Santa visits Travel Town

At 3 3/4 years old, Marley just cannot get enough of Santa. He has already had full on detailed conversations with several already. He is very specific with his list, in which Ninjago and Samarai Power Rangers top the list. The smiles that I have witness in this month alone has warmed my heart so much, this may be my favorite one thus far. 

Marley & Santa

Cruz & Marley with Santa

Marley & Cruz on the Travel Town Train

Marley & the Elf

Marley Cuts it up!!!

Marley was so excited to go to the barber shop. We have been before, but this was the first one that didn't cater to children. There was a lot of talk about sports, a lot of secret hand shakes and pounds. His barbers name was "WerK"! Yes and whatever you are thinking......Yes! LOL He was very nice, very skilled and his antics were equally entertaining! After Marley's haircut, Marley stuck out his fist for a pound. Then stuck out his hand for a high five and the he told him to wait.... "now the black hand side".?!! You can pick up a lot at a barber shop!

All the BEST for Christmas......... xoxo

We are family song ~ Daddy and Marley

Say SeaWEED!!!!!!

Tip:

I call it SuperHero food. Seaweed, Broccoli, Peas, etc.  The Hulk eats it. It makes you "Hulk Smash"........Whatever!!! If it works...........

BARACK THE VOTE . BEST CANDIDATE!!!

Marley was in my belly when I first voted for Obama. This time we voted together. I am so proud that for the first 8 years of his life that it is not a dream for an African American man to be president. What a historical time it is for ALL of our children. 

SI SE PUEDE!!!!!

The Best Boy

Sometimes, things happen........ I have had many instances where I had no choice but to bring my little Marley to work or on gigs.  I cannot tell you the anxiety it brings me deciding whether or not to take a job because of childcare or the affordability of a babysitter. And then there are some times where I have no choice.  Two weeks ago, I had to choreograph a couple of scenes for my friends web series. I was a little panicked, because I didn't want to interrupt the shoot with noise and playing from my 3 year old. I packed snacks, toys and his trusty ipad equipped with headphones. I sat him in a quiet corner and prayed today would be a good day, and it was.   Marley actually brought a lot of light to the set, made everyone laugh and he was so good (for 8 hours!!!!!!!). He really amazes me sometimes. He seizes moments like you wouldn't believe. He talked to the actors, crew, and even learned how and when to say  "Action". If his behavior is giving me any indication on how he will be in the future..........I am a happy and proud mama.

A Power Ranger Halloween!

Marley celebrated his third Halloween. The first year we were all Parisian(with mustache, berets, and stripes). The second year we went out as a family of D.J's and MC.  Marley dressed up as DJ Lance Rock (carrying his cardboard boom box), Ahmed as Run from Run DMC and me Peppa from Salt&Peppa. This year Marley started a little early with costumes, a pre-Halloween if you will. I remember as a little girl dressing up into characters, stretching my artistic imagination and transforming myself into anything I wanted to be.......I guess I just never realized that little boys love to dress up too. Superheros ALL DAY LONG! Marley and his buddy Crimson traded costumes a couple of days before, getting into the spirit, they picked and carved a pumpkin. And then came the day!!!! Halloween parade at school and then....... Trick or Treat! Every kids dream. Free candy, take as much as you want. The mothers nightmare. All I am thinking is, where am I going to hide this and brake the news he cannot eat it all? So, I made a deal. Trick. I let him pick 7 candies, one for every day and to my surprise he went with it. He felt empowered!...he got to choose, we shook on it..........So It was a BIG deal. That went over well?!?!?  Treat!

Marley's pre Halloween as Wolverine and Marley's official Halloween as Red Power Ranger.

* Marley knocks at the door. "Hello, My name is Marley" opens and shoves bag in their face.

Cooking With Daddy

We are doing a great job tricking Marley to eat his greens......... We don't call it by its name. They are SUPER FOOD......for SUPER HEROS!!!!!! He will thank us later. Love you son. 

The Formal Best

Marley picked out his jacket, bowtie and suspenders for his VIP experience! He was so excited to dress up and attend a one night only concert that my dear friend Naydia Blakemore danced so lovely in, at the famous Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles. This was his second. Marley's first was the Michael Jackson Immortal Tour, he sat for two hours in awe. I am So proud to share these cultured moments with my little boy and Ahmed.

The Best Protection!!!!

I forgot Marley's lunch in my car when I dropped him off at school. So, I drove to the school and delivered it just on time. I was announced by twenty or so toddlers as I found a seat next to Marley at the table. He turns to this 5 year old girl..............
Marley: Meet my Mom, she is my best friend!
Girl: That's not your best friend! That's your mom!
Marley: Yes she is AND my mom is bigger than your mom! 
Lol ahhhhh I love my boy.

RockYourBEST!!!!

