Bravo!

Madam N clapped today. Daddy came home after being out for a few days and she was so excited to see him she started clapping. Then clapped more and more the rest of the evening.

She had already started clasping her hands in a hard manner on Monday but they werent real claps.

I don't know if she knows to clap when we clap yet, but she seems to do it when she is excited.

Bravo Madam N!

1 Year Ago

Happy Birthday Madam K! One year ago today, little KBoo was born. I just can't believe how fast that went by. I still remember calling her mommy at the hospital late that night and hearing her little newborn cry in the background. I longed to have my baby in my arms too and it was sweet yet sad in a way to hear little K because I was just so sentimental a year ago exactly. I will always remember the day you were born KBoo!

A few months later, my beautiful baby arrived and I was so so happy to finally embrace my little one and hear that little newborn cry too.

So one year goes by and there is no return anymore. No more infant stage for little K. I just realized today how fast my little one's year is also going by and I really need to embrace these months even more.

Still, every time I look at her, I don't know how else I can hold on to these moments even more so! Its like eating your very favorite meal and you want to savor it slowly yet no matter how much you savor it you still can't get enough.

That is what my time is with Madam N right now. I can't get enough and I try and kiss her a million times a day because I know I will be looking at her baby pictures not too long from now and wishing I could hold that baby in my arms and kiss her as a baby again. But that will no longer be possible. I will have her as a toddler, but not as that new little dependent on mommy being. Already she is more independant each day :) Time goes by too fast. Too too fast.

Now I know why people have more than one baby! It is a way to hold on and always have a little one to give your love too. Babies are just so darn cute.

I Too Want A Doll!

I know its mostly a guy thing but I like pinup art. I just think it is beautiful and to me, it is a Barbie dress up game manifested in art. I have no artistic abilities and so I am left to admire stuff since I just don't know how to draw it. I don't think pinup art is sexist or degrading and yes, I guess it is more male fan based but there is a niche of us female fans too! Really, it is just the interpretation of the beauty of womanhood and who doesn't like looking at beautiful things? I mean, as little girls that is why most loved Barbie isnt it? "...that emblem of prepubescent girlhood and sometimes feminist hate figure."

When my sister and I "played" with our Barbies, it took me about an hour to set up my scenario. I would create a home for my Barbies using items from around the home and garden. For instance, I would pick tiny lemons from our lemon tree, tiny tomato looking seeds from our neighbor's plant, small red berries (which became apples to me) and also tiny onions from our backyard and these became groceries for my Barbie. I went as far as making little paper bags from real grocery bags to put these miniatures in. The best part -- they were real and Barbie sized!

I also filled up zip lock bags with water and created "water beds" (hello it was the 80's!) and even sewed clothes for my doll that resembled my mom's fashion dresses of the day. And lets not mention all the goodies I could borrow from my mom's dresser and home decorations that I could easily use in Barbie's home; little paintings became elegant wall size paintings, figurines became statues, oh gosh the list is endless.

So there it was. Everything was set and ready to start playing while my sister waited with great anticipation. Except, unfortunately for her, that rarely happened. You see, when I was finshed decorating and preparing, that was it! All of a sudden I had no further interest in the game . I hardly ever made it to visiting my little sister's Barbie home and actually playing with her.

I never planned it to be that way, I really had the intentions to play in the beginning but I guess the most entertaining part for me was setting up the pretty scenario.

Poor lil sis. She hated that so much. She would complain to mama and wise mama would make her feel better by saying something like, "Ay mija, don't mind her, she is of boyfriend age now!" For some reason, lil sis taunted me with that and made herself feel a lot better. I guess its because boys at that age were still yucky and eww, who the heck wanted a boyfriend? Not me!

Looking back now, I think that is why I like pinup art and how pretty models like Dita Von Teese and Masuimi Max look with some of those retro outfits. They remind me of beautiful Barbie dolls. A bit more risque of course. OK, way more risque but hey we are adults now.

So what is this entry all about? Well, today I found a collection of dolls that brought back Christmas memories from many years ago (around 1982/3). My sister and I stood in a Barbie isle at K-Mart, hypnotized by two beautiful Barbies and immediately hoped Santa Claus would bring these to us. For her, it was Tracy the Bride and for me, it was Pink and Pretty Christie

Years later I would ruin Tracy by convincing my sister I could totally give her a Gloria Estefan look with a haircut

Back to this entry...the beautiful doll collection I found by Integrity Toys is the Fashion Royalty collection and it is just amazing! Pinup meets Barbie like dolls but with more of a designer touch. The attention to detail, the couture-quality clothing,the accessories, WOW.

So here I am, in my thirties wanting dolls again. I may get Madam N one in particular for the future future future, it is afterall because of her that I came across this new goodie. For now, she has her age appropriate Barbie dolls waiting for her to grow up a little.

And now, here is the eye candy of the week :)

Beaded Bookmarks

Being a mommy allows me to get crafty and feed my brain some "food" after a long day of being on Madam N's clock. Its like elementary construction paper time fun :)

Last night, after a visit from Madam N's Nina and auntie C, I made some beaded bookmarks.













I had purchased some of these "bookthongs" before. They start at about six bucks and can get to thirty something for really intricate ones with real gems, silver and completely covered in beads. I really liked them and decided I could also make these as gifts :) The simple ones at least.

After a quick search online, I found a link with instructions and it was super easy. The only hard part is trying to decide which beads make the nicest looking combination.

Overall, the waxed cord ones seem sturdier, but I think the ribbon is kinder to your books. There is still room for perfection (such as figuring out a way to hide the knots) but overall they are nice to look at. Don't you think?

Midnight Snack

Its midnight and Madam N just had a midnight snack. More like a meal. I never feed her this late at all but she fell asleep hours ago and skipped her dinner. She woke up alert and hungry :) So what was for dinner? It was honey baked ham, carrots, apples, grape juice and a cracker. A little too "heavy" as my parents would say but hey when you gotta eat, you gotta eat. She is so awake right now and will keep me up for a while now. Even before she peek a boo'd out into the world she tended to be a midnight baby.

Things that happened today (or yesterday)

She had her first real teleconference with the family. We are all hooked up on the super highway now and the quality of the live feed is soo good. We use to day dream about such technology in "the future" and it seemed so space age like. I'm so happy the net can bring us closer together.

Playdate - One of my best friends came by with her baby today and Madam N got to play with another lil rugrat for the first time! She loves kids but doesnt get the chance to play with any so this was a really great oppurtunity. Funny enough she was kind of stingy with the toys! I kept encouraging her to let her buddy play with her toy keys and ball (her play date has these same toys I think) but she kept wanting to snatch them back. Isn't it funny how so little they already have a clear notion of what belongs to them? It wasnt deliberate but still she knew they where her's and became more interested in them, only after someone else was playing with them.

Well shes dosing off now so maybe I will get some sleep afterall.

Good night.
~ Mami