Treasure Print Necklace

Last Christmas my mother gave me a very special gift. It was ball of wax that I was to use to get an imprint of Marylin's finger (thumb), mail to the Jennifer Kaufman boutique in the Beverly Center and they would send me back a little white gold necklace charm of Marylin's little print on a stone chain. I waited until Marylin was a year to get her print as the longer you wait, the better print you get. I mailed the wax imprint in and they sent me the necklace in the picture below just in time for Christmas. I know it is kind of blurry but the charm is Marylin's thumb print and it's on a necklace of little pink and dark (almost black) stones. One nice thing is I can take the charm off and wear it on a white gold chain if I want to which is cool since I don't wear a lot of pink. I just LOVE this necklace folks. There is just something about it that is soooo special to me. If you're interested in purchasing a necklace like this (they do all different bead/stone combos) check out Jennifer Kaufman at http://www.jenniferkaufman.com/product_info.php?products_id=210

Marylin enjoying her little kitchen set from a dear family friend, Masahiro. Thank you Masa! :)

Marylin on her new rocking horse from Grandma and Papa

Marylin decided that it would be funny to walk around with a cookie in her mouth ... I have to agree ;)

Not only did Marylin let me put her hair up, she actually left her hair like that all morning ... Amazing!

Pooped after a long day

Marylin enjoying just some of her Christmas gifts

Seven Things

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1. Finally go on my honeymoon to Greece
2. Get my MA in Classics
3. Meet Toni Morrison
4. Own a winery with Mike
5. Watch Marylin get married
6. Visit France and Italy
7. Travel the United States (must visit NY!)

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Drive a stick shift
2. My multiplication tables - there Mike, I said it, lol ;)
3. I cannot stand idiots - make my skin crawl!
4. Let Marylin have a childhood like mine - must make sure that never happens
5. Draw a straight line - even with a ruler ;)
6. I cannot stand cat fur on my couch - it makes me crazy!
7. I can't light a fire without matches

Seven Things That Attract Me to My Spouse:
1. His brains. He is as smart as they come.
2. His patience - he is 100 times more patient than I am
3. His gentle nature and understanding.
4. His good taste in quality things. Especially in jewelry ;)
5. His height. He is good and tall; just how I like 'em.
6. He worships the ground baby girl and I walk on - doesn't get much better than that.
7. His yellow submarine

Seven Things I Say (or write) Most Often:
1. Babe
2. Got it
3. Awesome
4. Baby Girl
5. Miss Marylin
6. Good Job Baby Girl!
7. Fucking Moron (not to baby girl - only to morons)

Seven Books I Love:
1. Sula (Toni Morrison)
2. The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison)
3. Beloved (Toni Morrison)
4. The Good Earth (Pearl S Buck)
5. Greek tragedy (Just about all of it)
6. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (lol)
7. Memoirs of a Geisha (Bruce Golden)

Seven Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Charade
2. Somewhere in Time
3. Amelie
4. Bambi
5. My Fair Lady
6. Roman Holiday
7. Breakfast at Tiffany's

People I Want to Join in and Be Tagged:
1. Buggy
2. Lisa
3. Kylie
4. Mike
5. China
6. Angie

This time last year ...

I opened a folder with all of Baby Marylin's first Christmas pictures in it this evening and I just cannot believe how much she has grown and changed in one year. This time last year she was only 3 months old and couldn't even sit up. Now she is running around everywhere and leading me to the kitchen whenever she wants a snack or a cup of milk. Growing up really is bitter sweet and these pictures sure do make us nostalgic ... not nostalgic enough to have another one though ;) In any case, enjoy the pictures from Christmas last year.

Merry Christmas Baby Marylin and Merry Christmas All!

Baby Marylin's first Christmas portraits. We tried to take portraits this year but she cried the whole time, held out her hands and said "done!" Needless to say, portraits didn't happen :(

Pooped from a long Christmas day

Another very tired but very happy daddy

Marylin in her little Ugg boots - she lives in these boots now. Waahhh she is growing toooo fast!

Baby Marylin and a very tired daddy

Baby Marylin with her cousin, Tony. He was so in love with her then and still is.

Marylin and a very chunky mama on Christmas morning before pressies.

Marylin with Santa. He might be weird looking but she looks like an angel. We didn't even attempt a visit to santa this year - she would have screamed!

Give Bella a Kiss and Where are Mama's Ears?

Marylin surprises us with a new thing (or TWO) every day. This afternoon we asked her to show us her ear and to our surprise she pointed right to it. She then proceeded to point to both mommy and daddy's ears. Mike and I were totally SHOCKED.

Later that evening she went to pet Bella (our cat) and I said "Give Bella a kiss" (not thinking she would really know how to react) and low and behold she started blowing kisses and trying to kiss Bella directly. I then asked her to give Mommy kisses but that wasn't happening. Maybe tomorrow ...

