give it a CHAI

December 2011

2011-12-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

The Princess-Dooper Hero-Artist
Claira has many interests. But almost every single day you can find her pulling out a sheet of paper or a coloring book and "caw-ring". She is really good! For awhile her people...looked like a perfect drawing of a spider :) What I'm surprised with the most is how fast her 'style' in drawing is changing and improving! Oh yeah, and other times she flying around the house saying "No, I not Crare-ah. I DOOPER HERO!"

At Grandparents house we had a major paint-a-thon. We went to Michael's and bought all the 23 cent ceramics they had. Carissa and I paint stakingly painted 2 Christmas village cottages. This year I'm starting a tradition with them of building a Christmas village, adding pieces each season. Already in it's first year it's a nice piece of property! I'll have to load a photo soon.

This year's Santa photo was not as dramatic as last year. Although this time Claira's screaming was because she had to put on that beautiful fancy dress. But later on in the night she was loving the dress and twirling around. Ellia looked absolutely gorgeous in her soft red sweater dress & her red pants are the same satin ones from last year! Skinny minny.

This year a mom of Ellia's school friend invited us on their family's Christmas tradition of taking an old train (in Santa Clarita Valley) to a tree farm and cutting down your own tree! How quaint I thought. It was beautiful weather & the train ride was lots of fun, Santa strolled through. The tree farm was really organized and had tons to choose from. It was fun picking out our own. I knew we needed a small one. Unfortunately I was so concentrated on height I didn't pay attention to the tree trunk I'd be needing to cut through! After photos and videos and much documentation of this quaint throw-back tradition-we set about actually trying to cut the thing. Ellia and I tried our hardest. I realized I also chose to cut in the worst spot: a knot! Her friend's father helped me cut a lot of the trunk then I got the glory of knocking it down. You can't beat the smell of those freshly cut trees! And now it's sitting on our porch & the scent greets me every day!

Mommy & Me Day
Ellia has been needing some time on her own lately and/or time with just a parent and no sibling to wheel and deal with. It's another facet to this huge age of 5 that is definitely the starting point toward the onwards & upwards ages. She is older now & more importantly, wants to be older (or at least be all that 5 is supposed to be in her head) Before the age of 5, Ellia was just thankful for when Claira was old enough to do things with her. And their age combination always had common ground. It still does today, it's just that age 5 brings with it this sense that "I'm older and you're not." Ellia now wants the feeling of things that she can do but Claira maybe cannot. So the morning her 2nd tooth fell out, she said she wanted to stay home and rest. She knew that a few days prior I had stayed home with Claira, just the two of us, when she was sick. It definitely stuck in her head as something she wanted for herself. I figured, well I don't have to work today & time flies by so fast. I don't want to regret not slowing down to feel her life & experience who she is right on that day.

I take tons of photos and videos of them & one of my biggest regrets as time has flown is not getting in enough of them. A friend of mine has a blog and I notice that she has a good amount of photos of herself, hugging and squeezing and loving on her babies. When I see her photos I know they are going to be great time capsules for not only her but also for her children. I can imagine her daughter will look back and say "Mom! You were a looker!" In this photo Ellia wanted to look off from the camera and stare so I did the same thing. We were going for the "I'm too cool to look at the camera" album cover shot. ;)

This was an impromptu stop at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden when we were on our way to pick up Claira. Ellia loved that we carved out another moment for just the two of us. She, of course, wanted to play "Baby" and to play "Doggie". These are the two activity requests I get from the girls every single day. Here's how you play & listen carefully because it's so very complex: "Baby" = Ellia puts her head in my shirt and pretends that she's not born yet. Claira curls up into an egg and pretends she's a baby bird that's going to hatch. Claira hatches first & I peel the shells off her. She coos and makes her sweet, soft baby face. She starts flapping her wings. Then Claira's little sister is born. Ellia takes her head out and starts cooing and ga-ga-gooing. Then I'm supposed to teach them to crawl. They make it a few feet and then they fall flat on their tummies. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Eventually after I've repositioned them onto all fours they have learned to crawl. Then I have to teach them how to either walk or to fly off the cliff/bed.
"Doggie" = I'm supposed to be a little girl at the park with my Mommy and I see the little puppies. I ask the puppies "No leash? Where's your owner Doggie?" Then I'm supposed to ask my Mommy "Mommy can we have a Doggie? It doesn't have an owner. Can we take it home?" Very much like "Baby" except that they are both Puppies and I lead them on a leash/bathrobe belt.

The Nature GirlMuch like her Mama, Claira is constantly scanning the ground for 'nature things'. Especially leading up to her birthday! But I'll always remember lugging the Christmas tree we cut down (Ok, maybe not lugging. The thing was a shrub at the most.) But I have an image in my head of looking back to make sure Claira was following us & she was still doing what she had been doing the entire time we were getting the tree: Kneeling quietly in the dirt finding/collecting little nature things. Her head bowed down concentrating and her arms craddled to her chest to hold as many tiny pebbles, tiny sticks, tiny flowers, etc as she can.Here she is on a walk in our neighborhood (we were looking for twigs for her party). But whenever Claira sees flowers she absolutely has to pick them. And she always wants to make sure everyone is supplied with one to keep for themselves. So adorable cuz Ellia could care less if she's gonna get her fair share of flowers but Claira has to make sure. She usually exclaims "Loook! Boweeers...*gasp* MOOORE bowers!"
This is the day we stopped off at Frontier Park & during our visit I was blessed with the brilliant idea to have her birthday party there. We had fun in the dandelion patch. Claira literally would have picked every single one, methodically, if I hadn't stopped her.There's a beautiful tree on a little hill and golden leaves spread about. The crisp grey sky. It made for a great portrait of my Nature Girl.

Claira's 3, whoa is me...

2011-12-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

Claira's Magical Woodland Fairy Teaparty
Frontier Park . Cerritos . December 10th

As you look at this goofy face of the newly 3 year old, here are her first faces in the world.

My tiny girl is wearing the same tu-tu she wore on her 1st Birthday!

So I went all out this time. I collected (the girls collected leaves, twigs, acorns & pinecones weeks leading up to party), I prepared, I stayed up, I baked, I cooked, I hot-glue gunned, I prepared, then I prepared some more. Without my wonderful friend Jenn I can say without a doubt the party would never have happened. She party rental'ed me out lots of vintage tea party items, ribbons, table ware. Most importantly, the morning of the party, she transformed along with me into a bat-outta-hell! We dashed from my house to the park, back and forth, setting up. The party started 30 minutes late but it started! My wonderful friends Cara and Riva took photos of the party & thank goodness because I don't think I UN-transformed from a bat-outta-hell until 30 minutes before the party ended! Mental note for next time: Enjoy the actual party with my growing-too-fast girl.

Pin The Fairy Wings on Claira

Kids Table. Individual serving plates, their own tongs, chocolate 'tea' bags for milk, medallion necklaces to color.3-Legged Race

Treasure Hunt. The kids would have played this over and over if it were possible. Major success. I knew kids liked treasure hunts but I had to find a way for them to do it on their own without having to read. So I went to the park a few days prior and took photos of items & set them around the park as clues. I printed the photos and taped them to colored paper.
I gave the kids the 1st clue: a Magical Dandelion. I wanted them to think of themselves as an entire group of unified hunters. So I instructed whoever found a clue first to hold it up high & wait for all the other hunters to gather around & look. It worked out great! And what was under the 'X' marking the spot? A pretty box filled with RING POPS. (A.K.A. crack to kids) Thanks to Cara for ruining her manicure helping me dig into the sand to bury the treasure. All of us laughed later after it was over because throughout the day kids had been asking "can I have a ring pop?" "I heard there's ring pops..." There very well could have been kids Tweeting about ring pops that fine day...

Back-log Blog: November 2011

2011-12-21T23:28:00.001-08:00

School photos KILL me! Kids look so grown up in school photos, not really how you see them day-to-day. So I guess it's just startling. I love them though. I'm always really excited to see how they turn out. Their smiles/expression sum up exactly who they are.

Auntie Carissa and Uncle Adam built a huge chicken coop behind their place & promptly ordered 4 chickens in different colors. The girls really like finding the eggs. Sometimes they get to do that at their school too.

Goof balls...

Their smiles sum up exactly who they are as sisters.

Big Girl Teeth

2011-12-21T23:05:00.000-08:00

In my September post I forgot to post, like, the biggest news ever! On Ellia's actual birthday she was watching Max and Ruby "Ruby looses a tooth." Low and behold Ellia felt her tooth and exclaimed "Mom! My tooth is loose!" I thought she was just acting like it "Oh ok, yup." But then when I went to get her out of the car I felt it and our eyes locked in total shock. She was beside herself with pride and giddiness. For weeks she had been comparing herself to any kid who had lost a tooth as if she was less of a human and a complete baby if she still had all her baby teeth. I think she thought that being 5 meant losing her baby teeth. I definitely was not ready for her to lose her baby teeth at 5! I whimpered "Oh Ellia, do you know that was your very first tooth you ever got? You've had it since you were 4 months old / "just born". That's a really old tooth!"

I told her all about what she needed to do with her tooth. My dad gave me a cool gold coin box (seen in first photo) that has a secret flap you lift to reveal a tiny envelope. I thought it would be the perfect box to leave under her pillow for the tooth fairy.

And after the tooth fairy gave her a stack of huge coins (dollar and half dollars) I told her she needed to write a thank you note to the Tooth Fairy, leave it under her pillow & she would put it in her special tooth box. Ellia made a beautiful painting to cover her tooth box. It has a drawer to pull out and a suede pouch to put the tooth in. The next morning, when she woke up, and her tooth was back in her possession. (in a Squinkies plastic bubble, inside the suede pouch)

And now, a mere two months later she lost her other "first tooth". I guess it's fitting because those two bottom teeth came in in just the same manner! So weird. This tooth losing was a bit more traumatic. The other one was very very ready (the adult tooth was underneath already) to come out and it just fell right out of her mouth that September morning before school. This one came out in the morning before school but it was because she bit onto a grape. It bled a lot and kinda scared her, which I would have been too. There's no sign of the adult tooth so she'll look different for awhile this time!

Back-log Blog: October 2011

2011-11-11T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the 3rd harvest family photo (missing 2009) Here are the previous ones to compare!

I love cutout photo for some reason. In this photo, I realized later, Claira is making the same face Ellia made in her 1st cutout photo.

Ellia and Claira loved dancing to the music at Oak Glen Farms. Even though the apple season ended really early this year, it was still a fun and beautiful day!

Ellia having a "Gone With The Wind" moment.

On this day the girls and I and Jimmy stopped off at the pumpkin patch in Long Beach that we've been going to for years and years now. I remember the first time we went it felt so exciting because it was the first time Ellia was really experiencing Halloween festivities and it was fun to see her discovering it.

Jimmy and I took Ellia and Claira to their school friend's 5th birthday party. It was lots of fun: Taco truck, Shaved Ice, Margaritas, Horse Shoes (me & jimmy heated match), Badmitten (me & jimmy lighthearted match), Pinatas...and face painting! Ellia looked really cool in the Batman design she chose.
Here's a shot of Ellia's first time getting her face painted!

And Claira chose the exact opposite of her sister: The "Spah-ka-lee" Look. This is her first time having her face painted and she absolutely loved it. She didn't even want to take it off.

Ellia's Batman makeup was almost impossible to remove! Even my eye-makeup remover didn't really make a dent. That's why, a day later in her Halloween photos she kinda looks like she's wearing eye liner. Cuz she is. And here she is practicing for future high school Drama Class:And here is my party girl. Still in her makeup, still in her sparkly fancy shoes... I hope this photo isn't a sign of what's to come in college!!

Happy Halloween 2011!!

