No plans for Labor Day

Friday, August 29, 2008

How boring are we? We have no plans for Labor Day. I completely forgot about the three-day weekend. Ed and I are both sick. I'm not sure what we have but it started out with stomach pains and nausea. I've now moved on to a yucky sore throat and phlegm. Boo hoo hoo. I hope we don't get Ethan sick.

Today we took a long walk around our neighborhood. We have several historic stairs that date back to 1923 when Hollywoodland was established.




I decided to try a few of the stairs (#2 & #3). Wow, it was a little steep and tough with a baby. I decided to extend our walk towards Wolfs Lair Castle, the infamous home on top of the hill that currently belongs to Debbie Matenopoulos (credentials: The View, E!'s Daily Ten and Style Network's). The castle is currently for sale for $7.5 million (see the Real Estalker for more - love this site for juicy celebrity real estate info). The house is nicely situated on the top of the hill so you have both downtown city lights, Hollywood sign and the view of Lake Hollywood.

On our walk towards Wolf's Lair, we ran into a pregnant Minnie Driver and her black Labrador taking a walk. We both said hi and kept on our merry way. I'm not sure if she lives in the neighborhood, but she looks like she's about to have her baby any day now so she can't live too far away.

So here are some more pictures of the new baby. I'll take some pics of Isabella and Ethan together this weekend.




Welcome Ethan Nicholas

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Well, he's finally arrived and we couldn't be happier. Please enjoy our scrapblog. Just click on "Scrapblog" on the lower right for a larger screen.


Kidspace Children's Museum

Saturday, August 16, 2008

We took Isabella to the Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena today to get out of the house and take Isabella somewhere fun before the new baby arrives. They have a lot of indoor and outdoor spaces for kids of all ages. It was pretty fun for everyone. It's funny watching toddlers Isabella's age play. They still don't really play with one another. They just do their own thing. Although at some point they all decided to stand in line and go down the slide in an orderly manner. I forgot to take pictures of that.

It's a large facility with an outdoor theater, several play areas, garden and a water play area with a water fall. We got right in the creek and walked around. In the main courtyard was what they called "Splash Dance Fountain". All the kids would get close up and try to touch the light in the center and out would pop a spring of water. Isabella was caught by surprise as were many other kids around her.





Isabella got on a tricycle for the first time. She didn't know how to peddle, but certainly looked cute with the helmet on.





We had lunch in Old Town Pasadena and walked the streets before heading home. Back at home our kitchen cabinets are being installed so we wanted to take our time heading home. On the way back, we decided to stop by Griffith Park to check out the Merry Go Round.

She was so excited watching the Merry Go Round. Once we got on she grew quiet, but very alert. We weren't sure if she was scared, happy or about the throw up.








It was a pretty fun day. I think Isabella had a great time with mommy and daddy. Tomorrow will be another big day. We are scheduled for an induction at 7am. Wish us luck!

Into the Wild

Friday, August 15, 2008

LA is still new to us. It's strange how close we are to the city yet we're distant enough to experience the wildlife in our backyard. This summer, we realized we are not alone. Late at night, we hear the cries of a pack of coyotes. It is the eeriest sound when you have so many coyotes yipping to mark their territories. The sound echos in the valley of our hills and surrounds our house. The first time I heard it I freaked out and woke Ed up. At first I couldn't recognize the sound. I suddenly had a flashback to a scene in "I Am Legend" where Will Smith is in the dark building looking for his dog and all the mutants come out to feed off him.

Now, I've gotten somewhat used to the sounds, but they still freak me out. I keep telling myself to record it, but forget. So, I found a sound that is similar. Click on number 6. Coyote Group and that sums up what we hear late at night.





Last weekend, we took Isabella for a walk around Lake Hollywood. It's a nice long walk around a reservoir built to put out fires in the hills. On our walk we spotted two wild deers. They were beautiful. It still amazes Ed to be in the city and yet to have such wildlife around us.


Baby Astrology

So as I get closer to my induction date, I'm beginning to wonder what the new baby will be like as a child. My curiosity brought me to Google "baby astrology" and I found an interesting website. I'm not saying that I believe in astrology 100%, but I do find it fascinating.

I go in for my induction on Sunday, August 17 and this would make baby #2 a Leo. I'm an Aries and Ed's a Leo so you can only imagine what it would be like to have another fire sign in the house. Poor Isabella. The only Virgo.

So this is what the site had to say about our baby.

The Leo Baby is, above all else, loud! Forget sleep for the foreseeable future, Mom and Dad. This is a baby who must be heard and will certainly let everyone in their midst know what they want. Think center of attention, since there really is no other way for this tot! With a Leo baby as part of the plan, family life will revolve around this magnetic child. The Leo baby adores an audience, so it should come as no surprise that many of these tots go on to become stars of stage and screen. This babe is auditioning early on! To that end, this is a child who is also competitive, so maybe they are prepping for that dog-eat-dog Hollywood whirl from day one. When in a play group or any social situation, the Leo baby will make friends easily and will thrive on the interaction, since being on-stage is where they're at. Even so, they will have a hard time sharing things, such as roles, responsibilities, and even toys. The King (or Queen) of everything they see, they will be the one making the rules, after all. To sum up, the Leo baby is the leader of the pack, loads of fun, and will expect to live in the most comfortable of kingdoms. Pity the parent who won't play along!

YIKES!!! He sounds like a handful. The website also looks at the parent/child compatibility. So here's me (Aries) to the baby (Leo).

When a Leo child is born to an Aries parent, the sparks tend to fly! Both Signs are intense and dynamic with a healthy spirit of competition between them. The Aries parent and the Leo child push each other to accomplish more and better things.

Surely, there is a lot of action in this family relationship as both parent and child have boundless energy. Both Signs want to be the boss, and problems can begin when their egos get in the way. As relatives and as individuals, this pair has genuine admiration and respect for each other, but they need to learn to take turns commanding and giving orders. Simply selecting a box of cereal or a pizza topping can often lead to World War III.


Double Yikes!

I then was curious to see if there were any similarities with Isabella's temperament and her astrological sign. Here's what it had to say about the Virgo baby.

For better or for worse, the Virgo baby is plenty fussy! How else do you expect these kids to grow up to be perfectionists? Get used to it: the Virgo baby can be quite particular and needs to have a routine. At least having a routine isn't all bad, but don't even think of changing it! This baby will not respond well to a lot of change. The Virgo baby can also be picky about food, so keep it simple at mealtimes. Aside from these peculiarities, this tot doesn't require a lot. A clean bedroom and simple clothing are sure to keep this baby dry-eyed. As well, the Virgo baby is quite good at amusing itself for hours with the most basic of games, feeling very little need for the attention of others. The Virgo child also wants to talk early on, probably earlier than most of the other babies around. There's a lot going on in that mind, so it may as well come out! From an early age, this baby can also be seen as mother's little helper, as the need to serve others is a strong Virgo trait. They also won't make a fuss over their accomplishments, since by nature these kids are a bit shy. To sum up, the Virgo baby is fine on their own but also happy to help others, loves cleanliness, and can easily keep themselves amused. Pretty (albeit picky!) good kid.

It sounds so much like Isabella. The good news for Isabella is she's not alone in our extended family. Her cousins Asher and Jack are both Virgos and so is her Auntie Susan. And of course, my BFF, Christine is also a Virgo. So we have plenty of Virgos to keep her company.