Harper Halloween

I haven't given a flying f about Halloween for a long, long time. Loved it as a kidperson, freezing my hands off in the brr chilly New England air. Then freshman year of college I wore an outfit made entirely of duct tape. It was all downhill after that.

But having a babybutt makes old things new again. I looked forward to today instead of dreading the never-have-cool-enough-planzness I usually feel. We walked to a fun little festival in our 'hood, then handed out candy on our stoop to cute little chilluns. It was grin central.

This butterfly grin came via me singing Glee's version of "Gold Digger."

Manjiri and me. Mama bearz unite!

Just hanging with scruffy face.

Her new favorite gesture. Drama queen much?

Let's walk home and eat can'y. K?

Diaperz

There's something rooted way down deep inside a baby's heart that makes her love pulling s&%t out of baskets (and bags and boxes).

Of course, what to do next is still a mystery.

Happy Halloween weekend, frandz! Be safe and have funz and I expect pictures. Ktxhbai.

Harper's a Gleek

I'm weirdly OCD purist about TV. If I miss the first season of something or an episode or whatever, I can't go on. I must start in order and stay in order. (If only I felt the same way about my kitchen?)

So because I didn't start watching Glee from day one, I haven't watched any of it since. UNTIL YESTERDAY. When disc one, season onez arrived on my doorstep and my life began.

Okay, maybe not that dramatic -- but seriously. This show was made for me. (Yeah yeah, you were right everyone in the world who told me that. But I don't really want to acknowledge it.)

Pretty sure Harper likes it, too?

The week so far

H and I stepped outside yesterday and kapow! Across the street was a pot of gold.

The Bean borrowed H his Uggs. Can't deal, really.

The Aspen outside my door. The yellow leaves shake like little gold coins.

There are no excuses for this outfit

I is Harper and I is pimp.

But doesn't she look happy? Uh?

(I've been asked a few times where I bought such an awesome hat. And I have to answer, a tad smugly, that my friend knit it. And then the person will inevitably say "Tell her she should sell them!" And then I have to answer, even smug-lier, that it was a HE that knit it. A he, oh close-minded admirer person.)

Weekend! Almost!

Sippin my Goodtimez limeade. Waiting out Harper's car nap.

Halloween in yo' face

Dude. Peeps in my 'hood take Halloween vary, vary seriously. Most houses (not mine! I may enjoy the domesticz, but holiday decorator I am not...yet?) have some sort of sumpin going on (ghosts hanging from trees, gigantic tarantulas on doors, the obvious and banal pumpkin) -- but then every third house or so takes it to a whole new level.

It's hard to capture the details of dedication on filmz, but I attempted a couple shots the other day on our walk home...

Uh. Am I right??

Fallfriends

A major part of everyday. Except now she stands up and I pull out my hair.

Could not be more grateful/greatful for the arrival of my met-in-San-Francisco-became-very-good-frand Manjiri and her dude Naveen/Bean (and her big dude, Mike) -- not only to Denver, but now just a few blocks away. I...kinda don't like lots of people? So having her in my pocket is so lovely. Our friendship has just always been easy.

Today, we met up at the park (no geese today!) late in the afternoon, to help pass the evilz that are those witching hours. Walking/crunching through the yellow leaves, pushing our babies on the swings, talking about Liz Lemon...

Yes! Please!

Mortal enemies

What first may appear to be an idyllic park view, complete with fall foliage and a charming pond, at closer look becomes a goose gauntlet. I'm shaking just looking at this picture.

You may remember my slight fear of birds? I blame a pet-shop-parrot-attacking-my-cherubic-face early childhood incident as well as many run-ins with angry, angry swans down at the cranberry bog near my old house on Cape Cod. They hiss and sprint and bawk and oh noes they are evil.

Birds. Bad.

Our 'hood is a few blocks away from a huge park. Full of trees and flowers and little ponds and swings and other lovely park-type things. However! Water = birds. And birds = no BJA.

So I usually drive to other parks instead of partaking in ours. That seems rather embarrassing to type. Tho all too true, all too true.

Today I got brave and ventured out. The water was so crispy and it seemed so silly to drive anywhere for swing time. I tiptoed past each gaggle of geesebutts I saw, cringing and sweating and cursing. Oblivious, Harps yelled her trademark "HAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Children are to be seen-not-heard, little one. SEEN. SEEN.

She doesn't care.

We did, in fact, make it out alive. So barely, so barely. I saw you all as my life flashed before my eyes. Just wanted you to know.

Harperz faces

I'm...worried about that quickly approaching dog thing.

Just act cool and maybe it won't notice us.



