the last rose of summer

i know. i do it every year: jump the gun on autumn. but yesterday, yesterday, yesterday...i could see it happening. and even though we're back to summertime weather today, the secret's out and it can't be put back.

Little: "look! clouds, mama!"

"I love the way

The tattered clouds
Go wind across the sky

As summer goes
And leave me
With a tear in my eye

...I'm taking out my winter clothes..."

- tom waits

{see ya, summer}

pop {culture} quiz

this post is alternately titled, "matters of supreme importance" {read: you should really be doing something better with your time}

points to the first person who correctly guesses Little's two favorite movies.
two hints below.

*spoiler alert* - only click on the link if you give up on number 2.

1 :: bim & i are now respectively, if not respectfully, referred to as "daddy two bucks" and "mister hannigan."

2 :: this morning i got a request to watch, "the holy goats."

and if you failed that, you can still earn valuable points by voting on Little's halloween costume.

1. shirley temple
2. little orphan annie
3. my favorite: mad scientist
4. you got a better idea

toddler crashes family's day at the fair

don't you hate it when you're trying to take a nice family picture and some kid leaps out from nowhere right in front of you?

maybe it would work out better if you weren't in a bounce house.

some friends {see posed in background} sent this photo to us. kind of made my day.
it captures Little's personality perfectly: thwart! thwart! thwart!

this one

oh, this one.

passionate!? have you ever seen a summer storm move over the surface of a lake?

:: :: ::

so, Little Allyn.

your favorite emotion is sad, right now. and really, isn't it wonderful to be sad? they say it takes many more muscles to produce a frown than it does a smile; it very naturally takes a good long while to explore the many expressions that "make a sad."

on friday you stayed in your room for four hours, all alone, entertaining yourself to exhaustion and then sleeping it off. you came out at 5:00 like a force of nature. after dinner, dad was still at work & Liv very predictably fell asleep, but not us. we forgot all about bedtime & stayed up watching Annie. you needed to put on your yellow dancing dress because we had ever so much dancing to do.

and here is where i have to admit that, some days, i really look forward to your bedtime. but that night i couldn't have you out of my sight and we danced and danced. you even let me sing (a little). you narrated most of the movie, though you've never seen it before this week. you got a lot of parts wrong, i am sorry to say.

and here is where i admit that i wasn't a very good singer that night. a sob kept catching in my throat, which was (very!) strange. i couldn't figure it out until i realized: i was just feeling about the happiest i have ever felt in my whole life.

{not so} still life

{please!} do not disturb

sometimes i just feel like hiding out

{don't you?}