Do you like my disco bow?

If you're not familiar with that line, it's from one of my favorite episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse--the one about bows. Minnie cleverly used that episode as a springboard into her own show. She was probably tired of always being in Mickey's shadow. I can't say I know how that feels since I run the 801. But anyway, I love the show so much because it combines two of my favorite things: bows and Minnie Mouse.

Did I mention that I LOVE bows? LOVE 'EM!

I love to put on as many bows as I can and run all around the house calling for "Daaaaaaaaaaaaddy!" To be honest, I think Mom is a little threatened by me. But she shouldn't worry. Bows are a sign of promised protection because of love. That's why I put on as many bows as I can, I'm just so intense. So don't worry, Ma. We'll have our disagreements, but in the end, I love you.

Anyway, I've been enjoying these last few weeks, spending time with my family and just enjoying life as a baby. I know it won't always be this way, but I hope that I can always remember the good times and how much I am loved. I may need your help. So on those tough days, let's put on a bow (or two) and remember how much we love each other.

Tucanos 2012

I was feeling a little bit better this afternoon, so I told the folks that we should go to one of my favorite places: Tucanos.

The great thing about Tucanos is that you can sign up for their Birthday Club and get a free meal during the month of your birthday. What a deal! I love going there with my family because Tucanos has such good food and a really fun atmosphere for kids. I love going to the salad bar and getting all the yummy fruits I want.

The Biz really likes it too. She likes to eat grapes, cantaloupe, and mashed potatoes. Every once in a while she likes to eat beef and other meats too. My favorite dish is the Mango Codfish. YUMMY!

Can't take my eyes off of you

I take a lot of pictures where I'm dramatically staring somewhere off into the distance. So I finally decided to take a few where I'm looking directly at you.

Why do this? Well, I did it because in the immortal words of the great DJ Encore:

"I see right through to you.

I see your every move."

- Engelina in I See Right Through to You

And there ya have it.

Now for some strange reason I suddenly feel like going to the library right now to make sure Justin Bieber's not there studying all by himself. See ya!

Root Beer Paradise

"Tell me why are we

So blind to see

That the ones we hurt are you and me?"

- LV in "Gangsta's Paradise"

Recently we were inspired to try to save more money by clipping coupons because of a show called "Extreme Couponing." Who says media doesn't affect us, right? Check it out.

Well we still haven't gotten to the level of couponing that you might consider to be extreme. But we're getting closer.

After all, you can't ever have the opportunity to sit in the middle of Root Beer Paradise (with more than your weight in delicious root beer) if you never take the time to search for sales and use some of your couponing skills to save some money. Sure, Root Beer isn't the best thing for kids, but saving money on it allows you to (1 get something fun for the kids and (2 have more money that you can use to help kids do something that is "good" for them. So think of the kids and take a few moments to strain your brain with some math and some planning so you can save some money. We have to take advantage of the small and simple things, or else we're going to miss out and we just end up hurting ourselves.

Shot down in a blaze of glory!

FYI - You're supposed to play this video clip as you read this post.

"You may think he's a sleepy-type guy

Always takes his time

Soon I know you'll be changing your mind

When you seen him use a gun, boy. When you seen him use a gun."

-- Lo Chiamavano Trinita Theme

I like pretending to be a cowboy sometimes. I think it's mostly because I like watching Toy Story. I don't think it's so much because I like the rugged west or the rugged cowboy image. Ya never know. But it's still fun to be a cowboy.

Like the other night I heard gunshots followed by a scream...

...so I leapt off the couch and sprung into action...

...and was shocked to find that my best friend, Doc Izzy Bee, had been shot down and was seriously wounded. Oh no!

Doc: *struggling to breathe* Live, Sam. Live for me. Sam, if you were ever my friend, if you ever had the slightest feeling for me, leave now. Leave now...please...

Sam: *holding back tears* Thanks for always being there, Doc.

