Thanksgiving Part 2

We shared a wonderful Thanksgiving with our dear friends from NY, Uncle Chris and Uncle Dan, Jennifer and Craig, Carrie and her daughter Anna (who flew in from NY just like last year.) Anna was so caring and thoughtful with Jemma and even though she's 6 and Jemma's almost 3 they played so well together. Jemma got the iPod bug when Anna put her ear plugs in Jemma's ears, and they had a wild game of Twister - albeit with their own set of rules. The food this year was sumptuous - it was super gourmet and so much fun to prepare with Uncle Chris with Carrie as our sous chef. There were 8 adults, 5 dogs and 2 kids and we ate like pigs, watched Hairspray and Free to Be You and Me (Jemma's all time fave) and watched some pretty hilarious videos on YouTube. And of course we were all grateful to be sharing another year together. "In a life of plenty and prosperity it is easy to take things for granted. Thanksgiving focuses our minds on our blessings rather than on our problems. It makes the heart glad for what we have been given, and it takes our minds off the burdens we all have."

Head Stands!

Thanksgiving morning, we woke Jemma up and shouted, "Hooray, it's Thanksgiving!" And her response was, "Again?" She thought it was all done with at nursery school. Then mommy and Jemma had some fun practicing our baby yoga and headstands. We haven't progressed to the hard floor yet, but we sure enjoyed inverting on the couch.

Thanksgiving Part 1

At Jemma's nursery school, Oak Glen, we had the most wonderful Thanksgiving potluck. Everybody brought a sumptuous dish (I swear, Nancy, our fearless leader, chooses kids based on the parents ability to cook!) and a long, low table was set for the children, and then the parents served the children. It was very moving. Before our big feast, Zachery came to play some songs and we all sang together and after the feast, the children played like mad! Jemma's teachers, Nancy, Latif and Charmaine, are the most wonderful caretakers - there's also Jaime, but she came a little later with the roasted corn nibblets! We are so blessed to be part of such an amazing school and community of parents and children - Jemma LOVES Oak Glen and so do we! Thank you, Nancy!

Garden Girl

The thing about Jemma is, she wants to try everything herself - and she's not satisfied until she figures it out - even if it means getting hurt or totally soaked! Notice, she didn't even stop to get out of her high heels to wield the power hose!

Alphadog

Ask Jemma what kind of dogs she has and she'll tell you a Labradoodle and a Bichon. But make no mistake as to who the top dog in our house is...

Home, Sweet Home

Our house was featured at the 5th annual Echo Park Historic Home Tour and we really enjoyed being a part of it. At first, we were a little freaked out that half of Los Angeles was going to crawl through our home, but it wasn't like that at all. There were a little over 400 people but their arrivals were staggered, and then they were gently ushered in by very knowledgeable docents. We really felt the pride of ownership with our sweet, little house.

Smoothie Move

Here are some photos from the summer when the four musketeers got together and played like mad and then stopped and made some delicious smoothies! Are these kids cute, or what? (Jemma would say, "Or what!")

Trick or Treat 2007!

Mary Had A Little Lamb and her friend the Kangaroo had a wonderful time trick or treating this year. Jemma began to grapple with the idea of things being scary for fun - like the big Frankenstein head in the bowl! So she would say things like, "I was scared but I'm not scared anymore because I'm a big girl." We never give Jemma candy but c'mon, it's Halloween! The girls enjoyed munching on their lollipops and Jemma particularly enjoyed her Twix bar. But more than anything when you ask her what her favorite part of Halloween was she says, "My freckles." Indeed.

Not a Carousel in the World...

Jemma's new obsession is the carousel in Griffith Park. She's been watching the DVD of "Free to be You and Me" (remember that?!) and it opens with a carousel. Also, Jemma finally got her first, professional haircut. Mommy and Jemma went to a fancy salon in Beverly Hills and Lily (who does Brad Pitt and other celebs) gave Jemma the royal treatment. The whole salon went nuts over Jemma - she was their biggest celebrity yet!

Cutie, Dad & Ollie

Look at these snuggle bunnies! Jemma has become so affectionate with Ollie lately and loves to share Daddy's lap with him. It's taken Ollie a long time but he's finally coming around to really loving Jemma. Awwwww...