Cooooooold

I'm in Park City, Utah and it's 2 degrees out. That's TWO degrees, total. However, I think of this little bean safe and snuggly back and LA and it floods me with warmth.



Look at those little legs and the bee stripes! Cute, cute. It's crazy to see her sitting up, the buppa chair (not real name, I've totally forgotten it) helps her spine strengthen plus she feels like a total playa.



What a cheeky little girl! And I mean both flirtatiously and a bit jowley... kiss kiss kiss her face. She's sporting this AMAZING dress that Kathy Hendricks made (that woman is genius), and having tummy time.



She's a bird! She's a plane! She's a yoga practioner! Hold on, though, you really need the full view of this dress to understand it's an item of clothing that matches the cuteness of our girl.



Come ON! That little laugh face is sooooo good. I miss her so much already! Thanks so much for the text Amanda, I miss all you guys when it's all crazy. And now for something completely different - Veronica's first nakey bum picture!



Look at how cute and tiny and perfect! Sweet little girl. They look so fresh and so clean... but don't forget, they're still punk rock.



Ooooh, you look so tough, Amanda!



Now I like to pretend I'm Veronica's #1 fan, but I know I share that position with many others. Fine, fine. I'll let her teach me how to share. I'm 32; it's probably about time.



What's with putting ears on babies? And why is it so cute every time? It must be primal. Anyway, if someone could knit me a bodysuit with ears, I'd wear it every day up here. FREEZING. (I probably wouldn't look so inherently kissable, though.)



Now look at this little vixen! See what I mean about kissable? NO ONE can resist! Of course, this may come back to haunt her later, what if these boys start talking to each other.... hooootie hooo.



So Lazlo knows what's up, and he ain't playing coy. However, I can't deny it when I tell you that this image:



Only makes me think of this image:



HAHAHAHA! Okay, killing myself. And since I know I'm for sure going to get a loud "hello, no!" from numerous sources, I'll end with some sweetness.



Have fun! Stay warm! I miss you, Team Gore!

Drea

It's Raining... Rain

If you've been in Los Angeles for the last week, than you know it's been raining like it's going out of style. If you're not in Los Angeles... then you're probably dryer than us. Luckily, Baby V has got her a fashionable little rain hat to keep her sweet head protected and warm.



So cute! So reversible! Of course, she just puts it on as a form of a racing cap when she saddles up Chester to ride him around the house.



Poor little Cheddar... now for a picture that I think should elicit the same level of sighing jealousy in all Veronica admirers that it did in me.



Lucky, lucky grandma! Lucky, lucky baby, too... what a warm little place for a snuggle and a nap. Actually, that reminds me - Kathleen has so far been insisting on "Grandmother" as her official V title, but have her say it for you when you're around her, because it's much more Little Red Riding Hood than East Coast Old Money. Hilarious.



This is my new favorite picture in the world, and completely self-explanatory. Like mother, like daughter!

Drea

New Year's Catch Up

Welcome to 2008! By now, everyone should be acclimated and breathing easier... this is officially the second year that Veronica has lived in, which officially means it's a good one. Her new year's resolution was to read more, so she got started right away.



I think everyone would nerd out with some book love if they had a little snuggler next to them to help turn pages. With the new year comes new outings; Team Gore took little Veronica to MOCA to check out the Murakami exhibit. This also means that Amanda has perfected her diaper-changing-anywhere technique, and Kathleen's Prius has proved a capable changing ground.



It works! It works! Although Veronica looking so comfortable in nothing but underwear and socks in the backseat of a car is cute now but something we will be warning her against in the future, fear not.



So Murakami was insane and I would love to get a peek at little V's dreams after ingesting the artwork, although maybe that's what baby's dreams look like, anyway.



Seriously, can you imagine seeing all these at about 50 feet high when you were just three months old? Of course, she had an even weirder view, as she was coasting along on her back in the stroller. Ahhh, the stroller. For some reason, MOCA made it very difficult for any wheel-born person or infant to gain access, so Dave King and I got to shlup the stroller up tons of stairs.



There were soooo many, don't let this photo fool you. And no, this service is not available for others so if you happen to be out with me don't think I will piggyback your lazy butt up any stairs. The best part of this was that both Amanda and Saucy were circling the carrying endeavor with their cameras and taking paparazzi shots. Because that's what every girl wants; photos taken behind her, of her carrying things up a stairwell. Hot.



But worth it! Definitely worth it, plus Amanda let me carry Veronica through one of the other exhibits which was dreamy for me - museums are way more fun with a baby, I'm telling you. Especially a perfect baby like V.



As previously mentioned, Amanda's car has been janky as of late, but luckily with Dave King in town she had someone to capture how unenthused she was over needing to take it in for repairs. She also had someone to capture Veronica "presenting" the surplus store; Dave always has someone present the event or meal or whatever that is about to be enjoyed.



Better than Vanna White, for sure! The main reason Dave was visiting was for New Year's, which Amanda, Amber, Hannah, Dave, Saucy and I rang in together at their awesome friend Erin's place. Before hand, however, were a couple of necessary photo ops. One was the Christian Rock Bank pose of AAH&D. Fine, fine. You guys are much better at this than me.



Another was this fantastic action pose at New Year's; have you ever seen one of those shooters mid-shoot??



And here are all five of us (thanks for taking the pic, Saucy!)... our first photo shoot of 2008. Shortly hereafter, I was kicked out of the band. Thanks a lot, Hannah.



However, here are my last favorite couple of images from 2007. One is a girl showing off her new hair accessories.



The other is the best Madonna and Child shot since that Vanity Fair cover Madonna did with Lourdes. Party 'til dawn, girls!



