A (Self-)Portrait of the Artist as a (Very) Young Man

A few days ago, while I was puttering in the kitchen, Benjamin was around the corner in his playroom. I could hear him in there making all sorts of noise, and then all of the sudden, it got quiet. Then I heard him say in a soft, slow voice, "Eyes... Nose... Mouse..." Mouse? Huh? I ran over to see what was going on.

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The Boo was standing in front of his MagnaDoodle and had drawn upon it a face. A face with two eyes, a nose, a pursed little "mouse," and even some hair. I asked him, "Benjamin, who is that?" He beamed up at me, placed his hand on his chest and proudly replied, "It's Ben Ben!"
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Call me biased, but I think this self-portrait bears more than a passing resemblance to its subject - right down to the messy little mohawk!

A Face that Only Kayla Could Love

It was a day like any other. Vince was at work, and I was at home with the kids. Naptime rolled around, and Benjamin spent a good fifteen minutes in his crib screaming for his beloved:

In case you couldn't understand him, he was saying, "I want Kayla!" over and over. And over. He eventually cried himself to sleep and must have spent his naptime dreaming about her, because the first words out of his mouth when he was awoke were - you guessed it - "I want Kayla!" I had to explain that Kayla was busy that afternoon, but that we would go to the park together where we would have lots and lots of fun. Unfortunately, that could not have been farther from the truth.
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Our park playdate started out just fine. The sun was out, and both Benjamin and Calliope were in a great mood.

Soon, we were joined by Benjamin's friend Kai. The two boys had fun running around, and Kai was nice enough to share a wooden train with Benjamin.
. Unfortunately, Benjamin has a bad habit of putting toys in his mouth, a worse habit of running at top speed along the cement ledges in the park, and an even worse habit of not always watching where he's going. Put those three things together, and--
.That's what it looks like when your child falls off a two-foot ledge and does a faceplant onto the cement with a toy in his mouth. Yeeeeeeeoooouch! Luckily, there's an Urgent Care right across from the park. I don't know if the developers of our neighborhood intentionally put it there to serve the growing toddler population, but BLESS THEM for doing so.
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And bless my mommy friends Kim and Stephanie for watching Calliope while I took her sobbing brother to get checked out. We ran into them as we were making our way to Urgent Care. Stephanie took one look at us, dropped her things (including her own son, I believe), and said, "Lily, give me the baby." God, I love this neighborhood! Anyway, it was a good thing that Stephanie took Calliope, because I needed both hands free to restrain Benjamin, who was completely freaking out. Fortunately, his wounds were superficial - lacerations to his gums and lips, but no loose teeth and no concussion. Still, his poor lips were swelled up several times their normal size, leaving him looking like a forlorn little duck.
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On our way home, we ran into several friends, among them Benjamin's true love Kayla. When he saw her, instead of greeting her with his customary enthusiasm, he stayed mute and cast his eyes downwards. I think he was embarrassed by his appearance.
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But Kayla didn't seem to mind at all, though. She was able to see beyond his ginormously swollen grill and shine her sweet smile on him. As a matter of fact, she didn't even seem to notice how duck-like he looked!
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Which is more than I can say for his father, who spent the evening making quacking sounds at Benjamin. What a jerk!
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Aw, heck - I guess a little good-natured ribbing never hurt anyone!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Cabbage Patch Kids

I love living in the city. I love the fact that I can shop for Chinese, American, and Indian groceries within a five-mile radius. I love that no matter how obscure the service, there will be a provider available. And I really love that I can walk around wearing knee-high leather boots with a mohawked toddler in my tattooed arms - and no one will stare at me. But sometimes, it can get to you: the traffic, the crowds, the rush, the race. Yeah, sometimes it's good to get a break from the city. And what better way to do that than by taking a trip to a farm - Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, Cali.
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Because we city folk feel better traveling in packs during our jaunts into the wilderness, we drove up there with our buds the Bowens and the Ilardis.
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Our first stop was the pony rides. Nolan and Kayla had no problems holding their own, but the tiny Boo needed some assistance.
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Next, the kids got up close and personal with some of the farm's furry inhabitants.
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The real attraction at Underwood, however, was the opportunity to pick your own fruit. So each of our families grabbed a little red wagon, and we ventured into the fields.
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First up: raspberries! At first, we picked berries close to the road, but it wasn't long before we were moving deeper into the bushes.
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And it wasn't just the grown-ups who were doing all of the work - the kids were getting in on the action, too! However, Benjamin couldn't help but pop nearly every berry he picked into his mouth, so I guess it was a good thing that his little fingers moved more slowly than ours.
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Berry-picking wasn't the only place where the Boo pulled his weight; he also took a turn pulling his dad in the wagon!
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We wrapped up our visit to the farm by letting the kids take a ride on the choo-choo train. Our trip to Underwood had been a sweet change of pace from the usual hustle and bustle of our lives.
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And what a nice bonus that we got to take some of that sweetness home with us!