[Scene Ends]

Although I love the dramatic life of a make-believe cowboy in the wild, wild west, I am glad that my best friend didn't really pass away. I hope I never have to lose my best friend that way. I love her way too much!

Hot dog! I'm standing up!

The best part about holidays is being able to spend some time with your family.

One holiday that I really like a lot is Memorial Day. Why do I like it? The BBQ of course!

I love to eat hot dogs and hamburgers fresh off the grill. Check it out!

We had a fun day today. I even got to practice standing all by myself. I still haven't mastered it yet, but I'm getting closer. I'm so excited!

I also got to try all four of my teeth on something called a "McNugget." It was yummy!

I hope I always remember these good times with my family and I hope we can always remember those who contributed (even sacrificing their lives) to make these wonderful moments possible.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sundays are fun!

Well at least Sundays can be fun. I guess it all depends on how you look at 'em, how you spend 'em, and who you spend 'em with.

As for me, I'm spending Sundays with my fam and my super nice friends who love me. They might as well be a part of my family. Your family is the group of people who help you shape your view of the world--your weltanschauung if you will.

I've heard that things won't always be like this--life won't always be so fun and there won't always be so many nice people to carry me all around and treat me like a princess. But I'm not so sure any of this good stuff has to end. I'm not so sure the positive relationships we treasure and cherish so highly now ever have to end. I'm hoping anything resembling an end to such relationships is really just more of a pause. This is my hope, at least.

I hope that all the good people in my life can work together to make such a hope become a reality. You all have carried me this far. I hope to grow up and be strong and caring enough to carry others even half as well as you all have carried me.

On top of all that awesomeness, I also learned to brush my teeth for the first time! Check it out!

I am so grateful for all the good people who help to take care of me and hope everyone has someone who cares about them. Who takes care of you?

Miche Bags

So my mom recently got into Miche Bags.

She got into them because a lady in our neighborhood is a distributor. So they decided to swap piano lessons for bags. I think it's a really good trade and it's been really fun to see Mom get so excited about the different colors and styles available. She gets so excited about the possibilities of matching different bags with different outfits. It makes me happy to see Mom smile so much.

I'm not gonna lie. I get pretty excited about these bags too.

Sometimes I imagine myself mixing and matching my outfits and accessories while discussing fashion strategies over the phone with my friends while lying in my room.

I'm so excited to grow up and be like all the other ladies who are always carrying around their beautiful color coordinated purses. I can't wait!

But then it got me thinking. Maybe this is why being a woman today is so hard; we just carry too much around with us.

Seriously. We carry every experience we've ever had with us--especially the negative ones--all the time. And those are really hard to forget. Sometimes we even carry those bad experiences into our relationships and consider ourselves "Damaged" as my friends, Danity Kane, used to put it. We're overly critical of ourselves and we carry the burden of always thinking we should be better than we currently are (whatever that means) and for some reason we think that it's really our responsibility to solve the world's problems. All. By. Ourselves.

That's a lot to carry around, isn't it? I think so. I think we should tell someone about it.

But you can't really go around and show everyone what's inside, can you? That's just not proper in our society. There's just no place for it. So we just cover it up, change the shell to match the season, and carry it along inside of us.

I don't think it has to be that way though. At least not in the world Adriel Luis and the rest of my friends from ILL-Literacy and I live in. So I hope you roll with us because, if not, we're just going to have to better the world all by ourselves. Let's go!

"That's not makeup; that's make believe."

--Adriel Luis

Day at the playground

I don't understand boys.

Most of the time, they're really great. They're funny, they're nice, and sometimes they're really fun to smile at.

But sometimes, they just become really weird. And I just don't get it.

For example, let's take my Bro. I love the guy to death--don't get me wrong. But as much as I love him and as much as I know he loves me...sometimes he just leaves me hanging.

Like today...

There we were, just playing and having a good time. Sure, he fell a few times trying to do some stunts on the swings. But it was nothing serious. I thought we were really enjoying our time together.

