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MVI_5057, originally uploaded by amyalexis.

Levi Eddy, our water baby, at four months minus one day.

confessions

There's a reason why there haven't been many blog posts lately...

Did you know that you can stream the first four seasons of Lost on the Netflix website?

Er, to appease the hungry masses here are some quick shots to satisfy your cuteness-quota:






Levi bounced so much in his new bouncer (thanks Melodie!) that he wore the skin right off one of his toes.

monarch update

We keep finding more caterpillars, more cocoons, and more empty cocoons. They're everywhere. Monday afternoon we checked a cocoon that fell into a bush and saw that it had emptied since we last checked. Then I noticed Haile taking unusual interest in something on the grass. There I found a fresh, new monarch, looking like it was still slightly moist from the cocoon.
I suspect that this one had emerged from the cocoon in the bush sometime during the last few hours. It could not fly, and I only hope that was because it was still adjusting or drying out, not because Haile found it before we did. Also, it's emergence may have been less than smooth, because the cocoon was resting in a tangle of twigs instead of dangling freely like the others.

I've never been so close to a butterfly and gotten such a good look. It was a beautiful sight. The oranges were so bright, the black of its body so dark and it's underside was covered in distinct white spots. It slowly opened and closed its wings as we watched.

visit from Nanny

We had a lovely visit from Nanny last weekend. She helped Amy while I was away for one night and she helped Micah plant a garden with some winter vegetables. Micah has been diligently watering his plants since she left.

Thank you Nanny!

the first 100 days

Wednesday morning at 8:22, Levi completed his 2400th hour, or 100th day. What has he accomplished in this time? Is it too early to judge his infancy to be a success or a failure? Is he already a lame tot? This, plus more, after this word from our sponsor...



That was Micah at the same age.

How has Levi progressed? What has he accomplished so far? See for yourself:


Unlike his predecessor, he's managed to include audio, but detractors point out that he deserves little credit for this.


Have the apples fallen far? Details on the tree here.

metamorphoses

A few weeks ago I spotted this cocoon in the mini-palm right outside Micah's window:Next we found another cocoon hanging from the hinge of our screen door, along with a discarded cocoon (shown above in Micah's hand) and several caterpillars.

A few days ago I noticed one more on one of the big palms out front. Yesterday the tree shed a frond layer, opening up its giant pod, which unfurled an appendage of creepy white tentacles studded with purple berries. Looking up at it I noticed several more cocoons, two of which are visible in the picture below. (Cue the shrieking psycho music.)
No beetles, but still--never was our front yard so Kafka-esque.

Perhaps the Great Spirit-Monkey is heralding upcoming changes for our two boy-chrysalises.

*I'm pretty sure that they are Monarch Butterfly cocoons. I don't know what kind of palm tree we have. There are many varieties that grow around here with different looking nuts, and I've long wondered if any of them were good for eating, but I haven't had any luck identifying them. Perhaps I should check w/ the folks at the palm plantation that I pass on my daily commute.

Update: I just found two more, right outside Micah's window.

Kate Wolf was right

"Here in California, fruit hangs heavy on the vine..."
"and there's no gold, I thought I'd warn ya,
and the hills turn brown in the summertime."
The avocados continue to swell, dragging the branches of the tree almost down to the ground. The tree drops at least a dozen failed fruit each day. As we head into the autumn, it's increasingly dangerous to walk under it. Micah likes to help pick up the "abortocados" and use them for T-ball practice. The bottom picture shows the view from (a ladder in) our backyard of the brown Ventura Hillsides.

Dino-mite!

We are in major dino mode around here. Our Montana vacation would not have been complete without a trip to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman to see Big Mike, the T-Rex in Micah's own T-rex sweatshirt (above)

Prior to departure there was zucchini chocolate chip dinosaur muffins to be made:
(getting them out of the tin intact in all their spiny, horned and clawed glory was another matter)


And perhaps best of all was the arrival of a beautiful quilt from his great aunt Marilyn, where the video tells all:

(Thank you!! A proper thank you is forthcoming--we are a bit back logged)

big sky country

On a bit of a whim, we flew to Montana to see our good friend Nikko, his parents and new baby sister, Keira. Above, Levi gets his wings as a lap baby in Micah's seat. Butte, MT was our base and we packed in a lot for four adults and four kids--two of whom were under 3 months old. All in all it was a great way to say farewell to summer. Of course it doesn't feel like summer is over. Micah's school does not start up until next Wednesday and upon returning to hot, dry California, flying over the Station fire at night, we have landed in consecutive days of 90 degree weather. This is not Fall--though I understand Montana may be experiencing their first frosts in a few weeks.

So the Montana highlights (not including those I got in my hair at a spa/salon in Bozeman on our last day of the trip):

Hiking! Just outside Butte there was a great trail, Beaver Pond, that connected to the Continental Divide Trail--not that we went that far. Considering we hit the trail at the crack of 5 pm--we had to turn around to get home for dinner.
Then there was the 3 mile roundtrip hike up to Lake Agnes, including a 1,000 foot elevation gain that both Nikko and Micah rocked. The lake was glorious (Jen & Nick's camera store the footage) and perfect for a crisp dip for the California-ites. Nikko was wiped by the end,
but Micah had run down the hill with enough energy left for a game of Pooh Sticks over the creek (I hope the conjures a fond childhood literary reference and not something in preparation for a colonoscopy).

Hiking also involved digging for crystals on another day in the Pioneer Range:


Rock Climbing! Here we are rocking "the queen":
The boys were good sports and were effectively out among the rocks for the better part of a day.

While the babies held down base camp:
On our last days we headed to Bozeman and caught up with Nikki at Hyalite Creek Falls:


For all the Montana pics visit Flickr.

Then of course there was plenty of good food (and lots of wine for the mommas) in the evenings, amid the chaos of putting four wee ones down for the night, usually waaaaay past their bedtimes. All in all, a fantabulous week! Thanks Jen & Nick!

3 months old

Levi hit the 3 month mark today and I returned to work....more on our awesome vacation to Montana to come. But in the mean time check out the curls: