Christmas Countdown: Day 6

Photo with Santa! (not pictured)

Since we might actually use the photo for our holiday card, I won't reveal it here. Instead you can see what happened when I tried to take a holiday photo of the girls together on my own. Shameful. Frightful. Yet, a little delightful.

Last year we stumbled upon a wonderful Santa with a real beard on the way back from wine tasting in Temecula. Lured by the Pottery Barn at the Lake Elsinore Factory Outlets, we stopped off and found Santa in a unleased store with only one other family in line. This year we thought it might be just a tad crazy to drive 75 miles back to avoid lines but we did it anyway. Call it holiday dementia. Our 2008 Santa photo was great so why jinx it. Plus, there was the Pottery Barn Outlet.

Christmas Countdown: Day 5

8 foot Noble Fir, baby!

Addie insisted she wanted a medium sized tree so we had to tell her that this was medium sized. Sure, it was the tallest at this particular location but compared to say, the tree at Rockefeller Plaza or even The Grove here in Los Angeles it pales in comparison. While Cap was selecting our tree, Addie (dressed as Sleeping Beauty, or as she says Sleeping Doody) swept up the pine needles. She had found some on our hall rug earlier in the day from our wreath and exclaimed, "I think we don't want this in our house. It's messy!"

Happy Feet

Addie gets her groove on to the sounds of a New York subway musician.

She's got rhythm!

Christmas Countdown: Day 4

I hung this delicious smelling eucalyptus wreath on the inside of our front door. I love that our front door is festive whether you are coming or going.

I'm working on personalizing the evergreen wreath so stay tuned!

Christmas Countdown: Day 3

Three nutcrackers standing guard.

These little guys are new to our holiday decorations as an impulse purchase when getting our parking ticket validated at Cost Plus. Addie adores them and promises not to break them, she said. I think we'll wait until next year though before taking her to see the Nutcracker ballet - a tradition my family did every year when I was young and we lived in New York.

Christmas Countdown: Day 2

I bought this generic wreath for our front door from Trader Joe's. Any ideas on how to spruce (ha!) it up a bit?

And Happy Birthday Gran!

Christmas Countdown: Day 1

Well, count up I guess.

Here is our advent calendar that I bought last year on super sale at TJ Maxx Home Goods - one of my favorite stores! This year it's filled with chocolate treats - kisses, santas and pennies. Addie is already super excited for Christmas (as am I) and she was singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in the car as we drove home from school last night.

First Haircut

Before you think this post must be from the 2007 archives, let me clarify. Today Addie had her first professional haircut. Addie's hair is very forgiving because of it's curl, so I have been cutting her hair myself. We are growing her hair and bangs out and it has been so long since it was cut that my Cinderella was looking less like a princess and more like her broom. Time to bring in the professionals! Addie took the whole thing very seriously. She didn't fidget or even blink.

Afterwards I somehow convinced Cap to go the McDonald's Drive-thru for sundaes as a treat and, guess what, they were out of ice cream and we had to wait in the entire line to get out because there was someone behind us. Lame. That is definitely going to be the last time Cap ever gets near a McDonald's. We ended up at Baskin-Robbins instead where they ran out napkins (what is going on?!) but Addie got rainbow ice cream and a scrap of paper towel. (Okay, and I got a scoop of chocolate truffle in a sugar cone.)

Before the Big Haircut of 2009, we all went hiking at Will Rogers State Park. Poor Cap had to carry both girls at once even. Check out a few photos here .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving All! I certainly have a lot to be thankful for - a wonderful husband, two beautiful girls and all my wonderful friends and family both here and all over the country.

We hosted a delicious and rambunctious dinner with our friends and their kids from Chudleyvision along with Papa Mit and Grandma Vede. The turkey took almost twice as long to cook as anticipated and Addie tackled 95-year old Grandma Vede to the floor in a giant farewell hug. Nonetheless, dinner was mmm-mmm good and thankfully no harm came to Vede.

