boo! at the zoo

when max was just a wee little cub at 6 months old, we celebrated our first halloween together. he wore a fox costume from target. i borrowed a cardigan from josh, busted out my old readers and proclaimed myself a nerd. i was going for warm, cute and easy. because i'm not all that crafty. yet. and i was not getting a lot of sleep those days. nocturnal babies. 

halloween fell on a weekday that year, and josh had to work, so this mama and her little fox snuggled up in the bjorn and knocked on a few doors hunting for memories and treats we'd never eat. as we made our halloween debut, i couldn't help but wonder: was this dumb? max was clearly too young to have any idea of what was happening. just happy for the distraction i guess. but dumb or not i just had to do it. he may never remember it, but i always will. sentimental nerd. 

the next year i made josh get the day off since we had a knox now! and i just couldn't let him miss out again. we skipped trick-or-treating and opted for a walk through our neighborhood (west hollywood). josh and i were lumberjacks, max was a log and knox was an owl. well that was the plan anyway... i whine more about that here. looking back now, the walk was a bit of a farewell (for now) to the crazy party days of halloween's past and hello to hallow's eve as parents. and as parents we are realizing now more than ever that nothing lasts forever. it all goes by so fast. nerding again.

so just like that, it was maybe the last year we'd celebrate the holiday without going trick-or-treating. unless max + knox grow up hating costumes and free candy, which is pretty much the scariest thought ever. these are the kinds of thoughts i hate. like what if my kid grows up and isn’t funny? or doesn't think i'm funny? forget serial killer woes let's just make each other laugh, kid. but for serious that kind of stuff used to keep me up at night. so far we all laugh at each other quite a bit but we will see what happens when they hit double digits. now that's REAL scary. i'll be like in my forties.

until those crisis hit i am i relishing in the right now. max + knox still think i am hilarious and i am the center of their world. i can tell! later will come... later. later will be when they want to make the rounds for candy with their friends in costumes they picked out themselves. later will be here before i know it. and probably before i am ready. so right now, with my little max + knox, i am just so loving this, this right now. not taking for granted for a second that this may also be the last year i get to call the shots, pick out clever family costumes, and how and where we celebrate.

i am already resigned to minion and buzz lightyear costumes next year. sigh.

so let's just cut to the chase. this year halloween was on a saturday. yes!! josh was off of work and we had all day to wear our costumes and do halloween stuff. we dressed up as 1950's greasers because have you seen knox's hair lately? pretty impressive. it also met my costume criteria for easy, cute, and no diy required. AND i didn't have to buy anything they wouldn't get to wear again. #motheroftheyear??? 

anyway we just love the zoo. so there we went. they have an annual boo at the zoo event, which falls into my other criteria of close by, affordable, distracting and will be such a complete clustercuss that no one will even bat an eye if my kid turns into a complete demon over a missed nap or fallen goldfish.

a pictorial of the day!

it was hot, yet again, gee wiz los angeles. but we still looked cool :->

maxwell was not that impressed by the hay maze... but like, after you've done the corn maze at underwood farm you can't really blame him.

the maze really brought out max's two strong personality traits: impatience and smarts. together they make him an expert cheater. in this case... whatever, maze. you're not the boss of me! so proud. i cannot wait to play board games with this guy.

ok. enough pumpkins already. let's see some elephants. "where the elephant go mama?" was on repeat.

one of the things we like most about the la zoo is that it's small and manageable. i remember how frustrated my parents would get after a day at the zoo in san diego where i grew up. we'd only see maybe a quarter of it and i'm sure they felt they didn't get their monies worth. we never feel that way here. it really is tiny compared to other zoos. i mean everywhere you go there is a sign telling you goodbye :->

almost there...

and we finally found the elephants. they're hiding behind me and this little greaser monkey of mine. but was i right about the hair or what? josh wouldn't let me but i really wanted to curl his bangs travolta-style. talk about a missed opportunity! oh well, marriage is a compromise.

and side note. it's really true what they say..."the minute you look away there they go" and "it's too quiet." it's pretty f'ed up that when my kids are finally quiet i'm like oh great, what's knox's eating now? right now he loves crayons and headphones. i'm like wha?! and let me tell you he finds this to be the funniest thing EVER. and then there's max. you can never predict what kind of trouble he'll find. and it's never really bad... he's just curious. 

and there he goes.

like any good mom, i am trying to train max to narc on knox when he's eating things he shouldn't or playing with things i'd rather he not. i know. trust me it's not working. but we do have fun chasing him when he's being naughty. he loves it though :->

and finally, this. we totally had to. because some things are worth memorializing forever on overpriced, cheap, matte photo paper no matter how silly you look or feel while doing it. halloween falls into this category.

and i say BRING IT ON. the nerdier the better.

oooh. i cannot wait for school picture day. i smell a tbt post. yea right. never gonna happen.

and enough pictures already. we out!