fall day

It's not every day that it is sunny and bright on an October morning in Bellevue. It is not every day that my husband is working at home. It is not everyday that I get the overwhelming need to go on a long walk. It is not everyday that Zara is willing to sit in the stroller. But today (10.13.2011) was the day when all these were true. Zara, Jamie and I took a long, round-about, meandering walk to the library. We avoided the direct route because a) it was such a gorgeous day b) for the better part the direct route there is no sidewalk just a wide shoulder on a busy street. c) Zara sometimes insists on walking and it is nervewracking to walk on this street without her sitting in the stroller.

good bye crossroad farmer market

My usual Tuesday lunch at the farmers market: a savory crepe and mojito iced tea from Grapeseed Catering Co.

a href="http://www.crossroadsbellevue.com/SpecialEvents/FarmersMarket">Our favorite farmers market had its closing day today. To celebrate, I got a vanilla-lavender chocolate-covered bar by Whidbey Island Ice Cream Co. in addition to my usual lunch of a savory crepe (pesto chicken) and mojito iced tea. Jamie got the flat-iron/gorgonzola crepe and lemonade AND a chocolate chardonnay bar (which Zara ended up devouring herself). She got lots of smiles and stares from passers-by as the chocolate stain on her mouth got bigger and bigger.

first bite

last bites

She even shared some with Jamie.

I guess fall is really here!

you two

you two | sorriso by paislee press + hello love by paislee press

smile | papers, tape and frame by paislee press + other elements by kitschy digitals

I've been hoarding Paislee Press digital kits for a while. Whenever she releases a kit, I sometimes cannot resist picking up the kit for the subscriber-only price. But with all that is going in my life, I often let the kit gather proverbial dust on my hard-drive. So I dusted off a couple of her kits and went to work...using some photos taken for my Family Joy class.

study in self-portraits

Like her sister and her father (her mother used to be, but now is more of a voracious crafter and occasional reader), Zara is a voracious reader. She loves thumbing through books, making up words to go along with the pictures. And of course, she loves being read to. On her current rotation: Berenstein Bears Bedtime Battle and a vintage Little Golden Book ABC book that I picked up at a Seattle flea market, plus any book within reach at the time. I love how she fits perfectly in my lap while I read over her shoulder. She will often turn the pages prematurely if she gets bored, but I just keep reading.

So, I am taking Willette's Family Joy class. Self-portraits using a remote and a tripod is the first week's assignment. Coincidentally, Dear Lizzy (one of my all-time favorite photo/DIY/crafting/scrapbooking/lifestyle blogs) is also having a little self-timer challenge.

I took this photo after Sofia left for school. Their room gets gorgeous light in the mornings. I set up my tripod and used the self-timer. I focused on Zara's face, hit the timer and ran into place. Bummer that my newish remote control doesn't work on my Canon 60D (which I got last Christmas for my 30D).  So I had to make do with the mad dash into the shot.

We moved to the bed for a closer shot. I'm out of focus, but Zara is in focus. Not tack sharp, but I like her sweet expression.

And then we took the photo session outside. These were more posed. And I didn't quite get the focus right. I grabbed the red-cushioned chair that Jamie uses for his morning meditation and faced it towards the house under the shade of our huge elm tree in the back yard. I had Zara sit in the chair while I toggled my selective focus points to focus on her face, hit the timer and ran to the chair and plopped her in my lap.

For the second one, I tried something less posed, but the focus is not there. But I do like the overall feeling more. Will definitely have to try some more self-portraits with the other half of the family this weekend.

tuesdays with zara

With Jamie working from home, Zara benefits big time. She gets two parents to take care of her while Sofia is at school. On Tuesdays, it's farmers market day. We go to our favorite crepes booth at the market and pick up some fresh fruits and veggies, some fresh-baked bagels or fresh-roasted coffee. Are you sensing a theme going on here?

But today, Zara had even more adventures for her. After the usual walk to and from Sofia's bus stop in the morning, Zara spent some time in the sunshine while I hacked away at our overgrown bamboo bush in the front yard. I also trimmed our planter boxes of bamboo down to the base. We plan on digging it all up in the future and planting some other less-invasive plant.

