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

leave it to the hippie to get silas to the mall in a snowstorm.

a bit of a push to the tush.

silas tries out an orange glow.

sprinting in a food court will wear a girl out.

watching said sprinting is also exhausting.

on saturday, we picked up the neighbors and hightailed it to the western suburbs to celebrate todd's birthday. at audrey's house.

silas enlists holmes to hold that note.

audrey's parents completely rock out and render silas speechless.

on sunday, we met out of towners at the field museum.

skunk on the loose! clear the play lab!

silas needs his reading glasses to properly find our next vacation destination on the globe.

those two attempt to kiss the stuffed bison in hopes of giving the sabres luck for the new year's day winter classic.

celebrating new years eve with friends. taking some time out to reflect on 2007.

getting in some last minute construction.

the party only got crazier after this photo.

silas silently pleads to be put to bed.

.
because the still photos just didn't quite capture all the sights and sounds of our walk home from the museum.
[just one moment while it loads please...]
.

.

my first promise of the new year to my family was to do absolutely nothing on january first. so we did just that.

silas is still drooling like a baby over his christmas presents.

baby takes portraits of his parents for the family record.

one day, my son, this nose will be yours.

silas raises a fist to starting the new year. rock.

inspiration hit during our lunch with lynn yesterday. she mentioned her new ability to make lattes at home thanks to new equipment gifted from her husband. i knew i could make this a reality in my own life. and this morning my dreams came true...

my first fancy soy latte turned out way better than i could have hoped. frothy, caffinated, sugary and piping hot. and it only took minutes, i am forever free from the shackles of four dollar coffee drinks.

i would like to thank:
the silva/feece's for the espresso pot that has ensured an early morning happy mama.
the kempe's for the immersion blender that has provided us countless soups, baby food and now frothy soy milk.
the lynn/holmes for the inspiration.
my husband for a healthy dose of skepticism that only encouraged me to try harder.
the soy bean and coffee farmers. bless you, amigos.
and finally, my son, the baristo in training, for allowing me the luxury of drinking my beverage while still warm.

everytime i go to take a picture of these two, the first thing i shout is "babies!!"
their joint expression just made me realize how annoying that probably is.

it doesn't count as lazing around if you do stretches every now and again.
a sleeping bag ate my baby!

contemplating his future height potential.

we spent a muddy, warm morning at the nature village with olivia.

taking a break from sweeping the trails with branches.

unseasonably warm, but the boy still loves his hat.

i anoint you prince of the overpopulated deer.

he zombie walked almost the entire length of the boardwalk. amazing.

silas and i get out of the house extra early on thursdays so that we can report for laundry duty. we motivate ourselves with the promise of bagels at the coffee shop and laps with the rolling laundry baskets.

he also gives this look to the washer when it's on the final rinse (extra wobbly) cycle.

we ran into three people on our adventure that greeted silas by name before they said hello to me. i guess i'm just lucky he still lets me hang out with him.

nothing says friday like waking up to grandma in your bed. my mom drove in early to beat the city traffic and snuck into bed before silas woke up. since he figured out how to talk his first word every morning has been "papa," whether pointing at the man himself or his pillow. today it was a puzzled look, a vigorous eye rub and then "gre-ma!"

so to celebrate the visit and silas skipping his morning naps - we headed out to the shedd aquarium. it was a whole new experience now that my kid can walk.

who needs a stinking dolphin show, when you got empty cement steps to climb up and down and up and down and up.

rudy said to just hang out here until he got back.

portrait by the lake.

kicking off the weekend in the hood with olivia.

the kids swap clothes and joyously trash the tupperware while their parents ignore them for pizza and beer.

silas spends some final quiet moments with his best christmas tree ever before it meets the chipper.

shaking off our tree grief on the wetland trail.

icy pond, winter landscape.

silas gives a good twig stir to the marsh.

blowing red mitten kisses.

today's winter style.

us three in a moment of sunshine.

sam and i went to see a movie in a real movie theater. silas hung out with chris and andrea and obviously didn't miss us very much at all.

the museum of science and industry is free for the month of january. silas loves to press buttons and talk on exhibit phones, it was an obvious sunday outing.

taking a stroll down ye olde maine streete.

contemplating his body's potential.

the piglet finds his unsteady footing.

i don't think they've dusted the circus wing since i was this age.

museum cafeteria lighting and my husband.

baby's first chocolate (soy) milk!

we took it slow on monday.

trying to keep silas awake until his afternoon can be a challenge after lunch, but forrest stepped up to the plate.

silas laughed during the entire visit. he was absolutely delighted to see his friend. he kept trying to hand forrest all his toys and read books to amy, VERY LOUDLY.

