11 month letter

Since its looking like I may have a hard time getting to present this letter with the usual plethora of videos and pictures (which I assure you are fantastic this month! And I will most certainly add them in the near future). Here is the 11 month letter for your enjoyment.

Once meses! ONCE!?!
Eleven months!! ELEVEN!?!
Yup a perfect pair of ones: ¡ 11 !

In one more month your first anniversary. I just can't believe it.
You are our perfect little baby. I'm sure you will always be OUR BABY!

Part of me is sad that you will no longer be a "baby", but a toddler... then a teenager, then... This is moving too fast!!! Everyone warns you but warnings are not enough. It's unreal!

New this month are:

Food! You are finally interested in actually eating food. You were curious before. And then you went thru a NO phase. Which worried me a bit. But not any more! You eat anything and with joy! You've had Indian food, southern barbecue (pork and beans, fried ocra, ribs, corn bread, mac and cheese, tri tip!), wild sockeye salmon, and today you chumpped on raw yellow onion! Almost without shedding a single tear.

Your crawl has gained lots of speed and you have a new style where you crawl with you legs straight. Like a yoga's downward dog in motion! You just started walking holding on the edge of furniture its still not there yet. And you seem to get so entertained trying to reach things that you don't even notice when you are standing basically on your own without supporting yourself.

You are such a social little bee. You soon get comfortable with people you've just met. And you like to smile, wave and talk with them. You don't like to be held by them unless you've been around them for a few hours. Which is good.

Your kissing style is getting better and sweeter. You now intentionally give the sweetest little kisses! You slowwwly approach us and press your open lips on our cheeks. It makes my heart swell when you kiss me! I'm sure if I didn't kiss you like every other second you will get a chance to kiss me back! But heck! Those chunky pieces that make up all of you are too delicious! I just can't help myself!

Love you little chunky monkey!
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Happy Easter!

I asked Laurel which dress she wanted to wear, I said : El Verde? o el Rosado? And I repeated, el verde? And she said clearly: el verde! I said verde!?! And she said verde!!! And that was the choice!

Thanks Lynn for the cute green dress!

Felices pascuas!!!

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Grey misty morning

But plenty of color in the Montecito corner. And 4 ravens!

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gorgeous garden baby

Our first visit as a family to the Huntington gardens. It's laurel's second.

Jeff surprised me with a membership! it was one of the best gifts i have ever received!

while splish splashing Laurel caught the attention of actor, Diedrich Bader, and family. So much that he came and approach us and talked to us for a good happy while.  She is a cute baby, what can i say!

Preschool search begins

We just got on the waiting list for a couple of preschools:

1- La Casita Verde, Highland Park.

So cute! Home-like, fun and educational.

On my short visit, here are the pros and cons:

Positive: its a small non-profit institution, so they will be focused on the kids interest, I hope. They have a partnership with Audubon and Debs park = that's perfect! Kids looked happy and had creative projects. Gardens! Gets better: lots of natives and edibles! Just a clean, gorgeous, happy school. Cloth diapers OK! And its so easily accessible, including with metro rail and walking from our home. Open year round, except for major holidays. Affordable (both have similar prices).

Negatives (?): its a small non-profit institution, city of LA allows them to be rent free at their location in exchange of giving preference to the under privileged. Which is fantastic, but also means we may have a hard time to get in as we could keep getting bumped up; the waiting list is a "totem pole" joke; for once we aren't poor enough! Also city of LA is not known for cutting edge education, nor its financial stability, although what I saw did not reflect this.

2- Le Pettite Academy, downtown LA.

Its affordable, big on curriculum, a bit large for my taste now, but that may not matter as the waiting list is 2 years! So maybe when our turn is up the story will be different!

On my short visit, here are the pros and cons:

Positive: its a national institution, so they will be well regulated and by the book. They provide all the meals, cooked in location (included in the tuition fee). Its so easily accessible, including with metro rail. Daily report cards with "car talk" suggestions to engage kids and parents with the day's activities.

Negatives: no field trips, they bring the activities in to them (like snow, a petting zoo!). They won't do cloth diapers... But by then I hope we are done too! They provide all the meals... Its in downtown, which will add traffic to our commutes. Corporate in structure?

Neither here nor there: Regular school yearly schedule with a summer camp program.

There are a few more I want to check. But so far, I think you know which one I liked best!

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Birth Certificate!

I'm official! ;)

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Plushy new friends

She tries to bite them too!


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After 2+ hour nap!

Now I'm so refreshed and spunky!

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First lunch outdoors

Hello Summery Spring!

Rain season is officially over. Mid 80s. Sunny. Cooling breeze up the canyon. Clear blue sky. White wispy clouds. Lamb kabobs. Honey greek yogurt with lemon zest. Fried chick peas. Special Coke from Atlanta's coke world (spicier!). Sleeping baby. Great 180 degrees view. Happy us!

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Not sure about this one...

