Horse Play

Happy Halloween!

No Halloween costume picture yet! But one will be coming up!

Last weekend we went to Spence's Farm, a little farm in North Chapel Hill. They had their annual Halloween Harvest Festival. I knew the Bear would like it because horses and chickens would be there. He loved it. They also had a hay maze that was more appropriate for older kids (multi-level and you had to crawl through) Stan Bear would have clogged the maze because he probably would end up laying down somewhere staring at hay. They also had one of those bouncy houses (which we went in...hahah. It was a riot.) and they had a hayride! which I enjoyed immensely.  They also have a GIANT bonfire but we left before dark (maybe next year?) the pile of twigs and branches for the fire was quite impressive. Here are his first interactions with horses! The first one was trying to get better acquainted with him and the second one is a foal! He LOVED both interactions.


horse 1 from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Stayin' Alive!!!!

Mike brought home some Mardi Gras beads years back when he went to a conference in New Orleans - they are one of Stan Burrito's favorite things to play with. Here he is modeling them John Travolta style with matching pacifier:

Love at First Sight

Once they locked eyes, there was no going back. Their lives changed in that very instant and no one new a love like theirs since:

2 Days vs. 15 Months

We Craig's Listed our beloved little car seat because the Bear grew out of it (too tall). I think we got a new-to-us car seat for him around 9 months or so...still facing rear. When I pulled the seat out to get it cleaned up and ready to take to the buyer Stan Bear climbed right in. It was fun to see how huge he is compared to when we first sat him in there (look at the label to the left of his head in the below pictures to compare height.  AMAZING!

So long, beloved car seat! We miss you and we loved you! It was a Chicco Keyfit 30 and it was great.

Cheap Thrills

Who doesn't love laundry that just came out of the dryer?

This little guy throws himself on the pile. He LOVES it.

Wedding Shenanigans

Mike and I were attendants in our friends Heather and Joe's wedding party last weekend. Stan Bear was a guest and what I didn't expect or didn't even think about until the day before the wedding was, "What do we do with the Bear while we're standing up there during the ceremony?" Oh my. Of course when I posed this question to Heather she said that it was o.k. for Mike or I to hold him during the ceremony. Thank the stars for a laid back bride. I thought, piece of cake, easy peasy, no problema.  Big FAT HA! So, we walk out there (it's a lovely outdoor wedding at the botanical gardens) and for some reason we decide that Mike will hold the Bear. His pocket is full of Mum-Mums and a pacifier just in case...maybe that's why: he had pockets and I didn't...oh, and he was closer to the escape route a.k.a. the trail away from the ceremony. So we all get out there, Mike and I are on opposite ends of the "altar" and right from the get go Stanley Bear sees Mama across the way and does his little hands out wave thingy:

the wave from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

He then starts to squawk and squirm. I motion to Mike to just put him down and thankfully he runs straight for me (but in between the altar and the guests...)  Now I have the Bear but no Mum-Mums and no paci. He starts smacking my chest as he does when he desperately wants milk. Oh dear. So he's very squirmy and squawky and I can't even hear what Joe is saying to Heather and I'm standing right next to Joe's Mom...so I make the decision to run back towards Mike and grab the Mum-Mums and paci and walk up the trail. I do and the paci quiets the Bear down so that I get to listen to the vows which were very personal and lovely and emotional. I love weddings like this!

Here he is with the boys. L to R: Earl, Mike and Stan, Josh, Chad, Adrian and Joe the Groom.

After the wedding we take and get our pictures taken. This was a challenge too. I told Heather that I could take the formal pictures but again, I didn't think about how clingy Mr. Bear would be. I took some, Mike took some but many were blurry or rushed. Thankfully there were other folks with cameras snapping away like paparazzi. Stanley is, what seemed like, in every shot either squirming or holding his flourescent pink water bottle or wandering aimlessly in between the bride and groom shots. UGH. Now that he walks he wants to walk and wander and get into everything.

Bear and I are the blurry ones. The rest of the ladies (aren't our colors pretty?!) from L to R: Lisa, Margarite, Anna, Michelle and Heather the Bride.

Even during the reception it was a non-stop Bear chase. There was no relaxing for this Mama Bear. Other than all of that it was lovely. Lovely to see Joe and Heather (who have moved to Colorado. ENVIOUS!!) and good to meet their family and friends. And fun to watch the Bear interact with new people and new situations.

Here he is running around the reception with another little boy (who was 5). Stan Bear LOVED him.

This is basically a great example of how he was constantly on the move all night. 

Next time, babysitter, so Mama can drink her entire glass of champagne.

In and On

The Bear has discovered that you can sit in the basket...

And if you flip it over you can stand on  the basket...

A Morning Wander

We don't get around the block much anymore but we still spend a lot of time outdoors. Our walks have become wanders; I follow the Bear's lead. We usually stay within about a 2 house radius from our house. He likes the neighbors yard to the west of us because of the railroad ties lining their driveway, Mango the cat, their 3 chickens and also the drainage ditch to throw rocks into. He likes the folks across and to the left because of their big sloping ditch that he can actually walk down and enjoys the challenge of climbing back up. He likes the yard across the street because of this pile of medium rocks in their driveway and the balls that the boy who lives there leaves out. He likes the neighbors driveway to the east of us because of the rocks in their driveway and their little dog, Simba. He likes Tom and his yard...Tom is this very tall neighbor who says to Stanley, "Hi there, Stan Bear." it's very cute. He likes the corner houses because of the crunchy leaves or the garden gnome and fairy. We have explored every nook and cranny....or so we think...I'm sure there's a lot more to discover.
Here he is in a sunny, warm, early morning playing with pine needles and meandering like he has all the time in the world...because that's what you do when you're 15 months old.
morning wander from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Un-Toys

Some of the best toys have been ones that are not marketed as toys. Boxes, toilet paper, warm laundry - straight from the dryer, my wallet (I just bought one from the thrift store and put papers in there for him to have), pots and pans, canned goods, wooden spoons and corks! I had been saving the corks that came from the gift of a wine subscription from Mike's parents thinking I would do something crafty with them, but of course never did anything. One day I came home and Mike had let him play with them. They were, and still are, a hit!

He loves to put them in his mouth so you've to to make sure one doesn't cork up his throat...but other than that they are great!

 

What Does the Horse Say?

Stan Bear is starting to show us his animal noises. He still isn't as articulate as Kavi (Oh, I wish I could share this adorable video of Kavi making sounds like, woof, meow, hisss, baaaa...it's simply amazing and adorable.) You can say to the Bear, "What does a duck say?" and he'll wait and then I'll say, "Quack quack" and then he'll say something like, "wah wah." Or if I say, "What does a cat say? Meow." He'll then say something like, "yow". It's very cute. I like that he is practicing even if it's not perfect. The one animal "noise" that he does do without me usually having to make the noise first is for a horse. I put the word noise in quotes because it's not really a noise, it's a movement. When Mike mimics a horse (Mike does brilliant impersonations) he shakes his head and makes a wonderful horse noise. Stanley Bear mimics his Papa by shaking his head...but not making the sound. It's very cute and I love the silent horse...I'm sure I'll love the loud horse too, once he finds his voice.


horse from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Outfitting

This is a detail of his striped pants and Hawaiian shirt. Pattern mixing!

I'm surprised at how much I enjoy picking out clothes for Mr. Bear. I really have fun. Here are two of the wackier outfits I have style for him. 

 

And his Thailand shirt from our friend Crooksy and his red cords and waterproof shoes!

Strike a pose!

The elephant on his shirt is velvety.

Swings

There are many nice parks near our house. One of our favorites is Wilson Park in the neighboring town, Carrboro. It has two playgrounds, one for older kids and one for smaller ones. It also has swings and a big sandbox with a wall bordering one edge of the sandbox with bells and drums that you can hit with sticks or whatever you can find to play with. Stan Bear doesn't love the swing (he is more of a slide guy...he LOVES the slide) I think he doesn't love the swing because he gets so giddy that he puts his head back and you know how that messes with your equilibrium. Here is one of his brief swing sessions:


swing 2 from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Psssst! I added a video to yesterdays smoothie post. Check it out here.

Fruit Smoothies

I cut up a bunch of fresh fruit each day that the Bear goes to daycare. Most days he eats all the fruit. Some days he doesn't. On the days he doesn't I'll put the leftover fruit in the magic bullet with a splash of almond milk and voila, a delicious fruit smoothie. He'll either get it after dinner, as a dessert or the next morning in addition to his breakfast. He gulps it down, sometimes it ends up on most of his shirt and face.

He's very dramatic about his drinking. He doesn't ever tilt his head back just a bit, it's always, FACE UP TO THE SKY FOR A STRAIGHT SHOT OF SMOOTHIE TO THE TUMMY.

Here he is with his raspberry, blackberry, pineapple, peach mustache:

smoothie from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Raking

Stanley Burrito is at a stage where he loves copying everything we do. The most recent thing has been raking. Luckily we have 5 rakes (?!...another Mike collection). I was raking up pine needles to the curb and he wanted to "help". So I let him join in on the fun...although he learned very quickly that raking isn't all it's cracked up to be. Have a watch:


raking from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Baby in the Box, Part II

What can I say, I keep finding more baby in the box pictures. He is so much like Dickie the Cat, you'd think they were besties.

An awkward entry leads to a successful baby boxing.

He's ready to be shipped out! You got a cot ready, Uncle Sean?

Cat Hugs and Learning How to be Gentle

Stan Bear loves Dickie the Cat. She doesn't trust him. This is because of the earlier part of their relationship. He would smack her because he didn't know how to curb his enthusiasm. She doesn't like being smacked. From the beginning we tried to teach him the action of being gentle and I think it's finally sinking in. He loves to hug her. She tolerates that but the look on her face says, "HE'S GOING TO HURT ME. IT'S GONNA BE PAINFULIT'SGONNABEPAINFUL!" But then he just hugs her and it's all O.K. and then he gets excited and smacks her and then she  bites (gently) or swats at him. I explain to him that she does that because she doesn't trust that he'll be gentle or that she doesn't like being hit. I love watching this cat/kid relationship sloooooowly evolve.


cat hugs from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Gardening

I potted and re-potted a bunch of plants and Stan Bear really enjoyed "helping".

He mostly loved grabbing handfuls of dirt and putting them in empty pots or full pots for that matter.

 ...and even putting the dirt from a potted plant back into the dirt bag.

What this really made me want to do is start up the garden again. I think he would LOVE it.

Carrboro Music Festival

We went to the Carrboro Music Festival the other weekend. I'm not much of a festival goer but thought I should try some of these events out with Stan Bear in tow because I think he would find them good fun (at least for people watching). He loves to people watch. He stood here for a good while watching a band and people dance:

They closed off the main road and had bubbles and chalk for folks to draw on the street. Stan Bear tried to grab EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CHALK, but not draw with them, just hold them and then maybe try to eat them. He did draw a little but mostly ate the chalk and watched other kids draw:

Here we are sitting in front eating a sandwich at Neal's Deli. More people watching to be had:

Here he is watching a fun band. They were blue-grassy:

He was enthralled with this guy dancing and I think the guy dancing really liked Stan Bear because he started dancing for him. It was cute:

Here's a video of the dancer and Watcher Bear:


music fest from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Bass Lessons

Papa Mike plays all sorts of music (cds and vinyl) as well as actual instruments. The Bear loves it. I hope he's musically inclined like his Pops. Here they are playing bass.

Big Boy Shoes

Stan Bear fits into his Chuck's now! My childhood friend Gina gave them to us when we saw her back in March. Gina and I used to babysit at a local church daycare once a week and one of the kids always wore Converse and we nicknamed the young boy "Converse". So it was a gift with a story.

Stan Bear looks so cute in them! And he is pretty good at walking around in them although he mostly still wears his turtle shoes (with the soft, flexible leather soles) but these will be great, especially since Winter is coming.

Here he is in his favorite position in his wagon, holding a stick.

Gooooooaaaallll!!!

Stan Bear can say these words:
Ts Ts (Kitty)
Ts Ts (Chicken)
Bah (Bye)
BahBah (Papa)
Bahhhl (Ball)
Ball is probably the one that he's got most accurately...and boy does he LOOOVE his balls (oh, that sounds wrong) but really he loves throwing them and chasing them and now, kicking them. We can spend a lot of time outside playing and kicking the ball, he's really good at it!



kick ball from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Friends

We went to pick up some play things from Kavi last weekend. Kavi and fam are moving to Kenya for a few years. Waaaah! Mama Suganya took the cutest little pic of the two munchkins and it made me go back through my pictures to see to find pictures of them together when they were younger. Have a look at them from super little to the present:

I'm guessing the Bear is under 2 months here but I'm not positive.

About 8 months old here.

Stan Bear is almost a year here.

Here he is at 15 months which means Kavi is 16 1/2 months (?) I think.  How adorable are they? They have such lovely little personalities.

In the Twos Room

Imagine if you will a room full of white cribs lining two walls. A large changing table adjacent another wall with two small sinks in the corner and a couple of high chairs and mini fridge on the fourth wall. There is a large area rug and some short bookshelves filled with books and toys. There are big fluffy pillows on the rug too. This is Stan Bear's daycare - the infant room - where he has spent three days a week for the last 6 or so months. He turned one almost 2 months ago and around that time the daycare folks were thinking he was growing out of this infant room - and quickly too. They don't go outside much in this class, which is a shame because the Bear, if he had the choice, would sleep outside. In the last month or so they have decided to transition him to the Twos class. This class is full of two year olds and young 3s. They go outside. They nap on cots. They eat at little two-year-old sized tables.

On Stanley's first day in that room he enjoyed it and then he wanted to be carried a lot and so they brought him back to the infant room. I think he was probably overwhelmed. He only spent a couple of hours in the Twos room that first day. The next day they tried it again and he stayed a bit longer. The third day he played outside, ate snack at the table and took a nap on a cot. Miss Tonya said that when it was nap time they thought they should bring Stanley Bear back to his crib in the infant room for his nap but before they could grab him he walked up to a cot, climbed in, cowstar in hand, put his hands behind his head in full relaxation mode and drifted off for an hourlong nap. This is a regular thing now. He naps in a cot at daycare. Miss Ebony said to me the other day that she really wanted to take his picture with her phone because he was so cute lying there with his hands behind his head. Apparently that is his go-to napping position. The teachers aren't allowed to take pics of the kids; fair enough. I will just use my imagination to picture him in this room, eating at a table and cot-napping. It's so fun to imagine.

Usually he will spend 5 hours in there...from 9 to 2ish. Last Thursday he stayed until 4 and apparently they spent a lot of time outside. Miss Maria said that he is really able to keep up with the two-year-olds and is very cognizant. It's really fun hanging out with him. Even though he doesn't really speak yet (he says "bah" for bye and "bah bah" for Papa - although the other morning at like 5 am he was awake and we were lying on the futon and he starts saying "pa pa", "pa pa pa pa pa pa". It was the cutest little thing ever.) Oh, and yesterday he said "Bubba" which is a dog's name. Anyhoo, I can say to him, "Go grab your cowstar and put it in the bag." He will then find and grab cowstar and put it in the bag. It's amazing! Because of his time in the Twos room he now prefers to eat while sitting in a chair rather than his high chair and seems to have the urge to sleep on the futon although we aren't ready for that yet (I'm not ready - I need to childproof that room better, then maybe we can make that change - I'll let y'all know when that happens.) Mike actually bought a little cot that is super low to the ground at UNC Surplus. We might try that out too.