Then suddenly these two older boys come along and start talking to Big Bro. They start challenging his playground skills, saying things like, "Look what I can do. Can you do this?" Of course my brother doesn't back down from anything. I wouldn't expect anything less.

So he accepted their challenges and even taught them a thing or two even though they were a couple of years older than him. For the next hour or so, I watched a bunch of boys in some mindless competition to see who was the fastest, strongest, most fearless, etc. I was happy for my brother. I want him to be successful.

But then it seems like he totally forgot about me and ran off with his new found "friends."

I mean, I want to play too, right? Is that too much to ask for?

If this is what boys are like, I'm not sure I'm ready for this...

Rapture 2011

"If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants."

- Sir Isaac Newton

Sometimes I get carried away...literally. My Big Bro likes to carry me around with him everywhere he goes. Of course, he's only allowed to carry me around the house because carrying me around outside the house involves a much higher threshold of risk tolerance than we are willing to endure at this time. But every time he carries me, I am able to see and experience new things. He raises me up to more than I can be, Groban style. So I'm grateful for good people like Big Bro who have come before me and who have done (and continue to do) their darndest to make my life the best it can be.

Big Bro even takes time to sit with me on the couch and sing beautiful songs and recite the profoundest of poetry.

Big Bro totally understands that life without music and the arts is a mistake. He's so deep like that.

So although I don't know much about the Rapture schedule for this year, which I apparently missed, I do know that the special people in our lives can literally carry us away into our own piece of heaven on earth by sharing their love and laughter with us. And that's good enough for me.

Speaking of carrying each other...

The Princess and the Frog

One of my favorite movies is The Princess and the Frog.

And just to clarify, when I say it's one of my favorites, I have probably seen a total of zero movies since I joined this family. I haven't even seen the movie in its entirety yet.

So why do I like it so much?

I like it mostly because Big Bro loves this movie. He loves it.

And just in case I wasn't clear enough before, let's get one thing straight. Big Bro loves this movie. Loves it.

I'm not sure he cares much for the plot or anything like that. More than anything, I think he likes the fact that it's a cartoon and it features a song by Ne-Yo.

Two weeks ago, he was sitting in church and he saw a little girl pass by wearing a fluffy dress and he said, "She's a princess!" Then he turned to my Pop and said, "Dad! Izzy's a princess!"

Pop was trying to be supportive, so he said, "Yes, Sam. And you're a prince!"

Sam shook his head and said, "No, Dad. I'm not a prince. I'm a frog. Just like you're a frog to mommy." I can see Sam rolling his eyes now. Things may go way over Pop's head, but at least he tries to fit in and be cool with us. Keep trying.

But that's why I love this movie so much. It reminds me of my frog and my hero, my Big Bro.

Here's some footage of Big Bro pushing me in my "carriage" (which looks like a shopping cart) around Target (or "Le Target" as we like to call it in the French Quarter). Enjoy!

I hope me and my frog will be best friends forever.

My new dress!!!

I got a new dress yesterday from Grandma R. I'm so happy. I LOVE when I get new things, especially new things I can wear. Hooray!

Here are some different looks and poses.

I tried to look a little more serious here because I'm trying to demonstrate my versatility in front of the camera. I like the first pic, but I just wanted you to know that I'm not all fun and games here. I have a serious / pensive / reflective / brooding side too. I have a lot of sides. I guess you'll just have to take some time to get to know me.

The start of something new

I believe it was the ridiculously good looking Zac Efron and the so-so auto-tuned Vanessa Hudgens (personally I think Zac could do better) who put it best when they sang, "It's the start of something new. It feels so right to be here with you."

That's how I feel right now, right here with you.

So I'm glad you decided to join us on our new blog. I apologize for the delay, but I assumed my parents would be more on the ball and get this thing going a lot earlier. After all, I was just a baby. What could I do about it?

Well, parents are parents. So sometimes you just have to take matters into your own baby hands and get things done yourself. So here it is, our first post. Enjoy!