belated birthday

I turned 32 last Monday, and I celebrated with all my favorite people.  It was a quiet birthday (as they are now with kids in the picture), and I prefer it that way.  I just love having the chance to enjoy the people that fill my life up with so much love and light.

We kicked off the festivities with dinner for two at AOC Wine Bar in Beverly Hills.

Then there was tea with my girl friends.

And ice cream cake with my favorite girl.

And waking up to this face.  Best gift a baby boy can give his mom?  The gift of 12 hours of sleep.

Happy Birthday, Adam!

We celebrated Adam's birthday a couple weeks ago with some low-key events.  First, the kids and I visited him at work and brought an ice cream cake (the only cake he'll eat) to celebrate.  Ella was more than happy to dig in, though she liked the ice cream part more than the cake.

That night, Adam and I had dinner at a fantastic restaurant called Bestia in downtown LA.  It was amazing.  It was hands down the best dinner we've had in a long time.  We feasted on grilled lamb hearts, succulent bone marrow, uni pasta, and veal tartare.  It was equally wonderful because we got to spend some time together just enjoying each other's company and not having to rush through a meal.

While we wined and dined, Ella got to play in her new tent (a purchase I splurged on thanks to a Friends & Family deal on Restoration Hardware Baby & Child).  She LOVED it.  And I love the pictures Ashley took of her.

E got to stay up late, and we found her reading books by flashlight with her auntie when we got home.  Adam couldn't resist joining the camp out.

Lastly, Adam had a guys' night to cap off his birthday week.  They had a spicy Schezuan dinner, followed by cigars and drinks at our place.  I made Snickers ice cream (in lieu of cake) for dessert.  (I recently got an ice cream maker and have been obsessed with making ice cream--much to Ella's delight.)

All in all, it was a wonderful celebration of Adam turning 33!

family portraits and ella at two

I commissioned my sister-in-law Kathie again to take pictures of our family with Ella at two-years old.  I had a vision of E playing with balloons, bubbles and sidewalk chalk in our backyard, which I felt captured her interests and personality at this age.  We were only able to successfully photograph two of the three activities, but we did get some good family shots (and shots of Gavin), so I'd say it went well. It's definitely my favorite shoot we've had with Kathie so far, as she was able to translate what I had imagined into print.

ella + OLIVIA

Ella started watching a lot more TV (than I would have liked) once Gavin came along.  But thankfully, she fell in love with a show that we could all embrace.  Every day she would ask to watch "lie" (or Olivia) after her nap, and with a newborn baby that needed to be nursed and cared for, I happily obliged.  So it only felt fitting to throw her an Olivia-themed birthday party.  We decided to stick with the book version (which she loves just as much), and designed the party around a black and white theme with red accents.  We asked the guests to wear neutral colors, so Ella could pop in red as the birthday girl.  We also served red food, and decorated with balloons in the same color scheme.  And of course, there was a (makeshift) photo booth with pig ears and snouts along with other fun accessories for guests to partake in.  I had initially planned for something small, but with 40+ guests, Ella's birthday celebration became quite an event.  And we enjoyed every minute of it.  (Thank you, to Auntie Ashley, for all your help!)

I decided a hand-drawn invitation would set the right move.  Ashley did an awesome job sketching Olivia.  We colored in her dress red before sending them out.

It took a few weeks to finish all the details and preparations for the party.  I was super excited to find the red and white washi tape on sale, and the mason jar and straws were from Etsy.  The polka dot wrapping paper were the perfect splash of red; these wrapped up Olivia books as favors for the kids.

She turned two and suddenly sprouted an attitude.

The guests sipped watermelon frescas out of personalized mason jars.  I love how vintage hollywood Ella looks in this picture.

The favors.  My "balloon wall" didn't come out as planned, but they were cute nonetheless.

Inspired by an idea I saw on pinterest, I made Ella a board summarizing her at this age.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to include her height and weight. 

Madelyn and Alexa checking out the photo station with Olivia.

All the kids got goodie bags with some activities they could do during the party (in lieu of planned entertainment or a bouncy house).  Ella loved her sidewalk chalk.  And yes, we had Olivia tattoos for the kids.  Ella chose a half-sleeve.

Actually all the kids enjoyed the chalk.  By the end of the day, our backyard was pretty well decorated.

More chalking.

Our lovely guests dressed in black and white.

Gabe got in on the pig action.

These two became fast friends.

I love color coordination! 

You can't serve red food and not have Jell-O!  

After being introduced to it a couple months ago at birthday party, Ella loves her jello-jello (as she calls it). 

She also loves balloons.

Ashley had the idea to make giant clouds to give the backyard a storybook feel.  Apparently, Kathie found them delicious.

Ella with her puo-puo and gong-gong.

Peek-a-boo with Olivia. 

Ella was on cloud nine.  Sorta.

Taking Olivia for a ride.  Ashley drew a life-size version for the photo station.

Lounging as the party winded down.

Piggy fun.

E had so much fun running around, I barely got to see her.  Here's a rare moment we got together at the end of the party.

And now, photo booth fun!  Ashley made the adorable pig ears and snouts.  I made the banner and supplied the red accessories.

Not a fan of being the center of attention in large groups, Ella did not enjoy the cake part.  I mean, she enjoyed the cake, but not the singing.  We'll have to work on that.

Taste testing her red velvet cake.

Not impressed by the rendition of "Happy Birthday"

Waiting for it to end.

At least the cake was worth it!

Despite the warm weather and all-around craziness of hosting a toddler birthday party, we all enjoyed ourselves.  Most of all, Ella had a blast and it was the perfect celebration in honor of this little person that she's growing into.