happy holidays

Happy Holidays from the Horvaths!

Muno Mania

Sorry, Foofa. The heart wants what the heart wants.

Foofa Forever!

Sorry, Brobee. It looks like Foofa is now Stella's new favorite Yo Gabba Gabba pal.

O(MG) Christmas Tree

Daddy and Papa went out to get some light bulbs for the kitchen and came back with a Christmas tree and Christmas lights. Did you guys know that Christmas lights are AWESOME? Stella did.

Confession #2

I rejoined the gym right before the new year just so I can complain about how crowded it is on January 1st.

Does This Make Me a Bad Mom?

I'm pretty sure this clinches the Mother of the Year award for me.

Tea Party

Stella discovered the tea party last week. Not the political movement,* but the art of drinking and hosting a gathering with her pink bunny rabbit. She has even perfected a not so ladylike slurp.

*For the record, Granny Groose, Stella is a registered independent.

What a Ball!

Life's a ball! Especially when you are with daddy and a ball pit!

Confession #1

My one year old has terrible taste in music, but she makes up for it with her sweet dance moves.

I'm Gonna Get Sleep and Rich at the Same time

Tonight this is how I plan to sleep like a baby while looking like Molly Ringwald and win $5,000 all at the same time!

A Frustrated Artist is Born

We'll call this Stella's Chalk Period.

Tiny dancer

Someone's got some new moves and it's not daddy or grammy...

Is There Anything Sadder Than a Baby With A Cold?

Nope. Except for a baby with a cold trying to sleep.

Party Animal

Stella is spending tonight and tomorrow night with Grammy and Papa. You know what that means....PARTY TIME! You guys, I am such a wild and crazy person right now! I intentionally refused to put the safety latch down on the toilet AND I left all the baby gates in the house open. This reckless party animal behavior will likely lead to other unheard of activities like eating an entire meal sitting down and sleeping for 10 straight hours. I feel like a careless Studio 54 gogo dancer! Now if you'll excuse me, this party girl is going to finish reorganizing her husband's closet before the nightly news.

These Boots are Made for Walking

Stella got some boots for fall. And she loves them. A lot. We went to the zoo today and she couldn't take her eyes off of her boots long enough to say hi to the animals. For all she knows a zoo is a place where you go to admire your footwear.

Rain Rain Go Away

Thought of the day....

Indoor malls are the stay at home mom's umbrella.

Doggone Crazy

So I don't know if you've heard, but Stella loves dogs.

This is her new favorite YouTube video:


And this is Stella watching the video:

Happier Meal

FACT: This kid will only eat the apples in a happy meal.

FACT: I ate the rest of her happy meal.

FACT: Dad is the only one interested in the happy meal toy.






This photo from a Shoots and Giggles photo shoot.

Happy Halloween

Stella is a cheeseburger in paradise at daddy's work doing some trick or treating!






















Stella likes her cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and lollipops!

Might As Well Jump

I guess someone is feeling better...

Fan Mail?

Stella is getting mail. How is that possible? She's 14 months old. Maybe The Counter found out she was going to be a cheeseburger for Halloween.

Stella Takes a Holiday

Stella has two ear infections. She will be back full of vim and vigor and two new teeth in 3-10 days.

Mom is severely sleep deprived. She will be back full of caffeine and more posts in a 1-2 days...when she wakes up from a very long nap.

Like Mother, Not Like Daughter

Sometimes I think Stella can't be my daughter. Proof: She doesn't like Menchie's frozen yogurt. Instead she opts for the stale goldfish that has been riding shotgun in her stroller for a week. I fear for her palate.

Miss Representation

Everyone should watch the documentary Miss Representation. If we all watched it and took the messages from it to heart it would make this world a better place for our daughters. Spread the word and take the pledge.

Today's Blog Brought to You by the Letter W

Tonight during Stella's bath I was pouring water out of a cup and Aaron said to her, "Do you see the water?" and without missing a beat Stella turned and pointed to the faucet and said "Wa-ter." I was like, "Did she just say water?" Aaron confirmed that my future Mensa member did indeed say water. Stella's never said water before and she said it perfectly. Maybe she'll be the official announcer for Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Then during book time she looked at a worm in the book and said "Worm." Again I was like, "Did she just say worm?" Aaron must think I'm going deaf. Of course my future little helminthologist said worm...because she's a Wunderkind!

Stella's First Concert?

