Month: January, 2011

Year Three in Her Own Words

January 31st, 2011

A look back over the past year…

January:

“Daddy! Are you?!” for Daddy, where are you?

Falling over and catches herself. Says “good catch!” to herself.

All rabbits are “Peter rabbits!” and so are bats, evidently.

“The Leyba’s coconut water!” evidently means the Leyba’s are drinking coconut water

David took a sip of cider and Miss Leyba said “Good job, Dad!”

To dog: “BACK! STAY BACK!” (with hand up for ‘stop’) then she walks over to pat him and he’s thrilled. ON HER OWN TERMS, right?!

Shouting, “Surprise!” and throwing her arms up above her head. Then adding, “It’s fun!”

February:

Rocking her baby doll, saying “Shh shh shh! Time to sleep! Close your eyes!” Repeated over and over again. Sounds very familiar…

She drops something and asks us “Are you okay?” even if we are halfway across room. “Be careful!”

“One moment. I’m working!”

Takes a sip of water, shouts, “Yum, yum, yum!” It isn’t that delicious.

Quickly memorizing, singing, and adapting the songs from Mamma Mia? “Honey, honey, how I wonder!” (instead of ‘how I want you!’)

March:

What do you want for dinner? “Food! Um… Ice cream cone!”

Informed me that she wants to go to Costco tonight. “Just a quick trip, Mom!”

Our two year old performs “So Long, Farewell” from Sound of Music each night before she heads up the stairs to bed. Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night!

April:

Any type of leafy green is called “salad.” Wilted and cooked vegetables included.

A little voice from the living room: “Care, Care, come here!” (Yes, David frequently calls me Care.)

May:


(On using a clear cup) “No, thank you! I need a purple cup.” (David found a purple one) “That’s fine.”

First words out of her mouth this morning while she was still asleep: “No!!!! Penguins!!!!!” Absolutely no idea.

Do you want some avocado? “No, thank you, Dad, I’m reading.”

June:

What does a fire truck say? “Fire, please!”

Reading “Are You My Mother” with David and now referring to him as her “Daddy Mother.”

July:

“Let’s go in the car! C-R-A!” Soooo close with that spelling…

“Oh no! Oh me, oh my!” Direct quote.

“I want to wear my new bra to [get] ice cream. Wait, it’s too big.” That would be because it belongs to mom.

Toddler has been using tweezers to remove pretend splinters in her feet. “I feel better! I don’t have to walk on my tip toes anymore!” Phew!

My daughter to the big kids at the playground, “I’m almost three years old… I turn three in a month.” Yeah, more like six months! :)

August:

Calling a yard stick a “garden stick”… hey, we call the garden “the yard” all the time too!

My daughter’s imaginary friend? Winnie-the-Pooh, of course! Evidently he fits in the palm of her hand. “He’ll get bigger! He’s growing.”

“My tummy led me home! I’m not Pooh-bear! I’m [Miss Leyba]!”

September:

“Do you like honey? Good. Me too.” (She’s eating honey on toast. Our compromise when she asked for a smackerel of honey.)

“I can’t fly. I don’t have wings. I will grow some!”

“Don’t go to work, silly David. Stay home with us!”

David says, “This is hard work.” Daughter replies, “Do you want Mama to do it?”

Toddler says, “I want a cookie!” I suggest a banana instead. She replies,”Um, okay.” Can’t believe my ears. This will never happen again.

David says, “Please be careful with my (@BrandonSandrson) book.” Toddler’s response? “Okay, I’ll try not to pull out any pages.”

October:

“Namaste, Daddy! Namaste, Mommy! Namaste, Lucy!” Someone loves her yoga class.

Nonstop chatter about our Colorado Trip. Investigating her winter clothing situation, “Do you think Uncle Lee will like this hat?”

Breakfast request, “potatoes and eggs AND pizza!!”

Evidently knows what M-O-V-I-E spells. My bad.

My daughter just announced that she wants a “Moon Penguin” tattoo. Luckily, “It’s okay if it washes off!” Phew!

Toddler did not go for dinner. I guess zucchini pizza (“I love it!”) sounds way different than it tastes (“Hmm. I’m going to play!)…

November:

About her doll: “Her middle name is Emily, but her full name is Lucy.” The Little Bear phase continues.

Emphatically, “He’s my Daddy. He belongs to ME!”

Surprised to find my daughter completely dressed herself this morning. Today’s outfit? Leopard print pants! My girl has style.

December:

Playing freeze dance: “Mama, freeze it! Freeze it!” So much for a surprise break in the music.

Singing a heartfelt song about a rutabaga.

At the gas station: “When I grow up, I am going to get gas every night!” She LOVES watching the meters showing how much gas we’re buying.

January:

“Daddy is crazy ’cause he goes to yoga in the dark. It’s so early!”

“Mommy, you are my sweetheart!”

We’ve had a great year.

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Birthday Party Fun

January 28th, 2011

An outdoor birthday party in January?! Was it too much to hope for?!

Thankfully the weather cooperated: 70 degrees, sunny and beautiful! We could not have wished for better weather for a winter birthday party!

We ate a delicious, kid-friendly lunch:


Clementines, cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, edamame, blueberries, raspberries, cucumbers and carrots with humus, babybel cheese, and chedder bunny snacks for the kidoes; grapefruit and walnut salad with a cheese platter for the parents.

We sang to the birthday girl:

She sang to herself too! (It’s a favorite song, after all!)

We decorated cupcakes:


Cake is serious business.

We scootered and rode bikes up and down the lane:




Happy birthday girl!

