All the wonderful things about Deia these days... I don't even know where to begin! I want to suck on her skin, chew her up...or just swallow her whole. So madly, deeply in love it hurts some times! What she is saying a lot these days.... More gelato please, I want the whole thing...bubbles, I can't like that (meaning I don't like it), I want to talk to - insert name here, I need to leave a message, Come draw with me, Daddy get to go surfing, Mommy going to class?, Tutti coming over?, I want to go to Gigi's house, Tal is so cute, Magnus coming to my house?, More manu please, I want a lot of bubbles...a biiig one, I want to go in mommy's car, Where's the moooon? - I can't reach it - I can't see it - It's clowy out, We go to the beach, I need my helmet, I need to go pee pee on the potty, I need to change baby diaper, baby is sad - she need a nappy, that's amaaazing, no way, I want Alex and the zebra (aka Madagascar), I want the beast (aka Beauty and the Beast), I have 2 booty marks, kiss attaaaack, kiss my back, we go to a-cation (vacation), h i j k I'm a little p, I want my princess (dress), don't close the door - it's beautiful out, make my tortilla warm please, I can't like it...(means I don't like it), I want to do it myself, look at my wings, want to be a butterfly with me, shishy (for fishy), mommy - I made Quinoa! The list goes on and on and on. Deia is such a talker! She has complete and understandable conversations with just about anyone who will talk with her. It is SO much fun to have this verbal little buddy around! She even tells people in the market check out line that we have to buy deodorant for daddy :) Deia is still loving the beach and the ocean and loves being on the bike. She likes to take her dolls out for walks and look for moki's (squirrels) and miso (the cat). Deia loves the bran muffins from Abbots Habit and her new favorite fun food are Amy's Mini Pizzas...aka Pizza Pockets. She'll put down 10 asparagus spears and loves the truffle cous cous from Lemonade. Deia is an incredible mommy to her baby dolls, making sure they are dressed, fed, napped, danced and loved. And Deia is now dressing herself. She has very specific, favorite items of clothing...all of which she believes are "princess" items. Her purple ruffle tunic, her green pokadot dress and other tops with billowy sleeves. She has also worn her princess costume out a few times already...once with the heels. Love that girl.
Pretty Green Eyed 2 Year Old Love
All the wonderful things about Deia these days... I don't even know where to begin! I want to suck on her skin, chew her up...or just swallow her whole. So madly, deeply in love it hurts some times! What she is saying a lot these days.... More gelato please, I want the whole thing...bubbles, I can't like that (meaning I don't like it), I want to talk to - insert name here, I need to leave a message, Come draw with me, Daddy get to go surfing, Mommy going to class?, Tutti coming over?, I want to go to Gigi's house, Tal is so cute, Magnus coming to my house?, More manu please, I want a lot of bubbles...a biiig one, I want to go in mommy's car, Where's the moooon? - I can't reach it - I can't see it - It's clowy out, We go to the beach, I need my helmet, I need to go pee pee on the potty, I need to change baby diaper, baby is sad - she need a nappy, that's amaaazing, no way, I want Alex and the zebra (aka Madagascar), I want the beast (aka Beauty and the Beast), I have 2 booty marks, kiss attaaaack, kiss my back, we go to a-cation (vacation), h i j k I'm a little p, I want my princess (dress), don't close the door - it's beautiful out, make my tortilla warm please, I can't like it...(means I don't like it), I want to do it myself, look at my wings, want to be a butterfly with me, shishy (for fishy), mommy - I made Quinoa! The list goes on and on and on. Deia is such a talker! She has complete and understandable conversations with just about anyone who will talk with her. It is SO much fun to have this verbal little buddy around! She even tells people in the market check out line that we have to buy deodorant for daddy :) Deia is still loving the beach and the ocean and loves being on the bike. She likes to take her dolls out for walks and look for moki's (squirrels) and miso (the cat). Deia loves the bran muffins from Abbots Habit and her new favorite fun food are Amy's Mini Pizzas...aka Pizza Pockets. She'll put down 10 asparagus spears and loves the truffle cous cous from Lemonade. Deia is an incredible mommy to her baby dolls, making sure they are dressed, fed, napped, danced and loved. And Deia is now dressing herself. She has very specific, favorite items of clothing...all of which she believes are "princess" items. Her purple ruffle tunic, her green pokadot dress and other tops with billowy sleeves. She has also worn her princess costume out a few times already...once with the heels. Love that girl.
Us
Just a pic of the 3 of us. I am always taking the photos, so these images are rare. I am going to make a point of changing that in the new year. YES, I am always around...now we just need more proof.
Cavallo Point Picnic
Anne & Tony set up an amazing picnic overlooking the bridge, bay and city. This spot is just above Cavallo Point, which we love and have fond memories of. We actually spent New Years Eve 2009/10 at this very spot with Mikyo, Trina and La! Spectacular day, incredible views of the bridge and city and plenty of space for Deia to frolic. ...and I love the picnic tables we sat at! Note to self, must buy and have on hand to pull off such a great spur of the moment meal outside!
Christmas
Another wonderful, cozy, rainy Christmas at the Campodonicos. Deia is now old enough to understand that Christmas means presents, a tree with ornaments and has some idea of who Santa Claus is. Among many amazing gifts, the big ticket items were her tricycle and trampoline. We spent almost all of our time in San Francisco with family - Chelsea, Laura, Steve and the Campodonicos. We had a picnic at Cavallo Point, took a gorgeous hike in Marin, went to John and Joan's for the annual dinner and made a couple stops along the way to see the Armels and the Maks. We later took off for Lake Tahoe with Mikyo and Trina. Always a fabulous time up north!
