Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Last night we carved our pumpkin. It was fun. I got to get messy like mommy said. After I stuck my hand in the slime and tried to eat the pumpkin guts mommy smeared them across my face and called it my war paint! It was silly.

I also got to play with my baby pumpkin again. I tried to eat him too, but they wouldn't let me. :( Party poopers!

At first I was scared when mommy pulled the pumpkin's head off, but then she showed me that it didn't hurt him.

We made him a happy pumpkin, because I'm not suppossed to know about scary stuff yet. He also has two bottom teeth just like me!

Since everyone always names their pumpkin Jack I decided to be different. I named him "Monster" like all my favorite guys on Sesame Street. (They are "monsters" not "muppets"!)

So later on I get to put on my costume and go knock on strangers doors and ask for free candy. Sounds odd to me but mommy says to appreciate it because there's only one day a year that acting like that won't get my a set of four rubber walls. Daddy's not real into Halloween but mommy's super excited. She loves the holidays. I guess I'll have to wait until tonight and see whose take on it I'm most inclined to.

Check back this afternoon to see me all dressed up!

Bookworming

So mommy kept her promise yesterday and read me ALL of my books, all 24 of them! Then we went shopping and she bought me 6 more books and read those too! That's a lot of reading!

Little baby books with colors and animals, bigger boy books with rhymes, and story books with more words than pictures. We'd eat, read, play, nap, read, eat, play, read, nap, eat...all day long!

I like it when mommy reads. I like to look at the pictures, and try to turn the pages, and sometimes I just like to play and listen to her. She says people don't read enough these days and she's so happy I love books. I say they have colorful pictures and feel good on my teeth when I bite them! :P

Oh yeah, here's a picture of my sticker face from Sunday:

I was silly.

Last night I had a really bad sleep. Every time mommy tried to lay me down it woke me up. Then when I finally got to sleep I woke up a few hours later, and I was scared. When I fell asleep I was tightly hugged and cuddling with mommy, but when I woke up I was alone, and wet and it was sooo dark. Mommy picked me up again, but every time I'd fall back asleep and she tried to put me down it kept waking me up. Even when she just laid me next to her. Daddy's snoring didn't help. I ended up awake every half an hour all night long. I haven't ever slept that bad in my entire life, not even when I was first born. I finally ended up getting some rest when I fell asleep on mommy's chest and she just left me there. Hopefully I'll have a better night tonight.

Speaking of tonight, we get to carve our pumpkin tonight. I've never carved a pumpkin, and I don't really know what it is, but they said I'll be able to get really messy, so I'm excited. I just hope it doesn't hurt the pumpkin, because I like my new orange friend.

Well I'm gonna go for now. I need to get all the crawling practice I can. See ya later!

Joe Torre wearing Dodger Blue?

Mommy says we might start going to more Dodger games. If they hire Joe Torre that is. She told me to cross my fingers. In his 12 years with the Yanks they never missed a post season, won 10 AL East titles, 6 pennants and 4 World Series'.

See mommy LOVES the Yankees, and Daddy's a Dodgers guy (even though he really doesn't care about baseball) and there's been an ongoing debate in our house since I was in Mommy's belly about what team I will be a fan of. So far mommy's won, I have the whole Yankees outfit, I think she cares a little bit more deeply about it. But she says if Torre comes to LA we can make a compromise and root for the Dodgers at home but still watch the bombers on TV. I think that can work out great, because I'll get to watch live games. She's sad that a guy named A-rod is leaving NY though. At least it's not Jeter. Mommy loves Derek Jeter. She's also been mumbling about cursing the Red Sox again too. She really doesn't like those guys.

So we had a silly Sunday. I met mommy's friend Jennifer. We hung out and I got to play on the living room floor, which I never get to do. Me and mommy and daddy all took long naps yesterday too. We were lazy (sometimes lazy is okay). Then mommy stuck stickers all over my face. I looked silly. My forehead said "Rush Delivery." Then we played even more on the living room floor! Daddy fed me dinner too, I love spending extra time with him. He's usually so busy. It was a pretty cool day.

Well now we're gonna go read. Mommy said she's read me ALL my books today since I was such a good boy going to sleep last night, so I don't wanna delay that for another second! 5 Little Monkeys and Wockets in My Pockets here I come!

