Happy 3rd Birthday, CC!

Happy Birthday, my darling daughter.

I can't believe she's already 3. Of course I had to replay in my head the day I gave birth -- the contractions; the nurse who didn't think I was really in labor; refusing the epidural, then begging for the epidural; and finally, feeling the most incredible sense of peace in the world once my child entered it.

Does every mom do this?

Unfortunately, today didn't go exactly as planned. After opening presents and singing "Happy Birthday," we had to make a mad dash to the emergency room after CC face-planted in the kitchen.

Talk about a nightmare. Everything's OK now -- nine stitches later -- but it was really scary there for a while.

Luckily, we were still able to take her to Disneyland, and she loved every minute.

Special thanks to Goofy, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. They helped my daughter forget that she literally took one on the chin -- and on her birthday of all days.

Mar Vista Farmers' Market offers Yvonne's Gluten-Free Goodies

As you can tell from the above photo, my child is indulging in a little chocolate-y goodness. What you might not know is that brownie she's downing is gluten-free, courtesy of my friend and fellow LA Moms Blog contributor Yvonne in LA.

CC and I visited the Mar Vista Farmers' Market last weekend, and, lucky for us, Yvonne had a lot of yummy goodies in stock. We picked up a brownie and a milk chocolate chip cookie, which helped make our Sunday afternoon a little sweeter. Literally.

Yvonne offers lots of desserts on her gluten-free menu, including pumpkin cranberry muffins, cupcakes and mixed berry pie with almond streusel topping.

And -- also lucky for us and L.A. denizens -- she's a regular at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market. We'll definitely be back. Just have to check her schedule.

Mar Vista Farmers' Market

Venice Blvd. and Grand View

Sundays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Coming Attraction: 'Mary Poppins' lands at The Grove

(L to R) Abigail Droeger, Ashley Brown, Gavin Lee and Justin Hall in "Mary Poppins"

Four performers from the West Coast premiere of "Mary Poppins," now on stage at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown, will appear at The Grove on Friday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m.

Company members Gail Bennett and Dominic Roberts will be portraying Mary Poppins and Bert, respectively. Katie Balen and Carter Thomas, who play Jane and Michael Banks, will join them.

In addition to the performance, the actors will answer questions from Mark Wallengren of KOST (103.5 FM).

"Mary Poppins" is playing at the Ahmanson through Feb. 7.

Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious! (Yeah, had to do it.)

Photo courtesy Center Theatre Group; (c) 2006 Disney/CML; Photo by Joan Marcus

Giveaway: Putumayo at The Grammy Museum

Putumayo's Johnny Bregar

You might recall when a certain toddler got so caught up in a rockin' Milkshake concert at The Grammy Museum that she performed a spontaneous somersault.

Well, that concert was one in a series offered by the downtown museum as part of a family program called Musical Explorations, during which parents and kiddos can learn about music in a tyke-friendly environment.

Next up, on Saturday, Dec. 12, is Holidays Around the World featuring Putumayo's "A Family Christmas" artist Johnny Bregar.

According to The Grammy Museum website, Bregar "will fill the Sound Stage with upbeat songs that explore cultural diversity as well as celebrate the season."

After the concert, the museum will offer musical arts and crafts, as well as refreshments on the Target Terrace.

*** GIVEAWAY ***

I'm offering a family four-pack of tickets to this concert, which kicks off at 10 a.m. on Dec. 12.

Just leave a comment below, telling me your favorite holiday song. OR, if you want to get really creative, write a haiku about the upcoming holidays. (I was inspired to do this by one of my readers.)

Good luck, and I'll announce the winner Monday, Dec. 7.

The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live

800 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite A245

Los Angeles, CA 90015

Holidays Around the World Admission: $8

Concert reservations: 213-765-6800, ext. 6

OR email family@grammymuseum.org

Help A Mother Out at The Treehouse Social Club

It's not often you *and* your kids can attend a rockin' holiday party while also doing a lot of good for fellow moms.

Well, wake up from your egg nog haze, because this year you're invited to one.

My friend and fellow LA Moms Blog contributor Kim Tracy Prince has organized an amazing holiday playdate at the posh children's space The Treehouse Social Club on Dec. 13 to benefit Help A Mother Out, a California-based organization dedicated to providing diapers to families in need.

The price of admission is a mere pack of diapers, and you'll be able to hang with other L.A.-area moms while the kiddos explore the indoor playground and giant treehouse.

The Great Recession has hit a lot of families hard, and many of them are unable to purchase diapers for their children. The diapers donated at this party will go to PATH Achieve Glendale and Ocean Park Community Center in Santa Monica.

For more information, click here.

Hope to see you there!

RSVP to kim@helpamotherout.org or 818-317-5507

Holiday Playdate
Dec. 13; 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
The Treehouse Social Club
426 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

The Dermalogica MicroZone Treatment goes to ...

Dariela is the big winner of the MicroZone treatment from Dermalogica on Montana. Congrats!

For this giveaway, as is my usual M.O., I used Random.org because I know all of you deserve a little pampering. However, I love the idea of a haiku.

Thanks for the inspiration, Jen. That will definitely be how I run my next giveaway.

Have a great day, and thanks again for checking out L.A. Story.

photo courtesy: Dermalogica

LA Moms Blog: How Camp Snoopy Almost Killed Me

Please check out my latest LA Moms Blog post: "How Camp Snoopy Almost Killed Me."

Yesterday I got a little taste of fear when Ian, CC and I drove down to the O.C. to visit Knott's Berry Farm. The amusement park's Camp Snoopy corner offers rides for the littlest of tykes, but I still got nervous for my little girl.

It's funny, because I used to be a daredevil myself. What happened?

ICE at Santa Monica lures tykes with Tot Spot

As I wrote in an earlier post, ice skating is in full effect here in L.A., and last week we gathered our cool-weather gear as well as our courage and headed to ICE at Santa Monica.

It was CC's first encounter with the sport -- a word I use almost ironically when it comes to us. We were a little shaky in our skates, but she loved it.

In addition to the large ice rink at the corner of 5th and Arizona, ICE also sports an adjacent mini ice rink called Tot Spot, which is for tykes 48" and under -- perfect for my little munchkin.

Ian and I laced her up in the most adorable baby skates and dove -- well, glided -- right in. We each took turns taking CC onto the ice, and each time she tried to lose us. Seriously. The fact that it was her first time out made no difference to her; she wanted to go it alone, often refusing to take Ian's or my hand.

Don't think so, kiddo.

At one point, when she said she wanted to exit the Tot Spot, I thought she just wanted to sit down and take a break. Not even. She grabbed my hand and instead led me over to the "big rink" and said she wanted to go on that one.

That's my little daredevil. "Maybe next time," I told her, wondering if I was lying.

My dad was also in town for a short visit, but he decided to hang on the sidelines. He said watching CC brought back memories of when I took ice-skating lessons at the Williams Center in Tulsa when I was about her age. Ah, the '70s.

It was adorable watching her go. She was even wearing the big baby skates -- ICE also offers metal strap-on skates with two blades instead of one for first-timers.

Yes, it might be Southern California, but as our toddler learned -- you don't have to have seen snow to get up close and personal with ice.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday.

In addition to being thankful for family, friends and pumpkin pie, I'm thankful that I have such great L.A. Story readers!

Take care!