While I did a little more gardening, Zara and Jamie went to Frye's to pick up some computer cables. Although she fell asleep on the way home, we headed out again while she continued to nap in her carseat.

It was an unusually sunny and warm September day. The shady seats at the farmers market were hard to come by.

Duck confit crepes. Chicken pesto crepe. Strawberries and cream crepe. Mojito iced tea and lemonade. Chicken mole tamale. One fresh peach. To take home: bagels, raspberries, coffee beans and three mum plants for the bare patch in our front flower bed.

beautiful mums in autumnal hues

And we didn't stop there. Zara wanted to go to a playground so we stopped at our favorite park to play and check out the ducks.

at the playground

And one more stop before heading home: a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up cream cheese for breakfast tomorrow (bagels!) and a few other items (like little pound cakes for the raspberries).

blurry photo but I love the wisps of hair

big girl on campus

big girl on campus
Kitschy Digitals' Pretty Felt Feathers + Thrift Store Grab Bag + Granny's Sewing Basket + Calico Dream + Echo Park Hybrids' Springtime Alpha/Element 1 + Springtime Paper/Element 1 @ JessicaSprague.com

My 22-month-old loves to visit her kindergartener sister at school and all the kids in the class seem to love her! Some photos from today's surprise visit at lunch and recess.




 

hidden gem

hidden gem | Polka Dot Pixels' Collage Craft + Jenny D's Stitched With Love at Two Peas in a Bucket

Don't you love when you find an unscrapped photo from months ago waiting for you to create a page around it? This layout was inspired by one of my favorite paper scrapper ever: Susan Weinroth.

p.s. Jamie just blogged a cute post about Zara. Definitely scrapworthy material. Just have to find a photo to go along with it.

kindy update

On Day 2, Sofi said kindergarten was "a little more" fun. She was a lot more animated and forthcoming about what she did. She told me she got two stars from the teacher and rattled off the names who got one and who got two. (already showing a competitive side?) She told me who she showed the little love note I left in her lunchbox. Who she sat next to on the bus. What she did in P.E. And she was very excited to hear that I would be volunteering in class this week. I'll be taking individual photos of each of her classmates on Thursday! Her words: "I heard you were going to be taking photos of the kids in class!" I felt good about that. Having worked in her pre-school for two years, it did feel a bit strange not to be involved in the classroom. This seemed like a perfect opportunity. There was a little drama with getting on the bus. She clung to Jamie and was the last one on the board. And right before she got on she noticed her wristband with her bus info was not on her wrist. But it was too late to do anything. Jamie called to tell me and I decided to drive down to school to drop an extra one off. Turns out, her wristband had just migrated up her arm! So the teacher cut of the original and put on the new one.


On Day 3, she was still the last one to board the bus, but with less clingyness. When the bus went around the block to leave our street, it passed our house. Jamie happened to be walking back at that moment and waved to Sofi who was sitting in the front seat. She was ALL smiles. When I picked her up, I asked her again: How was kindergarten? She said: A little more fun. After we got home, I decided to break out the new paints I got on Monday. Both girls did a little art then shared a snack.

Then Sofi wanted to play a game where she was the teacher and I was student Sofia. It was a great way for her to act out what goes on in the classroom instead of prying it out of her with endless questions. I found out that her art teacher has "two babies inside her" and will be going on maternity leave soon. I found that when they go to art class, the kids hold hands. One kid is assigned to be the leader and one is the door opener/holder. I found out that her teacher is teaching them about respect and manners. I found out who the tallest kids in the class are. I found out that one of the boys wears glasses. I found out that the teachers thinks there are many "good readers" in the class. And on and on.

Tomorrow, I will be going to the class to take photos. Wish me luck! I know it will be fun but I hope all the photos turns out well.

zara's first birthday

It seems Zara's first birthday came and went so fast!
The day of her birthday, I had planned to do several errands.

First, we headed to this store. I've always wanted to go there and it seemed like a perfect day to go. I could scope out a birthday outfit for Zara as well as some birthday gifts. Well, we ended up with 3 dresses (all pink!), a purple floral dress for Sofia and two wooden toys for Zara. A large wooden activity cube (only $17.99!) and the ever-classic rainbow stacker (rings stacked on a dowel).

