Chunky Monkey's Halloween

It is true. As humiliating as it may seem, my mom dressed me up as a fat monkey for Halloween. I had a suspicion that something was up when she was all smiles and happy talk as she reached into the closet and pulled out what can only be described as...horrifying.

Needless to say, the first time I put it on last Saturday to go to the park for a Halloween festival, I could barely conceal my disdain and humiliation.

The stroller could barely contain my girth. Yes, dear Saxontologist, that IS a stuffed banana protruding from my pocket. Where or where will the insult end?

She once again pulled out that horror of monkey suits for playgroup on Tuesday.

Luckily, however, I was in good company. I wasn't the only poor little baby to be dressed in a humiliating outfit. Does this look like a happy lamb to you?

He-man was equally disgusted with his mom for dressing him in of all things...a cow suit. Then, she has the audacity to think that he is going to actually going to go along with it if she calls it a "baby bull." Puh-leeze!

On Halloween night, lots of my friends came over to help give out candy to trick or treaters (we had more than 1000!) . He-man and his mom and dad were there. Who is the bee, you might ask? That is my friend from music class, J.R. (as in...who shot? his mom is from Texas!) J.R. seemed most comfortable with his costume but then again, being the child of artists, this isn't his first flamboyantly striped outfit.

After we ran out of candy, He-man, Sarah and I went upstairs to play. Isn't it amazing how interesting your own toys become when other kids suddenly find them interesting.

He-man swears that he and Sarah had "a moment" and announced today to me at playgroup that he has fallen in love with a certain crazy redhead with a penchant for pink clothing who will remain nameless.

Meanwhile, I was in heaven with all these kids to play with.

Finally, my mom saw that I looked a little woozy and she took my hood off. You might notice how my sweaty hair is matted to my head. We were taking our play quite seriously!

Here is Adam (isn't he getting big?) and his mommy, Aunt Kate.

And finally, this is why every child should disown his mother completely and totally by the age of 12 years old. Otherwise, this is the sort of humiliating evidence that will definitely be shown to potential girlfriends. Big deal, so I was a little engrossed in play and neglected to notice that my costume had slipped in strategically unfortunate places. Did we really have to get photographic evidence to capture the moment for posterity? Bad mommy.

Just call me baby beefcake...

Friday was HOT! Mom says that it is supposed to cool down and Fall is starting but I don't feel it! So, we met He-man and his mom on Friday in the park to hang out in the sprinklers.

Just a tip from an expert: the key to success at the park sprinklers can be summed up in one word--containers.

You call them "man boobs." I call them "pectorals in training."

Speaking of fleshy fortitude, everywhere I go these days, people seem to call me "big boy" or "ham hocks" or "husky" and my friends refer to me as "the Saxonator." I haven't really given it much thought until now because, well, I just like the attention. But I never really considered the meaning behind such names...until this weekend.

Dad, mom, the poodles and I went up to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Pawling this weekend. I was really excited because my super cool cousin Sarah was there too with Aunt Kate and baby cousin Adam. Sarah is soooooo awesome because she can walk and talk and sing and do whatever she wants. But, this weekend, we found out that I am stronger than her. A few times, I found one of her toys that she didn't want me to play with and try as she might, she had a very HARD time getting it back. She tried to reason with me by telling me "Saxon, that is not nice" while trying to pull it away. Neither approach worked because: 1) I am immune to reason and 2) I am a physical powerhouse who loves to play tug-of-war. As a rule, it takes the collective efforts of Sarah and a nearby adult to release my vice like grip because, I really have no clue how strong I am.

And that might explain how I broke grandma's door decor. You see, now that I can stand up by myself, I use everything that I can get my hands on as a brace. I was looking out the glass door, grabbed hold of the wooden slat to stand up, started to pull and SNAP! This is a re-enactment of what I did when it broke (note the missing wooden slat). By the way, I was smiling when it originally happened as well because, let's face it, it was pretty cool. It was just like when those karate guys chop a piece of wood in half...or at least, it made the same impressive sound.

In my nine months of life, I have developed a little life philosophy that dictates that I live in the moment and feel bad about nothing. That means, I have already identified my next project.....

I have a new cousin!

Do not fear, dear reader(s), I am not shrinking. This is my new cousin, Adam Omar Boulamaali, who was born on July 11, 2007. He weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. Auntie Kate says that he is a very good little boy and lets her sleep four hours a night. I tried to tell him that sleep is overrated and that mommies are made to be woken up but...he drifted off to sleep before I could pursuade him.

Here I am with my new cousin, Adam, my older cousin, Sarah, and my Auntie Kate. My mom tried to convince me that I was just about that small not too long ago but I really don't believe her. I am too HUGE to have been so small!

Mommies and Kiddies. Cousins and Aunties.

This is my older, smarter, stronger, more beautiful and oh-so-slightly bossier cousin Sarah playing with G Squared . I think Sarah is awesome. She can walk by herself, color with markers, sing songs, dress herself and...believe it or not, use the potty. When she talks, everyone understands exactly what she is saying. (When I say stuff, mom and dad just answer me with nonsensical gibberish like "bahbahbah." It is very frustrating sometimes.) I especially like to watch her when she gets emotional or dramatic (which is often). It is totally better than TV. Sometimes, when she is in the right mood, she puts on one of her MANY pink dresses and "Dances with the Stars." And now, lucky duck, she a baby brother to begin training to be her dance partner!