HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARLEY!!!!

Sunday, February 7, 2010 my Marley turned One years old! This was a huge milestone for Marley. This year has been such a great year for my heart and soul. This little being has filled my heart with love that I couldn't imagine. He makes me laugh and he makes me want to give him all the tools to be the best he could be. He is so alive. He is so fearless. He is the best of both of us. He loves to dance, play music and laugh. He is crawling at the speed of lightning and cruising amongst the furniture (nearly walking), He loves to cuddle with Mommy and walk around with Daddy. He loves story time before bed, Nick Jr. learning channel, and he loves his family and friends.

We celebrated Marley's Birthday with a Party in our home. We were so happy to have our good friends from Stomp NYC reunite. We have become such a close knit family and so fortunate to have shared some of the best times in our lives and also share with raising our children. We had our L.A & NY friends, old and new, all of whom have been great support to our family. It truly takes a village.

At our party we had a lot of children all of whom were recently welcomed into the world. We had Marley's band mates: Nainoa , Skender, Aubrey, Langston, Dashiell, Bodi, Luca and Crimson. And of course we had the lovely Sydney,Kendall, Olivia and EllaFaye.(Have you ever heard a list of beautiful names?) We also had an impromptu drum circle in which the Stomp men played with their sons. (This was not planned, but it was so perfect.) We had good food, juice and an amazing red velvet cake from LARK in Silverlake. The weather on Sunday turned out to be a sunny, clear skyed, 70'ish degree winter day. It was lovely. Marley had a blast and Ahmed an I were just so grateful for great things we have in life and the fact we kept Marley alive for a whole Year! Haha!

My First Show

Oh my goodness........Last night Ahmed and I took Marley to his first theatre show..STOMP! Mind you the theatre only allows children who are at least 5yrs old. Well..... we pulled some strings.....lol. We got 3 tickets and we were escorted to our seats by our friend/company manager Kathy Crawford and the Pantages house manager. We reassured them that if Marley started to cry we would leave the house take him backstage. We sat in the wheel chair section just in case we had to dash out. We were seated with our good friends Fiona Mills and Anthony Johnson. (we had such a great time) We were all watching him, observing the show and cracking up watching him uncontrollably clap his hands, shake his head to the rhythm, laugh when it was completely quiet, cheer when the audience screamed and play the back of the chair like a drum. Our jaws were dropped n amazement....he is such a natural, he's gets it! Our friend Anthony thought he was way mature for his years, and Fiona kept on saying how Marls reminded her of her son Aubrey. It just boggles my mind how much he has learned and how fast he has grown. I wish we could take all the credit, but he just has "it" inside of him. He is talking (in his own gibberish), playing drums and strumming on his guitar..........he is so happy .....so happy. It will break my heart when has to be thrown into this cruel world. I don't want to be that mama that will have to hurt somebody if they do something to my "baby" but I will. lol Meanwhile, he makes my world perfect.

Also, I would like to give a shout out to whomever invented homeopathic teething tablets, teething biscuits, rice puff snacks, pampers for crawlers and god for the Milk I produce.....puts him to sleep every time. .....well almost every time.

Cooking for Baby!!!

When I first started to introduce baby food to Marley he really had no interest in my homemade sweet potatoes....I was kind of sad that he preferred Earths Best store bought baby food. I just think at the time he liked the more watery consistency. But now Marley has teeth, he is enjoying a thicker and chunkier consistency of food. He is so interested on what is on my plate, it is becoming a sport ...to eat!!!! I allow him to eat steamed white rice and soft beans off my plate, but once digested it's not so cute. If you know what I mean. Anyways, I refuse to give up and I decided to give homemade food another try. We bought this beautiful book in William Sonoma called "Cooking for Baby" . I learned a lot of great puree recipes for babies and toddlers and we also bought a freezing tray, so that we can premake the food and freeze for future use. It's really a brilliant and economical way to make baby food. I bought a whole bunch of veggies(Cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potatoes & asparagus) from the farmers market today and had a field day. Steam & Process......a little butter in the Cauliflower, easy easy and enough for this whole week. Just freeze, pop out a cube, heat and eat. I am so excited....I hope he likes it!

The world of an 11 month old

On my way to visit my friend Dakota. I was driving in the car with Marley. I was broadcasting to him and changing the radio station when I heard the Stevie Wonder's version of Happy Birthday. I found myself bopping and singing, adding some vocal acrobatics....when I realized Marley is going to be 1 years old in a month! In that one instant my heart froze and I felt very emotional. I wanted to cry driving on Melrose Ave. Everyday, he is doing something new. He is vocalizing, pulling himself up, crawling at the speed of light, standing for 3seconds by himself and my favorite has to be his contagious laugh! I laugh with him and my eyes just tear because he makes me so happy.

Today, I feel compelled to document some of Marley's accomplishments this week. I suppose this is the beginning of a mothers braggadocios ways of embarrassing her child, but since he is oblivious to my actions I will take full advantage of this time. He can read this later. ;)

1. He says "hi" on the phone. (and its really cute and breathy, almost as if he is throwing his voice)

2. He imitates me! I made a really loud sigh and he had his hand under his chin, he sighed in a high pitch and his lips made a bubbly sound. so Cute.

3. When I show him his teddy bear "Corduroy" he says "yay" and bites his nose.

4. Today he said "Ap-pah" when I was trying to get him to say apple (Ahmed was my witness)

and he said "teet" when my girlfriend Dakota was trying to get him to say teeth. We both could not believe he was so determined to sound it out.

5. Marley is also really amazing with little dogs. He is a baby dog whisperer. It was so hilarious, he actually started barking at Dakota's little yorkies. Marley was so gentle and calm, except for the one time he almost poked little Dita's eye! Sorry Dakota. lol

6. We can play peek a boo for hours................ we have several variations. ;P

7. Lastly, If I have wrote this before I apologize. The mornings are just so priceless to me, waking up to a smile and hand clapping .......what a way to start your day. LOVE

Below is a little clip of Marley zoning out with his Uncle Delvin and Auntie Tiffany after we came back from the beach. Delvin was blocking his view and Marley didn't skip a beat and pulls his hand down. hahaha

St.Kitts Carnival Las Lap

I was so proud to share with Marley his 1st Carnival in St.Kitts. It is a part of our roots and culture and part of his heritage. I hope to continue this tradition with him for many years to come as I did as a child. He enjoyed the colors, costumes and music and all of my friend who participated gave Marley so much love. It warmed my heart to see carnival through the eyes of my baby boy. What a splendid Joy!!!!!!!

St.Kitts Carnival 2009-2010

Happy New Year!!!!!

Thank you 2009 for bringing the greatest gift into my life. Marley Ellington Horsford Best, I love you with my whole being. Thank you for my husband, family, friends and health. I am so grateful for what I have and what I can give of myself. I look forward to all there is to learn, grow and succeed in 2010. In the meanwhile I will reflect on all the positive experiences I had in 2009 and make tomorrow even better!!!! Wishing all my friends & Family all the Best for 2010.

Above: Candid photos of our vacation in St.Kitts