But the dress is cute!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

cAt-plastado!

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Seriously cute!

Like a fashion model.
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Monarchs!

Its that time of the year!

The monarchs are on their way north up the california coast, in the fall they will head south/east all the way west of the rocky mountains, there is a different migation group east of the Rockies that goes as far as central mexico!

According to Wikipedia: "The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis. But no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations."

Amazing they continue on even though the parent isn't around to teach them. They just know!

I hope our monkey gets monarch wings too. But keeps us close to her heart, of course, I'm human after all!

For more:
www.monarchwatch.org

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11 months today!

our monkey and the anniversary flowers Jeff got me

Y feliz aniversario abuela Vicky y abuelo Victor!
sin ustedes no estaria yo aqui, disfrutandolo todo!!!

We brush our TOOTH!

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Chasing after negro

Yup, developmental milestone = problem!!!! Stairs!

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Where all food ends!

Specially the healthy green ones!

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MOST FUN FEEDING SO FAR!

Laurel got creative with how she hides from me the pieces of asparagus I gave her to eat.

yum!! shoes!!

What's this new addition to my fabulous outfit?
Its tasty!


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huntington garden

 

I think she looks line me here, wiht the special instagram (old school picture filter) that Tes applied. 

Pre is so adorable!

unreal!

under the sea?

outside of a molar coming up, she was enjoying it!

how cool is this!

my favorite new agave! A. Ovatifolia (Mexico)

A wonderful play date with Tes and Pre at my favorite botanical garden on earth! (well at least so far)

Spring

New bright green leaves on a gorgeous California sycamore (platnus racemosa) with possibly our last rain storm lurking behind. One side the skies are bright blue with puffy white clouds, the other dark grey. The wind is blowing hard, the mexican fan palms never look better than now.

I am looking forward to an end of the rain season with a big bang cuddle up in a warm bed!

Raise your glass of water:
Here is to California drought being finally over!

Salud!

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fun part of the day!

this is a weekly routine...  i hope you can hear her giggling!

10th month letter

monx!

 As I have started to call you. You are now 10 months old!  I can't believe how fast this is going and how great you are. Such a happy, fun friend we've gained!

New this month are:

A tooth! Finally!! And we can't get enough of it. You feeling it with your tongue, your dad with his finger as well as looking at it in awe and I enjoy the beginning of the end of the gum-full smiles!

And you were teething on just about anything! the car seat buckle is your favorite thing!

Pointing! Now you don't go feel things out with your full hand, you go with your index. You still love to scratch surfaces and feel textures. Maybe you will be a fabric designer or in a fashion! As you do seem to have an affinity for textured fabrics.

Your are getting Oh! So! Close! To a full crawl and walk too. You are now able to go from sitting to military-style-crawling then stand up holding onto something sturdy then back down and around!

Negro is now your friend and you are finally getting the idea of "suave" or "gentle" petting of him. Although recently you have been enjoying the pulling and holding on of his tale!

etche' is your word for leche!

Also new is the fact that you are no longer nursing. We were down to nursing before and after bedtime. But one night to just pushed away and that was that. You never "looked back"!  Even though I was hoping to make it to the year, I'm glad and so grateful we had such a good run. I think you got a great start from my efforts. You were fed breast milk exclusively until 6+ months. I'm also glad I don't have to pump at work anymore! That was a huge sacrifice.

nothing like a weekend nap together!

And sleep! I finally broke down and after trying and trying to avoid this... It became obvious to us that I couldn't be trying to put you to sleep for 2+ hours every night when you can go to bed on your own without complaints at day care 2 times a day.  So I went for some sleep training. You have not taken it super well as you don't wake up your usual cheerful way.  But after 10 days you went from 23 min of crying (max) to maybe 1, 2 minutes in the last 2 days. I really hope this is it and that soon your cute morning conversations with your stuff animal friends resumes. We miss hearing you jabber for a while, then call for us to pick you up "ahhhh aaahh".  Now its more like I come get me! Now! And then I must swallow 8 oz of milk! Fast! That milk better be ready mommy!  But in all honesty, you are also sleeping more. Instead of snoozing and waking up and in out of crib a million of times for 2+ hours. You are fast asleep by 630-7ish and we don't hear from you (outside of your snoring!) Until 6-7 am! Which is amazing!  Some nights you make some noise at 4ish. But go back to sleep.

So I hope this sacrifice is not going to mess you up emotionally! As I was fearing all this while.

But some of the fun huge things you did this month is:
your first taste of ice cream! (finally says abuela vicky!)

also sitting on a shopping cart

and at a restaurant high chair!!!

and you got peek-a-boo down to a science now!

oh! dah-dah! its cold!!!

we love you little monx!!

Curls!

They are getting biger and better by the minute, just like her!

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baby blues bbq!

someone had a blast chomping on a rib bone!

I'm A Big Kid Now!

Hair clip and bigger baby seat too!
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Cali baby!

Ready for summer!

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