Boba's Bald Spot

Daddy wants me to write about Katrina's bald spot. Not sure why...perhaps because he wants to highlight the fact that there is only one member of this little family who is balding! (Go Daddy!)

The Bald & The Beautiful

Katrina was born with copious amounts of hair. But for the past few months now, her usually-lustrous mane has been thinning somewhat right in the center of the back of her head. The result: an impressive mullet from the front, and Danny DeVito from the back. If babies were born with any sense of vanity, this would be a issue, but as blissfully oblivious as they are to their own cuteness, it really doesn't present much of a problem. Besides, I'm told that it grows back as soon as they start sitting up more often, which, as you all may remember from my previous post, Boba has started doing quite regularly!

So the bald spot may be disappearing soon enough!

In any case, I thought it might be nice to show some more cute photos of this lovely little girl, who, by the way, has still successfully avoided the flu virus...today is Day 5 and my pediatrician told me that if she makes it this far without getting sick, chances are good that she'll escape it altogether! YAHOO!

She's just cute, ain't she?

Anyway, note to readers....Mommy is taking a week-long trip to the Philippines so the blog will be left alone until then. I'm sure you'll be reading all about how I suffered separation anxiety from my baby. I'm still terrified by how much I'm actually going to miss this little girl. Please feel free to call Jason once in while to check on how they're doing!

Until then....

HAPPY HAPPY 2006!!!!

A Holiday to Remember

Whew. Where to begin. Remember my last post, when I was all sweet and poignant and actually looking forward to Christmas? Well, let me just say that this was not quite the holiday I thought it would be.

First off....poor Daddy! Jason was struck with a flu-like virus on Christmas morning. That's right, after a relatively uneventful (save the closing of his show) Christmas eve, where Mommy and Daddy happily chatted by the Christmas tree while Boba snoozed in her crib, Jason had a series of chills & sweats, not to mention all-over achiness and fatigue. NOT FUN. I let him sleep in for another two hours, and he was actually okay after that (see above photo - yes, I know he is in the act of exposing Boba to the flu virus, don't get me started), but then we had to cut present-opening short so that he could get back in bed. Meanwhile, we were halfway through Katrina's MOUNTAINOUS pile of presents from her grandparents, and Mommy was trying to bake a ham in the oven and struggling to make some kind of a festive meal. (The rice pilaf was completed, but the green-bean casserole was a no-go.) Throw in Katrina's constant crying for Mommy to hold her, and wham - we had ourselves our first "memorable" Christmas. And not necessarily memorable in a good way.

But, of course, through it all Katrina was a real trouper. She hasn't shown any signs of illness yet (we're on Day 3 of exposure and I've got my fingers crossed), and she's still smiling away like a pro. Aside from this new phase (I hope it's a phase) where she screams when Mommy is out of her sight, she's still a relatively easygoing and happy baby. And as always, she is as cute as can be!

So, Mommy was on 24-hr baby duty for the last 3 days, which means I am pretty exhausted myself. Ironically, though I'm back at work I actually feel as though I'm "off" my real day job. In a few days I fly off to the Philippines, and while in the past I used to see the 20-hr journey as tedious and tiring, I now see it as a welcome reprieve from my day-to-day grind. Not that Mommyhood is all hard work, but, let's face it - it's still HARD. I'm hoping that by then Jason will be recovered so that he can take over parenting full-time. He's only contagious until tomorrow anyway, so I think it will all work out. (He has since been quarantined to my parents' house - thank god for having family nearby! Although I have to say, my parents are in the Philippines now and I MISS THEM VERY MUCH!!!)

Okay, Christmas was not all bad. Grandma Robin was here, which made everything much more joyful. Here are a few shots from that day:

Boba doing her Jack Nicholson impression

Kissing a new toy - right before she stuffs it in her mouth

Whooping it up with Grandma Robin

Well, needless to say, Boba still had a heck of a Christmas!

"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!"

