St.Kitts 2011

My morning view My life

Yo Gabba Gabba Concert

I completely forgot to record the Yo Gabba Gabba concert we attended the day after Thanksgiving 2011. I must mention, last year I bought our family tickets to attend last year. Unfortunately, Ahmed couldn't make the concert because he had booked a gig on that same weekend. But this year we were fortunate to make the concert together and we had a great time. The Yo Gabba Gabba World has been a big part of our lives. It has put together social life lessons in really fun musical ways. Sitcom fashions perfect for your 2yr to understand; ie. why it's important to share, why we wash our hands, why we should not be afraid, trying new things, etc. I like to call this program part of Marley's Nickelodeon University.

We were so excited for the concert to begin. All of the children concert goers were wearing their favorite characters on their shirts, hats, scarfs, shoes,etc. Even some of the parents were rocking their favorite characters too. It was so much fun, I think we were slightly more excited to rock out to our Gabba songs than Marley was. The show began and we must have looked ridiculous to Marley because we were singing the songs really loud, smiling like crazy parents, ogling our eyes, over enunciating words to coax him to do the dance and sing a long. I so wish we could have had his visuals.....because he could have totally blackmailed us for life! All in all Marley fell for it and loved every minute. We even got a hook up through a dancer friend of mine who dances in the Brobee character costume. She invited us to the VIP Backstage experience, taking pictures with all of the characters, listening to DJ Lance Rock and Leslie reading stories to the children and beat boxing with the one and only Biz Markie. It was an amazing nite. I was so happy to experience this day as a family.

Marley's Joke!

When I think of two year old...I think of a toddler, a little mind just getting the gist of putting sentences together, a little boy running to the potty, experiencing their first taste of independence. At two years old, most would think they would be oblivious to adult conversation or humor. Terrible two's , Little Monsters, what ever you want to call your toddler, from what I can remember ...... back when I was two? We were not nearly as smart as this generation!

My Marley is a very outgoing an social little boy. When I was growing up, children were really quiet and encouraged to speak when spoken to, got sent out of the room, etc. etc. And honestly I don't remember having a problem with that, because quite honestly I was very shy. I didn't want to be in a room of adults and much rather hanging out with children my own age. Where as Marley is not bothered! He is very comfortable talking with adults just the same as he is with children. And he is starting to find his humor and understand comedic timing! He is very funny. And I am going to share an anecdote from Thanksgiving 2011:

As you all could imagine, getting a 2 year old to eat can be very challenging. Especially when the objective is to get some green veggies and protein on the plate. Well, on ThanksGiving we had a beautiful spread of food at Marley's Godparent's house. We had a buffet style system and then we brought our plates to the dining room for a sit down dinner. Marley loves juice and if I let him drink it straight up I'd be in trouble by now. But right next to his plate of food was a cup of half diluted water and juice. Across the table sat Uncle Darrel his God Father. Uncle Darrel move his juice away and said to Marley "Now Marley, you have to eat before you drink all of this juice". Marley started his slow moaning cry, while is face slowly morphed into an ugly sad face. Darrel felt so bad he quickly said "OK,OK, don't cry" I quickly had to support Darrel and reinforce the no juice before eating. I put his juice back next to Darrell's plate and said to Marley; Uncle Darrel is right you have to eat before you drink. So we all started eating and talking and having a great time. I would say about 15 minutes had passed by, Marley apparently thought this was a great opportunity to grab his drink while we were all distracted. In the midst of our laughter, from the corner of my eye I see Marley's hand reaching slowly across the table and Darrell said very slowly "M aaaaa r l e y". The dining room got really quiet, and Marley responded, "I know, I know Eat-pth! out of the side of his mouth with a smile and we all busted out laughing! It was perfect.

Comedic perfection at 2yrs old. Well done son.

Love your #1 Fan,

Mama

Travel Town!!!

Today we spent the morning at Travel Town in Griffith Park. We celebrated the Sparks twins (Dashielle and Langston's) 4th Birthday in a fantastic old train car. There were rides, rail road tracks, conductors.......... a little boys wonderland. A great party for two really great little boys. Seems like yesterday when Ahmed and I were at the hospital holding one each, 5 pound little boys. Marley had a great time and this was the first birthday party he didn't blow out the someone else's Birthday candles!!!!!! My little boy is growing up!

Best Friends

It would be totally unfair to designate a best friend to Marley. He really and truley loves all of his friends. But this past week he was reunited to one of his oldest friends (Crimson Muse) and one of his newest friends (King Cooper).

It warms my heart to see how kind and sweet these children

are with each other.We have some amazing young men in entering this world. What a wonderful place this is going to be.

Transformer Halloween!!!

