Let's go fishing

I had seen this magnetic fishing puzzle game at a bookstore and almost bought it for Emma but was hesitant she would be too young to understand the concept. After hearing a friend of mine who has a little girl Emma's age rave about how much she loves it, I decided to get Emma one. When I saw that Michael's had them for 5 dollars I went ahead and bought her two. I was a bit disappointed when I saw that once you take the pieces out, the matching image is not printed on the bottom of the board. I knew it would make matching back the pieces harder for Emma. Well I was wrong and Emma amazed me yet again. She was putting back the pieces after only seeing me do it once. Mastering the whole fishing pole concept took her longer, but after 2 days she had it down and even knew to hold down the piece with her other hand to release it from the pole. She really likes it and I'm glad I kept the second one. She is too much and tho she wears me out and I can't take her to indoor places without causing a scene, I love her and she makes me proud.

Vamos Mexico!

grrr, that was so off sides!

lemme book it before my bookie comes a lookin' for me

i've got the fever!!!

World Cup Fever, Go Germany!

in your face England!!

nuttin to see here.

Gol!

So I have turned somewhat into a sports fan, gasp, but only for World Cup Fever. I used to only watch Mexico play and the final game of the WC, but something happened and I have been really into watching most of the games. I especially enjoy the games on lazy Sundays. I even get dorky and try to eat or drink something traditional to the country playing. This weekend was Germany vs England and Mexico vs Argentina. I dressed my little girl up in some liederhosen that were once my brothers and then switched her to a little Mexican dress. She was really into the Mexico game, eating chips and salsa but after a while, she got a little scared with our constant yelling "NO!" and even felt a little jealous. After 15 mns she started bringing all her toys up to us with the hopes of getting our attention off of the tv, it was really sweet. Anyway, here are some pics of her in her "native" gear! I love Germany and was so happy they won, and tho Mexico lost I cant wait for Germany to avenge us and destroy Argentina....I tend to have a flair for the dramatic.

COLOR!

check out her guns.

Emma loves to color. That and reading are the two activities where she seems to stay seated for more than 5mns. She is starting to learn the names of colors and has said azul and purple but i don't know if she is able to connects the words to the actual color. I think I have heard her say amarillo and orange but it is still too early. She does say the word color and finally understand what coloring books are for. She knows the difference between coloring and reading books and loves to just go crazy on her pages. She also loves the cup I use to store her crayons. She always puts back all her crayons after she is done, which is strange considering she leaves everything else sprawled out.

Bubbles

Emma loves bubbles. She loves to say bubbles and she loves to play with bubbles and take bubble baths. I tried to get a pic of just her head floating atop the white sea of bubbles but she is never still long enough. Either way she loves taking bubble baths and is real good at not putting up a fight when it is time to get out.

Emma and the swing

I knew that the day Emma watched these older kids ride the swing belly side down, Emma was taking mental note and the day has come where her limbs are long enough for her to do just so. She is so funny, as she lays on the swing wrong side down, she goes "weeee, weee". Punk.

emma loves to read, part I lost count

it looks as if she really is reading

Emma's room, part one.

her dolls from the world collection

her reading corner

arial view of her play area

her book shelf with her "fancy" books

So this past weekend we finally hung up some of E's Etsy finds. We also rearranged some of her things. Above her crib it looks bare and I have been working on a fox garland and I really need to just finish it. I am nervous about placing items over her crib as she likes to either pull or smack at things. I need for whatever goes above her head to be something very safe. No chocking hazards or concussion risks here. Time just is never enough when I'm at home. It is amazing how E is a little Tasmanian devil and we can pick up one room only to turn around and have it be back to a mess. Here are just a few pics of E's room. Baby steps.

peepee

see the blueish looking thing in the middle of the pic...diaper!

This morning started off with a laugh. I go to get Emma up and she is sitting up and smiling. She points to her diaper and says "peepee". The funny thing is the diaper is no longer on her but rather in a ball to the side of her and she is STILL wearing her pj bottoms. I have no idea how she did it, I guess Emma really is the next Houdini.

She also loves the camera and when she hears the flash she starts hamming it up.

happy almost father's day!

this really is my favorite pic of E and papa!