We walked the streets with 2 of Ellia's longest running school friends. They don't go to her current school but she's gone to school with them ever since she started daycare at 18 months! Ellia was pretty excited that 'we' were going to make her costume this year. She was very helpful in standing for me to measure her. She'd be coloring with Claira and I'd say "Can you come over one more time Ellia?" and she'd toss her crayon down and tell Claira: "I'll be right back Claira, I have to work on my Halloween costume." I pretty much made it in 2 or 3 separate days. And it was very cheap. The only thing I had to buy were the Dryer Ducting, Silver Spray Paint and the $2 Goodwill GI Joe black jumpsuit to wear underneath. (which, of course, she was more excited about than the robot costume...of course) I used: Milk jug, stickers, coil from calendar, silver windshield reflector, bottle caps, 7UP liter bottle, egg carton, LED tap lights, glow sticks, calculator & nuts and bolts. You name, I saved it.
Thanks go out to Kristine (for drinking the milk), Veronica (for the coil idea), Mom & Dad (silver windshield reflector & laminated Candy-Bot signs), Jimmy (silver windshield reflector engineering into robot body shape)

Claira is now a total pro at Trick or Treating. She had a great time & of course was only walking the streets to earn lollipops of all kinds. Once she scored one she was all set. Leading up to Halloween we were comparing whether to be Minnie Mouse or Snow White. Every time someone asked what she was going to be she'd always say "Mickey Mouse."

This little impromptu invention has proven to be really cool. I wanted Ellia to have something hard to write/draw on when sitting in her car seat. But I didn't want it to be too hard and dangerous & I wanted it to hold everything in one place for her. Enter 3-ring binder filled with different sorts of papers & a zip bag in front for markers, pencils and crayons. She loves her little car seat desk. And I love that I have an efficient means of child labor for creating birthday cards while on the way to kids parties!

Back-log Blog: September 2011

2011-11-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

Gotta get a blowout for the blowout party. Ellia's a pro at the hair cutting now even though she's only had a handful of hair cuts. This was the first time she got to have a professional hair wash in the weird neck sink :)

Ellia's 5th Birthday was awesome! You never know if it'll all come together, if you chose the right place & if people will show up. She was talking about this party for weeks leading up to it and even more weeks after it was over. She was telling strangers on the street that she held a scorpion, held a turanchula..anyone who would listen. She felt SO grown up to be 5. Why that was a huge milestone in her head I don't know. Although I was hearing for a long time this summer how s0-and-so was already 5, when will I be 5, etc. It was a huge milestone for me too. There seems to be a large divide between 4 and 5. 4 seems more like 3. But 5 is nothing like 4. 5 looks squarely ahead at 6 and beyond & is not longer looking back.
Well, if she's not lookin' back I will: http://thechaifam.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

I slaved over those darn dinosaur egg favors for 2 nights and the morning of the party (blow drying them dry). They were going to work if it was the last thing I did. I used water balloons and paper mache then put candy and reptiles inside. Ellia was really into the details of her party. She had a giddy & "let's get this done right" attitude the morning of her party when we stuffed the eggs. I'll also always remember the day we picked the reptile zoo as her birthday party place, that night when I was scratching her back she just wanted to gab and gab about all the things she envisioned for her party and all the friends who would go.

After the party friends and family came over for a movie in the yard old-school style. It was the first time doing a movie outside and I loved it & hope to do them next summer.

The morning of her birthday we gave her her BIG 5 Surprise! I remember my parents leading me to the front porch for my birthday and there was a Strawberry Shortcake bike with a white basket and all. We did the same for Ellia - although this bike is waaaaaay cooler than a Strawberry Shortcake bike. She gets a lot of compliments on it too. Definitely a cool 1st bike - or Training Wheel Bike as Ellia calls it. She never calls it a bike, she used that long title, haha! She was SO excited. She told everyone about it, and riding it was always the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up and the first thing she wanted to do when I picked her up from school. She was determined to master the balancing of it, the turning of it, the braking of it. I loved how she valued her bike so much, every so often she'd stop suddenly, hop off and bend down to see if the tires were ok.

Here are the sisters playing Mommy & swaddled baby. For an average camera, I think it's a beautiful shot. Someday in the future in my future free time days - I plan to paint this photo.

Ok, so I guess it's tradition now to end each post with a GEEE-orgous pic of Claira. This is at their school & she's up in the treehouse. We had all just celebrated the September Birthdays at her school. Claira joined Ellia's Montessori in August and she adjusted so well (with tons of help from her school Mommy=Ellia. One of the first weeks, one teacher said that she was taking Claira to the bathroom & Ellia jumped up from what she was doing and said "I better go with you. You might need my help." Claira gained a new sense of independence and "Claira-ness" & even though that brought more feistiness outta her, it also brought her closer to her sister.

Back-log Blog: August 2011

2011-11-10T21:03:00.001-08:00

And here's all of me and Grandpa's hard work put to play. We were even featured on http://mandooandlumpia.com
Ok, that's just one of my friend's blogs :)
After living here since, what, 2007 we finally took in one of the free summer events in the park. Mama Ellyn and her chubby rolls baby and sweetie girl joined us and my parents for an animal show. Maybe next summer we'll take advantage of the summer stuff more (yeah and I said that 2 years ago too!)

Big girl Claira is all in now with the arm bands like her sister. Crazy to see her out in the middle of the pool floating and twirling when I used to have to sit with her on the steps while she splashed around and liked the feeling of the water on her legs but didn't want to get in. She's not that grown up though cuz she still drinks the pool water.

Jimmy had the week off work and wanted to take a trip. The plan went from a drive up to stay in San Luis Obispo - to - a beach day trip to La Jolla. It was a great time, perfect weather, water was clear and pretty warm! We liked experiencing new sand (really coarse), the tide pools with baby hermit crabs everywhere, caves, tons of seaweed, and even a washed up half lobster. Me and Ellia and Claira played a game for a long time: Ellia and I raced to the shore and grabbed a huge handfull of sand that was mixed with big bits of colored glass thats been turned into little jewels, softened by the rolling tide. Claira LOVED being in charge of the pile, taking out the jewels she liked best. Ellia loved yelling at the waves "ERR take that! You can't get me! We're the wave blasters!"

Here's a cave that Ellia wanted no part of. Claira kinda liked it. We pretended that there was something sleeping inside. I cherish that my little one still puts her finger on top of her whole nose for the "Shh" sound.

Well, I guess I seem to be ending a lot of my posts with gorgeous photos of Claira. This photo is ridiculous...it's so weird how every so often the camera catches children in a certain light: The photo doesn't really LOOK like the child looks in person, it looks more like what the child will look like years from now.
This night was the girl's school Camp Out Night! I went to Walmart with the girls and bought a little tent & sleeping bags. All the kids loved being at school 'after hours' and playing in the yard at night. I had a good time chatting with the parents. I put up a tent! Oh yes I did (OK one of the mom's helped me since all the kids started playing in MID-construction. This was the first Camp Out I've been to (last year Ellia had only been at the school for a week or so and we didn't really know anyone). I was under the impression everyone who was there (and there were a lot) would actually CAMP OUT. Well, turns out a lot of them were veteran's and were wiser than me. They'd already done it before & instead used the campout to completely wear out their kids for bedtime. Brilliant, I thought. If only I hadn't been pumping up our "very 1st camping night!!!" for weeks. Well, I hung in there. A dad also camped with his 2 sons and a mom with her daughter. 3 parents, haha! But the look of sheer exhilaration on Ellia and Claira's faces when we cozied into our tent and sleeping bags was something I made sure to put to memory. Especially since I needed something to make the rocky dirt digging into my back all night worth it!

Back-log Blog: July 2011

2011-10-29T22:50:00.001-07:00

Love love love this photo & the adorable 4th of July dresses - THANK YOU AUNTIE BARBARA!
We celebrated Grandpa's birthday at Magic Mountain. This is Ellia's first theme park roller coaster. If I had the 1979 photo of me on this same roller coaster (my first as well) I would post it. I have a look of pure terror mixed with trying not to look terrified. I love how my sweet, careful Ellia is the only child on the ride with her hands down.
She eventually threw her hands up and when the ride was over she was confident enough (and tall enough) to go on an even bigger coaster. Here she is proudly standing in front of the "big person roller coaster"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

4TH OF JULY 2011
We saw Cars 2 3D with the cousins at the El Capitan. Then off to a Dodger's game & fireworks.

Back-log Blog: June 2011

2011-10-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

The sisters (sissies, Eye-ya & L00L00.)

Ellia continues to be a 2nd Mommy to our little L00L00 (Ellia and I started calling her that at some point because she was 'acting Looloo' so I said "you're our little LooLoo." Ellia got a kick out of that, she laughed and laughed. Claira said "I not LooLoo. I not LooLoo.I Crar-a."

June marked Claira's 2 1/2 age & with it (as I noticed at Ellia's half-way marks) came a serious personality adjustment. I remember at 1 1/2 thinking "this chick wears her emotions right out in the open. Even if she has a tantrum, boom, when she's over it she is OVER IT." I thought "hey, this is cool...she gets over things so quickly!"
Well, then came the next roll-out phase of The True Claira. The Emerging Claira. The "What the hell am I gonna do when she's a teenager" Claira! For a month or so I was reeling. Everthing I learned while parenting Ellia for almost 5 years - I threw it all at her. She was immune to all of it. This chick required a whole new play book that I inwardly dreaded wasn't capable of coming up with. She seemed so foreign to me. So hot and cold. She KNEW she was older. She was mowing over every boundary she could find & with not a care in the world about it. I was living through back to back melt-downs. And by that I mean, within minutes of eachother. (Screaming about being put into her carseat instead of climbing in it. OK, finally calmed down. Boom, screaming about that way I buckled her in.) I was on pins and needles because I was right smack in the middle of a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" world. And she was mean! It wasn't just a tantrum. It was "NO Mommy! What'd you DO dat!? I don't LIKE you." She was definitely bullying me. And she was bullying Ellia too - hitting her the millisecond she became mad. Then, as soon as her tornado started it stops and SHE'S fine. SHE'S ok. She leaves chaos, hurt feelings, buises (an emotional armeggedon) in her wake - and she's lookin' back like "What? I'm over it, why aren't you?"
Luckily, after a few weeks I found my inner Mother of Claira. It's a new one & I'm really proud that we've made & grown stronger through this first of many Emerging Claira's to come. I'm firm on the things that 100% without a doubt are no-budgers. And it has to be a strong, loud NON-emotional firmness. Emotions to Claira are like blood in the water to a shark. If she senses she's 'getting to ya' she'll zero right in on ya. Mostly, I realized I had to TELL Claira what she needed to say, instead of just saying "use your words". She's an emotion thru action type person. It's hard for any child to put their feelings into words but for Claira, even more so because it's not her first instinct to let you know - she just wants to show you. Fast & easy - That's her motto. Action first, words later (maaaybe). A co-worker of mine who was the only Saggitarious in an all Virgo family once told me. Oh yeah, we're "Jump first. Say 'oh shit' later."
It's so true. But I realized that I could not let Claira be a bully. I also had to teach Ellia to not let herself be bullied. So actually it was a bonus that I could help give her the self-esteem to say No to Claira, that she will not allow herself to be treated that way. Ellia doesn't like conflict so her instinct when hearing Claira begin to whine or yell was to just make it better. ie: make it go away. I told Ellia "Claira needs to learn that she can't scream at people to get what she wants. You are a wonderful big sister and you should not be yelled at."
Things are SO much better. Claira will now point out when she is following rules. "Look Mommy! No teeming (screaming) no running aroun!" When Ellia squeezes passed her in the back seat Claira looks at me and exclaims "I no push!" She's becoming proud of herself for living inside boundaries. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Importance of Play - May 2011

2011-10-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs is Teacher Tom: http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/
He teaches at a progressive multi-age parent participation pre-school in Seattle. I get a lot of inspiration from his take on "the early years" of guiding young ones. Visiting the school, most parent's would probably take one look at the outside play area and shoo their children away immediately. At first glance it looks like an absolute junk yard:
But it's overflowing with room for a child's imagination...for a child to move & learn at the same time, shaping those neuron's in that growing brain. Even once we grew up, we adults still seem to say that we learn best when we can just do it ourselves - learning through doing.
Teacher Tom had a breakthrough once where he realized that when he put things out in the yard with a specific goal in mind for the kids to do with it - he would always end up frustrated because it seemed like they weren't going along with what he envisioned. Sound familiar moms?
He said: "...the more vested I am in my own agenda, the more likely it is that I'll find myself frustrated. And that's, of course, because it's not my agenda, but the children's, that must stand at the heart of a play-based curriculum. In a play-based curriculum, the only failures are those that come when adults cling too possessively to their own agendas, either driving children toward their predetermined goal, or pulling out their own hair in frustration when the children, as they always will, seek to make it (whatever it is) their own. It's something I need to remind myself of every day, this setting aside of my own agenda. We all should, I think. There is great power in standing before children and saying, I don't know what to do. When we do that as teachers, we put learning in the children's hands, and in doing that we cannot fail."
The concept of giving Ellia and Claira something and NOT telling them "THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WITH THIS." was actually refreshing. And, seriously, they're gonna end up doing what they want with it anyway! May as well sit back and watch the show instead of getting flustered. It's hard to slow down to their pace, isn't it? It's sad we don't really remember what it was like when time went by so much slower.
Parents might look at the yard in an expansive view & write it off as messy, haphazard and dangerous. But they would miss the tiny spaces children make, inside their own minds...
...their own worlds.

