Lunch With Jayna

When we lived in Cincinnati we were in the same ward as Mike & Jayna Smith. In fact, I was Jayna's Visiting Teacher for some time.

Then we moved to LA almost 2 years ago, and they came out here last year.

We live in different parts of the city, so we haven't seen each other since we both moved here. But a few days ago, Jayna emailed to say she was coming to my neck of the woods, so we got together for lunch.

It was great to catch up and introduce her to Alex, who was born after we moved. I love this picture of Jayna and Avery, even if Avery's hair looks like it has a life of its own! She's wearing her favorite "Super Sleuth Cap." Too cute.

World City: Japan

There is a free, family-oriented program that Music Center in LA does every couple of months. It's called World City, and a different country is featured at each performance. This time it was Japan, and they had a great storyteller (yeah, I forgot to get a picture of her) and a cool musical group.

These guys played taiko drums and wooden flutes and a cool stringed instrument that I forgot the name of, and some brass pots, as well as a TURNTABLE. Yup, they were a "fusion" group of old and new styles. It was really interesting music.

The performance was held at the outdoor theater at Disney Hall, and the tickets for the 11am show started being handed out at 10 am. We arrived at 10:02 am and by the time we got to the front of the line, they were out of tickets. We were on standby and after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we got in to the performance.
After the show they had a few crafts for the kids: making an origami duck and coloring a wooden Japanese doll, complete with kimono.
Avery and Alex had a great time. The next one isn't until October, so we'll see if we can go back again.

A Napping House

PJ snagged this photo of Avery and me while we were napping one Sunday.

I lay down with her to try to get her to rest, and it actually worked!

I love how she is cuddling her "best pal Love a Lot" in her sleep.

She has loved it to death, rubbing off the fabric on the nose and taking it along with her EVERYWHERE.

I'm glad she has such a lovable best pal.

And I sure enjoyed that nap.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

Mother's Day was wonderful this year.

The kids and PJ made me French toast with strawberries and whipped cream to eat in bed.

Then PJ let me take a nap while he did laundry.

He also did dishes and vacuumed.

How does he know this is the way to my heart?

I was given some hilarious 99-Cent Store gifts by the kids: a pink lawn flamingo with wings that spin around in the wind, and a claw grabber.

PJ got me a foam pad to go over the mattress and help my poor pregnant body sleep better. So thoughtful

And at church we got CHOCOLATE instead of potted plants. Definitely better, in my opinion.

I am so grateful to be a mom to these adorable kiddos.

Love their fake cheesy grins!

Scooby the i-dog

Some friends of ours received this i-dog as a gift for their 1-yr-old son, and thought it was a little too advanced for him. So they gave it to us.

I had never heard of one before, so in case you haven't either, it's supposed to hook up to your ipod and play music through it (like a speaker) or it also "eats"/listens to music and dances and has a cool light display.

The kids named him Scooby and they feed him music every day. At first I thought it was a bit of a nuisance, but then I realized that it is the perfect pet: no food or shelter required, no mess, no doctor visits, and you can TURN IT OFF when you want to.
I'm glad the kids love it because it's probably one of the only pets they'll ever get. Due to my allergies and lack of desire for animals, the rest of our "pets" must pass the above-mentioned requirements in order to join our family.
Welcome Scooby!

YMCA Healthy Kids Fair

Last Saturday we went to our local YMCA Healthy Kids Fair.

We go to the Y practically every day, either for me to exercise or for Avery's swimming lessons or Alex's "gymnastics" class (where he just plays on all the fun equipment). It's wonderful and the kids love the childwatch, and it's three blocks from home! This was our second Healthy Kids Fair. There are a bunch of booths, like this face/hand painting one, and a police dept booth, a library booth, some local "health professionals" booths (like dentists and doctors and health food people), and a FIRE TRUCK and all that stuff.
Then there are a bunch of activities for the kids to do, like hula hoops, tricycle races, a rock climbing wall, basketball hoops, some of that gymnastics equipment to crawl around over in an obstacle course, a Dance Dance Revolution, etc.

All of this is, of course, intended to encourage the kids to get active and move their bodies. The kids loved it. They like to "move it move it!"

Girls' Date to the Pillow Opera

This morning I took Avery downtown to the Los Angeles "Pillow Opera" for 3-6 year olds.

It was such a treat to be one-on-one with her.

We arrived early to pick up our free tickets, and then waited by the fountain before going inside.

Posing in front of the fountain with her "Best Pal Love a Lot."

The water levels had been low since we arrived, and Avery decided to run around the fountain. Just then, the water shot up really high, which totally freaked her out. I guess the fountain was programed to wait until 10am for the water levels to change.
Ooooh, Placido Domingo and James Conlon! Opera icons.
We were just a few blocks from City Hall. What a famous LA building.

From the right angle you could see an amazing rainbow in the fountain.

Sitting on her pillow with the other kids, getting ready for the show to start.

The 4 singers, 1 narrator, and 1 pianist performed twenty-minute versions of Hansel & Gretel and Das Rheingold (both in English, of course) with fun costumes and props.

After the show we went back outside to make a puppet. Avery chose Hansel. Walking back to the car we passed by Disney Music Hall--such a cool building.

I'm glad a member of MOMS Club posted information about this free family event. We absolutely loved it. Such a great experience for my 4 yr old. I'm looking forward to other free family music events here in Los Angeles. We need to take advantage of them when we find them!