Today we were watching the morning news and there was a commercial for the live Yo Gabba Gabba show. Stella was banging her drumstick on the kitchen floor and heard the music from the commercial. She stopped what she was doing, whipped her head around and dropped the drumstick on the floor (it had the same comedic effect as a record scratch). I think she's still too young to go, but she doesn't. If she learns how to hack into my computer (which she has done before) I wouldn't put it past her to go online and buy tickets to the show.

Baby Jokes

Have you heard the one about the...

Stella (pointing to a picture in her book): Hmmmph? (translation: What's this?)
Mom: Highchair.

Stella starts out with her fake Pee Wee Herman laugh then it escalates into full on crazy belly laughs!

Stella points to the highchair. I say highchair. Stella laughs. Stella points to the spoon. I say spoon. Stella points to the fork. I say fork. Stella points to the highchair. I say highchair. Stella laughs. After about the 497th time I still didn't get the baby joke, but Stella thought it was hilarious.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

Someone learned a new trick today...

Get Into The Grove

Yesterday Stella was introduced to Madonna and she created some sweet new moves. Her dance is 1/2 Flashdance, 1/4 Magician's Ta-Da, and 1/4 Wipeout.

These Eyes Don't Have It

I think I need glasses. It's getting difficult to read things. Maybe that's the excuse I'll use for not reading a book in over two years. I'm too young to be getting old, right?

It's a Mad Mad World

Stella is MAD about Dad and enjoyed visiting him at work on Friday.

The Flying Squirrel Cat

Over the past year Stella has accumulated a lot of nicknames:

Capuchin (Stella looked like a capuchin monkey when she was born)
Puchin (Shortened version of capuchin)
Squirrel (It rhymes with girl)
Squirrel Cat (When the Squirrel cried she sounded like a cat)
Squirrel Hawk (When she got really upset she screeched like a hawk)

And this week I give you The Flying Squirrel Cat. (the photo below says it all)

Bat Shirt Crazy

(caption by dad, photo by mom)

Five Reasons I Think Stella is Hiding E.T. in Our House

1. Instead of Reese's Pieces, there is a constant trail of goldfish in my
house
2. I have more stuffed animals around than normal
3. Stella keeps trying to call someone on my iPhone
4. The dead tomato plant on the porch is showing signs of life
5. Stella's bike was not in front of our house this morning

All I want for Christmas...

is for all of Stella's teeth to come in so I can get a full night of sleep. I'd really appreciate it if Santa and The Tooth Fairy could put aside their differences to make this happen for me. If you two are reading I will pay you in cookies, milk and five dollar bills.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Stella Ray

Today we took a trip to Underwood Farms in Moorpark for their Fall Harvest Festival with Grammy and Papa. Stella was very lucky because Papa won her a pumpkin at the pumpkin toss.














Stella is very proud of her pumpkin. (NOTE: Stella is not trying to do her best Robert Pattinson impression with the white vampire makeup, it's sunscreen)














Then Stella got to pet some goats with Grammy. The wardrobe change was necessary because it was about 91 degrees out. (NOTE: Here she is trying to do her best Twilight impression by showing her fangs to the goat.)














Stella also got to drive a tractor. She totally felt like Kevin Bacon in Footloose. Sorry, Robert Pattinson.













Then Stella finished off the long day like everyone does...in the fridge.

Fall Fashion

Stella's must have this fall...sunglasses. Tres chic.

Boo!

Halloween preview! Stella is going to be a cheeseburger for Halloween and her dad is going to be the hamburglar. Stella's cousin Sadie is going to be a cow and Stella is a cheeseburger so it's kind of like a Before and After costume. I still don't know what I'm going to be...any suggestions?

Shh! Shh!

For the past six months I wake up with Stella in the morning and we have a morning ritual. I come into her room and she looks at me and wiggles and points to her iPig. I turn on her music and she does her morning dance routine and then it's time to wake up daddy. I whisper, "Do you want to wake up daddy?" Stella wiggles, which means yes. Then we sneak up to the bedroom door and I look at her and say, "Shh! Shh!" Then Stella opens the door and we surprise daddy with a loud, "HEY!" However this morning after the dancing before I could ask her the same question I've been asking her for half of her life she looked at me and said, "Daddy, Daddy. Shh! Shh!" It was the perfect way to start the day.

Now if she could only learn how to fix her bottle and occupy herself until 9 a.m. so I can sleep in.