I could not have wished for a more perfect, fun party for my daughter! We all had a wonderful time!

(Of course, it helps that my closest friends are the mamas of my daughter’s closest friends. Makes for a great gathering for everyone.)

Happy birthday, sweetie!

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Birthday Crown

January 27th, 2011

Our blog countdown to the three-year old’s birthday party continues!

Today we share a mother-daughter project that’s been three years in the making.

The birthday girl and I made this special birthday crown based on Amanda’s crowns, adapting the template and technique in her inspiring, wonderful book, The Creative Family.

My daughter involved herself in each step of the project (no surprise there!). She picked the colors, dictated the embellishment shapes, and placement of all items. She hand sewed the green star-burst on the pink bird. She held my hand as I cut the felt, assisted me in pinning and gluing the embellishments, attached the velcro to the tags (omitting the elastic band in the back, allowing for a more seamless crown), and helped me sew the entire crown, pulling the needle through after I placed each stitch.

Let me tell you, this crown was a labor of love and so worth it.

Want to see it on her? That’s tomorrow’s post!

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Labeling Juice Boxes

January 26th, 2011

Our blog countdown to the three-year old’s birthday party continues!

When faced with the conundrum of how to keep nine kids worth of juice boxes straight, I set out to create labels with their names to adhere to the juice boxes.

Then I paused upon realizing that the kids, aged 2-4 years old, don’t know how to read yet.

Clearly some pictures were going to be involved.

I picked out favorite photos of each of the kids from my hard-drive and made 100 by 100 pixel sized avatars, if you will, for each of our party guests. Then I opened up a label template in Microsoft Word, copied and pasted each kids photo in, and wrote their names underneath. I then printed out several labels for each guest in case they wanted more than one juice box.

Easy! And SO worth it!

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Birthday Party Letter Art Banner

January 25th, 2011

Our blog countdown to the three-year old’s birthday party continues!

Yesterday we talked about our photo banner:

Today I want to share with you our Happy Birthday letter art banner that we’ve hung on the opposite wall of our living room:

I typed “Happy Birthday” using different fonts for each letter on our computer and set up the letters to be outline only. After printing the series out, we then decorated the letters with stickers, twistables crayons and colored pencils.

The project took us several days to complete and we talked about the different letters and colors as we filled in the outlines. For some of the letters, my daughter focused on coloring each outline one (or two) colors and matching stickers of the same color to each letter.

A fun preschool project that’s simple, yet open to endless creative possibilities.

Now, a freebie for you:

Download a PDF of our Happy Birthday letter art banner to print and color in for yourselves!

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Birthday Party Photo Banner

January 24th, 2011

Our blog countdown to the three-year old’s birthday party continues!

First we gathered photos of the birthday girl taken over the past three years, then we glued our favorites on colored construction paper and decorated the frames using glitter paint pens, gel markers, and stickers:

Then we hung a purple ribbon on the wall (using push pins) and clipped the photos to the ribbon with clothespins:

A simple, sentimental, and colorful birthday party decoration that we will definitely be recreating each year. Such a hit!



(Thank you to my friends Alissa and Dorothee for inspiring me with their own ribbon/wire art walls.)

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Preserving Lemons

January 21st, 2011

Another post in our First on Friday series where we share a recent, new experience.

I had never heard of preserved lemons until my good friend Alissa offered to teach me how to make them. I didn’t hesitate because I love learning new things, Alissa is so much fun, and what the heck are preserved lemons?!

Well, they are easy, SO EASY, to make and I’ve learned that you can use them in a variety of recipes (usually, though not exclusive to, Greater Middle Eastern cuisine). You can use the rind in salad dressings, fish or chicken dishes, stews, marinades, with pizza toppings, “anywhere you’d normally use lemon zest for a more intense, lemon kick.”

As for how they taste, I don’t know the answer to that yet. You see, you have to let them sit for a month in the fridge before you can use them. I’ll let you know how they taste in another week when they’re ready. :)

(I’ve included a list of links at the bottom of this post with more information about the process of preserved lemons and their many uses.)

Let’s get to the process. Here’s an overview.


Start with lots and lots of lemons (since you will be eating the peel, be sure to use organic or unsprayed lemons). Scrub them clean.



Place canning jars and lids in boiling water for several minutes to sterilize them.


Slice into (but not fully through) the lemons on four or five sides and stuff with salt.


Set these salt-stuffed lemons aside while you juice many, many lemons. (Might I recommend this tool that I use daily and love?)


Place two (or more) lemons into the bell jars. Fill with lemon juice.


Seal tightly.


Admire your handiwork and the sheer number of lemons you went through.


Place them in the fridge for a month and then you can start using them!

Want to learn more about the history of preserved lemons, the many ways to preserve them and find some recipes incorporating them?

Check out:
+ David Lebovitz’s method for preserving lemons (similar to what we did, just taking a few more days).
+ Heidi Swanson’s method as described on her delightful site 101 Cookbooks.
+ The Kitchn’s how to article that parallel’s our method and explains it more fully.
+ This fascinating article on Serious Eats about that “secret ingredient.”
+ A great article about all of the above, plus a demonstration video on Stone Soup.

Recipes incorporating preserved lemons to try:
+ Fettuccine with Preserved Lemon and Roasted Garlic
+ Quinoa with Asparagus and Preserved Lemon Dressing
+ Sauteed String Beans With Garlic and Preserved Lemon
+ Grilled Salmon with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives
+ Sautéed Shrimp with Preserved Lemon
+ Lentils with Spinach and Preserved Lemon (plus another recipe for making, you guessed it, preserved lemons)

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