And finally, I know I mentioned it a few weeks ago, but Rodney was nice enough to send in the fabulous final product of their Santa posing that was a Christmas present for Kathleen. I think it's so hilarious and perfect!



That should be the end of the holiday pics, promise!

Drea

Tablescapes and Bad Santa

Much like birthdays, the holiday train doesn't stop just once with Team Gore... it's all stop, festive, stop, festive, etc. One of the most recent celebrations was with John and Carole, who had different reactions to their phototime with V. Carole was, shall we say, less than pleased with the pictorial ambush.



Although I don't know why she was reticent, if I had hair that good I would be forcing strangers to take my picture. John, on the other hand, was a "calming influence" in the words of Amanda and you can see that Veronica agrees. Of course, she was quite happy snuggling with Carole so it's pretty much a draw.



On Christmas Eve, Amber got to flex her crafty skills and laid out a charming seasonal tablescape (I learned that word from the Food Network). So pretty!



Oh, and it doesn't stop with just the table itself, people. You have to remember Amber's attention to detail... like when she dressed the chairs to set off the red Christmas tree.



Or the mantle, which she did in snowy whites, crystals and blue. Come on! Who decorates the MANTLE? (To be fair, I am easily impressed as the extent of my Xmas decorating entailed putting up the cards that were sent to me.... but this stuff is purty and I'm not afraid to say it.)



If you wonder why Amber is not posing in front of any of her work, it's because she's going into seclusion until March so you can't take her picture until then. She's kind of like a leprechaun; I think it's good luck if you do catch a shot of her. Anyway, her eye for the small things found its biggest triumph in the creation of Team Gore's first kid's table... all for Veronica.



Come on, that's adorable! Trying to top the hilarious cuteness was Grandma Kathleen at the Water Horse on Christmas Day... taking full advantage of the promotional cut-out in the lobby. This would be funny and ridiculous regardless, but the fact that she's in her pajamas with pigtails really sells it.



Now, every year Kathleen gets a picture of her girls with Santa, and Amber and Amanda wanted to make sure the tradition stayed alive this year, so they recruited a very special Santa. One who is jolly, and fond of fabrics, and appreciates that even St. Nick should have some magical, sparkling red slippers.



Who is it that is embracing this hallowed role with such aplomb and respect? We'll never tell. But I will do my best to get the final product up here at some point, as it's hilarious yet still really sweet.



Now, to cleanse your palate I will leave you with little V and her reindeer.



Sweet, sweet!

Drea

PT Losers

Now Amanda and Amber may be a little shy about spreading the word, but Amanda's car is in the shop (she needs the ENTIRE engine replaced, crazy)... and her rental car is a PT Cruiser.



Black as the night, sleek as a gazelle, sexy as a Chippendale... you should see the girls zipping around town in it, with their "Baby on Board" window shade up in the back. It's better than Christie Brinkley in her convertible.



Even V loves it! PT Cruiser! PT Cruiser! (No way that is staying OTB, ladies.)

Drea

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Some more Christmas pictures, taken by the Saucy Aussie's gorgeous camera and talented eye... I love close-ups of Veronica where you can just taste her plump perfection. And she may have sad/sleepy eyes here, but she's more animated every single day and does the most incredibly Big Smile Silent Laugh you've ever seen! Amanda swears she's just a heartbeat away from laughing out loud, we can't wait until that happens.



And here we are at Kathleen's lovely table in her pretty house - was crazy being surrounded by sunshine and green at Christmas, but definitely enjoyable. As usual, Kathleen had a beautiful table to go with her yummy fixings. All sparkly and festive and fun. Not that you can see anything beyond their amazing pajamas...



One last picture of V and all her glorious sweetness to take you through your day. You'll note through these pictures that I called dibs the minute I walked in and essentially wrestled the baby away from her adoring grandma, pops and auntie. Big thanks to them and V's mama Amanda, who is incredibly generous with the baby and lets me feed her and hold her and try and bounce her to sleep even when it would be easier for her to just take her back...



You're infinitely more patient than me, Amanda, and tons better at sharing!

Drea

Day After Christmas

Thanks again to Team Gore for inviting me and Saucy into the Christmas day traditions and celebrations yesterday, we had such a lovely (and loving) time!



Only the Gores are worth getting up ass early (for a holiday, anyway!) and driving to Chatsworth... then again, we were greeted with freshly made french toast, sausage (both real and Saucyfied meatless), bacon, and pomegranate juice. Even more amazing? The power had gone out the night before, so somehow Kathleen pulled this off on battery-powered appliances ONLY. Blows your mind. (And your belly...)



We then went to the Winnetka Church (aka the movie theater) to see the morning screening of The Water Horse, "the most magical film since E.T." (So said the ad, anyway.) This would be true if by "magical" they meant "heartbreaking"... I won't even get into the war scenes. However, it was very sweet and we all left wanting to have little Scottish boy toddlers with stunning eyes and cheekbones for our very own. (Also, Amber and I cried our eyes out, I won't lie.) I recovered enough, however, to try and steal Veronica by making a break of it in the lobby. I didn't make it far.



Mostly because it's hard to outrun three grown women wearing matching pajamas. That's right; Team Gore dresses alike on Christmas, and here "alike" means "identicaly flannel pajamas with holiday imagery and lobsters". No, that's not a typo. Following the movie, we ate more (yummmm... brisket) then all basically passed out watching A Christmas Story.



So really, an ideal day. Also... after mentioning Veronica's new "what you talkin' about willis?" look, one of Veronica's Blogs Readers (aka my girl Heather), sent in a sweet video comparison. Here's Veronica's look:



And here is the video, which we'll be using as inspiration to train her to this level of hilarity/perfection in the coming months:

Hope everyone else had an amazing holiday, and thanks and love again to the Gores for taking us in!

Drea