Kisses

1...2...3...fork!

Just like Daddy

Daddy drew the star, the rest is all Scarlett! She loves her new crayons from Gigi and I love that they are washable. We've been trying to teach Scarlett that crayons can only be used on paper, but sometimes she can't resist drawing on the floor...and the refridgerator...and the wall...

Hot mess

In moderation, blueberries are blueberries. In mass amounts they are, as I've said before, poopberries. Frozen blueberries in any amount are a gigantic mess, but they sure make great pictures!

I won!

I recently started reading fashion blogs because even though it may not look like it, I love clothes. I was thinking the other day that if I won the lottery, my first spendy purchase would probably be at a department store in Beverly Hills. Saks, Barneys, Nordstrom - I'm not picky. Anyway, there are a few blogs that I visit daily. One of them is called LA Stylist Mom. The blogger is a former fashion stylist for tv and movies. The other day she wrote about Polarn O. Pyret (or PO.P for short), a Swedish line of baby and kids clothes that has just entered the US market. There was a contest to win a super adorable fleece baby bunting and I WON! Now, little Scarlett has the perfect outfit for our chilly Christmas at Gigi's! Score!

Tuesday Afternoon

Poor little Scarlett has had a cold since Saturday. She's all sniffly and coughing and doesn't have much of an appetite - except, as it turns out, for blueberries. I gave them to her on Monday and after that it was all she wanted to eat. I didn't care, I was just happy she was eating. And then... Tuesday afternoon happened. I looked down at Scarlett as we were playing and noticed she had some sort of dark stain on the back of her shirt. Did I put her in a dirty shirt? Did she lay down on something wet? And then I got closer - it was poop. Explosive, up the back, blueberry poop. I ever-so gingerly picked her up, wet a washcloth and laid her down on the changing table. I took of her clothes, wiped her clean(ish) and then gave in to the toddler temper tantrum that was happening and put her on the floor diaperless. Scarlett eagerly asked (did her uppie arms and whined) for me to put her in her crib and I was happy to comply. I left the room to wet another washcloth and when I got back my sweet, smiling daughter was standing in a puddle of fresh urine. Good. Times. I took her out and stripped the bedding while she cried and cried because she wanted to be back in her crib so badly. Fine with me! I placed a clean blanket in the crib and put her in it with some books and threw all of the dirty linens, clothes, blankets and anything else that was brown or yellow into the wash. And that, my friends, is why I have renamed blueberries 'poopberries'. The end.

Sweet Evie

Scarlett got all dressed for her first opening last week because, well, that's how she rolls. We were so happy to support Brandy's cousin Charlotte who is selling her gorgeous line of jewelry at a new store nearby. She uses beautiful feathers and recycled leather to make stunning necklaces, earrings and headbands. They seriously rock - check them out HERE.

Fort!

Apples to Apples

I've said this before and I'm sure I'll have reason to say it thousands more times in the future, but my mom is the most generous human being on the planet. Just yesterday we received a surprise care package only a fellow East coaster could appreciate - apples! These are no ordinary apples, these are New York State apples! Yes, we have apples here in lovely Southern California, but they pale in comparison to the McIntosh and Cortlands of my hometown. Scarlett loves them, too!

Breakfast with Ronin

Scarlett and I met my brother, Zane, and his son Ronin for breakfast the other day. We're lucky to live so close to them. Ronin is such a good kid and he's super duper smart. I swear that little boy has the vocabulary and language skills of a four year old and he's barely two! He can identify animals like "polar bear" and "koala bear" and can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I'm pretty sure he can also count to ten. He's also a professional tennis player. And as we ate breakfast he did my taxes. Yeah, he's that smart.

MO Part 3...

Living in Lala land, we don't get to experience the beauty that autumn can bring. Yeah, it's sunny and warm most of the time, but as a former east coaster I miss the changing of the seasons. Thankfully, October in Columbia proved to be the ideal place to see the glorious colored leaves and feel the crisp fall air that I miss so much.

