Sun and Sandcastles

Initially I was excited about our free neighborhood tickets to the Sunset Junction street fair, but it turns out that babies and beer barf don't mix and my enthusiasm waned. So in honor of our new-found freedom from weekend work worry, we decided to hit the beach before we picked up our friend at the airport. A couple of hours in the fresh sea air was a delightful change and also an opportunity to escape the droves of hipsters swaggering down our street on their way to the fair.
This trip to the beach would be my first with Miss Camille but she is a seasoned pro having been once already with Carley and her mom last month. She did not disappoint with her sand eating and water walking antics. She is a true California girl!

Joie De Vivre

I am reacquainting myself with the idea of joie de vivre. I get so bogged down by the things that bug me in my life that I can't enjoy the simple things that are really beautifully amazing. I can't tell you how many weekends have been spoiled because the previous week wrecked me or the dread of the week ahead has my guts tied up in knots. This past weekend was the start of something new. I deleted my work email from my Blackberry and declared a moratorium on work going forward from Friday at 5 pm to Monday at 8 am...well 7:30 ish!


On Saturday we scouted out birthday party locations at Griffith Park for Camille's upcoming festivities. Despite battling the bee infestation which had Carley's knickers in a twist, it was so fun to get out in the sunshine and enjoy the park. As always, people watching was delicious!

Room Of Her Own

Hurricane Camille rips through the house on a daily basis. Emptying every bookcase in sight, clearing all tables and turning all baskets over with indignation. It seems like she is just as frustrated with us for keeping the house orderly as we are with her redecoration efforts.

Yesterday while straightening her room for the third time, I decided to take some snaps of things that I love in her room. Being a mom lets you get to be a kid again and that is super fun.

Happy Almost Birthday! 11 Months and Fabulous

To commemorate her 11 month anniversary of being on earth in this body, Camille decided to accessorize. Quite successful, if you ask me.

Restaurant Wars...Take Two

I have heard the the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We are clearly insane.

After vowing never to cross the threshold of another proper restaurant until Camille is capable of behaving like the Stepford Child she ought to be, we again ventured out for a meal with Uncle Donkey last night. This time to Viet in Atwater Village. You would think that at this cafeteria-lit, casual eatery we would be able to blend in with the other patrons and not disturb anyone. Not so! Same deal, different night only this time we managed to snap one...and only one...photo.

Blurry and defiant, that's our girl!

Best Laid Plans

Sometimes I say things before I think it through...what am I saying? I ALWAYS say things before I think it through.

Our visit with Uncle Donkey (and surprise addition of Uncle Albert) came and went without so much as one photo taken. I even packed the camera into the diaper bag last night before meeting them for dinner but with all the distractions including witnessing Camille barf on our new friends Gianni and Linda and trying to keep her playful screams from torturing the other diners on their romantic dates, I didn't take one photo. Sadly, it would have been a nice time to document but there will come another time I suppose.

We ate at Pace in Laurel Canyon, a place far too schmancy for a rambunctious 11 month old baby. Poor Carl spent most of the evening out of her chair trying to pacify the screaming banshee that abducted our peaceful daughter. Camille wore her salmon colored eyelet tunic and I wore my cute new Odille blouse procured via eBay...my newly resurrected obsession, thank you Mr. Recession. Cute as it is I think the former owner must have been a stripper because it kept helpfully revealing my ta tas for all the world to enjoy.

It is safe to say that never have I endured such a prolonged period of embarrassment. I think the mortification of giving birth is just the beginning of a lifetime of cringe inducing moments.

Today we are all beyond exhausted.

Pretending to be civilized will have to be a lesson for another day. It will be a long time before we take our lovely Camille to another restaurant besides Denny's or IHOP. I am placing Emily Post's manners book on my night stand as soon as I finish this post and tomorrow we'll work on distinguishing the crab fork from the salad fork!

Baby Legs

They are just like dollies and although someday she may be mortified, I still can't resist the occasional sartorial experiment. Denim bubble short...meet striped leg warmers!

New Ambition, Fashion Mission

Okay, okay so my initial ambition to write a witty blog for all those new moms out there fizzled like Pepsi left on my night stand overnight. I have to admit, babies are big time time-absorbers and when I am not working, cleaning, playing with the baby or sleeping, I am usually too spaced out to use my brain and end up loading online shopping carts with things I will never buy.

Recently though, I have become obsessed with some beautiful gals on the world wide web who blog daily about the adorable clothes they are wearing and the exciting things they are doing. Since I do not own adorable clothes nor do I do exciting things, I thought maybe I could begin to blog about the adorable clothes Camille is wearing and the exciting things she is doing....well exciting if you are 11 months old and the world is a new and beautiful place to explore.

That being said, I present my beautiful Camille in new H&M duds fresh from the exotic Beverly Center. This shopping trip was so thrilling for her that she had to take a nap in the store. Her latest escapades include drinking bath water wicked through the wash cloth. An invention that made her choke and barf her dinner. She has also added "hi" to her vocabulary which charmed the pants off the man rummaging through our recycling bin. She leads a charmed life, our little Pumpkinhead. This weekend she will meet her Uncle Donkey which I intend to document extensively and will post the results.