Rap Report

Freecycle Patio table

2012-01-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

So we recently expanded our patio for the purpose of putting a dining table out there. I was going to go the usual route and buy one when I came up with idea of building one... I will let you decide if it was good or bad.

We have several slabs of quartz laying in our backyard from our kitchen. I have wanted to do something with them because it seems like such a waste of a really cool material

I needed legs for the table, but they would have to be really strong to hold the weight of the quartz and they would have to be weather proof. After going to home depot I made my way into the outdoor fence section and realized that if I took a small fence post and turned it upside down and then cut 5 inches off, it would make a great outdoor leg. Each leg cost me around $8. I just had to make sure they were all cut the exact same size so it wouldn't wobble. Thank you articulating saw!

Next the guy at home depot recommended the right kind of plywood for the slab to sit on and showed me how to counter sink bolts. I then had to weatherproof the plywood with some primer.

Then it was just a matter of putting it together and praying the table didn't wobble

I then took the slabs and glued them down with industrial glue. The table probably weighs over 200 lbs and doesn't budge. Here's the finished product that cost me a grand total of $40.

Bye Bye Binkie

2012-01-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

Landon has had an 11 month love affair with his green binkie, paci, binkbink. Daddy decided L's New Years resolution should be to give up the binkie. Mommy was not so sure about this decision, I felt really sad for the little guy. I kept saying "but he loves his binkie". Actually we started talking about taking it away months ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually do it. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for everyone, Daddy was right. It was one day of a little extra crying at naptimes and then our sweet boy was back to normal. Although now he has apparently found a new binkie amongst all his Christmas and Chanukah presents. Haha.
**The top picture was sent to me by one of Landon's teachers at school. I exchanged numbers with 2 of his teachers in Infant 1 and occasionally they have taken a cute picture of him and texted it to me. These brighten my days. He was so very loved by all his teachers, we have been so fortunate.

Avery update

2011-12-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

1) Avery is constantly saying funny and surprising things, like how she calls meatloaf "meatlove".
2) She asks funny questions like "did you wish you had a brother when you are a children?" I don't correct her grammar with this one because I love how she says "when you were a children", too cute.
3) For a while now Avery has wanted to be an astronaut, she loves the moon and thinking about rocket ships. She likes to ride the rocket ships at Disneyland. She also thinks Santa and the North Pole are in outer space. But recently she's had a change of heart. "I don't want to be an astronaut anymore, I want to be a teacher, like the yellow group (her current class) teachers. I want to be a strong teacher like them. Or a pre-K teacher, they are even stronger. Actually a college teacher because they are a lot stronger." Where do these things come from? (11/4)
4) Starting in October, Avery started taking piano lessons at school with Teacher Mary every Friday morning. She really enjoys it and has been practicing her little songs. I am reminded to ask her how piano lessons were each Friday when I pick her up and see the big LH on her left hand and RH on her right hand and the little numbers on her fingers. Jon bought a keyboard and the whole family enjoys it.
5) This year Avery has enjoyed art class, gymnastics and ballet/tap. She can't do all three classes during the same session so we have to pick 2. After 6 months of gymnastics and nearly learning to do a cartwheel, she elected to go back to art class and has really enjoyed all the little projects, playing with playdoh and painting.
6) Way back on July 10 Avery counted to 100 for the first time. She has a gift with numbers, I think. I always loved math, until calculus. I hope that she loves math too, maybe even calculus, although I won't be able to help her.
7) Avery also has a gift with nicknaming Landon. It started a few months ago when she took a name from a beloved little book "HUG" and applied it to Landon. It has evolved every few weeks since then. Bobo, Sho, Shabadu, Jun, Gogo.
8) We love this girl!

Hannukah Song

2011-12-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Rudolph the Red Nose Reigndeer

2011-12-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

So Happy Together

2011-12-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

What would I do without my beloved bookclub? I feel so blessed to have five wonderful friends from college and beyond, along with their precious families, with whom to share our lives. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas party at Kelly and John's new and improved house. Our ever-growing families enjoyed an evening of playing and gifts for the kids, yummy drinks and dinner, and the ease of conversation with old friends. Laura and Tim were missed, maybe next year we can all be together!?

Landon and his buddy, Quinn

The big kids in the under-stair nook

November Sledding In LA

2011-11-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

Driving Lessons

2011-11-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

Infant 2

2011-11-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

Our little baby is ready to transition from the baby room (infant 1) to the cruiser/walker room (infant 2). It is hard to believe but it's true. For several weeks now the teachers in Infant 1 have been picking him up when the administrators visit their room so they can't see how mobile he is. He has been so loved by his teachers Carolyn, Young, Evelyn and Gina. One day when I was taking him home early because he was sick they said they would take Landon sick over some of the other kids healthy any day. He has been so happy and well adjusted.

In Infant 2 he will learn to walk, feed himself, sit at a table for meals, have music/dance time and be reunited with his friends who have recently transitioned too. He will be loved, I am sure, but it will be different. I never thought with Avery when she was a baby "oh these little babies will become her friends in a couple of years" but now I think about that for him. Likely one of these little boys will become a best friend for the first 5 years of his life, so I do look at them differently. Sweet growing babies. The picture above was sent to me by one of his Infant 1 teachers to show him sitting at the big kid table.

So You Think You Can Dance or Material Girl?

2011-11-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Karen and I personally guarantee you that our latest video from last night will put a smile on your face. During the video try to listen to a quick chorus line "It's Not Acceptable"

Independence: A lesson (sort of) learned

2011-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

When I started grad school in 1998, I was fresh out of college. I relocated to a new city where I knew no one and was fortunate enough to make 2 of the most wonderful friends, Angel and Aubrey. When we started school Angel had at the time a 4 year old daughter. I can see her sweet little face to this day (now she is a beautiful 18 year old woman). I learned so much from Mama Bear Angel, she was such a good friend to us youngins. I watched her love her daughter with all her heart. This was something I guess I had never seen from that perspective. None of my friends had kids at that time, we were still just kids. I distinctly remember that Angel would allow Rebecca to dress herself, even if it was a crazy little ensemble. I remember thinking I wasn't sure if I would be able to do that with my own kid, that I might not have the courage. I remember thinking that again once I had Avery. But nowadays, when we don't have anywhere too important to be :) I try to foster this independence in Avery by letting her choose what she wants to wear. I don't even go in her room, because if I did I would probably have to stop her or provide recommendations. Here is the recent outfit that got me thinking to write about Angel and Rebecca. I love and miss them as they live too far away!
Isn't she wonderful in this delightful ensemble!?!

Post-bath Hairdo Fun

2011-11-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

Tee hee.

Milestones in a Nutshell

2011-09-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

First smile 3/1

rolled over 7 times belly to back (so we knew it wasn't a fluke) 3/10

Sat in the Bumbo 4/18 - which he shortly learned how to throw himself backwards in the seat so we have not used it much.
Fell in love with the swing 4/20, that love affair was deep and lasted many months, we have worn out the batteries multiple times
First day of school 5/24
Rolled over from back to stomach 6/4
First tooth 6/10
First fever 6/13 - 102.7 (kiis fm)

Scooting backwards and 2nd tooth 6/23
Scooting forwards sometimes 6/25
Started trying to crawl 7/5 in Hawaii for Jennie and Jeff's wedding with his buddy Quinn
First oatmeal 7/13
First formula bottle (boo!) 7/27 - happy 40th birthday daddy
Put to bed awake = the beginning of sleep training of which he did great - 8/15
Tooth #3 8/22, #4 8/25, #5 9/11 - poor kid!! although he's a great teether, just like his big sister was.
He's been pulling up to stand a while now but he has finally (thank goodness) figured out how to sit from a stand rather than standing there crying for someone to help him sit! 9/13.

