2010 02 Big Bear

 

We seem to get to Big Bear once every five years or so... the first time Ryan and I went was for our one year wedding anniversary.  Our last visit was in the summer with other young families from our church when Hannah was one and a half years old.  We decided it was time to return for a weekend to play in the snow.... and play we did.   Saturday, driving up past the Discovery Center on the North Shore, we parked along the road by a beautiful, open field of virgin snow.  The girls jumped out of the van and dropped to their backs right away to make angels.  We barely had time to reach for the camreas.  Then we all rolled big snowballs for our first family snowman.  We saw a wild coyote, lots of gray squirrels and discovered bird prints in the snow.  Hannah has now decided that she wants to "live at the snow."  Alyssa on the other hand enjoys the snow a little bit at a time, and definitely not on her face! 

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Publish Post

2010 02 Polly want a berry?

 

There are parrots that live wild in our neighborhood.  Never have I seen them this close and so many at one time!  This morning in a tree across the street from the house to the right of us, there were about two dozen parrots squawking away and busy bouncing from branch to branch.  They were loud and so close!   

2010 02 Hannah Made Breakfast

Yes, Hannah pulled the toaster out to make blueberry waffles.  The cord was stretched between the wall and the table.

2010 02 Chinese New Year

We went to Huntington Gardens for their Chinese New Year Celebration.  The girls enjoyed the dragon dancers. shadow puppet theater and music.  Alyssa especially liked to retell the puppet show stories.  For lunch we ate authentic Chinese food from our neighborhood Panda Express!  

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2010 02 Running Free

Hannah and Alyssa could not help themselves from running through the tall grassy field across the way from the Ludwig house in Malibu.  For them it was pure joy to run with abandon.  It was pure joy to watch!

The girls hung out with Caden and Holden who were visiting from Washington with their mom while the mommies spent time catching up.  (Hannah declined to be photographed.)

2010 02 Montebello Barnyard Zoo

We spent a lovely day at the Montebello Barnyard Zoo today. Along with the Curtis kids and the Wolterbeek girls, we feed the animals, rode the "train" and had a picnic lunch at the park. Alyssa liked the idea of feeding the animals, but it took her a bit longer than the others to do it herself.  One of the highlights was seeing the cow's big long tongue try to get the bits of food dropped on the ground in front of his pen... his slimy mouth had everyone shying away from trying to feed him like the goats. Then there was the four horned ram/goat thing... quite interesting! All in a day of exploration and play!  (And did I mention the plastic ducks???!)

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2010 02 Martha Stewart I am not...

Looks good, doesn't it?  The directions looked simple enough... using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut a heart out from a piece of bread and toast the heart in a toaster.  Then grill the rest of the bread in a pan on the stove.  One side first, then place cooking sprayed cutter back into bread once you've turned it over and crack and egg into it.  Cook the egg by covering the pan with its lid.  Maybe I should have used a small egg, because in order for the large egg to cook fully, the bread burns on the bottom.  This is my second attempt... and though Martha Stewart I am not, still I will attempt to be creative in the kitchen... it makes life interesting!

(This Valentines breakfast was created for Daddy... Hannah did a very nice job of making the fruit salad.  Alyssa was asked to go get Daddy and bring him to the kitchen.  "DADDEEE!  Come here!" she called.)

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2010 02 Hannah as a mommy

Today I found Hannah with a rope tied around her waist and this wooden toolbox attached to the other end.  She was pushing her stroller in front of her as she dragged this box behind her.  When I asked what she was doing, she told me that she was being a mom and was pulling her baby in its "wooden moving box."  Yes, that must be what being a mom looks like... at least that's what it feels like sometimes!

2010 02 Huntington Gardens

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2010 02 Bedtimes are so Sweet!

As of late, when we go check in on the girls before heading to bed at night, we find them snuggled together like two peas in a pod.  It is so sweet to see them away in dreamland all cozy under the blankets in Hannah's bed... always Hannah's bed...

2010 02 LA Chamber Orchestra

Daddy took Hannah to her first Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Children's concert.  The theme was Carnival of Animals.  Hannah thought it was great.  Now she's asking to play the violin.  

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2010 02 Father Daughter Dance

The girls look forward to February when they can pick out fancy dresses, get their hair done all pretty and have a special night with their daddy.  This year, Grampop joined them and they made memories!

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2010 02 Catherine's party

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2010 02 Rag Curls

We have been reading books based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder series.  One story is about going to town.  The girls did their hair up in rag curls and dressed in their best dresses.  Hannah has wanted to do her hair in rag curls since hearing the story.  Getting her hair fancy for the Father Daughter Dance was the perfect time for mommy to try her hand at good old fashioned rag curls.  Armed with a brush and strips of cut up t-shirt, we gave it a go.  They turned out pretty good, but alas, the damp weather and lack of hair product pre-rags, she didn't keep those perfect curls in all night.  Hannah was thrilled to have curls in her hair.  And Alyssa kept saying, "I want rag curls too!"  Lulu, have you looked in the mirror lately???

2010 02 Singing Cards

So today after dropping Hannah off at preschool, Alyssa and mommy went to Walmart to pick up a thing or two.  As we headed to check out we ran into one of those holiday mid-aisle attractions and mommy started looking through the cards displayed there.  From the corner of mommy's eye she could see Alyssa at the other side of the display reach for a card.  Seeing that it was a musical card, mommy stopped from telling her to put it away (the rule is that we look with our eyes, not our hands), because mommy wanted to see what would happen next.  Sure enough, the card opened playing Tim McGraw's, "I Like It, I Love It."  With the card still open Alyssa paused and kind of looked around her and up, not quite sure where this music was coming from.  She then turned back to the card and after looking at it for a moment, she closed it.  When the music stopped she paused and looked around again.  She opened it again and the music started again.  Then it dawned on her that it could be coming from the card and she proceeded to close it and open it again.  AS she did so, the puzzled look she once had vanished into a smile.  Then she said, "I like this, I want it!"

2010 02 Alex's B-day at Disneyland

The Jaffe girls love going to Disneyland, so when they heard that Alex was going there for his birthday, they had to join him!

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2010 02 Alyssa's First Dentist Visit

Alyssa had her first visit to the dentist today.  Dr. Segura started with a tour of the office, showing her every room, including the most important one, the bathroom.  Alyssa happily climbed into the dentist chair, reaching her arms out to rest her arms on the armrests as she told the dentist, "Yesterday (early Dec) was my sister's appointment and now it's my turn!"  She was a really good patient, sitting still for the check up, cleaning and polishing.  She was really excited about the dinosaur picture and purple toothbrush.

http://Alyssas first dentist visit_0001.wmv

2010 02 February

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