monday at the madhouse ~ a visit from bubie

Oh man did this kid have a great week. His Bubie came to visit him (and spoil him) and they had a fantastic time together. He got new toys and a trip to the zoo and pizza and ice cream and so, so, so much playing time. Bubie leaves this afternoon, and I suspect we might have a hard time getting this beautiful boy back into his normal routine, but I'm so thrilled that they enjoy each other so much and that they have been able to make these memories.We did far more than my photos illustrate this week, but in an effort to be more present in these wonderful family moments, I didn't bring my camera with me every day. While I love having the photographic memories, somehow staying behind the lens separates me a bit from experiences, and these are the exact moments I want to be involved in. I hope you understand.On Friday, we went to the zoo (as you may recall from his lesson from the bears), and Ezra's favorite animals this time were the otters. They swam right up to him, and he was delighted (and even a little startled). We also had some nice weather (between rain storms) so we played outside a lot, and we even broke out the bubble machine again. (By the way, looking at that link, it's amazing how much hair and teeth this kid has produced in the last seven months). I have several great internet shares today, but we'll start with the movie trailer for The Girl on the Train. I really enjoyed that book last year, and I'm super excited that Emily Blunt is playing the lead. Other points of interest include these amazing photos from 1986 -- you will not believe seeing Halle Berry as a Miss USA runner up! And I enjoyed this interview with Terry Gross and why she didn't have children.And if you are still interested in any Prince coverage, I really enjoyed this interview with Paul Westerberg about Prince. My favorite excerpt is below.

My first recollection of seeing him was a dress rehearsal for one of his early tours. I was next to another musician, a couple other guys that were up-and-comers and that thought they were hot shit, and we were watching Prince. The guy turned to me and said, "I'm fucking embarrassed to be alive." And that's how I felt. He was so good. It was like, "What are we doing? This guy is, like, on a different planet than we are."