Whew, momz. It crossed the street!



*happy sigh*

Hope yer weekend is full of polka-dotted bums and bookshelf spelunking

I was semi-grumpy today, but my baby and the fall weather made stuff better

Jolly sailor. (Peacoat was 3 dolla on consignment woot!)

My old friends.

Chilly, rainy day walks make me frantically chipper!

One of my favorite smells: Smushed apples on the ground.

Knitz

Super heroes.

Yesterday marked the first day of all-day chilly weather here in Denver. In my former life, this would make me frown and roll around in misery. However! Bring it on. I'm ready for bundling up and hibernating down. Espesh when I get to get HJ into delicious things.

Like?

This one-piece amazingness my grandmother knit me as a babe, back in 1982 1992. Isn't it insanely lovely? It's got a hat and mitts and cables and pompoms and a zipper to scoop it all together! Girlfriend was so cozy she fell asleep three seconds after we pushed the stroller away from our walkway.

I like to pretend the hat I knit is even the smallest amount as cool. (It's not.)

She likes to show her love with pinches.

The full-length shot. Doesn't she look old-fashioned and edible?

I think I need to lay her down in a patch of pumpkins and then dance around in glee.

Well, mom is on a plane

And it's up to me again to handle all the cloth diapers and dirty dishes and highchair-wiping-downing.

Waa waa waa.

HJ in the sweater my mom knit me as a baby. Heartstamp.

The visit only lasted a few days, but we packed in the Denvah fun. Park visits and library strolls and fabric shopping and three-generation-flu-shot-getting and pancake eating and sewing-machine-setting-upping. It was pretty awesome how quickly Biscuit took to my mom. She was 110% happy to let me leave the room or even the house as long as Gramtownz was smushing her.



Mom saying in a singsongy voice: "I have no idea what this animal is or why it's in this book!"

I loved having the company (and holy jeebz the LAUNDRY HELP -- she cleaned and folded every garment in this house) and the freedom to get my hairz cut...and/or run away for a few hours to the mountains with cc to look at fun houses and eat tacos with both hands. 

Harps loved having THREE adults fawning over her fulltime all the time. Hog heavenz.

And now we return to the regular cozy house Sunday scene. The drizzle is drizzling, the meat smoker is smoking, the leaves are leaving uh falling, and the new week is around the corner.

We love you Gramtownz/Momtownz! See you soon.

Wagon dayz

My mama's in town for a few days, so I'm mostly away from the computer and Internets.

My favorite moment so far, was driving back from my (OMG SOLO) haircut and seeing mom pulling a very happy and rosy-cheeked Harper down the sidewalk in our Radio Flyer. A deelicious sight.

Happy weekend, palz!

Middle o the nite blogging

What? Looking at pictures of yer baby while you nurse said baby is completely un-pathetic.

I have no idea what these are

I just know I can't take them off my feet/legz.

Check your cigs at the door

Wrapping up quite a lovely little weekend over here.

Our good buddy Stephanie (remember when this happened? yeah, she was my midwife buddy through it all) was in town and got to meet Harps for the first time. Luckily, the little bug really took to Steph-- which is becoming a rarer thing these days. Let's just say I think she's inherited her daddy's tendency to be, uh, particular? I think that's the word.

Por ejemplo?

We all went out to an early dinner Friday night. We don't do this much anymore because our bedroom routine is sacred. But. We wanted to show Steph the Denver-at-5:00-nightlife and so we took the plunge.

First? HJ broke a plate. Second? Whenever our waitress got near, she burst into tearz. (Harper, not the waitress. Tho I think that might have come true later.) This chick had dyed-black hair and a smokes-twelve-packs-of-cigs-a-day husky voice and oh my. That combo made Jamz want to die. I mean, she'd just approach the table and Baby would start to scream. *pets* We like the natural look too, gfry.

Eventually, cc had to explain the deal before things got super awkward, taking the gothgirl aside after the drinks order.

"So our baby? She, uh, just doesn't...like...strangers?"

(Cut to Harper batting her lashes and cooing at the drunk cougars, next table over.)

After that, the waitress would swing by super quickly without stopping: "Doeseverythingtasteokay?"

She was a good sport about it, tho I'm sure she thought we were high-maintenance freaks.

So yep.




We also did a Supermarket Sweep over at the Tsa Boutique (what I call cc's place-of-employment) because the discount is sa-weet and Steph needed some stuffs. I let H crawl the aisles and nursed her while we gave thumbs up or down over different outfits.

Sure, her shirt says 'Fun in the Sun' -- but we like to have Fun in the Retail. Same same.