And speaking of missing things, we really miss our family in MO. It was sad to leave without knowing exactly when we'll be back. Hopefully, someday soon that will change.

Happy Halloween almost!

Oh la la! Scarlett is a French painter for Halloween this year. My mom made her a pint-sized bag for her paintbrushes and loaf of bread!

MO Part 2...

Thanks to the support of Scarlett's Papa, Columbia has a gorgeous trail system. It's part of America's longest "rails-to-trails" project that stretches across most of the state of Missouri and it's just awesome. Papa, Kiki, Brandy, Scarlett and I took Tucker the wonderdog for a walk along the trails one gorgeous day. It was so peaceful that Scarlett - who has only fallen asleep while on a walk ONCE in her entire life - fell asleep in the stroller minutes after that last photo was taken. Amazing what a slower paced life will do to a city-dwelling boohead!

MO Part 1...

We had tons of fun visiting Brandy's family in Columbia, MO! We all loved spending time with Papa, Kiki, Mamaw, Uncle Devon and Aunt Missy. Scarlett had a blast playing with her cousins, Jackson and Izzie. We did, too! They are the cutest little booheads. We also got to see Brandy's grandparents and aunt who drove all the way up from Alabama to meet Scarlett for the first time. Scarlett was a little shy and overwhelmed at first, but she warmed up to everyone in no time. And then she got sick and it was a bummer. And then she got better and it was great!

My husband of exactly 3 whole years

This picture was taken shortly after Brandy and I met in early 2005. I'm not sure we had even spoken much at this point, but I definitely thought he was cute and funny and nice. Almost five years later my feelings have changed. I now think he's super hot, hysterical and loving...and sweet...and talented...and an amazing father...and a devoted, thoughtful and doting husband. I knew I was destined to be with someone great, but I honestly never imagined I could be so in love or so blissfully happy. Everyday night as I lay in bed I thank my lucky stars I have this life. Thanks, Brandy Boo. I love you.

Getting ready for the chilly midwest!

Shady, I Know

The lamp you see here has quite a history with the women in my family. Actually, 'female' is a better word, but that sounds weird. My mom had this lamp when she was a little girl. She handed it down to me and I had it in my room growing up. When my brother had his baby girl about six years ago the lamp was loaned to her with the promise that it would be returned to me when I had a little girl of my own. I never actually imagined it traveling out west, but when Scarlett was born my sister-in-law mailed it to me. It was such a fun surprise.

Unfortunately the lampshade had seen better days, so I needed to find a new one. It took almost a year for me to get my act together and look for a replacement shade. It amazed me that in such a prosperous, sprawling city like Los Angeles I found it impossible to find a shade I liked (or a knowledgeable salesperson to help me). It may seem odd, but I knew there was a store in my small hometown that would have plenty of shades to choose from, so I packed the lamp in my suitcase and it traveled back with Scarlett and me to the east coast this past summer. It took about a minute of looking around the store to find the perfect shade. The kind people who worked there also installed a new harp and plug and fixed some of the fraying wires. They also instructed me on how to properly pack it to ship and supplied me with a box and peanuts. Not in a million years could I see that happening in one of those lame lamp stores in Los Angeles I visited, but I digress. My mom shipped the whole kit and caboodle out to me and it arrived shortly after we returned home. It now sits in Scarlett's room where we read her stories before bed. I love lamp!

Soft and Mushy

I think I've gone soft. You may or may not remember my experience with 'Stork Parking' at Babies R Us while I was pregnant last year. If not, here's a refresher: while leaving Babies R Us one day I noticed that a woman who had parked in one of the the exclusive Stork Parking spots was clearly not pregnant. I was so livid that I went out of my way to drive over and yell at her and her husband. Fast forward about fifteen months: I stumble upon 'Family Parking' near the Burbank Ikea. I am excited and grateful to be able to park in one of the spots, but my elation soon ends when I see three dudes get in the car next to me. No kids, no babies, no fetuses. About a minute later a woman pulls up on the other side of me, alone and too along in her years to be pregnant. I am angry and annoyed so you know what I do? Nothing. Well, that's kind of a lie - I look into their eyes in silent anger. I'm such a bad ass. Seriously, when did I go soft? Have I gotten nicer or am I just not a hotheaded pregnant woman anymore? Maybe it's both. It's kind of hard to be volatile and edgy when I'm around my baby all the time. Oh, Scarlett, why do you have to be so darned sweet?