Above is Teacher Toms "Mud Pit". It inspired me, even though crowded-cookie-cutter California can't really compete with other areas of the country with more room, more greenery, more originality. I bet the same moms who would say "I would never let my kids go to that messy school!" are the same moms complaining that they're kids never play outside. "Why don't you want to play in the back yard?" Maybe cuz a lot of planned-community California towns are stuck-up & landscaped to the point of sheer boredom.

Above is the girls Mud Pit and I hope to add a pulley and some gulleys (rain gutters used to pour water, sand, cars etc down.)
Ellia was thrilled and shocked that I entrusted her with REAL nails (I hadn't bought her a real mini hammer yet so she was using that baby one)
Both girls seem to be occupied for long periods of time when they're 'cooking'. So I set up their outside kitchen area with lots of stuff to grab, saved coffee grounds & bought spices at the 99Cent store.In the blazing heat good 'ol Grandpa built a sand box, a veggie garden box & a play house!While I was cutting back my arch nemisis: the night blooming jasmine tree shrub (ugh, if my hair only grew as fast as that damn shedding shrub). All 3 of us, actually, were in our own world in the yard that day, not saying much, just working with our hands and letting our minds wander. So I love that Ellia eventually thought to use my clippings to make a jungle for all her dinosaurs.And, well, Claira just got naked. Love it.

Fireworks Day

2011-05-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

Jackson. She has insisted he be HER Jackson for as long as she's known him (her whole life). Jackson's going to be moving to another state this summer. He is going to get a wonderful new house & wide open spaces to stretch out & be all the amazing things he's capable of being. I know Ellia would be in heaven to just sit on the edge of the lake in his soon-to-be neighborhood & learn to fish, to scour the muck for the grossest sea creature this side of Peachtree, Georgia. But she won't be with him. And I know it hasn't yet sunk in completely. She just knows that he's moving far away because he has to fly in a plane to get there. And she knows he's leaving after Fireworks Day (4th of July)

Time with Ellia

2011-05-26T23:39:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite photos of Ellia. And, you know, I'm not even sure why. But I think it has all the little things all rolled into one. I remember when I took it. I had crept into the room because I could not believe that she was entertaining herself for so long! Oh how I remember that blue co-sleeper: how I layered it with washcloths underneath the receiving blankets tucked over to get just the right curvature for her to lay on her side like she liked (hoping that would make her sleep longer!) I remember that toy (her 1st favorite, from San) I remember sitting with her on that big tan sectional couch & marveling at how of all the thingy-ma-jigs on the toy, she wanted to master the hardest one first (and she did!) And you can almost see the crib tent that was attached to keep Kramer out (who ended up never interested in the crib at all!) I remember rocking her back and forth, staring at the red digital clock and mentally waiting for 6 minutes to pass & then bending into the tent to lay her down, holding my breath that she'd stay asleep.

Well, and here she is.. from 4 months to 4 years! She's still sleeping in that same crib (changed out into toddler bed). Getting her to stay asleep isn't like walking on pins & needles. She still loves routine if she plays a part in it. She'd still prefer to play with me instead of entertaining herself for long periods. I suppose when she was 4 months it used to wear on my last nerve that she couldn't at least sit on her own and play. Now, it doesn't wear on my last nerve because there's so much she could be doing & a lot of the time she wants to do it with me. I guess as a parent, you're just always holding your breath for different reasons throughout the years.

These two pictures show the opposite sides of Ellia. The tomboy (transformer) and the sweet girl time (barettes, lipgloss, rings, bracelets & heels). Truth be told, she'd choose the transformer outfit handsdown any day of the week.

This is a sample of what I come across daily living with a chick like Ellia. Don't know why, don't know what for - but I do know that she definitely did.

She went through a month where she wore this Angel's cap to school every day. I loved that she was wearing something to school that sorta embodied who she is: quirky, sporty, friendly.

Ellia likes almost all bugs. I havn't quite figured out her higherarchy in terms of what's a 'good' bug and what needs to be 'killed' (stomped on) right away. Harmless, tiny ant? (she'd stomp them all if she could) Slimpy segmented worm? (loves em "I don't think they're gross") A cool Walking Stick? (terrified. go figure.) I think her favorite are the rolley polleys though. She likes to say if it's a Mama, Daddy or Baby & she talks to them.

And here's a great snapshot of Ellia's typical need to break out into the randomest of random song & dance. As you can see she changes her facial expression with each move. As she gets older, her songs get more and more facinating to listen to. I noticed awhile ago how she's able to hear a song once & memorize all the lyrics. And when she makes up her own songs she actually has a structure to it (chorus, dramatic pauses, instrumental break) She may not be able to entertain herself for very long but she sure does entertain me!

Time with Claira

2011-05-26T22:53:00.001-07:00

My loves-to-be-nekid kid! Look that 9 month old chubby perfect-circle face...I love this picture because it has captured little things I'd have forgotten: She was always on the move & the majority of the time I'd steady her by squeezing her squishy shoulder, she was always making that muppet face with her mouth & of course we can't forget the steady stream of drool running down her double chin to her melon belly. I'd always sweep her up, bury my face in her cheek and say "Oh! You smell like a baby!"

And here she is a mere 20 months later! ...Face less round, girlie smile, still on the move, still naked. Sometimes she even still smells like baby.

Yup, I know. She won't like that I took a photo like this of her, nevermind broadcasted it on the web. But potty stage is a big deal when you've been changing diapers since 2006.

This photo is very Claira. She loves to find things on the ground (and she really liked these white rocks), she was convinced that the opening in her bib was a pocket, she couldn't quite maneuver her hand into said 'pocket' but she would not give up. As if in a yoga trance, she twisted and swayed her body just so & froze in that stance until the rocks went into her 'pocket' (and promptly trickled down to her boots. Ha!)

This photo silently illustrates what I see Claira doing a lot now: acting. She definitely knows how to joke around & try to make me laugh. Here she just landed at the bottom of the slide & instead of running off, she rolled over, covered her (smirky) face & started snoring. You can hardly laugh at her joke before she laughs at herself first. She thinks she's a riot.

Ever since I brilliantly put the craft table against the sliding door, I've been able to get some beautiful photos of the girls in concentration during creating. Claira has recently shown a strong interest in painting and art. It's fun to see the difference in creative 'styles' between the sisters. And I don't mean the style of the painting. I mean the difference in how they approach it, concentrate on it, and end it. There's something in the quiet ease that radiates from Claira while she's doing art that makes me wonder if she's artistically inclined. But could it just be her arty Mama's wishful thinkin'?

Claira, like her sister, is very tender at times (usually with a toy animal.) Here she's putting the little critter to bed all tucked in and ever so gently feeding it it's 'baba'. (We'll just pretend there's not a knife laying next to the bed.)
And here she is putting her dolly on her changing table, takin' care of business. She already sprinkled powder on her, put lotion on the bottom of her feet (like I did for her with vapor rub during her fever), and lastly she's giving her hand sanitizer (aka lotion). It's the cutest thing to see her pretend to be a mama. She'll be a good one. But she needs to outgrow eating her markers first, as you can see from the blue marks all around her mouth...

And here's just some straight-up goofball time with goofball Claira. She's a riot.

There's still love...

2011-05-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

About a month or so ago I was startled into a new phase of siblinghood: The fighting. From the day Claira was born they got along like any parent would hope and dream. Ellia relished and flourished in her role as the bigger sister who already knew everything & now she could prove it by showing this new little one. Claira was born with stars in her eyes for Ellia. For a long time Ellia even won out over Mommy. But coinciding with Claira's new milestone of using the potty - her independence and self confidence has increased as well. The first few times Claira defied Ellia's requests or demands...well, Ellia was outright shocked. I realized it had been inconceivable to her that Claira would ever think differently than how Ellia guided her to! Poor thing. I felt bad. But her & I actually had some good talks. It gave me an opportunity to reinforce with her what a great sister she is and how patient she is with Claira. I made sure to agree with her that having a little sister IS frustrating. I'd say Claira still heeds Ellia's call 90% of the time. I just hope the sibling connection doesn't drop 10% EVERY two years!

Little Girls Before Bed

2011-05-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I repeat, sometimes there are evenings where there is a very mellow drowsy zoned out calm right before bedtime. I usually miss that window & put them to bed after the calm passes and a new storm hits. But sometimes I'll walk past a room & the quiet side-by-side play is almost deafening. So I stop and take in the sweet soft specialness of having girls.

School Time (Mommy's view)

2011-05-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

Once I've wrangled them out the door (hopefully with their teeth and hair brushed), into the car (usually to the tune of "NO Mama! I do!" as Claira can not be helped one bit into the car and seat as I look at my watch) - 1st we drive to Claira's school. Unbuckle, climb out, grab what I hope is everything I was supposed to supply her with & head upstairs. Lately Claira is having a hard time with the Goodbye. I hug her and give her to Teacher Denise and tell her "Mommy pick up before you go outside. Remember?" It seems to help her realize/remember the picking up part of the day.

Then Ellia & I head to her school just a short distance away. (The photo above shows Claira cuz it's a non-school day for her, but usually I drop off Ellia alone.) Ellia has adjusted to her new school very well. It took about 1 week of crying & clinging. It was so so hard to slink into my car after hearing her cry for me. But the teachers were so good with the transition & they would call me within minutes to say that she had calmed down already. That was 7 months ago. We now pull up & she looks around to see who else she knows who is being dropped off. She still gets antsy-pantsy nervous-awkward sometimes when attention is on her during our good-bye. But that's just her. A lot of times I'll ease her up by chatting with one of the kids about his mohawk or I'll say "Bye Baby Dinosaur!" as I wave (to kinda use the spotlight she's in to make a joke & laugh.) They have a transistion tradition there where the parents say goodbye & say "I'll meet you at the window!" The child goes to the window to say goodbye. A lot of times it's just Ellia and I sharing a goodbye but sometimes it's her and others. I like to make silly faces or spin around & get dizzy or hang Claira upside down. I want to put Ellia at ease with having attention on her.

