Exciting News!

Today has been a wonderful day! I got off the phone a few hours ago with Greenleaf Book Group, which is a division of Ingram, a major distributor and publisher. They called to tell me that they want to pick up UnInked! The Complete Guide to Tattoo Removal, and distribute it to all of the major bookstores, like Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million, as well as offer the book in over 900 independent bookstores nationwide as well as sell the book to libraries across the country. They are a top distributor and offer to represent less than 1% of the books that are submitted to them.

Needless to say, I am very excited and joyful that they want to distribute the book! I have a meeting set with them for January 4th to discuss the details. Greenleaf wants to republish the book with a new cover, and do an extensive marketing and publicity campaign. They believe the book will be a huge success! I am so excited!

I also was contacted by Baker & Taylor, which is a major wholesaler of books. They also want to carry UnInked! in their catalog. This is a major coup, and I am thrilled at all of the possibilities opening up to us in the world of publishing.

It's a great honor and a wonderful Christmas present to get this news today. It is particularly validating, and I am flying high at the moment. Yea!

6 Days Til Christmas!

I can hardly believe there's less than one week between now and Christmas! Eek! Things have been hectic in our household for the past few weeks, and it will be nice to slow down and enjoy the holidays. Mr. Mustard's last day of work is tomorrow, and I am breathing a sigh of relief for him to be home and for us all to enjoy some good, quality time together. He has been working late- very late- every night. When I say late, I mean coming home after midnight and leaving for work by 6 a.m. the next morning. It's been rough. He's sick, and I have been dealing with my tooth pain. No fun! So, I am very much looking forward to spending the holidays together and breathing a collective sigh of relief.

16 Months Young!

Paprika turned 16 months old on Sunday! Time is really flying. She is running everywhere, into everything, and is such a bright-eyed joy to be around.

She loves reading books- and can sit and read them for longer than anyone I know. Seriously. She would sit and read all day long if she had the choice. Before bed, we read books together for an hour straight, and she's not ready to put them down when we say it's time for night-night. She will let me read to her, but if I'm going to slowly or not doing it right, she'll take the book away from me and sit on the floor and she'll read the book outloud to me. Of course, most of the words are a little bit gibberish, but I know she knows what she's saying! And it sounds very conversational me. I sometimes wonder if all of the reading I did studying for the Bar Exam while I was pregnant with Paprika had an effect on her- she really loves reading!

In terms of words that she's speaking that I understand, there are hundreds. She picks up new words and phrases every day, and is able to put them together into sentences. Her new funny thing she's saying is "Oh, no mama!" which she says when she sees something going wrong. She puts her hands up to her face and gets a very concerned look- and then says it with the utmost seriousness. She says all sorts of other unexpected things, too- like today she pointed to a picture of a pumpkin and said in a very clear voice- "pumpkin"- I have no idea where she learned that!

She can name all of the farm animals, and what sounds they make. She knows her colors and can say pink, purple, and gold. She can point out and say all of the basic body parts- like eyes, ears, nose, hair, teeth, feet, hands, belly button, etc. She makes little sentences like "let's go outside" or "mommy, i go in car now!" or "let's go upstairs and take bath!"

She tells me when she has to go poop (or after she's already gone). That's proven to be pretty helpful, actually! I'm not planning on starting potty training for some time, though. We are still cloth diapering, and it's working out great. The fact that I don't have to buy diapers every week makes me less inclined to start. I think Paprika will let me know when she's ready. Right now she says "poo poo" and "pee pee" and wants to flush the toilet- so that's a good sign. But, we're in no rush.

Paprika is very outgoing and friendly to others, and is genuinely interested and excited to meet anyone and everyone. We've been noticing that she's started to get a bit more clingy to me. If I leave to go upstairs to get something, she will get upset and try to follow me. She only wants me to read to her at night, and is just very much a mama's girl right now. But, that's normal- and it changes weekly, it seems!

She is not afraid of anything, and is a true daredevil. For the past few months, she has wanted to walk down the stairs by herself- not slide, not go down on her bottom- but walk fully upright all by herself. Of course we are there to hold her and show her the proper way. But left to her own devices, she would bound ahead without fear. This happened last week. Mr. Mustard was helping her down the stairs to the garage, and she stood up and tried to launch herself down the stairs standing upright. Luckily, Mr. Mustard was there to catch her, but she came very close to falling head first onto the concrete floor in the garage. She gasped and I think for the first time really scared herself. Afterwards, she sat down and was much more cautious in going down the stairs. So, she's learning.