This September I started a Facebook Page called RockYourBest. https://www.facebook.com/RockYourBest! A page dedicated to inspiring everyone especially families to exercise, eat healthy and fill your spirit with joy. This is my motto since I've become a mommy. YOU cannot do it all by yourself. YOU need support, a family, a village. No blood lines or gene pools necessary, just a community. Do Your Best ......Rock Your Best! Being a professional in the entertainment industry and an exercise professional, I felt compelled to share some of the things that I do with my little one just to create some balance in my life. More than anything I try to be a good example and he just wants to follow.
Marley has been in yoga since inside of the womb! Baby yoga, Mommy and me yoga..........There are trillions of Yoga studios in L.A. We have been to many and this time around I happen to see a posting for a family yoga at one of my ultimate favorite stores Lululemon!!! This may be the first class where he was actually aware that he was in a yoga class. We showed up with our mats and Marley with a willingness to try......He was a bit intimidated by the quietness. We use yoga poses at home to calm down. For instance, if he gets too wound up. I come down to his level and I say lets do Yoga. Let's take 3 deep breaths...... Ok, close your eyes and ONE (inhale).....and it works(for us)!!!! So when we came to class, in his mind we really had no  no reason to be quiet.  He asked me sitting in Lotus pose "Mom, why is every body's eyes closed?"and I chuckled to myself.  I responded, trying not to interrupt any ones zen state "Shhhhh, just relax." And I tell you it was 2 minutes of Heaven! He pressed his little hands together next to his heart and closed his eyes. :) RockYourBest   ..........One breath at a time!

We also go to the park and do strength challenges......like "Who can hang the longest, MOM!!!!!!!!" We count out loud and Marley loves it!

Canary Dorothy

Her names is Canary Dorothy. Ahmed found her in the backyard badly hurt. I took a quick look at her and felt so bad. I didn't know what to do. I've never owned an animal, it was hot, she looked tired and flies were just buzzing around all over. It may have been in a bird fight or something, regardless we all decided to help her. Marley and I made a little bed out of a shoebox and filled it with leaves, a cup of water and a sprinkle of seed. Ahmed picked it up and placed her in the box, like WHAT NOW? I automatically said to Ahmed that we should do something. I thought this would be a great lesson for Marley to learn. Act of kindness, especially to animals. Right away we made some phone call and found an animal hospital that was open on a sunday and in the car we drove. We asked Marly what do you want to name the bird? Without a beat he said "Canary Dorothy"! Ok, Canary Dorothy it is! We arrived at the animal hospital, and told the reception that the canary is not our bird, but we found it and we wondered if you could help. With no hesitation, she said it cost $80 to look at the bird. Me and Ahmed looked at each other in disbelief, but its not our bird? ......."Hold on" she said let me talk to the doctor and she came back and said they'd take a look. And they did, and the news wasn't good. They said she was actually an old bird, her eye was damaged and there was nothing they could do. They said they could put her to sleep comfortably. Stop! We have been the guardians of this bird for 2 hours and already our hearts were broken. The three of us pitifully looking down at the bird saying our goodbyes. We all kind of chimed in "Bye Canary Dorothy,we will miss you". We walked out and Marley said "Im sad". And we both told him that its okay to feel sad, but we did a very kind thing by helping her and now she is going down for a long sleep" And Marley said. "Okayyyy" And a week later we still speak of her lovingly and Marley will point to birds and say "Dorothy!"

United Nations -Best Friend

I had one of the best surprises ever last week! I had 2 best friends in High School. Kim and Kaveeta. I was voted most popular, Kim was Salutatorian, and Kaveeta was voted most likely to be famous/or likely to succeed. I can't remember, but we all did just fine in life. Kim is physician's assistant, Kaveeta is a M.D and I flew out to L.A to pursue my dreams as an artist. I laugh because we were really cool in school, and had our own hang outside of school. We were friends with DJs so we went to really great dances and dj battles, but we had the strictest parents...... and somehow we still managed to have a lot of fun.If I could describe us... We were the 90's take on the spice girls, we were referred to as the United Nations. (All first generation Americans) LOL Anyways, I haven't seen Kaveeta in years!!! And we were reunited with our kids in L.A and it was so awesome. Love you Kaveeta. I

Stomp UK visits Marina Del Rey

It is always a treat for us to see our friends and Stomp family, Luke & Steve. They happen to be in LA on Ahmed's Birthday so we to a drive to the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey and had a good time pool side with the Cresswells and McNicholas family. Meeting them and being hired by them 15 years ago changed my life. I couldn't thank them enough for what this show has given me.

We love to celebrate Birthday Party's

Marley celebrated his neighbor/friends 5th birthday party.Her name is Elefe and it was one of the sweetest parties I have ever witnessed. All of the children were so kind and happy, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face! It was simple and fun and ....isn't it always the simple things? Candy, pizza, cupcakes........ perfection. The last picture the kids said PIZZAAAAAAAAAA. One of my favorite shots of all time.

SEA WORLD SAN DIEGO 2012

Where to go in Southern California, where you feel like your away but your not? Drive 2 hours south and you end up in San Diego. The perfect beach town for kids and adults to have a relaxing stay vacation. The Best Family and the Delaforce's joined forces and rented a beach house for 2 nights in the Ocean Beach area and purchased 4 adult tickets to Sea World! We had the best time. The condo was modern but yet really homey. We were blocks from an organic market and around the corner from a liquor stores. We couldn't have asked for anything more. We spent the first evening watching the Summer Olympics,the next a perfect day at the Sea World Park. We all saw Shamu, dolphins,a dive show,baluga whales, penguins, polar bears,sharks..... it was incredible! The boys loved every minute of it. We practically spent all day there, with the exception of leaving the park for a sushi lunch. Later,we went back to the park and ended the evening sitting on the green watching the Sea World Fireworks show. It was awesome. On our last day we drove to Coronado Island and spent the afternoon on the beach. Ivan showed the boys how to boogie board and I just laid out and enjoyed the sun. One of the best vacations ever. The shortest vacation I have ever had, but nonetheless a memorable one.

Marley's Headshots 2012