Puppy Love

Bye bye, Brobee. Stella's new obsession is dogs. Big dogs. Little dogs. Real dogs. Fake dogs. It doesn't matter. And everything is a dog. Cats are dogs. Cars are dogs. People are dogs. And she says dog with a slight southern twang, "dawwwg." So she was very excited when her Auntie Quinn gave her a dawwwg for her birthday. The only problem is that it looks very real. Almost too real. At night when you catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of your eye you jump up and cling to the chandelier thinking that either a real dog or an abnormally large rat has broken into the house. I think one day we'll have to get Stella a real dog. Is there really any other choice? Because I'm pretty sure we don't want an abnormally large rat in the house.

Bazillion Dollar Baby

My day started with a blow out at Dry Bar. If I was a bazillionaire I would never wash or blow dry my own hair again. Ever. Then we had a family photo shoot with Shoots and Giggles Photography. They are THE BEST photographers. Again- if I was a bazillionaire I would have them follow us around like paparazzi to document Stella's growth. She's growing like a weed. We finished the morning with brunch at Kings Road Cafe. I love their lattes! After brunch I demolished my husband's high score on Fruit Ninja. I don't think you heard me...DEMOLISHED! And I didn't have to be a bazillionaire to do it. I love this Saturday!

Sole-o

Stella may have left her heart in San Francisco, but she left her sole in Atlanta. We were in Target and she lost her favorite shoe. A size 3 jelly. We don't know where it went. Maybe it's sailing off into the sunset with a nice sock that disappeared in the dryer.

Look Who's Talking

Here's an oldie but a goodie from the Stella Ray archive. Enjoy!

Cousins!

Sneak peek of our visit to Atlanta!

Midnight Plane to Georgia

Stella and I are off to Atlanta to meet baby Emery tomorrow! We are so excited to see her and Liam, Aunt Moochie, Uncle Mike, Tutu, Granny Goose and Gia.

And Aaron figured out the Mommy Mathematics word problem. The correct answer was iPad. He was sweet enough to buy us one for the flight across the country. Fingers crossed that enough snacks, Yo Gabba Gabba, and what I hope is a kid friendly person in seat 29A, will get us to Atlanta without any drama. Hey Stella, in this case...please do NOT save the drama for your momma. Save it for daddy. When we get back. In a week.

Itchy Baby

Meet Stella's alter ego "Itchy Baby!" She's still having an allergic reaction to something. This is what Stella looks like...(artist rendering by daddy).

A Pox On You

Stella woke up this morning with a horrible rash everywhere. I think it's a reaction to her MMR vaccine. We're taking her to urgent care in the morning. The poor kid can't sleep and she keeps scratching. Unfortunately the baby Benadryl is not making her sleepy. She was acting fine all day (minus the giant welts that have taken over 75% of her body). We'll take her to the doctor's office on Tuesday when the reopen from the holiday weekend. I just hope it goes away before our flight on Wednesday.

ALERT! ALERT!

Today we had a fun family outing at the Long Beach Aquarium. Stella was very excited to see the fish, especially all the Nemos and the...

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ALERT! ALERT! We interrupt this blog to give you some breaking news. At 6:00 PM PST Stella Ray Horvath has been upgraded from a class 3 to a class 5 walker! Repeat: Stella Ray Horvath has been upgraded from a class 3 to a class 5 walker! No one is safe. Stella is expected to be hitting Atlanta by 7:45 PM EST on Wednesday.

This has been a public service announcement from the mom. We now rejoin your blog already in progress...
******************************************************
Aaron and I did find it a bit odd that they serve fish tacos in the Cafe at the aquarium. I guess it would have been worse if they served sushi.

Put a Fork In It

Stella decided she wanted to impress her aunt and uncle next week so she started eating with a fork.

Mommy Mathematics

(Me (by myself) + Stella + airplane) * 5 hours= ?

Stella and I are headed to Atlanta to visit my sister and meet my new niece. I am very excited, but also a little worried about the flight across the country by myself with Stella. Please submit answers to the word problem above by Tuesday. Come on...you don't really want to start off the new school year by turning in your first homework assignment late. Chop, chop!

Meatless Mondays

Aaron and I have decided that we need to start taking better care of ourselves so we are going to start Meatless Mondays. Today I went to Whole Foods and did some research and found some great recipes at skinnytaste.com for a Zucchini Casserole and Black Bean, Avocado, Cucumber and Tomato Salad. Stella, however, will have a meatball and brown rice for dinner because the last time I gave her a vegetable she gagged. And gagged. And gagged.

Aw Nuts! Return of the Mooch

Stella has a new nickname...Moochie Jr. We call my sister Moochie because growing up she would mooch off of everyone. She always wanted whatever everyone else was eating. So this morning when I was eating my peanut butter toast I didn't think it was odd that Moochie Jr asked for a bite. After taking two bites she promptly thanked me by throwing up all over me. I think she was trying to tell me that she doesn't like peanut butter and might be allergic. What a way to start the day! Getting thrown up on is supposed to be good luck right? Like when a bird poops on you...right?

