Garden Dining

We invited Gramma and Grampop over for a "Garden Dinner." We harvested red corn, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and peppers for our feast. How fun to enjoy the fruits (or should I say vegetables) of our labor!

First Day of School

Today was Hannah first day of Kindergarten at the Jaffe Schoolhouse..  Dressed even before breakfast, she prepared her desk for school.  She has been looking forward to this day and so was Mommy.  The first order of business was to explain to the girls why their mommy wanted to home school.  I told them that if I wasn't a mommy, the job I would want to have would be to teach children.  Since I am a mommy, I wanted to be able to teach my own children and to spend time learning with them.  Today we began an adventure of learning together... at least on a more official basis than what were were doing before!

Alyssa's First Salon Visit

Alyssa had her first visit to Trilogia today. At first she seemed shy and cautious about the whole experience, wanting to hold mommy's hand. Yet, while her hair was being washed she sat quietly with her eyes closed. As the experience continued on, she came out of her shell acting her goofy self while Hannah interviewed her with the video camera.

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Beach Day

Alyssa Writes

Each time we sit down to make birthday cards I find that Alyssa is enjoying the process of tracing her letters.  I don't really work with her like I did with her sister, mostly because she doesn't seem to show as much of an interest in it as Hannah did and also, I don't want to get her to do things just because her older sister was doing them at a certain time.  She still is most comfortable using her left-hand and is quite proud of herself! 

Hannah's New Do

We saw our friend, Alana, with a new hairstyle today.   I asked her mom how she did it and commented that we would have to try it too. Well, Hannah was paying attention because she came out of the bathroom that evening after dinner using the technique described herself! She said that she needed the assistance of the mirror to get it right...

The next day, I did the new do on both the girls.  They love it!

Tie Dye Day

We had fun dying clothes today with our friends, Catherina, Christopher, Alana, Elizabeth, and Mihret (and her sister, Zinash).  Hannah and Alyssa each made a dress.  The shirts seen above are from a previous tie dye day.

Marissa's 5th B-day

Hannah was invited to a birthday party for one of her classmates  from preschool.  The parents of this class have done a good job of planning activities so that the kids can see each other outside of school and continue in their friendships.  It was a really sweet class of kids and parents.  Hannah was a bit shy and aloof at the party... not at first, she got her face painted and watched Marissa's dad do some magic tricks... but as the games got started, she stood off by herself.  She was sure that she didn't want to pin the crown on Ariel, toss the balls into a bucket OR participate in the water balloon toss.  However, when candy was passed out for participating in these activities, she was there to collect.  And she did perk up when it was time to do the pinata, but even then, she only poked at the unicorn dangling from a rope until mommy stepped in and helped her a bit. As always, Hannah was right there when cake was served, but not too long after, it was Hannah who decided that it was time to go. 

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Happy Birthday to Taylor!

Aunt Becky and Cousin Taylor came out for a visit for Taylor's upcoming 13th birthday! They just left for home today. It was one of those whirlwind visits with at least one activity each day: Disney Studios, Disneyland, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Warner Bros Studios, Monrovia Street Fair, Santa Monica Pier, Train to Olvera Street, Monrovia summer concert, Laguna beach day and Malibu beach day among the highlights. In our down time, it was so nice to see the cousins just enjoy each others' company... We had such a fun time and were sad to see them go.

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Dolphin watching

While spending the day at Westward Beach in Malibu, we experienced a spectacular sight.  Suddenly out of the water jumped a dolphin right behind where Taylor was standing.  I called to her to turn around and the dolphin jumped out of the water again... as if only for her!  We watched in awe as these playful creatures swam merrily south... and then back north... and then back south along the coastline.  Only once more did that dolphin jump out of the water... but it was a sight to see!  What a lasting memory on the last day of Taylor's trip to CA!

Aunt Becky scares me....

This is what Alyssa whispered to me at church on Sunday.  Alyssa is my "tenderhearted" child and easily upsets at times (not always) when directed, disciplined or innocently spoken to by adults.  My sister had three girls and parents little ones much like I do... and this Alyssa did not like at all.  Much of the visit Alyssa spent avoid Aunt Becky... on rides at Disneyland, holding hands across the street, etc.  It was comical.  But Alyssa really does love Aunt Becky and knows that Aunt Becky loves her too.  By the end of the visit, Aunt Becky was included when she was heard saying, "I love daddy, and mommy, Hannah, my cousin Taylor and my Aunt Becky."

It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's a flying Hannah!

Happy Birthday Becky!

While my sister was here it was for her daughter's upcoming 13th birthday, but it happened that her birthday fell right smack dab in the middle of the visit!  The girls had a night out... the big girls that is... the little girls stayed home with daddy... and we had an entertaining night at Bella Serra.  Our waiter was pretty funny... we had quite a few laughs and it made the evening that much more fun. 

One BIG Dog

My girls do not shy away from any dog for very long... no matter the size! This very big dog was easily spotted as we strolled along at the Monrovia Street Fair during cousin Taylor's visit. Sitting down he was bigger than Alyssa!

We're all ears!

We've got corn!  Red corn!  And yellow squash and zuccini... Our garden has been growing so well thanks to Ryan who continues to tend to it so very diligently!

August 2010

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