Grandma Jenny and her 99 years

2011-05-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

October 20, 2010

Just weeks before Grandma Jenny would have turned 100, she passed away in her sleep. We all went back to CT for the funeral and were able to celebrate Grandma Jenny's life with all of the rest of her family. In all the time I spent with Grandma Jenny, she was always very loving, accepting, bright, funny. I know Jon has so many fond memories of growing up near his grandparents and all the life lessons they taught him. He wrote a nice speech for the family lunch that got everyone talking about how beloved Grandma Jenny was. May we all be so blessed to live 99 years. The rabbi who performed the funeral is the same rabbi that married Jon's parents. We were able to spend time with Jon's cousins for the day and it was so nice to get to meet/spend more time with these wonderful relatives who we do not get to see often enough. It is too bad that everyone is spread all across the country. Here are a few pictures of everyone.

Steven, Dayna, Ron, Dean and Jon

I love this picture of Avery with her Daynie

So we did tell Avery that Grandma Jenny died and that has brought up frequent and unexpected conversations with her regarding death, dying, growing old, do kids die, will you die, will I die, will you die before I die; things we both as parents were not quite, and frankly are still not, prepared to talk about. One of my favorite things she's said recently is "Mom, when I am 12 you will be old!". Great, thanks. Below is a video from Landon's first airplane ride. He was so good, such an easy traveler. I am sorry that he did not get to meet Grandma Jenny. He would have wooed her with his smiles.

Home Schooling

2011-04-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of friends who home school their children. I quite admire them, I don't think I could do it. There are wonderful things about home schooling that make the idea very tempting, flexibility being a big draw. Flexibility in how things are taught and when. On Avery's last day at school before maternity leave Teacher Alma handed me a folder with Avery's first 13 or so letters as well as cut out letters and pictures for the remaining letters. Each week at school Blue Group has a letter of the day. They have a project where they glue the cutout letter onto a paper along with say apples cut out from construction paper for the letter A. They encouraged me to finish up the alphabet by the time we got back to school in late April.
I am definitely not cut out to be a preschool or elementary teacher and here are some prime examples of why:

My moon looks like a banana and how about that mouth with teeth. The mountains are okay. Lastly my mailbox, if she had properly glued the mailbox it would have looked much better but instead it's on it's side and the flag is on the opposite side of the paper.

Is that the saddest one-eyed octopus you ever saw? I don't even know what those green things are... Diamond doesn't start with O, neither does leaf... I have no idea.

I think this one speaks for itself. Crazy pig.

Anyway we made it all the way through the letter U. Thankfully they sent home some umbrellas in the folder for Avery to glue on the paper so I didn't have to torture myself trying to cut out umbrellas or ukuleles. Avery went back to school April 26 and she was so happy to be there, it made me so happy. I was a bit disappointed to see the letter Z project posted all over the walls of Blue Group. We almost made it to the end, only 5 letters shy. Let's see how these last ones turn out, I am sure my zebra will be comparable to Teacher Edna's zebra.

Redondo Beach Pier

2011-04-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

April 22 our new neighbors were kind enough to offer to babysit for the kids so Jon and I could go out to dinner for my birthday (35!) and our anniversary (7!). We went to Baleen, a restaurant near the Redondo Beach Pier, and we saw a bunch of sea lions out on the rock jetty. We talked about how Avery would like to see this so the next day we took a little family trip to Fisherman's wharf. It is an interesting place, kind of old school marina people, bars, restaurants, boats to see. We happened upon an arcade, played a little air hockey, let Avery play a bean bag toss game and ride a pretend pony.
She did so well at the bean toss game that she got to pick a prize. She picked a blow-up, 4 foot tall giraffe that she named Lucy. I told her if Quincy got a hold of Lucy that he would pop her, so now Lucy lives in Avery's closet. Lucy is a very happy giraffe.

Santa Barbara

2011-04-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

My best friend since junior high, Jenny, and her family recently bought a house in Santa Barbara. They were amongst our few friends who waited out the housing bubble with us, renting while the prices of real estate sky-rocketed, waiting until the prices dropped to make our move into home ownership. We drove up this weekend to see their beautiful new house and had such a nice visit. We enjoyed each others company, a yummy lunch, a walk across the creek to go feed the horses, and exploring the outdoors and all the neat features inside the house. James was born 3 months before Landon and the girls always enjoy their time together. And it goes without saying that I enjoy catching up with Jenny anytime, anywhere. We look forward to making more memories together in both of our new houses.

A Lesson in Sleep Training

2011-04-04T21:39:00.001-07:00

Last night Landon decided to give us a little lesson in sleep training. At age 5 months I finally broke down and we sleep trained Avery in order to survive my commute and workdays. Waking up 2-3 times per night was not an option. It was not an easy process, letting her cry herself to sleep. In the end she became a great sleeper after only 9 nights and each night got easier but it was kind of painful. So, fast forward to now. This boy. He had been sort of sleeping well the past few nights but I was waking him up around 10 or 11 to feed him. Last night, I decided to see what would happen if I just put him to bed after the 8 pm feed. And holy moly, he slept until 630 this morning. He is saying "hello, let me sleep". After all this big boy doubled his birth weight at 9 weeks, exactly 12 lb 14 oz at his 2 month appt. Sweet chunky boy.

Really?!?

2011-04-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last night Avery woke (us) up 4 times (what?!?!) because there were (non-existent) bugs in her room. I nearly wanted to scream every time but I refrained, eventually sending Jon in to deal with the later bug freak-outs. Then around 4 am Quincy puked all over our new carpet in our bedroom. And of course that's the night that Landon slept all (all!!!) night long. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry so I did neither, or maybe I did cry a little.

Short Fat Fry

2011-03-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today we went to see Dr. Woo for Landon's 2 month appointment. No real big questions for him. Just curious to see how much he weighed. I was guessing 12lb, we looked back to see Avery was 11lb 7oz at that same appt. Well, he was 12 lb 14 oz, he exactly doubled his birth weight at 9 weeks! That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight. I can free myself of any worry (that I really did not have) that he needs anything more than my milk. Our episodic periods of bonding that already are becoming more spaced out... I have an iPhone app that tells me how long he eats, on which side he last ate, how long he has eaten thus far today, averages for the week and month of how many hours we have spent nursing. Initially I was spending 4+hrs feeding him, we are now down to 2.5hr/day. I know this will be the last time I experience the miracle of infancy and so I both delight and lament in the decrease of hours. This period is so fleeting and I try to remind myself on occasion of that fact.
Oh, and he is only 22 inches long. 10th percentile! Hence, the 'short fat fry'. It seems he may have gotten Grandpa Alky's genes, because all the other males in his lineage are at least 6 feet tall. This reminds me of a story from when Jon and I were dating. He still lived in Wisconsin and I was living LA. We had only met at Aubrey and Chris' wedding so I didn't know him very well. I was convinced that he was less than 6ft tall, like maybe 5'10" in my recollection of him. He kept telling me he was 6ft. One day I got a call from his phone and it was a nurse in Wisconsin, he had her call me from his yearly checkup to tell me that he was indeed 6 ft tall. It made me laugh and smile and I did finally believe that he was 6ft tall. We will love Landon nonetheless no matter how tall he is. Surely karma will not punish him for all the times I said I would never date a short guy...

