Q&A session about dylan: an interview

Q: what's dylan's favorite music to dance to? 

mom: dylan loves pj harvey, van morrison, devo, the ramones. he also likes some jack johnson, but that's because we had the curious george soundtrack on repeat. he'll spontaneously break out singing songs like, 'down by the water' by pj harvey. 'big fish, little fish, swimming in the water, big fish, little fish, give me my daughter,' he sings.  it goes to show that he's been listening all this time and is learning to decipher lyrics. he also loves 'rock the casbah' by the clash and 'rebel yell' by billy idol. apt songs for the tumultuous twos! 

Q: what does dylan like to eat?

mom: lollipops! his tastebuds take after john and myself; he loves rice with furikake sprinkled on it. miso soup with spinach, seaweed. 'mmmm' he says, 'good.' he still loves mac and cheese. he can devour an entire plate of broccoli, strip steak, roast chicken, and any kind of pasta. he also loves kimbap, korean sushi with fish cake. dylan is a processed fish cake product fan: o-deng, tempura, imitation crab, etc. we took him down to the fish market at the pier and he dug the smoked fish and steamed whole crabs. it makes me happy to see him munch away on things like falafel, gyro, kebab, tacos. and just like his daddy, dylan LOVES pizza with any kind of topping. 

Q: what's it like going through the terrible twos?

mom: dylan is two and a half; and parents always either say that this is the worst time or that the worst is going to come. you sort of get tired, instilling discipline (i.e., constant yelling) every five minutes. but this is the time that toddlers are sort of pushing the envelope, in terms of boundaries and what they can get away with. it means that they trust us--they feel secure enough to test the waters, and to see how far they can go, but when it happens (kicking, screaming, defiance, arms crossed the chest, scowling---i can go on and on), it sure ain't fun. you sort of count the many grey hairs on your head and you give it another go. tomorrow is another day and it starts all over again. 

Q: what are dylan's goals and dreams, aspirations? 

mom: dylan announces at dinnertime, daily, this sentence. 'when i get older, i drink coffee and wine. and climb a ladder!'  these are some of the things we promise that we'll allow him to do, 'when he gets older.' he also says he wants to be a chef and a fireman. 

Q: does he have favorite stuffed animals? games?

mom: he has names for his favorite teddy bears and stuffed rabbits, which he takes to bed. one of them is named 'ice cream boba' bear. his favorite pretend play is called 'dylan's restaurant.' he places chairs around the coffee table, seats boba the bear, and then he 'serves' them food and gives them menus and pours water. 

Q: what are his favorite words?

mom: i'm not sure where dylan learned to use the words 'actually' and 'either' but they've become his go-to phrases. he just started preschool and i have a feeling he's emulating the way his teachers speak, and uses these words judiciously:

"i want to climb a ladder, ACTUALLY."

"and dylan didn't poo-poo in the bathtub, EITHER!"

and sometimes he combines them in one sentence:

"i don't want lemonade ACTUALLY, EITHER!"

stay tuned for part II of the interview. thanks for visiting!  

NO!

dylan at lacma, on a big unnamed pink thing; navigating street lamps; crawling underneath a henry moore.


what we've learned... is that if you use baby sign language long enough, they will start to sign back. it just amazes me to see dylan use signs for food, when he's hungry or when he wants to feed the dogs or cats. he points up to the sky when he hears a booming sound, and will twirl his finger in the air for 'helicopter.' he will make whisker signs and say 'maow' when he sees the cats. and whenever he sees a dog, he pats his leg or chest. 

dylan is talking (phew!), and at 17m months i think he's making great progress, if you want to call it that. i've noticed that all the hours and minutes spent reading books to him have been paying off--all the words he uses come from his story and word books, mostly. oft-repeated words from dylster are:

ball, book, bird, duck, mama, dada (or just 'da'), ssszia! (for sophia our dog), and lots of animal and barnyard sounds. and 'nmo' (a very nasal 'no'). 

he has a new word for 'grandpa'--dylan loves his grandparents so--'papa.' we will point to pics in the photo album and he will point out his 'papas.' 

he obsesses reading his books, poring over his favorite nursery rhymes like 'bingo' and jack and jill and humpty dumpty again and again, and he loves looking at family and friend photos. 

now if he only voraciously ate everything his mama makes him for dinner, i'd be happy. 

don't break my heart, my achy breaky.....

we think...

it's about time... 

that dylan got a haircut. 

dylan says: rock out with your mullet out! 

more dynamic mullet looks here. 

hot dance moves: the mall

we had unseasonably warm, humid climes here at the beach. so when auntie kathy came down to visit, we had no choice but to head to the mall to partake of a/c. and dylan did what he always does, when he's at the mall confronted with dance pop piped into each store: he went into the limited, and let his dancing feet take over. watch dylan dance like a celebrity who thinks he can dance (or whatever that crummy show is called). and if you think his moves are cool, then it's his dad you have to thank (or blame)!

 

if you notice, i've got on my very bossy 'stage mom' voice. DANCE, BOY, DANCE. 

autumn leaves

everyone here at dylanreilly's web site has been quiet--the unseasonably terrible, acrid, ashen weather has left us a bit phlegm-y, weezy and teary. dylan is also nursing a bit of a rough cold, so we've been doing things like getting bundled up and going to the playground early in the a.m., going to the indoors mall down the street. the problem is the ash still falling from the weekend's fires, landing softly like snowdrift. ash is everywhere--on the car, on the patio, on ourselves, and seeps in through the windows as well. a bit of rain would do us some good right about now! until then, we are left with ourselves, as we explore...the falling leaves, a lonely branch here and there, a glint of light hitting a foil wrapper on the ground, this is all very new, this is all we know, this is what we see and taste and feel. off to explore, in every nook and cranny, under each rock, stone, blade of grass, acorn, stem, petal. what is there? what does this feel like?

happy autumn!

palin-trash-talkin' in silver lake

From october 2008

winner of the coolest obama shirt! min's been EXPANDING her political views for obama. picture taken at local in silver lake. dylan sports a very eco-friendly bum genius diaper. take that, you liberal media elite.

we met up with fellow obama-ites min and john in silver lake for a political pow-wow and dinner at a new eatery, local, in silver lake---which means while we put down republican candidates sarah palin and john mccain with food in our mouths, and expounded on the last presidential debate, we chowed down on locally grown vittles--at local, the chicken, pork, greens, cheese on the menu are all locally grown and sourced. who knew that someone could grow a chicken so tasty, with such little bones, so tender and succulent, in the silver lake area? wow! who knew that the pulled pork on john's plate came from a little pig, that grew up right here in urban los angeles? i didn't say local was a vegan place, but their small menu was excellent, i can't recommend it enough. dylan helped us toast each other's company and helped us make friends with the local crowd, and even made a little friend with another baby diner, as is dylan's sunny personality's want. we finished off with a caramelized peach dessert that was the white flag of surrender to yumminess. ha!

From october 2008

min's jersey wins for the coolest obama 08 shirt, hands down.

From october 2008

dylan wants more peaches, not pundits, and no politicos. just peaches, thank you, local.

From october 2008

we'll definitely be back to local!

Local
2943 W. Sunset Blvd., between Parkman Avenue and Hamilton Way, Silver Lake
323-662-4740
BABY FRIENDLY: 2 STARS
GOOD: organic food, good for baby. life-size mannequin in restroom, not good for baby. a bit scary, really.

brunch: casa arigato, south redondo

while we had salmon omelettes at the improbably named casa arigato by the beach in the hollywood riviera (south redondo beach), dylan had baby yogurt. dylan is growing up (sniff, sniff!). i do declare when we play with him, this has to be the cutest time in a baby's life. he is always happy, always up for a show, to play, to smile, to learn--and to eat. here he is, at a little over nine months, climbing on top of the tables.
while casa arigato had extremely friendly servers, this sunny cafe steps from the beach had a small breakfast menu--but tasty, healthy, veggie-based, fresh. they brought out a baby bowl, spoon, and a cup of water with a straw, which was a nice touch. it's nice to go somewhere where they're making dylan feel at home, even helping to pick up the plastic thomas the tank engine bowl that dylan kept throwing onto the floor. we'll be back, casa arigato!

