lookin' for a new lamp

I am in love with this lamp - original design by Achille Castiglioni and designer price is about $2500! Yikes. It is one of the classics of modern lighting design-and part of MoMA's permanent collection-the Arco Floor Lamp (1962). As much as I love art and furniture, I'm still on the fence if I would invest in such a lamp. I guess I can justify it being functional art and the fact it would fit perfectly in our great room.

happy birthday mom!

It's my mom's birthday today. She is in LA right now helping my sister pack up to move. Mom is always lending us a hand - even on her birthday. She is probably the most selfless person I know. She helped us out when Fallon was born and with Aspen. I can't imagine how I could have gotten through my adjustment with the kids without her! Much less any other time I've needed her! I love you Mom and have a great birthday! This is a picture I found of Fallon and Mom at our old house in 2005.

holiday handiworks show 2007 in idaho

Here's the new ad I did for the 3 shows in Idaho this week. The Holiday Handiworks Show begins tonight at three different Sasser homes - Ashley Sasser Gunson's families.

aspen's 1st thanksgiving

We went to Tony's house for Thanksgiving. Jon made a bunch of side dishes: creamed spinach, pureed cauliflower, butternut squash risotto, corn, and I made tiramisu and spiced pecans. Tony made a deep-fried turkey (yum!) and a roasted turkey. His sister-in-law, Janet, made an apple pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce. It was a true feast and oddly, I did not stuff myself, but I did go for seconds with Tony. Nursing calories! Fallon made headdresses for herself and Tony. There were no kids, but she had a blast with Uncle Walter (Christina's dad) while Aspen slept away in her car seat the until after dinner! We love going to Tony's - it's always fun, comfortable and feels like family when we're so far away from home. It was a very nice, laid back Thanksgiving and we do have a lot to be thankful for. We are blessed with 2 very happy and healthy girls. They are amazing and make me a better person everyday. Click photo to see larger.

fallon's thanksgiving feast at school

We joined Fallon and her friends at school for their Thanksgiving Feast. They had turkey with all the fixings and we got to eat, too! Their teachers made them paper costumes to look like Pilgrims and Indians. Fallon loved her outfit.

ohio and LA friends in town

Fallon and "Tito Boy"
Sung Hi and Jeremy with Aspen
Armand and Cliff with Aspen
Armand "Tito Boy" with Aspen
Armand and Cliff waking Fallon up
Sung Hi (Baker) and Jeremy came into town for the weekend. Armand and Cliff were also in town. It was their first time to see Aspen. We hung out at the house for a while and Fallon was in Uncle Heaven! "Which Uncle is going to read to me? Which is going to toss me in the air? Which is going to give me money (or not)?" You figure out which was which! It's always great to see them - especially the Newlyweds, Sung Hi and Jeremy. It was also big day for Aspen to meet our friends.

aspen: 2 month update

2 Months! Aspen is getting bigger (by Ayala standards) and developing so fast. She's very smiley and responding to our goo-goo-ga-gas. She loves her car seat, riding in the car, her swing, a clean diaper, but loves no diaper even more. She sleeps well among the bustle in the house. She's an overall good girl, similar to Fallon in so many ways. I have adjusted pretty well with her schedule and Fallon's. Jonathan and I are still zombie-like at times, but we're hoping the 3 month mark will change that. Nursing is going ok, but I'm definitely not doing 18 months like with Fallon, so I'm shooting for 6 months to nurse - only 4 more to go! Everyone says she is looking like Jonathan.

pool and landscape design

Since we have moved into a new house that is very modern, we have been agonizing over the landscape design. I was very happy with the design I did at our old house, but I feel truly challenged by having to add a pool that will not need a child fence (such an eyesore) and we have an additional courtyard to design. The solution is to raise the pool above ground. Not only should the landscape be kid-friendly, but dog friendly and it MUST look fabulous! I want to feel like we are at a hotel because we will never be able to afford another vacation after this!! These are pool pics that we absolutely love - kids or no kids!

double stroller

Upon the arrival of Aspen, we were faced with the notion of having to give into the limo stroller. However, on our hunt for one, we found the double sport stroller by Phil and Teds. Even though it's a bit cumbersome for me to fold up right now (I'll get the hang of it soon), Fallon says it's very smooth. A sweet ride for the kids and glides like a Cadillac, what's not to love? Thanks Mom and Dad, who bought it off our registry.

sweet reward

Today, Fallon finished her whole lunch at school so I took her to get ice cream. I got some, too.

julius maximo

This is Julius Maximo in a pirate costume at his Halloween parade at school in Los Angeles. He is now 2 years old and looks just like his daddy, Zosimo when he was a little boy! By the way, Zosimo will be appearing on America's Smartest Model tonight as a guest judge - heehee. The Maximos are like relatives to us. Our fathers went to Medical school together in the Philippines.

let's go bucks!