Marley is a Robot in disguise! Bumble Bee! Surprisingly, he was a little resistant to put on his costume today, but as soon as I mentioned he was going to have a Halloween Party at school he dashed into that costume faster than anybodies business! He was so excited to flex his padded muscles and show them off at the preschool! Happy Halloween!!!

End of the Summer Swim

Okay, the summer has ended, but the heat has not! Last week we were experiencing unusually hot weather for October. Marley's god parents Darrel and Francine graciously allowed us to use their pool. We arrived at their house around 2 o'clock and the water was perfect! Marley was so excited and I hurriedly put Marley's arm floaters on for the first time. I was so surprised how unafraid he was to let go and float in the middle of the pool. I held him and told him I am going to let go and he giggled and said "okay". As he realized he was independent and free, he shouted with joy "I'm floating Mom"! Ahhhhhh, I am so proud of my boy.

Santa Monica Beach

Today, Marley and I ventured out to the beach to visit the sun and sand, but most importantly to visit one of our really great friends Kelly Shew. She has been out of commision due to a roller skating accident, so we wanted to show her some love and see her in person!

As long as we lived out here in sunny California, we really haven't taken full advantage of the beach community. Marley loves the beach. As soon as I say the word he says "Yay, the beach! Let's Go.".

I packed the car with drinks and snacks, arrived at Kelly's place with a bag of grapes from our backyard. We parked and quickly realized , she literally lives right across from the beach. Ahhh Heaven. We sat outside and talked ......Marley played with the dog, it was the most relaxing conversation I have had in a long time. Not to get too comfortable, Marley insisted we had to go to the beach on the sand..."Over there!" Ok , Ok we are going. First, lets go pee pee. We walk up Kelly's stairwell. Marley says "22". I look at the door, 22! I look at Kelly with my mouth opened, she of course is laughing. Marley continues 23, 24, 25! I had no idea that he could identify numbers in the 20's! Anyways, We rushed in and out to Beach it up. Marley ran in the sand, sang his favorite MJ songs and watch the sun go bye bye. Beautiful day. It was just the therapy I needed. Now we have a good reason to come out to Santa Monica. Thanks Kelly. :)

Long Beach at the Aquarium

Our second trip to the Aqurium! Marley ran from one tank to the next. Excited to see all the creatures of the sea. It was so fun to see how excited he was. He learned so much and soaked it all in. He saw sting rays, sharks, coral, sea lions and fish from all over the world. It was a pretty amazing exhibit. I think Ahmed and I enjoyed it just as much as he did.

First Day of Pre-School

August 19, 2011 was a very important day in the Best household. It was Ahmed's birthday and his first day at A.F.I. (2yr film school program) and it was also Marley's first day of preschool at Los Feliz Corners. It was a hectic morning, getting the boys off to school! We all left at the same time, Ahmed having to leave slightly earlier than Marley. I packed his book bag and lunch, and we arrived! Breathe! Is this happening? The teachers greeted us at the door, Marley ran in with excitement and he said "Hi" to teachers Kent, Kristi and some of the other children. I showed him the bathroom and the mini toilets ......he was so excited. He asked if he could go poopie and he did! Yay. We're partially potty trained. So, after we washed our hands, I stooped down to Marley and said "Mommy is going to leave, have fun and Mommy loves you". He quickly said "Okaayyyy, Love you MOM.". Huh? My baby had so much fun. I called a couple of times during the day. He did great. Had fun. His teachers said he asked for me a couple of times and he also didn't want to take a nap. But other than that......They were very impressed with his first day of school. We are going to put him in Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Sometimes full days and sometimes half days, depending on my schedule. I am so happy that he loves school.

ARt MuSic & FoOd

This summer has been a real fun exploring with a 2 1/2 year old. I am so exhausted sometimes,

from multitasking the details of daily life, but at the end of the day when I put my Marley to sleep.....it's all so worth it.

Music: Marley pictured with Herman Matthews

This summer I have been making extra efforts to take Marley to live music events in Los Angeles. It so funny how he is past the point of being amused, he is actually studying and memorizing lyrics and melodies. He seizes any opportunity to go up on a stage and ask the drummer if he can play, sometimes they politely say no, but most of the time they prop Marley on their knee and let him play.

Which leads to my epiphany this year.....My 2 yr old gets it! He takes the bull by the horns and goes for it. Honestly, I admire him for his boldness, of course he knows no better, but its his instinct! We all were born with that right? When did it go away? Anyways, this is why I have never been so present in my life. I spent a lot of time in my life worrying about what people thought of me, hanging on to hurtful words, and beating myself up for not meeting unrealistic expectations. It blinded me and outweighed all the amazing things that has happened to me. Well No more. Life is too short and it took me thirty something years to understand ........"that energy & negative people", has nothing to do with you. So my remedy! I really try to stay in the moment, focus and be grateful for everything I have, most importantly family and friends. I treasure every minute with my son. He is life. He is happiness. He is a part of me. If one were to ask me .."What makes you great?" I would say "I with the love of my life was a part of creating one of the most amazing human beings on Earth."