This is a rare thing for a mom to have, I think. This is a photo of my Ellia in a moment that I share with her. It's a face, a smile, a feeling that I purposely try to imprint onto my busy-mom-brain as I close the big white gate and walk across the gravel to my car door. I want to remember that brave goodbye smile.

Pickup time got a whole lot more fun with Claira in the last month or so. She's more social now & so when I arrive she gallops over to me and 'claims' me as her mama. She really likes the attention of being the one that's escaping while the others stay. I love watching her dive into the tasks she thinks she needs to do: run to cubby & grab "Bankie" (blankie), grab her jacket off the hook, spin around and show her 'talk to the hand' palm & scream "BYE-EE!"

Next up: Head to Ellia's school. At the time we pickup Ellia she's having her outside time. Claira loves the outside yard there. She's really taken to Gus-Gus (the goose) but I have to make sure she doesn't get her fingers bit off. It's usually hard to pull them away.

I was lucky enough to be able to join Ellia on her long awaited, mucho anticipated Field Trip. I had been hearing from the kids about how they were gonna ride in a real school bus. (Geez, the things that get 4 year olds excited) For Earth Day, they were riding to see a matinee showing of the 3D IMAX movie "Born to Be Wild". You out there = you HAVE to see this movie! Amazing! Ellia & I hunkered down in our seats munching on the bag of popcorn & mini chocolate chips I had stashed in my purse.

Easter 2011

2011-05-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Easter morning started with a trail of M & M's leading them to their Easter baskets. Ellia L O V E D this whole concept so I'm gonna roll with it for all the holidays (Valentines day? a trail of Hersey's Kisses. Christmas? a trail of green mints. Halloween? a trail of candy corn.)

"Just what I wanted! The Easter bunny knew!" Like I said, the 99cents Store is a gift from heaven.

Well, I knew the time would come and it has. Ellia is offically candy obsessed. Maybe I've gotten lucky that it took almost 5 years to kick in. Even last year's Halloween (at age 4) I was still able to put her candy away or throw the crap stuff out with no notice from her at all. But, alas those days are offically over. Eh, that's to be expected though & a new phase of childhood is opening up. I remember my brother and I dumping our pillowcases of Halloween loot onto the livingroom floor, laying on our bellies and meticulously yet feverishly sorting through it all. Our very own candy! It actually belonged to us! So that realization is alive & well in Ellia now. Above, you can almost see her Virgo line-up of her candy. She very carefully and deliberately groups them according to their kind.

We had our 3rd Annual Cousin Easter Egg Hunt/Egg Dying/Dinner. Jimmy's cousin lives with her husband & 3 kids in Chino Hills. They graciously host this event & it is such a wonderful time for the cousins. This year Claira was definitely old enough to take part in everything.

You can see the evolution of their Easter's here and here.

While we're chatting about cousinhood, I thought I'd post just a sweet little trio of their easy & natural interaction with eachother. They 'just know' that they're family.

Some Riverside days

2011-05-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ellia having some Ellia-type conversations with Kirby and with Grandpa.

I love this photo of Ellia & Auntie Carissa! Carissa wants a kiss but Ellia decides to joke when asked for kisses. Ya gotta play to win with a girl like Ellia so Auntie is playing along if that means she'll get her kiss.

Look at her crazy long legs! Ellia had a crazy growth spurt somewhere along the way. Almost all her pants are highwaters now. They loved Grandma's trampoline & that bird pillow. She even invited the next door neighbors' daughter over. I was kind of surprised at how extroverted Ellia was with the girl! A typical situation would be for Ellia to whisper to me "Can she play over here?" and if I say "Yeah, go invite her!" she would say "Come with me. You ask.." But I guess there was something that made Ellia feel like Alpha-Ellia.

Here Ellia wants to give the birdie a bike ride but she has to fill up with gas first!

I love this goofy pic of Ellia. I almost want to make it my profile pic on Facebook. Everything from her face to her crouching over the bike just says Childhood.

Just me and my squirmy little girls in a tree.

Mission: Art IS Messy & That's OK

2011-05-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

OK, so that's a mission statement meant for myself as much as it's meant for them. There's a couple reasons I'm repeating this mantra until it sinks into our psyche. First of all, over these past months I've gathered a collection of other women's blogs, bookmarked them into 1 folder, check them occassionally, grab photos/ideas & drop them into catagorized folders on my desktop (ie: "crafts_easy", "crafts_help", "drawing/painting", "outdoors") I know, VERY VIRGO. A popular site I like is The Artful Parent. I was inspired by how her daughter starts out doing something with her materials but her mind wanders & explores & experiments and she eventually creates a variety of things. I liked the ease with which her daughter felt with any material; her openess to just let go, zone out and create. It took me awhile to realize why & the answer was that art was always within arms reach. Her mom wasn't setting out stuff, calling her over & saying "Ok now this is what we're gonna do! Doesn't this look like fun!?" That's not how art works - that's how craftmaking works. So, over the months I gathered (99cents Store is a store sent from heaven) But because I have, oh say, a zillion other things to do I've only gotten so far as the materials. I have not set up a station anywhere near what Jean from The Artful Parent has given her daughters. But I'll make something that works for us & this Virgo will post it all soon!

The other night I asked Ellia to dig through their crayon bin & drop all the itty bitty piece crayons into my muffin tray. While they took a bath I baked them at 150 & when Ellia got out of the bath she was very excited to see the "Swirly Crayons". Her first instinct was to NOT use them. Haha! She wanted me to put them in a bag so she could bring them to school and pass them out to kids & teachers.

Spring with my sissies

2011-04-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

We visited my grandparents graves for my grandma's birthday. Ellia is, by now, familiar with Forest Lawn. She says "I know this place...the flower garden." She's also wrapping her 4 year old mind around the concept of "dead". Right now she says that people go to the center of the earth when they die. I really love this photo of the 2 of us. It pretty much sums up how we look together most of the time.

Me & my sissies joined forces with my family, dad/mom/brother/sister in law for pony rides at Griffith Park. We had been there before for train rides but believe it or not, now they're old enough for the pony rides. Without a doubt, it was hot and stinky. Grandpa and Ellia did so good waiting in the hellish long line. I decided to not throw Ellia in the line for the "Fast" ponies. I took one look at the kids bouncing up & down with a look on their face that said "Am I having fun? I don't know! Am I gonna die? I don't know!" & the teenage 'handler' jogging to keep up behind.

So no, Ellia rode this nice, slooooooow pretty pony. I think it was just her groove, she looked completely relaxed & proud of herself as you can see on her face.

This was Claira's first time on a pony except for the little jaunt she took at Ellia's 4th birthday party. I have the wrong photo of her on this post because here she looks perfectly content to be going .0000001 miles an hour lassoed to a merrygoround. By her second rotation she was 'revving up' her horse trying to get it to go faster as if it were a ride at Chuck E Cheese! I guess I could've put her in the "fast" lane...I think my baby was born in the fast lane.

Ellia & Claira are lucky to have Grandpa and Uncle Adam as men in their lives. When I stop to think about it, they are pretty much surrounded by women 24/7. There's me, of course, then there's their wonderfully loving women teachers at school, there's Auntie Kristine (who they see at least once every week), there's Mommy's Mommy friends making memories & going on fun trips together, there's Auntie Carissa who squishes them the most & understands them effortlessly, and of course there's loving Grandma (Gamma) who cared for Claira for 6 months as an infant, always supplies Ellia with new learning or artistic things to do & who has helped me for countless backup babysitting!

Their Grandpa is a man who they know can't wait to see them because he is in the driveway when we pull up to his house to visit. Because he listens to Ellia when she talks about the Nick Jr. shows she's interested in and he fills his DVR up with them for her. Because he's always planning new places to go with them...wanting to create memory after memory, tradition after tradition. That's what family is all about at the end of the day. And that is a good man.

"I do"

2011-04-28T21:50:00.001-07:00

This chick has to do EVERYTHING on her own. She will fling her body to the ground and flail her arms in an all-out tantrum at even the lightest touch of my hand to help (or speed things along and get out the door!!) There are 2 levels to her insistence on doing it herself. Level 1 will simply be a "I do. I do!" Level 2 is (hitting mommy) "No, Mommy! No! I dooooo!" Followed by wailing. I walk away and let her bawl it out. It soon ends and she'll come over to me if she ends up needing my help after all. She's definitely independent and I hope that helps her in life.

I wonder if completely knowing full well that she is cute will help her in life?

"New" Year

2011-04-28T21:35:00.001-07:00

Yeah, that's what I think about 2010 too.

Our little chic chubby gal pal Ella turned 2 one month after Claira turned 2. Her mommy and I hope they will be close friends. And now that we live in the same city it'll be easier to help that happen!

I had a horrible flu in January right before it was time to head to the mountains for the annual snow trip. I was really bummed because I was with them for the 2009 and the 2010 snow trip. The whole concept of snow was still so new to them last year. And just one year later, they look like they've been around it their whole lives...Ellia's chill confident head tilt smile & Claira didn't look like she would topple over at any minute.

Well, it finally happened. After having that big, teal, round pacifier rule my life... (Crap, where's the paci?! I have 10 of them-whyyy can't I find a single one?" , "Claira! Don't throw your paci! No! It just rolled under the car-whyyyy did they make them round?!") ... Claira now has a new pacifing method. And it looks like it'll be here to stay for quite some time (dentist be damned)

Just a typical evening spent with my girls after dinner.

Ellia Update (old)

2011-04-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've abandoned this blog for 6 months! I can't even believe it's been that long...so now I'm going back & updating...or postdating to be truthful.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this image of Ellia. This is Ellia's 2nd school photo. You might remember her 1st one. She's wearing a vintage outfit from my childhood days. And her assured smile is something a worrisome mother loves to see.

Here is Ellia's signature at the end of 2010. Surprisingly it's evolved a lot in 6 months and I'll post a current one when I get 'back to the future' posts!

At the end of 2010 Ellia's was drawing much much more. She discovered Dino Dan and suddenly had to have everything dinosaur. We scouted for dinosaur books at the library, we put together a dinosaur Field Guide, and she started filling her little notebooks with page after page of the image above. Like in a trance, she'd draw that strange smiley dinosaur with his scientific name written above & then she'd flip the page and do it over...and over...and over.

Here is one of my favorite of Ellia's first drawings. This is from when she was at her 1st school-so it's early 2010. I think it's a kiss. I love it.

December Memories

2011-04-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

My tiny, chubby Claira turned 2...
24 months I've grown to know this fast growing girl. Oh, she wants to grow up so much faster than Ellia did. I guess that's the sliding scale of siblings. She was so sweet & quite calm on her birthday party day. Her face seemed to look like she was trying to figure out what was going on. Leading up to her birthday, the Happy Birthday Song was one of her favorites (as well as one of the few things we could decifer in her 'Claira language') Also leading up to her birthday there was a distict interest in all things girly. She began to cradle dollies in the crook of her arm, awkwardly trying to balance the doll and tenderly giving her a bottle or blanket. She even started making the dollie cry with a whimpy "OOO-ooo-ooo..."

Claira still idolizes and obeys 99.9% of what her big sister tells her to do, shows her to do, asks her to, tells her not to do, etc. Many times Claira will, without being able to talk, show favor for Ellia over me. If I need to dress Claira & Ellia is heading out the room, Claira will push me aside and do her flat-foot/arms out run to catch up with Ellia.

Christmas 2010

2011-04-21T21:39:00.001-07:00

Bless Santa's heart. Claira's eyes are piercing over to her vicious mother who did this to her. Meanwhile Ellia did a gorgeous job at giving the photo that contrasting & classic "Santa's lap" phhoto for the ages.

Halloween 2010!

