Silent Movie Star - No More

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was a little worried about Olive's lack of conversational skills. Well now she is talking up a storm. For example - today when we were getting in the car she said, "Daddy's car", "Unlock door", and then when we got in the car, "Night-night song?". I literally couldn't believe it! In the last few days her vocabulary has tripled and every morning she has a new word. She's even started to repeat words when I ask her too! I'm not going to lie - this new phase is pretty exciting!

For Aunt Marsha

My Aunt Marsha loves Tom Petty. I found this t-shirt after cleaning Olive's closet and realized I had to put it on her and take a photo.

Hearts - An Art Project

Supplies: 

 felt, embroidery thread and needles, stuffing, scissors, and sticks

First - Cut out two exact heart shapes in felt and start sewing.

When you are a third of the way done stitching - fill with stuffing. Finish the rest of the stitching until there is a small opening.

Insert wooden stick (or twigs) into the opening. Continue sewing until stick is secure. I wrapped thread around stick a few times to make it extra tight.

Look how cute they turned out!

Busy Weekend

Our weekend was so jam packed that I couldn't find a moment to blog. It's been 5 days and I feel like I am going a little stir crazy so I had to post something! I'm working on a little entry at the moment - so there will be updates soon. Promise.

Cute Outfit of the Week

These shoes are my favorite.

Olive Meets Minnie Mouse

On Tuesday morning I surprised Olive with a trip to Disneyland. We hadn't been in a couple months since our passes were blacked out for the summer. I think her favorite part was meeting Minnie and Mickey Mouse. She went right up to Minnie and gave her a big kiss!

Shots on the Go

Night at the Soho

When my cousin Jonathan was here, Lotus took us to the Soho House. The place was jam packed with celebrities including Tom Cruise, Sasha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, Courtney Cox, Kevin Hart, Harvey Weinstein, Conan O'Brien, Sophia Bush, and Bill Maher.  I've been in Los Angeles for over 15 years and I still love celeb sightings!

Beach Time on Bay Island

Here are a few photos of our weekend in Bay Island.  As you can see - it was jam packed with fun beach activities. Andrew and I ventured on the skull (it was hard!) and the paddle boards. I hate to admit it, but it's probably the only workout I'll get all year!

Kidspace - 2nd Time Around

Now that the girls are a little older - we figured we would give Kidspace another try.  Here are a few pictures from today. It was close to 100 degrees, so being outside in the hot sun wasn't the best idea. However, the girls loved it. I'm sure we will go back on a much cooler day!

happy birthday to me

as you get old and responsible it is important to own a practical car. my old car was a subaru wrx, which isn't exactly an italian super car, but it's no slouch either. unfortunately its back seat doesn't fit a car seat and kim didn't think it was accident-safe. both valid points, i suppose, if you worry about that sort of thing. my main problem is that most cars look both lame and boring. it took me about 9 months to decide on the subaru in the first place, so i was little worried that i would never find a suitable replacement.

i can tell you're all on the edge of your seat. it's sort of like you're 2/3rds through a romantic comedy - will they finally stop bickering and get married? does she not realize that he was just protecting her by breaking her heart? well rest assured - i found a car - a vw jetta sportwagen tdi. it's a diesel and gets 40mpg. it's got bells-and-whistles that didn't even exist when i got my subaru - gps navigation, bluetooth, heated seats...

and as it would turn out station-wagons are becoming cool again. my only regret is that i couldn't get one with wood panels.

It's a Hard Knock Life

Most days I think Olive is an absolute angel - she is usually very sweet and can do no wrong.  Today, however, was another story. We had a play date with Cheryl and Hayden in the morning, and from the moment we got to their house Olive was in a bad mood. She didn't want Hayden to play with the kitchen set with her.  She didn't want him to color with her. When they were playing the piano he shut it on her fingers and she was inconsolable for 5 minutes. Then she didn't want to share the broom set. She fell while walking up the stairs and was inconsolable for another 5 minutes. Then she had a melt down when we got upstairs into the playroom. Then she didn't want Piper to push her in the swing. Then she didn't want to share again. This went on and on and on until after hitting me and pulling my hair I said "Enough.  We are leaving". 

I realize that if the piano incident had not happened or falling on the stairs - the day could have had a completely different outcome. Unfortunately it was just a bad day for little Olive. The hardest part was disciplining her. What works for one person might not be right for me or my sweet baby. I felt the best thing to do was to take her out of the situation that was causing her to act out. Then on the ride home while she cried most of the way - I tried to explain why we left. I'm sure she didn't understand half of what I was saying but it certainly made me feel better! The worst part was that I hadn't seen Cheryl in ages and I had been looking forward to spending some time with her. That, AND the fact that I had told her that Olive was the easiest, sweetest baby ever. I definitely had to eat my words!

Who Shot Rock n Roll/Happy Birthday Daddy

On Sunday afternoon Andrew's family came over so we could celebrate his birthday. We started at the Annenberg Museum for the 'Who Shot Rock n Roll' exhibit. My favorite pictures were a series by Alfred Wertheimer of Elvis Presley right before he became famous. Apparently the woman in the photos was someone he had just met a few moments before they were taken! According to the story the mystery woman said, "Elvis, I betcha can't kiss me" to which he replied, "Betcha I can".

After the museum we headed to an Ethopian restaurant called Meals By Genet. When Andrew and I first started dating we would frequent the restaurants of little Ethopia (an area of LA). This restaurant was, by far, the best we have had yet! Happy Happy Birthday Andrew!