the secret garden

While strolling in Descanso Gardens, what does Addie see but

a twisting vine






a lotus flower







a praying mantis










and a rose named Adelaide.

Queen of the Galaxy

In a galaxy far, far away there is a baby girl whose purpose is not yet known.


She's sent to earth in a retro-chic pod, specified by an interior architecture firm we shall not name.


On earth she is greeted by the devilishly handsome man called PoPa.


Together they shall govern the world of online entertainment with a firm yet benevolent hand.

material girl.1

Now that I'm back at work there’s less time to snap photos of Miss Addie which is sad indeed. However, I want to have at least one post mid-week (i'm addicted). Enter Material Girl. On Wednesdays I thought I'd share a baby or kid related item that I think is darn cool.

I've been coveting this dollhouse for several years for myself. I made Cap promise me that if we had a girl, we could get the Kaleidoscope Dollhouse which was designed by architect Peter Wheelwright & artist Laurie Simmons.

When I was a wee tot, I loved dollhouses. I had some plastic version that looked like a generic 2 story suburban home that very easily could have belonged to the Brady Bunch’s neighbor. I used to pretend that there had been a giant flood and the entire first level was underwater forcing the nuclear family of four to move upstairs. I turned the canopy bed into a bunk bed and had the younger brother sleep in the bathtub. Perhaps I’ve missed my calling to work for FEMA. Later, when I had pet mice, I made my own mouse house complete with a vanity and mirror in the bedroom and handmade wallpaper. Annabelle, Vanessa and Elsie were living in style – until they chewed out of their card board home and back in the habitrail they went.

When I was looking up my coveted modern dollhouse, I was very, very sad to learn that the item is no longer available and is being sold on eBay for $400 starting bid (original was $210) or Buy It Now for $2,000. Guess I won't hold Cap to his promise.

Daddy's Face Is Scratchy!

Gemini Baby

Reid's blog entry about Sawyer's horoscope had me curious to check out Addie's sign. I was surprised to find that the description fit our active and curious little gemini to a tee.
(do you think she has enough toys on her play gym?)

Gemini Baby
Eager to get going (this baby probably kicked up a storm in the womb!), the Gemini baby is likely to be talking early and making a mark from day one. Curious and quite the explorer, this tot is one who needs lots of stimuli in order to be happy, as they are easily bored. Since those communication skills are top-notch, the smart thing to do with this baby is bring them into a playgroup as soon as possible. At home, siblings can easily fill this function, as someone must! It's never too early for the Gemini baby to interact with others, and they will also learn their lessons early on.

The Gemini tot is definitely not clingy. It's quite the opposite - this is one baby who is happy to march to their own beat, gallivanting about and keeping themselves amused in the process. Surprisingly, when this baby is not engaged in chatting or playing with others, there could be a certain emotional detachment. For that reason, it's best to keep things uncomplicated and easy for them to understand, the better to maintain harmony. To sum up, the Gemini baby is the Great Communicator of the playgroup, has a short attention span (so keep 'em busy!), and is one clever and creative tot.

Happy Birthday Addie! (4 months)

Checking out the drum circle at Venice Beach


Blessing of the nun of Santa Monica

Forward Facing

You know your baby's growing up when she can face forward in the Bjorn. (maybe we should adjust the height though)

Pattern Crazy

Addie's crib linen set by DwellBaby

Wrapping paper used to line Addie's bookshelf

I was just checking out the blog of a friend of a friend of friend (see design mom blog link on sidebar) when I discovered the existence of my dream - a blog completely dedicated to print patterns. I LOVE PATTERNS. Then I noticed that so many of the amazing patterns - from plates, cups, linens, wallpaper whatever - have birds on them. I almost peed in my pants with excitement (which wouldn't totally be out of the question after having delivered an almost 8 lb baby. But I digress).

I need more cool patterns in my life. I adore bold graphics but get freaked out and think, "maybe something neutral would be better." Still, there are a few places in my house that I've overcome my fear and let my love of graphics shine. Two of those places are in Addie's world. Her pink damask crib linens continue to be my #1 favorite baby item (other then the baby herself). The second place winner is on the tall, skinny bookshelf we bought to house her books, some clothes and other sundry baby items in baskets. I lined the back of the bookshelf with this pink bird wrapping paper I found at a stationary store. As far as I've seen, most baby stuff is overwhelming ugly. I'm actually considering recovering the offensively heinous baby bouncer seat cover with a fun pink cowgirl print. Does that make me crazy?

Weigh-In

In anticipation of Addie turning 4 months old on Sunday, we had a very un-celebration: a visit to the pediatrician for her second round of immunizations. She was a total trooper though and now that we are back at home she seems not to have remembered the trauma from earlier today. Good girl!

