The Big Bunnies Smiling with Mr. John

Sometimes the giant bunnies just need some love.


To the left you see Martha.  We originally got her back on Martin Luther King day back in 2019 thus her name Martha.  She's a great love and wants to be with us all the time.

Right here is Morris.  We've only had him for a few months.  Martha needed company so we picked him up from another rabbit owner.  I guess he's softer at heart as Cookie Sue wants to chase him around and bite him on the butt.  I guess she doesn't realize that he's THREE TIMES HER SIZE!  Can't stop that Cookie Sue.


He was originally heavier than Martha but I think she muscles him out at the food bowl.  Or maybe he's just kind.

Either way it's time to have them hop around in the back yard and eat more grass.  They're better than a lawn mower!

Bunnies and Family Trapped Together

Hello!

It's been far too long since the Erb family has used our blog.  Time to resurrect bunnyonthehead once again!

I know it's been a while and you're not up on the bunny count.  We have our two veteran bunnies: Cookie Sue and Marshmallow and our two very friendly giants Martha and Morris.  They are paired and get along well enough with each other (although Cookie Sue did run seven to eight laps in their rabbit outdoor rabbit pen today because Marshmallow might have been feeling the love today).

Martha and Morris mowing the lawn.

Martha and Morris are both around 15 pounds.  Yes, almost a regulation bowling ball!!!

Oh yes, lest we forget, we do have three precocious children: Mary Jane, Betsy, and Jack.  The bunnies tolerate them more than us.

Much Delayed Blog Post: Mary Jane's First Flight

Due to overwhelming laziness, illness, and distractions, I have not tended to my blog as much as I should have in the past six months.  But here are some pictures of Mary Jane's first airplane flight: a brief jump to Phoenix.

Here Mary Jane is gleefully pulling her luggage through LAX.  Most people think it's a complete drag but for her, it was a badge of honor.  Many times I offered to hold her bag for her.  She declined adamantly every single time.

Here Mary Jane enjoys a dinner out with Daddy.  She gets to chow down on a burger, some fries, and an orange juice.  Wow.  Special!  Normally she doesn't respond to close-up pictures like this but she was so in the moment regarding her food that she was surprised. 

She took over the camera at some point and took a nice photo of me completely zoned out by the window.  I guess I went into my own sleepy Zen mode waiting for the call for our plane flight.

 

I love this photo.  Here Mary Jane stares off into the vast blueness of sky and sea.  We had taken off and are slowly turning around from the westward trajectory of take off to the eastern path we must take to get to Phoenix.  The awe that she has mirrors the glow from the window.

And down there is the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Somewhere down of the far eastern side is San Pedro.  Go Stars.

Relaxing in the Leaves

My hard workers also need to relax as well.  A little play and a little relaxation works well.  They didn't make leaf angels in this video but it is exceptionally cute.

Excellent Help

There's nothing like having good help and here's a good example of it.  Mary Jane and Betsy Jo helped their daddy rake leaves earlier in the week.  True, their purpose was self-serving: they wanted to jump up and down into the pile of leaves.  But they and Daddy all busted out their leaf utensils and worked hard for a few minutes before giving into the temptation of flopping into a pile of leaves or jumping up and down in them like they were muddy puddles.

Dog walker and mothers in strollers all just had to smile.  There's nothing like the pure unmitigated joy in watching two girls frolic in a pile of leaves.  And this being Los Angeles in March... who knows when those leaves will return for another stomping.

Another Sunday

Nothing like a perfect Sunday for weather.  Yes, that whole change of time thing can be bothersome... luckily for the children, they didn't know the difference.

In this picture, the girls learn that what goes up must come down.  They love the toy crocodile.

 Here little Jack is relaxing on the smooth carpet at the Well Baby Center.  Almost no one showed up for class today -- must have been the change of time blues -- but all three of our children were there.  Jack was actually quite transfixed by the music.  Betsy Jo and Mary Jane know the songs well enough to... well, ignore them at times.  But for Jack it was one big noise fest for him.

 Betsy Jo and Jack are hanging out on the couch together in the early afternoon.  Betsy had just previously said that she didn't need a nap.  Well, I think I could state that she needs one... but Jack didn't mind her being there.  He absolutely loves it when she comes over and calls him "Goo-Goo."

Here is a better family pic of the three.  Everyone look at the camera and smile!  Happy Sunday for all... especially that they know Mommy will be back tomorrow.

Betsy's True Love?

Tonight as I was rocking a twisty-turny Mary Jane in her bedroom one hour after her prospective bedtime, she decided to start singing imaginary songs.  I asked her to sing a "Crocodile Song."  Her response: "Crocodiles have big teeth.  Chomp.  Crocodiles have big teeth.  Chomp.  Chomp."  Impressive.

Then she reversed my typical night time role of asking her which animals make which sounds.  So she asked Daddy, "What lion say?"  GROWL!  After a few other animals, she asked, "What fan say?"  I looked up at the rotating fan and replied, "Vroom vroom vroom" or something sounding like a circling fan.  She laughed so I guess that did the trick.

