Pumpkin Patch!

Last week Armando and I went over to my sisters house for dinner and after dinner we took Bella and Gabe over to the pumpkin patch. They had a blast! This was Bellas first time going, and she loved all the pumpkins, and music. I could write about all the fun stuff she saw, but ill let the pictures speak for themselves.

Walk Now For Autism

This is something very near and dear to me. My three year old cousin Vinny was recently diagnosed with Autism. Autism has and continues to affect many children and the numbers are growing. Although many believe that Autism may be caused by vaccines, the cause is still generally unknown. There is no known cure for Autism, but through wonderful non-profit organizations, we can help find the cause and a cure. This is what the Walk Now For Autism site says about autism
"Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships and is often accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges. Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in 1 in 150 children in the United States, affecting four times as many boys as girls. The diagnosis of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown."
I am joining my cousins "team" to help raise funds for this cause and I will be walking on November 16th at the Angel Stadium. If so inclined there is a link to either join our team, or donate to it. Thank you in advance to all my friends and family who have supported us in this!

Bella

For those of you who know us well, you probably know how much Bella loves food. Most of the good pictures I get of her are when she is eating or helping me cook. The reason I usually get such great pictures is that she is happiest when she is eating! She eats a variety of foods, and it doesn't matter what the food is. If she has a plate of peas or an ice cream cone, she is HAPPY. Maybe that means I am a fantastic cook (or not) and she cannot resist my food.... or maybe she will grow up to be a famous chef... or food critic. I would almost be so bold as to say that food is her favorite thing although if you put a plate of food in front of her and a cute pair of shoes she may ignore the food for a bit while she tries on the kicks. Maybe she'll be a famous chef with her own shoe line!

Election Day Party!

On November 4 Armando and I will be hosting an Election Day Party. We are going to watch the results of the Presidental election come in, and celebrate the election of a new president! This is not a Party specific party meaning that people of all political parties are invited, and even people with no political party (Rachel). Now I know what most of you are thinking... are you crazy? And the answer is yes.. just a little. In all honesty we just want people to come together regardless of their political affiliation. So in saying that, everyone is invited to join and have some great "All American Food", RESPECTFUL conversations, and celebrate the election of a new President! If you would like to come just send me a comment or e-mail and I'll send all the specifics.
*We will also be surprising Armando by celebrating his 29th Birthday that evening. (Don't worry... He never looks at the blog!)

New Pictures!

Here are some new pictures

Finally! A new Post

I know it has been a while since my last post. We have been so busy lately. Armando's car broke down and was in the shop off and on for three weeks getting a new engine (fun right). On top of that he started his new job which is nice, but now I am adjusting to him not being home as much. The main reason why I have not posted in a while is because our laptop stopped working two weeks ago (thanks to Bella), and we just now got a new one. Other than that, all is well with us! We are all happy and healthy so we are thankful for that!

For all You Teachers!

Today my husband was watching C-Span, and recorded it for me. Those of you who don't know I was attending school to be a Teacher (Pre-Bella), so I sympathize with all the teachers out there who work their tails off and get NO appreciation, bad pay, and a crappy Federal program to deal with (No Child Left Behind) Just to name a few. The video link is of a Governor of S. Carolina receiving an award from the NEA, and boy does he deserve it! I highly recommend watching it if you are an educator (although it may make you want to move there.). If you watch it I would say it starts getting good at 7:30 into this clip, yes its a little long, but if you have the time its worth it!
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=206276-2&showVid=true

Ravioli!

Raviolis are one of Bellas favorite foods most of the time, but for some reason when i was trying to get her to eat dinner the other night it was a headache. Finally I just gave up and let her sit there with her food on the highchair tray. She suddenly decided that she in fact did want to eat and started feeding herself. I did not have the energy to fight her on the matter so I let her go at it... and boy did she. It really is much simpler this way... she gets a bath after dinner anyway so why not?

Watch out Mario Batali!

So i first have to say this.... I'm really not a fan of Crocs! I know... many people love them because they are convenient for adults and children, but I must confess; I thinks they are UGLY. Bella received a pair before she was even born but they were toddler size, so she is just now starting to fit in them, but I cant bring myself to put them on her for longer than a few minutes (and definitely not in public). Then one day I was cooking something yummy (homemade shortcake), and Bella was again my little helper. All of the sudden it hit me..... there is a use for ugly pink Crocs! So I ran upstairs and got those ugly shoes and put them on her. Those are now her cooking shoes! So watch out Mario, Bella is coming for your job! ( I must note she is much cuter than Mario Batali, and she has an excuse for being very plump.)

Bella and Gabe

My sweet little princess is so loving towards her cousin Gabe.... Cant you tell by the look on his face?
Actually, she is a bully and poor Gabe is so sweet that he just runs away from her. I really do feel bad about this because I don't want Bella to be a bully. She really can be the sweetest little girl, but when she feels like she can dominate.... She will!
So here it is... a formal apology to sweet Gabe...

Dear Gabe,
Even though I am a bully some times, I do love playing with you! I don't mean to make you cry (most of the time), and i really wish you wouldn't flinch every time I pass near you (although you probably have good reason to). I am very sorry for making you afraid of me (but its a good thing you are... caution is best). I promise I will try harder to not make you sad or scared (mostly because mommy is making me). But the most important thing is that you remember that I love you, because you are my cousin and friend (and subordinate).*
Love,
Bella

*I really do love Gabe!!!!

The Box

On Bellas birthday she got so many toys, and one of them was this farm set from my sister Kim. Since Bella received tons of toys, I decided to put some away so that a few months later they could be "new". I finally pulled out the farm set two weeks ago, and the only thing Bella wanted was the box! What is it with children and cardboard boxes? Every morning she would rush over to sit on it and scoot around the living room. What a silly girl!