2010-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

JACKSON (Charlie Brown) & ELLIA (Rock Star)

2010 & 2007

Ellia and Jackson have a wonderful ease with eachother. From the day they were born they have been opposites. Yet, they each have a soft spot in their hearts for eachother. Ellia beams with loving eyes at Jackson. Jackson is a southern gentleman with Ellia. And lately they hold hands or put their arms over eachothers shoulders whereever they go.

CLAIRA (Giraffe)

This was the little chubby giraffe's first Trick or Treating experience. I had no idea what to expect so it was a new experience for me too! Triumph #1: She put on & kept on her entire costume all night. (Even if the giraffe head was at a 45 degree angle the entire night.) Triumph #2: No skeleton or smoke was going to get in her way of getting to that candy loot at each front door.

Once she got up to each door, she did the same thing. She kept a decent 6 foot observation distance from the door but had her hand outstretched to show that she was a part of the group. She waited to see what Ellia and Jackson did & then immediately pushed her way to the front to get her goods.

If she has a choice on what candy to get, she would choose a lollipop everytime. And unlike Ellia, she devours lollipops in just a few minutes. I can give one to her & then look back at her only to see the colored syrup of the lollipop surrounding her face.

Claira was very serious about her candy collection. Not being a 'first-born' has many benefits, one of which being your parent is much more lax in the candy eating department!

Claira Right Now

2010-10-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Look at this chick! Who does she think she is anyway?
Claira has a lot of confidence for an almost-2-year old. She is now playing and reading books quite a lot on her own, in her own little world. Her favorite book by far right now is the one about getting a new potty. I hauled out Ellia's potty from the garage & memories flashed before my eyes...the potty training months in our apartment in Norwalk. Could I really be venturing into that again, already?? She's very excited about the new potty (since she's read so much up on it) although I usually hear Ellia, sitting on the toilet, laughing and saying to me "Mommy, Claira's being silly. She's standing in the potty.. you can't STAND in a potty Claaaira!"
Claira loves dollies & combing their hair. She loves broccoli more than most kids her age, but only the tops. She uses a spoon for soup better than most kids her age, but she eventually flings it over her shoulder with a laugh & then complains to me that it's on the ground. She still uses that damn pacifer, but with a girl this determined - I'm picking my battles one at a time.

Photos compliments of Jimmy. Awesome, awesome shots!

Ellia Right Now

2010-10-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

More vintage! Aunt Carol sent a lot of great outfits from the attic that I had worn as a child. The minute I saw this one I knew Ellia would love it. And she really did. I had to take this shot before she left for Montessori. Why do kids love pockets sooo much?? And the fact that these ones are totally tailored for one specific thing, forget about it! Ellia was gonna complete that mission of filling those required slots. You'd never think carrying around colored pencils on your chest would make you feel so special - but I KNEW she would feel extra special at her school wearing it. When I dropped her off & waved our customary goodbye in the window I could see Charlie standing 2 milimeters from her outfit already asking questions about it.

Ellia is learning Spanish & really likes to try to use the words. She's drawing stick people a lot & I'm collecting examples along the way to show their evolution. If I ask "Who's that?" when pointing to a stick person it's almost always Jackson & sometimes it's me. She really loves to cook & so I recently turned a $5 Goodwill nightstand into a mini kitchen island for her so I can finally let her 'help'. She is making new friends at her new school & it's a new 'social' phase for us. I keep my ears open when Ellia watches the Nick Jr. cartoon "Franklin" since that poor little turtle deals with a lot of social awkwardness and trials & tribulations with all his friends. Alas, there's a message at the end & I put it in my back pocket if I need to pull it out when Ellia expresses some new 4 year old emotions.

The entire clan took a great trip to the UCR Botanical Gardens & we couldn't have picked a more beautiful day. At the beginning Ellia was really pumped up, in her sweetly methodical manner, to use her 'bonoclers' to find as many of the birds that were in her little nature pamphlet. Then she got kinda tired of the whole walking thing, having not found 1 single bird to check off her list. (I know, I know, it might've helped if she was looking through the correct end of the bonoclers.) Eventually she picked out the perfect walking stick and led the clan to the end of our journey. After that she got to go mini golfing for the second time in her life. (And let it be known that I beat Jimmy.)

Sister Stuff

2010-10-28T15:42:00.001-07:00

I can't say enough what a great big sister Ellia is to Claira. And even though Claira has her moments of completely not even treating Ellia as if she's her elder...Claira continues to want to be wherever her big sister is & do what she's doing.

Vintage! These 2 outfits were saved by Grandma. They're from me and my brother's childhood wardrobe. I'm so thankful she saved them. And it was strange how much both of them saw the outfits and immediately took to them. Ellia made it clear that she really liked the outfit. And I don't know how we got into the headbands, but they tried on each and every one I saved. I wish I had used them more often when they were tiny - but Ellia was bald, like, forever. And Claira was a bit on the wild side.

Here, I love the difference in their poses, stance & choice of placement for the headbands. If you knew them inside & out it says a lot about them.

Tryin' to Feel FALL!

2010-10-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Apple & pumpkin picking, corn mazes, apple cider & pie...go hand in hand with breezy, crisp Autumn weather. Unfortunately, nowadays, you can't plan anything based on the weather, especially if you want chilly Autumn weather.
You can see how little Fall weather we get in Southern California anymore by the distance of time between Oak Glen trips! Above photo is Oct 2007.

Me & the girlies had a great trip to Oak Glen, albeit a bit sweaty, with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Adam & Auntie Carissa. Ellia helped us navigate our way through this maze. She's really into writing down what she thinks are map directions with lines and she tells me the streets "left on Street St."

ELLIA is 4!

2010-09-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

We had an awesome birthday party - Ellia's Big Top Carnival! We had carnival games & food & treats throughout the backyard. And we had Gidget the pony show up for clippity-clop pony rides. It was a fun, fun day & just the right amount of sun and breeze. Can't believe my little birdie is already 4... more photos soon!

Ellia stuff...

2010-09-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ellia had a great summer. She spent A LOT of time in the water in various places.

This was a game that Ellia and I went to just-the-two-of-us. We had a really great time hanging out together + we had some shaved ice cones & watched our tongues turn different colors. Ellia knows most of the names of the Angel's players, the entire "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song, loves watching the little kid do the 3rd base race & knows it was a good game if we saw fireworks cuz that means there was a homerun.

Ellia is drawing more & more. I take opportunities to talk creatively with her whenever I can. And when she draws something I write down her exact verbal description of what she drew.

Claira stuff...

2010-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm dreading the update when I have to say that Claira's squishy double chin is gone. Her big round belly is already starting to fade away...

Here is my chubby girl in a rare moment of stillness and hand-holding. She continues to be super active, super emotional and super giggly.

Ahh, The Claira Bob. Hairstyles will be fun with her because she already loves hair clips. Claira has recently had an amazing burst of independence and determination. I thought she was strong-willed before! She now insists on putting her pants on, buckling her seat belt, putting her shoes on, zipping her jacket... As long as I'm not in a hurry, I sit and let her put both legs through the same leg hole (over & over) She is not stubborn, per se, because she doesn't get frustrated if she can't do it. She gets frustrated if someone tries to do it for her. I say: "Claira do it" a lot nowadays! She also has gone from adorable silent to adorable talking - she has so many new words that I can't keep track of them fast enough!

Little 1sts

2010-09-14T14:40:00.001-07:00

I've started to do some fun little things with both the girls. I did a lot of potting plants these last few months. We took lots of trips to the nursery & they helped me pick out the plants Auntie Carissa recommended. Above is the little Tomato Plant Ellia picked out. It's now as tall as Ellia! We have yet to eat 1 tomato from it!

Grandma gave us a Butterfly Hatchery & surprisingly I was able to keep every single one of them alive to meet their metamorphosis! To this day when Ellia sees an orange butterfly she exclaims: "It's one of mine!"

Also, Ellia LOVES to help cook or prepare food & I've started to let her help out in any way I can allow her. It won't be long before snapping peas in half does not quite "make her day".

Knott's Berry Farm

2010-09-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

I wish I had written down the way Ellia pronounces Knott's Berry Farm, cuz it sounds nothing like it. We lucked out on the weather & picked the perfect day to go! Ellia got to meet the real Snoopy, which she loved. And both girls got to ride bigger kids rides.

Ellia's interests heading into 4

2010-08-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

I updated this wish website. Family & friends are gracious enough to ask advice on what toys, etc Ellia or Claira are into as birthday's and holidays approach.
Ellia is interested in: baseball/sports, books, dollhouses, pretend play cooking, singing, dancing, musical instruments, Dr. Seuss books, bugs, science, art.
Ellia is not too interested in: Princesses, dress up, board games.

http://www.wishcentral.com/guest.php?AOBGkptZWNPdg=10242

Search for Ellia_Claira & Talitha

Cool Mothering Pics!

2010-08-04T16:34:00.001-07:00

This photo caught my eye on the side of a web page I was on. It was part of some advertisement. I wish I could find a larger version of it. It's so amazing! Hey, maybe the women of the future will be walking-on-air out of their first ultra-sound appointment, gazing at their baby's first photo.

And from future predictions of motherhood...to past depictions of motherhood. I love love love old photographs just as much as I wistfully think of what the far-away future holds & that I could live to see it. I found this photo on a site that has tons of antique photos of days long ago...of people who also might have dreamed of what 2010 might've looked like. This photo struck me as so timeless: the look of joy on the mother's face. And the amazingly pimped out Original Baby Bjourn!

The "Ladybug Bush" lives on

2010-08-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

Outside our previous home, Ellia and I would frequently stop by the "Ladybug Bush" as I called it. We would look for any ladybugs and talk about what they might be doing...a lot of times they were not out because they were either inside the bush sleeping or they were having a party.
Outside our current home, we have another Ladybug bush and now that it's summer we see 1 or 2. Ellia is handing down the tradition to Claira. Claira now stops by the bush and crouches down & points (to nothing) in her imitation of Ellia.

Raise Kids Here

2010-08-04T16:21:00.001-07:00

The "Wonder Years" could be stuffed with so much more magical childhood meanderings, bewilderment & dreams...when given spaces that have more than enough room for it all.

What Claira likes & what we like about Claira!

2010-08-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

Daddy took this angelic photo. All of us, even her daycare teachers, hope the day never comes when that belly of hers goes away. But, of course, it will (even now, Ellia has at LEAST an 8 pack ab going on)

Claira actually likes wearing sunglasses! She's starting to show a leaning towards being girly and fru-fru...flashes a smile & does a wobbly spin when I put a dress or skirt on her. And even though I have yet to find a pair of sunglasses that don't either fold her ears down or sit on the tip of her nose...she's likin' it!

Of course Claira took to the water like anything else in her little life: "LET ME AT IT!" It's like a circuit training workout with her in the pool: Steps, BoogieBoard, Holding, Fall into Arms, Innertube, Repeat.

And here we have a typical heart attack moment for Mom. One minute she's just hanging out then-Wham! she's scaling something and making a run for it.

Lovin' Books

2010-08-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

Claira really, really is lovin' books right now. (And puzzles for that matter) She can sit alone off by herself for quite a long time...picks out a book, backs herself up to the perfect sitting spot, flips back and forth through the pages, ALWAYS flips the book upside down for some reason, pretends to read, then flings the book over her shoulder and bounces over to get another one.

I absolutely love this smile on Ellia. It's a rare shot & such a pure smile. Usually if the camera is out then she's aware of it...which makes for the goofy, squirmy looks typically seen on these pages. Here she's in Claira's room embracing her inner Virgo tendencies. She arranged all of the plushie blocks on the shelf to fit together like a rubix cube. It actually looked really nice...just didn't last long.

Stay Young

2010-07-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.

When the mountains crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

And so today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad, happiness....I'm glad.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
If the mountains should crumble to the sea, there would still be you and me.