So Emma made it on another blog! wha wha!! check her out! Pure Bliss. She wanted to give a shout out to her favorite papa!! I kid....I have discovered a new designer named Cat Seto! She has this baby milestones calendar that I am coveting. I troll her Etsy shop every day in hopes that she finally has put it up for sale. She is also a mom and has this great blog called Designing Moms. She seems to have it all, even a fantastic paper shop in San Fran...A girl can dream. I am a fan and she was so gracious as to put up a shout out to my man for daddy's day...even though we don't celebrate holidays :)

whoa

i know i have been slacking in the photo department but I promise I will return with some fun filled pics. Just a quick update. Emma started saying "wow" the other day and it has now morphed into a whoa, like the kid from Blossom. She loves to get on her car and throw herself back as if she were riding a mechanical bull and go "whoa". Too much!

Renegade Fair, finale part

So I mentioned there were two, new artist that I fell in love with at the Renegade Fair, I am excluding artists who I already knew, Strawberry Luna and Sycamore Street Press to name a few. The first being Coral and Tusk and the second being SKT ceramics. The artist Susannah Tisue makes the most beautiful porcelain pottery. She has these lovely cups and bowls...they are a tad $$ but the good thing is she is always at the Brooklyn Flea markets on Saturdays. If I really want to go crazy, I know where to find her, plus she has an etsy shop. Speaking of which, for some reason I am really craving porcelain cups. I had come across this other ceramicist named Meikongo who makes the most adorable, delicate cups. It would be a dream if Emma were a true princess and could drink from of them without running the risk shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces, but alas I know plastic is the way to go for now. They are still such a delight to look at. I love this one of a bear sitting on its honeycomb, just chilling...reminds me of Emma and how she uses non chair objects to sit on.

crave

Ink + Wit have lovely items...check out the Paris stamps

I want this poster so bad. I love foxes and I adore Paris....ho hum..50 bucks is a tad much now...plus I'm running out of wall space...but it is such a lovely print...maybe for my bday, who saya everything has to be for Emma?!

Olivia the pig party countdown!! T minus a little over 3 months!!

Emma likes to sing along to the Olivia theme song. It is an easy song to sing as the only lyric is the name Olivia. There is a part at the end where the last Olivia is really long and high pitched and Emma just loves hitting that note. Emma is a fan , as I have been for the past 10 years. I decided that I am going to throw her an Olivia-esque party. I have started making the party favors now so that I wont be up until 3 am like last year. It will be a simple party, pizza, cake and such, at a public park that has swings and water sprinklers. Since I wont really be able to decorate, I am going all out with the party favors. I am going to make really nice gift bags. Some ideas I am working on is decorating plain canvas totes with some Olivia iron-ons that you can download for free on the Nick JR site. I will fill them with crayons, coloring book/pages. A diva jewelry kit that I will make with jewelry I found on Oriental Trading. I love that site..it is just dangerous!! I want to also include some candy and here are some labels I have been working at.

not the best pic..just some tests to see how the labels line up on the Hershey nuggets

I also made these water bottle labels that I have to figure out how to print so they don't disintegrate in the Florida heat. They don't look pixelated...just another test print.

I also am cutting out these cute straw toppers that I also found on the Nick Jr site . I found these lovely red and white paper straws at my new favorite online store Garnish! How great will they look when they are cut well and placed with these cute straws? Trouble!!!

little emma no morah

It is sometimes hard to believe that there is another little human being that lives with us. She has feelings and a voice, likes and dislikes. She really is a cutie, a sweetheart. She has mastered the art of asking for cookies. She also says more and car in the cutest Boston accent. I have no idea where she got that from. "Morah" and "cahr"

This morning she wanted to listen to the Fathers day card we got Grandpapa. Yes, I said listen. It seems the only cards left at my local Walgreens were the Hallmark cards that play music. She was so happy dancing in the aisles as we decided which one to get grandpa. We finally settled on one that had a western theme . This morning she saw it on the table, my reminder that is HAD to go out today, and said "musica" She said it in a very paced manner. Moo (pause) si (pause) ca . It finally came out after 6 months of instilling that word in her little brain. I always applaud her and repeat the word and we listened to "Rollin' Rollin Rollin" one more time.

She can say azul now when i ask her what the color of something is, and apparently everything is the color blue.