Buy Pampers!

So maybe I am just a cry baby, but the first time I saw this commercial I cried. Any mother or woman for that matter knows why. How beautiful are all babies around the world? I am a proud supporter of Pampers products. Not only are they doing good, but the products are really the best out there!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8175811417119803898&q=Pampers+commercial&ei=JRo5SJPyCo-WrgPJ7vX1Aw&hl=en

Lemon Festival

This post is a little late, but I just had to share these pictures from the Lemon Festival. Armando and I took Bella just to get out for a little while. We got everything together and loaded Bella in the car and went to downtown. Once we were there (and found parking) I asked Armando if he had the cell phone. He reminded me that I had it while I was putting Bella in the car. Then I suddenly remembered.... I put the phone on the top of the car while I put Bella in! So then we got back in the car and drove home in hopes that it fell off the car on our street, but no luck. So I suggested we just drive back down there and look out for it on the road. Sure enough it was shattered all over Euclid. So Armando wasn't feeling all that festive after that, but agreed that there was nothing we could do at that point so we decided to go back to the Lemon Festival. I am so glad that we did! We walked around for a bit, then Bella got her face painted for the first time (which she cried all the way through.... I think the clown scared her), and then we got the best ice cream ever at Dr. Bobs! It was a really nice day (other than the whole phone thing)!

Fun at the Park

I took Bella to the park and met our good friend Taryn and her little boy Seth there. It was soooo hot that day, but we thought that the kids would enjoy getting out. So we made the kids pb&j and went to the park. By the time we tried to force the kids to eat, and let them run around for 10 minutes, we realized (by the pink on our kids cheeks) that it was just too hot to be out there. So we left the park and both went home. Although it was a short little visit, it was nice to get out with my good friend. Oh and Taryn... Hurry and move over here so that we can have many more play dates!

By the way, these kids already have an arranged marriage
But Seth better watch out.... Bella has a thing for Jack Bartlett

This is Seth when he went down the slide... lots of static!

The L.A Zoo

This was Bella's first time ever going to the Zoo, so it was very exciting... for me. She could care less. I think she is still to young to really care about the animals. She did point to a few of them, but for the most part she was indifferent. I wish I would have known that before I pushed her stroller up and down those hills all day. After the zoo we went across the street to the park and I tried to see if I could get her to ride on a pony (much to my over-protective husbands disapproval), but she is a major chicken and wanted nothing to do with it. Oh well at least I tried.... Maybe next year will be better!

Just Another Day

Today has been quite an interesting day with Bella. This morning I was woken up by her in a very different way. Usually she will wake up, play in her crib for a while, and then fuss a little until I decide to roll out of bed and get her. Well this morning when she woke up she immediately wanted out of the crib and let me know by two very distinct (and demanding) "MAMA!" "MMMMAMA!" That was very out of the norm for her so I got up and got her out. As I was changing her diaper she wanted to get up... so she told me..."ut..ut" (which in her language is "up"). Then I took her downstairs and my mother-in-law was in the kitchen. The minute I walked in the room Bella shouted "NANA!"
Now Bella has known these words, so it wasn't surprising that she said them, but what was so shocking to me was how she was using them. She will say things for no particular reason and in no particular order, but today she woke up and POOF; she knew the way they should be used, and she had to show Mama. I thought that was adorable...at first that is. She would no stop talking!!! Granted most of it made no sense at all, but the rest of the day she wanted to show me all her words (and in a very loud voice). The one day I have a major headache right?
If that wasn't enough....
Tonight while I was feeding Bella dinner, she decided to take the spoon and feed herself. Usually I will not let her because of the obvious reasons. I don't mind cleaning, but she's only one years old... its not messy when she feeds herself.... its a tornado of flying food, and anyone (or anything) in her path better beware. As I have not been feeling well, I had a temporary lapse of judgment, and I let my one year old spoon feed herself green mushy veggies. Yes I admit it, but she actually did very well! She ate all of those mushy veggies, and started acting very silly. The two pictures were taken one after the other in the sequence shown... one smile... the next... who knows!

Is there anything Better?

This post will not be a long one, but is there anything better in life than a cute chubby baby running around naked after bath time? I think not.....

Cookies!!!

Today I decided to prepare some cookie dough for Ashley's shower. As I measured everything (twice), and sifted, and blended, and grated, and mixed, my beautiful baby sat in her high chair very quietly. She was so good and watched me as I prepared the long recipe (all 7 dozen of it!). Before the last step (chocolate chips, walnuts etc), I let her try to mix it up with the spatula. At first she was a bit apprehensive, then she took some cookie dough form the rim of the bowl, and it was all over from there. She wanted to eat the whole bowl (and probably would have if i let her), but since it contains raw egg, i thought it best to keep it at just a taste. Oh my lovely girl!

Re-landscape

Armando has been completly re-landscaping his parents front yard (as a thank you for letting us stay with them... and free babysitting). This project has turned into a massive one, and Armando has been trying to do it alone. Well our wonderful friend Ryan Morgan came by one day and saw the disaster of a front yard and offered to help. So last Thursday and Friday Ryan was over working his tail off with my husband in the yard. I know this is a little overdue, but Thanks again Ryan for all the help! We totally owe you a fabulous dinner (including a delectable dessert).

Thanks to My Fabulous Gal Pals!

I just got home from a wonderful Girls night with my Fabulous Friends: Rachel, Amanda, Tammy, Katie, Liz, and Heather. Its super late now, but i couldn't possibly go to sleep without first saying thanks to all for such a fantastic night. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Amanda I love you and it was great seeing you! Thanks again to all you crazy gals!
*fantastic pictures to follow!