Finally she asked me, "What does Betsy say?"  Wow, there's a loaded question!  How would I know?  I responded that I didn't know.  "What does she say?" I inquired.  She glibly replied, "I LIKE PIZZA!"

The Wheels on That Bus Went Up and Down... Too Much

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo took on their very first amusement park today as they went with Mommy and Daddy to Adventure City in Anaheim.  It's geared towards the smaller set.  There was a carousel (Daddy had never ridden one before), a train (a good slow ride), and a crazy bus among other rides.  Mary Jane went on the ride twice... Betsy could only manage it once.  Afterward Mary Jane said, "I don't like bus.  Up and down too much."  Indeed!!!

Overall a thumbs up for the park as it entertained our two girls for the two hours we were there.  Why so short of a time?  Hey now, they're toddlers.  They have nap times to deal with!

Crazy Bus!

Modern Art

Betsy Jo and Mary Jane had their weekly art fest in the backyard this afternoon.  If it's Monday, it has to be art day.  With each work I've learned more lessons... no more shirts to be painted upon, mix the paints with water, paint on grass, let them be.  Yes, whisper words of wisdom: let them be, let them be.

While that piece might not look like me to the untrained eye, one can clearly see a red pterodactyl in the upper left hand corner of the work.  I don't think that Salvador Dali could do any better.  OK, maybe he had the really cool mustache but Mary Jane has the artistic pacifier.  Normally I say no pacifiers unless you're sleeping but if it spurs such artistic genius, I will let her use it as her muse.

The girls especially like art day because early bath time follows that (yeah, extra time to wash out all the paint that ends up on their skin... and hair!).

Dare I say I feel like I need to sneak out there the next time the girls have a nap and work on some paints myself.  I have no idea what I would paint but there's always inspiration.  I'm not using a pacifier though.

Tricycle: the Power Ride

Mary Jane was power riding down Dewey Street this afternoon.  She barely had time to say Hi and Bye to her dear Mommy.  Now that is an exercise ride!

Fire Station Open House!

Oddly enough the firemen rarely use this any more.  Most of the firemen at Mar Vista are on the older side and might actually get hurt on the landing.  But it remains as a symbol.

 It's been a double fire truck week for the girls.  On Thursday, Mary Jane and Betsy Jo went to the local fire station in Westchester.  (Some of those pictures must be on Facebook somewhere.)  But that was completely unrelated to the open houses run throughout all of LAFD today.

I was struggling with my Saturday morning run... on my quest to finish the Pasadena half-marathon... when I passed a bunch of fire trucks parked out on a street.  I thought, "Oh, bad fire" or even "Someone was shot!" as it was down by Oakwood.  But no, it was an open house with a pancake breakfast!  Ah, no better way to celebrate a morning than with a pancake breakfast.  Ironically, Mommy and Mary Jane were fixing a pancake breakfast while I was running out and about through the Venice and Mar Vista area (today's run: 7 miles).  We didn't ever make it to the Venice pancake breakfast (maybe next year) but I did take the two girls to the Mar Vista open house.  It's the one over on Venice and Inglewood.  Yes, where the old Break Shot used to be. (Now how would you remember that?)

There weren't that many people there that late in the day.  Mostly moms with young children so I fit in quite well with my girls.

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo had fun wandering around and climbing onto and off of the fire trucks.  No hats were worn though.  That's too bad.  

Daddy and the Girls

Cooking in the Kitchen

After Daddy cleaned the back yard kitchen with Mary Jane and Betsy Jo this afternoon, Mary Jane decided to cook her own meal.  Wisely using the microwave, Mary Jane cooked her pretzel with a great deal more efficiently.  After all was completed, she proudly proclaimed, "It's my lunch!"  Yes, it is your lunch... and a good one at that.

Beware the New Stick Shift Driver!

Watch out, San Pedro.  Mister John is heading down to San Pedro tomorrow in the CRV... yep, a stick shift.  Jump onto the the sidewalks... find some sort of escape route.  At least the departure from  home will be no later than 6:30 so the roads will still be clear of potential victims.

Ruby Jane Makeover?

Ruby Jane was having doubts about her own flop-eared appearance and this afternoon briefly thought about having stand-up ears.  However, she realized that was not the real her and she then chased her cage-mate Philip around the cage and bit him.  That's what he gets for mocking her appearance.  Luckily Mr. John was around to take this photo before the mocking and the resultant chomping occurred.

The Best Laid Schemes o' Pandas and Giraffes...

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo with their animal backpacks

What, me a British lit teacher?  Never.

Anyway, I had this great idea yesterday to see if I could take a walk around the block with Mary Jane and Betsy Jo wearing their animal packs with the "leashes" that would be tucked on each arm of mine.  I knew it would be difficult: the girls do walk at different speeds, have varying walking interests, and don't necessary listen to commands.  Then again, that could also be my sophomores.

