We had a small birthday party for Liv at our apartment and then surprised her with a trip to Disneyland Paris. I booked it through Viator so we were picked up in a coach and driven right to Disneyland’s front entrance. Since we were getting picked up by the company, we spent twelve hours at Disneyland. It wasn’t even close to dark when we left! I think it’s safe to say she enjoyed her fourth birthday in Paris.
We celebrated with a sparkler candle I bought from Urbanicand tart au fraise from the local patisserie
Antz made a brilliant wrapping paper solution
I am sure this is going to be a birthday she never forgets. *I won’t let her!*
These crazy eyes are super excited
I always head to City Hall to get a badge before we begin
She spoke very little English but I understood Joyeux anniversaire, Olivia
She got a special birthday call from Mickey in French
If I had more room in our luggage, I would have bought this Snow White doll
Olivia is so thrilled to get this Blanche-Neige dress
I am in utter denial. It can’t believe it has already been four incredible years with this child. She was just in my tummy. We were just finding out that she would be a girl. We were just putting together her nursery. We just had our bebe shower. She was just born. She was just breastfeeding. She just started preschool. How can this be? Time is warp speed at the moment. I can see her growing and changing everyday. She is losing her adorable toddler lisp. She no longer uses sippy cups or her little potty. She does everything herself. She is fiercely independent. She tells me she wants to live in Japan when she grows up. She wants to chew gum *I won’t let her*. She can write her own name and buckle her shoes. She is growing up too fast for me. I want to live in this moment everyday for the rest of my life. I hope she remembers this trip fondly and will develop a love for travel, taking adventures and continue to be fearless at trying new things.
Olivia, I am so happy you are now four but please, stay little!
It’s crazy how easy it is for her to take the Totoro picture now. When she was a tiny bebe, I had to prop her up and take the photo as quickly as I could. Then she was a toddler and she would never keep still so it took ages to get a good shot. Now I say it’s picture time and she knows exactly what to do. I have such a wonderful kid.
//player.vimeo.com/video/97101469Olivia grows from sunkissis on Vimeo.
This song makes me simultaneously happy and sad. I know our time together is limited. I love her so much at this age. Everyday feels like a carnival. It is inevitable that one day she will be on her cell phone all the time, always choosing to be with her friends, she won’t find my jokes funny anymore and then I will have to let her be a teenager. It will rip my heart in half but I will have to patiently wait for her, just like my Mom waited for me. This mother-daughter love is some real shit. I love you kid, I cherish every second we spend together.
Karen sent Liv this amazing dress! Olivia is obsessed with her lollipop dress.
Here is a video I made of highlights of the last year. Please let me know if you want to know the name of any of the songs I used.
Yesterday was nuts in a totally fantastic way! Not only was it Olivia’s last day at school but I had tons of errands to run for our trip. I spent an hour at the bank ordering foreign currency and then I put on my party planner hat. I’m sure if you have a child under the age of six, you know Frozen is like kid crack. I may not be the biggest Frozen fan but I love my kid so of course I threw a Frozen themed Going Away party for her class. Let me say, blue colored cupcakes are scarce in LA but luckily I found a baker who would airbrush vanilla cupcakes to look Frozen-esque. I searched every party store for weeks looking for Frozen party supplies but no luck. Finally, I checked the pinata/99 cent store on the corner and all that was left was a paltry bag of favors and a mylar balloon. At first I was all ambitious to make a huge Pinterest worthy craft project but you know what? I have too much going on at the moment so, I found her an Elsa crown and called it a day. As they say, let it gooooo!
The kids got kaleidoscopes, tattoos, rings and stickers. The boys were more into Frozen stuff than the girls
Liv and her bestie Sara
Liv was delighted to wear her Princess Ana dress to school and I played Michael Jackson during her party
Liv hugged me and said “This is the best party ever Mommy, thank you so much!”
Those crazy eyes and happy face are all worth it! I am so grateful for our two years at her school. We feel like part of a happy family and I know we will stay in touch with everyone. We handed out some parting gifts for the staff.
We made a cartoon of Mrs Crissy and ironed it onto a tote bag, she loved it!
Mrs. Crissy gave Liv a scrapbook filled with photos of her teachers and classmates. I cried when I read what she wrote in Olivia’s Oh! The Places You’ll Go book.
She is such an incredible teacher. I really love her. She is so rad. I apologize for my inability to form sentences, I am writing this a midnight so I’m very tired but I have an exciting post coming soon. Goodnights!
Back in February, Karen and Joe shot Liv for their new Spring/Summer line in our backyard. I was so excited to see donuts featured since it’s our favorite treat.
You can shop the line at Misha Lulu site. This is the biggest we’ve ever styled her hair.