Pumpkin hunting

Today we went to the Lombardi Ranch Pumpkin Patch!

We picked out a pumpkin then daddy also surprised me with a baby pumpkin that was really little just like me!

Then we saw the big giant pumpkin and daddy took a picture of me and mommy in front of it. It was fun to see all the people and other kids, except the kid that stepped on mommy. He sucked. Then we saw the big giant pumpkin and daddy took a picture of me and mommy in front of it. It was fun to see all the people and other kids, except the kid that stepped on mommy. He was rude.

When we were are done daddy and I paid while mommy got us snow cones and popcorn. I wasn't allowed any popcorn but I did get to try a bite of daddy's snow cone. It was COLD! brrrrr!

Mommy said the it's usually much bigger there, but the fire hit them pretty badly.

Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday. Mommy gave me a whole bunch of these things called pots and pans and spoons and I was busy all night banging the drums! ;)

Well, I had a big day today Pumpkin hunting and shopping and everything, so I'll be back tomorrow. I get to meet one of mommy's friends Jennifer, so that should be a fun day too!

G'night.

I always pee in the bath...

So last night while I was taking my bath mommy was rinsing something out in the sink next to me and I grunted. When she looked over I was peeing in the front and bubbles were floating up from behind me. She found this rather hilarious. I felt as if I just was trying to enjoy my bath. I always pee in the the bath. It' just something I do. Mommy thinks today we should list some of the other funny things about me.

1. I love the taste of Johnson & Johnson Head to Toe Baby Wash. As soon as it's on my hands or feet or washcloth, they go straight into my mouth. Mommy says I'm silly. I say I'm smart for finding this secretly delightful snack.

2. I am a boy. I know this because about a month ago I found my boy parts. Since then every chance I get to touch them; baths, diaper changes (which can make quite a mess with the cream), doctor's exams, when my diaper is just loose enough to fit my hand down...I do. I grab them, squeeze them, and what looks like scratch them. But I am a boy, I assure you I have fully investigated this fact.

3. I poop when I eat. Every meal (solid foods). I eat about half my food then start going. I take bites in between pushes, and I will yell for these if I don't get them. It doesn't matter what time I eat either, mommy has tried to move my feeding up to a half an hour either way, I still poop when I eat. I like to work as one machine, things go out as things come in.

4. I am perpetually in motion. My hands, my feet, my head. When I'm eating, being changed, getting dressed. I wiggle. A LOT. Mommy says it's been like this since she was 5 months pregnant. I'm barely still when I am sleeping. It took mommy months to learn how to take an in focus picture of me.

5. I smile a lot but as soon as I see the red eye light on the camera, right before it snaps, I get this really serious look on my face to mess with mommy and daddy. I will smile a great big smile, and just as that shutter opens, I cowl instead.

6. I am obsessed with Coca Cola cans. If I see one I will stare at it and grab for it until I am allowed to check it out. No one will get any rest or peace until I am allowed to investigate one if its in sight.

7. I am also infatuated by our Statue of Liberty picture. Our living room has black and whites of New York and the one of the statue is my favorite. I have stared at it since I was a week old, and 6 months later I still love it. A clown could be juggling puppies in the living room and I wouldn't care if I could see the statue picture instead.

8. I bite. Just that. I bite. Hard.

9. I huff and puff when I want something or don't like something. It upsets daddy. Hey, I could always scream like some babies if he'd like that more.

10. I wake up and play in my bed in the middle of the night when they think I'm sleeping.

11. I am a professional splasher. I learned to splash in my first baths, at just a week or so old. I have perfected this art. I can soak anyone standing within 4 feet. I have my patented foot & hand simultaneous technique that could win medals.

12. I love Steppenwolf. They are neither mommy nor daddy's favorite band by a long shot. Not even their favorite genre. They don't mind them, just kinda ambivalent. But I LOVE their music. "Born To Be Wiiiild!"

13. I am good looking and I like to admire that fact in any mirror I can find. Maybe they should have named me Narcissus. If I am fussy in my crib and you show me my leapfrog mirror, it will instantly quiet me. I am hypnotized by my own beauty.

