DOUBLE PISCES BIRTHDAY WEEK!

My son was born on my birthday eve, so each year he and I get to celebrate a week-long birthday bonanza.  This past weekend we threw Benicio's "Big 3" party at one of our favorite spots, the antique carousel that sits tucked away up in the trees of Griffith Park.

Being east siders in LA, Griffith Park has always kind of doubled as our back yard.  It's the largest municipal park in the country, and although it sits smack dab in the middle of LA's urban tangle, it somehow has miles of remote hiking trails along ridges and canyons, plenty of wildlife including coyotes and mountain lions (!?), a secret Redwood grove that Benicio and I think is inhabited by fairies, and special destinations like the art deco Griffith Observatory, the Zoo, and this place. 

On Sunday we set up camp (just far enough away to not be driven completely batty by the carousel tunes on repeat) with a couple of teepees, a face painting salon, and lots of balloons of course, and the festivities commenced.  In spite of a rather daunting forecast of rain for the entire weekend, somehow our day looked like this! Winning right from the start.

The gang all traipsed up to the carousel for a thrilling ride (seriously, this is the fastest merry-go-round I've ever been on.  It definitely puts the wind in your hair!)

My little chocolate lover (who definitely takes after his mama in that regard) got his wish...

 

I got my wish too, because it's a pretty amazing day when my former husband and I, together with our families and friends, can all come together to celebrate this little boy whom we all love so much.  That's truly the greatest gift we can give him.  Divorce is never what you plan on, but I know it can sometimes be the right choice, especially when it's about safeguarding a peaceful and loving environment when kids are involved.  Families come in all shapes and sizes, and ours is now this funny little blended mash up, but it works!  And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Happy Birthday my little one!  You are the light of our lives!

xo,

MAMA + BABY

I can't help sharing these new photos of my Benicio and I, who turns 3 early next month.  I've been feeling like these are the last of our "baby" days, somehow.  My little one is suddenly so tall, so lanky, so independent and opinionated!   This time last year he still had thin, wispy baby hair and a dimple on each of his knuckles.  Sometimes I want to make time stand still, but I also know that each age, each stage, just keeps on getting better.  So I'm riding this giant, engulfing wave of love that is motherhood, and doing my best to savor every moment.

Little storyteller ...

Very grateful to have this instant in time captured so beautifully.

xoxo,

OUR FAMILY THANKSGIVING TRIP

It's been awhile since I've written a more "personal" post, so I thought I'd share a bit of our family vacation last week.  We spent 2 beautiful days in New York City, before heading to Princeton for Thanksgiving and some really nice down time with Marc's family.

Flying into wintry NY from sunny LA was magical for all of us.  We left 80 degree sunshine (not complaining, really I'm not) and arrived just as NYC was getting chilly and all decked out for the holidays.

Our first day was one of those absolutely perfect, mild, Autumn days with Central Park still blanketed in golden leaves. We spent all day poking around the park and enjoying every bit of it.

We took lots of great kid shots ...

And lots of selfies ...

Entertained and were entertained ...

And basked in what was likely the last of the mild weather in that neck of the woods.

Before calling it a night we took in the incredible art installation windows at Bergdorf's on Fifth Ave.

Little Benicio, who is currently obsessed with trains, was absolutely wide-eyed every time we descended into the  subway.

Day 2 in NYC dawned rainy and cold.

So we sought shelter in the Natural History Museum, beneath the belly of the giant blue whale.

And ended our stay in the city with the perfect chocolate pudding at The Odeon.

(By the way, in case you're interested, we were very pleased with our first stab at a boutique hotel in Tribeca called the Duane Street Hotel.  It's by far my favorite "budget-conscious" hotel discovery in NY.  There aren't really any other small boutique hotels in that area, and to me it's perfectly situated out of the commercial hustle and bustle that is Soho these days.)

 

Thanksgiving morning in Princeton we awoke to an inch or two of snow on the ground.  Just enough to be super duper exciting for this little Californian who'd never seen snow before in his life!

We got to spend time with long lost cousins and dine on lobster for our Thanksgiving dinner, deliciously prepared my Marc's gourmand of a dad.

The next couple of days we spent either cozied up inside ...

Benicio adoring Opa and Opa's kitty ...

Or poking around the Princeton campus with our very own Professor as our guide ...

(while Marc of course took insanely beautiful Instagram photos ... )

These two spent the whole trip, as usual, killing us with their general cuteness.  Lulu is such a good, loving big sister to Beni, and he is such an incredibly happy, joyful little guy to be around.  It just doesn't get any better than this!