charley star photo

thoughts about my daughter.

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THINGS I WANT TO TEACH MY DAUGHTER.
   these are the things that come to mind now.

* believe in magic.

* dream big.

* courage.

* honesty.

* be kind.

* trust yourself. respect too. discipline. fun.

* know God. there is no other version other than "your version," because that's the only one whose whispers you can hear. listen.

* let your Soul live it's journey. get out of your own way.

* live from the Heart.

(i'm sure tomorrow there will be a new list.)

 

PICS FROM SATINE'S PARTY

it's hard to take pictures at your own party... but i did manage to get a few keepers, mostly in the beginning when only a few people were there...  was so good to see all our friends who came out. thanks for making the day special for satine. (and me! :) )

 

our morning.... success!

at the risk of having satine kill me when she gets older... i share with you our morning...

reading while waiting... like father like daughter

concentration

waiting

wat u doin mommy?

umm... i think i went potty

OK now you're just annoying me, Mom! get outta my face with that camera and give me some privacy!

 * * *

 

 

good morning, sunday

 

 

it's begun. the questioning.

about dolls, about life, about poop. she wants to know it all.  it came out of nowhere, there, tonight, on the changing table, after bath, her wet body shimmering in the soft lamp light as i rubbed in the "lo-shy" (lotion). 

"mommy, bu-bu huht." (bum-bum hurts)

"yea, mommy's gonna put some cream on it to make it feel better ok?  i think it's because you had such a hard time going poopy today."  (yes, the last 2 days have been a series of grunts and groans and laying on the kitchen floor by the trash can-- because who DOESN'T want to go poopy next to the garbage?-- for an hour or so, sometimes with luck, sometimes not. i never realized that a constipated 2 year old could sound like she was giving birth.)

"Why-yyyyyyyy?"

(did she really just ask me that? she's never said that before)  "well, because, sometimes our bodies just get... stuffed up."

"but whyyy?"

 i laugh and tuck my face closer to hers. "'why'? did you just ask me 'but why??' you sure do have a curious mind."

she giggles into my nose i melt into her laugh and continue rubbing in the lo-shy.

she continues. "but whhyyy stuf uuuhp?"

"well... because whatever we eat comes out our bum-bum and sometimes we dont eat enough good things to make it come out easily."

then a simple, as if she were bored, "Oh."

*  

another night of ghouls and goblins.... and fairy angels

 


 

queen for a day

birthday lunch

alphabet soup

i've been designing a logo all week for a branding job, so fonts are in my head.  this one particularly caught my eye when i opened my book from paperbackswap.com (yay! recycled free books. check it if you haven't)-- a 1955 book about teaching your child to read. the inside cover revealed this little beauty:

 

it's the perfect font for it's subject matter. i love it's cute chalkboard feel.  

we've been learning the alphabet.  every time we enter or exit her bedroom, satine stops and points, making me call out "e," "n," "i," "t," "a," "s," as her finger moves backwards to forwards over her name on the door.

we've been coloring at her table and making letters. we hang them in the hallway. everywhere we go, letters, letters, letters.   

we cuddle in the bed, reading goodnight stories.  Tonight: Dora is going to school.  

We get to the part where they are heading through Alphabet town.  there is a purple bus and trees and buildings in a maze of letters.  you have to find the A and follow it to Z, to get through town and find your way to school before the 3rd bell rings.  "Rapido!" Dora exclaims.  So off we go, sing-songing A-B-C-D-E-F-G--- Satine stops me mid-alphabet and yells "Mom!!  B!!!  B is for Bus!"

Her face is on fire with glee.  her understanding, and her ability to communicate it, is exploding. and it is such a joy to watch and i am so proud of her i want to melt.  the synapses are firing and the connections are sticking and i can tell we are (she is) in a whole new phase of learning.

"Yes, B is for Bus" i laugh and hug her.  

.... it really is the simple things, huh?

Self Portrait, Me + Satine

 

last week i did a photoshoot with satine.
entered this one into the mamafocus photo contest.

a few more:

and self portrait:

see flickr for more from this shoot.

Breakfast with Satine

going to a baby shower today has me thinking about baby gifts:

Collages from illustator Lorena Siminovich:

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but for now, it's breakfast with Satine:

Satine in the Morning Light

The Rest of the Story
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Food? Fingers? Fingers? Food?...

xxo

   
* * *

a few weeks ago, my cool friend and super-fabulous photographer roman cho did a photo shoot for us while my MIL was in town. i'm still sorting through all the amazing pics, deciding which ones to print, but above are some of my favorites from the shoot.

below is bugnut in the baby bonnet/wedding handkerchief that my mom gave me/her.  baby wears it now as a bonnet, and then on her wedding day, she can use it as her "something old." you just snip a few threads  and voila! it's a handkerchief again. very cool. thanks mom.  (boy babies can also wear bonnet kerchiefs and then give it to his bride to wear.  then in turn, she gives it to her baby to wear, and so on.)  anyway, i had to take a few shots of buggy in the bonnet to proove that she did actually wear it when she was a baby (it's a bit to frou-frou for my tastes to wear on a regular basis).

you can see her playing and eventually getting frustrated with it:

yanking the bonnet off.  (hilarious)

and now: eating the bonnet. (love that pointed toe, btw. way to go, ballerina!)

next, just some of us goofin off... check out satine's faces!


and the arm and leg gestures...


satine, fearing for her life.


i heart mama kay.

thanks again Ro-Cho!
xxo

happy sunday

#1 REASON WHY DADS SHOULDN'T DRESS BABIES

 
Satine as an old man.

i asked Hubs to go dress satine, and the two of them disappeared into the bedroom.  What re-emerged was the dorkiest, oldest-man version of my daughter i'd ever seen.  :) 
Gotta love it....

Hubby's defense: 'i wasn't dressing her. i was just throwing a pair of pants on because her legs were cold and i pulled them up high because they were too long."

sweetie with sweet potatoes...

FIRST BITES

satine is on solids now, one meal a day.  soon to be two. the introduction of each new food is a sight to behold, as her face discloses the journey of first tastes...

* * *

Contemplating Peas

every few days, a new delicious-ness,
or not: rice, bananas,
peas
and each first bite, her small planet of a face
curdles
fights,
puckers in revolt,
those pureed aliens crash-landing upon tongue,
detonating small bombs of texture,
taste, smell.

i watch, patient
yet firm, 'til lips wear skirts of green, and open mouth
signals the savory journey
from enemy, to stranger,
to friend.

Download MVI_8065.avi

Beginnings

so i'm starting a blog.  i know, big deal. 

why? well, i'm at a Beginning.  i've become a mother.  i've got some time on my hands.  the pace of life has slowed down a bit, and i'm taking time to reflect + enjoy.  to look at little toes and little feet, pudgy knees and chubby cheeks. plus, i'd been ferociously hinting that i wanted a digital SLR for a while, and hubs finally caved and got me one for my birthday.  so i'll be documenting the ever changing landscape of my daughter's face... as well the life around me.

so yea. after an extended maternity leave,  i'm not returning to work. i'm staying home for... little toes and chubby cheeks:  my daughter, satine.  what else is there?!! (ok, i'm slightly infatuated i admit.)  there is the hubby (hey baby), my freelance design work, acting, running a dj company with hubs, photography, artwork, and the occasional poetry, writings, ramblings and musings about life, love and other going-ons in sunny los angeles.

life IS beautiful.

big shout out to my lovely friends and the fams back in brook-LYN and south cacalacki.  love ya'll.

xxo
charley * star