School World Fair 2013

It was that time again... the school's biggest fundraiser, their fair. It's great that so many people donate and participate in making the fair such a success year after year... it warms my heart to know that there are decent, good-hearted people out there! This school makes me feel so fortunate that Cookie is able to be part of such a warm community that promotes education and a loving environment! Can't say enough AWESOME things about this school! This is where I feel like putting my hands together and cry out "HALLELUJAH!!"

During the fair, each grade of the school were scheduled to perform. If you haven't realized this about me already, I can't miss seeing and recording any of Cookie's performances if I can help it--yes, I am proud to say that I am one of those doting parents in the front (elbowing others who get in her way) with her camera rollin' and iPhone snapping pics, haha!! These moments only come around once--I have to record what I can!! (Sometimes I wonder if Sophia will be embarrassed by some of the things I post here, but what does it really matter?? I am her parent and is within my rights to embarrass her at some point, is it not? Hehe...) These moments that I obsessively record is not only for me to look back on cause I know I probably won't remember half this stuff, but it'll give Cookie an opportunity to see her younger self. Especially with technology, how easy it is to just pull out a camera and shoot away, I say, "WHY NOT?!"

Okay, back to Cookie...

Kiddos getting set-up on stage

I don't know what happened to the quality of the video below =/ boo... but I suppose it's better than nothing. Oh, well, at least I'll still have the original somewhere on some external hard drive in some storage up in some closet, haha.

Last time (violin recital) I tried to embed a video, I felt like MacGyver (Cookie won't know who he is, she'll have to google him, hahaha) having to figure out how to attach the video and such--must say, felt pretty proud of myself for maneuvering my way around technology and did what I wanted to get done! Yeah, I'm easily amused...

Cookie didn't look too excited to be performing... personally, I think she may have been preoccupied and just itching to get off stage so that she can shimmy into her wetsuit for the mini "waterpark" they had. She loves the water... but then again, what kid doesn't?? Especially when it's hot out.

After the performances, Cookie's mind was set on charging for the "waterpark," hahaha... it was so cute to hear her call it that--it literally was just 2 wet slides and 1 slip-n-slide. Cookie and her friends had SO MUCH fun!! It was so cute to watch. (Do you see the common theme here? Pretty much that everything she does is cute, hahaha.) All the giggling and glee does nothing short of bring a smile to your face and warms a soul.

Before Sophia jetted off to change, I had to get in a few snapshots, of course!!

Looking at Eli's get-up, I feel the need to explain the outfit choice, haha... earlier that morning, we were down in Marina del Rey where we had gone parasailing--for the first time! While there, we found out that the parasailing company take children as young as Sophia's age--got me all excited! I think Sophia would totally enjoy it since she loves being high, and with parasailing, it's pretty calming once you're up in the air. Definitely nothing like how I thought it would be like--thought I was going to have some sort of adrenaline rush... not really. But it was a good experience since Eli and I have never tried it before. Which brings me to a point... I hope that as Sophia grows, she learns to try everything at least once (as long as it doesn't involve causing any harm to herself or anybody else, ie drugs). I want her to experience LIFE!! What's out there! Endless possibilities!! To have experiences and adventures! To do things in spite of fear! To grab life by the face and have a stare-down contest!! Haha. I just don't ever want her to be afraid of trying something!!

Anyways, I'm going off track here... let's get back to the fair...

At first, Cookie was hesitant to even go on any of the slides because there were too many people and it was crowded--she is her mother's daughter haha. But once her friends came and were having a blast, she couldn't resist and went wild... kinda, haha...

At one point, I got this snapshot...

If you haven't read my past posts, this is Shahaf, the boy that Sophia has said she is going to marry because he makes her laugh... this is so cute to me!! They actually have a good number of moments such as the above pic, but I'm not camera-ready (hard to believe, I know, haha)... I was fortunate to get this one! After taking this pic, I ran into Shahaf's mom. Turns out that they're only here in the states for a few years, they will be going back to Israel after that. Who knows if Cookie's and Shahaf's bond will continue since school is ending soon and not knowing if they'll get to be in the same class next year in first grade (hopefully), but that would be so neat (and cute!!) if they stayed in touch. We'll definitely be having playdates with Shahaf and his twin, Ella, since they leave ONLY 2 DOORS DOWN FROM US!!! This whole school year and we never knew they lived within a 30 sec walk from us!!! (Sigh...) And by the way, Shahaf's mom was also telling me how he'll talk about Sophia and say how he will also be marrying her, haha... TOO FRIGGIN' CUTE, I TELL YA!!!

