Merry Christmas!

Part goat

This year the family decided not to get a real tree. With a very curious 2 year old around, we didn't want to risk ingested pine needles. So we brought out my old (almost) Charlie Brown artificial Christmas tree from long ago. Again with a toddler in mind, I didn't put any ornaments up just lights and a star on top. The picture above was taken right after the toddler got up from her nap and seeing it for the first time. Her first reaction: Gasp (!) and "bewtifool!". It was priceless. So we had the tree up for about a week and I kept an eye on her just to make sure she didn't do anything funny with it. Toward the end of the week, the toddler and I were both writing and addressing holiday cards in the living room. It was a pleasant evening with Harry Connick Jr. singing a holiday song in the background. I noticed I was missing an address, so I got up and went to the other room to look for it. I'd say, I was only gone for 2 minutes. I came back out and something about what I saw and heard didn't compute. I left her doodling on some cards and when I came back out she was by the tree and was chewing something crunchy. All hell broke loose in my head, pictured the worst case scenario, dropped whatever I had in my hands, and rushed over to her. She bit on one of the round-candy-looking lights and broke the casing in half. I was able to retrieve half of the casing and the other half was still attached to the light. So she was just chewing some tiny bits of it, but her mouth was fine. She was looking at me with an "OMG-I-did-something-vewwy-baad" face. I then called my husband, told him what happened, and declared that our daughter was part goat. Although it probably is going to be funny when we tell the story to her future boyfriends, it's not funny now. Thinking about it gives me chills up and down my spine. So lesson learned. If you have a very curious toddler and if you decide to put up your tree, make sure the tree is inside a cage were your child cannot touch one bit of it. Now, our sad looking tree is back in its box in the garage and a sparkling garland over our entertainment center now has taken the lead role of wishing us happy holidays when we enter our home. She still gasped and said it was "bewtifool" when she first saw it, but it's now out of her reach.

Soup

Maya loves soup.

She doesn't let an udon noodle go to waste. C'mere noodle...

Point and Shoot

Photographer for hire.

Specializes in candid shots, but can also do weddings and birthdays.

Please contact mommy if interested.

She takes her work very seriously.

Ensures her shots are perfect.

Cheese!

~Sample portfolio~

Turning Two

The changes that occur from one year old to two years old are pretty big. From wobbly walks to run/skip/hop at the same time. From barely talking to a chatter box. From being told what to do, to informing one's parents that there's another option. From basic play to unlimited imagination. But as we get older, many of us take birthdays for granted because most of the time, we no longer see significant changes in ourselves. We have an attitude of "It's just a number." But birthdays should be celebrated, big or small. It should not be about expecting presents, but it's about saying thanks that we have another chance at life. Another opportunity to say we love our family. Another opportunity to run/skip/hop each day and appreciate the simple things in life.

With Great Grandma Mal and Great Aunt Vi.

Enjoying the broccoli, chicken, and soba noodles great Aunt Vi made.

With the immediate family.

Auntie and Uncle's gift, a bouncy house that she and cousin Kayla can share and enjoy for years to come.

First ice cream, ever. Yum!

~~~~

Birthday Blessings

By Joanna Fuchs

Instead of counting candles,or tallying the years,

Contemplate your blessings, as your birthday nears.

Consider special people who love you, and who care,

And others who’ve enriched your life just by being there.

Think about the memories; passing years can never mar,

Experiences great and small that have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift,So cut your cake, and say,

"Instead of counting birthdays,I count blessings every day!"

All in a day's work

Weekend's are usually catch up days. Maya helped us rake the leaves in the backyard. Of course, Charlie's always in the way and messed up our perfect mounds of leaves.

Toddler hard at work.

Posing for daddy.

Returning the rake back in the shed.

What better way to end an exhausting day than to host a tea party.

Making sure "Doya" ate her "cup capes".

Pouring tea for everyone.

Fierce!

Maya is modeling a Project Runway-worthy creation.

Materials: Mommy's old sleep sweater with sleeves tied in the back.

Dog Time

We took Charlie out to the dog park. It was chilly and many of the dogs had their sweaters on.

On the way to the dog park.

Chasing after Charlie.

The trio on the trail next to the dog park.

"You can't have some."

Playing with mommy after dinner.

These two needed a bath.

Halloween

A visit at the pumpkin patch.

With "lola" and "lolo" and Kayla

Auntie brought a book for Maya.

See she was supposed to be Blue (from Blue's Clues), but she refused to put on the head part. But she didn't mind the pumpkin witch hat. So there you go.

Fun with Halloween flashlights.

Pumpkin time

We went to a pumpkin festival this weekend. Maya's been sick for a few days now so she wasn't really enjoying herself. Dug up some pics from about the same time last year. She was also sick. Coughing, throwing up, runny nose... So these pictures have the same glazed eyes, bleah expressions, but hey at least we took some pictures. Hopefully, she'll feel better soon.

Framed Art

Randomness

Part of being a toddler is doing random stuff. And part of being a parent is being able to catch these random moments. Daddy took these shots and they came out pretty good. Twirling a paper umbrella.
And still twirling.
Not sure how Ryu (Street Fighter character and dad's toy) ended up with Maya's stuff.
Maya thought he's got some anger issues.

So he gave him a kiss and a hug.

Birthday parties

Fall birthday parties are fun. This is the second birthday party we've been to in two weeks. This time two little ones are celebrating their special day.

Practicing the birthday song as we paraded down our hallway.

Malia pushing Maya on the swing.

Art time for the kids.

She's the smallest of the group so she got to hit the pinata first...

...but last to grab some candy. The big kids were nice enough to leave her some.

Maya thought it was funny that one minute everyone's beating up the sun with a stick and next minute it's worn by crazy pinata man.

Mom found time to tie my shoe laces amidst the running around.
Cake time! Happy birthday Cole and Asha!