Sunday, January 23, 2011

Girls' Weekend

This weekend, I traveled to Washington DC to see two of my best friends from high school. We didn't really take any pictures and we didn't do a whole lot more than sit around, talk and laugh, but it was one of the best weekends I've had in a while.

It's been almost 20 years since this picture of us was taken. Hot retainer, huh?



While not taken this weekend, here's a more recent photo of us as grown ups.



Ben has been having a great time as a single dad this weekend, and has been keeping me up-to-date with pictures like this one.



I can't wait to get home to see them! (I am blogging from in-flight wifi. How cool is that?)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Peter the Spy

Lately, Ben has been sending me a daily picture or video of what happens when he walks Peter to daycare in the mornings.



They walk past a house with a fountain in the courtyard and each time they go by, Peter tries to spy on the water.




He is obsessed!




I love this video. "Wa wa!"




Saturday, January 15, 2011

Beach in January

One of the top three things I love about LA is the weather. The other two are valet parking and Fred Segal.

Today, it was 80 degrees and sunny. In January. So, we went to the beach.


Peter loves pointing out airplanes in the sky. There were lots to see this afternoon.


So much sand!


We waited and watched the sun set. It was really cool.


Peter and his dad played in the sand.



What a beautiful day!



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Guess What Happened Right Before this Photo Was Taken

Would anyone care to guess what happened about 10 seconds before this photo was taken?



The first person who guesses correctly gets an 8 x 10 of this...





Sunday, January 9, 2011

A Gymboree Day

Peter has been going to a Gymboree class on Saturday mornings since September. He really loves the class, and this weekend was especially cool because Peter graduated to Level 4, which is so much cooler than Level 3.



"OK, Mom, I'm finished climbing up the slide. What's next?"



Peter's friend, Alexandra, is also in the class with him.


Hi, guys.


Inner tubes are obviously one of the best parts of Gymboree.




It's fun to climb through them...



... and crawl under them.



Hip, hip, hooray! It's a Gymboree day! (That's what we say at the end of every class. Please don't think less of me for repeating it here.)


Monday, January 3, 2011

What a year!

Happy New Year! As a family, we are all very excited for 2011 and all that it brings. We are most looking forward to the arrival of Peter's little sister in March, though I have to admit we are a little nervous, too. Sleepless nights with a newborn and toddler? It's hard to get excited for that.

2010 was quite a year for us. As I look back on photos and videos from the past year, I realize just how much our lives have changed. A year ago, Peter was still basically immobile. He was just learning how to roll over, and now he is walking, talking, running, throwing, dancing, climbing... and sometimes hitting.

A few of my favorite moments of 2010...


Remember Peter's helmet? Holy moly, it almost seems like it never happened. Until you look at the pictures.


Peter ate real food for the first time on Valentine's Day weekend. It was a sweet potato, and he loved it! His favorites were sweet potatoes and peas and butternut squash. I made weekly trips to the farmer's market to buy organic produce and made my own baby food for him.


Cut to 10 months later, and now he no longer likes sweet potatoes, peas or squash. In fact, he pretty much survives on hummus, hot dogs ("og og" according to Peter) and strawberries (rarely the organic kind).


At least he got a good start.



I love this video of Peter's first steps in September. It took him a long time to make the leap from walking while holding our hands to doing it on his own, but now there is no turning back. In fact, he will hardly hold our hands at all anymore, which isn't the easiest thing considering that we live in the middle of Los Angeles and have LOTS of reason to hold Peter's hand while walking around town.



One of Peter's first words was "bubbles", which was so cute, especially noting the enthusiasm with which he said it every time. Now, he has a pretty big vocabulary which includes the following:


In his highchair: more, all done, hot dog, banana, water


Out and about: car, moon, dog (usually followed by a bark)


At home: light, book, color, and all sorts of body parts (He is particularly into "eye" and does not
hesitate pointing out our eyes by suddenly touching them. He also does this with the cat, which is going to get him in trouble some day soon.)

Two of my favorite communications developments within the past week: 1. If I ask Peter a question that he doesn't know the answer to, he will hold up his hands and shrug his shoulders, as if to say "I don't know", 2. He says "no" a lot, so to counter balance, we taught him a cool way to say "yes". If you really emphasize the word and also do an arm pump -- sort of like you are saying "Score!" -- it is really fun. So, now Peter enthusiastically agrees with a lot of what we say. I wonder how long that will last.



Cheers and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2011 to all!