Then we picked up deli sandwiches from across the street and met Jamie for lunch at Robinswood Park. Zara slept through most of lunch.

Next stop was a camera store - to drop off the film I shot in NY/NJ and to get my camera checked out. Unfortunately they couldn't fix it in-house so they sent it out for repair to Canon. It cost $50 but I figure it's worth it if I don't have to package the camera up myself and worry about shipping. Plus they will deduct the $50 from the actual repair fee.

When we got home, I cooked the girls' favorite dish: chicken adobo with brown rice and fresh sliced tomatoes on the side. Then we connected with Jamie's folks via Skype and they sang Happy Birthday, watched Zara smoosh and then devour a mini-cupcake from Cupcake Royale (delivered via AmazonFresh) and open up her birthday loot: the items I mentioned above, a Sleep Sheep (from Jamie's parents) and a mystery present (actually from me) that included these two books: book #1 and book #2. I think Zara actually liked the books the best of all.  The sleep sheep is very handy because our CD / CD player is forever skipping/scratching. Also the furry sheep is a plus. Zara goes shrieky whenever she sees a furry creature.  The toys were a hit too. She has played with them just about everyday (as well as Sofi) since we got them home.

So it was a small family celebration. Just about as much as I could handle after our trip. But we are planning a bigger celebration with a few families later in the summer. Hopefully my camera will be repaired by then. I feel so lost without it! I can't rely on my iPhone forever! And my film camera (as I sadly discovered in NY) is on the fritz as well. I noticed some black gunk on the shutter when I took my film out.


And now a little tribute to the birthday girl.