Shushi

2011-03-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Avery, Jon started asking when she would be able to eat sushi. I said maybe when she was a teenager, but Jon didn't like that answer and now likes to ask all sushi restaurant workers when she can start having sushi. Their answers vary. I don't do raw fish sushi, I do vegetable sushi, like cucumber or avocado or last resort a california roll with (fake) crab. Jon loves sushi, claiming the raw fish is sweet or some silliness like that. So tonight for the first time successfully Avery ate and enjoyed my kind of sushi, which she calls shushi which makes it all the more fun. She loves the ginger but not the soy sauce. Jon is so happy that now we can all eat sushi together

Good Buddies

2011-03-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

After a plethora of book club girls being born (5 to be exact), the tides changed starting with William 3 years ago. Since then, all book club babies have been boys. Here are the 3 youngest book club boys; Quinn, Ryan and Landon. Thanks Ryan for smiling :)

Visitors

2011-03-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

We were so delighted to have my sister, aka Auntie Kate and her youngest, Mazie, come to visit us. I was in need of some sister time and so grateful that Auntie Bee, Lucia and Elliott allowed them to come across the country to spend a week with us. Although my sister left 2 of her triplets behind, she still sort of had twins because she ended up helping me so much with Avery while I cared for Landon. I am so appreciative of this time we had together. I had a list of things I wanted her to help me with and we accomplished a lot, we made a big pot of homemade pasta sauce, she gave us a crash course in using our food dehydrator. I never knew a grown man could consume gallons of dried tomatoes in one sitting. We made delicious raw corn chips in the dehydrator and some really disgusting yogurt taffy. We started getting the baby announcements ready to be sent. And I know we did lots of other things I can't remember. What I do know is I was so devastated when they left. Maybe because now that we bought a house in LA it is pretty evident that we will not be living near each other anytime soon and our kids will not be growing up together. So the time we do have together is all the more precious. Mazie took some pictures with my phone. Here is a small collection of those. Jon took some great pictures of the cousins which I will post sometime...

Mazie love, ready to head to the airport

Sweet loves

Thanks for visiting! We love y'all and you are welcome anytime!!

Activities

2011-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Moving to a new town and taking Avery out of school at the same time was a bit worrisome for me. I didn't want her to be bored or missing kids her age too much. The timing wasn't ideal with both these things coinciding but timing usually isn't perfect in life and yet things tend to work out. I sought out some activities through the local recreation program to start at the end of January about 3 weeks after we moved. They just happened to coincide with the week that Landon arrived. Thankfully GG was here to take Avery to her first ballet class. Avery loves her new ballet teacher, Miss Chrissy. They have lots of fun and learn a little bit of ballet/tap too. I took a bunch of pictures of the private lesson Avery got with Miss Kelsey when all the other girls didn't show up. Usually the class has about 6 girls in it.

Shuffle Step

Jumping over stuffed animals is super fun.

Miss Kelsey rewards good dancing and memory of things learned during class by letting the girls hula hoop. Miss Kelsey is a great hula hooper and Avery really enjoyed it too.

GG and Avery missed the first art class because I left faulty directions for them as I tried to ready myself to get to the hospital to deliver the baby, oops, my bad :) Avery really enjoyed art class. The teachers were sweet and she got to do some really cool projects.

Here is a mobile they made. Each week had a special project as well as free play with playdough and painting and coloring.

The kids loved these different sized tree trunk pieces.

This wasn't from art class but illustrates Avery's beginning attempts at drawing a person.

For the last art class Avery was joined by her beloved cousin, Mazie who came to visit us. They had a great time painting together and making pompom art.

funny girl

2011-03-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

I don't write down all the funny things Avery says. I should because she constantly makes me laugh, but I don't. My current favorites include: "I'm am" which I realize she has been saying for a long time now and I sort of wonder if she might say it forever; "much more better", so cute; and "packpack" instead of back pack. She calls tofu "toe food" and she asks funny questions like "do worms have eyes and do bumblebees have jaws?". I had to look both those answers up on Google, no worms don't have eyes and yes bumblebees have mandibles, of course they do.

Two Sleepyheads

2011-02-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

Now what do I do, two sleeping kids in the car? The stars have aligned. Hope this isn't the last time they do. I pulled into the garage, realized they were both asleep, backed out, went for a drive in search of a drive thru Starbucks to get a chai tea latte. I did not find one, drove back home, took this picture and then woke Avery up.

Good Ol' Swing

2011-02-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

This trusty old swing has been through Avery, our friends Calvin and Sylvie, but I don't think it has seen any action like that with Landon. We have had to change the batteries multiple times already. He loves to smile at himself in the mirror above, do a little paci sucking and then pass out for hours on end. He really doesn't nap in his crib and definitely prefers the swing during the day.

Our little loves

2011-02-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

A Good Morning

2011-02-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

Can you see he is smiling at her? Love them!!

We went for a walk this morning on the strand and despite a forecast of rain we walked about a mile from our car without an umbrella or rain gear. But we did manage to find a nice little place to stop for breakfast while it poured outside. The weather cleared briefly but then just as we were going to try to walk back to the car it started pouring again so we sent daddy on a mile long run with a very full post-breakfast belly to retrieve the car. It was a great day.

Baby doll

2011-02-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Avery thought it was really fun and funny to have a sleepy Landon try on her headband. Yes that is Mommy's hand holding it properly in place.

A new friend

2011-02-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

During this maternity leave Avery is taking a hiatus from preschool. It is just too far to take her for the day, at least 1 hr both ways. Plus we are in a new city so we don't have any local 3.5 year olds for her to spend time with yet. I have tried to get our not-so-local friends to come visit us some which has been so great but she definitely misses seeing her school friends 2 days a week. Grancy got Avery a Jessie doll from Toy Story. She is really cute and says about 15 different sayings. Avery has enjoyed playing with her and I love this picture.

Baldy

2011-02-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

Much like his big sister, Landon's hair has started falling out. With any luck he will have some hair grown back by the time he is 2. Also like Avery his hair has a red hue in pictures, not so much in person. This picture makes me laugh and smile. Not sure when he will ever have eyebrows.

Joy/iPhone

2011-02-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

Finally, after having my little Samsung flip phone for who knows how long, the iPhone came to Verizon and I was first in line, pretty much literally, there at the Apple store with my pre-purchased receipt and my 2-1/2 wk old baby, begging for my first iPhone. I love it. I love how I can take pictures all the time because my phone is always close-by, unlike my camera. So today I captured a sweet little hand clutching my shirt while he was sleeping. That is my true joy, moreso than the iPhone.

Hello, Kitty

2011-02-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

sweet cuddles

Hello, kitty.
I love this picture.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T22:38:00.000-08:00

It's funny to catch this picture, with Avery looking beautiful as usual, such a sweet big sister. But also with Landon found rarely with his binkie/paci and swaddled. This leads me to write about the vast differences with a second baby. He is so rarely swaddled, only at night for night time sleep. He naps on-the-go or in the swing, never in his crib. With Avery naps were scheduled and in the crib, swaddled, with a noise machine. Landon can sleep through barking dog, Avery screaming, vacuum under his swing, music blaring. He has very distinct periods where he needs the pacifier, but once he is calm and almost asleep he lets it go and falls asleep. With Avery the 5 s's of "the happiest baby on the block" were frequently implemented: shushing, side-lying, swinging, swaddled, sucking. At Landon's 2 week appointment Dr. Woo reminded me of the witching hour with lots of crying and the need for soothing was to be expected. Only it never came and I kept waiting and saying, "no don't say he's a good baby, it might jinx it", but he has no witching hour. It may also be that the crying doesn't bother me/us so much the second time around. I mean what can you do when unloading groceries, getting lunch quickly prepared for a hungry 3 year old? But I think it really is more that he cries a wee bit less. No yoga ball for bouncing to be found in the new house. Yet.