Our little Buckeye in the making. Ohio State makes us proud again today!

tiny treasure boutique 2007

Darleen Meier is heading 3 Tiny Treasure Boutique shows on the East Coast: Boston, 1 in Old Greenwich, CT and 1 in Stamford. If you know anyone in the area, please pass it on...

bye bye lola :(

My mom left tonight from being with us since Sept. 3! She has been a tremendous help with the baby and Fallon. Fallon and Lola became best friends and it was a sad farewell. The dogs even miss her since the next morning, they ran into the guest room sniffing around for her. We will all miss her! Thank you for everything. We love you Lola!

p.s. Thanks to Aunt Debi and Uncle Wayne for Aspen's adorable Halloween outfit!

happy halloween

Fallon's pumpkin painting for cousin Michael.A quick stop at the pumpkin patch for a photo of the kids. Aspen was not happy.


Fallon and Daddy was FIX chef, "Brian Massie."
Shay "Anakin Skywalker" and Fallon.

Jon, Fallon and Mateo.
Fallon was Snow White - if you haven't heard. Jon and I took her out on Halloween with Jon's co-worker, Mateo and his son, Shay aka Young Anakin. The highlight of the evening was when one of the homes had 2 shih tzu dogs and the female was dressed in a Snow White outfit, too!

aspen update - 7 weeks

Aspen is doing well with everything so far - laughing, looking at us, lifitng her head, responding to noise, following with her eyes and eating like a champ! We've had a few discrepancies on her height: at birth, she was measured at 17 3/4 inches. At 1 week, she was measured at 19 inches. At 2 weeks: 19.75", at 5 weeks: 20.5". Her Dr. said that they definitely measured her wrong at birth and was probably over 19 inches then. Fallon was 19 1/2". Aspen has been cluster feeding (nursing every 90 minutes) which leaves no time for much else. Her schedule is opposite ours which we are trying to reverse to get more sleep. So far, she is similar to Fallon - aware of her surroundings, already enjoying baby Einstein videos and smiling. Fallon is very helpful and understanding with her and continues to be a proud big sister, especially when I come to pick Fallon up from school.

A big thanks to all those who sent the cards, flowers, gifts and giggle.com registry items our way. We appreciate the thoughtfulness - especially being so far away from friends and family. Aspen is already so loved.

scott in town for a meeting

Scott Bissell (Jon's best friend and Fallon's godfather) was in town for an Orthopedic Medical convention. He came over to meet Aspen and play with Fallon for a bit. Scott also bought a ticket to see Gwen Stefani with us. It was great to see him. Fallon especially loves him because he plays so well with her.

i wanna be gwen

I finally got to see Gwen Stefani solo in concert (I've seen her with No Doubt)! Love her! Jon got me tickets for my birthday. Mom babysat while Jon and I ran out with Scott Bissell to catch the show at Pearl in the Palms hotel. Awesome venue - I will definitely go back there to see more concerts. Her performance was incredible and her stage was not overdone. And as always, fun outfits. You can really see how she is influenced by Japanese culture. We had great seats and I was so bummed that I did not bring my camera! I had my phone which wasn't so bad. At one point during the concert, she parted the standing room only section, ran through them and climbed up on the sound mixers box which happened to be right in front of us! Other highlight: the breakdancing.

silly sisters

fallon's halloween costume parade

Merryhill School got to wear costumes instead of their uniforms today. Fallon was Snow White. We helped with their Halloween party and took a ton of pictures - as most parents would, right? This last photo is with her teacher, Mrs. Ghanimian and her "crush" Jordan, donning the Thomas Train costume. He is the funny man in class and has a sarcastic personality which Fallon adores and understands.