Paprika is also getting many new teeth! She has been working on her molars, as well as several other teeth, and is developing quite a smile. We're still nursing- and so far it hasn't been an issue at all, thank goodness!

Visiting Daddy at Work

We had a very busy weekend. On Saturday, we went to Old Town Pasadena, saw Santa, and did some Christmas shopping. We picked up some sushi, and came home and had a wonderful dinner together.

On Sunday, Mr. Mustard had to work all day, so Paprika and I made a daytrip and met up with Mr. Mustard for lunch at his office. Mr. Mustard is working on the upcoming show "Dance War" at the CBS lot. It was a great adventure meeting up with him and getting to see all the stages on the lot. On the way to his office, we passed through all the props for "The Price Is Right" and by the stages for "The Young and the Restless." Of course, we had to snap a few photos!

The Showcase Showdown from The Price Is Right:

The Late Late Show:

At The Young and the Restless Stage:

Then we went to lunch at The Grove, which is a very posh mall right next to the CBS lot. There is a secret entrance between CBS and the mall, and we were able to zip right over to the mall on foot without having to deal with the swarms of people trying to park at the mall. It worked out perfectly. We had a great lunch at the Farmer's Market, and even got to see Santa's Village at the Grove- it was truly a sight to behold. They even have snow that falls nightly at 7pm and 8pm. They have a huge Christmas tree that is in the center of their dancing fountain. Paprika loved looking at the water and was dazzled by all of the lights. On the way back from lunch, we ran into all of the contestants on the upcoming "Dance War" show. Mr. Mustard knew them all because he's editing the show and looks at their faces every day on his screen. So, we chatted with them for awhile. A good afternoon was had by all!

Paprika and Mr. Mustard in front of Santa's House:

A Day At The Park

Paprika and I took advantage of today's gorgeous weather to get out and have fun at the park. Paprika loves to run, run, run and be outdoors. She is learning how to play with other kids, and is infinitely interested in them. Today there was a 22 month old boy at the park, and she wanted to chat him up and play on the jungle gym with him.

She amazes us with her love of books, and her ever-increasing vocabulary. She surprises me with new words every day- like out of the blue yesterday she said "blanket" and handed me her blanket when she woke up in the morning.

We really limit television- Paprika watches no broadcast tv, and only rarely watches a kid's video- like Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo (Spanish Sesame Street), or the Pixar Animation shorts. But, that's not to say that she's not interested! She loves the Pixar short "Boundin'" and will go to the dvd player and say "Bounce!" when she wants us to play Boundin'. Then she wants us to play it over and over again, and gets really upset when we turn it off. But, that's life! :-)

Back From the Dentist

The dentist today confirmed my suspicions that I have an infected tooth. I will be going back on Tuesday to take care of the problem- so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My fever is down and I am otherwise feeling good. The heater guy is coming on Wednesday to fix our heater, so that is also good news!

Paprika has found a new best friend in my neighbor's 20 month old daughter, Isabella. She loves spending time with her and they have so much fun playing together. They give eachother hugs, and in general just have a ball when they're in the same room. Elizabeth (Isabella's mom) watched Paprika for me today when I went to the dentist- and it was so wonderful for me to know that Paprika was in such good hands and was having such a great time while I was gone. Meeting Elizabeth has been such a wonderful blessing of living in Pasadena. I'm so happy to have found her!

Updates...

Paprika is over being sick! She, thankfully, is keeping down all food and is back to her old self. We are very grateful for that! I seem to have gotten what she has. I have been running a 104 degree fever since last night. That, coupled with Mr. Mustard's long hours at work, have made life a bit difficult these past few days. To top it off, our heater stopped working, Mr. Mustard's car broke down, and my mouth has started to hurt immensely. It's raining and pouring a bit on the Urths the past week.

I have a dentist appointment for Tuesday to have my mouth looked at. It's a bit tricky because I'm still nursing Paprika, and you have to be very very careful when getting dental work done while nursing or pregnant, especially if you have amalgam fillings (because they contain mercury). When they remove or upset the fillings, it can cause mercury to be excreted into your system, and it is then passed on through the breastmilk. I am hyper-vigilant about making sure that Paprika is not exposed to heavy metals (mercury, lead, etc.) because exposure causes all sorts of developmental, neural, and other problems for a developing child.