She calls planes "avons" and always looks up in the sky when she hears them and waves bye bye to them.

She says catch as she throws the ball to you.

She has learned that when she needs help all she as to say is "mama" and no longer whines.

She can reply to the question "como te llamas" and when i asked her what my name was., she said "mama".

She loves saying "night time" and will bring our pillows to the living room and just set up camp there.

She can say monkey and really likes them, go figure.

She really likes to "help" us but ends up giving us more work. she knows that the cat box is cleaned with the scooper, she has scrubbed the tub with the brush, she loves to sweep and in return smash things with the broom. She will wipe down surfaces and enjoys washing dishes. She wipes her face now and her baby's face and will even bath her baby. She saw me beating eggs this moring and later on she went into her play kitchen and grabbed one of her bowls and spoons and started beating a toy can of tuna.

She is really frightened by me blowing my nose for some reason. I have to assure her that I am fine.

I feel there are more small things she has started doing. they will come to me throughout the day.

la de da

I got this idea from Jone's Design Company...I really like how they displayed vintage heirloom pieces. I think I might have to try this for THE dress when the time comes to retire it. It really is a work of art.

Renegade Fair part deux

strawberry luna prints

As I mentioned last week I went to the Renegade Fair in Brooklyn and I saw this lady who had sold me two prints via her Etsy shop. Her panda print caught my eye on one of my many design blogs and I had to buy it and for 16 bucks I feel the price is just right. I love her work and I am a sucker for alphabet posters, prints, books...so I was very happy to meet her and thank her for her lovely work. They are actual screen prints and not digital prints from a photo(that can be so disappointing to see). You can see the quality and she uses lovely paper and the colors are so rich. I went ahead and bought three more!! I got some frames at Ikea that are the right size but the mat is the wrong size. Now I have to get custom mats made. All with time. This morning Emma saw them on the floor and was so happy. She started pointing at the owl saying "buo buo" and "oso" for the panda and when she saw the zebra she went "meeehhh". Emma is kinda eccentric when it comes to naming some animals. She calls them by the sound they make, so a duck is quack quack, a cow is moo, a dog is wa wa, horse/zebra/camel are all "Mehhh", a pig is a snorting sound. She really likes her prints so I will go ahead and hang today and just switch out the mats later. I love that her room is slowly getting the treatment it deserves.

cut paper art

I saw this cut paper piece by Saelee Oh and just love it. Emma's dad used to make me the best cut paper pieces and I wish he would pick that up again. I will have to photograph them and post soon. I always thought he would have done one for emma by now but I guess being a grown up means leaving behind certain things, maybe for her bday...

God bless you

This morning as I sneezed, (thanks Emma for giving me your germs yet again ), Emma looked at me and said clear as day-"God Bless you". I said "Yes, God Bless you" and I thanked her. It was really sweet. I am noticing she is picking up more English than Spanish but I am not giving up. She is starting to put two words together...the other day she said "bye bye arbol" and yesterday she said "more tootie", tootie is cookie and her new favorite word. She knows exactly where we keep them and I realize I am turning her into Pavlov's dog. Yesterday she threw all her puzzles down in rage-she was going on zero nap, and I told her to pick them up. She did and then looked at me and said "good girl" and ran into the kitchen and pointed at the cupboard and said "more cookie". I realize that she is starting to expect a cookie as a reward. She also tells herself good girl when she does what she is supposed to. she is really cute.

Funny Father's Day Cards

Here are some cards I thought were funny, just in time for Father's Day. Even though in our home we don't celebrate holidays, they are still good for a good laugh.

$3.50, Gramkinpaperstudio

$4, wit and whistle

success

after almost a year of trying to figure out how to hyperlink I have done it...now I will be spending more time than needed on this blog....yeah!!!!

Dream items

Owl Pillow

I was at the Renegade Fair this past weekend and two designers caught my eye. I am trying to work on hyperlinking but here is one of them, coral and tusk. I adore their Owl Pillow, but alas for 100 dollars I will pine from a distance. They also have a very smart embroidered Brooklyn map that I bought and will frame this coming weekend. So sweet.

another exciting morning

UPDATE: Emma was sick and that following night was throwing up. Eventually there was nothing left in her stomach and she was just dry heaving. Poor baby. She was a lot braver than Ant or I. i don't want to go!