Before dinner, we took advantage of a gloriously clear and sunny day to walk along the Venice boardwalk. We got ice cream and then Addie took off with Cap in hot pursuit for the sandy beach while Eliza and I chilled on the boardwalk giving me a chance to call family and wish them a Happy Thankgiving.

And this is my 400th post! Thanks for reading; I certainly enjoy sharing!

The Big Apple

We are back from an awesome 5 nights in New York City. I survived being a solo parent mainly because I didn't have to be as much as I thought. Addie and Eliza were both pretty darn wonderful (most of the time). We kept the girls on LA time which meant I wasn't motivating us out of the hotel any earlier than before 10:30 or 11 am. Cap was often able to meet up with us in the afternoons, I met up with a friend and her daughter for breakfast Thursday and then my sister took a half day on Friday. I must say that I was rather proud of myself for taking the girls on the subway by myself though.

With Eliza strapped to my chest and Addie in a stroller, I opted not to lug my heavy camera around. Unfortunately this meant we have very few photos except a few lousy ones I took with my iphone and then some from the weekend when there was a 3:2 adult to kid ratio.

If you haven't been to Brooklyn you must go. I'm very proud to have lived there for 6 years and it was great going back to our old neighborhood and seeing how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. It appears that our old loft which used to be a sewing factory is undergoing renovation and finally getting re-zoned from commercial to residential. I had an amazing time, but you won't see me packing up and leaving LA for the Big Apple anytime soon. I love having an apartment big enough to fit a King sized bed too much to move back. Nonetheless, I want to make an annual sojourn to NYC instead of every 6 years as this was good for my soul.

Here are a few highlights from our adventures in the Big Apple:

Remembering living in New York with Cap when it was just the two of us

Spending time with my sister

Walking around the streets of New York City

French toast with friends in the East Village
Watching Addie play on the big floor piano at FAO Schwarz
Autumn leaves in Central Park
A baby snow monkey at the Central Park Zoo
Eliza sleeping, Addie eating, and Mama drinking (a pomogranite margarita) at Rosa Mexicano
Taking the subway by myself with both girls
Red silk panda slippers at Pearl River Mart in SoHo.
Buying $3 "I Heart NY" t- shirts for the girls from a street vendor
Walking the Highline
Patsy's Pizza with friends
Addie playing at the Children's Museum
Drinking NY tap water
The best lobster roll EVER at the Brooklyn Flea in DUMBO
Greasy diner breakfast in Midtown with a friend and her 6 month old daughter
Drinking Brooklyn Beer
Trout salad at the new and fabulous Sel de Mer in our old but transformed street in Williamsburg
Gelatto at the Italian corner shop that Cap and I used to frequent and seeing that nothing has changed

Getting vertigo at the New Museum viewing deck

Eliza rockin' it in the Baby Bjorn for hours and hours

Checking out my sisters new hood - Ditmas Park - in Brooklyn

Eating a bagel with cream cheese so thick it left teeth marks

Addie dancing to a subway musician

Seeing Addie go ga-ga over her new BFF Auntie Jennifer

Disappointments:
The biggest disappointment had to be NYC cupcakes. We had 3 cupcakes from 3 different places and all got the thumbs down. Two of the three actually ended up in the trash - even Addie wouldn't eat them.

Phew! Hiccups with a silver lining:

Realizing I left the front door to our house wide open when we left. Thankfully I remembered before our taxi went more than a block down our street.

Leaving my cell phone in the bathroom at LAX and finding it thank goodness! Cap said he has never seen me run so fast.

Missing our flight back home and then finding out once we are on the plane that the ticketing agent sat all three of us in different rows. Who would seat a 3 year old by themselves?! Thanks to a few kind passengers and some creative rearranging, we all sat together and got home safely.

Thinking I lost my brand new prescription sunglasses, calling the hotel and even the diner where we ate breakfast to see if they had them. I found them today in the back of the stroller where they somehow didn't fall out when we checked it at the gate.