Don't Fill in the Blanks

2010-07-15T16:58:00.001-07:00

While at work I passed the large trashbins near the elevator and discovered boxes of old floppy discs! I immediately skipped over the thought that I remember floppy discs and here they are being discarded as 100% useless and archaic...and therefore I'm old. I instead decided to think about all the things Ellia might pretend these discs are used for or can turn into.

I made it a point not to tell her what they were or what they are used for. It is much more fun for her to dream up with something in her almost-4 mind. And it is much more fun for me to see what happens! She decided there were TV shows on the discs. Putting them in their slots in the couch is how you organize them. And taking them apart and gathering them into matching piles is SO Ellia.

June Update

2010-07-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here Ellia has all of the climbing apparatus' of the LA Zoo playground at her disposal. But she is, of course, meticulously scouring the ground for fallen acorns...and leaving them out for the squirrels to eat.

Ellia discovers JELLO...

and Claira discovers that wiggly, jiggly things freak her out!

Here Ellia is putting the finishing touches on our gigantic pen pal craft to be sent to Novalee. Also here, Claira is 2 seconds away from putting yet another marker in her mouth.

Just a pic...

2010-07-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

...of the supreme cuteness of Claira.

...of Ellia and Dad.

Toy Story 3, Ellia & Me

2010-07-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ellia had her very 1st movie theatre experience! I'm so happy to have shared it with her. I have fond memories of going to many movies and drive-ins growing up as a kid. Ellia loved the movie, however there were some heavy emotional moments ("So sad") that Ellia had a hard time with because she felt them so deeply. We talked about how it's ok to feel so sad and that everyone feels like that sometimes. It was an intimate & fun Mommy and Me day!

Mothering your baby moose

2010-07-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.wimp.com/babymoose

Visit the link above to watch a sweetly emotional video of a mama moose letting her two babies frolick in the sprinklers. I'll just assume they are daughters :)

Chai Girls with the Soong Boys

2010-07-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Playing some sort of game with the oldest Soong boy.

Pretending to be flamingos (they sleep standing on 1 foot, ya know)

Who's copying who?

Love this photo!

Date at the airport on a sweet, sunny & windy day.
They pretended to be riding an airplane, fixing an airplane. At one point I was an airline stewardess. And they got a wave from a real pilot.

Trying out Tae Kwon Do in Jackson's class! She did really well & seemed to be a quick learner athletically! I didn't know if she would end up walking onto the mat but she went right out there. She was quiet and very concentrated. I think this will be the 1st of Ellia's extracurricular activites.

A Wedding Weekend

2010-07-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Uncle Adam & Auntie Carissa got married on June 20th and the girls were Flower girls, along with Carissa's niece Novalee. All 3 girls got along SO well with eachother, it's a shame we don't live close to eachother...

After the wedding the entire family spent the entire day in Disneyland & California Adventure. Ellia learned the song "It's a Small World After All", discovered Bug's Life & had so much fun prancing around with Novalee!

Already?!

2010-05-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the 1st of many School Photos. By definition they exist to make you cringe & laugh many years later! (Mostly for celebrities)

Let's Go!

2010-05-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

This photo sums up pretty Claira pretty well. Often she is so eager to go take a trip that she points to her jackets hanging in the closet and yelps at me!

This trip out took us to Mother's Beach in Long Beach. Ahh, the weather was perfect. I watched a college-aged girl do an extensive ab workout on the grass in front of me. I thought to myself: "Her next class at Long Beach State probably isn't until 6:00pm so she decided to head to the beach to exercise in the fresh air and then read a book in the sand while adding to her tan. Wow, I remember when I had that much time on my hands to make 'la-la-laaa' decisions..." I stopped looking at her and went back to looking at my girls. Then I tried to get a tan from the knees down.

This trip out was to Liberty Park in Cerritos. I had been here a few times before just for the playground. Little did I know that behind me was a fountain sculpture that is puuuuuurfeeeect for these two kids! Whew, what a discovery. They use their sand toys for the water...

Then they realized they could make mud (or should I say chocolate pudding, chocolate shakes, chocolate milk) Claira is pretending to "eat" her "chocolate"

This trip out was to the San Diego Wild Animal Park! We took the trip with Grandpa, Grandma, Adam & Carissa & we had a wonderful time. Ellia's favorite part was the lion sitting on top of the car, then he took a nap in the sun. Ellia and I had lots of funny conversation about it.

Yummy!

2010-05-28T13:23:00.001-07:00

Here Ellia is playing waiter before she cooks me something.
STEP #1: GREET CUSTOMER
Ellia: "Ok, whatch-you want?"
Mommy: "Um, can I have a chocolate cupcake?"
......

STEP #2: WRITE DOWN THE ORDER
Ellia: "Ok, yes. What else?" (She is not in mid-blink in this photo - that is the expression she makes every time she takes my food order)

STEP #3: COOK FOR A REALLY LONG TIME BEFORE SERVING

Artist Portraits

2010-05-28T12:18:00.001-07:00

Look at THIS photo! Yep, I took it. You know, I was feeling guilty about not taking Claira to get JCPenney portraits every 3 months like I did for Ellia. But, Claira has redefined our lifes in a whole new way. So, why do stuff the "old" way! And this picture makes up for a few missed portrait sittings.

I let these two goobers paint and this is what they do! Ironic turn of events:
Ellia copied Claira, instead of the other way around, and painted her face after seeing what her sister did.

I asked Ellia to draw her family & here are a few of her portraits. Above is Mommy's portrait (don't I look sexy). Below is Grandpa's portrait (she's drawing his beard "Grandpa has a lot of hair!")

My Little Girl...

2010-05-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

...looks so mature here.
We socialized at a party together; my favorite way to party is with my mini-BFF :)

A Date with Claira

2010-05-06T15:00:00.001-07:00

I got to spend a few hours with just Claira on this day. I have not done that since my first 2 months of maternity leave. I was startled, actually, at the slight difference in her personality. It's not something I can really describe...just different. One thing is for sure, I could tell she was really enjoying being the "only one." I'd like to do more "dates" with each of them, someday.

Just for the heck of it I plopped her down in Ellia's forward-facing seat to try it out. She was kind of confused but liked it, of course. Looks like that'll be the next purchase!

SUNNY DAYS make life lighter & brighter

2010-05-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Playing restaurant or birthday party is Ellia's main thang right now. Sometimes we go for walks around the neighborhood looking for special and new "ingredients" for the meals she wants to cook. When we find something I ask her what it is and she says "That's a sho-sha-low" or whatever random syllables she can string together. "OOh, ok, a sho-sha-low. That's gonna taste good!"

The entire family came to visit us!
(Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Adam & Auntie Carissa) Ellia was very, very excited to have visitors, as she always is. Grandpa took her out shopping and then we all went to the beach! This was Claira's first time spending lots of time in the beach sand. She did her kimchi squat and used a shell to dig up sand...over and over. The weather was absolutely perfect...and you can't beat the lighting the beach gives you for photographs to capture a day with your family.

Just a Friday at The Aquarium. But this was a great day. I'll always remember it and not for any particular reason either. I just felt so happy and blessed as I went about my day with them in the sunshine. I'm so lucky they exist.

NEW! Ellia & Claira's books finally done...

2010-04-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Every year I put together a personalized book for each girl & get it published. I buy 1 for them and 1 for me. At the end of each book I document the monthly transition of her face through the 12 months. It always stuns me to compare the first photo with the last photo...so much happens in 1 year in the blink of an eye.
(You can click on the photos to see a closer look)

Ellia's 3rd Year

Claira's 1st Year

Mommy & Me time

2010-04-20T16:34:00.001-07:00

I like this "photo-journalism" photo. If I wasn't carrying my keys and a tricycle maybe I could've made it really good!

I got to have a 'date' with Ellia. Claira stayed home with Daddy & I escorted Ellia to her very 1st Birthday party of a school mate! It was at Adventure City (where Ellia had her 2nd birthday). So she wanted to wear the shirt they gave her on that day. (It's still one of her favorites & for some reason she calls it her "roar" shirt...)

This was a 1st for me: Riding a roller coaster with my little girl! I can't wait to ride lots more (Six Flags!!)

I loved to watch Ellia interact with her school friends. It's another facet of her that not everyone sees. She's very comfortable with them & is very goofy & social. It was nice to also be a part of it WITH her since I know the time will come when I'm a distant bystander...then I'm just a chauffer!

I had the brilliant idea to let them "cook" in the front yard. FYI, this sooo up Ellia's alley. She was so intense about it. She cooked me a wonderful soup (pictured above). Claira was into it for a long time too! Her favorite was picking out rocks and bringing them to Ellia's soup. Then she wanted to climb on the tricycles...then the brick wall...

I like this picture because I was struck by the twin stature of the sisters!
I, personally, don't think my two girls look a lot alike (which I enjoy). But this photo is so interesting because it shows the hidden layers of their similarity. Their leg stance is the same, the angle of their torso is the same, and they are both very intent on what they're doing.

Grandpa & Halabogee time...

2010-04-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Egg Hunt 2010

Los Angeles Zoo (new members! Thanks Grandpa!)

Monday or Friday lunches with Halabogee

Snuggles & Stories...

Another year of Angel portraits!

Guitar Lessons?

2010-04-20T16:25:00.001-07:00

Ellia Unplugged

Ellia Update

2010-04-20T15:19:00.001-07:00

Ellia continues to help me co-parent Claira. She is such a special help, not only when she literally helps me like an adult would. But also, just her presence
is a help because of how interested Claira is in whatever Ellia is doing. My favorite thing to see is: Ellia suddenly decides she has something to do and leaves the room to get started with whatever just occured to her. In "5-4-3-2-1" Claira notices Ellia's gone and so she stops whatever she's doing and waddles in the direction Ellia went.

Daddy got energized and creative so we all ended up with new wheels! I got a new bike (love it) and so did he. And the little ones got their own "tent" to ride in.
As long as they have a baggie of Cherrios in there they are lovin' the ride!
Thanks Daddy!

Jackson's little bro, Griffin, turned 1! His parents threw an awesome Pirate Treasure Hunt party in their backyard! Ellia spent most of the time in the sand box doing a "dinosaur dig" but once the treasure hunt was underway she was all in - eye patch and all! Now, when I take them out to our grass area in our neighborhood she tries to dig for gold coins!

Goofin' around with goof-ball Alan!

Easter 2010

2010-04-15T16:26:00.001-07:00

I may only have a typical point & click camera that I scream at for pausing when I'm trying to capture a moment & then cuss at once I missed the moment.
But wow am I proud of that above picture it took.

Doin' the kimchi squat.

Egg dying with cousin Lauryn. They looked sooo much older at this Easter than last year...and it wasn't as "new" to them as it was last year.

The sissies standing proud with their egg hunt booty.

Claira Updates

2010-04-14T10:26:00.001-07:00

This is the Official Security Blanket. And of course, the paci. Often times she self-medicates by wandering the house, whining & then pops a found paci in her mouth.

Meet Baby Kayla! Claira feel in love with this stroller in March. Then Grandma decided to kick the cuteness factor up a notch by dropping this forgotten "Baby Alive" doll into the stroller. Well, that inspired a renewed interest in Ellia for the doll. She named her Kayla. She moves her arms & legs and performs 3 emotions: babbling, laughing & crying. The second Ellia heard the Crying she literally dove for Kayla and craddled her arms about her, patted her head and said "It's ok, it's ok, Mama's here, Mama's here!" Now, when Claira hears Kayla cry she pats her head and then looks at me and smiles.

Anyone who hangs out with her long enough knows of her need to climb. I had to capture this latest climb by Claira. Especially since I hadn't captured her climb onto the dining table earlier...the girl needs a helmet 24/7.

Even though she's still not quite to the stage to sit in my lap and read, Claira loves to grab a book and go find a spot of her own to "read".

