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April 30, 2013

Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles



When I was a little girl I loved puzzles. Tami Furtado and I would spend hours and hours putting them together. I hate to admit it - but I'm really good. Word puzzles, picture puzzles - give me any sort of puzzle and I can solve it (for the most part).


It seems like Olive is following in mommy's footsteps because she, too, LOVES puzzles. Every morning she wants to start a new one. And the crazy thing is - she can actually put them together! She needs a little help of course but for a two and a half year old...I'd say she is pretty good.


This is the new mermaid puzzle that Mamas got her a few days ago. No joke - she can pretty much do it all by herself. I'll have to get daddy to put together a video for proof!

April 28, 2013

Brentwood Glen Block Party


I"m not going to lie - I had doubts about our new place before we moved in. Would we like the house? Would we like the area? I can tell you one thing - the area could not be better. It's still a little crazy that every time we go outside we meet a new family! Everyone is SO friendly. And everyone has kids!


Yesterday there was a block party a few blocks from our house. There were horse rides, face painting, tattoos (fake of course), live entertainment, and tons of food.  


Olive's favorite part was the bouncy house - we could not get her out! By the end of the afternoon, she was exhausted and fell asleep in 30 seconds. I'm seriously considering getting one!

April 26, 2013

Baby Bump - 38 Weeks



Baby Bump - 38 Weeks

Baby is 19.75 inches - about the length of a leek and weighs around 6.8 lbs


The bad news is that I'm utterly exhausted. With less than 2 weeks to go (by my estimation I only have a week) - I am feeling ready. It's just difficult to get around these days and get things done with a 20lb basketball for a stomach! The good news is that my belly button hasn't popped yet!

April 25, 2013

Impromptu Ultra-sound


Guess who we saw a few days ago..........


BUSTER!!!!!

Mood Board - Office Edition


I've decided to redo the office. It's always been "Andrew's space" - but I realized that I would love to be able to sit at the desk and write my blog entries instead of trying to get comfortable on the couch. Not to mention the fact that both Andrew and I spend too much time on our electronics when we should be spending it with each other. I'm hoping that by sprucing up the room - I will spend more time in there. Here are a few things that would definitely help make it brighter and more inviting....

Shop these items:  1. Crate and Barrel Sloane Java leaning bookcase  2. gold paperclips  3. West Elm white pencil/toothbrush holder  4. Commune Mike Mills "grey flapper" poster  5. West Elm Saddle chair  6. West Elm white tray

Life and Other Misadventures....



Last weekend I thought it would be fun to get out of town and check out the Poppy Festival in Lancaster. The idea of rolling hills filled with gorgeous orange flowers was definitely enough motivation for the hour trek.


We decided to check out the festival itself before going to the reserve to see the flowers. Unfortunately it was hot and a little overwhelming because there were so many things to do and see.


The best part, by far, was Olive riding on a camel! I have to admit - I was a little jealous. I've always thought camels were exotic and cool.


The worst part was the 35 minute drive to the reserve. We were all tired, but decided that the flowers were worth it. Unfortunately, we didn't see any orange rolling hills filled with wildflowers. Andrew joked, "I'll bet there aren't any flowers." Here's the thing - I hate it when he's right. There were absolutely no poppies. Not a one.


April 24, 2013

lancaster poppy festival


kim finds the most unusual activities around town.  i'm not entirely sure where she digs them up, but they are usually pretty fun.  so when she sent me this picture of the antelope valley poppy reserve website, i was intrigued -




the city of lancaster even has some sort of poppy festival to coincide with the bloom of all of the awesome flowers. the plan was to checkout the festival and ride what i can only imagine are poppy-themed rollercoaster rides, browse rows and rows of dried poppies, poppy essential oils, and maybe some poppy flavored candy, then drive the additional 30 minutes to the actual reserve.

lets just say i was a little surprised what we found at the festival. basically the sophisticated book faire like atmosphere i imagined couldn't have been more wrong.  it was more like a sad little county fair, but without the farming equipment.  basically lines and lines of fat people buying fried food from greasy food stalls.  but on the upside olive did get to ride a camel!!?!?!?!

both kim and i were a disappointed by the festival, but figured that the majestic poppy fields would make it worth it.  we were a little concerned when we could only see barren fields, but figured they would start just over the next hill.

but when we got to the reserve we were both blown away.  literally blown away.  we could have never imagined what we saw, it actually took our breath away!

so ladies and gentlemen, i give you an actual shot of the majestic fields of poppies -


this is not creative framing, that was the only poppy in the entire reserve.  apparently it hadn't rained all year - so no poppies.

the drive home was silent.

