Merry Merry Little Fairies

We got a fake tree this year for the first time and Lola and her buddy Emilia helped decorate it. They stayed in character, as Tinker Bell and Periwinkle. Naturally.. 

Lola had school on her actual birthday, so naturally there were cupcakes! (And special seating with the birthday girl at a table with her specially selected friends.)

Thanksgiving, L.A. style

Lola's Papa visited for Thanksgiving this year and together, they made some homemade bread for the occasion. It was unseasonably, record-breaking hot for the holiday, so when we weren't basking in the air conditioning, we ventured outside to Huntington Gardens for an afternoon among the lush flora..

The Birthday of Birthdays

Lola turned seven in a fairy wonderland this year, in a place called "Fairies and Dragons," tucked demurely inside an Encino strip mall. Hordes of little girls swarmed the place, got their pick of floofy costumes, crafted interesting little fairy houses, sipped from a pink lemonade fountain, watched a puppet show and left Lola with a bounty of gifts. When I asked Lola what she wished for, she said, "That this party never ends."  

Lola's Falcon Study

Lola's class spent weeks studying falcons and other birds over the fall. As part of their lesson, they ventured out on a couple field trips. Here, she looks out from the top of Mulholland Drive into a canyon, keeping an eye out for the red-tailed hawks that swoop and dive in the area.

Here, Lola poses -- for two separate trick or tricking events -- with her good friends Emilia (top) and Emma.