Rash, Cold and New Words

Marylin's rash seems to be getting a lot better. I took her to her dr the other day and he said it really does look like eczema. He wants me to take extreme measures at keeping her moisturized and if it is not gone in a week he will send us on over to a pediatric dermotologist. I've been rubbing cream on her at least 3 times a day and just hoping that it clears on it's own soon. :(

She has a bit of a runny nose which I thought was from teething. Nope. Cold season is in full swing.

Add a couple words to Marylin's list:

"Thank you" (sounds like dank do) and "Hello" (sounds like "hewo")... she nods when she says thank you and she walks around saying "hello, hello, hello" ... it's pretty darn cute!

Add four more molars to the list

Marylin is cutting 4 molars right now all at the same time! Poor baby. She's pretty grumpy because of it and I'm trying to cut her some serious slack. I'm also starting to wonder if the rash she has on her face (etc) is from teething ...? I don't know. :( One of the top molars is starting to cut but otherwise her gums are just really swollen. Poor Marylin.

Allison and Jed (Avery's parents) invited us over to a lovely little Christmas party last night. Allie snapped these pictures of the girls ...

Hey - you're my height!

Hi Avery - How do you like my zipper? :)

Playing with Avery's magnetic alphabet

Marylin received a Christmas card from Avery (Marylin's b/f/f) the other day. She proceeded to run around with it, laugh at it, and put her face up to it/all over it. I snapped this picture. Merry Christmas Avery Jane :)

Daddy took Marylin to the park last weekend and she brought these home with her. These are the first little goodies she has brought home from the park. I think I'll keep them for a while ;)

Memory

Marylin is becoming more of a little girl and less of a little baby every day; it is blowing me away.

Yesterday she came over to me as I was on the computer and dropped my cell phone (her favorite toy) on the floor next to my feet. I didn't pay much attention to it and figured I would just pick it up when I was done on the computer. Five or so minutes pass by and I realize I need to call my sister, Anique, so I get up from the desk and start looking everywhere for my phone (not remembering where it was). I finally ask Marylin (not thinking she would know or react to my question at all) if she knew where my phone was. She looked at me, looked over at my desk, and toddled over to the desk and pointed to it on the floor. I was SHOCKED!! Not only did she understand my question to her, she recalled where she had dropped it earlier. She is 14 months, folks!

And get this - the night before, she was in her room pointing at something and saying "that, that, that." I followed her little finger and her requests for the "that" she had in mind and was led all the way to the kitchen. As soon as I got to the kitchen I figured she was going to lead me to her animal crackers (she knows where those are and asks for them all the time). Needless to say, I was beyond shocked when she pointed to her binki I must have left on my open cook book some time ealier. I didn't even remember it was there but she obviously did. She proceeded to pick up her binki off of her book and was happy.

OK so this might be normal 14-month-old behavior (and I know that my lack of memory is getting pretty normal, lol) but as a new mom, I'm still sitting here in shock at how smart my baby girl is getting. OH add two new words to the mix in two days ("hello" and "eye") ... amazing!

Santa Mommy and Daddy know you've been good, Miss Marylin

(Sorry in advance for all the nasty looking links.)

Marylin has clearly been a very good girl this year and has been rewarded greatly for her "goodness" ;)

Today Mike and I spent the whole doay on Marylin's Christmas pressies. That's right folks, we dedicated our day to spoiling our little baby girl because that's what Christmas is all about! :) We took a trip out to Pasadena to check out a Pottery Barn Kid's book shelf. Our goal is to make Marylin's room an inviting, fun, and cozy space now that she is a toddler. Time to turn it into a little girl's room.

Her grandma Gerry has purchased her a table and chair set as well as a toy chest so that should go perfectly in Marylin's new little room.

Mike and I purchased her an adorable doll house book case from Potter Barn Kids (the one that was on her wishlist) :) Here is a link:

http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com//cat/pip.cfm?src=schp1%7Ct4%7Cv0%7Cwbook%5Cscase%2Fhme&pkey=xsrd0n1%7C16%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cbook%20case&gids=k4134&cmsrc=kwd

OH and for any moms thinking about purchasing this for your little one, go to the store if you can. We saved about 100 bucks doing it that way (they get you with the shipping when you order online).


We've picked up a few other special things for Marylin as well. Here is a list of Marylin's gifts from us (aside from her bookcase) thus far. Do you think she has enough?

Books:

Allison Jay (thanks for the tips, Allie):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803726171/qid=1134282666/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4646651-6320669?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841486116/ref=pd_bxgy_img_b/103-4646651-6320669?%5Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525475249/qid=1134282666/sr=8-5/ref=pd_bbs_5/103-4646651-6320669?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

What Do You Say?" (coool book!):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0689854048/qid=1134282924/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4646651-6320669?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Soft Shapes: Big and Little:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1584760214/qid=1134282880/sr=8-5/ref=pd_bbs_5/103-4646651-6320669?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Toys:

Aquadoodle:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008X343/qid=1134283172/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4646651-6320669

Learning Home (Marylin's B-F-F, Avery, has this and Marylin LOVES it so we decided to copy, we simply couldn't resist):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000284X6W/qid=1134283200/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4646651-6320669?v=glance&s=toys

An animal sounds spin-toy. Sorry, don't remember the name.

Robeez Shoes:

http://www.robeez.com/product.aspx?ProductID=122&deptid=3&PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US

4 pair of COZY Pajamas from Carters.

Hmm that's all I can think of right now. I'll be adding this to her wishlist as soon as I can get my webmaster (he he) to do it for me ... she is busier than all get-up these days:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008ZCEE/qid=1134283721/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4646651-6320669

Am I stylin' or what?

How do you like my cute jeans? Mom wishes she had a pair, too.

Dearest "Auntie" Viv

Dearest "Auntie" Viv,

Thank you very much for my Christmas present. I received it in the mail today. Mommy and I are both very curious as to what it is and I tried to open it, but mommy wouldn't let me. She said I had to wait until Christmas. When mommy told me that I became very angry but had no choice but to mind her :) I cannot wait to open my gift allll the way from the UK. Please come and visit me soon.

Big hugs and kisses,

Marylin

We saw the Dr today

He checked her for strep throat as she had some white on her tonsil but it came back negative. She has a very slight temp. He said it is one of three things:

1. alergic reaction to something

2. viral infection that needs to run it's course

3. chicken pox - beginning stages.

He said the way that it has started at her hair line and is now working it's way down is classic of chicken pox. However, she was just immunized against chicken pox so it is most likely not that. If, however, she get's blisters, then it's chicken pox.

What to do: he gave me clarinex and I am to give it to her once a day for about a week. Also, hydrocortisone cream for a week. Both to ease the itching. If it get's worse or does not go away, he will treat her with steroids but he didn't want to do that off the bat. One funny thing is that she has two bites on her finger. They are really quite large and looks like spider bites but it could be a little flea bite. It's possible that this rash is a reaction to a bite, too. I don't know I guess we'll see what happens. Poor baby girl!!

Marylin with calamine lotion on her rash to make her feel better :(

Rash

Marylin has a rash going on right now and I'm not sure what from. I showed it to the pharmacist and he said get her to a dr asap so I'll be taking her in at 2 pm. I'm posting pictures in case one of you mom's out there recognize the rash and have any tips ...

Front of her face

Otherside of her face

Side of her face

Back of Marylin's head where she has been scratching

Two New Teeth!

Little Miss Marylin has cut her bottom left tooth and is about to cut her bottom right. That would be 4L and 4R on the picture above. Good job baby girl :)

Two New Things ...

Word:

Marylin can now add "light" to her list of words. She has been pointing to the lights on the Christmas tree and on the ceiling and saying "light" (sounds like "dye" or "dite" but that's ok) since yesterday. Good job baby girl!

Discovery:

How to flush the toilet. uh oh! It was quite by accident but let me tell you, it was one cool discovery as far as Marylin was concerned. Let's hope she doesn't learn how to open the lid any time soon. It would suck to start losing lipsticks or cell phones to the toilet!

Dear friend

This is a picture of my very dear friend Angie and her son, Ryan. I received it this morning and it made my day! Angie and I go way back - we were best buds when we lived together in Japan when I was 13-14. We used to get into so much trouble together! She was like my big sister and was the first person I told when I started my ... girl thing ... :) I haven't seen her since Japan, if you can believe it, but we write each other often and swear our paths will cross again one day soon.

Love you both xox

For the first time ever . . .

I left Marylin with someone (her dad) in order to go out for a couple hours and accomplish something (an important meeting) without her. That's right folks, I have never had someone watch Marylin. In fact, the longest time she has ever been without me is when she went out for a walk around the block with her dad. I have never just taken off for a couple of hours to do something on my own without her. I must say, it was really hard leaving. In fact, I cried. It was a good thing I had Anique with me to remind me during the drive to our location of business that Marylin was going to be ok. It was also good that we met up with Allison who knew the feeling and could empathise. I had to remind myself a few times during my time out that Marylin was just fine, was not going to think I was abandoning her, was going to be here when I returned and was in the best care she could be in (aside from me of course, lol). Honestly, I think getting away for a little bit was a good thing for the both of us and it was also a good thing for daddy - he got extra snuggles in while I was away and he seemed very happy about that.