guarding the entryway in case of stumbling toddlers.

apparently when mama takes the night off, all the cameras come out

and pants are optional.

this is silas's posing face. sam thinks he smiles this big because he really likes cheese.

always prompt and prepared, just waiting on the rest of the guys for band practice.

grandpa's birthday! friday night pizza and piano concertos.

i think i can, i think i can.

doesn't look a day over ninety two.

my baby's mama's mama.

this version of sledding requires much less equipment.

even though you may feel safe at your grandparent's house, you should always watch your back.

sunday morning silas.

helping papa trim his beard.

silas warms up for the hockey game.

five minutes into baby's first chicago wolves hockey experience - he meets skates the mascot. then for the rest of the game, silas was absolutely taken by skates, keeping track of him in the arena. even when his head shot out firecrackers in the opening number, silas was pointing at him on the ice like "hey, there's my buddy!"

georgia runs off some popcorn in between periods.

hey griffins, go back to the unemployment line!

yep, i'm quite sure we'll do this again.

silas and i started off the week perfect when we had olivia all to ourselves on monday morning.

we played a little toddler golf.

they read some books.

but mostly they just cracked each other up. for real. the best part is the things that really get them laughing, i don't even notice as potentially funny until they are both bent over in hysterics.

apparently i don't give my kid enough opportunities for sweeping.

baby sprinting at garfield park conservatory.

surprisingly a few minutes after this photo, sarah proclaimed that she didn't feel so good.

silas reflects on the work of heath ledger in his own blueberry way.

oh, my sweet baby boy.

fifteen months. twenty two pounds and fifteen ounces. nine and a half teeth.

give you a couple of empty spice jars, a handful of cinnamon sticks, two super balls, a cup full of water, a pile of apple rings, a tissue and a book about an ol' black fly and we swear you could entertain yourself for the entire afternoon.

your main mission while at home this month has been a slight jog from room to room. you'll be happily playing with a bowl of rocks and your bear and turtle figures when all of a sudden you'll drop them and hightail it into the bathroom where you'll spend ten minutes sorting through the things under the sink until you pull out just the travel size bottle of shampoo and the two tampons you were looking for.

you'll do pretty much anything we ask of you: bring us totally randomly requested things from other spots, share your snacks, toast to our good health, sing us songs on cue. it's highly possible that these moments of complete agreeability might be fleeting so your papa and i are taking complete advantage of them - picking out cookbooks for dinner, helping sort through green beans, liberally dousing our meals with spices and stirring the waffle mix until your little arms give out.

but my favorite thing about you from this past month (aside from how you follow me into the bathroom every time, wait and then hand me toilet paper) is how you are discovering the functionality of stuff. even though we may not have a ton of amusements around the house, the things we do have are apparently quite fun.

you play guitar every day with the guitar hero controller and papa's electric. take pretend photos with the holga and real ones with the camera that was gifted to us by your grandparents in lieu of nursery furniture. you stand in front of the stereo pointing, swaying and making the signs for "more" and "music." you often request that i dust off the keyboard under the desk so that you can spend the early evenings composing songs about how much you wish your papa would come home.

you set up the puck, basketball, football, softball and soccer ball before you attempt to shoot them with the hockey stick. but, interestingly enough, you take much more accurate swipes at the beer bottles on the coffee table with no warming up or aiming at all.

and i've noticed you practicing kicking when you think we're not paying attention. and even though we are quite positive that you are absolutely clear on who is mama and who is papa, when we are all three together you consistently refer to us as "maapaa." both of those things ridiculously endearing, my dear. and so many more.

your second chicago winter has not even had a chance to slow you down. your balance is still a bit iffy, so climbing filthy snow drifts and running on salty sidewalks has taken a back seat to exploring all the facets of the indoor city.

everyday your papa and i smack ourselves on the forehead in disbelief. silas lee, you are fantastic. you are a stinker. you are beyond anyone that we could have imagined for our son, a third person in our family. just this morning your papa mentioned to me that your favorite thing to do for the first half hour of the day was climb up on top of the table and then stand there so incredibly pleased with yourself. well, my monkey, we are incredibly pleased with you too. but, please, get off the damn table. thank you.

the future of albany park.

forrest and the drumstick. just waiting to count it off.

baby works out his inner joseph cornell when he has the interactive exhibits to himself early on a sunday.

we can't help to feel proud when silas accurately points to charlie parker.

reading with papa in the children's library at the art institute.

pickles for lunch!

a table by the window has it's advantages.

we're off for a official family vacation. hooray.

evidence of us may surface here or we might figure out a way to post.

take care.