Goodbye, 2010

Here are a few pictures of me next to the tree, looking all grown up. Mommy and daddy can't believe how big I am already! 2 years sure flies.

I got a play sushi set, too!

Finally! I have my own chopsticks and sushi knife!

Look how well I can use chopsticks!

Yummy, yummy sushi!

I can immitate the monsters, too!

HA HA HA!!

Monster bowling - Caroline style

My godfather, Scott, got me a Monster Bowling set. Loads of fun! But my version of bowling is a little different than yours. First, I have mommy arrange the monsters in front of me as I yield my bowling ball.



Then I smash them!

Again! And again!

Watch me leap frog!

Whoa, that was fun!

It was so fun that I got my new dolly to join in on the fun, too! (She also had a great time!)

Aunt Pook-Pook advances the "Crap-Pea Agenda"

Mommy hates peas. They're the only vegetable she dislikes. Unfortunately, they're daddy's favorite vegetable. And Aunt Pook-Pook loves them, too. Together, daddy and Aunt Pook-Pook push what mommy calls the "Pea Agenda" - promoting the love of peas.

For Christmas, among Aunt Pook-Pook and Uncle Kasra's presents to me was a pod of three smiling peas. Look at the self-satisfaction on Aunt Pook-Pook's face! As is the case with me, you can really tell when she's up to something.

Tea party time!

After Christmas, it was time to open presents. I chose a pretty good one to start with, courtesy of Aunt Pook-Pook! Great wicker basket and ceramic tea set -- and time for my first tea party!! Mommy, Aunt Pook-Pook and Amma joined in on the fun.

Now that's a tasty treat! I make excellent tea.

First on the agenda: get ready for the party!

Time to apply lip gloss!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here's what I gave mommy and daddy this year. A baby in a sack! Lucky them.

For your amusement, here is a YouTube clip that includes two of my favorite things: Christmas carols and goats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4_EdJ-XkUA

Merry Christmas!

A technical question

Can someone please explain how that tiny little reindeer can tow that big Santa and all of the presents he takes with him? Surely it's not just Christmas magic. There have to be some beans involved too, right?!

Merry Christmas Eve from our familiy to yours

Enjoy!

Since it was Aunt Pook-Pook's birthday...

I checked the dollhouse refrigerator for a cake for her! No such luck. Good thing Amma and Baba had a big ol' cake for her! And Pookie and Kasra brought some tasty treats, too!

Pookie, Kasra and I remodeled

Amma has a dollhouse hidden under a chair at her house. I found this dollhouse and very eagerly pulled it out. Uncle Kasra pulled out the bag of furniture for me and helped me put them in the various rooms in the house. Aunt Pook-Pook joined in, too! She even observed that the house was likely owned by Persian people, because it had a big Persian rug in the great room. HA!

I'm smarter than you think, mommy

Mommy wanted me to drink my orange juice. Since I can be persuaded by what someone else does, she told me that Baba had gone to get his camera and his orange juice. Then Baba came back with his camera, but without his orange juice! I observed this and said, "Where did Baba's orange juice go?" I'm wise to you, mommy! Just then, Baba got a picture of me. But then she explained that Baba already drank his juice. This made sense to me. I drank some juice, too.

Everything is prettier in LA

Look at this good-looking Claus couple at Santa Monica Place! Santa told me he got his walking stick at a place called North Pole, Alaska. He explained that it's not the real North Pole, of course, but it's a place that tourists can go to say they've been to the North Pole where he lives. I got my picture taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus too, but mommy later found out that one print is $15 and she cheaped out on it. Meh. Good thing I had breakfast with Santa earlier this month -- I don't feel like I need those overpriced shots!

Did I forget to post pictures from SNOAP 90210?!

The City of Beverly Hills (and specifically, the Rodeo Drive Commission) hosted an event last week where they promised snow! Their promotional materials boasted real snow (enough to make snow angels and have snowball fights, they said!), lots of special offerings and events, late night hours for the many lovely stores, horse-drawn carriage rides (see below) and LA's premier food trucks. Of course mommy and daddy wanted to go! Amma and Baba too. So did most of LA, as it turns out.