Well, I was born on the 13th, Mommy and Daddy were married on the 13th, and my late Grandpa's birthday was on the 13th too, so I think that's a pretty good number to leave it at for today.

See ya tomorrow!

Pretty tiring day

Things are back to normal here.

Nobody is as tense (babies can feel that anxiety, let me assure you), daddy's back at work, and the winds don't sound like they're going to blow the glass out of our windows anymore. The sky outside still looks odd though.

Yesterday we finally made it up to Target to replace my mommy & daddy monitor. The air was still gross but we couldn't wait any longer. Mommy said that they were too loud to keep leaving my door open and waking me up, we HAD TO go get it. We stopped for daddy to get a haircut and mommy took a few pictures of the charred mountains behind and above Whites Canyon, and the smoky sky.

Then we got an oil change at this place that has you stay in the car but brings you cold drinks and stuff. It was really cool. But I got tired off sitting in my car seat, facing away from everyone and not moving.

So mommy and daddy took me out to the front seat. I've never ever been in the front seat before. It is so much cooler up there! There's the radio and more windows and mirrors and a horn! I honked ours and scared the oil change guys by accident. :) I also got to play with the big wheel that turns!

*Yes, I am at the steering wheel. NO we are not moving. The car is parked. The hood is up. The emergency brake is on. The door in front of us is closed. So they are not Britney Spearsing me, just for your peace of mind.

On the way to Target and when we finally got there we also got some pictures of the smoke from the Magic and Ranch fires, and one of those really big crazy planes that does the water drops. Not the super scooper, but it looks more like a C-130 or 747.

While we were shopping we ran into mommy's friend from school who also has a little boy a little older than me so we set up a playdate. How fun that will be! I love baby friends!

We did get to check out parts of the city we heard a lot about from other people, friends, family, others on the internet, and we found that a lot of people exaggerated or were misinformed on what exactly had been destroyed. We had heard the apartments on Whites by Canyon High had burned, they didn't. We heard the Chevron on Sand Canyon had burned, it didn't. We had heard that everything on Shanrgi-la had burned, and as we heard from our friend Jennifer today who was evacuated but is now back home, her neighborhood did not suffer substantial damage and her home is fine thanks to the sprinklers on the back hill.

It is TERRIBLE that some families lost their homes and some lost their business, but all in all the damage is not as bad as I think some may imagine. At least in Canyon Country. Keep in mind however, we are Californians, we live in a place where the ground shakes, and burns, and it doesn't rain for months and months, we have crazy winds, and riots. We some of the only people in the world who can go to the beach, the desert, the mountains and the snow all in the same day. We are strong, we will rebuild, and we will probably make a movie about it!

That was our day, but it was a lot for me, plus it was hot. Now I gotta get back to playing for today, I'm restless from all this computing.

Oh yeah...and we got my Halloween costume...but you'll have to wait till Halloween to see me in it! Mommy says the special thing about costumes is that you only wear them on Halloween. I wanna wear mine all the time though. (Whatever!)

Bye!

Back Tomorrow

We had a long, busy day today and I'm way too tired to post tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow morning. I have cute pics of me and some of the fire's aftermath in Canyon Country, and some of the smoke from Valencia.

G'night!

New Fire!

There's a new fire in Canyon Country, by Sand Canyon. Initial reports are that it is likely arson. This is very scary, I've decided I do not like fire. I wish the winds would go away and we could just go back to clear blue skies. I hope this is all over soon.

It is very dark so the pictures below aren't the best quality but here are a few of the smoke from the Santa Clara Riverbed (aka "The Wash") at Sierra Highway.

Update: The fire has been dubbed for now "The Soledad Fire" and is currently burning the Canyon Breeze Mobile Home Park. Unfortunately several units have been destroyed so far. Sand Canyon has been shut down on the North side from Soledad Canyon Road to Sierra Highway.

Update 2: We went by Sand Canyon today (10/23), this fire was not as devastating as many of the others. A few mobile homes burned, which is terrible, but the area around there in generally in pretty good shape. It is completely extinguished.

TRAFFIC!

Holy cow!

Mommy just checked my Google Analytics for today and I got 500 Visits (479 absolute unique visits)and 915 page`views and it's only 6:45pm!