So, I have been working hard to find a dentist who will take the necessary precautions when working on my mouth (they are surprisingly hard to find). The dentist I'm going to see has 30+ years experience in mercury-free dentistry, and is tops in taking the right precautions so that there's no danger of mercury being released into my system. Of course, he's not covered by our dental HMO plan-- but it seems nothing is covered by our medical or dental insurance, so I'm trying not to worry about it and just chalk up this trip to the dentist as an early Christmas present to myself. His earliest appointment is Tuesday, so hopefully I can last that long with my teeth hurting.

Field Trip to the Nursery

Despite being violently ill, Paprika still wants to "go, go, go!" She needs to get outside every day and see the world, otherwise she gets serious cabin fever. Because she's still sick, I won't take her anywhere other kids frequent, since I don't want her to get them sick. So, today we went to our local plant nursery and had a great time looking at flowers, Christmas trees, gnomes, and stone statues. Paprika had great fun splashing in the water fountains, petting the metal horse, and looking at fish (pronounced "Wish!") in the pond.

Paprika was throwing up until late last night, but this morning she didn't throw up at all, which is great news. The night before last, Paprika threw up in her crib while she was sleeping. It was just plain horrible. Last night we thought she threw up in her crib, but Mr. Mustard went to check on her and she was fine. So, anyway, she seems to be getting better! The problem is that everything has now moved south (so to speak), so we're dealing with sickness on the other end. I don't think I've ever seen Mr. Mustard more worried and scared than he has been over Paprika being sick these past few days. He's just beside himself with worry, as am I. But she seems to be through the worst of it (hopefully)!

Petting the horsie:

Looking at the "Wish" (fish) in the pond:

More Thanksgiving Pictures!

Here are a few more of Paprika from Thanksgiving! :-)

A Little Under The Weather

Well, it looks like Paprika's evening on Saturday at the Mother's Day Out center has had unfortunate consequences. On Sunday, she started sniffling, and by yesterday, se was fully sick. She has been vomitting up everything she eats and drinks- it's pitiful! She can't keep anything down, but we've been feeding her little bits of food, water, and I've been nursing her often. It's just a fact of life of her being exposed to other kids, I guess. It makes me think twice about having her go back to the center, though- I just worry that a few hours of time around groups of kids will make her miserable for a week afterwards. It's not worth it!

My good friend Sarah was supposed to come visit today. She lives in Colorado, but is in California visiting family this week, and she was going to drive 3 hours to stay with us for two days. I really wanted to meet her baby, Zane, who is 6 months younger than Paprika. Sarah and I used to work together back at Stanford a million years ago (okay, it was 1999- but that was last century). We've remained really close over the years. It's such a shame that Paprika is so sick, because otherwise it would have been fantastic to have Paprika and Zane meet eachother. Sarah is going to plan to come out to see us another time- a trip just to see us. Otherwise, we're going to have to go to Colorado to see her!

Feels Like Summer!

The past two days have just been gorgeous! Yesterday we went outside in sweaters. Today it was warm enough for shorts and T-shirts. We've been spending a lot of time at the park, on the playground, and in the library. Paprika loves to just cruise around the neighborhood in her car, and explore it walking on her own two feet.

Lauren and Don's Party

Last night we went to Lauren and Don's big annual Christmas party. We had such a great time! We left Paprika at the Mother's Day Out center, and she had a wonderful time playing with the other kids. When we came to pick her up, she was standing in front of the big fish tank they have pointing out all the fish, turtles, and bubbles. The center director came over to tell us that she has never seen someone Paprika's age with such a big vocabulary. She told us all the words Paprika was saying to her. She was just in amazement about it and said that Paprika is really exceptional. So, Paprika was a big hit at the center, and she really enjoyed her time there. We were very glad to get her back, though!

The party was super fun. It was nice to get out and mingle with other adults, and have a conversation without running after Paprika. Lauren and Don's house is huge- perfect for a big party, and we got to catch up with a lot of friends we haven't seen in forever, as well as meet some new people. One couple brought their beautiful 6 week old baby to the party, and he was so adorable. It reminded me that last year we brought Paprika to the party- she was only three months old at the time- and we carried her in her baby carrier all night long. What a difference a year makes!

Odds & Ends for Friday

A quick update for this Friday:

Our very nice neighbor and my new friend, Elizabeth, is letting us use her daughter's play horse. Her daughter does not like it at all, and Paprika, of course, loves it! She wants to climb on it herself and bounce away. She loves it! We're having a lot of fun with it and we're so glad we get to use it for the time being.