I HEART NY!

While We're Away

We are all heading off to New York City today for 5 nights in the Big Apple. I haven't been in over 5 years which is just embarrassing. I made it a goal of my maternity leave to take this trip but wish me luck because Cap is on a different flight out and will have to work for 3 days making me solo parent with both girls until the weekend. Quite honestly, I'm terrified. After having a mini-hysterical breakdown on a test-run to the aquarium, I almost canceled the trip. I'm readjusting my expectations now and am considering getting "Patience" tattooed on my forearm. Pray for me.

While we are gone, enjoy these videos of the girls.

Addie sings "Is There a Ghost" by Band of Horses. I love this song and I love it more when Addie sings along to it. We saw them open for The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. Perhaps this will launch her career as a child-star.

Here I interviewed Addie on Halloween about her favorite things. Watch it to find out why Numbers is her best friend.


This video is just a few moments of little Eliza so I can remember what she was like at this age (7 weeks in this video). Remember how snuffly little babies are!

Parent-Teacher Conference

I had my first ever Parent-Teacher Conference which made me feel very Mom-like. The first thing Miss Amy said was that Adelaide (they call her by her full name at school) was very bright and intelligent. I knew I liked Miss Amy! She said that before she knew that Addie was going to be in her class this Fall, she saw her playing outside during the summer program and hoped that she'd get Addie in her class.

At Addie's Montessori school, they call their activities "work" since they believe that work is a positive activity that kids learn to enjoy and take pride in for their entire lives. She said Addie loves to work and often makes up her own activities, something that usually the four year olds do. Of course, this could also mean that Addie doesn't like to to be told what to do which is something else Miss Amy mentioned. She also said that Addie enjoys math (I had no idea!), was learning her letters (both the sounds they make and the writing of them), loves art and painting (no surprise here), has an affinity for caterpillars (again, no surprise), doesn't nap at school (didn't know this either!) and has an amazing sense of concentration. Addie can concentrate on her work so intensely that they often have a hard time getting her to move on to another activity - like eating lunch. This is one of the reasons we thought Montessori was a good fit for her since they believe in letting the children choose their work and then spend as much time on it as they want until the kids master the task.

I was also glad that Miss Amy demystified a few of the tools they use to teach math and reading so I can help Addie at home using their same method. I also wanted to be able to ask Addie more specific questions about her day other than "What did you do today?" which I think is too broad and often times she just answers the last thing she did. Other than their regular curriculum, we also signed Addie up for dance class on Thursdays and Mad Science program on Fridays. On Saturdays outside of school, she is taking private swim lessons. Busy girl!

I'm oh so happy that Addie is at this school and is really enjoying and thriving in the environment. As my Dad said, public school is gonna be a rough transition for her later on.

2 Months Old Today

You are my

delicious

dreamy

ooey

gooey

sparkle-eyed

sweet-lipped

chubby-cheeked

dimpled

super smiley

sometimes screamy

always adorable

absolutely gorgeous

little baby girl.

Happy 2 Month Birthday Eliza Wren!

Adelaide Shoes and Things that Sparkle

Wouldn't you know that what are obviously Dorothy shoes, are actually named Adelaide at Target. Adelaide loves her Adelaide shoes so much that she wanted to wear them to bed and of course had to wear them to school the next day along with her "twirly" dress. Now all of her dresses have to twirl and spin otherwise she'll refuse to wear them. In addition to sparkly shoes, Addie is on a steady diet of "sparkly water." She insists on bubbly water before bed and is keeping Perrier and San Pelegrino in business. Spoiled? I think so.

Creepy Crawlies

The petting zoo at the Los Angeles Zoo expanded temporarily over Halloween to include some spooky critters. Addie pet snakes and a madagascar cockroach and got to inspect a fuzzy tarantula and several walking sticks. Plus the docents were handing out candy in handfuls. Like she needs more Halloween candy. Well, she doesn't but I might.

