week 51.

maya at 51 weeks :: october 27, 2006

• she's definitely becoming a sesame street fan. there was an article about the new tickle me elmo doll in the newspaper, and when i showed it to her she laughed and came charging at me and ripped it out of my hands. she was also thrilled to find a cookie monster stuffie in her pile of toys; she's been carrying it around since.
• some new foods: fish, jarred chicken noodle dinner (she spit up afterwards ...), edamame
• when she plays with cars, she rolls them around while making car noises.
• she kisses people and things with her mouth wide open.
• her sense of humor is definitely starting to develop. last night while playing with the mail rupert warned her not to eat the envelope. so she pretends to rip off a piece and eat it, cracking up the whole time.
• if she needs a diaper change she'll crawl to her room and the changing table.
• i've mentioned before that she's starting to stand on her own more. this week she's been making more of an effort to stand unaided often for longer periods of time (usually while she's eating for some reason). when she does it she has such a huge smile on her face; she must be really proud.
• grocery shopping has become a hazardous activity because she likes to stand up in the cart, even while it's moving.
• on wednesday she decided to call everything and everyone "mama" (ex. the living room garbage can and rupert).
• her "monkey crawl" is super fast and she moves around the house in a flash. sometimes she's pushing herself around so quickly she flips over.
• nothing is safe in the house anymore: her reach is getting longer and longer, she's constantly on her tippy-toes and one of her legs always seems to be up in the air in an attempt to climb up a piece of furniture, and she manages to wedge herself into and through the smallest spaces to get where she wants to go (ex. the "barricade" i've made with the dining room chairs to keep her away from my books is totally useless now).

week 50.

maya @ 50 weeks :: october 20, 2006

• she says "banana" very clearly but we're not sure if she knows what it means.
• she kicked her brother and her dad in the face (ian has a scratch on his cheek and rupert got it in the eye).
• although still wobbly, she is starting to stand on her own more often, albeit only for a second or two.
• she definitely knows who "artie" is (ian's stuffed animal penguin; his absolute favorite). not only does she take artie away from ian, but hides him too. the other day maya fished artie out of her hiding spot and then put him back in there. i asked, "artie wa?" ("where's artie?") and she went back to get him out of the hiding spot.
• she caught another cold. she had slept so long (probably the longest she's ever slept) that i was getting worried because it's so unlike her, and hopeful that it was something she would continue, but it was probably because of her cold. darn!
• instead of swallowing her water, she likes to spit it out. not just a dribble but a pretty good spit.
• she's starting to call rupert "da-ee" instead of just "dada." after i get off the phone with rupert she starts yelling "da-ee! da-ee!" as if she knows i've been talking to him.
• "ba-o" (bottle) is starting to become a regular part of her vocabulary.

haunted house

can you tell that the door is slightly open? i think it's pretty amazing that they can teach young kids (especially my son) to draw dimensionally to show depth (like the path leading up to the door). ian will never be an artist in the traditional sense of the word, but i hope he starts looking at the world in a different way through art.

pure laughter

cardstock: bazzill basics
patterned paper: kelly panacci (sandylion)
word stamps: magnetic poetry

flower stamps: hero arts, kodomo no kao

letter stamps: hero arts
letter stickers: ek success
letter rub-ons: making memories
flower eyelet: (can't remember)
other: photo corners, date stamp

i'm not sure if i'm done with this layout ... it looks a bit top-heavy. i actually stamped some large flowers on the cardstock at the bottom (under the word stamps), but the ink color just doesn't show up well on the pink.

counting down, and ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 [edited]

so, did you watch it? i really hope you did because it was a great show. while there are other travel/food shows on the food network, i think this had a different (and better) vibe. i really felt it wasn't as contrived as the other ones; it's more down to earth and it's geared towards the "average joe." officer cognac is successful because the viewer can relate to him; he's just a guy who likes food and wants to share where the rest of us can get good, cheap eats.

that doesn't mean officer cognac just tests his luck when looking for places to eat. like a true detective he uses his investigative skills and some research to find the best establishments. let's face it, most of us can't afford to eat out everyday (i, for one, can't spend "$40 a day" on food) and if we're going to spend our hard-earned money on eating out, we want to make sure it's worth every penny. the restaurnts officer cognac visits are off the main drag but beloved by the locals, precisely because the food is good and affordable. i really liked that officer cognac talked with locals and had them on the show; it's a great way for the locals to show pride in their city and its cuisine.

i've met officer cognac and he was incredibly friendly and easy to talk with. that totally came through on the show. rupert was sure this wasn't the first show they taped because officer cognac seemed so natural and in his element. if i remember correctly from my conversation with officer cognac, the las vegas episode is in fact the first one they taped (it was the pilot epsiode). you can just tell that he's genuinely excited about finding a good place to eat, that he really likes the way the food tastes, and that he's enjoying his experience. his sincerity is what i appreciated most about the show.

