menorah, latkes, dreidels...oh my!

Stephanie and her son C had us over for a little Chanukah playdate. I regret not having any photos of Stephanie...she spent most of the time in her kitchen frying up the tastiest latkes I've EVER had! The kids played and mamas visited while she cooked, then we were invited into the kitchen to eat up all the golden potato goodness. Mia devoured hers. I devoured mine...and Lily's ;) She also had dreidels and gelt coins for the kids. Stephanie had their menorahs out...so lovely. Mia thought we were at an Anika celebration...Anika is one of her dear friends. Stephanie explained what the Festival of Lights is all about. We talked a little more about it on the way home. Lily, actually played with the big kids. She liked the play barn and all the kids kept bringing her toys to play with (read: put in her mouth). We LOVE learning about and experiences other cultures...Thank you Stephanie and C A sheynem dank :)




















following photo of Mia and Anika playing was taken by Anja

Believe in magic....

“Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Clause. Believe in others. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will?” - Jon Bon Jovi

One of my favorite holiday traditions is the visit to the mall for the Santa photo op. Through the years (hit the link...it's worth the look), we've had some pretty fabulous ones....this year is no exception.

The not so long wait...it helps getting there at 10am ;)

checkin' for a fake

the baby messes with the santa

The Official Shot

LOVE Mia's fake smile and Lil looks like a gangsta baby!

Merry Christmas

Peacock Picnic Party

This is Jalie

Jalie is one of Mia's beloved classmates and buddies. Jalie turned 3 years old and had a fabulous peacock picnic at Mayfield Park. It was a perfect day to celebrate this sweet little girl, and man was it a celebration! There was gorgeous face painting by Yvonne, peacock crowns and wands to be made...dancing, exploring the extensive grounds and the cupcakes...ohhhhh the cupcakes! Al in the presence of regal peacocks!! Here are more than a few shots....and this is because I really tried to narrow my favorites down ;)

the E family

a few weeks ago, i had the pleasure of photographing one of my bffs and her lovely family. it started off rocky, but after the mention of stinky cheese...well, that got the giggles and the ball rolling. here are some of my faves.

shtuff

a couple of months ago.... halloween time..... mia painted a pumpkin and herself. she also created a hand print thank you card for a dear friend. i've always loved how she applies 'makeup'...lips, nail polish.... and maybe a little hair color for good measure.

ahhh my sous chef helping make mac n cheese...so thick the spoon stood up on it's own. mia thought it was quite tasty.

ohhh the beautiful salwar kameez from the lovely Anjalika. Mia wore it to the Diwali celebration at Terra Luz. lovely. lovely. lovely.

Lily is a crawler!

Just about a month ago she sat up for the first time...now she's CRAWLING! I tried using some toys as bait, but she went for the shoes. That's mah girl :)

lagniappes for Mia

Daryl and I went on a long weekend getaway to New Orleans. Spending some time in a fabulous city with my darling husband was beyond perfection, and so much needed. I'll write all about that later. This post is about the little gifts we brought home to Mia. I KNEW I wanted to get her a feather boa, but then I saw those feather covered hats...Mia's favorite was this little doll I picked up at the end, and I'm so glad I did. Oh, she dug her feather mardi gras mask (mama, i'm soooo FANCYYYY)...even wore it to school the next day. That reminds me of how all her friends at school LOVED her little doll, too. The funniest gift was the DVD of the Dragon Master Showcase...they were some b boys that performed right across from Jackson Square. They were great, so we bought their DVD. What she ended up spending the most time with, and still does, were the three New Orleans post cards. She was fascinated and wanted to know when she could go :)