she wore a "two-two"

well it was really more of a petticoat but it was the perfect addition to our little spring-time birthday party for our two year old. after the birthday BASHES that have surrounded evia for the last few years, i wanted to do something that spoke to mila. she's not all about fanfare and can get a little bashful, so an intimate party of cake and family was just the thing. (she actually ducked under the table when we all sang to her and wouldn't blow out her candles!)

her birthday is in spring and that whimsy was the constant theme as i planned her afternoon. i found some cupcake liners when i found evia's and they had mila written all over them. the rest of the party elements were things we had on hand - which felt so good, to just re-use and not go out and buy a bunch of things that would only be useful for an hour. 

the weekend as a whole was a lot family time. because mila's celebration was to take place on sunday afternoon. we were able to relish in her big numero dos on the horizon all weekend and make all the events leading up to it, celebratory. below are some of the captured moments and a few highlights of who mila is at this age:

*we call her mila, but she has self proclaimed "mimi," evia calls her toot-toot (because she toots)

*she loves adult food, salad, tapatio, salsa, lemon wedges. she would prefer to eat off my plate over "kid" food if given the choice

*she says "o-meal?" the moment her eyes open in the morning and she runs down the hall to the kitchen were her papa greets her with a hot bowl of the warm breakfast treat

*singing the abc's, wheels on the bus and row row row your boat (more of the tune some of the words) are her favorites, but she's been known to to also sing the chorus of her sister's frozen songs as well (we all have!)
*she's teensy-tiny in the 10th percentile in weight and height (probably much like her mama!)

*she falls at least once a week and it's usually major. this week's fall, one step and straight to the floor where her bottom lip peeled off, bled and was swollen (and still is). she needs a permanent helmet.
*she uses the the big girl potty about 3 times a day, instead of her diaper, but in true mila fashion, she chooses when to use it.

*she shimmies her shoulders and does a little in place gallop when she dances
*when she's told the reason we can't do something she's requested she answers in the sweetest voice "okaaaay." 
*the girl loves to brush her teeth! if someone else is brushing theirs, she says "teeeeeth"
*when we do something wrong she says in the sweetest voice "saawy" 

*she wishes i would just sleep in her bed....but we're making progress. :)

*whenever she plays with her papa, it 99% of the time ends in "noooooo papa." with the sweetest inflection.

*she's learning to ride her trike and loves to where her sister's helmet (just got her own yesterday! - thanks nana and grandpa)

*she counts to 3 some days 4 (update: one day after this post she counted to 10!)
*she's talking up a storm and you can now have a conversation with her

*she loves her sister like nobody's business and often spontaneously shows affection

*she's shy and doesn't smile for everyone, but when she does - melter

*she's a climber and a bit of dare devil (perhpas that's why she takes so many tumbles)

*she wants to be held by her mama 50% of the day

*she's mischievous and a rascal. i'm afraid of what we're in for in years to come.

i love the way she smells, the way her little hand holds my wrist when i read a story and the way her heavy head feels when she rests on my shoulder. i want to always know these feelings but am so excited to see her little self grow. we love you milena elise.

the weekend started with a walk at wilcox. saw some whales, took a spill, enjoyed the doggies

evia had been looking forward to the fair for a week "to celebrate mila's birthday." they had a ball! roller coasters, petting zoo and the ferris wheel

pony rides at the fair, mila took a seat

it was another special birthday this weekend. little george. a fun time was had celebrating that little cutie

grandpa mikey is an archeologist and we visited an event at the presidio called founding day. evia made her hand print out of clay

"excavating" with grandma t (party hat still on)

while d and i had a date night, the girls enjoyed time with grandma t and grandpa mikey - thank you!

my delicious dinner at ca'dario. brown butter sage raviolis - so yumm!

we finally arrive at sunday, mila's bday. waffles, fresh squeezed orange juice, black berries and the birthday song!

our sweetheart ready for earthday! thanks for the adorbs outfit lindsey lou!

we spontaneously spent the morning with auntie emi, after parking at her house and letting the girls run through the park

watching the patos...

and the turtles

elote at earthday

picking gifts out of the mermaid's treasure chest

this girl's style cracks me up sometimes....note the party hat is STILL a hit (it was a hit maris!)

she was wiped after our morning and i was so happy she would be rested for the afternoon ahead

i made her sign from the italian feather paper we used for our wedding invitations

her lemon cakes and cupcakes were an ode to her love of sour. i found a delicious recipe and substituted the egg for e. everyone loved them.

i used some leftover turf from emily's new yard makeover and stuffed our toy crates with it, to complete my spring theme. i also had some small birds that i hung from the ceiling and put on flower wire and a couple of pinwheels leftover from evia's first birthday

mila's in her tutu, playing with her present from the family, a small train set. she LOVES it, yay.

thank goodness we have neighbors that let us borrow vanilla at the last minute and except leftovers of the goodies, so i don't eat them. thanks mike and cat!

the beautiful card made for mila from her big sister evia!

the invitation

celebration of life

early morning hunt

this year we said goodbye to a dear family member, diegas' great aunt carolyn, the day before easter. it made the easter weekend bittersweet, as saying goodbyes always are. the sweet was that we spent a relaxing day at the park on saturday celebrating auntie carolyn, surrounded by all those who loved her (we all loved her very much). 

sunday we woke up with the previous day's event still on our mind, but also with the happy faces that you see when the easter bunny has left treats. it was a mellow sunday-holiday for us and we loved every minute of it!

one SMALL dark-chocolate bunny, a butterfly finger puppet and a book were this years basket treats

cheddar bunnies, z fruit ropes and snackimals were in the eggs for the hunt

 

cinnabunnies, a fun printerest find. used trader joes cinnamon roll kit, added raisin eyes and almond teeth

made fritatta the night before so breakfast would be delicious and done in a snap

made a potato au gratin to bring to my parent's for easter supper it turned out surprisingly good, for my first try (but you really can't go wrong with potatoes, cheese and cream!)