Good-bye Baby Swingin'

2010-03-11T11:26:00.001-08:00

The days of photos of Ellia in the baby swing are numbered...getting a bit too big. Some of them hurt her legs. She's practicing the leg moves for the 'Big Girl Swing'. She's getting very good on the Big Girl Swing, but the Baby Swing is still the swing that will allow her to go super-high and super-fast!

Claira's New Smile

2010-03-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

Claira smiles so hard that in some photos she looks like she's crying! Her mouth is smiling as wide as those cheeks will allow. Her nose crinkles up. And her eyes squint & gleam. It's a split second of pure happiness personified.

Smiles & Snow

2010-03-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Snow Trip! It was such a beautiful day-perfect weather, perfect snow spots. This was their very first time playing in the snow so it made it extra special. I bundled Claira up with so many clothes that she was irritated at how immoble she was. But eventually she adjusted. She even gave in to the gloves, finally.

A friend brought his daughter, Alissa (age 7) and Ellia glommed onto her very fast. Everything was "Lissa! Lissa! Look at that! Lissa! Come over here!"

Our friend's daughter turned 4 & hosted a party at a really cool indoor play gym Under The Sea. It had tons of stuff for Claira to climb up, slide down (always head first), drive & bounce.

Ellia was enthralled with a real Mermaid! She watched the mermaid's every move, barely moving as she sat there..curious, focused, with an amused smile creeping across her face. It's times like those where I really wonder what she's thinking!

HOME :: HAIRCUTS :: HOMEWORK

2010-03-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Would you look at that belly? WOULD YOU PLEASE LOOK AT THAT BELLY!?
Oh my gosh, I love that belly!

The "twin" girls being silly together...their favorite thing to do together (and mine!)

Last month Claira was introduced to the new freedom of walking out the front door all by herself. Boy oh boy, to say it's the favorite part of her day is an understatement! Let me just say that when she sees I'm trying to get things going out the door & off to school...she picks out my shoes and brings them to me. Yes, it's the sweetest thing in the world. And she's so proud of herself when she does it; I feel a little guilty when they aren't the shoes I need to wear to work.
Ever since I've let her head out for the day 'on her own', I've asked Ellia to help her "because you know what to do & she doesn't..she's little." And so the favorite part of MYday is (above) watching Ellia gently lead her waddling, wildly excited little sister out & into the day.

Haircuts & Lollipops. Claira finally had her 1ST HAIRCUT! Yay! When the cutting began she started crying but I handed her some snacks & she was just fine. Ellia got a quick re-cut of her previous cut. I let them have the salon lollipops even though I was headed next door for our dinner. Oh well, they were patient little tots & lollipops sure made them happy!

Holy crap - HOMEWORK. The day has come. I think I felt more like a parent on this night than when she was born!

Awesome iPhone Photo

2010-02-25T12:30:00.001-08:00

Posts might slow down for a bit but I wanted to give you this sweet, sunny, smiley & smirky photo...

Mama Tiger, Baby Tiger

2010-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ellia's Halloween costume has unexpectedly been given a new lease on life. Ellia wore it one day and somehow the dress-up evolved into her new favorite character "Baby Tiger". And somehow I became "Mama Tiger". I put on a different voice (picture Tiny Tim on Vicodin; high-pitched but super-calm). When I put the 'mask' on and change my voice, Ellia immediately becomes Baby Tiger from head to toe: Her face softens and she scrunches up her face ever-so-slightly, tilts her head and stetches out her limp arms as if she's a baby and says "Mamaaaaaa...."
It kinda takes a lot of effort to keep stepping into the Mama Tiger persona. If I say "later" she asks "when it's light out?" or "when it's dark out?" Still, it's cute to see how excited she gets. And I rope Claira into the scene as well. She's been deemed Baby Seal. (We pretend to eat her chubby chubbiness)

Ellia Update

2010-02-09T12:58:00.001-08:00

"Stage 5 Clinger"
We all know that Ellia has, for some reason, put Jackson into a catagory all his own.
She shows such a different side of her when she's with him. I think she had envisioned Jackson's birthday party a certain way, in her own little head. And in the beginning things went according to plan: she sat next to him at his party table & then they went to the tunnel crawling maze together. Jackson had lots other friends there and naturally he wound up in another part of the maze with another friend. Well, that was not in the plan
. . .

After that happened, Ellia had a somewhat letdown look to her. And Jackson at times had a held-hostage look to him. These goofy kids are so interesting to watch, as they grapple with 'real world' emotions. And then they squeal and skip off.

Thank goodness for Gramma & Grampa's house! Ellia always looks forward to going there: Picking oranges with Uncle Adam, The Castle Amusement Park with Grampa, grooming Kirby (the doggie), and lots of loving attention!

We had some recent bouts with random illnesses & a few trips to the doc. But both girls did so well waiting in the lobby, then the patient room & then letting the doc figure out what was going on. Plus, on one visit, we didn't have a car to get there so we had to take a loong stroller/trike trip...but we made it fun!

"That's beautiful, Mommy."
I don't think anyone says "beautiful" more beautifully than Ellia. When I sat down with Ellia and started coloring in her book, I suddenly realized that it's the first time since I was an adolescent that I've colored a page in a coloring book! There's quite a few 1970s era photos of myself, head bowed, calmly but intently coloring, coloring, coloring. I hope Ellia & I can do artistic things together throughout the years.

Claira Update

2010-02-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

"Sweetie-Pie Clairey" (as big sister Ellia calls her) is such a dramatic chick. But what's cool about her drama is that 2 seconds later she's off to something else. "Action-packed", "Non-stop", "Go-getter" are all nicknames that have sprung to mind as I've watched this little one grow. As you can see from her many expressions, above, she's full of life and can't wait to steam roll through it! (as you can see from her constant climbing over any obstacle)

Ellia & Claira love going to Chuck E Cheese; or as I call it Chuck E coli.
Ugh, how many illnesses are lying in wait on every square inch of that airbrushed, blinking, buzzing "restaurant".

Claira and her soon-to-be suitor Griffin.

Super BAAAAWL Sunday! What a great football game it was! And I actually got to watch a decent amount of it - whaddya know! The Navarro family were kind enough to invite us over. Ellia had a great time playing with Ella (she sweetly gave her random nicknames: Little Cookie and Little Radish) Ella and Claira are 1 month apart in age. Each time we get them together we plop them on the couch and *click*click* document their blossoming friendship! As you can see, above, it was very much bedtime when we took these pictures.

Does someone need a haircut?
Poor little Claira, always looking at this new world through strands and strands of chestnut hair. Well, after taking this photo I realized she really deserved to see where she was going. Claira's "New Look" COMING SOON.

Memory Mental

2010-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, look. I know, I know. Pink Duckie is just a plastic inflatable duckie manufactured in China. Pink Duckie is no different from the million other pink duckies out there. Well, I'll keep telling myself that as I gently deflate and place Pink Duckie in the trash to be hauled away. I've collected special moments with my girls while this ducky cushioned their sweet tushies! I cringe at the thought of Pink Duckie ending up in a pile of toasters, water bottles & diapers. But, Pink Duckie, I don't want to end up on A&E.
Look at poor Pink Duckie: contemplating it's last days; reflecting on all the sweet memories: Ellia scooting & splashing around...Claira always intrigued by the 'quack-quak' sound...both growing bigger and bigger...calmly reclining against it's tail while playing and chit-chatting...both growing bigger and bigger...

A Christmas Kiss

2010-01-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Ellia & Jackson's Christmas Kiss from TALITHA CHAI on Vimeo.

Humility in the face of total disgrace for the human race

2009-12-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

I know someday my kids are going to be glued to TV shows that are mind-numbingly shallow. I know that I will want to chastise them for quite obviously wasting not only precious hours of life but also precious brain cells. I know that I'll wish they were addicted to the History Channel. But before I try to swipe the remote from their motionless bodies - I will take a deep breath and remember how, in the winter of 2009, I followed every episode of a banal show by the name of Jersey Shore on the shallowest of channels, MTV.

Christmas Time!

2009-12-29T16:26:00.000-08:00

Ellia dumping her Reindeer Food onto her front lawn so that Santa's Reindeers can find her house!

Ellia loves time with her cousins and I wish we could get them together more often. We had everyone over to our house for a Cousin Dinner (hopefully a tradition). I overheard her telling Issac he couldn't start taking toys out of her drawers because her Mom didn't want there to be a mess- ha-ha! I said "No, it's OK. You can play with the toys now." And so she immediately said "OH! OK, come on Issac! Let's play!!"

Ellia & Lauryn enjoying their choice in cupcake.

We didn't know if the kids would find Gingerbread House making very fun but they really got into it! And they made impressive little houses!

Quiet Moments before Christmas

2009-12-29T16:07:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, the timing (and level of caffeine consumption) is just right - Claira is taking a long morning nap so Ellia & I dive into some special pretend and imagination play. It's a time when I see facets of not only her personality, but how my personality can influence her. I realize I can suggest something to her that can not only influence her interest in something but also her fear of something. One time I was sitting on the grass and suddenly saw a gigantic worm crawling before me. Most people know my #1 gross-out is gelataneous creatures that move in a gelataneous way. UGH. I was freaked out and Ellia, who totally loves insects right now, mimiced my panic and even though I tried to change the topic and make it all better she was insistant that we go back inside. The entire walk back home she was convinced there were worms everywhere and we had to hurry back inside. I don't want to control her fears or her happiness but I see what a fine line it is. All in all, we have a close and special relationship - Most times, I am able to open up her imagination, like the play time we shared in the above photo.

This pink ducky is still how Ellia prefers to take her bath. And once I graduated Claira to the ducky it opened a whole new world to her. She just loves it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

2009-12-16T13:44:00.001-08:00

We met some friends at The Grove in Los Angeles. As you can see, it is a beautiful spot this time of year. Everything is aglow and it even snowed! (fake, of course) Ellia & Jackson are getting cuter with eachother each time they meet. The second they saw eachother, Ellia puckered up and they kissed and hugged. Then they held hands (despite Jackson's gloves) and walked the cobblestone streets, chatting back and forth. I will upload video of it soon because it must be seen!

We waited in line to see Santa at The Grove. This is the first year that Ellia is understanding the concept of Santa. She calls him Mr. Santa. She planned on telling Santa that she wanted: "Pappa Pony and Baby Pony. You can carry Pappa Pony cuz he is big. I'll carry Baby." But she had stars in her eyes once she was with him and didn't say anything, haha!

Claira was also an angel with Santa! I suspected she would scream at being left with such a peculiar looking person. But, luckily, it stunned her long enough to get some adorable pictures and video.

CLAIRA'S BIRTHDAY PARTIES

2009-12-16T13:25:00.001-08:00

Just as we expected - Claira LOVED being able to jump and slide and climb! Her favorite thing was this mini trampoline. She was in a great mood for her party and we're so happy that we were able to give her a special event!

We are so lucky to have wonderful and supportive family & friends. The day of Claira's party was stormy, dreary & cold. We would have understood if many parents decided to stay home on such a day. But everyone made it!!

For Claira's "Tol", she wore her traditional Korean hanbok courtesy of her "Halmony"/Grandma. We set up the items for the Toljabee tradition. Claira stood in front of them for a very long time. We nudged her and prodded her. Eventually she went straight to the Microphone. This is a modern item that has since been added to the tradition. Sorry that it wasn't included in the poll...I didn't know the staff would add that item. Apparently it means Claira is destined to be a SUPER STAR! The second item she chose was the Journal, which I suppose means she'll temper her SUPER STAR qualities with occassional INTELLECTUAL STUDIES.

Beautiful Birthday Girl

2009-12-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Ellyn, for capturing on film the special beauty of our little Claira...

Memories...

2009-12-03T13:09:00.001-08:00

Similar pictures in very different times. (2009 & 2007)

Mommy and Ellia: same place, different time...