Casa Arigato
215 Avenue I # 101
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 316-8988‎
BABY FRIENDLY: 4 STARS
high chair, nice wait staff, baby bowl, water.

dylan walks the walk: videos

i shot this video of dylan practicing his steps at the playground in hermosa beach last week; here, you can see the little guy slowly teetering, tottering, putting one step forward, then another, and agin, but walking, nonetheless. all this, even before he hit nine months! he even manages to multi-task, the little straight-a-student! he grabs the ball, tries to bounce and chew it, and walk at the same time. i have difficulty doing this as an adult so go figure. just watch the video:

of course, as walking is a new curious thing, and dylan doesn't want to just tumble off into the sand, you can see that dylan uses caution here on a little slope down into the sandbox. it's too cute:

brunch with adam

another new dylan fan club member has joined the club: adam. at la creperie in manhattan beach, dylan's favorite weekend brunch spot, he got to suck on adam's thumb, while everyone wondered who these two men were, with their asian baby?? g*y d*ds? one has to wonder...

dylan's first obama rally: sanjang coffee garden in silver lake

photos: vivian holds up dylan, sporting his obama button; josh gets to meet dylan for the first time; cool obama buttons from campaign volunteer min; greg rallies for a better economy...and a better bowl of ramen (the pickles and jalapenos aren't really helping).

dylan got to host his own impromptu obama-ramen meet up at sanjang coffee house in silverlake/koreatown last weekend. everyone showed up, including vivian, josue, greg, eric, linus, min, john p. and shane. bowls of ramen and patbingsoo were doled out, as were cool obama pins from min, bad sarah palin imitations from me, mccain slams from everyone, and general anti-gop-republican sentiment rallying for change---and more kiwi juice from sanjang. a change is a comin' says dylan, who rode around in his obamamobile wishing to all patrons to 'vote for obama or i pity the fool!' you go, dylan! and don't forget to vote november 4.

medusas and me

by the shore, by the seaside, me, seagulls and mom.

getting to feed the birds on my very first trip to the long beach aquarium. lorikeets, according to dad.

swimming behind the looking glass, a school of medusas (jellyfish) tumble, fumble.

dylan's new ride

dylan hates strollers, period. so, the alternative was to enroll dylan at driver's ed training and get him a learner's permit, so we did. here he is, pimpin' his new set of wheels.

frisbee with django

all summer long, we've been taking dylan and the dogs to the local park, where it's lush, green, summery. john throws frisbee, and dylan gnaws on the grass. whatever you do, don't juggle the baby, a mug of beer and throw a frisbee to a crazy dog named django--the beer will end up all over your shirt, with your face planted in the dirt when the dog drags you to the other end of the park. let that be a lesson to you, john. more dylan-dogs-park-summer-pics here.

i can has poo! dylan walks!

news flash: dylan can now take steps with his lion push-toy. seen here, seven months!

if you've noticed that dylan's blog veers toward poo now and again, well you're spot on! so here's another story devoted to the topic. last night, we had dinner with dave, a friend of john's, at our favorite lebanese cafe in long beach, sunnin. john starts to tell dave the story of when, one morning, dylan poos all over john's shirt sleeves. i had asked john to take dylan to the toilet. dylan poos, john brings him back to bed, and john finishes getting dressed when he notices poo on the cuffs on his freshly laundered, ironed dress shirt. so then he starts to take off his shirt, and grabs another from the closet all while muttering, 'i'm late, i'm late, god dammit!' and i'm laughing, hee hee hee while snuggling with dylan in bed.