Sledding in Sand

2011-02-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

Have I already said how happy I was to get out of Venice and into the South Bay where we can enjoy family activities? At the Redondo Pier there is an area of sand built up in the winter months where kids can go sledding down a big sand hill. Jon bought us 3 sleds on amazon and we were able to get there on a sunny, chilly day for Avery to sled. Because of the sand the sleds don't just slide but require someone to pull the passenger along. Jon was Avery's pilot mostly but there were some tween girls who also enjoyed riding our awesome sled and pulled Avery down the hill repeatedly. These were among my first iPhone pictures so I did not know how to zoom yet, hence the distant view of the hill, sled, Avery, and Jon. I sat in a beach chair in the shade and fed the little guy while they had tons of fun.

Poor Quincy

2011-02-01T22:32:00.000-08:00

Can you see from his look that Quincy realizes he has fallen yet another rung down the ladder? Maybe he has, but Jon does a wonderful job of still caring for him, much better than I do. Quincy is so good with them both, especially Avery who wakes him from a dead sleep to try to get him to play with her. He has a 'yard' now out back, but he usually just sits by the screen door waiting to be let back in. We have new scat mats to keep him off the sofa so he and I are getting along much better these days since I don't have to look at his fur on the couch, yay! He really is a good boy and since one of my sister's dogs recently went to doggie heaven I try to give him an extra pet each day...

Tiny Guy

2011-02-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Sweet tiny guy. When I found out I was having a boy back in the fall of 2010 I took a little trip to Nordstrom Rack with Avery to find her some new shoes and I happened to find 2 cute boy outfits. I was convinced I would not find any cute boy outfits but I did! I have loved putting him in this one even though he looks like a little puppy in it. Love him!!

Sweet Loves

2011-01-31T22:20:00.000-08:00

A picture of my sweet loves, Avery 3 yr 6.5 months. Landon 1 week.
Of note, the headband Avery wears in all these pictures is from her friend Ella at school. She received it in her cubbie on the last day of school before we left for maternity leave. She misses her friend Ella who clearly has an excellent fashion sense and understanding of Avery's fashion preferences. She literally wears it every day.

A Real Baby!

2011-01-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Avery got a very special gift when Landon came home from the hospital: her very own baby doll. She really had to work at first to be gentle, she just loved him so much she wanted to squeeze him. Jon compared her to Lenny from "Of Mice and Men". "I will name him (Landon), and I will hug him, and pet him, and squeeze him". She would literally shake, trying to keep herself from squeezing him too hard, so excited to have her very own baby. These pictures are of how she introduced him to all her friends. She loves to cover him with her blankets. We have had lots of lessons about the fragility of babies, soft spots, not covering baby's head, etc. It is a work in progress but she is a quick learner and loves her baby brother so much.

He's Here!

2011-01-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

Our sweet boy, Landon James, was born this morning at 1032 AM. He weighs 6 lb 7 oz and is 19.5 inches long.
We stopped at the 7-11 down the street so Jon could get a giant Icee, after all we knew it would be a long night. I was only 2 cm dilated when we got to the hospital. They offered that I could go home, I said no thank you! We did some walking around to get things going and by 4 am I was demanding the epidural. It was crazy painful going in but worked like a charm within minutes. I was worried that my water did not break all this time through all these contractions. But in the end it was protective and meant to be.
My doctor broke my water, which was meconium-stained which is an indicator of stress for the baby, at 7 or 8 am. Once I started pushing around 930am the baby began having decelerations where the heart rate drops with contractions and did not improving as quickly as it should. They put oxygen on me, put me on my side, said "I am suspicious that the cord is wrapped around your baby's neck", insisted I stop pushing for a short time, they brought out the vacuum just like with Avery, there was very loud, insistent encouragement from everyone in the room and NICU was there. Our nurses Stephanie and Polly were incredible. The baby had the craziest 'growth' on his head as they carried him to the warmer but fortunately it was just fluid displaced by the vacuum and within an hour or 2 it was gone, thank goodness.
The cord wrapped around his neck 3 times (quite rare according to our OB). He had apgars of 8 and 9, which to me as a neonatal nurse practitioner tells me we got lucky and that cord was not too tight. He already loves to eat. Avery came to see him this evening. I could not have scripted a more perfect first meeting, she said the sweetest things, hopefully one day we will be able to post the video. She was holding him for a while and he started to fuss because he was hungry and she was so so sad that I had to take him back. She wanted to feed him a bottle. It was sweet and sad. I had to tell her we didn't have a bottle to give him yet. But there will be plenty of bottles to come.
We are so happy to have this precious addition to our family. Now to sleep while I can. The nurses are taking him for his first bath and to let me get a little rest until the next feeding. The second child is so different. Jon and Avery went home and it is just me and my little guy, whereas with Avery Jon never left our side.

Back in the Saddle of Blogging

2011-01-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Whoa, I cannot be more behind in my blogging and so much has happened in the past several months, so I am picking a day to start again, letting the months in between go. If I ever find the time to go back to those months I will but for now I will touch on a few highlights up to the day before our second child entered this world. January 23.

The first is not a highlight, but a confirmation that it was time to get out of Venice... December 5th we discovered that Jimmy our homeless neighbor for the last 7.5 years had died.

Sidewalk memorial for Jimmy, we spotted it walking down our street to the farmer's market, right where Jimmy's brown van was always parked. We knew immediately he must have died. We got the details by Jon talking to some other homeless people in the neighborhood, he had been hospitalized with pneumonia and was found in his van just days after being discharged. Quincy will always miss Jimmy's belly rubs.

We signed the papers on our new house in December 3rd and closed on our new house December 8th.

Closing day - the keys were finally ours!

I went out on early maternity leave after chest pain landed me in the CHLA ER and SM-UCLA L&D... (let's be honest: stress-related) in mid-December. I semi-successfully french-braided Avery's hair for the first time.

We celebrated Hannukah and Christmas.

Avery lit the Hannukah candles herself every night after saying the prayer. She is growing up!

Rugelach for Santa
Happiness Christmas morning

The moving truck came to Rose avenue Jan 7th. We spent our first night in Redondo Beach that night, very very late that night after moving all day and going back to clean Rose that night.
Grancy stayed with Avery that first night without heat and I couldn't sleep at all on our new mattress in our new house with new strange lights outside and new noises.

Last meal at 544 Rose #3, PB&J and Whole Foods salads

Grancy and Avery on the way our new park moving day afternoon

Avery did great with the transition, never looking back, happy to sleep on the floor for a week before we found a special big girl bed on Craigslist.
Pretty new bed.

We settled in like crazy for the next 2.5 weeks. We unpacked the last boxes around Jan 21st.

Jan 15th: We went to check out our new pier, Hermosa pier. I barely made it back up the hill to the car!

Jan 20th: Avery and I went to Mission Viejo to see Grancy and met up with some very special high school friends at the park. They were all so sweet to meet us there. Amy, Shalimar and 2 of her kids Wyatt and Amaiah, & Amanda (and some random kid at the park).

On Jan 23rd GG arrived to hopefully be around to take care of Avery if I went into labor. Originally she was coming Jan 25th but I decided the 23rd would be better; what a fortuitous decision. We all finished cleaning up the garage that afternoon, scrubbing old baby toys/swing/etc. That night both cars were parked in the garage for the first time. I had a feeling labor was coming so I took a nice shower and did my hair at 8 pm and at 930 pm, when I lied down to rest, my contractions were 2-7 minutes apart. Around 1130 pm we headed to the hospital, relieved that GG was there to be with our sweet girl. We went in to say goodbye to her, that we were going to the hospital because the baby was coming and she didn't say a word, just got a big smile on her face and went back to sleep.