After 14 months and a week ...

Marylin is no longer nursing. Well, almost.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would nurse Marylin for 14 months. Never. I committed to nursing her for 12 months and figured that we would both be over it by then. Well, although I was certainly pretty much over it by then, she was certainly not. She is, quite frankly, a boobie-monster. Seriously. The child wants to nurse all the time. No wonder I am a size smaller post baby than I was when I got pregnant.

I say she is "almost" weaned as I nursed her once today (first time in about 48 hours) as my ta-ta's were engorged and I was in pain. Naturally Marylin was very happy at the opportunity to nurse one last time. I must admit, although I am happy to have my boobs back to myself, the thought that she will no longer need nourishment from me (ever) is kind of sad :( Oh well, can't keep the child hooked up forever (that would be weird) and we're finding plenty of opportunities to get our cuddle time in in other ways.

Time to start watching what I eat again ... ;)

Here is our simple but sweet little tree. The bottom half is all Marylin safe ... next year we might be able to bring some of the glass ornaments a little lower, we'll see.

Check this out - we managed to drive our close-to-8-foot-tree home on top of my Saturn. I'm impressed!

Marylin, helping to pick our Christmas tree! It was so much fun!

Marylin helping to decorate the tree. The little elf ornament is very special as it was given to Mike when he was 2 - his favorite childhood ornament.

Marylin's first Christmas tree

Over the thanksgiving day weekend, Mike, Marylin and I all went out to find our first Christmas tree. Mike was a very good sport and let us have a real tree - YIPPEE. The house smells like Christmas and I'm loving the holidays already. We found a beautiful 7.5 foot tree - it's lovely! As you can tell from the pictures, all the glass/breakable ornaments are on the top half of the tree while all the "Marylin Safe" ornaments are on the bottom. I didn't want her to constantly be in trouble for touching the tree so we decided to make it Marylin friendly, for the most part. She is facinated by the tree and all of the Christmas decorations that are on display now ... I'm glad that she is going to take after her mom and love Christmas. :)

Check out my Ugg boots! Am I stylin or what?

This is for you Avery - how do I look!?

Love my little out fit :)

Playing with my stroller!

Playing games with daddy!

Sleepy head!

Hiding her face ...

Marylin did something that shocked the hell out of my mother and I the other day. She hid her face in my chest and squeezed her eyes shut because she got scared when my mother and step father walked in the door and were very excited to see her. Every time my step father would try to talk to Marylin she would hold her eyes closed and refused to open them. Occasionally she would peek to see if anyone was still there or if her bad dream was over. It was pretty funny to be totally honest but sad none-the-less. I do think that she is slowlygetting over here fear of strangers (actually, fear of anyone other than mom regardless of how many times she has met them) ever since she started walking. By the end of our visit Marylin actually held out her arms to go to my mom. Needless to say my mother about melted and I about died.

New Look to Marylin's Blog

Allison created this new look for Marylin's blog. I love it! I think it is snazzy as hell! What do you think?

Marylin the Artist

I bought Marylin some markers and paper the other day to see how she would take to the world of coloring and let me tell you, she LOVES it. Naturally I have kept her first little masterpiece and will add it to my collection of Marylin's special things (like a lock of her hair, her coming home outfit, first shoes, etc etc). Below you see Marylin and her drawing, I think Picasso would be proud ;)

Flu shot part 1

I took Marylin into her pedeatrician's office today to get her 1st of a two part flu shot. Poor thing - she HATES it in there. In fact, she starts to scream the minute the doctor walks into the exam room. It breaks my heart. It can't be easy listening to a screaming toddler's heart, either. In any case, Marylin typically gets a fever from the shots so we'll see how she does with this one. Hopefully she won't be too miserable. :( We'll be back in a month to get the second dose and then a few weeks after that for her 15 month well check up (and more shots). It's hard being a little 1 year old :(

With her Jack-O-Lantern

OK so our Jack-O-Lantern had a broken eye and his head started to catch fire (just a bit) but Marylin still dug him. With this we say, good bye Halloween, see you next year ;)

Marylin the pumpkin carver

Check out Marylin trying to scoop out the seeds from her pumpkin. She had a blast playing with those slimy things :)

Miss Marylin in her first Halloween costume.

The neighborhood mom's group got together for a Halloween party today. We dressed Marylin up like a little octopus. She was adorable!

Marylin the octopus

Marylin - the little octopus with some of her little friends

Visiting the pumpkin patch

I took Marylin to the local pumpkin patch today to visit the animals in the petting zoo, say hi to the ponies and pick our a pumpkin to carve for Halloween. She loved it! The pig was by far her favorite animal at the petting zoo but her favorite activity was riding in the wagon.

Marylin's favorite part of the day was riding in the red wagon with our pumpkin.