the latest ramblings…
Box Fort Baby
Wanna know about, probably, the best FREE gift to make for your baby/kid that has the potential of bringing hours of fun and dozens of smiles? Read on... With Mia's 1st birthday $, we bought her the next stage in car seats. It was an exciting milestone in our home and definitely highlighted the fact that our baby isn't a baby anymore. We ordered it online and were stoked when the giant package arrived on our doorstep a few days later. Little did we know just how much fun we'd have with this package down the road. Anyways, we busted out the seat and Daddy Dom put it together and in my car for Mia's first ride in it. She looked so small in this big honkin' thing, but she looked comfortable and safe, too. Very important. We got home and had this giant box and a handful of wrappers to get rid of. I don't know where my "light bulb moment" came from...but I had the grand idea to turn the box into Mia's very first box fort. Daddy Dom retrieved his blade cutter and we gave the box a little … do tell more...
A perfect way to end a workday…
...is with a quick and spontaneous play date with my daughter and husband. Mondays have been Daddy Dom's day to watch Mia. He loves having this opportunity to spend a whole day each week with just her. I love it, too. There aren't too many sweeter things in this world than a loving Daddy-Daughter-bond. Theirs has been kind of a slow one to develop and strengthen. Mia's been quite the "mommy's girl" since birth. But finally, at last, after a year...Mia is showing Daddy the love. I honestly was starting to worry, because other friends of ours with daughters would tell us (months ago) that their daughters went through the same phase and that our Mia would come around soon enough. Well, months after their daughters grew out of their "mommy only" phases, Mia would still be stuck in hers. Not anymore. She reaches for him while I'm holding her like she always did for me. She looks to him, too, when she gets hurt or scared for comfort and safety. She snuggles with him, too, while winding down … do tell more...
Indoor Play {Caterpillar Kids Place, La Cañada}
On Friday, I took Mia to a local indoor play place for kids. I had driven by it plenty of times and had been meaning to check it out one day. Before we left the house and while Mia was taking her first nap of the day, I did a little online search of other indoor playgrounds in the Los Angeles area. I made a short list of a few locations that caught my eye and that aren't too far out of the way. I plan on giving each one a try, hopefully once a week on our Mama/Mia day, and then sharing our experience with you here. I had no idea there were so many locations of this kind. I'm looking forward to checking them out. The first indoor playground that both Mia and I have ever visited, is Caterpillar Kids Place in La Cañada. It's in a good area with plenty of accessible parking. There were friendly staff that greeted us when we walked through the door. They charge $12 for an all day "play pass" for children and adults/caregivers are free. Of the few I jotted down to try at a later date, this … do tell more...
Mia’s 1st Birthday Party {You Are My Sunshine Theme}
Here it is, the MOTHER of all blog posts! This one's a doozy. Get yourself a cup of coffee/tea or a refreshing cold drink (depending on the weather) and bask along with me in Mia's first birthday post. So you've already seen Mia's "smash cake" photo session that my mom and I threw together in my backyard for my then-almost-one-year-old daughter, Mia. She officially became a whole year old on Saturday, April 27, 2013...3 weeks ago. We celebrated her special day by having close friends and family (31 adults, 8 babies/kids) over at our home in the later afternoon for food, drinks, music, sunshine, cake and company. It was a beautiful and warm day with temperatures in the low to mid 80s. A few guests even enjoyed our swimming pool to cool off. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. I know it sure meant a lot to us to have so many shining faces there to share in Mia's special day, her first birthday. I decided to go with a theme for the occasion. Ever since Mia was born, I've sang to her. … do tell more...
A Portrait A Week: 20/52
Photo: I took Mia to a local kids' indoor playground on Friday. I'll be posting about our experience there soon. She was intrigued by these plastic animals. She held them, whacked them on the table a few times and even spoke to them and danced for them. Can you guess what just jumped to the top of our "toy purchase" list? I love watching her play, learn and explore. I hope one day when she's grown, she does get to meet a real life tiger. And I hope I'm there to see it. "A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013." We're trying to remain in the top 25 blogs over at TopBabyBlogs.com. We need your VOTE (once, daily) to pull it off! All votes have been reset to ZERO so the battle is on. If you're unsure how to vote, read my post with the voting breakdown. If this isn't your first time, then vote away! Oh...and check out my new voting banner below. I made it all by myself ;) THANK YOU! … do tell more...
Blog Votes {The Breakdown}
Momista Beginnings is a blog. It's a "mommy/baby blog." It's a "mommy/baby blog" that has proudly been ranked in the top 25 blogs over at TopBabyBlogs.com for quite some time now. There are hundreds of pretty great blogs listed and we truly consider it an honor to be among some of their best. How does a blog make it to the top of the rankings? Votes. Readers can vote once per blog each day. Why do we want your votes? Well, the higher we're ranked, the more traffic we get to our blog. We love the publicity we receive because we love sharing our lives, projects, and ramblings with ya'll. What else? The more traffic we get, the more opportunities from other bloggers and companies come our way to test out new products, host contests and giveaways for our readers and the more connections we make all over the world. That's some pretty exciting stuff. Every few months, Top Baby Blogs resets all the votes for every blog back down to zero. The battle to climb back up to the top of the … do tell more...
A Portrait A Week: 19/52
Photo: I took Mia to a local park for the first time last week. She's only a year old and most playgrounds I've seen so far are built for 2 year olds and older. There wasn't much for her to do there, but she enjoyed the new environment, the outdoors and sight seeing. Unfortunately there were no other young children there that day. Mia loves to socialize with other kids and I know she would have made some new friends had there been any to make. Maybe next time. "A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013." Don't forget to VOTE for us (once, daily). Only takes 2 clicks and sure does put a smile on our faces! … do tell more...
Recipes
Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas {Recipe}
I love me some Mexican food. I should...I am 1/2 Mexican, after all. Makes sense then for me to try my hand at making a Mexican dish for dinner. This, by no means, is supposed to be an authentic recipe. But it's muy easy and oh so cheesy. Works for me. … do tell more...
DIY
Box Fort Baby
Wanna know about, probably, the best FREE gift to make for your baby/kid that has the potential of bringing hours of fun and dozens of smiles? Read on... With Mia's 1st birthday $, we bought her the next stage in car seats. It was an exciting milestone … do tell more...
My art lessons for kids
How To Draw A Nutcracker
In celebration of the holiday season upon us, I had my 2nd graders draw a nutcracker in my art class. Here are the steps we followed. Note that, of course, there are variations along the way. My students were given different options and ideas on how to … do tell more...
Product reviews
Art Today, Light Tonight! {DiaNoche Designs GIVEAWAY}
UPDATE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS CURRENTLY CLOSED I'm an art teacher so art is sorta my thing. I'm also into home decor and if my bank account was bigger, my home would certainly reflect that passion. So naturally, I'm just glowing over our latest sponsor's … do tell more...
