School work day

There is big news from preschool, they got a new DECK! It was finished last week and is now the home to art and music.  It really is beautiful. Today was our day to shop for the snacks, and Nina (the director ) said on those days Maya is welcome to stay and play for a bit. She was outside on this gorgeous deck painting when I left her.

 And when I returned, she was playing music with her friends.   We have a "no standing/jumping etc on the furniture" rule in our house, so when her friend was jumping on this couch, and Maya told her not to, she was THRILLED when Nina said "it's ok to jump on this.  Maybe not at home, but its ok here"  Nina and Maya are drumming on a coffee can.  Someone is doing sticks, and the other kid is doing maracas.  Sadly I dont know who the other kids are, since Monday is not our usual school day.  The kids also made the large piece of art behind them.

meow!

Maya loves posing with these wacky creatures outside all the Halloween pop-up shops.  And when I say posing, I mean posing.

Halloween Kids Karnival

Yesterday was a sweet carnival (with no candy!!) at the preschool. She was very excited to wear her Ariel costume, but refuses to wear the wig.  No biggie,  her hair looks like a mermaids anyways. There was music, and crafts and balloon animals, face painting, tattoos and more!

Here she is getting her face painted for the first time.  Concentrating very hard it seems.  She has NEVER wanted anything on her face until yesterday.  The rainbow was pretty cute.

 Here we are at the family photo booth.  Maya got to decorate a cute frame and we took this silly picture to put in it.

 Here she is proudly walking in the parade.  She was rocking out dancing the whole time.

They had this fun maze for the kids to play on. She spent alot of time on it.

Luka's pumpkin

Luka designed and carved his own pumpkin this year.  Pretty spooky!

Pumpkin time

Here is Maya having a blast decorating her first pumpkin. Pedja carved it for her.

I know what youre thinking,

Why is Maya at the doctor's office? Well funny you should ask.  After the fever last weekend, she woke up 2 days later with THE DREADED COUGH.  I took her in 24 hours later as it wasnt any better, and was so awful at night, and it turns out she has her first ear infection! 2 rounds of antibiotics in 2 months.   Nothing to do about the cough since (thankfully) she has no fever, and it just has to run its course which could be 2-3 weeks.  She can go to school and thats that.

vegan humor

quick park break

I cant drop Maya off at school one second before 1230, and we were a bit early the other day, so we stopped by the park near her school to wait it out.

Beach Day!

We have had some gorgeous weather lately, so for our playdate with Vivienne and her mom Denise, we met up at the beach. They moved recently as well, and the beach is a great half way point for us. Each time we go Maya gets better at sharing and turn taking. They also got to have cherry ice lollies on our way out which was an extra special treat.

Bela and Vincent

We had a platdate with Bela and Vincent last week. They went to the Cottage where Maya used to go to school, but recently bought their first home, and no longer go to school there. we went to see their new home (beautiful) and had a really great time. Bela was awesome at sharing all her dress up things with Maya. Vincent had a hard time playing with the girls, he kinda stuck close to their mom Mimi. Maya needed to pose with a book for every picture for some reason. Im ok with that.

Farmers market

We met Amy and her son Gabe at the Brentwood farmers market last weekend too. Maya and Gabe love tasting all the fruit after eating brunch and playing for a bit. Gabe usually brings a ball of some type, this time it was a football, and Maya tried her best to hang tough.

Zenji is 5

We had another birthday party last weekend, for Zenji who is Saige's older brother. Their mom Lilyan wanted Saige to have a friend to play with, and was kind enough to ask Maya. She had a blast.

Violet and Julian are 4

Last weekend was our friends Violet and Julian's 4th birthday party. The theme this year was pirates and fairies. A fairy and a pirate came to the party and lead the kids on a treasure hunt- the treasure being wings and wands for the girls, pirate hats and swords for the boys. Maya was terrified of the pirate (in her defense, one of the moms saw him before the party and thought he was homeless), so we ended up inside reading books as you can see. The last picture is Maya and Bailey, one of many many twins at the fiesta. Sadly I couldnt get a shot of the actual birthday kids.

Vegan Gluten Free Chik'n Noodle Soup

This may be my proudest vegan moment. I did follow a recipe, so I cant take credit for that part, but this soup may possibly be the best thing ever. Luka, the carnivore of the house, asked if I could make this "alot", and Maya has asked for it too. These kids are not fans of soup or many vegetables, so thats major.

Watch out Tyra!

This girl knows how to pose!

Fall fun

These 2

Maya and Saige are too much. We now have weekly playdates with him. He will be changing schools at the end of the month, which will be hard for Maya since she only plays with him, but also good for her to make some friends. They were in Saige's brothers bed pretending to sleep.

fever again

Maya came through the door crying that her throat hurt and to take her temperature. 102. UGH. Preschool is giving me a run for my money. Tomorrow is the annual mandatory maintenance day, which we will now be missing. Her fever was 99 all day, then at 4pm back up to 102. Sigh. Lots and I mean LOTS of TV

Hair chalk

Ive been curious about hair chalk for sometime, and we spotted it at forever 21 for $2 so I decided to seize the moment and give it a shot. Its actually really cool. It rubs right in and easily comes out. Pink obviously. Its hard to see in the photo, but i rubbed it on her ends, and did a streak right in front. I put it in where her hair is lightest. She loved it.

And the winner is.....

Ariel! We have been going back and forth for months now about Mayas halloween costume. Thankfully we can move on. I took a bunch of her clothes that are too small to the resale shop and this adorable costume was right behind the counter. Maya was smitten. By the way, shes never even seen the little mermaid, but somehow is obsessed with Ariel and the movie.

Beautiful hair

I went for another bang trim, and Kitty found Maya and once again did a super gorgeous braid with a gratis grande flower, and more sparkly hair gel. Kitty has a son, so she LOVES playing with Mayas hair everytime we go. Of course Maya LOVED her pink hair!

Fall is here

And you know what that means-pumpkin everything! Maya has been asking to make a pumpkin pie, so we did. I love that she loves helping in the kitchen. I found a gluten free vegan pie crust already made, and we made the filling together. Its delicious. I only know that because I ate the leftover filling that wouldnt fit in the crust for lunch. HA!

dress up fun

Maya has never taken a dance class, but loves dressing up like a ballerina. The hair shot is just all about my hair envy honestly.

Mr. and Mrs. Prescott!

Our family is so lucky to have Lisette take care of Maya on Fridays, and I was so honored to be a witness for her marriage to Justin at the courthouse last week. They will be having a ceremony on a beautiful beach in Mexico at the end of the month. I wish them many many years of love and happiness.

Manicure

I went for a pedicure, and Maya sweet talked her way into a manicure. Her first one ever in a salon. Hot pink with LOTS of glitter. She was stoked.