane. Click to enlarge.

Inspire

I cannot wait to get my hands on this new book. Maybe My Sweets will wrap it up for the holidays? I've poured over Domino {the magazine} cover-to-cover since its premiere issue. Once upon a time it was a major rival in the world of design mags, but even then I secretly wanted to abandon my ship and jump aboard theirs. If they'd have me in all of their fabulousness. Finally the editors poured all that inspiration + information into a single full-size reference.

Grandma Fix

Grandma DJ flew in late last night and is leaving tomorrow after swim class + lunch. It's a quick fix, but Buby is loving every second spent on her lap reading books, sliding down her legs, and playing dress up.


Update: We just dropped Grandma DJ at the airport. Buby wore the saddest face. As we pulled out of the unloading area, he said "Ahh, that's cute." I asked, "What's cute, Buby?" He replied, "Grandma is. Grandma's cute. And so is Gavin."

Giveaway: Eccolo Italian Journal

I Love it. Really. Love. It. This leather wrap journal was made by hand in Italy and given to me as the decorating editor at a national magazine. The paper is ivory, heavy stock, and acid free. It's never been opened. Today I'm giving it to YOU. Just leave any comment on this post and enter to win.


Random Giveaway Details:
-You have until midnight PST on Sunday, November 2 to enter.
-Simply scroll to the bottom of this post and click on the word "comments."
-Leave any comment and you will automatically be entered.
-Make sure you include a blog link or email address so I can contact you.
-The winner will be chosen at random by Buby and announced Monday morning.


Want more fantastic giveaways? Simply click here for another 1,000+ going on until this weekend.

Lumpy in the House

Dear Richard,

You made one little boy CRAZY happy today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for creating this Lumpy costume for our Buby. It is absolutely perrrrfect.

First Tutu

Ooh, this having a girl thing is sorta kinda REALLY fun. Who knew? I gave Bleu her very first tutu yesterday for being the sweetest 6-month-old in the whole world. It's from here. Awesome deal for all of its fantastical potential. I might need the blue one, too.

A Soft Place to Fall

Our playroom isn't just for puzzles, books, blocks, trains, and games. Or gazing up at our kid's latest artistic ramblings. It's for running and jumping and chasing, too. As soon as Bleu goes down for nap Buby + I play b-ball and dance and spin and dizzy ourselves silly in this little room. We stage pretend rescue missions on a grand scale and give rip-roaring lion rides from one end to the other. And when it's time to chill, we simply plop onto its plush carpet and get cozy. For us, this room is a soft place to fall.







I could easily flip this shot 180 degrees, but Buby has been our little photographer lately experimenting with my camera every chance he can. He took this shot upside down, so I think it stays upside down.

Self Portrait

Buby created this self portrait in preschool. Miss Cathy asked each student to answer the four questions below, and she filled in their responses. During Open House at the school the portraits and questionnaires were displayed on a bulletin, and us parents had to guess which one was our child's. This is soooo Buby. Except I would've thought he'd say green grapes. Purple grapes are my fave.

Happy Half Year

To my brown-eyed Bleu,

You are the baby girl I never knew I always wanted. You remind me daily of my blessed life and how awesomely brilliant it can be if I just pause to soak it up. You have a curious + determined nature. You don't know what it is to sit idle, not even for a sec. But you find enormous comfort nursing in my embrace. You rub your eyes when you are tired + find your thumb when you are sleepy. You rarely fall asleep anywhere but your crib. You are not a cuddler like your brother, and we've had to get used to that. You have thick little thighs so cute I could just eat them up.

Your gummy lil' grin is intoxicating, 100% proof. You like when I juggle your teethers, tip your stacking cups, and dance around you like a clown. You laugh out loud at Buby and are forever egging him to kick it up a notch ~ be sillier, jump higher, sing louder. You are not sure if the baby doll above is real or fake, but you like to suck her toes and administer mouth-to-mouth just the same. You don't like to see me walk away, ever. You have a deep, sultry voice. You spend most of the day exploring the world from your belly or my hip. You are not much for sitting still or laying back. You prefer to stand and lean against me when I change your #2 diapers {Buby did this, too}.

You eat + sleep on demand {we have routines instead of strict schedules}. You are hungry about every 3 hours and take up to two naps a day, but you are flexible + patient. You have never taken a bottle. You are a superb night sleeper {knocking like heck on wood here. I know these things change on a dime.} You are your Daddy's daughter with your eyes shut and mine with them open. Or so they say. You remind me of him always. You are social. You are strong. You are quiet at times and a total chatterbox when we least expect it.

You barf upwards of 10 million times a day {lost count}, but having GERD hardly phases you at all. You toot an insane amount. You are crawling in your own sweet way. You have a big few months ahead of you. Six-month checkup next week. Perhaps a first tooth. First flu shot. First taste of rice cereal with pumped milk. First baby signs {I started teaching Buby around 6 months and he was signing back by 10}. First costume. First swim lesson. First holiday season. Right now you are healthy + happy, and we couldn't ask for more. Except maybe two more just like you. Ha! J/k. Sort of. Happy birthday babe.

Writing Home

Here's a postcard I found from My Sweets to his little brother Mike in 1985. I keep reading it, and it keeps making me laugh.


Dear Mom + Dad,
I'm having fun. I went swimming yesterday. I got stepped on, too. I have a surprise for Michael. It is a shirt. Don't tell him. I only had one candy bar. I only have 5.02 left. I love you + I miss you.

Love,
Tommy

Old Photo Friday

1979. Posing by my dad's '32 Chevy, which is in his garage now in pieces. My brother Mark {red shorts} and I {pigtails} flanked by foster kids Timmy + Tammy.

