Going to the Beach!

the layla and mommy beach video from HESCHLE on Vimeo.

My husband is amazing. I love how this little video captures the beauty and joy of taking our 8 month old to the beach!! So simple, so beautiful.

Flower Power

Yesterday we at Heschle Video Production did a shoot with Richelle Dante, a fabulous photographer from Orange County area. It was super fun--she had an awesome vision for an intro video for her website (stay tuned, it'll be here in not too long at all!). Needless to say, we had a great day filming for her project. Check out her website here.

When it was all over, we still had two bags of flower petals, so this morning Layla and I made good use of them. :-) Here is my favorite shot from the day...

Disneyland - "The Happiest Place on Earth"

Oh Disneyland... :-)

We went to Disneyland on Monday with Nathanael's sister and her boyfriend who were visiting from Kentucky and with my parents. I never understood before how my mom would be happy just to have us kids happy. But now I understand. My happiest moments were when Layla finally fell asleep for a nap and when she met Mickey Mouse and smiled. Going on rides myself wasn't all that exciting, especially because I was always concerned about Layla. Sigh. Having a kid wrestles selfishness away (or at least highlights its presence).

Lessons from the day: Kids get CRANKY when they miss their naps! Oh my goodness, so ironic because over the loudspeakers they keep proclaiming "Disneyland, the happiest place on earth" but seriously everywhere we looked there were kids screaming and crying and throwing fits (including our own), especially as the day crept into the afternoon and naps were being forsaken for rides. It was truly amusing. Would have made a great little video. Not for promoting Disney though...

Layla refused to nap. Practically the whole day, which is crazy cuz she usually fits in about 4 - 5 hours worth of naps during a day. The more tired she got, the more overstimulated she got, the more she fought sleep. It was not fun.

And she was super ornery about her stroller. Would not have it. Only wanted to be held. Which brings me to lesson #2: be sure to practice things before you really need them. This applies to baby sitting in stroller, baby being held in Moby or other wrap (which we have done repeatedly so she's real good about it), using a bottle, using a pacifier, playing on her own, etc etc.

Enough! I will try to apply these lessons in the future but probably will forget by then. :-) In the meantime, thanks for reading!

Busy

We've had relatives here visiting for the past week, so I apologize for the lack of blog action...It's been good and loads of fun, but also exhausting. Among other things we packed into their short time here, we made a trip to Disneyland, Farmer's Market, the beach, the harbor, Chamomile Cafe, and the bluffs. Here is a picture to tide me over until I have the energy to write a real post. :-)

Mirror

family

Valentine's Day family photo

Beach Day!

Oh sometimes I simply love living in Santa Barbara. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and today we went to the beach to have a pre-Valentine's Day celebration. We were out and about today, and I loved it. Layla was quite the trooper. Here are a couple pictures from the day... :-)

Layla asleep in her HOTsling.

Under the pier with daddy. (Look at her hair?!?!)

We found this snazzy door next to the Channel Islands Surfboard shop. And so we had to take a picture. Simply had to.

Oh such fun today. When you live in a tourist destination, sometimes it's nice to take the day off normal living and join in with the rest of the world.

And now for some feedback: If you were a tourist in your town, what would you do? What is your city known for?

crisp california christmas

Somewhat akin to finding a puppy under the tree Christmas morning,

every morning I wake up and see (or more often, hear) this little growing gift.

How sweet is she?!

ps how awesome is my husband? (he made the video!) check out his company www.heschle.com

also for maternity/lifestyle stuffs: www.sacredspace.heschle.com