And while at the fair, Sophia shared how she now has a loose tooth. This is where I can see the look on most adults' faces as I'm saying this and they're thinking I'm kinda crazy for bringing attention to just a loose tooth. But, unless you're a parent, I suppose you can't really understand this realm, haha. 

Sophia was so excited to share this little bit, haha...

MY CUTIE PA-TOOTIE!!

This has turned out to be a longer post than I had expected... think I'm getting the hang of this journaling thing, haha...

As time goes on, I hope to have more up on a regular and consistent basis.

'Til the next outing...

XXOO,

COOKIE & MAMA

Change of Course

**UPDATE: Turns out that I won't be changing course with the blog entries. I started to change the point of view it would be written to/from, but it just didn't feel natural and the words didn't flow. As soon as I wrote how I did before, POOF! I'm back at it! =) Can't stop me now... going to turn into a journaling machine!! =)

~~~~~~~

I was just thinking about it lately and decided that I'm going to take this blog in a little bit of a different direction... moving forward, I want to write future posts as though I am speaking w/ Sophia, her older self. I want her to know our time together as mother and daughter... since this blog was started w/ the intention for Sophia to come back and read these as to recount snippets of moments that I cherish w/ her... what my thoughts and feelings may have been at the time. Basically, it'll be a true journal that I will update as much as possible for the sake of Sophia... and for me also... cause I know I won't be able to remember everything as much as I would love to, but it's just kind of impossible--sometimes I can't even remember what I did just yesterday! Boo... =/

Anyways, I'm excited for the change... I can already imagine how it might be like for Sophia to read this years and years from now in the distant future... 

One definite and constant thing that will NEVER change FOR SURE... 

SOPHIA, I WILL ALWAYS (no matter what) LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU W/ ALL MY HEART!!! 

From being a parent, I have learned to love unconditionally... to know and grasp what that truly means. Before, I just thought I knew. I have learned so much and have become such a better person since I've met you--I know this is going to sound corny... but you do make my life whole and absolutely complete =D

I DO AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!

Mommy <3 div="">

Violin Recital

Just wanted to showcase Cookie's violin recital.

Sophia's school is AWESOME!! Through great school efforts and parent participation, the school is able to provide students w/ violin lessons as part of the school's curriculum. I feel blessed and fortunate that our wee one has the opportunity to be part of such a terrific community!!

So, w/o further ado...

WARNING: Video is pretty long... don't worry, wouldn't blame ya if you didn't watch... it's more for her Papa and Nana anyways... wouldn't want them missing any performances!

Following their super performance... snack time!

Oh! Surprise, surprise... Shahaf and Sophia walking together?? Ya don't say! Hehe... 

These girls... I love 'em!!

Cookie's smiles ALWAYS makes me want to squeeze her to death!!! Just can't get enough of those precious, beautiful smiles!!!... No matter what kind of day I am having or may have had... seeing that face of sunshine does really melt all my other concerns away... sigh... the power this little child has over me...

'Til the next time...

XXOO,

Cookie & Mama

Mama's Day 2013

First off... YAY!!!!! I got to spend this year's mother's day w/ the love of my life, SOPHIA (aka Cookie)!! I know that statement sounds kind of odd since one would automatically assume a mama and her daughter would be together on this day... but last year I wasn't given or offered the option since she already had plans w/ her father. I use to feel like Mother's Day was such a Hallmark holiday but when I wasn't able to be w/ Cookie, I realized how much it wasn't just a Hallmark holiday. Yes, it was a sad day for me, I definitely didn't feel whole. But on the brighter side of things, I'm just glad that this year's Mama's Day fortunately landed on a day that would ensure I would get to be w/ Cookie without any possibility of interference... needless to say, I was definitely grateful!!

From beginning to end, our day together was just truly lovely!

~~ Joyness in the heart ~~