Our heater is out- kaput, not working! I have a space heater going in Paprika's room, but otherwise it's downright chilly in our house. Our thermostat says it's 60 degrees, so we've been bundled up and keeping warm. I am going to break down and call the heating repairman this afternoon, since it's become obvious that the heater won't fix itself and winter has just begun.

Today is the first day of rain we've had in I don't remember how long. Paprika ran to the window and started exclaiming "water! water!" as if it was the most amazing thing that water was falling from the sky. I told her that when it comes from the sky it's called "rain" and then she started saying "Ain! Ain!" I wonder if it is confusing to her that water, while so important, has so many different names and uses. Ocean, Lake, river, rain, waterfall, ice, snow, bathtub water, drinking water, toilet water, etc. It's a lot to sort out!


Paprika Looking at the Rain for the First Time:

We have a busy weekend ahead of us planned. We are going to Lauren and Don's Christmas Party tomorrow- and I'm so excited about it. Paprika is spending the evening at our local Mother's Day Out center, and I know she'll love being around other kids. We had a tour and she wanted to play with all the other kids while we were there. It's a fantastic place. It'll be my first time dropping her off, and I'm nervous as heck about it. But, I know that she'll be in great hands, and we'll be back to get her before she knows it. Can you tell I'm a little nervous? I'm sure she'll do better than I will!

I am hard at work marketing my book, UnInked! The Complete Guide to Tattoo Removal. It's selling very well on Amazon.com and Borders.com. I am working on finding other channels to sell it. I am in talks with a distributor, which would put the book into brick and mortar stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I have started a few websites: http://tattooremovalsupport.com/, http://tattooremovalbook.com/, http://erikafinn.com/, and http://zibibooks.com/. I still need to work out the kinks on the websites, add to them, and the "Buy It Now" option needs to be easier and more user friendly. It's baby steps right now, literally!

I am also working on two more books in my spare time. I am co-authoring a book with my good friend Jessica, and we have an agent from ICM who wants to rep the book for us. That's great news. We hope to go with a large publisher for the book, like Random House. We are about half-way finished writing the book- it's fun writing with a partner!

I ordered our Christmas cards a few days ago and just got a notification that they're in route! They are majorly cute this year. I can't wait to send them out!

Mr. Mustard is busy, busy with work. So far this year he's done more shows than I can remember, and all of them were major. In his next break between shows, he may do some work at home- which I would love!

Full Sentences!

Paprika now regularly speaks in full sentences. She's been doing it for a few weeks now, off and on, but over the past week it has become much more regular. Now, she often puts words together like "that is baby" and "let's go outside" or "go down." She is picking up words at a very rapid pace. She learns at least one new word per day, sometimes many more. For example, last weekend she learned choo-choo train, jump, purple, turtle, pig, goat, fish, sheep, star, banana, puppy, woof, cow, moo, and a bunch of other words I can't recall off the top of my head. We estimate that she says between 50-100 words now. It's the funniest thing because sometimes I will be sitting there reading her a book, and she'll just point to something and say what it is- even if I've never pointed it out before. She follows the words along in her book and "reads" to herself when I'm not reading to her. It's quite remarkable.

Thanksgiving 2007

We're back from our long, four day weekend in Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving. We had a great Thanksgiving! Mr. Mustard's mom prepared a wonderful meal. Mr. Mustard's sister, Andrea, was there, along with her friends Jill, Mike, their baby, and Mike's mom. It was a full house on Thursday, and everyone had a nice time. One of Mr. Mustard's best friends, Tom, came over on Thursday night and met Paprika officially (last time he saw her she was asleep).

Andrea and her friends left Thanksgiving evening, so the rest of the weekend, it was just me, Mr. Mustard, Paprika, and Mr. Mustard's mom. We had a very full weekend. We went to the beach, went out to eat a few times, and met up with lots of Mr. Mustard's old friends from highschool. Mr. Mustard's mom babysat for us Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Mr. Mustard and I got to go to dinner by ourselves, we went to two movies, and we went to a little holiday get-together one of his highschool buddies had at his house! Mr. Mustard said he had fun playing "twenty-something" for a few days! Paprika greatly enjoyed spending time with Grandma Urth.

