Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Red, White and...Oh...its only Tuesday

Raya has a couple Red, White and Blue outfits, so its going to be a week of patrioticness. Thank god for the 12 hours of sleep she got because she was in a great mood. However, when we made a trip to Forever 21 she refused to go in her stroller. Since I was literally running in to do an even exchange I decided just to carry her. By the time I got to the section my dress was in, the beating music got to Raya and she was doing everything in her power to get down. Because the master plan was to hold her while I ran in, and because I never thought of Plan B, Raya had no shoes on. I let her down anyways. Classy. She let out a little squeal of excitement when she realized she was free. It was the first time she'd every ran around a clothing rack and realized she could "sneak" up on me from the other side. Very entertaining for both of us. Since the dress I was looking for was no where to be found I joined in on the mini game of hide and sneak (yes i said sneak) And yes I was totally that annoying person playing with their kid while you tried to shop. I'm sorry. But I promise it was literally for 60 seconds. By the time she rounded the 2nd clothes rack she found a big pillar mirror. She's not in front of a big mirror like that very often, so being able to see herself talk and move was amazing. Watching herself dance was even better. Raya's dancing, like her all out dancing, she does these fast little squats like she's bouncing and she puts her arms in the air...almost like she's raising the roof. Basically she was dropping it like it was hot in front of this mirror. She drew a bit of a crowd.  I was so sad I didn't have a video camera. And at no time did it cross my mind to stop her. Lol. I'm sure some of the people watching were thinking "What kind of dancing does her mom teach her?" The only part of that dance I taught her was the arm part, I swear. It's like when she feels the beat her body can't be stopped. Ahhhh, good times. I've had some fun in 21, and this will definitely make Top 5.
Here's some pics of Patriotic Outfit #1. It's from her Texarkana Grandmaw. Doesn't she look like a little Southern Belle?
She can really smell flowers now. So funny. She sniffs so hard!
When Gentry comes home, you can usually hear him coming from a couple blocks away. Raya has learned that usually the sound of muffled music from a distance means Daddy is not far away. She also knows that if she's outside when he comes down the street he'll stop and pick her up and drive her to the house. This first picture is her hearing him coming. She's pointing down the street.



Sure enough, Daddy stops and picks her up. And buckles her up, of course. No 14 month old of mine is riding in the front seat without a seat belt ;)
And then they pull up...
                                                                  Pure excitement!

Long Beach Pride Weekend

My favorite thing about this weekend was the photo shoot we were so lucky to be a part of. Adam Bouska, the very talented photographer, and the NOH8 Campaign had an open shoot from 3-5 the day before the parade. I so randomly heard about it, and figured it would be packed with people, so I thought it was a slim chance we'd get to do it. I decided to show up about 2:15 and with Gentry and Raya in tow we got in line. Well, I got in line and Gentry let Raya walk around the hotel. The line went surprisingly fast. Meeting Adam was great. He is so very sweet and took time to talk with each "model." I had already brainstormed what I wanted Raya and I to do. I got a little worried he didn't get a good shot cause Raya was super interested in everything but the camera, but 4 weeks later we got the final product and I WAS SO HAPPY!!!

Here are some of my favorite celebrity shots

Jane Lynch from GLEE!!!
Kardashian Sisters
Jay Manuel
Russell Simmons

You can visit the NOH8 campaign at http://www.noh8campaign.com/

The next day Raya, my Mom and I went to the parade. It was great! Everyone that passed Raya gave her beads or blew her kisses. It was so very sweet! AND a couple of the Ladies from the show RuPaul's Drag Races were in the parade. At the last minute I decided I wanted to get a picture with Raya and the girls. We literally chased their car about 2 blocks (because I didn't decide until After they passed us that I wanted a picture) We caught up with them and I handed Ongina the baby. They were all very sweet! And I just happen to hand Raya over as they started a radio interview, so Raya just hung out with them until they were ready to move on.






Monday, June 28, 2010

Raya Recently

Sweet summer dress from Aunt Jennifer






We went to the first ever outdoor WNBA game. It was a good night! And Raya had fun dancing and waving.









PigTails! or PonyPuffs :)


She was totally bald until about 7 months, then had straight hair until about 9 months. Now every couple days I look at her and she has more and more curly hair. Right now its a little blonde puff and very exciting. Although I do actually have to do her hair now before we leave the house which is slowly becoming a bit of a process. With all the mixed and black folks in my life I have no excuse to not know how to do it :) But I couldn't hardly contain my excitement when I realized she has enough for pigtails!

The Wrath of Raya

Glad Monday is over :) Raya gave me a sneak peek into the Terrible Twos today. That was fun. One of her choice activities today was to sit at the front screen door and stick her finger in one of the holes of her toy and scream bloody murder. Like, SCA-ream!  For all the joggers and dog walkers and neighbors to hear. I ran over to "free" her and saw that the hole was much bigger than her finger...hmmm...So I walk away and guess who sticks her finger in the too big hole and starts screaming again? It was one of those throw the head back, arch the back, scream and kick kinda days. There aren't many days I can't wait for her to go to bed, but when she was showing signs of sleepyness way earlier than normal I jumped on it. And really, now that she gives the absolute sweetest hugs, I'm totally over it. That and the fact that Last Comic Standing is hilarious tonight made me ready for baby #2.
  
                                      
 Then she does something super cute, like climb in her toy box, and is totally content. How can you stay frustrated at that face?

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Summer is HERE!



We went on a little hunt Friday to get Raya's "Entertainment Work Permit."  It was surprisingly easy and quick, although in that short time she managed to get super dirty, so this Anchor Dress was worn for, oh, about 2 hours :) But now, if hired anywhere, she's ready to be an Extra! Babies that can't talk are called Extras in any kind of modeling or "acting" role they are hired for...so a company called Studio Kids Management is now officially representing her. Of course I'll keep you posted if she gets any jobs. There is a 4 week waiting period before she can start anything...so we'll see!  Anchors Away!








Last weekend one of my best friends from Arkansas, Jennifer, came and visited for 6 days!!! It was so great to have her here. I miss her! We worked together at MAC when I lived in AR and have been best friends since. She is the Manager for the Northwest Arkansas Charlotte Russes so they flew her out her for a conference and then she stayed with me for a super long weekend. We spent a lot of time in the sun, which was her main request- and not hard for me ;) It was definitely the best way to kick off summer! Jenn's face is so tan in this picture. Lol. Can you tell she wears big sunglasses?
-Ciao


Saturday, June 26, 2010

Tia Cathleen and Raya @ 4months old





One of our "Girls Lunch" visits when Cathleen lived so close

Let's get this party started!

I'm not sure why I didn't do this earlier...but thanks to a BFF of mine, Cathleen, I jumped on the blog band wagon and am super excited! I often send Cathleen pictures of Raya (my daughter) when she's wearing outfits I know Cathleen will "appreciate," so this morning she gave me the idea to do some baby fashion blogging. There is another family called TwoDadsTwoKids that have a similar blog and I loved the idea. I'm excited to have a place to share whats new with my family and friends. I'm sure I'll throw in some things here and there that you probably NEED to know about :) but only really important things like where to get the best baby leggings. I think I might be most excited about this blog because I get to be super detailed and post as many pictures as I want without any fear of being "that girl" on Facebook! So no need to worry, I won't blow up your news feed...feel free to come visit whenever your little heart desires!
Ciao