After her morning milk I noticed that Emma was burping a lot which I thought was a little strange. After she scarfed down her oatmeal she started doing the cat hairball routine and threw it all up. She was fine and wanted to play right away but being as how I was just sick with a stomach bug I couldn't risk getting sick again. I had to spend my morning cleaning up her vomit, herself and myself. Yeah!! I have been practicing poaching eggs and was looking forward to eating my versions of Eggs Benedict...but alas my appetite was killed and I was late to work. The good thing is I think Emma just ate too fast...fingers crossed she is fine the rest of the day.

It really amazes me how children are like sponges and will pick up EVERYTHING. I know I have mentioned before how Emma is really into imitating us and copying our behavior, both good and bad. She also notices every little detail and this morning I was impressed at how attentive she is to even the most mundane of habits. Out of the 10 mugs we have, I always end up drinking out of my Paris mug and Anthony will drink from a blue mug. I never paid attention to how the blue mug was his mug of choice, but Emma surely was the one to notice. I was too lazy to clean my mug so I grabbed the blue mug and when Emma saw I was using the blue mug, she pointed at it and went "papa papa". It took me a while to realize what she was pointing at, as Papa was already into his second hour of teaching. She was noting that the mug I was using was Papa's...but she wasn't scolding me, she was just telling me. You can't pull anything past her.

My baby...she is getting so big...She saw me wearing a headband today and of course she wanted to wear it but I told her that it was mine and we should go pick out one of hers to wear. She actually kept it on...it is sweet how she is starting to want to "dress" like me...I put her in some nice summer sandals that show off her little toes and she went "mama". It said "yes, these are just like mamas". She then pointed at her toes and went "pie".

this morning

what are you looking at?

this is actually conisidered not messy

Emma was so sweet this morning, even though she had a rough one. We kept kissing each other and then on the way out she was hugging me non stop...just squeezing my neck. I realized as I was putting her hair in pigtails how much she has grown. Like I said she is almost up to my hip and when we are in the elevator at the sitters I no longer have to lift her to press the 2nd floor button. Her hair is also longer, her little pigtails are full grown pigtails and not little wisps sticking out of her head. Anyway, here comes why Emma had a rough morning. I was making myself a smoothie and it was the first time Emma heard or saw the blender. She was sitting on her step stool, laughing and then all of a sudden our RB Gato went bananas and attacked her. He got her good and she was crying these big tears, saying " no gato no no no" IT was awful. I cleaned up the wounds and put a band aid on it. Of course when I put neosporin on it she started with the "ouch ouch". Walking to her sitters she stopped and her expression changed. She seemed scared. She didn't want to proceed up the stairs and went the other way. She was crying and when I told her she needed to come this way, she threw herself on the ground and hit her head on the pavement. She was in tears...Overtired and I really feel she is not comfortable around her playmate anymore. He has become very territorial and pushes and growls at her. She cant understand his behavior and herself is not inclined to behave as such. Anyway, summer is around the corner and i think a break is much needed between the two playmates.

Oh and Emma did the cutest thing yesterday as I as working out, she grabbed my two pound weights and started pumping iron. She was so into it, she even gave out the occasional grunt. Too cute...she really imitates us and we need to be on our best behavior. Yesterday I caught her kicking Gato while she saying "no" I know she got that from Ant who was trying to protect his calves from Gato....so monkey see, monkey do, I need to be extra careful around her.

Emma stands her ground

Today at lunch, I saw Emma defend herself. Her playmate was pulling her diaper and scratching and pushing her and she just kept saying "NO NO NO" while pointing at him. My baby. I kinda get the feeling she doesn't like her playmate as much as before. Kids are fickle but I guess Emma doesn't like being bullied. I know she is still to young to understand the different ways kids play, but as feral as I joke that she is, she is still a gentle soul.