Daddy Time!

2009-12-03T12:22:00.001-08:00

Much of October and November was spent with all of the couch cushions pulled off the couch and turned into an obstacle course for the girls to burn off energy.

The girls are getting an early introduction to Daddy's long standing belief that he could have made it as a triple-threat entertainer.

Ellia Update NOVEMBER

2009-12-03T10:03:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows me, knows of my long standing love affair with board games! I was excited to introduce Ellia to her very 1st board game: "Candy Land" Well, let's just say we managed to get through the game. She just wanted to look at the different cards and use them as 'money'. (sigh) We'll readdress the board games at a later date.

The flu hit me like a ton of bricks one Monday afternoon.
It lasted a long and treacherous week while I had both girls at home with my miserable self. Luckily Claira never got the flu! She was busy teething with 3 teeth and constant congestion. Ellia had just a touch of the flu for 1 day! While I lay in misery I had no qualms about letting Ellia watch TV show after TV show. You can see, above, how she looked like for an entire week. I was so worried about my babies and the flu. They don't have the H1N1 vaccine but I've been pumping them full of homeopathic supplements.

Here the sissies are playing in their craft corner.

Ellia really liked hanging out with the Hill boys.
Their swords, guns and cars were right up her alley!

Claira's Update NOVEMBER

2009-12-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

I looked at Claira one day and was surprised to see that she had taken it upon herself to put necklace and necklace over her head and wear them! She also puts bracelets on or dangles a purse from her wrist!

I finally let my wild child Claira experience sand.
Boy did she love it, even ate a bit of it.

This chick will climb ANYTHING put in front of her.
I think she'll love climbing at Gymboree for her birthday party!

Claira started taking a few steps in October. By Thanksgiving she was walking more than crawling. And suddenly I realized, as I led Claira into daycare by the hand instead of carried, that I have two upright children!

HALLOWEEN 2009

2009-12-03T09:27:00.001-08:00

I've always had a soft spot for the memories of trick or treating; with Ellia's 1st trick or treating night being one of my favorite memories...she stomps down the sidewalks taking in the whole experience.
Claira was as squooshy as ever in her padded Ladybug costume. She took it all in from the stroller while munching on snacks.

A few times our little amateur trick or treaters stepped right into the candy-givers home!

Poor Ellia was so excited about her Tiger costume but then when the day came the headpiece just never seemed to sit right. Her neck must've been so tired but she didn't want to take it off.

The residents of Los Alamitos really went all out decorating their super-quaint homes for Halloween. All of us looked forward to what the next house would look like. And the home owners really liked our trick or treating trio because they enjoyed seeing little kiddos show up in the spirit of the holiday (instead of so many teens)

Claira couldn't help but sqeeze those chunky cheeks belonging to Griffin!

Family Time

2009-10-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

We finally went to our local library - The Cerritos Library - and it was pretty impressive! It won the award for Best Library of LA and I can see why. I look forward to when I can take Ellia and Claira there to pick out books to check out.

Grandpa came over to spend some time with us this week and we ended the night with pumpkin carving! Pumpkin Carving...always sounds so nostalgic and wonderful and then you're about 12 minutes in and you want them finished! Luckily Daddy is very skilled at carving the faces & Ellia and Grandpa scooped out the gooey seeded insides to perfection. We call our creations The Pumpkin Family and say "Hi" and "Bye" to them everyday. (Can you guess who is who?)

PUMPKIN PATCH TRIP!

2009-10-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

We hit up the Irvine Railroad Park pumpkin patch with the Navarro family. It was very crowded but all of us came away with some wonderful, orange-filled photos!

Who's this? This is a vintage pumpkin shot of Ellia circa 2007!

And here is little sister with her version in 2009!

Claira now has 4 top teeth and she discovered the ability to clap and gives herself a round of applause often now! She also is learning to walk and it won't be long now before we see those first steps...

Ellia chilling on the pumpkins with who she calls "Baby Ella" (Ella Navarro)
She is very tender with her and likes her a lot.

RRRRaarrr!

2009-10-08T16:40:00.001-07:00

Can't wait for Halloween with this little 3-year-old Tiger!

Oh How Times Have Changed

2009-10-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

Birthday parties used to look like this

Now they look like this! HAHA!

An exciting addition to my birthday this time around was Auntie Jenn's (pink hair/green shirt) little bun in the oven!! She found out she was pregnant the morning of my birthday and we all found out together at dinner. We screamed, we cried - it was truly a special and meaningful night. Karen can also be seen in the top photo and also in my recent birthday photo above. She is due with her 1st baby. A little girl. We girls had many a night stumbling around Long Beach with drunk eyes and now we're drunk with all that awaits us and our futures spent together.

Claira Update

2009-10-08T16:25:00.001-07:00

Here are all the Chai Girls in matching outfits (just because)

Claira was beside herself, so happy to be driven around and on the go with her big sister.

With only 2 bottom teeth she still prefers to eat her food on her own. But she can't stand to sit down confined to a high chair for too long!

Claira, clad in a purple bikini, enjoying the last summer breeze with Daddy.

Remember the days of hysterical screaming brought on by the torture device known as the car seat? Well, those days are gladly long gone. Claira almost always looks like this in her seat as long as she has something to look at or play with (or Ellia)

Ellia - Play Dates & Pretend Play

2009-10-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Oh, this was the cutest thing ever. Jackson and Ellia looked like they were on their 1st date; with Jackson showing off his skills by kicking the car into reverse and looking over his shoulder & Ellia gently resting her cheek on his shoulder with eyes glittering.

We spent the last day of summer (literally) at a local children's water park. Ellia got to splash around and discover all the fun waterfalls with a neighborhood playmate. We were all kicking ourselves for not going to this place ALL summer long!

Pretending to shop at the La Habra Children's Museum.

Pretending to do the dishes at home.

Pretending to breastfeed Hippo. (Rocking chair, Boppy and all!)

Autie Jenn (Funky Rose Designs) made this custom craft table and chair set for the girls! The next day Ellia was already hosting a tea party and coloring! It is the best table, so adorable and so sturdy - we just love it! Thanks Auntie Jenn for finding the energy to make it!

*Gasp* She's all decked out in 'girlie gear'!

*Gasp* Playing with a doll!

Ellia's 3rd Birthday Party a Success!

2009-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is not so little anymore... she wasn't glued to my hip at Cerritos Park East, as she was during her 1st birthday party. She didn't obligingly follow us from one spot to another at Adventure City at her 2nd birthday party. No, this was her 3rd birthday and, once the doors to Pump It Up swung open, she took approximately 0.4 seconds to spring into action!

Kids were sliding, parents were sliding, grandparents were sliding. Many had never been to Pump It Up, including ourselves. But it worked out perfectly for what we needed this time around. It was such a special day & we're so lucky to have shared it with so many family and friends. Ellia is blessed to be surrounded by such friendship, love and support. And when the day ended, she was sad, asking "Where's everybody? Where's my friends?" Thanks to all who traveled the distance to make our little girl's day a wonderful memory.

HEY KIDDOS! Invites are in the mail!

2009-08-25T14:27:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have asked
"What kinds of things does Ellia like now?"
We have updated her WishCentral list.
You can check it out by clicking the link on this page (top right) called "Ellia Chai's Current Interests" www.wishcentral.com.
Click on the catagory named "Toys"

Ellia wanted a JUMPER party for her birthday so we looked high and low for the best place we could find. It proved difficult to find quality jumping places in our area but we've heard really good things about PUMP IT UP! www.pumpitupparty.com
We hope Ellia's friends and their parents can make it to the party for lots of cardio jumping (in two different rooms), pizza, munchies, refreshments, cupcakes & cake!

Play Dates (Part I)

2009-08-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

It was a GIRLS weekend! Daddy was off on a BOYS Vegas trip. So, Auntie "MeMe" came over for a sleep over and friends Janice & Jeff brought Jaelyn (age 3) to play with Ellia. They haven't seen eachother since they went Trick or Treating together (both as fairies!) last October. They played together adorably (pics to come soon)
Claira had her own playmate show up as well! She hasn't seen Ella since she was 3 months old. Ella and Claira are both trying to crawl, but Ella's skills inspired Claira to pick up the pace! They actually were very aware of eachother and seemed to like eachother - Ellyn & I can't wait to see them play as they grow together!

Ellia is always in heaven if she gets to spend time with the handsome Jackson Soong! They ran around together, giggling and telling eachother ideas of what to play next. Kristi and I marvelled at how we have reached a stage where the two of them can play on their own and allow us to have a breather and a drink or two!

Ellia's little sister had her first meeting with Jackson's little brother! Griffin and Claira are starting their relationship as polar opposites for now. We'll see how things progress - it should be fun!

Portraits of Claira

2009-07-28T16:02:00.001-07:00

July update (so far)

2009-07-07T23:43:00.001-07:00

We're settling into the new house. It's not quite "home" yet but it is definitely getting there!
Claira, as always, adores Ellia. She gives us the most insight into her personality when we catch expressions that she gives Ellia.

Claira still doesn't have a set wake up time for her mornings. It could be anywhere from 5AM to 8AM. One things for certain, when she's up - she is up and ready to go. In the wee hours she plays on our bed, enjoying her sturdy sitting up ability.

I thought this picture of Ellia was beautiful...she finally wanted to wear the "BIG SISTER" shirt we made together months ago, she's actually wearing a shirt, and her face...well, she looks so much older...and I get a glimpse of her future "big girl" beauty.

June SISTER update (after the fact)

2009-07-07T23:30:00.001-07:00

Bath time in the new house!

Matching PJ's from Auntie EJ...too, too cute! (And I wish I had a pair)

Long awaited new crib and mattress for Claira! Ellia is still very helpful with Claira; dancing for her, bringing her toys or giving me suggestions as to why she might be crying ("Maybe dirty diaper"). At times she swipes toys right from under Claira's little hands and it makes Claira cry immediately. We're practicing asking for the toy first or bringing another toy for Claira to play with. By then, of course, Ellia has usually lost interest in the entire situation anyway. (sigh)

Both girls love spending time with their Grandpa's. And they light up their Grandpa's eyes whenever they are around them. Ellia is much more excited about Angel's games now. She was absolutely giddy on the way to this game. It used to take her about 3 innings to warm up to the situation (the huge crowd, lots of noise). This time she leaned in to me and whispered "Mommy, I not scared anymore. Not too loud."

June ELLIA update (after the fact)

2009-07-07T23:16:00.001-07:00

Ellia adjusted to the new house very well! Sometimes if she couldn't find a toy she would say "Aw man...at old house...aw maaan..."
This month she went bowling for the first time. She has a 'new move' when she's proud of something she's done. It's the athletic "YES" with the arm pump.

During the days that were actually warm and sunny this June, Ellia got right into the summer swim season. She felt very special to get swim instruction with star Register reporters Jen and Laylon who taught her to "motor boat".

She always enjoys her time with Mikayla ("kayla"). She'd pretty much do anything Mikayla asked, she thinks so highly of her.

Yay! Finally her own pool! We bought a cheap-o blowup pool & I bought a nice sturdy slide from a dad on Craigslist. She's loving it and we're loving her having her own backyard.

June CLAIRA update (after the fact)

2009-07-07T22:54:00.001-07:00

Claira had many new adventures this month:
- Playing while sitting up, 1st tooth, eating baby food
Claira continues to be a wonderful, chubby, smiley little girl.
She is showing a determined and concentrated personality while also being easy going;
one that seems to dive right in to new challenges.

May update (after the fact)

2009-07-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

The month of May found us very busy:
- Adjusting to our new "get-out-the-door routine" with Grandma/train, Ellia/school,
Mommy & Daddy/work
- Packing, packing and more packing

- Moving into our 1st house!