Art:

Everyone in Los Angeles seems to been really into finding the hippest places to receive services, especially for their children. Why? I don't need an art studio to teach Marley to paint. All he needs is water paint, paper, brushes and space! So, we went around the corner to the art store, bought all of our supplies and Marley just went to town. He actually made some really

interesting pieces. One was called "Robot" he made that for his daddy. And the second painting is called "Chocolate ice cream......cold,cold." for his grand mommie. I am not joking that is what he called it when I asked him what it was.

FOOD:

Well my little foodie has a grocery list of things he loves. It goes as such: Kefir, Bread, Cheese, Cereal, Apple Juice, Corn on the Cob, Soup with noodles, pasta, Salmon, California Rolls, avocado, apples, Tortilla chips, Pizza, Broccoli, Lemon, Oranges, Watermelon, rice, cooked carrots, tamales, and Veggie burgers. I am sure there is more, but these are his staples.

In our neighborhood, we have an array of restaurants and cafes to choose from. I often go for a stroll to see what's new and to take advantage of the lunch specials. We walked pass one sports bar with outdoor seating. The sign said "Free pizza with purchase of a beer". I asked Marley if he wanted pizza. Of course he said "YaY, Mama!" So needless to say it was happy hour for both of us.

With all of this said. I feel like I'm experiencing the best years of my life. It seems like I get a new pair of eyes, which in turn has allowed me to recognize my sons passion and gifts. Opening up my heart so much that all I want to do is nurture and give him all the tools to further enjoy what he loves to do. And all I'm doing is taking his lead. I Love you Marley.

It's a Beachday Birthday Party!!!

July 31, 2011 We had the joy of celebrating Skender Laybourne's 2nd Birthday at Santa Monica Beach. First of all, he is one of the most amazing little boys ever. He is so cute and dreamy. Every time I look into his little face, I melt. So you could imagine my heart looking at all the children playing together. So special. We are really lucky to share with his parents and dear friends Sam and Herran Laybourne these priceless milestones. We were missing our band mates Nainoa and the Delaforces.....which has a nice ring to it. A family band....hmm? A perfect day. A day I will never forget. Happy Birthday Skender and a Big Welcome to Lulit! A beauty. The Love Regime Lives.

www.beachhouse.smgov.net

The Best@ Los Feliz Fair

I have had a fear of snakes for a long time. I might have seen a couple of garden snakes in my life, but for the most part it was the Zoo......and those scary Snake movies, where they constrict your neck so that you cannot breathe or bite you with some venom that is fatal! So, when I see people with snakes ....I freeze and walk the other way. Ignorance paralyzes you! I know nothing about snakes. And honestly I can live without them.

If it were not for Marley,I would not have looked nor asked all the questions I wanted to know ........... Marley had the courage to touch them and this was my moment to be brave? Yikes.... Okay...Hahahah Nice .....Snakey.......Oh isn't that nice? Let's just say, Marley thinks mommy is pretty cool.

Any more snakes for me? Nah. I'm Good. ;)

Summer wih the Best

Marley also spent time with the Best side of the family. We were so fortunate to spend quality time with with Mahmondyla, Baba, Simon, Asha and Aram. Marley had such a great time with his cousins. Simon showed Marls how to launch foam rockets, Asha showed us her groovy moves to Yo Gabba Gabba, Mahmondyla was fearless with the water sprinklers and Babu just made Marley crack up! Marley had the Best time.

Stomp Babies @Bryant Park NYC

This Summer lead us to visit family and friends on the east coast. Our dearest group of friends, our STOMP family. I've known these people for 15years and they are like my brother and sisters. We grew, we laughed, we loved and as a result brought into this world a new generation of musical talent!

One, never in a million years would I have dreamt becoming a mom around the same time as my girls Fiona,Stephanie, and Coralissa. And two, our sons love eachother and click just like their fathers. It is so crazy to me that we've been able to share the show that brought us all together. Talk about full circle!

A Canadian Reunion

We had the honor of celebrating my Auntie Fel and Uncle Leonard's 40th wedding anniversary in Markham, Canada. We celebrated with 3 generations of Horsfords and it was a blast. As my auntie Grace says "we are passing the torch". So, we all walk in honor of our grandfather and his legacy. So blessed to have a family, that believes in togetherness no matter what the circumstances. To learn honor in your name is a priceless gift, a gift that I will instill in my son. And god willing he will one day celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and the torch will then be passed onto the 4th generation. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store.