Scarlett and the Hair Brush

Sew cute!

A completed project? But, that's so unlike me! It had to happen, though. Bad things were starting to go down, furniture was being eaten. A new puppy, you may ask? Nope, a one-year-old baby. Scarlett has started to gnaw on her crib rail when she's unhappy about taking a nap. I would find her face and clothes covered in flecks of paint and her poor crib was taking a beating. It started as a few bite marks and then it turned into this:

I was all ready to buy a crib rail cover, but the ones I found were expensive and, well, not cute. So with help from my mom via Skype I sewed a cover myself. It took me longer to make than I care to mention (mostly due to my laziness and three trips to two different fabric store), but all in all it only cost me about $11 in supplies and I'm really happy with the end result.

Sick Boo

The boohead had a nasty case of Roseola recently. It was no fun at all. It started with a fever late on a Friday afternoon that latest until the following Wednesday. The rash started on that Tuesday and didn't go away until Friday. It was so sad to see her not feeling well. She slept and slept and when she was awake she was quiet and kind of out of it. All she wanted to do was play quietly next to us. Thankfully she's back to herself now - happy and energetic as ever! Here she is catching up on her emails...

Music Together...and toilet paper.

Scarlett and I had an awesome semester at our Music Together class - so awesome that I've signed us up for another session! We start next week and I'm really looking forward to it. Brandy was able to make it to the final class of last session. Fun, fun!

When we got home Scarlett discovered the toilet paper roll...

And then I introduced her to the laundry basket...

Yeah, I met Conan O'Brien - what of it?

Pool time fun time

August and September have been super hot in Los Angeles (oh, and it's also been on fire for the past week). Our air conditioner can barely keep up! Thankfully, our friend invited us over for some kiddie pool fun the other day. Scarlett loves the water!

ONE YEAR OLD!

Ahhhh! My little boohead is one year old. How is that possible? This past year has gone by so fast. I remember the day Scarlett was born like it was yesterday. I hope I always will. She was such a sweet little thing and now she's grown into a fun little babe. I can't technically call her a toddler yet because she isn't walking. If I had to wager I'd say she'll be walking at thirteen and a half months. For now, she cruises all over the place and just today she stood up by herself twice! Scarlett loves to point at everything, especially lights. She's always trying to hand things to people - at the grocery store she constantly tries to give away our car keys to strangers. I tell her we need them to get home, but she doesn't listen. She smiles at everyone, she is so friendly. She 'talks' all the time and seems to make a new sound everyday. She says 'mama' and 'dada' and occasionally 'baba' for baby. She can play by herself for a while, babbling to her toys. And then she finds me and puts her arms up and I pick her up and give her a big squeeze and lots of smooches because that is my God given right. I tell ya, is there anything better than being a mommy to this little boo?

Scarlett and I spent two weeks on the east coast last month. We started in Philadelphia where we spent a few days with my brother, Dan, and his family. Then we headed up to Syracuse to see my mom. We missed Brandy, but we talked to him at least once a day every day. I had so much fun seeing friends and family and just relaxing. My mom's house has that affect on me. Scarlett had fun hanging with her number one fan, her Gigi. The boohead celebrated her first birthday with some family and friends while we were there. She surprised me by refusing to eat her birthday cake - what baby says no to cake? The very cake I almost cried about as I was ordering it - 'Oh, my sweet little girl is growing up! I can't wait to see her eat her first birthday cake!' Nope, not my baby. Oh, well, thankfully we got some good pictures before the tears came! And then when the presents came out the happy boo returned.