Drum, Drum, Drum...

Izzy likes to drum.


Fun times at Remo Recreation Music Center, North Hollywood.

The Coop

Went to the COOP in Studio City the other day with my pal, Sean. They had a free event with free goodies, and I got my first pedicure (non-toxic nail polish).

Books are for reading, not eating!

A few weeks ago my mom and I participated in our local public library's Read to Me LA program, which is a free program that teaches parents and caregivers how to read to their babies and preschool children and help them become successful readers. I loved watching all the kids participate with the librarian who led the workshop. Since then we've been reading at home. Some of my favorite books include:

Baby Tiger's Jungle Adventure Activity Book, by Manhattan Toy.

Shapes That Roll, by Karen Nagel.

Pajama Time, by Sandra Boynton.

Books have grown to be a popular commodity in our household. In fact, Jeffrey my dog took a liking to books too. Unfortunately, I don't think he understood the moral of the story.



And reading isn't just on top of our minds. Recently Gweneth Paltrow posted a list of some of her friends' favorite children's books on her site Goop.com and it got us thinking: What are some of our friends' favorite books? We decided to poll them on Facebook and here's a list of the results (listed in alpha order by author's last name):

Baby Einstein Alphabooks; Aigner-Clar, Julie and Zaidi, Nadeem

How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight?; Bajaj, Varsha and Bates, Ivan

Daisy Gets Dressed; Beaton, Clare

Madeline; Bemelmans, Ludwig

What’s Wrong, Little Pookie?; Boynton, Sandra

Going to Bed Book, The; Boynton, Sandra

Pajama Time; Boynton, Sandra

Belly Button Book; Boynton, Sandra

Am I Big or Little?; Bridges, Margaret Park

Flamingos on the Roof; Brown, Calef

Dutch Sneakers and Fleakeepers; Brown, Calef

Goodnight Moon; Brown, Margaret Wise

Biscuit; Capucilli, Alyssa Satin

Hungry Caterpillar, The; Carle, Eric

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Read the poems interspersed throughout the book); Carrol, Lewis

Through The Looking Glass (Read the poems interspersed throughout the book); Carrol, Lewis

Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day; Curti, Jamie Lee

Little Prince, The; De Saint-Exupéry, Antoine

Bed Hogs; DiPucchio, Kelly S. and Fine, Howard

Gossie & Gertie; Dunrea, Olivier

Are You My Mother?*; Eastman, P.D.

Olivia*; Falconer, Ian

Daddy Mountain; Feiffer, Jules

Dirt on My Shirt; Foxworthy, Jeff

Soap Lady, The; French, Renee

I Know a Rhino; Fuge, Charles

Little Wombat books (series); Fuge, Charles

Dr. Suess (series) – Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Fox in Socks; Geisl, Theodor Suess

Everything Poops; Gomi, Taro

I Love the Night; Hosta, Dar

Counting Kisses; Katz, Karen

Ten Tiny Tickles; Katz, Karen

Peek-A Who?; Laden, Nina

If Kisses Were Colors; Lawler, Janet

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?; Martin Jr., Bill and Carle, Eric

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom; Martin Jr.. Bill

Guess How Much I Love You; McBratney, Sam and Jeram, Anita

I Love You Stinky Face*; McCourt, Lisa

Love You Forever*; Munsch, Robert

Fancy Nancy (series)*; O’Conner, Jane

Day the Babies Crawled Away, The; Rathmann, Peggy

Good Night, Gorilla; Rathmann, Peggy

Curious George; Rey, Margaret and H.A.

Ish; Reynolds, Peter

Dot, The; Reynolds, Peter

Richad Scarry Books; Scarry, Richard

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales; Scieszka, Jon

Where the Wild Things Are; Sendak, Maurice

Giving Tree, The***; Silverstein, Shel

Where the Sidewalk Ends; Silverstein, Shel

Falling Up; Silverstein, Shel

Good Night Sun, Hello Moon; Viola, Karen

Charlotte's Web; White, E.B.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late; Willems, Mo

Bear Wants More; Wilson, Karma

*Indicates if the book was recommended more than once.

What Color is Your Parachute?

Just another easy, breezy Monday morning with MiniCoop at our First Weeks Class.

Tea Time at Huntington Library

Last Friday my mom and I met Auntie Tracy and Madden at the Huntington Library in San Marino, which is located just outside of Pasadena. While the ladies enjoyed their afternoon tea and sandwiches, Madden and I napped. The place was surprisingly baby friendly--a baby changing station in the restroom and stroller/wheelchair access around the gardens. We're looking forward to going back and exploring more of territory. The pictures below were taken at the Chinese Garden, one of dozen or so themed gardens.





Tips for parents: Wear comfortable walking shoes. Some of the paths are steep and can be slippery. The tea room gets really crowded around 1 p.m. First seating is at 12:30, which is the time we arrived. It was empty enough for the two moms to find the table, get situated, and take turns getting food at the buffet before the tea room filled up. We requested a table for four to accommodate two adults and two car seats. The noise level in the tea room does get loud, so moms with babies sensitive to sound beware. Fortunately, I can sleep through anything. In addition, they request that all strollers be left outside of the tea room; the host reassured us that they would be safe.

Next date: Balboa Park.

Baby-friendly Los Angeles, Stroller friendly, Walking in L.A.

Oooweee

I'm eight days away from the 4-month mark of my life, and there hasn't been a dull moment. Since my new ride arrived, my folks have taken me everywhere. Case in point, yesterday we walked to the local Farmer's Market...yes, walked! In L.A.! Well, they walked while I snoozed in my stroller. During Valentine's weekend, my folks made a brave move and took me to the first L.A. Street Food Fest. When they saw the swarms of foodies waiting to get in, they decided: thousands of people + baby + 6-year-old niece = time for Plan B. We ended up having a fantastic day exploring downtown L.A. by walking from the Food Fest to Little Tokyo and back. I really enjoyed our 6-hour stroll. Later that evening, I celebrated my great grandfather's 95th birthday! It was an extremely long day for me, but I was a trooper!

Here are some pictures...

My ride.

Celebrating my Great Grandfather's 95th birthday.

Wiped out from a very long, adventurous day.

Tah-tah for now,
Iz