Happiest Kid on Earth

   Sean donned my sunglasses and we were off...

...to the Magic Kingdom!

So true...

   Kelley, Sean, and Grandma rode the teacups

   While I braved the wild yeti on the Matterhorn

We rode It's a Small World (holiday edition)

And Haunted Mansion (holiday edition)

And went on an undersea voyage in a submarine to find Nemo

And sang and danced with some pirates!

Can't wait until little nephew Aaron is big enough to join us...

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed!

   What more can you ask for, for Valentine's Day than a safe flight home from an awesome vacation, with perfect weather & good family & friend time, punctuated by baby kisses and copious amounts of sushi? How about:
   • Being invasively felt up in public and also x-rayed by the TSA screeners at LAX (thanks to this cumbersome orthopedic boot!)—and cracking them up by making comments like, "I knew you couldn't resist getting a better look at my sexy boot leg!"?
   • The super-nice and hilarious flight attendant on Southwest who presented me with a free gin and tonic—and a Valentine's Day card?
   • An airport pickup by best friend Joni, with Wager, Kip and Asher in tow? Talking and laughing all the way home?
   • A chorus of shrieks, howls, and purrs in celebration of my return? A friendly fight to decide who monopolizes my lap first?
   • A steady stream of texts from friends welcoming me back?
   • And a surprise piece of homemade turtle cheesecake in the fridge from my friend, petsitter, and angel Mary Ann?
   Not a bad haul for the holiday!

Milk, Necromance + Pizza

(This post isn't going to be nearly as weird as the title implies.)

   After breakfast, Kelley took me to see the Handmade Galleries store in Sherman Oaks. It was set up kind of like an antique mall, with individual booths and cases rented by different artists and craftsman, selling everything from toys to clothes, jewelry to framed art. I found a fabric art character book that I LOVE, as well as a mounted and preserved exotic butterfly.

Next door was a Three Dog Bakery... temporarily closed! (Sorry, Nelly!)

Sean had a little snack...

Magnolia blooms abounded

gorgeous neighborhood: Sherman Oaks

We stopped at Sweet Butter Kitchen/Cafe/Market for some refreshments:

   Sean had some milk, and we had a banana dulce de leche almond ice cream bar made by Milk (yeah, WOW!) If you had any doubt that it was delicious, it didn't last long enough to start melting:

And in case you have any doubt that

Sean was hungry, get a load of this:

   After we were temporarily satiated, we headed home, and Dave came over to pick me up for Round Two of fun. When he saw the butterfly I had purchased, he asked if I had ever been to Necromance on Melrose, the exquisite store for dead things. I hadn't, so we were off!

I spotted this sign on Melrose, and Dave graciously stood in the busy street to
snap this photo of me and my ridiculous boot. The humor was worth the risk, no?

   Turns out that a visit to this store is like a visit to a natural history museum... except that these artifacts were for sale! I walked away with another box of butterflies, and a piece of fan coral and large white starfish for Kelley & Eric. The owner (?), Nancy, was friendly and happy to share her wealth of information about the deceased creatures in the store. It was all very fascinating (if a little sad, because I will always prefer live animals over dead ones!)

They look very lifelike... but they're not.  :(

   Then Dave took us on a drive up Mulholland Drive, to see the spectacular, sprawling city view from the hills. Unfortunately, we didn't enjoy it for long, as the park had closed for the night—unbeknownst to us—and the park rangers watching on camera took our photos and warned us to leave immediately. Oops. At least we weren't arrested... yet.

    A quick stop at Pitfire yielded a pile of perfect pizza pies, so we went home to share, and feasted!

Sean Speaks!

   ...with a lil' help from some Scrabble tiles, that is. (Kelley & I just might have put him up to it.)

Grandma Lizzie's birthday is February 11

What boy wouldn't love robots, skulls, & space invaders?!

I Call the Little One "Bitey"

   Some cute candids of Kelley and Sean, in the natural light of their master bathroom. Not only is he cute (and bitey), he has some great expressions:

busy feet

"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Mommy?"

a handy smile