I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. Last week Olivia received some special mail from her grandmommy Bobbye. She loved getting her own mail in the post.
Then her Grandmother Maria gave her a basket and Godmommy Aimee brought her a rad basket. Sunday morning the Easter bunny brought Liv a basket too. Three baskets for this kid!!
Liv was very pleased with her basket loot, she even got a Venus Flytrap plant!
We spent the day at Olivia’s Nino’s house for their annual Easter brunch and egg hunt.
Leslie made these adorable bunny ears
Temptation, thy name is cake and donuts *I resisted, I’m on a strict salad and water diet until our trip*
A toast to the lovely host
Sweet little bunnies
Bubbles!
Liv can spell fox and her name
He really enjoyed the Honeybaked ham
I love my new dress
This confetti egg didn’t crack the first time
So she hit me twice as hard and broke my head!
It was a confetti egg war
she still has confetti in her hair a week later
Thanks for the photobomb Antz
Then we stopped by Antz Mom’s house for a second and headed off to church. For the last 3 years we’ve been going to the afternoon mass and we love it. It’s so much less crowded and you have the rest of the evening to relax.
Liv brought a confetti egg to get Grandma
I won a Caption this contest that Leslie’s bakery *Brown Box Bakery* had last week!!
Leslie delivered my lovely carrot cake. It’s sooo pretty!
Since I was on a diet, I didn’t feel guilty for eating carrot cake since it’s gluten-free and diabetic-friendly. They have really good treats if you are needing a cake or cookies for someone with food restrictions or allergies.
I am so happy to say Olivia will be attending preschool at the French school this fall.
Liv standing in front of her lycee
We are so proud of Liv and elated that she will be not only learning French but at an international school which promotes global awareness. Olivia will meet kids from all over the world. In all honesty, living in LA can feel insular. I wouldn’t know anything going on in the world if it weren’t for Jon Stewart.
Most of the people I know are from the same economic status and we are not a culturally diverse group. I am looking forward to meeting new people and expanding our horizons. Another benefit is the curriculum is taught at the individual child’s strengths, so kids who already speak French don’t have to wait for the kids who don’t to catch up. The kids who are learning French, don’t feel pressure to speak right away, it happens naturally. I am so excited to learn along with Liv. We will be a French speaking family in no time!
I am sad to be leaving her current school. The teachers are remarkable and the last two years have been wonderful. We have met so many wonderful people and Liv has friends we hope to stay in touch with. Antz and I want to thank everyone for the encouragement and support. My Mom and Aimee have been saints allowing me to be a basketcase and patiently listened to me go on endlessly about the new school. I couldn’t have kept my sanity without your love.
I was so proud of Olivia for achieving such a huge accomplishment, I went against my better judgement and did something not so bright. I downloaded Disney’s Frozen for Liv. If this isn’t proof that I love my daughter nothing is. I am not a fan of Princess films. I have endured Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid only by the skin of my teeth. I was so happy when she fell for Wreck-it-Ralph and Hayao Miyazaki films. I prefer my heroine to be smart, clever, funny, ambitious and sensible. I can’t say the same for Disney characters whose main quality is having luscious hair, biting their lips, being clumsy and falling instantly in love with a dude they just met. Don’t even get me started with the corny songs. I adore musicals. I think Adele Dazeem was incredible in Wicked, yet I’m not so convinced in this film. The plot *which makes zero sense* is too absurd for words and the songs are just lazy narration and loudly obnoxious to me. I don’t hear a loveable character I am rooting for singing, I hear the desperation of an actress wanting to win an Oscar being screeched at me. I never made it to the end but I heard most of the songs from another room and it sounded too church choir for my taste. Sorry, I am not feeling the Frozen hullabaloo. Regardless of my own opinion, the film makes my kid happy and she has earned this special treat. So I’m choosing to “Let it Go!”
Good thing I downloaded it from iTunes, now she can watch it on my iPad using her HEADPHONES!!
It’s been a year since Liv modeled in the Misha Lulu Fall/Winter 2013 photo shoot at Humphrey’s Estate. I didn’t think they could top that location but Karen did it again! We met at a building in Culver City that ended up being a rad movie prop house. It was beyond cool! Everywhere you looked there was giant Sci-fi gadgets and old pieces of furniture, clocks, weird chairs, the photos I took only show a fraction of the stuff. Liv was especially pleased to find out that one of the props was used in a Michael Jackson video. I reunited with the lovely Misha Lulu family again and we had yummy In & Out burgers for lunch before the shoot.
I am obsessed with old phone booths *also photo booths*
Liv had a ball “working” on this vintage typewriter
Models do eat!