so then dave, who's got two kids of his own, says, well my good friend i've got a story for you! when his little boy ben was two, dave and his wife were in the checkout line at the supermarket. it was crowded, and there was a long line of people waiting. so the cashier's scanning each item, and they're trying to get all the groceries out of the cart, when all of a sudden, ben, dave's son, reaches into the back of his diaper, grabs a hunk of poo and slams it onto the scanner glass! talk about slam dunk.

and i'm not done, says dave. not to be outdone, his daughter also had a mishap. they're at a resort on vacation somewhere, and dave is in charge of babysitting his daughter, then five years old, in the pool. she's splashing about in the kiddie pool and there are a ton of other mothers and their kids and babies, all wading and playing, while cool man dave is at the bar, keeping an eye on his girl from afar and trying to get his pina coladas at the same time.

she starts screaming from across the pool to the bar area:

'DAD, POO'S COMING, POO'S COMING!'

everyone in the pool starts to panic, and clamor out of the pool. dave tells her, 'honey, hold on, i'm coming...' that he'll be right there, just wait! but no, she can't wait, as soon as dave gets his drinks and gets to his daughter, there is only his daughter in the pool, everyone else has exited.

she says, 'poo's here.'

moral to the story: dads, forgo the bar, when you've got a baby with a full load. and tell your baby that you're in the '10 items or less' line.

by any other name

here are some of the cutesey bitsy teensey weensey pookey names we've penned for dylan:
'baboy' (baby + boy = weird, i know)
little d
big d
little dude
babycakes
'cakes' (short for babycakes)
bubba
buh-bah
booboo
mumunah
dill-dill
dilly dill
p diddy dilly

just don't blame us if dylan starts grabbin' his crotch and wears his cap to the side, and asks us for more 'bling'.

photo: little puff daddy dilly wears a hand-me-down shirt from baby keohi and wears handmade pants made by his mom, reused from an old kozyndan shirt. how's that for recycling?

july highlights: nearly walking, standing, and fast crawling

july was a HUGE month for the little guy, punctuated with visits from lots of friends, uncles, aunties, and playtime at the pool, with daddy, standing, and crawling with the cats---and surprise to say that all this in dylan's sixth month! go dylan!!!

 

uncle gary from sacramento and katherine (dylan's irish clanfolk) came by to tickle dylan's little tumtum.

 

more swimming and frolicking in the pool with daddy.

 

hitting the beach! with dark shades, dylan and dad on the lookout for fresh waves, bra.

 

dylan now can crawl, with tummy off the floor, and can now compete in cat olympics. one minute he's in the kitchen, playing with wooden spoons, the next he's in the bedroom, playing bongos on the furniture. check out his little cowlick!

if you whip out a camera, dylan now darts for the camera in your hand. he is cellphone-camera-remote control-obsessed. listen to dylan making his monkey-primate noises.

bff

guess who've become fast friends? deniro and dylan.

bbq at uncle gary's

gary's not really an uncle, and he didn't really offer dylan a cold beer, but we did have fun at his house saturday. it was a rustic yet urban get together. we got to sit and enjoy the views of laurel canyon, gary grilled dogs and burgers, and gary and john posed for the proverbial 'life is good' photos with their long-time mentor, jerry and his lovely wife janna.

dylan got to hang out with janna.














everyone got a chance to check out dylan in his little sun hat, and got to hold him, while he crawled all about gary's cabin.















partying is sure hard work.... dylan crashes at dusk for a short nap. off to snoozeville.

five and a half months!

dylan: mom likes to sneak up on me with the camera.

at left: here i am, at five and a half months. i can now sit up on the potty, stand with help, sit in a high chair, and do an expert belly crawl. i can also do baby pushups and raise myself on my hands and feet, like a spider.

i can also do the 'side lean' to reach up and grab toys, that and mom's hair.

the 'ec' journey continues....