t h e . r i d i c u l o u s . p a n d a

taking a breather on halloween afternoon. exclaiming and pointing at pictures in his favorite books. this page is the "splish, splash. scrub a dub" if you couldn't tell by his dramatic interpretation.

we figured it woould be just as exciting and interesting for silas to answer trick or treaters ringing one doorbell as it would be for us to tool him around the neighborhood begging for his own treats. thankfully georgia lives in a house with a doorbell.

the guardian angel of halloween candy.

a monkey, a frog and an angel.

friday afternoon at the bean.

our art institute membership arrived in the mail (thanks mom!!) on thursday, silas and i met sam for lunch on friday and enjoyed a leisurely visit to the museum.

baby in the ando gallery.

we started off the weekend at...toast. when we were sat at our table, there were babies down the line as far as the eye could see and the table to our left was expecting. this is what happens when you make it to a restaurant before nine am.

checking out the winter offerings at the green city market. sam picked turnips, i picked black kale, silas picked a spaghetti squash and...apples. seriously, is there any other option?

four scorpios at one table. celebrating mike and kelly's birthdays at soul vegetarian.

silas gets in some after dinner reading with the birthday girl.

john g. shedd aquarium on sunday. we have come in search of the komodo king.

looking for lizards.

our audience with the main attraction.

silas spots a blue spotted stingray.

it might have been the dramatic lighting, but the baby could have stared at these all afternoon.

must. mount. turtle.

shark watching in the wild reef.

i'm so happy doin' the mitten dance.

a sunday vacation in our own city.

riding the el back home, the apple pacifier keeps the baby from grabbing other passengers cell phones and ipods.

our life in video.

how you know when the baby is ready for his nap.
he laughs, he cries, he flails.

it's good when you know the downstairs neighbors aren't home,
at least i hope they weren't.

if i don't post everyday, i get myself into a backlogjam. so a few photos of last week first, then the weekend in michigan recap...

silas kicks it autumn style outside the green city winter market. we ate a crepe, silas chose a sweet potato as his bounty for the day.

leaving the chinese consulate, dressed up in our "please let us into your country" finest.

silas and i check out our hotel amenities while sam rehearses at the farm. baby reaches new mama gross out level when he licks the phone cord.

the muzzumullins wedding. squint to see reverend sam!

silas, sam, veda and allan.

baby makes small talk while waiting for the bar to open.

the groom and the lovely bride.

appetizers can't hold a candle to free rocks outside.

andrea and the glow of the lifetime commitment.

kim and erik. the deejay and her soundguy.

chris and andrea back by the chicken coops.

between dances.

veda makes her move.

twinkly place to spend a saturday night.

us three.

the morning after. ready to hit the pool.

olivia showed off her balance and eye poking abilities on monday at the nature center.

babies playing together like they've known each other their entire lives.

olivia, sarah and silas on the boardwalk.

keepin' up.

olivia takes off for the trees.

because she's just that good, titi lisa came over and made us dinner.

the chef's assistant awaits his next set of instructions.

baby sports his new hoodie from titi.

girlfriend takes a load off while silas takes the wheel.

open house at the shedd aquarium. inside (!) the caribbean reef, looking out over the top of the water. please note, friendly diver guy happily answering questions.

searching for the moray eel.

sam can't get enough of the interactive exhibits, especially those lizard gloves.

silas talks to the dolphins, contemplates joining them for his evening bath.

sneaking around behind the tanks, looking for secret turtles.

those are some incredibly good looking fish.

here fishy, fishy, fishy.

silas rocks out to the a cappella in the lobby, much to our dismay.

the open house was amazing. we saw day old baby jellyfish, were stared down by painted turtles, covered our ears at high pitched beluga squeals, sang lullabies to sleeping penguins + ate some cheese and jicama. as if all that wasn't enough, on our walk back to the car along the twinkling lakefront, we spotted a small, calm owl just a few feet away camped out on a "pesticide free zone" sign. quite honestly, a perfect evening.

our weekend was lovely, thank you. sam burned screens on saturday while the neighbors kept silas and i company. we celebrated cousin olivia's birthday and silas had a good few bites of chocolate cake.

all the babies on amy!

forrest decorates for thanksgiving.

helping open the big ol' nine year old's presents.

silas discovers that cherry preserves also make damn good hair product.

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so how do we celebrate thirteen months alive? how do we toast the month after the big one year? how do we top twelve? well, apparently silas, you look at fish. [oh, and you take your pants off...]
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talk about personality. the november ought-seven version of silas has tons of it. big, overflowing dumptrucks full of personality. so, please, sit back, learn to assert your will like never before, grunt, point and develop a new sleeping habit every week. and we'll keep calling you monkey, shoving chard in your mouth when you're looking the other direction, splish splashing scrub a dubbing, and talking to you on your gorilla/remote/shoe/fork/DVD-phone...
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not once, but twice we took you to the Shedd aquarium this month. behind and in front of the scenes. we discovered early on that unlike zoo animals, fish don't hide. it's so awesome to see you get it. to see you watching and pointing. you even got to see the penguins sleeping at night with all the lights off. part fish, part monkey, all silas...
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going to the Shedd at night was amazing for me too. this is the kind of thing my mom would have done - take us as a family to the best the city has to offer. sitting in a hallway filled with kids running around, eating crackers and cheese. i start to see us as we are, a mama, a papa, a monkey - not just two silly kids and a monkey.
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oh right, the pants. leave it to my son to decide that since it's naptime, first you clear your space by throwing Ice Bat, Jeero, the puppy, the mushroom and the green bean out of the bed. next goes your blanket and the quilt. followed by your socks [i mean, really, who can sleep in socks anyway?]. and the coup de grace? off come the pants. seriously, pants just get in the way of a kickass nap...
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and walking. you've been toying with it for a while, late at night, delirious before bed, giggling and gasping in that asthmatic way you get when you're really having a blast, pushing off the couch and just. standing. there. you fall to your butt and clap with us. you know how do to it, you just don't feel like it. unless, that is, we get you behind the wheels of Pablo's cart or each of us grabs a hand. then you're kicking and sliding and tiptoeing wherever we'll take you. it makes you look a hundred years old.
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so, whether your sleeping till 4am [a great thing] or pushing your beans out of your mouth with your tongue and then throwing them on the floor [a messy thing], you have been being silas more than ever. i am startled by your beauty. i am giddy every time i walk through the door and you point at me with a smile like "hey, that guy! i LOVE that guy!" you reach for me and my heart explodes. you fall asleep in my arms while absentmindedly scratching my beard and i can't imagine there is a bad thing in this world. thanks silas. you and mama are thirteen times better than everything.
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we celebrated turkey with my parents. we ate bean casserole, fake turkey/fungi loaf, squash soup and enjoyed many forays into my father's liquor cabinets.

it's wackadoo to see silas playing with all the old toys that my siblings and i enjoyed. especially when he looks like he should be out playing ultimate between bio classes.

waking up from your morning nap is so much sweeter when grandma hands you a buffalo.

romance in glacier preserve.

hitchin' a ride.

half of a grandpa is better than none.

baby watches our backs.