100 things about Zara at 1

1. She said "uh-oh" for the first time.
2. When I'm holding her, she points to where she wants to go.
3. She shrieks with high-pitched delight when a furry creature is near (in person or on tv)
4. She ate cheese for the first time and liked it.
5. She is a climber. She tried to climb into the cabinet where we keep our XBox and DVDs today. 
6. She climbed up a small shallow slide at a park in NJ.
7. She lets Jamie put her to bed in the crib. 
8. She loves ice.
9. She loves to take off my glasses and hand them back to me.
10. She is really clingy right now.
11. She is a fast crawler. No walking yet.
12. She pulls herself to standing with support (chair, couch etc.)
13. She loves baths with her sister.
14. She loves being in Sofia's room with all the art and colorful things hanging from the ceiling and walls. Definitely her favorite room in the house.
15. She is still breast-feeding.
16. She loves meat. Chicken adobo, pork, hamburger, meatballs etc.
17. She often says "mama" when she means "more" or wants something.
18. She can say "dada" but often calls Jamie "mama".
19. She calls Sofia "baba".
20. Jamie thinks she said "pork" today.
21. "Buey" might mean book.
22. She loves books. She turns the pages and points to the words.
23. My mom gave the girls Ty animals during our visit back East - Zara got a duck called Quackers. Sofia got a sheep called Fleece. They love them!
24. Zara loves to eat dirt and play in the dirt and just get dirty.
25. She loves trees and flowers and gets excited when she looks out the window or when we're outside.
26. She loves oranges. Juicier the better.
27. We haven't fed her baby food (from a jar) in weeks. She prefers to eat what we eat.
28. Her hair is beautiful shade of medium brown.
29. She still has that baby smell.
30. She seems to like Jamie more (or come to accept that sometimes Jamie is the one that will take care of her.)
31. She is little more smiley at strangers.
32. She likes to put the littlest bits in her mouth. If there is a crumb on the floor she will find it!
33. She LOVES lift the flap books. Especially Karen Katz ones. Good thing she is prolific! Almost one for every occasion!
34. She has been sick for the last few days.
35. She did so well on the plane rides to the East Coast.
36. She loves to cuddle mommy.
37. When I put a pillow in front of her, she will flop her head down. So cute!
38. Sometimes she does the same thing even when there is no pillow. Ouch!
39. She likes buttons.
40. She likes to gnaw on my iPhone.
41. She likes to pull on wires. Computer wires, videogame controller wires. etc.
42. She likes to touch and feel everything.
43. She is attracted to the heating grates in our house.
44. She is (half the time) gentle with the cats. But often she pulls Zoe's tail. Nermil is too fast for her to get anywhere near her.
45. She pulls off any hat you put on her head.
46. She has enough hair to put a barrette in her hair.
47. She is a sweet sweet baby.
48. She naps 1-3 times a day.
49. She sleeps from around 8:30 to sometime in the early morning in her crib. Then I get her and we co-sleep in my bed.
50. We think her favorite color is green (Because she loves trees).
51. She loves music and will jerk around/bob her head to the music.
52. She has a ticklish spot under her neck and will giggle for you if lightly tickled there.
53. She hates to have her diaper changed. 
54. I now change her standing up!
55. She pulls off her socks and legwarmers almost as soon as you put them on her.
56. During mealtimes, she often rubs her hair and ears with her dirty hands.
57. When she doesn't want something she will fling it off her tray.
58. She usually loves to ride in the car.
59. When she doesn't want to ride in the car, she will arch her back and squirm her way out of the carseat while you are trying to buckle her in.
60. She understands me when I say "Go get the bear! or Quackers (the duck) or cat"
61. She understands the word "eat". When she had picked up something off the ground and I said "Don't eat that!" She put her hands to her lips.
62. She still mouths almost everything.
63. She has stopped tearing up magazines/ books for the most part and now just turns the pages.
64. She still loves taking out tissue or wipes out of the box.
65. She cries if you say "NO!" really loudly as she is about to do something dangerous.
66. She cries when she see the doctor. Any doctor.
67. She will always be my baby.
68. She doesn't like wearing necklaces
69. She has super-long lashes.
70. She has super-soft skin.
71. She doesn't like it when I try to "walk" her.
72. She can spin around using her bottom and her feet to propel herself.
73. She is too big for the baby bjorn.
74. She loves to play with the blinds cord near our bed (only under parental supervision of course ;)
75. One of her favorite books is this. (which we borrowed from her cousin Noah).
76. She often goes barefoot. No shoes yet.
77. Another favorite stuffed animal of hers is the white bear she received from the hospital where she was born.
78. She loves bubbles.
79. She loves to splash in the bath.
80. She loves running water.
81. She has never met her Aunt Christine.
82. She cried when my Dad held her. 
83. She cries whenever anyone but me (and sometimes Jamie) holds her!
84. But she let her Uncle David hold her (while Jamie and I had a little date in NYC).
85. She already saw her first movie (Princess and the Frog) in a movie theater.
86. She never took to a pacifier or her thumb. I am her human pacifier.
87. She can drink out a cup. She will be wet afterwards but she got the motion down pat.
88. If you're not careful, she will throw things in the garbage that are not garbage!
89. She likes to empty boxes and then put things back in.
90. She likes to pull things off shelves.
91. She is NOT a hair puller. Well not mine.
92. She often pulls Sofia's hair.
93. She likes to play with my necklace.
94. She is a wonderful baby!
95. She is now a toddler? But she doesn't toddle yet.
96. She is overdue for her 1-year-check-up (I'm kinda stretching here).
97. She has a similar birthmark on her forehead to Sofia.
98. I often brush the hairs around her ear behind her ear with my fingers.
99. She likes her hair brushed with a soft baby hairbrush.
100. She likes to play with the broom and dustpan, mimicking the sweeping action!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! I love you more than you can possibly know! (And Sofia too ;)

Two Peas digi page: Wonder

SUPPLIES:
Everything is from Vinnie Pearce's BLOOM kit available at Two Peas.

I'm very proud of this one.
I'm the first to admit that sometimes my journaling can get a bit treacly. And cliche. But I do really mean every word when I say things like Zara you are a sweet baby. or beautiful or cute. Or I love you. A LOT. Same goes for Sofia's pages.

But this bit of journaling got Jamie's stamp of approval. "Best journaling ever," he said. It wasn't describing the photo specifically or stating the obvious. It was just off the cuff. Stream of consciousness. Sparked by one of the elements in a digital kit: Wonder. At first I was going to journal about how "wonder-ful" Zara is. A bit boring, yes. Then I thought I could use it as a verb. From my perspective.