Guess who came to town!!!

2010-11-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

After having a big slumber party in Venice the first night and going to the Santa Monica Pier the next morning, we drove to Redondo to show Aunties Kate and Bee and all the cousins the house we might be buying. Then we drove to Mission Viejo where we stayed for 3 nights. We spent lots of time at Grancy's celebrating an early Christmas.

Pretty Girl

2010-11-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Ella and Charlotte's rainy butterfly 5th and 3rd birthday party. Mommy forgot to take ANY pictures so when we got home she made me sit on the couch and smile. Happy birthday sweet friends.

Disneyland

2010-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

I told Avery that we wouldn't go to D-land all summer because it's too hot and crowded, somehow she interpreted this to mean that Disneyland is closed all summer and somewhere along the line I just started agreeing with her. So now that Disneyland is open again we joined our friends there.

Dumbo and mastering the self-portrait with me

I am happy to report she is no longer afraid of the carousel. She enjoyed riding with Charlotte bear.

Pretty Ella.

Hi Pooh!

Sweet Tigger.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a lovely Halloween evening with our dear friends, just like last year, it has become a bit of a tradition that we are so happy to be a part of. Starting about 2 months before Halloween, whenever we asked Avery what she wanted to be she said Abby Cadabby, just like last year. She stuck with this answer right up through Halloween, which made my life easy, we just broke out the exact same costume as last year.

Last year (above)...

This year...

Rorschach

2010-10-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Recently Avery has become very imaginative with her food. Specifically fruit. I cut up apples or asian pears and she takes bites out of the pieces of fruit and says "this looks like a sailboat" or "this looks like a giraffe". It is quite amusing.

iPad pix

2010-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

After deciding not to venture out 1 hr to a pumpkin patch/farm, we drove 5 minutes to 3rd street promenade to listen to music, shop and have frozen yogurt. We love to go there and marvel that we live so close to this place where there are amazing musicians and performers and now there is also a very (almost too) fancy outdoor mall at the end of the promenade. We listened to Chelsea Williams who is so talented and has a uniquely beautiful voice. We could have sat there all day listening to her but Avery wanted to get up and moving. So we walked over to the Apple store and a nice young man showed Avery some really cool apps on the iPad and then emailed us her work, featured below. As much as I can't stand where we live sometimes, days like this make me appreciate what we do have.

Computer Station

2010-10-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

We keep our computers on the kitchen table as regular computer stations. One morning, Avery assembled her own computer station while Jon was working at his own station. So he took a couple of pictures of her. Of note, those plastic clip-on earrings she is wearing are one of her favorite things but those suckers are so breakable and hard to fix. I am thinking of just getting her ears pierced instead!

Florida Family Pix

2010-10-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

GG, Daynie, Daddy and Avery (note all her bling)

Grandma Jenny, Daddy and Avery

Swimming in Florida

2010-10-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Jon and I had the great pleasure of a night away while we were in Jupiter visiting GG and Daynie. The hotel was awesome and the next day Avery, GG and Daynie joined us at the pool. Avery did lots of swimming in Florida and by the end of the trip she was jumping off by herself and demanding that I scoot back further away from her. Jon got some great pictures of this. Never mind how adorable the ballet bathing suit was that GG gave her. Too cute.

Sylvie's Big Day

2010-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Sylvie's first birthday party. It was a beautiful party at a fancy Korean restaurant with all kinds of new and wonderful foods and desserts. Sylvie was dressed in a fabulous special outfit for her big day, she looked so pretty. Oh how we love the Browns.

Look at all the pretty desserts and fruit (and girls)

teacher frank's picture

2010-10-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Yellow Group has a nice teacher that Avery now gets to know because Blue Group and Yellow Group share some space and sometimes do activities together. Teacher Frank has been at her school for a long while. Tonight she happily led me to her cubbie to show me the picture Teacher Frank drew of her. They have princess dresses that the girls love to dress up in and he drew her in one of those dresses. So sweet.

swing alone

2010-10-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today Avery showed Daddy at the park how she can pump and swing all by herself. She just needed a few big pushes to get started and then insisted that he go sit down and let her do the work. She learned at school it seems. I met them both at the park after work so she could show me too. What a big girl!

Construction

2010-09-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

When I was on bedrest with Avery May/June 2007 the Pioneer Bakery across the street from our bedroom was torn down. Oh how I miss the afternoon smell of sourdough baking. I digress. I thought it was kind of funny at the time that I was stuck listening to all the noise.
Now that I am pregnant again, apparently "their" funding came through and a massive construction project has started. In all, it will include underground parking, retail shops and apartments. The construction workers like to start around 6 am, driving their trucks around: beep beep beep. I have no idea why the trucks have to back-up so often. I actually saw a truck driving forward down the street with the 'beep beep beep' going strong, so maybe it's not just for vehicles in reverse anymore. Anyway, they also turned the dirt lot right next to us into a parking lot for all the workers. Here are a few pictures. I won't say this is why we started looking more seriously at moving/buying a house, but it definitely was a factor for me.

The Donut Song

2010-09-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Avery LOVES her new class in school. Every year the school has a birthday party. This was their 17th birthday. Each class "performs", including the babies being brought through the auditorium in wagons, the toddlers singing happy birthday and then Avery's class worked for a month to learn "The Donut Song". Teacher Edna sent the words to the song home so we could practice. It even became part of our nightly bedtime routine. It is a cute song and they practiced every day at school, even getting to enjoy Donettes quite often to make sure they could all take a bite of a donut at the end of the song. Avery knew that song backwards and forwards but once faced with hundreds of adoring parents, the entire Blue Group clammed up a bit and all you could really hear was the teacher singing. Never mind that Avery didn't look at the video camera one time. But it was still cute. And they all did a great job eating their donut at the end.

BUG!!!!

2010-09-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Avery loves to spot Volkswagen bugs whenever we are driving around. She is unbelievably gifted in this pursuit. She yells out from her carseat, "BUG!" undoubtedly scaring whoever is in the car with her. Her knowledge has now expanded to know if the bug is new or old, hard-top or convertible. She and Jon had the good fortune on a recent excursion to the beach to spot a pink Bug. What a special day!!

EuroBungy

2010-09-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

The pinnacle of our visit to the pier was finally letting Avery go on the EuroBungy which she has watched with great interest the last couple of times we have gone to the pier. She thoroughly enjoyed herself. When she would lose momentum she would look at the boys running the ride to be sure they gave her an extra pull to get her jumping high again. We waited probably 45 minutes in line which was quite excessive. We waited long enough to see that they let Avery have a significantly longer time in the bungy than the other kids because she was so darn cute and smiley and everyone walking by would stop to watch her. No lie. Next time we will get there right when they open and skip the other rides at the pier and just do this. Avery loved every second of it.

Santa Monica Pier

2010-09-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a Labor Day outing to the Santa Monica Pier today. It was a beautiful day. Avery enjoyed riding the rides with Daddy, including the sea planes, the frog hopper, and the ferris wheel. I got to tag along on the ferris wheel. It was a never-ending ride with beautiful views of the beach.

Third Birthday Party

2010-08-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

After having to postpone Avery's 3rd birthday party for 6 weeks due to a cough and fever, we were so happy to have a beautiful day at Mar Vista Park for our 2nd attempt. Six months before her birthday, Jon asked Avery if she wanted a bounce house and she never forgot about it. My goal was to get a picture of every child at the party. I did not achieve that goal but did capture many of Avery's friends.

Bounce House Central

Avery and Lawson

Andrew, Lawson, Avery, Charlotte and Ella

Deirdre and Charlotte

Ella

Sweet barefoot birthday girl

Maddie getting blindfolded for pin the tail on the donkey

The girls checking out the game
Decorating the first cupcake for the birthday girl.
I made yellow and chocolate cupcakes from scratch, thank you Joy of Cooking, as well as cream cheese and chocolate cream cheese frosting. Each kid got to put on the frosting and sprinkles and especially for Avery and Daddy some sour gummy worms were supplied.

Repopulating the earth, me, Jenny and Deirdre

Kylie jumping out of the bounce house

(Gabri)Ella all finished jumping

At the end of the party after many of the guests had gone home, Avery and Calvin enjoyed some quality jumping time. Avery stayed inside until they came to take the bounce house away. It was well worth it!

First Position

2010-08-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

We showed up to ballet class today and the teacher invited everyone inside to observe class. They only allow parents in for the first and last class. Wait a minute. It's the last class? Maybe that's why every single other parent has their camera and/or video camera. I had my Samsung flip phone that doesn't email pictures... How on earth did I not realize this is the last class? So in order to commemorate my forgetfulness we took pictures of Avery in 1st and 2nd position at home after the last class was complete.

Aquarium and Fountain Fun

2010-08-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed some more fun in Atlanta by going to their wonderful aquarium. They had 2 beautiful white beluga whales. The kids could have stood there all day. Once we pulled them away and ran through some more exhibits we found a fun moving sidewalk which the kids enjoyed immensely. We then headed to a playground where Avery demonstrated her high climbing abilities. Finally we went to the fountain at Olympic park. Avery was the first to run into the fountain and get soaked, then Mazie joined her, then Elliott and finally Lucia. They had so much fun and did not want to leave. We didn't want to leave either because the next morning it was time to head home.

Frosted Orange

2010-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

My dad was the first person in his family to graduate from college. He nearly failed out on one or two occasions but persevered and completed his education. He is a very proud and involved alumnus, supporting Georgia Tech athletics. Growing up we would watch, and sometimes when lucky get to attend, Tech basketball and football games. Right before Jon and I got married, Dad, Katie and I traveled to San Antonio to watch the Final Four. UConn, where Jon went to college, ended up beating Tech in the final game. I digress. In Atlanta, near the Tech campus, is The Varsity. When my dad was in college, he would go there with his buddies. They continue to have car hops, wonderful greasy food, and a delicious frozen treat called a Frosted Orange. We stopped there to get a Frosted Orange for each of the kids and I happily indulged as well. Oh, and go Jackets!!

To Grandma Libby's House We Go...

2010-08-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Auntie Kate and I teamed up with the 4 little ones for a road trip to Newnan to see our grandmother, their great-grandmother. We stopped in Auburn on our way and enjoyed one of Katie's favorite parks. Avery especially loved picking fresh blueberries off the bush and eating them right there! What a treat. With all potty breaks included the trip took nearly twice as long as it normally would have, but it was well worth it. Grancy was also there and we got to see great aunts and uncle and cousins. It was so nice to all be together. These times are few and far between so I tried to enjoy every minute.

Cousin time

2010-08-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

We were so thrilled to get some time to go visit my sister and Avery's cousins for a while. Grandpa and Nanalin drove us from Atlanta to small town USA and stayed for a few days of fun. Jon also joined us for a few days. In looking back through pictures I found that I got a lot of pictures of the 4 cousins from behind, it is much easier than trying to get all of them looking at the camera at the same time. The kids enjoyed homemade popsicles, the outdoors, their own kids table, freeing butterflies, gummy letter candy from Uncle Jon (ALE&M), and trying unsuccessfully to dye white carnations different colors. We always enjoy our time in the country.

Sleepyhead

2010-08-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

In all our travels over the past 3 years, if ever in a hotel Avery would sleep in a crib or pack 'n play. This time, in order to get to Katie's but then back to my grandmother's, we flew in and out of Atlanta. Fortunately my dad and Nanalin were in town and headed to Katie's, so they picked us up and then we spent 1 night in a hotel before we left to see the triplets. Avery did so great sleeping in her own big hotel bed and I got a great night's sleep in the other bed! It was heavenly.

The World's A Stage

2010-08-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Avery has found a new pastime for when I am getting ready in the morning or doing chores upstairs. She moves all her friends to their front row seats positioned between the bed and the wall. Then she pushes aside all the blankets and dances and sings to her heart's content. If we are anywhere nearby, she insists that we sit and watch her. She loves to watch herself sing and dance in the mirror on the wall. She could entertain herself and her friends forever doing this.

Rally Dally: Another Goodbye

2010-08-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Since 2008, we had the privilege of having dear friends with whom we could do even trades for dogsitting. Avery has always loved Rally; Rally never really reciprocated this feeling. But she was always a sweet girl as she ran away from Avery and squealed if Avery came within inches of her fur. We tried to take lots of pictures during Rally's last stay with us. She moved to Nashville with her parents, Jessica and Tim. We miss them all terribly!!

Avery's picture of Rally hiding from her under the table

Avery's picture #2

For this last visit, Rally did join us nightly for story time in Avery's room which was really sweet.

Daddy's Bday

2010-07-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

This was my second year to attempt a key lime bundt cake for Jon's birthday. It was an Oprah's favorite thing a few years ago and the recipe is slightly complex. Thank you Pam for Baking for allowing the cake to come out of the pan in one piece this time. Last year we got a bike seat for Avery and this year, it is all about the Vitamix. We are enjoying lots of fruit/veggie juices and ice cream. Happy Birthday Daddy, we love you!!

Attempt 2009

Attempt 2010 :)

Helping Daddy blow out the candles

3rd Birthday at School

2010-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Avery spent her actual 3rd birthday at school with her friends. My sister had a favorite birthday favor her kids had gotten last year which was simply a banana or 2. I added to that a kid's music animal CD that I made last year and called it a favor.

I made the same chocolate cupcakes I make every year from the Joy of Cooking and made a strawberry frosting. I cut the tops off the cupcakes, cut out hearts which didn't look too much like hearts so I switched over to stars which looked a bit better. Avery had a great day. Her teacher made her a paper sparkly crown and she got to blow out candles which is always a special treat.
By the end of the day she had a runny nose which turned into a fever by Saturday morning. We had to postpone her Sunday birthday party for 6 weeks, due to our work/vacation schedule. We were still able to enjoy a relaxing weekend and she didn't mind so much that her party was canceled. Funny she didn't look sick blowing out the candles...

Auntie Daynie's Crafts

2010-07-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

Jon spends lots of wonderful weekends with Avery. Sometimes he is looking for something new for them to do. Fortunately Auntie Daynie, a special ed teacher, has great craft ideas for them. Avery loved stringing the cheerios and pasta onto dental floss to make a nice, long necklace.

A couple of weeks later she happily decorated a paper grocery bag to make a lovely dress. Thanks Daynie for sending your great ideas our way. We love you!!

Future Pilot?

2010-07-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Avery recently had the great opportunity to attend her friend Lawson's bday party at the Santa Monica Airport. This little airport is just a mile or 2 from us and Avery constantly asks to drive by the airport and whenever we go to the park near the airport she calls out "airplane!!" every minute as the planes take off.
Aside from yummy food and cake, the kids were able to board a real plane and sit in the cockpit and "steer" the plane. She had so much fun and still talks about it.

Other than Jon's pictures of her, the only other party pictures captured of her were waiting beside the birthday boy come cake time. She loves herself some birthday cake, that is for sure.

