35 Candles

We celebrated my Dad's birthday this past weekend. I believe his birthday is actually a  holiday celebrated in the state of Vermont and by all Grateful Dead fans. We celebrated with cake and soccer.

Looks like three layer cake but it's four. It's also 3 day cake. Day One:Measure dry ingredients, sift, set aside. Day Two: Bake Cakes and make frosting. Day Three: Perform structural engineering to assemble a frost cake. King Arthur's chocolate cake layered with coconut cream cake. Coconut cream frosting on top. Chocolate mousse in between layers. Full disclosure in addition to coconut cream there is a pound of butter in the frosting.?

 

Day 2 wonder why in carnation you didn't just go to Sweet Lady Jane and buy a cake and splash some flour around the kitchen. Seriously?

 And for the most fullest disclosure when you do go to a sweet shop and order a sweet treat. JUST GET THE CHOCOLATE! If think you are saving calories, sugar, and fat by getting the banana shamana, coconut white I just eat light, lemon shmemon I'll be skinny in Heaven you might want read some recipes. Often there is more sugar and fat in bran muffin than a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Don't blame me...it takes more than magic to make bran taste yummy.

What do I know? I'm only 19 months and I know that an Apple a Day keeps the Doctor Away.

I also know that family is pretty special and I love spending time with mine.

 Rumor has it my west coast picnics are numbered and our next move is in the works.

 My parents claim they found me a great place to live. I think it looks something like this. Based on the size of our current living dwelling this likely is it. You mean to tell me we are going to live in a place where the bathroom door doesn't hit the toilet when you open it? Don't get me wrong I only have first world problems and I am incredibly fortunate all things considered. It's just a little bit of a challenge not letting LA find your inner cynic. Considering what happened in Boston last weekend I am beyond thankful. the sadness and tragedy is beyond my comprehension entirely. Luckily instead of running Boston my parents were enjoying yet another passion. The slopes.

 

 At risk of exposing my sinful cynical sarcasm to all those who turn up their noses and say "You'd better like snow or you better have a shovel" (in a condesending tone with prideful glee as if this is the first time we have heard such a statement.)  I'm certain of a few things: My Dad would like to say "can it" and my Mom would like her boots to do the talking.   

 First time on skis in 2 years. Two years off is too long. She must have been monkeying around or something.

 

I can never be accused of monkeying around. I have got Giddy Up written all over me.

I found this horse on near the corner of 15 & Montana. Papperazi was staked out in the Whole Foods parking lot. I thinkit was a decoy. Good thing my Mom stuck to her guns and didn't let me steal the horse as I wished. It would have been all over the toddler tabloids by morning. 

Oh ...and just so you know. Do not believe any parent who says their toddler does not pick up after themselves. I do a fine job. Thank you.

Easter!

Hippity Hoppity Hooray! Easter was a blast. I love Easter it means new life . Fresh air and flowers in bloom.

Not only did the Easter bunny hop up to my door and leave me some great goodies but it appears I got "my words " as well! I can repeat almost anything I hear. In case you are wondering those are 3 generations of family bunnies in the picture. All 3 bunnies snuck out of my crib and helped the Easter bunny that night.

My parents are very "green" and saved on space and parking by walking the 1 plus mile to church that morning. If only they let me walk I so could have turned the 1plus mile into three  miles by diverting for random porches,dogs, dog statues, snails, flowers, cracks. You name it I notice it.

And to think my Mom thinks I need to learn to entertain myself.

Ok ...safely entertain myself is her concern.

Here we are: Easter 2013 Family photo. I know we should have done better but there were a million people milling about. The sun was in our eyes and I was ready to hit the park across the street at that point.In case you are wondering ....my Mom is so not recycling that outfit. It is "upcycled" as it will just get better with time, like fine wine. Remember, this is Santa Monica. It is a sin to not bring your own bag so we cannot support landfill fashion.

Clearly I know a thing or two about fashion. Don't I just look like spring?

Or like I am made of springs and always ready to spring in to action.

My Mom on the other hand has her seasons and sports mixed up. Instead of "think spring" her outfit says I'm not sure if I am going to tennis or for a trail wind during hunting season. She's going to tell you it is moisture wicking, was on the sale rack and her clean dry shirt for story hour is in the stroller. I'm going to tell you when she wears it  she likes how the faster she runs the more the ruffles stick out straight behind her. When she  wears it she attempts to race men riding carbon fiber bikes with Zipps race wheels people on bikes up West Channel.  Not sure if they know about the race but we do! Game on and no entry fee.

