Stella's "Children's Place" Photos

The photoshoot for Children's Place was last fall at "The Pasadena House". Stella had a great day and the photos prove it. I think they were singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her when the second shot was snapped.

The Easter Party

What a great day! I've been daydreaming about having an easter egg hunt here at the Altman Ranch ever since I first walked the property. Our lot is long and narrow, oddly shaped but magical, none-the-less. It does seem to go on forever, further and further back, winding around to end with a little grassy back yard. The front yard is decorative and sunny. Lots of tropical plants like sago palms, bird of paradise and tropical ferns hint at the Spanish ranch tucked behind the little front gate. inside the gate, there's more tropical trees, but camellia's too, a fig tree and giant mulberry tree. the next section of the property is a brick patio with a container garden. fifty or more pots are full of a wide variety of plants. past the patio, there's a sweet little shady, woody area with azaleas, cactus and ferns, culminating in an herb and cutting garden. then there's the little patch of grass at the very back. So there's lots to explore, especially for a three year old.
After a brunch of bagels, fruit, egg bake and coffee cake, it was time to hunt eggs. Several of the adults, and some of the older kids (Devyn and Jarrett) hid them outside while I read a story about a chick and a bunny to Alex's playgroup and a few other friends.
The hunt itself lasted about ten minutes. All the children ran wildly around collecting as many eggs as they could. Surprisingly, no one was hurt and not a tear was shed. Many of the kids re-grouped for a session of egg dyeing. Of course, Alex didn't use a spoon and relied on the agility of his own hands to dye his eggs - every one green. His hands were green for the next 24 hours.
Before everyone left we did finally sample David's gorgeous bunny cake. It was delicious, of course - one of the many highlights of the morning. David truly outdoes himself each time he uses his vast creativity.
Spring's been beautiful so far. We're trying to spend lots of time outside right now. It will be sweltering hot before you know it!
Happy Spring!!

Green Eggs and Hands

david's amazing bunny cake

easter party

"i'm three. and that's bad-ask."

"no. thanks."

stella says no!!

So if you ask Stella anything right now her immediate answer, is NO!! "Stella, do you want to take a nap?" "Nnnno!" she says without a moment's hesitation. She'll walk over to me, raise her arms high in the air and say, "up, up up!" and I'll say, "Stella, do you want me to pick you up?" "Nnnno!" she says as her arms reach up to me with little pulses of urgency.
A I sit here typing, Stella has approached me with her empty sippy cup, sucking the straw until a little airy noise is all it provides. "Stella, do you need more water in your sippy cup?" I ask as kindly as possible. "Nnno." she says as she hands me the cup. I go to the sink and fill it, hand it down to her grasping fingers. "Thank" she says and I'm beyond impressed, beyond proud that my feisty little girl who loves to say "NO" also loves to say "thank you". Both phrases will serve her well in life once she understands the appropriate usage.

Alex, meanwhile, is picking up on everything his father and I say. Much of this is good and quite hilarious. Some of it though, gently reminds me that a few short years ago I could say whatever the hell I wanted. Now, I can merely say whatever the heck I want. Alex loves to use big words to express himself. He'll announce that's he's " really frustrated" instead of simply angry. Potty training is finally done. Alex most often describes his poops to me as gigantic and enormous. sometimes they're elephant poops, even! Marshall's been lavishing Alex with praise over his new-found bathroom habits and once referred to Alex's success as "bad-ass". Why he chose this phrase, I have no idea. It's obviously more appropriate during Marshall's recording sessions with young (childless) musicians. Regardless, Alex didn't seem to notice. But our kids hear everything. And a few hours later as I was changing Stella's stinky diaper, Alex was dancing around her room, saying, "Stella, that's bad-ask!" nice.