Blue Group

2010-07-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Last week we got word that Avery would be moving up to blue group at school. This came as a bit of a surprise as the rumor was that all the girls about to turn 3 weren't going to transition until September. But I think we were ready for a change. Although overall Avery liked red group, I was not too disappointed when I got the notice. The lead red group teacher and I were never quite on the same page and I think she didn't understand Avery or allow her to be the person that she is. Anyway, the week before turning 3 Avery was to spend 2 partial days in blue group/red group and then transition full time the next week to blue group. But her first transition day she said sayanora to red group and never looked back. Her new lead teacher, Teacher Edna, asked if she wanted to go back to red group for lunch, "no", for naptime, "no" and she ended up happily spending the whole day in her new room. That night when I picked her up she said "I don't want to go back to red group". When I asked her why she simply said that she is a big girl now and indeed she is. She has loved blue group ever since. Two of her teachers from when she was a little baby there also spend some time with blue group, which I think is really neat.

some funny sayings

2010-07-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

i started this list forever ago, a list of funny things she says. this doesn't even really do it justice but here are a few that i have caught the time to write down.

1. avery didn't have some hair so much - referring to her baby pictures
2. there's it is
3. it very hurted me.
4. one day avery was squishing my chest and i said "ow that hurts mommy's boobies" and avery promptly looked down her shirt and said "who's going to give them to me?"
5. upon finding out i was pregnant (oh yeah, i am pregnant, due Jan 28th, we are super excited)
"i put her in there, i put the baby in mommy's belly button"
6. trying to teach her to say may i..., she always still throws in a 'can' like this:
may i please can i have some ....
7. i'm am.
8. me to jon "why is she not in miami anymore?"
avery "why is she not in your ami?"
9. i do want much.
10. after this, i think a chocolate nut will fit in my tummy. of course she knows there is always room for dessert.

Goodbye to another friend!

2010-07-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Avery and I were so lucky the last 8 months to have a dear friend of mine from college back in LA. She recently got a new job back in Denver so she is moving away. We recently went over to her place to have lunch, "help" with packing, and to say goodbye. Avery has a special affection for Jen, she always has. Avery is so comfortable with her and loves her dearly. She would be so excited whenever I would tell her we had plans with Jen. Jen has 2 kitty cats, which has been fun for Avery. Anyone who knows me knows I am not the biggest fan of cats, mainly due to allergies. So it takes a special person for me to visit their place and let Avery "play" with cats. Alley is the friendly one that Avery is pictured with, Tornado is not pictured and standoffish but Avery was intrigued with her just the same.
Luckily Jen has local family and so she will continue to visit our neck of the woods. We will miss you Jen and look forward to your many visits :)

Cuddling with Alley

Cuddling with Jen

Ballet Love

2010-06-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

For months and months Avery has been asking for ballet classes. Our dear friend's daughter Anna has taken local rec ballet classes and the teacher was so highly recommended by them. I was so excited that she could finally sign up, the classes finally start at age 3. We went to the shoe store to buy some ballet shoes and literally as soon as she put them on she started "dancing" around. At the first class she was so good, she got right into the mix and really participated so much more than I thought she would. She loved it and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the entire 45 minutes. In fact hours after the class when she was talking about it she said "you were smiling at me" and I said "yes I was, I was so proud of you". The pictures don't do it justice but it really was so much fun. There are 9 classes and parents are only allowed at the first and last class, so there won't be more ballet pix until the end of August. Teacher Angie was just great with the girls, she is very fun but also makes them mind her. Getting 10 3-4year olds into a straight line behind her requires great patience. I am sure they will have it all figured out in a week or 2.

Movie Night

2010-06-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to let Avery stay up late so that we could have a movie night at home. We watched Toy Story 2 which came highly recommended to us and Avery loved it. She had to go potty twice but she wouldn't budge until the movie was paused. We had popcorn and M & M's and Avery really liked Woody. We are planning to take her to the theater the weekend of her birthday to see Toy Story 3. **note: I had no idea just how much pink there is in our living room until I saw this picture and now I look around and all I see is pink. When did this happen?

Grandpa and NanaLin Came to Visit

2010-06-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

We had the great pleasure of seeing Grandpa and NanaLin over this past week. They were on a whirlwind Southwest trip and we were lucky to have them come through LA twice during their trip. They had the privilege of going to Friday at the US Open at Pebble Beach and spent the surrounding days, including Father's Day, with us. We went to the Getty, Yogurtland, La Grande Orange and Venice Beach and Jon and I got a date night too! We had tons of fun. There are not many pictures but here are 2 from the Getty. We love any time we get to spend with these 2 special people in our lives.

Goodbye Oskar

2010-06-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

After much talk over the past year or so, our neighbors have taken the plunge and moved out of their place and to Chicago to give the city a good try for a year. Oskar recently had a little brother, Lukas, so the 4 of them are off to Germany for the summer and then back to Chicago. We are going to miss them all so much and really hope this adventure leads only to good things for everyone. They are coming back in January so we will look forward to seeing them then. Their last interaction was so great, with lots of laughter. We watched the truck out our window and went into their apartment when it was nearly empty to help Avery understand that they were leaving for good. I thought she understood but then I stopped in there a few days later to check on something for Marisa and Avery was in the hallway in her stroller and she said "I want to see Oskar." :(
Included are some of my favorite pix of them from the past 3 years. They have grown up so much!

August 2009

April 2009

November 2008

July 2008

Elmo Live Again

2010-06-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Last May we went to Elmo Live with our dear friends, Deirdre, Ella and Charlotte. This time we brought along Daddy, which was most definitely a mistake. He will now compare funerals, religious services, and traffic jams to whether or not they were worse than Elmo live. He is not a fan of elmo live but Avery did enjoy it. And we enjoyed being with our friends immensely.

Our Little Shutterbug

2010-05-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

Avery has recently learned how to take pictures with our camera. I am not sure always how good of an idea this was. Especially when it ends up on some funky setting that I don't know how to get out of. But here are a few of her samples. She especially loves to take pictures of Quincy.

Happy Birthday Calvin

2010-05-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of spending Mother's Day morning with our dear friends, The Browns, to celebrate Calvin's 2nd birthday. We went to the aquarium and then to Outback. Mijin had made the most delicious carrot cake cupcakes. Avery loved sitting next to little Sylvie at the big table and Calvin was such a happy little birthday boy. Click here for a group picture, yes we forgot to tell Mijin to wear green.

I love airplanes

2010-05-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

As we were taking the red-eye home we had one last full day to enjoy beach time, fish sandwiches, shave ice and to pick up a lei for Avery. She loved her lei. The plane ride was, hmmm, miserable. I was so hot the whole time and Avery was lying on my lap not really sleeping. It ranks with some of the longest hours of my life. The plane landed at LAX sometime before 5 am and as everyone is groggily waking from restless sleep, Avery blurts out "I love airplanes!!" She is a good sport and she really does love to fly.

Hertz bus back to the airport :(

Last Dinner and Gifts

2010-05-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

We chose a restaurant for our last dinner, Bouchons Hanalei, that ended up being our worst dinner, but we made up for it by finding a few little trinkets to take home and by ordering 2 lava cakes from Postcards to go to end on a positive note. Avery loves chocolate lava cake, just like her mommy. The last little shop we went in had a bracelet that Jon wanted to get for Avery and she found a little wooden dolphin she loved. We went to pay the lady working at the shop and she insisted that we take the two gifts for free. The picture is of her enjoying the gifts on the way to pick up our chocolate cakes.

Shave Ice

2010-05-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

We hardly went a day during our vacation without venturing out for shave ice. Yum-city! Toward the end of the trip we stopped sharing 1 or 2 big ones and each got our own. Avery loved to have rainbow shave ice and at the Wishing Well they include a gummy worm to make it all the more fun. If you look closely you can see it.