I'm 18 months old. Almost 19 really.My Mom has been stifling my inner Picasso and finally got me some finger paints. Actually she found out 14 month old kids finger paint in daycare and felt guilty.  I really enjoyed myself for a solid 3 minute which totally made the 30 minutes of prep and cleanup a good use of my Mom's time. I made sure to learn the difference between blue and purple to make sure she is motivated to repeat the activity soon.

 

 On a daily basis I can get her to fork over the sidewalk chalk. Sidewalk chalk is great fun. I can draw with it, use it as a drumstick, and if my Mom didn't intervene I could use it as a lollipop. UGH! She's such a helicopter mother! Just wait until I'm a teenager.

 

 By far the best way to celebrate Spring is with surf, sun, and sand!

Respect The Specs.

Hello world. It's Annika Ruth reporting in. Sorry I've been MIA but I spent the last week jet setting.

6 flights in 7 days, two train rides, 2 airport shuttles and 4 car rides.

 

Post marathon day one: My Mom couldn't keep up. The tail of my backpack was the only chance she had to remain in my zip code.

At the end of a long journey I was at Grandmother's at last.

Don't worry I had a little fun along the way at the Chicago Children's Museum.

What fun! Dolls and Dogs!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday. I ate all the raspberries from the cake. I am certain Grandpa baked the cake himself. Yummy!

As for the marathon ....The above picture is how not to pace yourself. Miles 22-26 fell off the page. Oh darn. Well, no need to obtain a perfect picture. A final time of 3:38 equals a 17 minute positive split. Anyone who knows anything about marathon-ing knows that an even split or a negative split is a race well executed.

My Dad says my Mom just started out too fast and crumpled but my Mom swears on a stack of pacifiers that it wasn't going out too fast that caused the crumpling. Yeah, she would have paid up to some degree but it was the dowhill running in the first few miles and at mile 15. Seriously, her quads started cramping at the base of mile 2. She hoped it was lucky marathon number 7 or that she had the luck of the Irish and things would settle but the cramping just got worse.

My Mom does a lot of math when she is racing. She tried to do the math regarding how long it has been since she ran downhill fast. At least 2 years. Eccentric contraction is great for strengthening the quads but since we have been running together she relies on the hand brake of the stroller while going downhill instead of her quads that's probably a good thing for me. Despite increased run volume, the resistance of the stroller, and a happy accident of  weight loss (that a chart in Runner's World claimed would result in a 6 minute time improvement) her time was only one minute faster than the last go round.  No skiing, little cycling, and no downhill running resulted in some pretty unprepared quads. New M.O.  Respect the Specs.  Funny, I specifically remember listening to a podcast with Deena Castor talking about how she added some more downhill running to her prep. I remember my Mom smiling and turning off her I pod as we arrived at story hour. She was thinking downhills are where I run best. I don't need to worry about that.

She's deeming this experience a quad -atrophy catastrophe.  She says the only thing comparable to the pain in her quads was giving birth. Oh! An epidural for the quads so would have helped. Anesthesia...it's never available when you need it most. The only thing she executed well that day was the ability to disassociate from pain and keep running. Highlights of the race had to be holding out her water bottle after the painful mile 15 descent and having filled with pretzels. Mile 21 sticking her hand out for a cup, hearing cheering upon grabbing it, and swigging a mouthful of beer. Spitting it out because she gave up alcohol for lent, thinking maybe I shouldn't have spit it.Might have done some good.

 

 Don't get me wrong, minus the quad atrophy catastrophe, she really loved running the closed off streets of LA. No intersections to worry about and no stroller to push. Crowds to cheer and tunes to groove to was awesome. Heaven for a person who loves to run. In all fairness the City of LA put on a good show with the marathon and accommodated the 30,000 participants well. Finishing on Ocean blvd close to the pier is awesome.  Things could always be worse. The execution of the race is not something my Mom is happy about, but the current execution of her life is. So be it. The heart that wanted to run faster is healed. Heal the heart and the quads will follow. Right ??? Please?? Ok, getting better day by day.

 

There will be obstacles.

There will be doubters.

There will be mistakes.

But with hard work, there are no limits

 

Seemingly fitting after the race the above photo and caption was posted on Facebook by 1<3 p="">

 

Ain't Nothing Going To Break My Stride.

Howdy folks!

There is a lot going on in my neighborhood.

 

I'm 18 months now and pretty much I run the streets.

 Literally. I run the streets.

 And the sandy beaches.  

My form is perfect. You'll never catch me running around town with my tongue hanging out of my mouth like I'm tired or grinning because I am high on endorphins.

 It's taper week. Sunday's not just St. Patrick's Day. It's the LA marathon. I found out what I've been missing by riding in the stroller instead of a car.

 

 .....Seriously. It ain't much.

 

Can we run back to the Annenberg now?

 

I guess I'll settle for a tea party instead.

My Mom says that carb loading for a short race is a bit overated....I think not.

Homemade pretzels please!

 

Shout Out!

Shout out!

This is my shout out to the great week I had.

Seriously, with weather like this it couldn't have been better.

Well maybe if my Dad didn't suffer plague which resulted in me missing my cousin Rachel's first birthday party. It would have been such a great event and a great daycation! Daycation is my new word for the a one day trip were you actually go somewhere.

 

I was even armed with balloons to bring to the party. OK, it might have been hard to make the balloons last from Friday to Sunday. Especially since.....

My Mom popped one on the run  home. I slept through the incident but I believe she jumped 3 feet in the air. Duh! For the record, she says the run transport of the balloons was far more difficult then the incident where we over bought squash at the Farmer's Market. She says while squash is heavy the balloons blow all over and bop you in the head while you run. I say....put a paci in it. Shout out though to Nordstrom's for the balloons because I really did love them. I did not love the man who attempted to put my foot on a scary medal thing ( hence the sad scared eyes and paci in picture above) My Mom put her foot in the crazy contraption and I bolted for the door. With my feet crammed into some Pumas and balloons in hand I bolted for the door. Man are racing flats fast!

My Mom was quick to pay and strap me in the stroller. However, I am not just on the go. I am on the grow! By Monday my shoes were too small and we had to exchange the for some Nike's. Pink shoes are hard to beat. Shout out to the customer service at Nordstrom's for an easy exchange. 

 And while we are shouting out to Corporate America. Three cheers to story hour Monday at Barnes and Noble in the Promenade. 2nd floor. 10:00 a.m. and it is free. Unlike another Children's bookstore who now charges $7 for story h~~~~... let's be honest, story 20minutes.  Well there is even a Starbucks on the ground floor.  Anyway, it is so the place to be. The article that was even an article in US or People or whatever magazine raving about Jennifer Garner and Ben Afflec's superior parenting. Showing Ben on October 6, spending quality time with his kids reading them books at B&N. However, the story hour Mom's swear he went straight to the 3rd floor not the 2nd. There are not even children books on that floor so perhaps celebrities aren't SUCH superior parents after all.

 I don't know if it's really truely the case. Maybe they brought some books up special to the 3rd floor for privacy. All I really know is I like books. I like to read them with my Dad.

 And I love story hour at the library too. So shout out to Santa Monica for having amazing libraries with great kid's sections. Except do not shout out to the one and only one children's librarian who is always acting like she does not like children and asking if "your child is having problems today?" I got one thing to say to her "RIF" Reading is fun. Ok my apologies, maybe toddlers get old.

Anyway after missing my Daycation on Sunday, I was suprised with a Staycation on Friday. Seriously! I was fed, in my jammies, and ready for bed when my Dad came home. Instead of tucking me in to bed, they buckled me into my carseat and drove a couple of miles down by the Pier. We checked in to Loews Resort. I knew they'd find a way to make up for me missing Rachel's birthday. Ok, so my Dad had a conferance and the room was comped but I can dream. I got to stay up 2 hours past my bed time and go swimming. In fact, I got to go swimming three times before check out the next afternoon. My parents paid for dearly when I couldn't sleep well the next night. They are claiming I was overtired and couldn't soothe myself back to sleep. I'm claiming seasonal allergies, teething, and a growth spurt. Hoping they don't think twice next time because it inspired my latest movie release.

 

Pitter Patter Productions Presents.