After the event, mommy said she should have known better to expect anything real in Beverly Hills, land of bleach blondes and silicone. Mommy's friend, Lana, called the manufactured snow that they had "snoap" - a combination of soap and snow. Ha! That didn't stop us from having lots of fun! We enjoyed being snoaped on, popped into a number of stores, mixed and mingled and enjoyed some tasty food from the Border Grill Truck. Daddy's quesadilla was tasty and mommy's ceviche was delightful - and the churros were a perfect evening treat!

These horses were BIG - not small like the ponies I ride at the petting zoo. But I wasn't intimidated -- I wanted to ride them, too!

Amma and I went into Cartier so we could stick our hands out to catch the snow on our hands. I also made her take me into a few other stores. I found a lovely red purse (such a deal at $5,000) and asked Amma to buy it for me. The salesman was amused. Amma was not.

I don't think anyone was surprised that I walked up to a woman I've never met and asked for her doggy's leash. I'm not shy when it comes to my furry little four-pawed friends.

I even made some friends at the fountain! Amma had to stop me from climbing in to join him. I thought he was taking a bath. I love baths.

Happy birthday, Aunt Pook-Pook!

Wouldn't it be fun if, for your birthday, you came to play with meeeeeeeeeee?

Okay, see you soon!

...and then mommy remodeled

I think she really enjoyed it!

I built a Gingerbread House!

A few gumdrops may have found their way into my mouth. I have no idea how.

My latest obsession

Lobsters.

No, not eating them. I'm very concerned that lobsters are going to use their claws to open the door and come in the house. Claws are like opposable thumbs, you know.

Mommy and daddy promised that if a lobster comes in the house, they'll boil it, then eat it with drawn butter. We even set traps (i.e. mommy's pots) around the house to catch those unsuspecting boogers!

Jingle Bells!

I can't stop watching this YouTube clip. All of the animals sing "Jingle Bells" (I sing along!) and Santa shakes his butt. Repeatedly. LOL! Be sure to turn on your speakers!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-2MoS_YSAk&feature=related

A note on timeless classics

Mommy and daddy watched "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" when they were kids. And they said those films are so old that their parents probably saw them when they were kids, too!

One of my early Christmas presents was a DVD collection that includes these classic and a few others. I love watching them all - and I especially love watching Yukon Cornelius defeat the Abominable Snowman by dropping a big chunk of ice on his head to save Rudolph! Now that's funny!

Uh-oh...

Where did Caroline go?

(I always come up with the BEST hiding places!)

Oooh, comfy!

Costco is mommy's playground. She loves going there. I love joining her. And I really love trying out the kids' furniture. This recliner actually reclines!

Pictures from yesterday's Breakfast with Santa!

There was a knock, knock, knock - and a jingle, jingle, jingle!

And Santa let me jingle, too, with Rudolph's special bell-adorned collar!

And he gave me a special gift -- how did he know I wanted a penguin?! He really DOES know everything.

He even joined us for breakfast! We had frittata and oatmeal with sparkling cranberry juice - the breakfast of champions! After breakfast, I sat on his lap and we talked about my year, his silly reindeer, his busy schedule and our mutual love of cookies. I made sure to give him some cookies. I had it on good authority that he likes them!

Finally, we all posed for a picture next to our tree. We forgot to turn on the lights, though! Oops. It still turned out okay, though.

If you should need to get in contact with Santa (he squeezes in time for private parties, special appearances and more, despite his hectic holiday schedule), I managed to get his head elf's phone number to pass along to my special friends. Just call Teri on her cell phone (yes - they have those at the North Pole too!) at 310.848.4642. Tell her Caroline sent you!

Take THAT, LA Party Rents!

I'm having breakfast with Santa this morning. At home. No other kids.

That's right, Santa heard that I missed the big event last weekend due to the awesome LA Party Rents truck driver putting his big fat truck in reverse (without looking, and without listening to daddy's LOUD horn!) at a red light and backing into our car, smooshing the entire front. You'll recall that we missed breakfast with the big guy because we were waiting for a tow truck. He said he simply could not stand for that and insisted on coming to our house for breakfast today. Of course I agreed! He even said I'd get an early Christmas gift. I can't wait to see what it is!

