dylan hosts a construction worker party and turns three

it's been birthday week here at dylan mac and cheese. dylan got to celebrate his birthday not once but twice, a school party and a construction workers' party. dylan has lately been obsessed with bob the builder, handy manny and general contractor work--and loves tools, building, fixing and tearing things apart. so what better way to celebrate this third birthday than with a construction party? we set up the scene at california science center, where dylan and his best buddies helped build a house, donned hardhats, got home depot aprons, and ran around scavenging for tools. everyone seemed to have a great time and of course, the girls loved the pretend play as much as the boys.

sydney hard at work lifting buckets of bricks up to the second level.

...while tika supplies bricks from down below.

of course, there was a fair amount of sharing (pulling and taking and pushing) from the crew. 

so much hard work! everyone took a break for lunch. 

while the adults posed for silly pictures.

john as manure pile bulldozer driver. 

sometimes eating pizza is hard work indeed, thinks arriel.

fun times ahead! dylan got a dump truck full of 'compost cake' made with yummy chocolate buttercream frosted cake layered with worms, cigarette butts and dirt. 

the party and the cake seemed to be a huge hit---at least dylan's harmony, linda, and charles think so (who ate all the gummy worms? are there more chocolate pretzels? why are we digging around for crumbs?)

happy birthday dylan! we love you, our little guy. we hope you had a blast. 

love, mom and dad and harmony (construction crew)

summer of love

it's been a hot, sweltering summer here in redondo. how did we stay chill? we partied hard, hit the beach, visited friends new and old, hung out with cool chicks, and got ice cream off the truck. in other words, it has been boatloads of fun. here's an ode to summer:

partying!

we celebrated with capirinhas and barbecue at samba (daddy had a birthday!) with grandma and grandpa. we sang silly songs, and watched the sun set by the pier.... and watched daddy face a reckoning of skewered, sizzling meats, and wrestle with the ordeal that is brazilian all-you-can-eat-churascaria: how do you say, 'stop this meat fest' in portuguese?

beached it!

we built sand castles with new friends who came in to town... welcome to my world, says dylan, just don't stomp on my castle.

did we mention that we love the beach?

it was also a summer of firsts. the summer dylan discovered.... ice cream! first visit to san fran, first playdate with zoe and her big brother evan. we miss our bay area buddies and can't wait to see everyone again. (more ice cream and cupcakes, i reckon!!!)

and of course, hip-hop happenin' times with our hapa crew at home. we look forward to more hikes with peyton and niki... (if only they'd stop teasing me, says dyl).

Abalone Cove

so, to recap, it's not so bad being a toddler. there are so many things to discover, like digging for clams and mussels, tide pools filled with seaweed, sand crabs and fat starfish! dylan and margot take a peek inside those seashells by the seashore.

'ick,' says margot. 'i've had trader joe's sushi that tastes better than this clam.'

'it sure ain't strawberry ice cream,' says dylan.

til next summer!

dylan rocking the opening

dylan rocking the opening
Originally uploaded by ms.bang

last saturday night, dylan rocked, popped, and deejayed ina's 'momentum' show at the nucleus gallery. we let him enjoy his club night and he got to stay out late. photo from auntie vivian.

cafe bebe

we hosted our first cafe bebe yesterday, it was a big hit. the babies got to nosh on crackers, raisins, and blueberries while the moms ate pesto-mozzarella finger sandwiches and sipped organic green tea. the babes then splashed around in dylan's 12 dollar kiddie pool from kmart.

we even had a live music session, courtesy of mama yvonne. she cajoled her young fans luca, dylan and arriel to eat healthy, share toys, and behave. instead, they ate chocolate chip cookies, flung toys, and pulled and tugged at each other until they fell to the ground. in other words, a good time being toddlers.

dyl, arriel and luca contemplate just how much fun cheap plastic can be. very!!

a long weekend, giving thanks and the 'tea dance'

dylan celebrated his first thanksgiving this long, long weekend. we are grateful for:

grateful for a good game of frisbee with the dogs on thanksgiving day in palos verdes...
grateful for aunties (vivian) who perform the 'tea dance' in broad daylight on sunset in front of casbah cafe in silver lake...
lovely friends...
face-shaped cookies! dylan attended his first birthday party to wish baby margot a happy one year! happy birthday to the super-cute margot of lilmargot. a good time was had by all at the party, where dylan got to get drunk on his first box of grape juice. hick* burp*

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.

summer babes---highlights!

dylan, emily, margot and gregory pose as the new 'nukular' family.

I met a girl crazy for me/Met a boy cute as can be/Summer days driftin' away...

here's a snapshot of dylan's summer two months ago in august, where he and fellow babe margot are hanging out at a local ice cream parlor. or are they being considered for 'adoption' by potential new parents gregory and emily, local scenesters and bloggers over at apartment therapy?

greg and em are still on the wait list, and are welcome to babysit and visit anytime!

i guess living in the south bay is like one endless summer for dyl...

lovely photo courtesy of jenny.

dylan: girls on film!

just like marcello mastroianni in 8 1/2, the film by federico fellini, dylan revisits his relationships with his bevy of gal pals, ladies and aunties in his life. here he's confronted by his cool but not cold, sophisticated yet down to earth baby friend, margot. 'it's like we're looking in the mirror........' they'd say, if they could talk.






dylan and tika display a little 'splendor in the grass'. quelle charmant! tika, fresh from her travels abroad and after a stint in paris, visits dylan in the south bay. 'it's not the french riviera,' says tika, 'but it will do. for now.'



dylan takes a 'breathless' jean paul belmondo/jean seberg turn, at his favorite haunt in manhattan beach, la creperie. michelle is his favorite fan and favorite waitress there, he goes every chance he gets. he always orders the nutella crepe and big hugs and kisses. aren't they cute together?




like water for chocolate. dylan also has to be in the know, at the latest hot spots. at ortega 120, in south redondo beach, he cavorts with evan, may and zoe, visiting from san francisco.




bottom photo: dylan's favorite 'sex and the city' star! spotted together at ina and allan's get together, dylan professes sweet love for his favorite auntie, vivian. watch for her in the new upcoming jim carrey flick.

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.

first swim!

splash!!

dylan got along swimmingly with his new girl-friend margot of lilmargot fame. it was a lovely day of sun, fun and swim at his grandparents' pool and cabana. the adults acted like little kids in the pool, doing belly flops and the like. the babies nursed, and the adults snacked on hot dogs, chips, ice cream, and lots of margaritas and beers.

margot sucked her thumb under her daddy martin's watchful eye--and got to model her new baby uv swimwear from coolibar.

dylan even went under water, and did really well. looks like we'll get him enrolled in swim school soon.

when not going incognito under her big hat, the luscious cute little margot hides a shock of glossy jet black hairstyle, so retro and so new wave.