Addie has officially outgrown her 0-3 months clothes, and it's been fun restocking her wardrobe with the 3-6 months clothes that have been squirreled away in the top of our closet. She is now weighing in at 12 lbs. 2 oz and 24 ¾ in. That puts her at about 70% for height and 30% for weight. Dr. Woo said that was totally fine and she was just migrating closer to where she will land based on genetics. Of course, being the Worry Queen that I am, I’m concerned that she’s not getting enough milk since my supply continues to dwindle. I suppose if she was hungry, she’d let us know.

And speaking of weight, I too take the opportunity to weigh myself at these monthly visits since we don’t own a scale at home. I’m only 3 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight which is great considering I gained 45 pounds (thank goodness that breastfeeding is such a calorie burner). While I may weigh the same as the Old Me, I don’t look the same. I feel like I'm made of wax that has been out in the sun too long and has started to melt. I guess I finally have to retire my favorite maternity jeans. So long elastic waistbands – I’ll miss you!

Rock the Vote

Labor Day must signify the beginning of the Halloween season because our mailbox has been filling up with Halloween costume catalogs for a while. We are obviously on some demented baby mailing list, but while it does kill trees they are rather entertaining – hot dog, pizza or Hershey Kiss outfit anyone?

Between you and me, I'm not a big fan of Halloween. Like New Year's my expectations are rarely met and it ends up being too stressful and I find myself on the sofa anyway. However, this is Addie's first Halloween, and I'll be darned if we don't get that girl dressed up in some goofy outfit. While I'd love to think I could come up with a homemade costume, I'll probably end up getting something from one of these silly catalogs. One of my old favorite standbys is the somewhat ubiquitous but always cute Pea in the Pod costume. The worst one I've seen is a newborn soldier outfit, but I bet that puppy has made its rounds door to door in more parts of this country then I choose to believe.


So, help me decide and cast your vote on the sidebar!

(thanks Princess Genevieve for the poll idea!)

Blog Tech Support

Some of my avid bloggers may have noticed that Turd in the Pool was temporarily out of order for the last 11 hours. I was panicking. Is it dead, gone forever? All that hard work, moan moan moan. For a while I was entertaining the thought that someone "flagged" my blog for use of the word Turd. Is the Bush adminstration making me paranoid?

After freaking out for a while I finally realized that for no apparant reason, my template had been partially erased and I swear I didn't do it. I had to reselect a template but now have to go back and recreate my links from scratch and any other customization I might have done.

Word of Caution to other bloggers - copy, paste and save your HTML template in a notepad text file seperately so you can just copy it back in should this happen to you!

I'm just glad to be back. (and so is my mom who was going through Addie withdrawal)

Smash the System

Tipped off by an In The Know co-worker, I defied my recalcitrant cold on Sunday and made a break for a warehouse turned installation in Downtown LA to see the latest stunt by not so underground anymore underground London graffiti artist Banksy. (poor elephant)

I forget that LA has hipsters a la the likes of those found in our old ‘hood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But if you are downtown at an art exhibit of any kind, there you will find them – skinny pant wearing boyz, Japanese chickies in silver leather fringed boots and everybody in wife-beaters. Oh, how I miss that scene just a little.

Welcome Baby Clara!

Clara Joan Hazlitt
Born September 16 at 2:55 pm
6 lbs. 3.5 oz.

Congratulations proud parents Jamie and Chria!



Cap had the privilege, being of good health, to visit the Hazlitt Clan in the hospital. I have to wait until I'm not a carrier of evil germs before I get to meet Miss Clara. Soon, I hope. Soon.

Addie Sings!

This is so going double platinum.

How to care for a baby when you are sick

1. Make your spouse do everything. Alternative: If spouse is not available, rent one.
2. Bath frequently in Purell. Keep a travel size bottle clipped to your bathrobe for accessibility. Alternative 1: pump your milk to avoid contaminating baby. (please don't make me pump on a Saturday too!. Alternative 2: Wear a breastfeeding compatible hazmat suit
3. Live in a house or apartment with two bedrooms. Designate one the Clean Room, the other the Sick Room. Alternative: plan a coup d'etat on an unsuspecting neighbor with better digs as long as they have TiVo.
4. Cuddle with pet. You’ll miss snuggling with your baby so your pet will have to do. This technique is demonstrated here by Cap (i'm gonna be in big trouble when he wakes up)Alternative: If you don’t have your own pet, rent or borrow one from your local shelter.
5. Do not, under any circumstances, stand for what might be construed as criticism that you are not doing your “job.”
6. Repeat #1.

Problems at the Pump: It is what it is

Guess who caught their first cold? Guess who caught a cold from the girl who caught her first cold?

It was bound to happen one of these days but I thought she’d make it beyond day 6 at daycare – that was fast! I blame baby Arden who had a nasty cough that I noticed when I was picking Addie up. They say these colds build immunity. Hmmm. Thankfully it was just a cough, some sniffles and a mild case of snot. I still can’t get the hang of using that nasal aspirator. I, on the other hand, have been incapacitated for the last 24 hours with a fever, aches and pains and a mild sore throat. Cap came home at 3:00 on Friday to relieve Nurse Didi and take over. This mommy thing is hard (My mom and Janne are reading this thinking – DUH! What did you expect, stupid?!). I’m beginning to think my maternity leave was like a vacation. Being a parent is difficult anyway but toss in a fever and going back to work – not to mention pumping, oh wait and the house is a filthy disaster too - and you get a nice cocktail of Crazed Panic Attack Mommy.