Although last week's event would have also been fun, now I don't have to share Santa's attention with any other kids. And even though there would have been face painters at last week's breakfast with Santa event, mommy has gotten pretty good at that sort of thing, so I basically have my own private face painter whenever I want. All better!

I'll post pictures soon!

The coolest holiday gifts ever

Now that mommy has her own firm, she gets to choose what holiday gifts to send to her clients. She chose a quintessential LA gift... cookies from Diddy Riese. They come in these gorgeous red tins and are filled with that magical goodness that can only be Diddy Riese cookies. Mommy was smart and got one for me, too. I enjoyed it. Very much. I kept asking daddy for "more cookie!"

Bright lights!

In London, you have to "mind the gap" on the Underground. When you're Caroline, you have to mind the sun. Because frankly, when you're as COOL as I am, the sun shines on you 24 hours a day -- and so brightly, in fact, that sometimes I require two pairs of sunglasses! It's a good thing mommy has multiple pairs for me to take.

Mommy is truly a SuperFan

Look at the Christmas lights she just ordered:

http://www.collegehighlites.com/usc/usc.html.

There's USC love and then there's what she has. Daddy keeps trying to convince her that we should root for UCLA because tuition is cheaper, but she's unrelenting. She even tells me when I'm stacking colored blocks next to one another or threading bright beads on one of my toys that blue and yellow don't match.

A nice alternative to the beach

When it's too chilly for the beach (yes, this happens in LA on occasion), I just head to my bathroom. It is beach-themed, so it really sets the mood. I have mommy fold up my nautical towel to pad the counter, pull up my pantlegs and fill the sink with water and lavender bath wash from L'Occitane (it's my favorite) so I can dip my little toes in! Oh how I enjoy this!

Kermie!

How many people can say they're big enough Muppet fans to get Kermie on their face? Me. I'm a big enough Muppet fan to want to keep Kermie with me all day long. That's why I had mommy paint a Kermit on my cheek. Not bad, huh?

POOOOOOOOPY!

I was supposed to go to Breakfast with Santa yesterday. Great fun! I was very excited about it. When mommy told me what we were going to do, I literally started jumping up and down! We went to drop mommy's car off for routine service at the Toyota dealership, then we were going to head over to breakfast in daddy's car -- and some jerk decided he needed to turn left instead of going right, and -- without bothering to look behind him -- put his big truck into reverse and just backed up his LA Party Rents truck into us, crushing the front of daddy's car!! What the heck, man?!

I don't drive, but I have noticed that when people are stopped at red lights, they do not tend to put their trucks in reverse and back into small cars. Apparently this guy didn't get the memo. Ack!

I was REALLY mad. Forget the car - what about my breakfast with Santa?! Do you think these opportunities arise out of nowhere?! Santa is a busy guy -- especially around the holidays! He has a lot of work to do in preparation for Christmas, or a lot of little boys and girls will be disappointed. It's not like he has time for breakfast all the time. And this guy messed with my plans! Poop on him!

Mommy was all over it. She had the guy to describe the incident in his own words and admit fault on video before his company and the insurance carrier had a chance to put pressure on him to change his story. If I have my way, this guy will pay for the car repairs, car rental AND set up a breakfast for me with Santa! I don't even care if that jolly red-suited man comes to our house to join us for breakfast -- I'm having my breakfast with Santa, darn it!! LA Party Rents, I'm warning you!!

The new dress code

My idea of being properly dressed and ready to go out is as follows:

Undershirt
Shirt
Pajama bottoms
Pants over my PJ bottoms
Pink tutu
Pink bunny rabbit jacket (it has bunny ears on the hood and a tail on the bum!)
Socks
Sandals

We were getting ready to go out to Costco when I decided to be silly and pull my tutu all the way up to my armpits and declare "BABA!" That got big laughs from mommy and daddy, who always joke with Baba that he pulls his pants too far up.

RAID!

Now that I'm grown up, I decided it was time for me to raid mommy's jewelry box. I put on every single one of her rings, necklaces and bracelets. I also helped myself to her watch. The only thing I didn't put on were earrings. Mommy said something foolish like I would have to get my ears pierced first. I let her have that minor victory because I was interested in something bigger and better. I looked at my hands proudly... but noticed that I was missing her engagement ring, wedding band and anniversary ring! We simply can't have that. I demanded that she take them off and give them to me. It is unacceptable for her to hold out on me like that! What was she thinking?!

Did somebody take a too-long bath?

Now what would make you say that?

Now THIS is what I'm talking about

I like being the center of attention. Do you see how nobody is talking to anyone other than me? And how everyone is sitting around me? And paying attention to me? Mommy, I want you to take note of this. When I tell you that you can't talk to daddy or grandma and you have to pay attention only to ME, this is what I expect of you!

(By the way, the nice couple on the left is my uncle Kasra's parents. They are so fun! We had a great time running around and playing. Uncle Kasra's mom made me paper airplanes and taught me how to throw them, and Uncle Kasra's dad had an awesome application on his iPhone that he let me play with -- it featured a cat who copies everything you say, but in a funny voice! He was a COPYCAT! Hee hee!)

More face painting!

After I had such a great time at my friend Katherine's party and after my continued interest in having Elmo painted on my face, mommy finally relented and ordered a facepainting kit from Amazon. This is her first try at drawing Elmo's face on a fidgety toddler. Not as good as the professional's, but not a bad first shot! Of course, I couldn't resist making silly faces in every single picture she tried to take. What can I say -- I'm just a silly little girl!

Don't bite my mommy

Daddy was playing around and bit mommy on her neck. I immediately sprang into action! I scolded him, demanding "Dada, no bite Mama!" I even shook my index finger at him to get my point across. I'm not sure why they laughed so hard. There's nothing funny about biting my mommy.

Mmmmmm...

YUMMY.

More croissants, fresh from the oven!

Trader Joe's started carrying frozen ham and cheese croissants that you can bake at home. Through a combination of microwave and oven (or, as is my preference, just oven), you can have fresh, warm, delicious croissants inside of 20 minutes without even leaving the house! I helped myself to Mommy's croissant. And boy am I glad I did! Ooey, gooey deliciousness!

Thank goodness for long weekends!

There are many nice things about long weekends. One of them is that Amma comes over more often to play with me. But that doesn't mean she gets to talk to Mommy. The way I see it, this means I should be the center of MORE people's undivided attention. Just yesterday, Amma was talking to Mommy about something in front of me when I had to chime in to clarify the rules:

"Amma, no talk with Mommy! Only talk Caroline. Mommy, only talk Caroline too."

Then, as if none of this had happened, they spoke to each other (about what I had said, but still - they spoke to each other and not to ME). Naturally, I had to drive home my point by instructing them: "LISTEN TO ME!" Of course, that made them laugh harder.

I really have my hands full with these people.

A Thanksgiving joke for you:

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I know I did.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for many things this year, including my health, my doting family, good friends and lots of attention. I love attention. If I also had a bounce house, my life would be complete!

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a big pumpkin pie in the kitchen that is in desperate need of my handprint.

BIG BEAR!

We went to visit Aunt Pook-Pook and Uncle Kasra this weekend. They gave me a very large bear. I named him (appropriately enough) "Big Bear." Who said there's no truth in advertising?!


We spent some quality time talking and getting to know each other. I tried to teach him how to sit Indian-style like me. He didn't learn that particular skill. He just sat with his legs out in front of him. I suspect he would have had balance issues had he moved his legs. But I didn't give up on him! I was sure I could teach him something useful. I'm a wealth of information.

Naturally, the next skill I tried to teach him was to make the USC "V" for victory sign with his fingers. I did it with both hands for maximum effect. He couldn't seem to do that, either. Something about not having fingers and no opposable thumb. Never fear -- Big Bear has turned out to be a great listener. And he's happy to talk about whatever is on my mind. What a good friend!