Mr. Mustard and I saw "American Gangster" and "Enchanted" in the movie theater. "American Gangster" was his pick, "Enchanted" was mine! My next door neighbor from when I first moved to Los Angeles and lived in West Hollywood, Amy Adams, stars in "Enchanted." It's wild to think that we shared a wall for so many years, and now she is a major movie star. She is absolutely wonderful in the movie- a real talent. She is such a nice person, so I'm glad she's having so much success. It couldn't happen to anyone sweeter or more deserving. How cool.

An Autumn Day at the Park!

We had a wonderful weekend. On Sunday, we went to the park and played on the swings, blew bubbles, and watched a baseball game. Paprika was fascinated with the baseball game and wanted to watch it from start to finish. She had a great time climbing on the jungle gym and keeping up with the big kids.

Paprika's vocabulary continues to increase daily. She says kitty, kitty, kitty all the time now and wants to love on our cat, Meg, whenever she has a chance. She also makes little sentences, and I can really understand what she is saying. Today, for example, she was sitting in her stroller for all of two seconds when she started saying "down, walk, down, walk" because she wanted to be FREE! She is not one for sitting in her stroller - she wants to be a busy body, out and about!

We are getting excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow. This past week I have been reflecting on how truly blessed we are and how thankful we are for our full and rich lives. We are lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people- family and friends alike. And we are fortunate to live in a time when we can achieve whatever we desire, our dreams are only limited by our imaginations. This time of year always makes me reflect on where I am going in my life and what I want to accomplish in the next year. So far, things are really just perfect. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

The Four Deuces

Mr. Mustard and I went to a very fun murder mystery birthday party on Saturday night. Mr. Mustard's friend, Eric, rented out a club in Hollywood and invited about 50 people to his party. The theme was 1920s, and everyone had to dress up. Mr. Mustard wore a sharp Zoot Suit and I was in flapper regalia. We had a GREAT time. Everyone was assigned a character and had to play their part in solving a fictional murder mystery. My character was an assasin who would kill anyone for a price. Mr. Mustard's character had amnesia and had to make up wild stories to confuse everyone else. It was a riot!

Paprika stayed home and played with Mr. Mustard's mom, who was down for the weekend. The funniest part was that the red dress I wore to the party was my prom dress from my senior year of highschool! I never thought I'd get to wear it again- but never say never!

15 Months Today!

Wow! Paprika is 15 months young today. She is so active, smart, and fun. We have cleared out much of the furniture in our living room because she loves to climb on it so much! Yesterday I found her standing on top of the coffee table, bouncing up and down, and swinging our giant Tiffany lamp. She climbs on top of the air purifier, and on just about anything else in sight. So, yesterday I took the coffee table and the lamp down to the garage, where they will live for the next year or two. The air purifier is going high up on top of a bookshelf. Our kitchen cabinets are empty. We have too many to baby-proof, so I have just cleared them out. Paprika can open them up and put her toys inside. It's much easier this way than constantly telling her "no" to every single thing. I want her to embrace exploration, not fear every little thing. So, I say "no" when it's a big issue and the rest of the time give her the freedom she craves.

These pictures were taken on a recent hiking trip. We have a great Canyon near our house- about a 10 minute drive- and it has a wonderful Nature Center. Paprika was fascinated by all the wildlife and especially enjoyed looking at the snakes in the terrariums at the Nature Center.

My Book- Update!

My book officially came out last Friday and so far is selling GREAT! We had a snag-up with Amazon for a few days, but that's all worked out now and the first customers should be receiving their books.

We are busy working on our website, and that should be coming up in a week or two. If all goes as planned, we'll be able to take orders directly off our website, which will cut out the middle-man. It's all very exciting and fulfilling to see something that I've worked so hard on come to fruition.

The process of writing, publishing, and marketing this book has definitely been a learning experience for me. It's great to see it finally out there and meeting with such great success!

Get Elfed!

Pretty cute! Click on the link to see the Urths as your holiday elves!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9508690469

Such A Joy!

Paprika is such a joyful baby, and is so much fun to be around. She has such a fun, warm personality, and is always laughing and trying to make other people laugh.

She says so many words now, it's just incredible! I forget how verbally advanced she is until I hear other people marvel at her verbal abilities, and then I remember- oh yes, she is only 14 months old. I don't think I can even count how many words she says now. She regularly says "daddy, mama, bath, book, bubbles, ball, cat, dog, duck, up, bagel, apple, gold, outside, moon, hot, shoe, night-night, pee-pee, poop, baby, silly, car, truck, go, outside, water, walk, and woof." She repeats everything and says little sentences like "let's go out!" or "baby go bye-bye" or "daddy, bagel" or "baby wakawakawaka (walk, walk, walk)."