This collection of miniature designer chairs is impressive
Well, I can’t share the photos from the shoot just yet. I can sneak peek these adorable headbands made by Gracie *Persimmon Jewelry*
Liv was smitten with this giant diamond
A Barrel of Monkeys
The models received lovely gift bags
Thanks so much Karen & Joe!! It was wonderful seeing the beautiful Moms, Ana, Gracie, Rubyellen, Heather, Jessie and meeting Jalene. I can’t wait to see the photos!
The greatest children’s line designer in the world, Karen, asked Olivia to be a part their Spring 2014 photo shoot today. Guess where it took place??
That skirt is FABulous!!
Yep, my backyard! I can’t wait to see how the photos turned out but for
now, here’s the behind the scene shots. I am so lucky rustic is in style
because our backyard was a source of spring inspiration for Karen & her
husband Joe.
Update: Karen posted these photos of Liv on Instagram.
You know how you meet people and you get a first impression? I met Karen a year ago and I was like, I’m gonna fall in love with her. She’s a true beauty inside and out. I am really happy we are friends. She also makes rad clothes for kids that are whimsical, fun and nice quality. I’m fully endorsing her for all you parents with 12 months – size 10 little people.
Of course Liv was an old pro, she rocked the shoot and was super stoked to wear pink heart shaped sunglasses *I gotta buy her a pair* Karen and Joe generously gave Liv a gift of clothes which is so awesome because I’ve been wanting pieces from the winter season!
So rad, just when I think my kid can’t get any cooler. Tomorrow is gonna be fun, Tom Kenny is coming to her school for a special performance. I hope to get him on video doing Ice King’s voice!
Liv and I had a mini photo shoot this morning. She calls confetti pixie dust and we had a blast throwing it around. It was hard to keep the camera straight, I was laughing as hard as she was!
This kid is so much fun!
Now we have to sweep up all the millions of pieces of Pixie dust.
This Friday is Olivia’s French school interview. Olivia will be interviewed separately so I won’t know how she does *I’m not worried about her at all*. I know being nervous is silly yet I have terrible butterflies in my stomach. I have been waiting for almost two years to get this interview. I feel so much pressure since this is our top choice school for her and once she gets in, she’ll be there all the way until she graduates in 2028!
Only fourteen more years to go!
Everyone keeps telling us we are gonna get in with no problem but it’s really nerve-racking. I thought it would be a good idea to share our thoughts behind choosing this school for Liv. It is very expensive but also reasonable in comparison to other private school tuition in Los Angeles.
French Immersion Program
This isn’t your regular “Repeat after me.” French lessons. The curriculum follows the same system taught in France yet it also embraces some American methods. There are no French lessons yet the teachers speak French all day. Liv will pick up the language by immersion. Most pupils who start with no French language are fluent by 1st grade, I love it! The teachers do not assign tons of homework. Their philosophy is when you go home, it’s time to spend with your family and rest, they do most of their work in class. The fun part is, when they do get homework assignments, they are done via video chat. It could be reciting a poem, or singing in French and Mom & Dad are welcome to join in! I also think being bilingual will only bring benefits to her future. This school offers a International diploma program so when she graduates, she will be eligible to go to any university in Europe* ahem, La Sorbonne!*. There are fun things to do as well such as art, music, dance, science, yoga, cooking, horseback riding, and performing arts. I am really excited to enroll Liv in fencing class when she’s old enough. I totally hope she is an nerd like me and participates in many activities. She will be the female version of Max Fischer!
This school is my Rushmore.
Every student has an iPad tablet at school which is perfect since Liv uses ours most of the time. By the way, here are my favorite apps for toddlers.
The Human Body – Super cool interactive app! We scored it for free but I would have paid for it. I love the functionality and the art is beautiful. The first time Liv used it, she told me, “This is my lungs.” and took a deep breathe. Five stars!
French for Kids – I have tried several language apps and this one has an easy to use format and she retains the words and pronunciation best *I use Duolingo French app*
Endless Reader – This is a must have app for kids at the verge of reading. It’s so well done and I’m really impressed with the graphics for a free app. She is able to sound out the letters, spell words and read full sentences. Best free app! I would follow up with the Endless Alphabet app too.
*I have to share this deal with you since it expires in a few days. Groupon is having a half price special on a Baby Lit book set. We have Alice in Wonderland and Dracula already and love them! Liv can read the words, she identifies the colors and Dracula is a counting book. The art *by Alison Oliver* is so rad! My favorite board books for preschoolers.
Team Umizoomi Math: Zoom into Numbers – Liv is really good at this game. She never lets me help her. She is going through a “I can do it by my own” stage. Good game!