Hideaways

2010-05-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days were so pretty. We hiked down a semi-precarious, rope lined path to a beautiful beach called Hideaways Beach just below our condo. It would have been nearly impossible had the ground still been wet from the rain so I was glad we waited until it was dry and sunny to give it a try. The first day Jon carried Avery and I was the Sherpa carrying the boat, a beach chair, a backpack, straw mat and more. The second time we left the boat and chair at home and I lost the mat on the way up the first day so we didn't bring that either. It was definitely quiet and there was shade for when it got too hot. There were lots of snorkelers out and about.

Postcards Cafe

2010-05-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our favorite nice dinner we had in Kauai was at Postcards Cafe in Hanalei. Kauai is known for friendliness and much like we remembered from our honeymoon it has a small town feel. We had the same waitress for breakfast that morning. We had no idea she worked at Postcards but when we sat down I made the connection. She was a pretty girl with 2 sons around Avery's age. She works 2 days a week, mornings at the Wake Up Cafe (breakfast not so good) and nights at Postcards, then she is off the other 5 days a wk to be with her sons. She gave us good recommendations of things to do with Avery. The food was really tasty, yummy wine and the most decadent chocolate volcano cake.

Lydgate Park Beach

2010-05-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

We had heard great things about a beach a little bit south of Princeville that is good for kids because it is an enclosed area ringed by large lava rocks which is perfectly calm. Our condo had a cute little toddler boat that we brought with us. Avery ended up loving the boat because she could sit on her own and she loved to be spun around and bounced up and down. There were beautiful schools of fish that kept swimming around us. Avery could have stayed out there all day. We brought a nice picnic and then went for a walk just south of that area where we took a bunch of photos. They also had a really cool playground with handcarved wooden features. It was a very memorable day.

Our Little Beach Bum

2010-05-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ke'e and Rainbows

2010-05-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

One day after nap time we ventured up to the northernmost beach that is reachable by car, Ke'e beach. It was pretty late so we decided not to bring bathing suits. This ended up a mistake. As soon as our toes touched the sand Avery was grabbing her shirt and trying to take it off so she could go in the water. We ended up having her swim in her birthday suit. She had a blast. It was so warm and nice out.

On the drive back to Princeville we saw a 180 degree beautiful rainbow. It reminded me of all the rainbows we saw on our honeymoon 6 years ago. We stopped to take a few pictures of the rainbow but none of them did it justice. We stopped at the Dolphin Restaurant in Hanalei which was amongst our least favorite meals, not terrible just not as good as some other places we went.

'breaking in' for fun

2010-05-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

As I already said, our condo was located just before the St Regis in Princeville. We heard they had a nice beach with tidepools and such so we decided to venture into their territory and pretend like we belonged. I think we did a good job negotiating several elevators and misleading signs :) Our striped towels probably almost gave us away but as long as you didn't ask for towel/food/drink service at the pool they didn't care to ask you your name and room number. The pool was super nice, we did humpty dumpty about 50 times, and the beach was pretty nice too, just a little rocky. It rained a little on us in the pool but that didn't stop the fun.

dinner date

2010-04-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

We went out for several delicious dinners in Kauai, some fancy, some not so fancy. We read about a little "Fish Hut" in a strip mall kind of setting in Kapaa and they had the best fish sandwiches. We went there twice because it was so tasty AND they had great, huge shave ice too. These are our pre-dinner pix.

Rainy Days

2010-04-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

We had plenty of rain while we were in Kauai. One of the first days we were there we all got ready to go to the pool and as soon as we got outside it started to pour. Here are the before and after pictures. We ended up getting rained on while running, in the pool and at the beach a couple of times but by the end of the trip we had two perfectly gorgeous days.

Pu'u Poa

2010-04-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

So we decided to rent a condo in Princeville, Kauai, rather than stay in a hotel. This way we had a kitchen for breakfast and lunch, washer and dryer, and Avery had her own bedroom so we wouldn't all have to go to sleep at the same time. As we approached the area, I said I hope the pictures were not deceiving that made us choose this place. We were definitely not disappointed. The condo was beautiful with the nicest kitchen I have ever seen. It opened up onto a large grassy area, then there was a cliff and a beautiful beach that we could hike to down below. For the first 2 days Avery kept saying "I love our new house". We had to gently tell her that this luxury was only temporary.

These birds were present every morning to eat in the grassy area. Avery enjoyed watching them.

Avery sitting at the kitchen table, where her infamous jelly bean counts were first held.

The view from the master bedroom.

Notice the ropes to prevent toddlers from falling down the several hundred foot drop-off.

Happy Disney

2010-04-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Two days before we left for Hawaii, we joined our dear friends, Deirdre, Ella and Charlotte along with Grancy for a wonderful day at Disneyland. We went on several rides (must-haves Small World and Dumbo among them). Deirdre was sweet enough to take all the girls on the Teacups, which make me so ill I can't stand to go on them, even for my sweet girl who loves the ride.

We then sat for the most lovely meal I have ever had at Disney, Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, mainly because we were able to sit for maybe 2 hours enjoying each others company. A big skillet filled with a warm chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream didn't hurt either. Yummy! It was such a fun day.

Avery loved the cookie treat so much she licked the plate clean, and I let her.

Pony Rides

2010-04-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Avery had her first opportunity to ride a pony at her friend Lawson's 3rd birthday party last July. She really wanted to but just couldn't muster up the courage. She talked about it for months afterward. We are fortunate to live near one of the best farmer's markets ever. The Sunday Santa Monica farmer's market features great food, local produce, live music and either a petting zoo or pony rides every week. Avery and Jon frequent the farmer's market often while I am working. She has many times requested to ride the ponies, they wait in line and then she backs out at the last minute.
3 Sundays ago, she let Jon put her on the pony and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Jon stayed inside the fence and walked most of the time with her. These are pictures of her first pony ride. She has since gone each week and today I got to be there. She let the pony ride worker put her on the pony and we watched from outside the fence. She had the biggest smile. She always picks the same horse, the smallest brown one. His name, we found out today, is Chocolate. Avery and I also shared a delicious banana pancake, yum city!
I am now officially caught up with the blog, just in time for our trip to Kauai. I cannot believe it's been 6 years since our wedding and honeymoon. Scary how time flies. We love you, Jon/daddy!! Aloha!

Big Bed Time

2010-04-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Avery's first night in her "big girl bed", now that potty training is complete. She was very excited as we disassembled the bed frame and lowered the mattress onto the floor. We left her very cozy and now we are just waiting for her to fall asleep...

Funny and nice things

2010-04-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Avery's new favorite thing to say is "I have an idea, hmm.." and we wait patiently for her to come up with her idea. She loves to read "Edwina the dinosaur who didn't know she was extinct". She has been fully potty trained for a few weeks now. She loves to love on Quincy. She took some pictures of him recently.

She loves to gallop. She loves her friends Miles and Ella at school and she loves all her teachers too. She pretends to drink coffee (which we don't drink...) from the same little stacking cups that my friend Deirdre gave to me as a baby gift. She likes to play pretend. She still doesn't know the difference between TinkerBell and the Disney Princesses, she calls them all TinkerBell, I pride myself on this one. She loves to eat all kinds of fruit just like her Daddy.

Disease or No?

2010-04-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

For Easter I gave Avery a card with stickers to decorate an Easter egg. She chose to decorate herself instead. It looks like she has a skin disease but they are just a bunch of stickers on her belly.

Huntington Gardens

2010-03-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

We recently joined our dear friends, the Browns, at the beautiful Huntington Gardens in San Marino. They remembered a camera, so follow the path here to see their pictures. We enjoyed the children's garden and a lovely picnic. It was a beautiful day shared with friends.