3rd hunt of the weekend

nana and grandpa's backyard is pretty picturesque

me and my sweet girls celebrating the life i'm so lucky to lead, easter 2014

 SATURDAY'S CELEBRATION FOR AUNTIE CAROLYN

beautiful auntie carolyn, photo by rebecca zavala

diegas, tio gamz, grandpa mikey and grandpa bob man'in the grill

chris judge and randy tico playing sweet sounds. rebecca adorned the oak trees with yarn pompoms an ode to auntie carolyn's love of knitting - so beautiful

cousins and our two little rascals, playing with the easter eggs from the hunt grandma t organized

evia and mila enjoying isei's lego collection

clean babes, after a day exploring the dry creek beds in the park

full fledged kid

when nana takes evia for a few hours and the littlest is napping seems i have some time to put some thoughts down. so her goes blogger monday for mama.

this morning i woke up and realized i didn't put words to the page, about evia and what she's up to now at age four. i've done a post about her personality, interests and milestones for every birthday, but failed to do this years...that's what i should be thinking about at 4:50am, right?! 

*she is an inquisitive little human. she asks details about anything that sparks her interest so she really understands the core of the subject. lately questions like "how long is the journey from earth to heaven, was i cold when i was inside your belly and how do horses cry?"

*she loves cheeseburgers, pizza, macaroni and cheese and bean and cheese burritos. i think there is a common theme here. 

*she loves her papa like nobody's business. the way she laughs when she is with him is one of the best sounds ever. they have a sense of humor that bonds them and i love it! wrestling, playing funny words games and watching old silly looney-tune cartoons tickles her to no end.

*like her papa she is a nature girl. she collects things on our walks that are unique and save them to show to papa when he gets home from work. i hear from grandma t that d has always had a love for the earth too.

*she looks forward to her weekly cricket walks, where we go out at dusk as a family in hunt for crickets. she always reminds her papa to bring his headlamp.

*she listens to chapters of little house books nightly. i love watching her face (if d is the reader) as she listens to the detailed descriptions of life in the 1800s. she is a book LOVER (we need to read to mila more).

*in one breath she tells me how she can't wait to go to school and in the next, she just wants to stay home with mama.

*she is BEYOND excited about her 2 wheeler with training wheels. it was on her xmas and birthday wish list (i guess roller skates were too, missed that one) and it was delivered for the latter. she gets on it first thing in the morning and tells everyone she meets about it.

*she "protects" her sister with gentle hugs, if mila is in danger of falling, straying too far from mama or getting into something she shouldn't. she puts up two fists and says "get away from my little sister" as a practice activity that her papa taught her. apparently she's ready to knock any bully out. 

*she gets excited about any milestones or achievements that mila has, which is endearing to say the least (going potty on the big girl seat, magnificent artwork or using a new word).

*she still loves to snuggle and put her face on my skin, which is something she has done since she was an infant in an effort to be as close to mama as possible. brings me back.

*she dropped naps at the beginning of the year and now goes to sleep at bedtime, two minutes after her head hits the pillow...now if we could get mila to follow suit.
*although she's an aries not a taurus, she snorts puts her head down and rams things like a bull. we do not know where she came up with this!

*her memory is like an elephant...as she'll recall what she wore on a given day (that was special to her in some way) 2 years prior, what someone said to her a year ago, or that mama got a parking ticket and the 3 errands that followed that day, from 6 months ago. 

*she loves to show me dance moves, work on cartwheels and misses swim lessons 

*she dreams of day she can have a puppy and insures me she will take care of it (with papa's help).

*she's a great cleaner and is eager to earn a coin for doing a "chore."

*hotels are her favorite thing about traveling.

*she got her first pedicure the day before her birthday and chose turquoise as the paint color (her papa's favorite color). she loved it and said "i wish we could do this all the time." me too sweety!

*she can write her name, her sister's, mama, papa and nana on her own without verbal instruction. 

*she is in the beginning stages of sounding out words and recognizing words.

*she loves science experiments. 

*she loves her cousin isei

*she loves her family, her friends and her home....she's just a love bug and i am in love watching her grow.

birthday girl

evia had no shortage of celebrating this year! when discussing what we would do for her birthday, we agreed that a little celebration with her wee friends, would be a great addition to her joint-celebration with mila at disneyland. we sat down one winter morning and created a list of her play-date buddies. with disneyland a few days before, it made sense to piggy back on the theme and so a mickey and the gang party it was! this mama anticipated how exhausted we all might be from the previous (exciting) travel days, so no hoopla this year...just cake and ice cream with her besties! thank you to all the friends and family that text, sent cards and called with well wishes. they were relayed and made her so happy! and of course thank you to the wee-guests! your presence and presents made one happy little birthday girl!

i had a great time getting to use my crafty-side and the evia had fun helping me during the mila nap hours.  baked the day before and the morning of and the guests arrived in the afternoon. sweet and simple. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL!

favors, hand sewn coloring books

mexican chocolate cupcakes, buttercream frosting and oreo mickey's

mickey ears to join in the fun of the day

her new ride - a two wheeler with training wheels

little sis, who had to have a bow too, according to big sis

old mickey black and whites played silently in the background

what kid doesn't love popcorn with their movie? pluto popcorn!

sandbox fun

some papa love and WATER, after a big day, at el paseo. dinner request bean and cheese burrito. she said "i could eat mexican food all day and all night!"

strawberries and whipping cream, as if the girl needed more sugar!