Toca Games (Doctor/Robot Lab/Tailor/Hair Salon) – These are cute easy to play games. My favorite part is she doesn’t have to ask me to unlock additional features and she is really good at creating robots.
Olivia is really into dressing up and playing Princess, so she is always asking us to download those kind of apps. The problem is, they are free upfront but in order to add features, you have to pay individually and the apps have annoying ads. I’d much rather pay upfront once for a quality game that I know she’ll enjoy. Plus, I find the music on those games to be annoying.
Clumsy Ninja– I admit, this is an adorable app we all play. It’s really cute but Liv seems to enjoy throwing her ninja around. I feel sorry for her little dude.
Doc McStuffins Time for your checkup! – Liv is really into Doc and I like that she can identify medical terminology. She tries so hard to say “stethoscope” but she’s still working on S-words.
Fish out of the Water – I downloaded this game for me but Liv loves playing it. I like games where you really can’t lose but it’s still challenging enough for them to not get discouraged. She hasn’t mastered how to play angry birds yet but this game is perfect for little ones who want to play a game similar to Mommy. Plus the fish are really cute.
The Presidents of the United States – This is one of Mom’s favorite learning app. I have always wanted to memorize all the presidents. I’m close but those three dudes after William Henry Harrison always trip me up. It their own fault for not doing anything notable! The artwork is impeccable and Olivia has five Presidents memorized so far! *My five favorites of course!* We also have a President mat I’ve been using with her since she was born.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rooftop Run – Honestly, Liv is better at this game than I am. She really loves the ninja turtles so this is a fun game for her. It’s really addicting.
*She used to love the Hello Friends! Yo Gabba Gabba app but now she says she’s a big girl so she doesn’t play it anymore. It is really cute and you can watch Yo Gabba Gabba videos.
Diversity
I adore Olivia’s preschool but it isn’t very diverse. Liv, of course, doesn’t notice at all but she has said to us, “I’m brown!” and we tell her about her mixed heritage. Her new school is a melting pot, so she will be exposed to all different nationalities. That is one thing I never experienced in my school years. It’s so obvious the kids at this school are so much more tolerant of others and friendly since they come from different parts of the world. They are taught to be citizens of the world and I want Olivia to grow up with a global perspective. When you walk into the preschool classroom there are photos of the children all over the room. They identify their county origin and are very proud of where they are from. I am certain that gives them a stronger sense of who they are which promotes confidence early on. We met kids from Haiti, and also same-sex couples when we went to the school carnival last year. I love that Liv can grow up in an environment where being different is embraced and the norm. Beginning in secondary lycée *10th grade for us Americans* every student is required to complete volunteer service before they can graduate. I love the idea of community service. Imagine if public schools started that?
Uniforms
When I first heard of a French school, I assumed, sweet Nuns taught the children French and they wore adorable uniforms *similar to Madeline*
Turns out, it’s so much more than that. The school doesn’t really have an uniform policy *I wore a Catholic school uniform for eight yearsand loved it* so I was a little disappointed but since it’s free dress, we can adopt our own version of a uniform. I’d like her to wear navy jumpers, white shirts with Peter Pan collars, a cardigan and these shoes. She can also have a free dress day once a week like I did, but I’ll see how it goes. The dress code of the school is pretty strict which I love. When I changed from Catholic school to public school in 7th grade, my jaw dropped when I saw girls wearing midriff tops and hoochie shorts. How you dressed at my school was pretty competitive and I was always trying to keep up with the more popular kids but I was really a surfer, sporty girl at heart. I pretty much wore tie-dye shorts, t-shirts and Vans everyday. I went through a period of doubting myself and pretended to be someone I wasn’t during my teens that I pray Olivia never has to experience. I am really conscientious about Liv developing in a positive environment. Lucky for me I never did drugs or anything like that but back in the nineties, girls in my class were having babies like crazy.
The Staff & Campus
One of the main reasons my Mom took me out of Catholic School and put me in public was the lack of facilities. As nice as a non-secular education was for me, it was a pain in the ass to wear our gym clothes under our uniforms and the boys would have to leave the room while the girls got dressed since we didn’t have an actual locker room. We also didn’t have a field so we played all our sports in the parking lot. My Mom would grumble when I would come home with scraped knees from playing volleyball on the asphalt and I now understand why it was more appealing to send me to a school that had better facilities. This school is beautiful! It’s historically preserved and has 6 acres of land. There is an organic garden and a huge field of grass for sports and they even offer Tae Kwon Do.
In summation,
What makes our decision to send her to this school is best summed up in this video made by the eighth grade class. I have lived in LA all my life and it’s very rare I come across young people like these. I want that cultural diversity, the accepting heart and confidence in my daughter. I can’t wait!!
