Order

On a typical week night after I put the kid to bed, I sit on the couch to catch my breath and assess the clean up I have to do. As much as I'd like to relax, I start scanning the coffee table and the living room floor to start getting things in order and see where they should go. For example: socks, Brobee, sweater, and lizard = kid's room. Sippy cup, piece of apple, used paper towel, and my coffee cup = kitchen. Bill, bill, bill, Dwell magazine = mommy's desk. There are nights when my head spins and wishes I had a magic wand to command things to go to their respective spots. There are bad days, there are good days. But still, I wish I have magic wand for back up.

Random things in a corner.

Couch pillows used as construction materials for a house.

Doesn't help you organize things if you have a kid who likes to move her furniture around.

I think I was asking her where she put my other shoe.

On bad days, she could throw a tantrum on top of the mess. I basically join in and throw a tantrum on the floor as well. We both feel much better afterwards after our 'drama queen' contest.

Chilly Sunday Afternoon

Gonna play outside now.

She can ride her bike now, too. Yay!

Looks like a lil' unabomer in the woods.

We were trying to collect yellow leaves and Charlie kept trying to get it. It's not a potato chip, Charlie.

Oh well, he got it anyway.

A good bowl of chicken soup is perfect after a romp outside. Have you ever attempted to teach a toddler how to eat soup properly (with a soup spoon)? Would not recommend doing that at two years old. It'll end up in all sorts of places like her lap, your lap, all over the table, down her sleeve, down her neck, etc... It can be frustrating, but we have to set our minds on the real goal here: feed the dang kid.

So, set your spoons aside and here we go...sluuurrrrrp! No struggle and the kid drank the soup and finished every floater in it. Success! We'll talk etiquette later...

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Someone went to Disneyland.

She has no problem being the smallest in the group.

Boat rides are fun.

Did I ever tell you she likes to drive cars?

And launch rockets?

She saw "Tinky Bell".

And she also tried to blow up TNT.

Here's a picture of a very exhausted toddler after a very fun day.

She likes to sleep with her Doodle Pro in hand (just in case) and her sunglasses in her mouth.

Hamper fun

This is an ordinary collapsible hamper.

But not for a two year old.

It's the most amazing thing ever invented.

Breakfast with Brobee

Letting go

The kid started her new pre-school this week. Her dad dropped her off in the morning. I called him and wanted all the details. Didshecry-didshesaybye-whatwas herreactionwhenyouleft...breathe! She's fine, he said. I checked up on her at lunch time and her teachers said she was adapting well, did not cry at all, ate her lunch, and has a new friend Megan (aw..). At work, I was trying to imagine how she was doing and how she was feeling. I'm sure she's sad she didn't see her friends from her old daycare. I was hoping she was gonna be fine because we made an effort to prep her by talking about her new school for about a couple of weeks. I went to pick her up in the afternoon and saw her sitting on the bench with one of her teachers observing the other kids on the playground. As I approached the gate, she turned and saw me. She ran toward me and started crying. It was heartbreaking because I knew she tried her best to be strong all day long without us or her old friends. I picked her up and hugged her tightly and said, "I know, baby, I know." Then she whispered, "I miss you." Sheesh, at that point I didn't want to let go and wanted to just comfort and protect her from everything. But as we approached the car, she stopped crying and started talking about what they ate for lunch (grilled cheese sandwich), nap time, songs they sang (ABCD and Itsy-Bitsy), etc. Then I had to ask if she still liked school and dreaded the answer. But with extra enthusiasm, she said "YEAH!!" So I think she'll be fine... sniff, sniff*

Sketching

Sketching while watching her favorite movie, "My Neighbor Totoro."

'Catawampus'

'Catawampus' by Environmental Artist Patrick Dougherty
at the L.A. County Arboretum

Let is snow

The family headed up to nearby Mt. Baldy and Maya experienced her first snow.

My attempt to make a snowman.

All bundled up like an Eskimo.

Brrr...