Minted!

For free mommy cards visit my favorite site Minted. Minted is a great website with impeccably designed stationary and cards. Here are some of the cards we've ordered over the last year:

Good News, Bad News

Good News: Stella's blood work came back completely normal. She doesn't have lead poisoning. We are very relieved.

Bad News: My dear friend Uncle Frank passed away today. He was a very special person and he will be missed.

GET THE LEAD OUT

Stella had her one year check up and everything looked good. Then we got a call from her pediatrician saying that she had high levels of lead in her blood. My husband and I are still in shock. Stella barely puts food in her mouth let alone toys. We don't have old paint chips lying around and she's not eating batteries. We are hoping that the other blood tests she had taken show that the screening at the doctor's office were false positives. What I thought was even more shocking is that most of the moms I talked to said their kids have never been tested for lead poisoning.

For more information on lead poisoning visit this link.

For a list of lead recalls for toys visit this link.

One!

Stella turned one today! We celebrated with a ladybug picnic in the park. Stella arrived fashionably late wearing a lovely number from Janie and Jack. The birthday girl delighted the crowd by walking all by herself and squealing with delight when Grammy and Grampy gave her her first bike. Stella also got to show off her dance moves to Tutu and Grandpa who came to the party all the way from North Carolina. Stella is one lucky lady(bug)!

Watch out two...Stella has her sights set on you!

Babies Having Babies

Stella is turning one tomorrow. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone?! My little baby is not a baby any more. In fact my little girl is so grown up that she has decided it's time to start walking by herself. She's also decided that she's old enough to have her own baby(doll). She loves her baby. Stella's voice goes up three octaves when she talks to her "Bay-bee." She loves to walk her baby in her stroller and show her how to clap her hands...adorable!

We went downtown today for brunch with Tutu and Grandpa and Stella saw a woman in a wheelchair being pushed by her husband. She pointed at the woman and looked right us and said, "Bay-beee." I love this kid!

HGTV, We have a problem

Hi, my name is Brooke and I'm an HGTV-aholic. I don't own a home. I don't own a garden. But I do own a TV which is why I can't stop watching you, HGTV. I wish I knew how to quit you. Yes. I know. I just quoted Brokeback Mountain, but trust me...it was a really good Jake Gyllenhaal impression. Maybe I should just quit cold turkey. I'm open to suggestions or a twelve-step program.

Hair Did

Stella's first birthday is just a week away. It's so hard to believe! To commemorate Stella's first year we decided to check another first off of her list. Stella got her first haircut today.* We went to The Yellow Balloon in Studio City. With the help of Yo Gabba Gabba, Stella managed to sit through her first haircut and even let her stylist put a cute little bow in her hair. A feat I have yet to master.



*Confession: It wasn't really her first haircut. A few months ago Aaron decided to trim Stella's bangs. The result: Stella looked like a cross between Mia Farrow and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Who's the Boss

My very well behaved daughter always listens to what I say....

A Star is Born

Drum roll please....

Introducing....Stella....

Lady Gaga Goo Goo

A sneak peek of Stella's work on Jimmy Kimmel Live in a Lady Gaga bit...

Work it, Girl!

Stella got a call today about doing a bit on Jimmy Kimmel Live! I used to work there and they needed a baby and it just so happens that I have one. I hope Stella knows that I was only joking yesterday when I said, "Get to work, girl. Mommy and daddy want a house." I went from a full time working mom, to a stay at home mom, to a stage mom. I have the work permit and Coogan paperwork to prove it. Yikes! I feel like Lynne Spears. Stella please promise me you won't get addicted to cheetos, have two kids with an out of work rapper, and shave your head all before your 30th birthday. Space it out. Leave some of that crazy stuff for your 30s.

While You Were Sleeping

I've decided that while Stella is taking her nap I should do something for myself...like FINALLY get rid of the extra belly flap that I lovingly refer to as Stella's baby house. Since Stella was evicted from her baby house 11 months ago it's time to do a renovation. All the HGTV design shows in the world can't remodel my belly, which is why I turned to Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I hope after 30 days Stella's dilapidated baby house goes from blah to ooh la la.

BRO-MANCE

Before Stella was born I was forewarned about a lot of things- breastfeeding, choking hazards, sleep training, teething, the list goes on and on. But nothing could have prepared me for what to expect when Stella first saw Yo Gabba Gabba.

Yo Gabba Gabba is crack for babies. I innocently played it for Stella this morning and she was mesmerized. I wasn't too surprised. She loves music and dancing and it's so colorful, but what I thought was so interesting is that she immediately fell in love with Brobee. Every time Brobee came on screen she shrieked with delight. I thought it was a fluke, but after watching five videos I realized it wasn't a coincidence. Stella even kissed Brobee. I think it might be because Brobee looks like a watermelon. Stella loves watermelon. I wonder if this means that Stella already has a type. If so I guess her future crushes include Bert and Adam Carolla because they both have unibrows like Brobee.

Brobee, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The Sound of Silence

Scream. Cry. Cry. Fake Cry. SCREAM! Cry. Fake Cry! SCREAM!

Negotiating with my tiny terrorist is difficult. Especially at 2:00 a.m. I'm not on the top of my game, I'm tired and I don't want to wake the neighbors. It's funny, a couple of years ago my husband and I would be going to bed at 2:00 a.m. at the top of our game, not really tired and not caring who we woke up.

Cry. Fake Cry. Cry. Cry Cry.

Tactic #1: Ignore the problem and it will go away. I do and it doesn't.

SCREAM! SCREAM! Cry.

Tactic #2: Good Dad, Bad Mom
Similar to Good Cop, Bad Cop. Aaron rushes to the rescue and tries to soothe Stella and I take her from him and put her back in her crib. Stella laughs in our faces at this failed attempt to go back to sleep.

CRY. CRY. CRY.

Tactic #3: Bait and Switch
Aaron gets Stella, changes her diaper and lets her play with her lightning bug. While she is distracted I slip her some Children's Tylenol. Success!

SILENCE. Beautiful. Ahhhh...BEEP! BEEP! Car alarm? Are you kidding me?! I don't know how, but somehow I know that Stella is behind this.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Today is my birthday. I thought last year's birthday present from my husband, a Roberto Coin diamond necklace, was the best gift a girl could ever get. Not only are diamonds are a girl's best friend, but the diamonds were in the shape of a star and our daughter's name is Stella which means star. But then this year I got this gift...















Stella's smile is the best gift my husband will ever give me.

Are You My Mother?

Stella is almost a year old and ever since she was born everyone has said that she looks just like her father. It's true. She does. But it started to get weird when people would say, "I'm sorry...but she looks exactly like her daddy." My husband is a handsome guy so I know they weren't insinuating that she was an unattractive baby. Then I realized what they were getting at...are you sure she's your baby? In fact for a long time I thought- am I really her mother? I was just about to call Maury Povich for a paternity test to make sure when I stumbled on this picture of me as a baby...














BOOM! Brooke you ARE the mother! Sorry, Maury. Maybe next time.

Gone and Maybe Forgotten

My husband read my last post and didn't know who Colin Cowie was. I said, "You know...that famous event planner and lifestyle guru? He's been on Oprah a bunch of times." My husband still had no idea who he was. Then I said, "Colin Cowie is basically the Nate Berkus of event planning." My husband said, "Who's Nate Berkus?" Then I realized perhaps my biggest fear...we're starting to forget Oprah.

I hope they all have fun at the Ladybug Picnic

Stella's first birthday is just around the corner and I feel like a cross between a parent from MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen and Colin Cowie.

Stella's favorite book is 10 Little Lady Bugs/10 Pequenas Mariquitas/Enta Ittlela Adyla Ugsba. That's right- she loves it in English, Spanish and Pig Latin. Here is a sneak peek of the invitations I made while I had "working mom" guilt and spent way to much time cutting out circles until I went to my favorite store, Paper Source, and bought a circle cutter.

Bossypants

I'm leaving my job this week. This is my new boss. I'm wondering if I should take her to go see Horrible Bosses...

I am so out of the loop...

I'm watching American Idol for the first time this season- no one told me that Clay Aiken and Alfred E. Newman had a baby!

Oh, Oprah!

Why does Oprah's Farewell Spectacular remind me of Michael Jackson's funeral? At one point it also reminded me of the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing Olympics and then at the end it sounded like she was taking the oath of office. I'm pretty sure she just became President.

My Little Felon

I finally made good use of Stella's "before" pictures. Being a helmet head has its upside.

Happy Early Mother's Day

Stella learned to say "mama" two days before Mother's Day, but I'm pretty sure she thinks it means "dada."

Stell-uh-oh

According to a new survey, women whose first names end with the letter "a" have more sexual partners.

Is it too late to change her name?