The Princess and the Hot Dog

I'm feeling guilty. I didn't take a single photo of the girls on Halloween. Even the picture of the pumpkins above was taken last night right before we had to trash them. Bad mom!

A week ago we went to the block party by Addie's old daycare which we go to every year. Addie was Cinderella (of course) with eye shadow that is just reminiscent enough of the late JonBenet that it sort of freaked me out. We kept to just pink sparkly lip gloss for the subsequent two times she was in costume thankfully. Eliza that night was a hot dog and Cap was a Sith Lord (the below is the only photo of either in costume!). I was just the lady pushing the stroller who was not doing a good job taking photos and was paranoid about losing Addie in the crowd.

Then on Friday, Addie got dressed up again for her school Halloween Parade. They did a few laps around the yard, pet some fuzzy critters and rode a pony. There were plenty of other princesses in attendance, a gaggle of firemen and a couple of spidermans. Later that afternoon, I ditched the hot dog costume and took Eliza as Harriet Potter to my office party and Cap took Addie to his.

On Halloween night, we went to a halloween party with daycare friends again and went trick or treating with 11 other kids Addie's age partying until 10 pm. Addie has been asking for a month if it was time to trick-or-treat and boy was she excited when the answer finally was "today!" She was very good about only taking one piece of candy and saying thank you. After the second house and the second time I reminded her, she turned and said, "I DID only take one piece of candy!" Gee mom, like, get off my back, okay?!!! Cap and I went with a last minute 80s-themed costumes, Addie was Cinderella again and we only managed to get Eliza into a seasonal ghost t-shirt and orange stripped pants. I was amazed what Cap could do with only a single neon t-shirt to work with.

Cinderella (from Addie's school parade)

At the ball in our backyard.

Eliza as Harriet Potter at my office party

Cap as a Sith Lord and Eliza as a hot dog

Cap and I in our tribute to the 80s or as someone else suggested - Jersey Mall Rats

I felt so guilt that I didn't have a better photo of Eliza that I took this yesterday (3 days AFTER halloween). As you can see, Eliza didn't think this was such a great idea. Poor, sad, little dog.

Check out a few more photos here.

Who is Who?

The girls are both about 6 weeks old in these photos. Can you tell who is who?

Some folks think Eliza looks like Cap, some like me. Some folks thinks she looks like her sister, some folks don't as much. I think she and her sister do look very similar - same mouth, same chin and I think same eyes. I definitely think they have different noses, different eyebrows and different hands. It's kinda like a Mrs. Potato Head.

She Likes Me!

A little sister time.

The Photo Shoot

My friend, Jan Birch, whom I met when we were taking photography classes together, offered to do a newborn photo shoot of Eliza as a gift. I told her I wanted a few that captured how small Eliza is as a newborn (even though she's rather a big baby!) because I know I won't remember myself. These are two of my favorites. Those little feet! I have so few photographs of myself with Addie when she was an infant because I was always the one behind the camera. I love having these of me with Eliza. You can check out the entire photo shoot here.

Eliza is about a week and a half old in these photos. Today she is 6 weeks old. How did that happen? She smiles like a charmer and her vocabulary of coos is growing. The other day she made an expression exactly like her big sister that made me laugh out loud. Her eyes are lightening up, and even Addie exclaimed, "the baby's eyes are blue!" Just like her big sister.

Capt. Bones

Sunday we met up with Addie's pals from her former daycare for a little pumpkin time at Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in Beverly Hills. Gone are the days when I can just plunk Addie down in a sea of pumpkins and expect her to sit and smile for a photo. Eliza was passed out in the Baby Bjorn so there aren't any cute pictures of either of them snuggled in between the gourds. Instead, Addie and the gang ran amok, got their face painted, ran some more, rode in a wagon, ran some more, jumped in a pumpkin shaped bounce house and then ran some more and more and more and more . . .

I'm not sure where the kids got this pirates hat, but there is a hatless skeleton somewhere.