really looking forward to seeing more of this series. don't miss next week if you didn't see it last night! you can check out the schedule here. and don't forget to '>leave feedback for the network executives once you've seen it.
[added 10.18.2006]

"the hungry detective" is premiering tomorrow, tuesday, october 17 at 10:30pm on the food network! don't miss it: officer cognac says this episode (las vegas) is one of the best ones. on the food network site there are some video clips about the show, and officer cognac really is like that in real life. totally friendly, down to earth, and nuts about food.

when i emailed with him last week (after seeing him on iron chef america, flay vs. bull) officer cognac mentioned he would be working (his "real" job as a police officer) the night of the premiere. can you imagine? he has to work! but i will be glued to the tv to see officer cognac work his magic. (if you saw him on "feasting on asphalt" you know what i mean.)

please watch the show and let the food network executives know you like it. the more positive feedback they get, the more support officer cognac gets to continue the show.

'cause i'm a scrapbooking geek

so silly of me to even care, but i made it into ali edwards's aezine for the week with a question about photography. my question is answered about midway through the issue.

week 49.

maya @ 49 weeks :: october 13, 2006

• kisses objects like toys, windows, and stuffed animals but she won't kiss me very often.
• i've decided to stop breastfeeding because all she does is gnaw and bite me the whole time she's eating. it's gotten much too painful to deal with multiple times a day. the last day i breastfed her was on 10.11.2006 and i think i'm cutting her off cold turkey. so far she's been content with formula and baby food, although she does on occasion point to her boppy.
• she closes doors: whether it's the microwave door, refrigerator door or the screen door, if she sees it open she tries to close it.
• she's figured out that if she wants to get down from a slightly higher surface (usually stacked cushions), she needs to turn around and go down feet first on her tummy.

african masks

it's all about you graduate

cardstock: ?
patterned paper: urban lily
acrylic paint: lil davis (pink), delta (cream)
date stamp: heidi swapp
rub-ons: heidi swapp (black cursive letters), making memories (phrase), doodlebug (white letters)

kindergartener no longer

cardstock: via (i think it's hammermill)
patterned papers: hot off the press, colorbok, marcella by k, paper fever, die cuts with a view
date stamp: fontwerks
line stamp: fontwerks
letter stamps: psx
stamping ink: colorbox
word stickers: marcella by k

FUNtastic!

[warning: this post may be boring to non-scrapbookers. in fact, if you're a non-scrapbooker and decide to read this, you may come to the conclusion that, yes, scrapbookers are in fact totally crazy.]

last night i got some time for myself to go to a "class and crop" with mary grace abuzman at scrapbook oasis in irvine. it was like scrapbooking heaven! totally worth the drive down there in friday evening traffic.

despite it being her first class (ever), mg was totally in her element -- friendly, casual, fun, way too creative, and oh so helpful. we made a layout using katie pertiet's new date stamp documenting important dates in our life. mg's model layout is a 12x12 that's supposed to feature a picture of yourself and dates highlighting certain milestones. no surprise, i didn't finish; not only because i'm slow, but because i was having trouble deciding what i wanted to do. i used a vertical picture of me and rupert from the belle and sebastian concert, so i highlighted dates from our life together (when we started dating, our wedding anniversary, the kids' birthdays). because of the photo choice i have to make some modifications to the layout. but since i don't do 12x12, now i'm debating whether to start over in 8.5x11 so i can either display it or put it in an album. hence, i have no complete project to show here ... for now.

anyway, back to the evening. what can i say? it made me giddy. it seems silly to get excited about scrapbooking "celebrities," but that's exactly what happened. not only was mg there but tara whitney and lisa mcgarvey were taking the class, and kah-mei smith of fontwerks was there supporting mg. tara and lisa complimented me on the cutout technique i used for a layout featuring my sister's high school senior portrait, and kah-mei liked the color combination for a layout i worked on during the crop. it was so cool to have seasoned, professional scrapbookers look at your work and appreciate something about it. they were very generous with their compliments about everyone's work, and it's inspiring to see how they're eager to learn new techniques.

it also turns out the lady i was sitting next to has a bit of a fan following too: angi b. creates some beautiful layouts and mini-books. she showed me her cigar box album she created for a making memories contest (she made it to the top 20) and a mini-album she did based on ali's aezine challenge. for a working mom of four, she's an awfully productive scrapbooker!