She has the softest, sweetest, most quiet voice. It sounds like "ahhh-boo-doo-boo-doo-boo-doo-boo" when she gets to babbling. She loves to sing to herself, too, and lots of times I catch her singing little tunes as she's walking around the house.

She understands pretty much everything we say now, and we have to spell things if we're trying to get something past her. She can follow simple commands like "Paprika, go get your shoes" or "Paprika, time for bath." She also knows the difference between yes and no and will answer by shaking her head yes or no when you ask her if she wants to do something, or if she wants a certain thing to eat.

Paprika is absolutely fearless and will take off walking confidently in her own direction if you set her down in public. She has no fear for anything or anyone! We were at Chipotle recently, and she wanted to go up to every single table and smile and wave to each person. She is not shy in the slightest and is so genuinely curious and interested in the world around her.

Paprika loves books and wants to read anything and everything in sight. If she sees something with words on it, she'll point at the words and then hand it to me to read to her. She likes to be read the same stories over and over again, but when she's done with a book, she'll toss it aside and will not let you read it to her. Her favorite thing to do is to grab a book and then plop herself down into Mr. Mustard or my lap when we're sitting cross-legged on the floor. She wants to be read to all the time and will follow the words with her fingers.

She is a great sleeper and loves her Pooh bear. She knows how to give kisses and hugs, and is just such an amazing, beautiful, and perfect child. I know I'm gushing, but sometimes I just can't believe that this perfect being is my daughter. She is just a joy to everyone around her and such a wonderful person to have in our world.

7 Years!

Yesterday was Mr. Mustard and my 7 year anniversary of dating! We went on our very first date on November 12, 2000! On our first date, we went to Canter's Deli in Los Angeles and out to see the movie "Meet the Parents" afterwards. Seven happy years later, here we are!

Last night, my wonderful friend and neighbor, Elizabeth, came over with her 19 month old daughter, Isabella, and babysat for us so Mr. Mustard and I could go out for a romantic dinner. It was heavenly! We went to the Parkway Grill in Pasadena, where we had the most quiet, peaceful, and delicious dining experience. Paprika hardly knew we were gone, and even waved "bye-bye" to us as we headed out the door. She had a blast playing with Isabella, and we were back before she even realized she missed us! It was GREAT!

Busy Bee

We've been keeping very busy! On Sunday, we took Paprika to Kidspace, a great Children's Museum with lots of fun stuff for kids to do. I have been wanting to check it out for awhile, and it was worth the trip. The activities were geared towards kids a few years older than Paprika. They have a toddler room, and she enjoyed playing in there with the other babies- but it was so crowded! I think it will be perfect to bring her back in a year or two when she can really enjoy all the outdoor activities. Right now she's just still a little too young for it all. But, we had fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, we went to our favorite Go-Kart and Mini Golf place- for the second time in two weeks! Paprika loves the lights and sounds of the arcade there. She wants to run around and play with everything. This time we played Mini Golf, and Paprika wanted to run through the whole course. It was pretty exhausting keeping up with her. We also got to have dinner at TGI Friday's, which was great. Paprika was so well-behaved during dinner and just wanted to read her books and play with the salt and pepper shakers on the table. Overall, she is a very well mannered little diner!

Paprika also got to have a nice visit with Mr. Mustard's mom and Mr. Mustard's sister, Andrea, this past weekend. Mr. Mustard's mom flew in from Maine and stayed at our house overnight before going back up to Santa Barbara. It was so nice for Paprika to see them- and for them to see her!

I took Paprika for her 15 month well-baby doctor's check-up earlier today. She passed with flying colors! She is as healthy as can be, and is growing and developing just perfectly. All of the nurses on staff were just blown away by Paprika's vocabulary and how much she is talking now.

Fall Festival Fun!

Last weekend, we went to a big Fall Festival in celebration of Halloween. There was a petting zoo, and Paprika got to pet lots of animals: a donkey, sheep, goats, a pig, and a rooster.

She had lots of fun playing in the bouncy at the carnival:

A very cool kid's band called "The Hollow Trees" played songs for us. We picked up their CD to play in the car.

Paprika even picked out our pumpkin to take home with us. This one looks good!: