CONCEPTUAL HALLOWEEN

-Papa, can I dress up as Alex-Being-Fed at the end of A Clockwork Orange for Halloween this year?
-Uhh. Well. That's pretty dark, boy.
-It is. But you and Mummy dressued up as Muammar Gaddafi and Condi Rice a couple years ago. Riffing on that whole, "Black Rose in the White House" madness. Talk about dark, Papa.
-Uhh. Yeah. Well, you got me there, boy. Knock yourself out.

*     *     *     *     *  

ONE SLEEPING, ONE AWAKE

I love this picture. So much. There's no trickery going on here; I really was dead asleep here after getting up very early to be with the boy (after being up very late to be with a different boy (Mr. Powers, who was visiting with his family)). 

Normally, I'd be rather horrified to have my picture taken while sleeping. But really, how was Mummy to resist? Just look at the kid here!

TRISTAN AND ELLISON

This was a wonderful moment to capture. Ellison is actually giving his cousin Tristan a kiss. One might be tempted to think that it was simply a moment that just looks like a kiss. But no, he really did lean back and plant one on Tristan. Ellison could not take his eyes off of his cousins the whole time they were together. Just wonderful. 

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

I stumbled upon a couple of old videos and could. Not. Believe. how much the boy has grown and changed. It makes my heart ache, but in the very best way possible....

ELLI'S FIRST DANCE VIDEO, FEATURING MJ AND BETHY

Bethy really is a wonderful, wonderful friend and babysitter for Ellison. I just figured out how to link to the video she made with the boy. 

 

SEVEN MONTHS ON THE OUTSIDE

Here's to seven months on the outside with the boy. The wild things have begun to roar!

IF WE HAVE TO SHOP, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN

Before the boy was born, Mummy and I called him Triscuit, because we were after some of those sweet Nabisco dollars and we weren't above "branding." His middle name was Fanta, because we didn't expect Coca-Cola or Pepsi would settle for a middle name, so we had to go with a less prestigious brand.

But perhaps we were going about it all wrong. Why not just roll the boy around Costco and let them pay us for the privilege?

We even have a catchphrase. See the photo second from the bottom. "Greatness awaits." We might be onto something here.

DRIVING BACK FROM NASHVILLE

We had a wonderful long weekend in Nashville with Grandpa and Mimi, Simone, Keisha, Anton and Camille, and perhaps most importantly of all from Ellison's  perspective, cousins Rhys and Tristan.

It was a long ride home, so we took a break at the extremely–almost overwhelmingly–family-friendly "Cracker Barrel." The boy was in delirium mode, clearly, but that kid is a serious traveling. It's hard to believe how good he is on these extremely long drives. We are lucky, and grateful.

Luckily, both Mummy and the boy were wearing flannel, so we think we fit right in.

BREASTMILK MASHED POTATOES: IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER

ELLISON IN THE EARLY MORNING LIGHT LAST MONTH

The boy calls this move, "The Hummingbird!"

This is his Elvis impersonation.

BUNNY GETTIN' A BITE

This is from several weeks ago now. Amazing to see how much he's changed even in that short amount of time!

BACKWARD SCOOTIN' BOOGIE

I believe he'll be crawling within a week....