Check out more photos (mostly of Addie getting her face painted) here.

Pumpkin Patch Round One

We made a detour on our way home from Idyllwild to explore Oak Glen which I had read about in Sunset magazine as a great day trip for apple picking. We missed apple season (next year!), but did get to enjoy a giant slice of apple pie with cinnamon sauce at a local diner, buy a mandatory jar of apple butter and pick our own pumpkin.

It was cold and a dense fog was rolling in making the fields even more romantic and mysterious. We had the pumpkin patch at Los Rios Rancho to ourselves. Addie selected her own pumpkin, and she and Cap cut it off the vine with a knife. I love pumpkin patches. There is something so timeless about photos of children in amongst the giant orange beasts.

On Sunday we are off with some friends to a more urban pumpkin excursion in Beverly Hills where we'll stock up on more pumpkins and funny shaped gourds. Can't wait! I still haven't decided yet what to carve on my pumpkin but Addie said she wanted a scary face on hers.

Check out more photos from the pumpkin patch at Los Rios Rancho here.

Where the Wild Things Are

Nothing like a little mountain town, a cabin in the woods, s'mores, an old-school metal slide and some football to put you in the Fall spirit. We spent 3 nights in Idyllwild nestled a mile high in the San Jacinto mountains. I had a cold (and a clogged milk duct - ew) unfortunately but our cabin was a great place to convalesce - a one bedroom with kitchenette, TV and fireplace. Plus it was Eliza's one month birthday and taking a mini-vacation is a great way to celebrate. Happy Birthday my sweet little pea pod.

Let the wild rumpus start!

Spoiling Addie is super fun.

Old-school metal slide

Bird watching from our cabin's front deck

S'mores in our cabin

Hanging out in the local coffee shop, a short walk from our cabin

Check out more photos from our weekend here.

My Crafty Wreath

In between bouts of Eliza screaming, I finished my Halloween wreath today. She's either colicky or I'm just really bad at calming her. Right now I have her in the car seat on top of the washing machine set to the spin cycle. It works for a few minutes and then I have to reset the spin cycle over and over again.

I bought this fall wreath at the end of season, half-off sale at Target last year and then spray painted it glossy black for Halloween and added a silver ribbon. I think it looks splendidly gothic.

Sisters

"Where's my baby?"

That's pretty much the first words out of Addie's mouth when she wakes up in the morning or comes home from school. She adores her little sister and is eager to help out - often a little too eager - although she has learned to apply diaper cream which is always a useful skill. When we remind her to be careful around Baby Eliza, we're met with an indignant, "I AM being careful!" Addie also enjoys impersonating her sister's facial expressions which has Addie in stitches. Her new nickname for Eliza is Baby Eliza Weedy or just Weedy for short. This is in honor of the Weedy Sea Dragon we saw at the aquarium on Saturday. Eliza Weedy is not so weedy though. At her 2 and half week doctor's appointment, she weighed in at 9 lbs 11 oz and 21 inches (8lb8oz and 19.5 in at birth). No wonder she doesn't fit in her newborn diapers anymore!

When Addie and my mom came to visit us in the hospital, Addie immediately noticed that her baby sister, her mama and her dada all had fancy new hospital bracelets compliments of St. John's Medical Center. She demanded that she get a bracelet too. The nurses kindly made Addie her very own Big Sister bracelet. How sweet is that?!

I was a little nervous about what Addie would think of the whole breastfeeding concept. "Oh, my baby sister has special milk from your nipple?" (pronounced with an equal accent on both syllables - "nip pole"). The first few days Addie would head off to school with her own nipples lubed in Lansinoh breastfeeding cream in solidarity. She also concocted a special pretend soup for her baby sister which she presented to her in a silver goblet. The secret ingredient? Special Milk from the Nipple of course!

Despite the outpouring of affection for her sister, Addie is also struggling with all the changes. She's a tough cookie, and I know she will adjust to our new family of four.