Avant-Garde Early Years?

Sometimes, during all the Daufilmey shenanigans we host here around the compound, I wonder if Aeli will roll his eyes, or worse, complain to his therapist, about all the strange hubbub. But I hope that he'll consider the unique context of his early years special, like this kid does. His parents run an unusual art gallery out of  their garage in suburban Illinois.

I hope we can keep this trend of non-normalcy going as Aeli grows. It would certainly be beneficial to us all.

"Aeli made that!"

When watching this video, Aeli grabs at the screen and says, "Aeli made that. Aeli have that more? More gingerbread? Have it?"

Also, we haven't taken down our (living, potted) tree yet. I'm not very motivated to. Why not keep a large plant in your living room? Especially if it's decorated with a lot of homemade or nostalgic knick-knacks? And things that are shiny!

I may have to give in to the passage of time, in order to make room for Mardi Gras. The season is upon us, and plans are in the works for some giantish creations. So maybe we'll move to tree out to assemble our elephantesque Jenga game.

We'll see.

Gingerbread

A Mayan Temple, 2012

We're pretty health-conscious. Hence the sculpture of processed sugar.

Every year, Grandpa Mike gets carried away with elaborate gingerbread sculptures (read: 3 foot tall Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Space Needle, The Polar Express, Gaudi's Casa Battlo...). The oohs and ahhs of the neighbors are nice, but my sister and I have outgrown our base love of anything brightly colored and made out of sugar, so the eating the thing has lost its appeal. Not to mention that sometimes the hours our dad spends Dremmel-tooling slabs of gingerbread- while the rest of us chat or watch It's A Wonderful Life- cause us to roll eyes. So this year, we urged him to scale-down, and make something Aeli could easily decorate. (One year we did a pirate ship. You heard stuff like this from Dad: "And you gotta watch out here, 'cause the Crow's Nest is only supported by this beam down here and this frostinged toothpick.") So, in honor of the world not ending (or: a new cycle beginning) the Mayan Temple it was.

Aeli loved it.

Holi-Update: 5 Days of Christmas

4 days ago:
While Grandma Kelly, Erin, and I cuddled with Aeli and his nasty stomach bug on the futon, Stefin and a few good friends held a solstice ceremony outside: sweats, yoga, meditation, and some readings. I would have participated if not for that pesky rotavirus. But being as it was, I think we had lovely, albeit vastly contrasting, shortest-day-of-the-year experiences.

3 days ago:
Made this Lechon Asado, with the esteemed assistance of my mom. Thank goodness, because this pork shoulder was about twice the size I was anticipating. I don't know if I would have had the gumption to hack apart that joint of raw meat. But Grandma Kelly did it in style.

"A butcher would probably be really mad at me for how I'm doing this."

And with the other half of the shoulder? Delicious pulled pork crock-potted in Brooklyn Black IPA, maple syrup, and bbq sauce.

2 days ago:
After a walk through the quarter- where the vibe was quite strange- (more Bukowski than Santa Claus), we brought worker-bee Erin home to feast on some pulled pork, while we continued to fail to put Aeli to sleep, even though he was super tired. He just teetered on the brink and once was out for fifteen minutes, but that's the most we've gotten from him this afternoon. In "Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (a gift from Stefin's mom), it says that nothing under 45 minutes really "counts" as a nap. So. Good for us.

In happier news, I made these Pecan Bars (not sure if I can resist long enough to get to the step about chocolate dipping...). Holy yum. (And butter!)

Yesterday:
Aeli went to the park with the g'rents and Auntie E. (Photos below by Erin)  

"G"s Louise!

Photo by Aeli and Erin

Later, we went to the Celebration in the Oaks at City Park and successfully missed it yet again! This time, because it was closed (last time- it was about to close- and I started to go into labor).

Today, of course there was the excitement of gifts, and family traditions relating to gingerbread, melted cheese, and terrible jokes (where you're like, "Was that a joke? I thought you just weren't making sense.")... but mostly it's just magical to all be hanging out together.

Currently working on: crepes for us, a nap for Aeli, and a delicious beer. Ho ho ho!

Growing Up: A Snowball Effect

Aeli and his classmates when I walked in to pick him up the other day. They were taking turns answering the questions, "What shows or movies do you watch? How do you watch them?" Lots of "ipad" in the responses.

Remember this? Orcas Island, 2011

This boy loves helping in the kitchen. This morning, wanting to help me make eggs. I told him to go get the big chair. He confidently walked over to the chair, and with no further direction, removed the flat of water bottles from the seat of the chair, and hoisted it onto the table (which is at the height of his little toe-head). He didn't even do a congratulatory "Did it!" as he so often does after accomplishing a small, independent task. Humility!

Oh, and also?