Ojai Thanksgiving
This year we spent Thanksgiving Weekend in Ojai at the Dent house with a LARGE group of new friends and some very close ones. We stayed at the gorgeous Dent House, way up in the mountains and way out of cell range. It was a gorgeous weekend! Deia spent most of her time playing with Tal and Henry and giving a lot of love, maybe too much (?), to baby Lev.
Deia & Mommy
Deia really is my best friend. Although sometimes she is as defiant as a 2 year old would/should be...she is usually full of love and has a genuine desire to spread joy. Lately she has decided that MOM and MAMA are funny options to MOMMY. I sit there thinking, ok it's a phase...she's not really dropping the y yet! She caresses my face constantly and still runs into my arms with total abandon. Feeling her body weight slung on to my chest with her arms tucked between us, is one of the warmest sensations in the world. We still play games where I asked her to blow right on my nose and when she gives me a small kiss..I ask her for a big one, which she plants on me SO hard and for SO long. I find Deia absolutely delicious. The smell of her breath, the softness of her skin, the sweetness of her earlobes, the squishiness of her tushie! It's all yummy. I love feeling the size and shape of her hands as they thin out, change and grow. I notice they are different now. I often stare at her toes, so I don't miss out on the slow eroding of pillow top. I squeeze her thighs and calves and kiss the back of her neck many times a day. Thankfully Deia is a natural little lover. She giggles when we "kiss attack" her and gives back equal physical love. She is kind in the way she reaches out to gently touch the cheeks of other children.
Branches Toddler Program
Every Friday morning Deia and I spend an hour and a half at Branches Preschool in the toddler program. This is a wonderful Reggio school in Santa Monica. We actually took a 6 hour Reggio workshop from the director of the school and fell more in love with the philosophy. So whether or not Deia were to ever attend the school, we are THRILLED to have time there once a week for Deia to be exposed to this approach and in such an inspired environment. It's free play, so to speak, for the first 45 minutes. There are easels and paints set up in various places, water tables, gardening tools, plants, climbing structures, kitchen sets, magnet boards, babies, trucks, balls, sand and more and the children explore. Then it's time for snack and we all sing an adorable song greeting all the children at the table. The kids actually sit together and eat! It's amazing. Then they bus their own plates...whoa. Then there is 30 minutes where the parents separate from the children and enjoy a chat with a children's developmental psychologist. We discuss topics pertinent to this age group. The kids play in the house with the great teachers. Deia is very independent here, rarely coming to me during the time away from me. Always playing with the babies, of course. She is such a good mommy :)
Deia 2nd Bday
Deia's 2nd Birthday party was amazing! We had planned a great TOMS charity event called Style Your Soul. All of the children were going to decorate white canvas TOMS. And for each pair purchased, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need. It's a wonderful organization. Unfortunately, and of course after I cashed all of the checks from our generous friends, TOMS couldn't supply us with a single toddler size!!! They clearly need to have a look at their stock before encouraging people to get involved this way. ANYWAY, it turned out for the best. We met Ruth Steinberg of Little Saplings. She showed up with buckets of soil, gorgeous, colorful flowers, magnifying glasses (for worms and insects) and little planter boxes. I brought decorating supplies for the boxes and the kids had a blast making their take home gardens!! We were actually surprised by what a hit it was. Ruth was so patient and wonderful and the kids gravitated to her and her planting station between pizza, cake and playing at Ozone Park in Venice. For a late October date, we were blessed with a sunny, spectacular day!!! Deia seemed very happy and sang happy birthday to herself :)
Halloween
PocaDeia (little indian princess) was on fire this Halloween. We thought she might be 1 year too young for the madness of trick or treating, but no. Deia completely understood that everyone wore costumes, that you could say something and get chocolate (everything was chocolate...as far as she is concerned there is no other candy than that), and that daddy looked silly in his fear the beard Brian Wilson getup. Mommy was a black cat...with balck wig, ears, whiskers and a tail. We went to the Vadas home for the pre-party and Deia freaked out over the first mask she has ever seen. It took some coaching to get her to be ok with the many other masks she would see. We called them "funny hats" and she would tell the funny hats to go away. We went up and down Rialto with Tal, Shelley and Stephan. We spent some time with Chris and Flynn too! Alecs hung out most of the night when we were home and papi and noni showed up to trick or treat! Trick or treating did get hectic, as Rialto Ave is a hot spot and gets very crowded. So returning home to dish out candy was the best idea of the night. We gave away every last piece of about $350 in candy!!!!!! That's how many people showed up! The most fantastic part of the whole night was Deia taking the initiative to pass out candy. She was in heaven seeing all of the children, she would talk to them, give them a fist full of candy and then wish them a happy halloween. It was remarkable. We were surprised by her enthusiasm and hysterical by the site of her sugar rush. Great night altogether!
Pumpkin Carving
We had a pumpkin carving party with Misty, Chris and Flynn on Deia's actual birthday, Oct. 28th. We had stencils and carving knives, big trash bags for the insides and a big bowl for collecting all of the seeds. We carved about 6 pumpkins that night, all large...some designs more ambitious than others! Since 505 Rialto has been THEE house to see on Halloween for so many years, our multiple pumpkins (plus netting, huge spiders, blacklight, cobwebs and giant eye posters in the upstairs windows) made the house look good...enough ;) Yes, Deia carved in the princess tutu outfit that Flynn bought her for her birthday.
Pumpkin Patch
This year we went to the YMCA pumpkin patch at Temescal Canyon. No tractor rides, no petting zoo, no choo choo train. It was slim pickin's over there, but at least we supported a good cause. Deia ran around among the haystacks and creative celeb scarecrows.
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