Tough Day



I'm not going to lie - yesterday was a really rough day. It wasn't like Olive was out of control or had an epic tantrum - it was just tough. Maybe it's because it was Andrew's first day back to work in 3 weeks and I was on my own with a rambunctious toddler? Or, that I felt like I had 100 things to do and a little munchkin that demanded all of my energy and attention. Or maybe it's just because I'm a week or two away from giving birth and my body is so tired I can barely move. Life seems so much easier with an extra set of hands. By the end of the day every part of my body was uncomfortable and in need of some major TLC.

* Today, however was great. We saw Buster this morning (will post pictures later) and went for a long walk with Olive to look for ladybugs (we found 15). She picked out what she wanted to wear (princess dress, ladybug rainboots, sweater, and umbrella) and I have to say it's times like these when I am so thankful for the life that I have. Regardless of how tired I am feeling.

April 22, 2013

Shots on the Go



( I stole some pictures from Andrew's iphone this time! )

UCLA - Ronald Reagan Hospital


Here is the thing - I LOVED giving birth at Saint John's in Santa Monica. Unfortunately with our new insurance we are with UCLA now. At first I was a little worried since I had such a great experience at our old hospital. However, after our tour of the Ronald Reagan Medical Center - I think I'm sold. Not only do they offer massages for new moms, but there is also tuxedo-attired "food ambassadors" who deliver room service to your room. Apparently the food is similar to that of a 5 star hotel. Um...what? They had me at "food ambassadors".

April 21, 2013

Mood Board - House Edition


Now that I only have a couple weeks left - I'm definitely in the nesting phase of my pregnancy. All I want to do is fix up the house before Busters arrival. Here are a few things I'm loving at the moment.

Shop these items: 1. Pei Design Stockholm pencil set  2. Char-Bea by Ashley G pillows  3. Up in the Air Somewhere small fade bowl  4. Birdhouse pencil sharpener  5. Ikea PS Cabinet


April 19, 2013

Ice Cream Lab


With this pregnancy I crave sweets morning, noon, and night. Considering the way I eat - I'm surprised I'm not enormous! No complaining here though.


A few days ago I read about the Ice Cream Lab on Red Tricycle. There was no doubt in my mind that we had to go and soon! One thing is for sure - Olive's definitely benefiting from my sweet tooth.

The coolest thing about the place is that each ice cream is made to order right in front of your eyes! I have to say - it's pretty cool.


Of course I couldn't decide what to get because everything looked so good. I ended up picking the Banilla and Olive had the Blue Velvet. Andrew is in training so he refrained. I don't understand his will-power sometimes.


Honestly it was the most delicious thing I've had in a long time. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how I can get him to go and get some for me again. It was THAT good!

New House


This took far too long to post so I'm blaming it on Andrew. I had to wait a few weeks to get pictures of the office, which just happens to be the smallest room in the house! In any case - here are photos of our new place. Now if only I could keep it this clean.....

Living Room

TV Room

Hallway to Olive's Bathroom, Bedroom, and Playroom

Olive's Bathroom


Olive's Bedroom

Olive's Playroom

Kitchen

Office

Dining Room

Stairway to upstairs

Guest Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Buster's Room (in master)

Master Bathroom

I thought I would miss our old house, but surprisingly I hardly think about it at all. It definitely helps that the area is so nice and that Olive LOVES it here.


April 18, 2013

Why Hello Buster!


We had our weekly doctors visit yesterday and were able to see Buster's face! I normally don't like the 3D imaging - but I think he's pretty cute. They estimated that he weighs a little over 6 lbs.

April 15, 2013

Olive's First Haircut



Sunday afternoon we decided it was time for Olive to have her first haircut. Don't get me wrong - her hair is GORGEOUS. But two and a half years without a trim isn't necessarily good! We went to The Yellow Balloon in Westwood which specializes in kids cuts. I thought for sure that she wouldn't sit still and would want to get down - but she LOVED it! That kid loves to get pampered, just like her mommy.