If you click on the image, it will take you to Two Peas where I posted it. And you can read the journaling there and read more about how I created the page. If you like it, please feel free to leave me a comment or click on the "Like" button. I appreciate it!


So, what's your journaling style?

Two Peas Digi page: bright star

I am slowing down in my old age. This page took me all day (on and off - in between running after my two little girls). I do love the green paper and the hand-drawn title and accents from Wilna's "Somewhere Out There" kit at Two Peas in a Bucket.

I added the scalloped edge to the green paper by first adding the scalloped stitch from Vinnie Pearce's new kit, Bloom - also at Two Peas. Then I used my magic wand and selected "outside" the scallops. Then I selected the paper in my layers palette and deleted the selection. Finally I added a pink paper from Wilna's kit underneath. I love the added bit of pink.

sigh of relief

I've been having anxiety dreams all week.
Two milestones were looming and I was a wee bit (A LOT) nervous about them.

#1: Sofi will attending kindergarten......next fall. But the prep for next year is gearing up. Informational meetings (the first one is tonight!) Decisions to be made. All day vs half-day. Even which school to go to. I know Sofi is ready but it is big leap from half-day, 3 days/week with lots of parental participation to all-day, 5 days a week with little to no parental presence in the classroom.

More pressing was
#2: Leaving Zara in the nursery for the first time. At the co-op, I volunteer in the classroom twice a month. Until now, I was able to carry Zara around in my Bjorn. But once she turned 7 months, she was supposed to be in the nursery. Luckily, the universe conspired to make our first time as smooth as possible. I was able to switch with another mom to do purple apron - a physically less demanding job than my assigned blue apron. The nursery was moved to downstairs - closer to the classroom and easier to access. The mom scheduled to be in the nursery was super-helpful and understanding. She even carried my stroller up and down the stairs for me! There also happened to be lots of "extra" parents at school today, offering a hand whenever possible.

For the most of school, Zara was fine - I didn't hear any crying for a long time. But I knew she was tired. She usually naps while Sofi is at school, so when i finally did hear her crying I swooped in and nursed her and she quickly went to sleep. Then, I was able to hangout with another mom who had her baby in her frontpack until we re-joined the kids on the playground.

So yes, a big sigh of relief. Hopefully, next month will be even easier.

Two Peas in A Bucket digi pages

I've enjoyed my first month as a member of the digital creative team at Two Peas in a Bucket. I've gotten EIGHT pages (including a hybrid page) scrapped this month using their fabulous kits and templates. Here are my latest.

"happiness x 2" using "This Year" by Jen Martakis at Two Peas in a Bucket.

"the year in Sofia" using Katherine Teague's Year in Review Templates at 2Ps.

I also used: Borderloos by Katherine Teague at Two Peas in a Bucket. Holiday Party (Free Kit) by Brandy Buffington (background paper) at Two Peas. Olivia kit by Kitschy Digitals (fabric roses)
"all bundled up"using Brandy Buffington's Cabanarama kit at Two Peas and a free template by Jen Martakis.


"what will the new year bring" using Jen Martakis' THIS YEAR TAGS kit at Two Peas.

yeah yeah yeah yeah - Zara @ 6 months 3 weeks

• Zara continues to be a doll. An easy baby. I love her smile and her sweet personality.

• She lights up when Jamie, Sofia or I are in the room. It can't get any better than that, can it?

• She is sitting up now. I still put her in the middle of a pile of pillows, boppy and blankets for safety, but for the most part she is sitting up without toppling over.

• We started her on solid foods: rice cereal. Then some rice crackers called Mum Mum. Then a mashed sweet potato. That did not go too well. She threw it all up with lots of the breast milk she just just drank. Maybe she was too full or the texture of the potato was too irritating. So we tried jarred organic sweet potato. She loved that. I have peas and winter squash on deck. Bananas and avocado as well.
  

• I've also noticed that her babbling is resembling words. I think I heard a "dadda." And a "yeah yeah yeah." Up until now, she shrieks and yells, but her noises are becoming decidedly more word-like.

what we did on jamie's 40th

jamies40th
Originally uploaded by cayla73

Yup. This family likes to eat. Plus we like our toys. (see Jamie's haul on the bottom left of the layout).