Going back to work has been harder then I thought actually. My first day back, I was thinking, "Okay, I can do this." Then Cap went to Toronto, my workload quadrupled and, to top it off, I’m not able to pump enough at work to feed Addie. 3 times a day my Outlook calendar pops up with a reminder “Pump Station Time!” Off I trot to my tiny room but only eek out half of what Addie needs. Downtrodden and feeling rather inadequate as a Mother, I’ve had to supplement her daycare meals with half milk, half formula. I'm beginning to think they should bring back Wet Nurses as a profession. Addie doesn’t seem to mind the formula and as Daycare Andi said, “It is what it is.”


(since blog entries are rather dull without a photo, here's another shot of Miss Addie from Roxbury Park last week)

Polka Dot Cove

Addie and I were hanging at Roxbury Park, snapping photos, when the wind picked up and flung the blanket over her.

(note the droolsicle)

A Steady Diet of Winkel

Only the elusive Addie Beast of Fairfax Village has been known to graze upon the defenseless Winkel.

Escaped!

I turn my back for a second, and she's making a break for it.

Lazy Saturday

Cap’s in Toronto at the Film Festival so it’s just us girls this weekend. We’re taking it easy, watching tennis, wearing our jammies, and calling the couch home base.

Cell phone: check
Remote controls: check
Toys: check
Kitty: check
Baby: check

All is good. Except we miss Papa.

(Go Roddick!)

Get Used to It.

Today is day #2 of Get Used to It. I started work on Tuesday and Addie went to daycare. Actually, I was rather surprised by how smoothly everything went considering I was almost catatonic a week ago in anticipation. Cap surprised me at work with a gorgeous arrangement of pink roses that he had sent to my office. Awwww.

Together Cap and I took Addie to her first day at Andi’s House daycare. While we were taking care of the paperwork, Andi whisked Addie over to a play mat that resembled a red, black and white rainforest. Addie was in heaven batting away at all the hanging toys. She has really started to grab things so this was perfect for her. She looked so happy and content when we left, I knew we were not leaving her with a stranger, but with an expert who genuinely understood and loved children. I was chatting with another Mom friend on the phone who asked me how many times I'd called to check-in on her since it was her first day. Um, I hadn't thought to do that, but I'm big on guilt. Cap and I conference-called Andi and got a glowing report that Addie was doing really well. Phew!

In further praise of Andi, she thinks our little munchkin is very advanced for her age. (don't you just hate parents that brag?!) She told Cap today that she wouldn’t be surprised if Addie started to walk at 9 months (average is about 12). Andi might say this to every parent but I'm willing to believe it anyway. Tumbleweed Addie is already rolling all over the place, grabbing at toys and now eating her feet – most definitely the sign of a child prodigy! Obviously, she doesn’t get any of this apparent athletic prowess from me!

When I got home from work today I realized that I only get to see Addie for 2 hours each day which seems criminal. One hour in the morning and one in the evening making that time so precious. We’ve started to get back into a normal schedule now that our summer travels have come to an end and we are both at work. We've instituted the 4B routine - Boob, Bath, Book and Bed. Nighty night!

Addie Pumps You Up

Thanks to Cousin Elizabeth and Evan and Aunt Susan and Uncle Tony, Addie is going to have biceps like The Rock.

Oh, and Addie has also discovered her feet.

The Northern Neck

We have just returned from our fabulous trip to meet our Godson, Sawyer, who lives in the lush outback of Virginia known as the Northern Neck. Hurricane (tropical depression) Ernesto didn't dampen our spirts even if it did knock out the electricity.


Ernesto and Post-Ernesto


Addie the ever intrepid traveler


Addie meets her Great Aunt Susan. Addie blessed their home by crying for 4 hours - poor gal.


Addie and Sawyer meet for the first time. Antics ensue.


The contemplation of the seasoned crab.

One of my favorite aspects of visiting Reid and Scott and the Armstrongs is the gigantic crab feast that they always so generously provide. I get to violently whack at exoskeltons and tear apart gizzards to reach the reward of the tender meat.



Everyone loves a crafts fair.

You don't need electricity to enjoy poking around the St. Stephan's Annual "Count Down to Christmas." Oddly, I had seen most of the wares almost 3 years prior when we attended the Memorial Day Strawberry Festival.


A little Itsy-Bitsy Spider, a little Peek-a-Boo.

6 weeks is the magic turning point where babies really start to be fun. Even in the few days we were with Sawyer, I could tell that he was making giant leaps; he was more alert and more interested in his environment rewarding his Mom with smiles and bubbles.