This weekend

yep, this about sums it up

This weekend was rough. I keep thinking Emma can behave somewhat civilly only to be disappointed, not in her, but at myself for not having patience or acceptance. I had a whole day planned, breakfast at Cafe Henri, walk around LIC and then hit up the Renegade Fair in Brooklyn. Emma lasted maybe 5 minutes in her high chair and then wanted to take off , so we had to put Toy Story on and I could feel the other parents eye staring at us and judging us for calming our kid down with TV. I felt like a failure because I am against my daughter watching too much TV, yet it is the one thing that will keep her seated and give us a chance to eat our meal. Breakfast was ruined and then she was ready for her nap so we skipped the walk along the pier in hopes she would nap in the car as we drove from Queens to Brooklyn. We get to Brooklyn and there was no nap and Emma is running on empty but cant be stopped. I try to look at things but can't focus because she is crying, hot and cranky. We had to cut the day short and by 1pm we were heading home. That was the shortest we had ever stayed out with her. Usually we plan to stay for the whole day but the heat plus no nap just was a recipe for disaster.

I look at other kids who are younger, the same age or older than Emma and wonder why they are able to sit through one meal. They simply SIT. They play or color and they sit. I cant help but wonder why Emma cant sit. She has to be moving all the time and climbing everything. It is a little sad to know that for now, I cannot take my family out to eat at restaurants and Emma is only "good" when she is outdoors and unrestrained. She is like Mowgli, but it is not the end of the world and I am so grateful that she is healthy and brings unmeasurable joy to my life. She is funny and she is full of love and I adore her. We share moments that make me forget about the struggles I have with her. For example yesterday at the market she was crying to be taken out of the cart. So of course I take her out and I think she wants to be put down but she hugs me...she hugs me really hard and keeps hugging me and just stays in my arms. I was very happy, on cloud nine, and tho she weighs a lot and after 5mns of carrying her my biceps were burning, I keep holding her.

One year later!

little girl in a big forest

It is hard to believe that it has been one year since I started E's blog . I look at her and see that she is no longer a baby baby. I see a little girl who looks like she is ready for kindergarten. It breaks my heart how fast time went/goes/is going. Every night I pop in at least 3 times to watch her sleep and I am amazed by just her size. She once was a bean who was unable to control her limbs , unable to hold up her neck or place a spoon in her mouth. She is now climbing stairs at the ratio of one foot to one step. She doesn't even do that like a baby and place both feet on the step before taking the next, she is fearless. Every time we got home, she used to wait for me at the base of the stairs and hold out her little hand so I could hold her as we ascended the stairs. Now she pushes me away and is on her own. I kinda wish she were more needy, but she doesn't seem to miss me or lack my attention. Of course she does like to sabotage my workouts when she can't figure out how to connect the trains. Anyway, she will be two years old in less than 4 months. I need to start planning and making party favors and decorations. Since Emma is in love with Olivia, we are going to throw her an Olivia Party that is loosely based on Olivia. It will be at an outdoor park that has a playground and water sprinkles. She loves water so much, she would sleep in the tub if we would let her.

Emma is communicating a little more each day. She can pick up some word rather quicker than others. The other day I was bathing her and she was holding up her foot and saying "ouch ouch". I didn't realize what she was saying until I looked down and say big red blisters that her faux crocs had given her. She loves those shoes but they are way too small for her. She is now a size 7 and we need to get her some summer sandals stat. It was just very sweet to hear her express pain. However now she is being a tad dramatic. When I try to put neosporin on her booboos, she starts with the over-the-top "ouch ouch".

The other day we were driving and it was really hot. About 15 mns into our drive we hear Emma start say "hot hot" We realized the sun was hitting her and making her skin hot. I had to pull over to put a sweater in the window to block out the heat. I am working on her saying "help" or "ayuda" and "please". She has the "Gracias" down perfect. Since I am trying to make her bilingual I fear she is not speaking as well as she should or could. She talks a lot and with intent, but it is mostly gibberish with the occasional clear word mixed in. It does make us smile because she talks as if she were a lawyer giving a grand dissertation. She spent about 15mns the other day just scolding the cat. She just kept saying "no gato no" The poor cat wasn't even doing anything, just chilling in the background, but Emma had learned by example. It is true that kids will pick up everything and we need to be really careful when doing things in front of her. Yesterday I burped out loud and Emma copied me by making this funny burp/growl sound. She did it again this morning and it cracks me up but I need to make sure I display proper etiquette in front of Emma. Emma is my baby but not a baby. She is almost up to my hip and when she is at a playground she is as tall if not taller than most 3 year old!! I must accept that Emma will be at least 5'9 maybe 5'11. A supermodel!

look at these sexy gams!!