It was a great day. Lots of food. Ha!
Too bad Zara got a little fussy at dinner.
But my food did not get cold. A knowing waiter (turned out he was the head manager) kept my food warm for me while i tried to unsuccessfully feed and soothe zara in the bathroom. Poor kid was tired and just wanted to sleep, but there was an awful lot of racket going on at El Gaucho. I had to send Sofi back down to the table (down a long flight of stairs) TWICE to fetch a diaper and then the pacifier.

But I returned to my seat with Zara semi-soothed, handed her off to Jamie and finished most of my meal. We even got through the complimentary fruit/cheese/cracker course (who can eat after all that steak?) AND the dessert before she woke up again. We then made a hasty exit.

When we got home, I fed Zara while Jamie put Sofi to bed. He fell asleep in her bedroom, so no late-tv-watching for us! So here I am blogging after midnight.

Happy Birthday Jamie!

p.s. we also shot several movies with our new Flip! When I figure out how to upload them to the blog, I will!

how things change/18 days old

I was organizing my scraproom today and came across Sofi's baby album. I forgot I had made this album - using a Brenda Walton/K & Co. album kit. Everything coordinated from the album to the papers to the alphas. I had quite a bit of journaling. And I seemed to have a page or two for just about every day of Sofi's life for the first couple of weeks.



How things have changed since then.
Actually the photos taken are pretty similar: photos taken at the hospital. In the Bjorn or baby sling. With the grandparents. Even the baby clothes and baby paraphernelia (blankets/toys/carriers) - since Zara has inherited all of Sofi's hand-me-downs.


But my style has definitely changed. For example, the first few pages I've done of Zara have all been digital. Using different style of digital kits.

I am working on my first paper layout using the new collection, English Garden, by Marks Paper Company. I should be finished by tomorrow hopefully. You know paper layouts always take me so much more time than digi layouts.


**************
It has been 5 days since we last weighed Zara, so we headed down to the Women's Center. She gained another 6 ounces! So we are definitely on track. I have stopped pumping. Jamie only gives her a bottle when I want to skip the midnight feeding. And she's still gaining weight like there's no tomorrow.

So I'm getting at least 5-6 hours of uninterupted sleep. I go into Sofi's room and sleep there. Sofi loves the extra Mommy time and I love the quiet. And her queen-sized bed :)

**************
So what did I do with all my energy? I made a little progress in cleaning my scrapbook room. Vacuuming the rug and starting to pick through my stash to give to friend. That's when I came across Sofi's scrapbook....

I also tackled a task I've been putting off forever. Cleaning the fridge. I got through two shelves and one veggie bin. Go me.

stir-crazy/ 17 days old today

I've been going a little stir-crazy.
And Jamie informs me - so has my SIMS counterpart. (Sofi and Jamie have re-created our family down to the newborn baby named Zara in the virtual SIMS world).

So yesterday, I took my first solo outing without a kid in tow.

First stop: My favorite sweet indulgence (Chocolate Javakula from Seattle's Best)
Second stop: A haircut. Lots of layers. Still not used to it.
Third stop: Library. Thumbed through InStyle Magazine for my celebrity gossip fix. And picked up two more easy reads:
1) Why moms are weird / Pamela Ribon.
2) A much married man / Nicholas Coleridge.

And two recent issues of Creating Keepsakes.

It was good to get out.

I also took a bunch of photos....

Sofi wanted to take a shot holding Zara. Unfortunately, she was a little cranky LOL.

Jamie took this shot standing over us in the bed.

Sofi and I (with my new haircut) in front of the mirror.

******************
Today, I didn't get out much. I don't know where the day went. Aside from feeding Zara, changing her diaper and cuddling her, I cleaned the kitchen. Read. Surfed the web. Checked my e-mail. But didn't really get much more done.

While we cooked some brown rice (with the rice cooker) to eat with the second batch of chicken curry that Jamie's mom left for us, the entire family went on a quick walk around the block. We tested out the Baby Bjorn on Zara. She loved it as far as I could tell. Didn't hear a peep. Love those socks (that look like Mary Janes) that I put on her.

Jamie, Zara and Sofi enjoying our evening walk around the block.