anyway, the whole night (6pm to midnight) oozed with creative energy. whether you were young or old(er), new or experienced, i think everyone came away with something from the class and crop. mg did an unbelievable thing where she drew names of people in the class and created layouts for them on the spot. she managed to make at least five; i think they took her like 15 minutes each and they still looked fabulous. unfortunately, my i-never-win-anything streak continued and i wasn't chosen, but just watching her work was eye-opening. she said she sketches ideas throughout the day because she has so little time to scrap, but she was able to come up with layouts in the blink of an eye that i would never be able to do. i'm guessing she has an intrinsic ability to "see" layouts in a certain way, and the creative synapse in her brain must be zipping with energy.

it's been four years since i last went to a scrapbooking class and i've never been to a crop at a store before. i can see how productive it can be -- you're surrounded by other creative women and you have a whole store at your disposal with products and tools. the only problem is that it can get a bit expensive. i ended up going back and forth between my work table and the store, looking for certain items for a layout, but walking away with other cool products. needless to say i came home with a lot of new stuff. sshhhhh, don't tell rupert! (just so you know, though, i have far less stuff than some of these other scrapbooking ladies ... that made me feel better. ;))

i'll post pictures later ... being the idiot that i am i forgot my camera, so i'm hoping angi will send the picture of me and mg.[edited: angi took the picture of me and mg above. thanks angi!] the layouts that are currently posted are still not done; i'll update as i finish. the layout of my sister is finished! totally simple, but i'm happy with it.

neo counter

i found this blog counter on a scrapbooker's blog somewhere and it's so cool. i downloaded a free version; you can see it at the bottom-right of the sidebar. the counter shows you what countries your visitors come from, and if you click on the map it shows you exactly what cities past visitors are from and if there are currently any visitors. it's pretty neat to see that i've been visited by people from europe, canada, australia, and south america.

week 48.

maya @ 48 weeks :: october 6, 2006

• while watching sesame street maya was concentrating on cookie monster and prairie dawn talking about the letter of the day, "m." they kept saying "mmmm" and words starting with "m." after awhile maya starting saying "mmmmm" too.
• she sings to herself (not words, of course, but sounds) and dances along to her songs.
• it's getting more difficult to change her diaper because she likes to get up after every step (after i unbutton her, after i take off the old diaper, after i wipe her ...).
• she picks up little bits of paper or lint off the floor and gives them to you, but she also picks up imaginary items and insists on placing them in your hand. at least it gives her a chance to practice her fine-motor skills.
• i taught her how to "play" basketball. i'll make a hoop with my arms and she puts the ball through, kind of in a dunking fashion.
• she's almost able to go down the baby slide at the park by herself. most of the time she holds onto my finger, but she can keep herself upright while going down.

gettin' older

today is my sister's birthday; she's now a whopping 23 years old. she's in a good place in her life, i think (i'm just assuming): she's a senior at the university of hawaii, living with her best friend in a condo in honolulu, dating, etc. when i was 23 i was in grad school (for just a little while), engaged and just months away from getting pregnant. i think it just further proves how totally opposite we are.

being seven years her senior it was always so hard to relate to her. being completely different people didn't help to bridge the gap we felt; we just didn't understand each other. but as we've gotten older i think that's changing. i'm really looking forward to getting to know her better as a person, to stop looking at her as a "baby," and to stop acting like her third parent. but i think in some ways my sister appreciates the nagging that comes from me -- no matter how old you are, you always take advice and concern from your parents with a grain of salt. but coming from a sister, i think it's different.

in any case, i miss her being so far away. i wish she lived closer so the kids could be with their nene. i can't wait for her to graduate and come home.

happy birthday, A!

5.5

cardstock: bazzill basics
patterned paper: anna griffin (green), scrapworks (aqua)
letter epoxy stickers: k&co
letter & number stickers (black): ek success (rebecca sower)
number stickers ("5.5"): american crafts, ki memories
oval sticker: target
punches: carla craft
letter stamps: psx, image tree (ek success)
date stamp: provo craft
number stamp: cavallini
dotted circle stamp: hero arts
stamping ink: close to my heart, color box
acrylic paint: delta
index card: office depot

i haven't scrapbooked in awhile, and (as usual) this layout took awhile to complete. i've been intrigued by the "freestyle" movement in scrapbooking lately because it looks so freeflowing, creative, and expressive. but for an anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive like myself it's an extremely difficult method of creativity. i always use a ruler and my body and mind are accustomed to right angles and a linear look. i have an extremely hard time just "going with the flow" and putting things down on paper, layering, and embracing the "imperfections" of this style. although aesthetically pleasing to my eye, i can't actually accomplish the look myself. therefore, this layout turned out only "half way there" in my opinion. it's stuck in limbo between my usual look and freestyle. i feel like it's too empty ... i may have to sleep on this one awhile longer and tackle the embellishing later on.

anyway, the layout is about ian's half birthday and what kind of life he had at that age. i just loved this picture of him shooting a squirt bottle at me from behind a window.