I guess the fire pics were quite popular. I'm glad I can be productive. :)

Back to a normal day

Phew! Was I tired this morning from all of yesterday's commotion.

So we tried our best to get back to normal for today. The fire burned nearly 30,000 acres but has moved up toward Copperhill and away from Canyon Country. We stayed inside today because as the fire moved on and the winds changed direction our air quality got pretty bad. While it was close and super windy, the air was cleaner and not filled with smoke or dust, but as it moved on it got pretty gross and mommy and daddy kept me inside. There were also a few new fires, the closest being across town in Stevenson Ranch. Mommy says the "Buckweed" Agua Dulce, Castaic "Ranch" and the "Magic" Stevenson Ranch fires are all going to burn together soon.

When mommy went to get breakfast this morning she said there were still a lot of roads closed and the city wants to keep everyone off the streets as much as possible so we just stayed in and played and watched the news.

So on to other stuff..

My cousins went to the pumpkin patch up where they live this weekend.
We were gonna go to Lombardi Ranch next weekend for my first Halloween, but I'm afraid we might not be able to now. :( Hopefully it still will be and so will one of the roads to it.

My Auntie Amber and Uncle Steve

also just started their own family blog this week. You should check it out.

Well I'm off to dinner now. Let's all hope real hard the it miraculously rains in California tonight!

Fires! Day 2

Thanks to the very brave, very hard working firemen in Southern California (from all over per the California Fire & Emergency Rescue Mutual Aid System) we were not evacuated and the fire was held at bay before the major intersection by our house. This was the scariest thing I have even seen in my little life.

Mommy stayed up half the night to keep watch. Daddy stayed home from work to be with us in case it comes that close again.

There were a number of people's houses in our area that were destroyed. Some houses burned, some are still standing. All the schools in Santa Clarita are closed and a few miles of our street is closed.

Our whole family is very thankful again to the hard working firemen and women who worked hard all night to keep Canyon Country safe. I just feel so bad for the the people who weren't as lucky as us.

Fires! UPDATE 3

It looks like its not coming any closer for the time being. Its standing a few blocks away, the winds have switched directions for now. Hopefully they won't change again. I'd like to take my bath and go to bed soon, but things are a little hectic here now. It's a few blocks away. Here's some video Daddy took earlier.










A whole bunch of stuff by the high school mommy and daddy went to burned too.

If there's any more more major developments we'll add them, otherwise we'll let you know the outcome tomorrow.

Fires! UPDATE 2

The fire is about a half mile away now. 6 houses have burned down. We are hoping not to be evacuated, but there's a gas station across the main intersection from us that has only a a shopping center between that and the mountain that is on fire closest to us. Mommy says if the shopping center catches we're leaving before it reaches the gas station.

To make matters worse my baby monitor died tonight. $100 baby monitor lasted 6 months. PSSSFT! So I have to have the door open and hear everyone talking. They're loud!

Fires! -UPDATE

The Agua Dulce "Buckweed" fire has burned through to Canyon Country, the part of Santa Clarita that we live in. Mommy & Daddy packed me up in a sleeper, a blanket and my stroller to protect me from the crazy winds outside so we could go to the parking lot to watch it. The fire is about a mile and a half away to the northeast and about 2 miles away a little west of that, its burning around us in a C shape.

*Click to enlarge

There is also a newer fire in Orange County, Mommy says "Save the Cohens!" and another in San Diego.

Fires!

There are fires all over Southern California. I've never seen fires before. Most accounts are saying they are due to downed power lines caused by the severe Santa Ana winds, which are fueling the flames and making them worse. The biggest right now seems to be "The Canyon Fire" in Malibu. We are in Santa Clarita (where the "5 Freeway Disaster" happened last week) between Castaic and Agua Dulce though, and Mommy and Daddy got some great shots of the smoke converging from those two. We've uploaded them below.

Click to enlarge

Here are some downed branches for emphasis on how bad the winds are:
These are right outside my house. Litterally, right outside the front door, and right downstairs in front of the building. This is what it looks like right where we were live!!!

I'm gonna go back inside where it's not smoky and nap now. Bye!