I wore Mary Jane's "leash" with my left hand and Betsy's was on my right.  The first 50 feet worked splendidly.   They both giggled and ran intermittently.  Mary Jane tried to escape the gravitational pull of Daddy but was unable to extend more than the 3-4 feet in front of me.  She'd slow down, wait for my long stride to catch up to her, and then take off again.  That worked well for a few houses.  But that was not the problem.

Alas, poor Betsy, she didn't feel like walking.  She was in her Ferdinand the Bull mode.  Betsy wasn't necessarily smelling the flowers -- well, it is spring so it would be as good of a time as any -- but she did want to see all the sites of Dewey.  Never mind that she had to keep pace with Daddy who trying to slow down Mary Jane.  Being tugged at both ends wasn't too helpful... it did make me think about the gravitational pull of the sun and moon upon the Earth.  Seriously!  It did.  That's what I get for spending too much time covering the Space Race and other extraterrestrial (ouch!) things for AD this fall.

Betsy before the fall

Finally, the flop occurred.  Betsy Jo could take no more and fell down with a thud.  Mary Jane kept trying to tug me forward which would then drag Betsy on the sidewalk.  Not a good idea... so I made my executive decision and turned for home.  Mary Jane was not too happy about it as she wanted to get some bamboo for Paul, her stuffed panda.  He's quite the needy panda.

Of course the drama didn't end yet with these excessively cute animal backpacks.  Mary Jane realized that if she stepped on the "tail" of the backpack, Betsy would... yes... THWACK.  Right on the paved driveway.  I should have seen that coming but then again, I think I was annoyed at my shoe lace becoming untied a few seconds previous.

This anecdote was not to criticize the producer of those animal backpacks.  They seem to serve quite a good purpose.  But one dad, two girls, two arms... as Jesus once said, ain't happenin'.  OK, maybe he didn't say that... but maybe he did.  Once.  In Aramaic.

Tis the Season

And yes, it does seem like I've been doing lots of blogging lately.  I gave up Facebook for Lent so at this allows me to write as I feel.  Then again no one really reads this blog besides my wife so it's just a message to her (Hi, Honey!).

I have learned that Facebook is a giant waste of precious time that cold be used for other things.  Like sleep?  Like reading?  Like... heck, even watching TV!

Anyway, time to get back to my regularly scheduled Lenten programming.

New UCLA Jersey: What the Heck?

I was just reading an article in Time.com (yes, I read articles on-line that don't involve sports) but then I saw this sports related article that dealt with UCLA basketball.  I looked at this picture and almost went Boomchair (when Mary Jane falls out of her high chair, she then calls it a Boomchair).  We represent tradition, eleven titles, honor, John Wooden... not surfer dude.  Sure, maybe Bill Walton would have loved these unis back in the day of touring with the Dead but I don't think that even he would approve.  The link is below.





http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/02/28/march-sadness-adidas-unveils-unsightly-new-college-hoops-uniforms/

The Double Dunk

Here is the real time action of the double baptism of Betsy Jo and Mary Jane.  Betsy Jo goes first and you can hear for the rest of the video clip that she was not that enthralled about the dunking.  I guess that's why the parents pass them off to the godparents.  Well, if you're baptizing two that is.  Because Mommy and Daddy went right on to holding Mary Jane for the second dip.

Mary Jane and Betsy: Playing with the Swing

Mary Jane loves the tree swing.  She loves to ride in it so she can look at all the "crazy" cars, helicopters, and airplanes that go by (do recall we live adjacent to an airport).  But even more than that, she enjoys pushing others in the swing.  Sometimes it is just one of her dolls: either Hope or the one she has named "Baby."  In some instances like here, she pushes Betsy Jo on the swing.  She originally became jealous when she would see her sister on the swing (hey, it's my turn) but eventually she became much more accepting of the situation.

Betsy loves being in the swing and we really just need to remind Mary Jane to watch out so she won't get kicked in the head!  Gotta be tough in this family.

Hanging with Paul

Mary Jane was a bit cranky this morning so Daddy knew what would improve her demeanor: some panda time! Her favorite stuffed animal is Paul the Panda. He was originally a Christmas present given to the family by the Phoenix Children's Hospital while Mary Jane was suffering from RSV. She received many gifts over those few days (poor girl was in there on Christmas Eve through the 27th). Paul the Panda has quickly elevated to the favorite animal status. She tackles him every time he is introduced. Sometimes it looks like she's even trying to suck on his nose.

"Dude, she tackles me so hard I, like, hurt my neck, man," said Paul this morning. He's quite a chill panda; not your average high-strung panda. He does crave bamboo like all pandas but Mary Jane doesn't know any dietary concerns of animals. Considering pandas are endangered species, I shouldn't even mention that we have a panda at home right now. But Paul is a good soul and gets along with the other animals. He does have conflicts with Max the Monkey because Paul loses his patience with the monkey from time to time.

Mary Jane actually napped in her parents' bed this morning. She laid down beside her dear ol' dad during "panda time" and then she was out for about 40 minutes. Good for you, Mary Jane! Everyone needs their "panda time" to get to sleep.