So here is a pic left over from Cousin's visit. She's teaching Bug the in's and out's of tractors from a book Auntie M's gave him for his birthday. The book weighs easily 10 lbs. and he drops it on his foot along with everyone else's. Luckily, Cousin is a patient young lady and overcame the pain of her throbbing foot to teach him.

Above is a dump truck Mimi and Bucka gave him. He rides it like a trike and sometimes gets fussy in that particularly particular two way when his stuffed kitty falls out the back. Notice the kitty in the lower left corner.

The weather has recently warmed, though as I write we may be expecting snow. Anyway, Bug popped the lenses out of the third pair of my cheapie sunglasses, so I decided he could just have them. He wears them all the time, trying to look like Papa. Glasses and his motorcycle in the morning....the best way to start any day. Below is probably my favorite picture mostly because of what you don't see. This little girl is one of his neighborhood pals. I'm trying to get laundry folded while they have a playdate. Though the picture is posed, they've spontaneously put Papa's clean boxers on to watch "Baby Einstein Dot Com." They wore these boxers all morning in all the seriousness a two and three year-old can muster. We ate snack, played with playdough, watch a video, rode dump trucks, and fought over whether or not imaginary tea should be served in cups or out of the backs of trucks in these boxers. I hope your underwear serves you just as well through your daily activities.

We've had a busy few weeks and so I haven't had a chance to post some super cute pictures of my aunt and cousin who came out for a visit. We went for a walk along Lincoln park the first evening. I've always held the belief that when you live in a climate where you don't have to prepare, truly prepare, for winter, you go a little funny. Case in point, this delightful driftwood extravaganza cousin found along the beach.




My aunt was a little uncomfortable in front of the camera. People forget that if you just do what you normally do in front of a camera you tend to look a lot better than when you stand straight and grin. Here, we caught her doing what she normally does, which is love her kids. How pretty, eh?

We trapped cousin at the top of the Space Needle and we haven't let her out. She's living on coffee and pastries like a true Seattlite.

What we weren't able to catch was how much fun Bug had with Cousin and Auntie. They taught him that John Deere is number one. They also spoiled him with a plate and cup and t-shirt that he now uses most every day with the stubborness that only an offspring with my gene pool could muster. Though the visit was short, it was great to spend time with everyone. We are off to the neighborhood Valentine's Party where Bug is one of two boys on a block of twelve children. Unfortunately, that is not a desirable thing in the under five set as Bug seems to have acquired the pre-requisite "boy germs" that come with being a "boy." I'm not sure about boy germs specifically, but I can tell you his nose runneth green and prosperous these days.

Please note, that upon embarking on your birthday week, all hats must be worn on the forehead, preferably askew. Do not accept any help or suggestions to "remedy" the situation.

sugar in all forms

Complete with a bulldozer pinata, the festivities continued. The pinata was stuffed with lollipops which of course caused all the ladies to rally and form a lollipop coalition. They succeeded in ramping up their saccarin levels high enough to induce the sugared chaos that one expects at a two-year-old party, despite the introduction of a vegan birthday cake. If you must comment, please tell me how wonderful this cake looks. It is trial number three in an attempt to find a celebratory goodie that does not induce potentially fatal reactions in my child. Believe it or not, vegan fudge frosting is better than most other types of frosting - so sayeth the lollipop coalition. This animal-product-free confection was perfect for smashing the cement truck into as the frosting looked like "mud" to the birthday boy. Delish!

So, the Bug liked his Vegan cake and we can all tell that the day ended on a wonderfully chocolate note.