Leaf Bouquet

We were out for our regular Thursday stroll, this time in fleece, cozy knit hats and Buby's new barn coat from L.L. Bean {thanks Grandpa!}. It was a far more pleasant sampling of autumn than yesterday. Less wind. More sun. In fact, it shined on us all the way to the park, with a quick stopover at the coffee shop to see our friends with the {organic / no-sugar-added} apple juice and decaff almond latte. Mmmm. Essential treats for both on this unscheduled October day. Let's see. We started on the green slide, Buby on my lap as Bleu watched. Then the swings. We like to look straight up at the sky when we swing, so I lean back and Buby rests his head on me. Then we tackled the fireman's pole, the rings, the tire swing, and finally the yellow slide. The yellow one is twisty, and Buby loves when my long legs get stuck on the turns. He kept trying to get me to say "Help, I'm stuck!" so he could be the hero and unjam me.


We frequent the playground. It's old and rusty in many respects, but it is walkable, offers a variety of amusements, and more often than not we get the whole place to ourselves. We walked down to the river afterwards counting squirrels and collecting rocks, sticks, acorns, and leaves along the way. These were HUGE leaves, so we made Daddy a leaf bouquet {above} and wrapped it with my lucky hair tie. I asked Buby if he wanted to surprise Daddy with it at the train station, and he responded with a high pitch "Okay, sure." So we walked back to our car and quick zipped down to the station to pin it under the Jeep's windshield wipers {with a teeny tiny pink post-it love note, of course, ingeniously secured to the top leaf with gum}.


By 7:45pm we had all but forgotten about our little surprise. The kids and I were up in Buby's bed saying goodnight prayers when Daddy surprised US and walked in with the bouquet in his hands and a smile on his face.





The acorns.




Just a leaf we liked.




Buby in his barn coat.

A Gift + A Giggle

I want to send out a big "YOU ROCK!!" to our friends Sara + Daymien. Thank you for your thank you. Buby heard the UPS guy on our porch this afternoon and went berserk. This Giggle Smith Apple for Bleu is adorable and everything a 6-monther could want. Color, texture, shapes, movable worms, teethers {she's cutting teeth as we speak!}, and a leaf that giggles when baby presses it. This will go everywhere we go, I just know it. When Buby pulled it out of the box I could not hold back the laugh.


You see, we promised our dear city friends some Fall festiveness {apples, pumpkins, etc.} in exchange for their piling on the layers and driving 90 minutes via motorcycle on a VERY chilly October morning. After some gooey chocolate chip cookies, playtime with the kids and a most amazing warm-you-up lunch {courtesy of My Sweets}, there wasn't much time to hit the Johnny Appleseed Festival or Pumpkin Fest we'd considered... neither one closeby. So apple picking it was. We drove to the same farm we stopped at just two weeks earlier, waited for the tractor, took it deep into the orchards, and THEN ~ only then ~ noticed the little handwritten sign notifying "All trees have been picked clean. Apples in bins only." Bummer. Their country picking was more like slim pickings. Sara + Daymien, the good sports they are, bobbed for apples in old wooden bins. Oh wells. I enjoyed catching up with my old friend and her beau. It was a great afternoon. And now Bleu's sweet apple toy will always remind me of that.








Next Buby pulled this Dinosaur Soup book out of the box {Giggle does real pretty gift-wrap, fyi}. Obviously someone was paying attention at our house. Buby + dinosaurs + cooking books = overflowing contentment. The recipes are written by children and not meant to be taken seriously. Or else. Very, very cute guys.

Happy Wednesday

Sir Buby

Thanks again, Grandma + Grandpa. This conductor's outfit sure is fun.

Patience

I'm teaching it to Buby and he's teaching it to me. Every day we practice patience. At the playground recently we told Buby it was time to go and started walking across the lawn in the direction of the car. He didn't acknowledge us and instead hurried around to get in another bounce, slide, and swing. I whispered something to My Sweets about him not listening. And he replied "He hears you. He's registering it. He's coming. But you have to remember that every day right now is like the best day of his life." Just then I looked over at Buby giggling with all his heart... and running at full speed to join us.

Portrait

Taste testing more apples on Sunday. Ever heard of Crispins? Well, they were the clear favorite. I'd say similiar to Granny Smith but sweeter... crispier. Photo by our friend Daymien. He + Sara survived a frEEzing motorcycle ride just to spend the afternoon chez Buby + Bleu. They are fantastic company.

Baby Loves Mirrors

We Got Mail

Amarillo

Buby created this artwork after learning the Spanish word for yellow. His Spanish teacher Yadi sings super fun songs with the lil' sponges and already has Buby using the following at home: hola, adios, gracias, uno, dos, tres, rojo, verde, azul, and amarillo.

Picture Day

He was so cute leaving the house this morning. As I pulled away from the school I saw {who I'm sure was} the photographer setting up bales of hay under a beautiful tree with falling leaves. I can't wait to see the results. Oh yeah, Buby's favorite number is 3, so he's always doing this in pictures now.

Happy Weekend

Very blurry, but I love how she's taking control here.

Building Blocks

These basic mini blocks were a gift {I can't remember who from} at my Buby shower in July 2005. Not a day goes by that Buby doesn't play with them. The big box that holds them all is always empty. I like that they are made of wood, part colorful, part plain, part alpha, part pictorial. We build "big big towers" and take turns knocking them down {with lots of loud cheering!}. But it's during quiet time that Buby really gets into them. When I step out of the playroom to put Bleu down for nap or zip upstairs to change, I return to a content preschooler either constructing some fantastical structure with his blocks or working on his puzzles {one after another}. And talking to himself in his signature high-pitch whisper. It's a wonderful thing to walk in on.