Closing a chapter, opening another

We're so sad to have to say goodbye to our amazing nanny Mandy, aka "Mimi". She's moving back east to become a teacher and Friday was her last day with us. We're truly going to miss her. She has been like family to us, and Emma would jump out of my arms every morning that Mimi arrived to go and give her a hug. It was a teary farewell. I always knew that Emma was in outstanding, capable hands and as a parent, you can't replace that feeling.

The new chapter is now opening and Emma started school on Monday. She did great with the other kids, playing, interacting and being her usual busy self. However, it was a lot of new surroundings, and she didn't sleep very well the first two days. Then on the third day she got the Rotavirus bug and threw up for the first time. It was a rough night, followed by a second night of diarrhea but she's feeling much better and surviving with a steady stream of Pedialyte popsicles. No shortage of popsicles in this house -thank goodness for those things! :)

So here's a little run down of our first day. Getting ready to drive to school with dada:


Making sure her baby can come with her!

And after I picked her up:


It's been a big week!

random February videos

First there was "Baby-in-a-Bucket". Make way for the new & improved Toddler-in-a-Trader-Joe's-Shopping-Bag (swung by our friend and neighbor "Miss Jean", or as Emma affectionately refers to her as "Mean"):


goin shopping from Eeks on Vimeo.

Emma in her usual pre-bath form:


Feb from Eeks on Vimeo.

More dancing....and the spontantaneous digestive powers of Craisins:


February silliness from Eeks on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Wild Animal Park!

Please excuse the hokey blog layout. I'm trying to customize it, and I got as far as my header, but html befuddles me sometimes. Should be cleared up soon!

This Valentine's Day we celebrated as a family at the Wild Animal Park. It was the first time we've been! It's a 30 minute drive, but sooooo worth it. I like it better than the zoo (and I didn't think that was possible!). Emma loved, loved it. I can't tell what was more fun - the petting kraal or the gorillas (primates are my all-time fave, and these guys were out and play-fighting.). I tried to get good pics of them, but ended up with lots of ape butts! :)





On our drive home, we stopped by some of the orange groves that had suffered in the 2007 fires. It's really eerie to see forests full of blackened wood. These are my pics, but I doctored them up in photoshop to emphasize the eerie feeling.

Matisse had a "blue phase"

....I think Erika is having a "black-and-white phase". I am really digging this Photoshop thing!

The Lollipop Gangsta's

We had a little Valentine's day photo shoot-playdate on Friday, where Emma got to hang out with Isabelle and Shae. Shae and Emma share the same birthday! I wanted to get some cute pics of the three of them and their marshmallow lollipops. Holy cow. As if trying to get a picture of three toddlers together isn't hard enough, throw some gooey sugar in the mix and it's NUTSO!

Anyway, here's some pics of the gangster-ettes enjoying their loot:

It's that time again!

time for more of mommy's silly photo shoots! You might remember this one from last year - my how time flies.

my birthday is June 13th :)

If anyone is looking for ideas for me way in advance - this pan makes the ENTIRE batch of brownies the edge. Brilliant!! The edges are by far the best. :)

sometimes, i just want to eat her

Maternity Shoot!

I am working on a photo blog, but for the meantime this is the only place I can post. I drove up to L.A. last Friday to take pictures of Monique's 38-week belly! She looks amazing, what a model to have for my first maternity shoot. She and Carter had a blast putting up with all my 'posing'. We finished up at the beach at sunset. Not a bad life this kid's coming into :)

Enjoy!