We started off the day with Sophia's "twin" (as they like to refer to themselves as), Ella, and her mama. We went to Zimmer's Children's Museum--cute little place. Even though there was a decent amount of things Ella and Sophia could've gotten into, they spent 90% of their time on a little boat sitting atop a million blue-colored balls. They played so hard, they were drenched with sweat! Haha...

Some of the other things that went on...

Love Sophia's pose in this pic!

After all these different activities, they ended up back at the ball pit w/ the boat for the rest of the time we were there.




Above is just a little glimpse of their play in action =)

Sophia was sad that we had to leave (who wouldn't want to leave that AWESOME ball pit???)... Sarah and I promised we would bring them back again soon.

We came home and did usual Sophia activities--coloring and drawing. Almost forgot about homework... I'm glad that Sophia isn't resistive to completing homework. She can pretty much do it all on her own since she's basically reading 90% of everything now. What a SMARTIE!!!! I'm just crossing my fingers that she continues to enjoy school/learning as much as she does now!!

After washing the day off, we ended the night with some needlepoint! Yes, that's right, folks... Sophia picked up needlepoint just two days before and now she's a needlepoint machine!!! Hahaha... I'm curious how long this interest will go on for since I, myself, use to do all that kind of stuff--cross-stitch, crochet, knitting, sewing, etc... some things are definitely just in the genes =)

I had hoped to have gotten this posted sooner but I suppose better late than never.

Hope y'all had a great Mama's Day also!

"Til the next time...

Cookie & Mama

Random Playings

A couple weekends ago, I still hadn't gotten into the groove of things just quite yet in terms of scheduling weekend activities for Sophia... having just come out of tax season madness just a couple weekends prior. So, we kind of just ended up doing random (to me) things that Sophia chose to do. By the end of the day, I learned somethin'........ I need to let go of the feeling that I need to fill our weekends with something enriching, educational, and fun--sometimes, kids just want to play...... not every moment has to be planned and they don't always need to be entertained. They just want you to get down on the floor with them and play the Barbie dress-up magnet toy thing. Sophia absolutely loved that!! We just took turns dressing up this one Barbie she had and she was happy--my wee one's face lighting up with happy smiles accompanied with her joyful, beautiful, brown eyes... can't ask for more than that!

That's how our random play began... then, Sophia dove into her birthday gift pile (oh, boy, things are about to get active and involved) and pulled out a sticker kit that are made to be painted with a gel sort of substance, pretty neat and fun (even for me, hehe)...

While snacking on some yummy apples (Sophia's fave)

My silly Cookie ^_^

Following that, we moved onto origami...

Almost finished!!

Finishing touches

I think they're suppose to be panthers... w/ eyelashes, hahaha!

After that, came........... TIE-DYE!!! Mama's first thought, "oh, this is going to be messy (enter nervous laugh here)..."

My darling girl... seeing this pic makes me want to squeeze her and give her a million kisses

In the end, it wasn't that bad of a mess and the finished product turned out kind of neat (better than I thought)... but I guess you can't really mess up tye-dye =)

Next up... 

ICE CREAM!!!!!!

If you know Cookie, then you knew that had to be comin'! 

What are those things on the lower part of her legs, you ask?...... DUH! Leg warmers, of course!! Hahaha... right before noming on ice cream, we had cut one of her pants and made them into shorts. It was so cute--Sophia was so excited that she got to cut fabric... Hmmmm... ** reminiscing** I remember those days (sigh)... when the simple things were able to excite me so thoroughly to my core......... can I go back to being a kid please?? Hehehe...

Showin' off her new leg accessories haha

Well, ladies and gents... that's all of that day's pics. But don't be fooled, our day didn't end there... we went on two playdates at two different parks following these activities (who says there's not enough hours in a day???)! Needless to say... Mama was tired! But what a small price to pay for what we gained at the end--a fun-filled day of random play.

Moral of the day... not every activity has to be planned to be memorable and full of love, smiles, kisses, hugs, joy, fun, and cute young children giggles that warms a heart up instantly. As always, this day will go into my memory box for me to pull out in the years to come... forever cherished. 

'Til the next time...

Cookie & Mama