Christmas through Boba's eyes

We have a lot of friends, Jason and I, who had their first child this year. So all of you fellow new parents get to enjoy the wonderful event that is : BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS. (Or Hannukah, or Kwanzaa, as the case may be.)

As the saying (read: cliche) goes: "Having a baby changes everything." And that is even an understatement. But, all sleep deprivation and poopy diapers and crying spells aside, one of the most beautiful things about having a baby is being able to experience everything for the first time with them. I mean, all of a sudden, a walk through the park is no ordinary walk; it's the first time Boba sees leaves! And hears a dog bark! And feels the wind! And so on so forth. I mean, it's all just kinda life-affirming, you know?

So, the glitz and glamour of the Christmas season are no exception. And somehow, the fact that she has no idea that all the gifts under the tree are for her makes this season even more precious. We can enjoy the purity of Christmas, as opposed to the whacked-out chaos of commercialism it's become. And, the great thing is, we can start creating our own family traditions, like, oh, I don't know....drinking hot chocolate first thing on Christmas morning! Or, or,...only openings presents wrapped in RED paper first! Or, sleeping in until 10 o'clock!

(Okay, so that WON'T be a tradition for at least a couple of years. Just a guess.)

Well, this Christmas is always going to be special to Jason and me, because it's our first with our baby girl. What could be better?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS!!!

Sitting Pretty

A couple of days ago, Jason propped Katrina up on her play blanket in a sitting position, and I parked myself right next to her, ready to catch her in case she fell. She sat...and sat...and sat. Before I knew it, a few minutes had passed and she hadn't fallen yet. Then I realized...oh my goodness...Katrina's sitting!

This just opens up a whole new world of possibilities! Prior to this development, Katrina was getting very frustrated with just lying down all the time, and whenever she would flip over on her stomach she would grunt as if to say, "That's it? I don't actually go anywhere when I do that?" Now, even though she is still immobile, she at least has a panoramic view of whatever's around her, and she can reach her toys with a bit more ease. Still, she occasionally has her doubts about this newfound freedom:

But most of the time she's just happy to stuff something in her mouth. She's teething, after all.

Oh, and another thing...

...I've changed the settings on my blog so that ANYONE can comment, not just fellow bloggers. So, comment away!

Two new posts below. Yee-hah!

Sunday is FOOTBALL DAY!!!

Every Sunday morning during football season, Boba is parked on Daddy's knee watching two games at once: the one on television and the one on his computer. (Daddy is a Fantasy Football junkie, so there ya go.) She actually seems to enjoy it. I encourage this kind of Daddy-Daughter bonding since I would like her to enjoy watching sports as much as she would watching, say, the Food Network (Mommy's favorite TV fare).

Boba watching the Chargers kick the Colts' collective butt....YEAH!!!

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Poppy!

Katrina sends lots of hugs and kisses over to Coshocton, OH, for her Poppy Tom's birthday. She would like to apologize for the tardiness of her greeting, but she explains that she was held all day at a photo shoot where she had to demonstrate some silly games. She tried to cut it short but her agent wouldn't let her.

So, Poppy (not Poopy)...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR POPPY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

1-month old Boba and one of her two favorite grandfathers

The games we play (Part 2)

...and here we go with games 4 & 5!!!

(Note: remember my disclaimer about Katrina becoming more and more annoyed by these games as I took pictures? Well, it becomes more obvious in this series.)

• GAME # 4 - WHOSE FEET ARE THESE???

This is my favorite "changing-the-diaper" game, also known as "Anatomy lesson #1". Right after I change Katrina's diaper, I take both feet in my hands and tap my face with them while exclaiming, "Whose feet are these? Whose feet are these?" And then I pull them up a little higher and proclaim, "These are KATRINA'S feet!!" (See above photo.) Then I take both hands in mine, tap my face once again, and say "Whose hands are these? Whose hands are these? These are KATRINA'S hands!!" Then, I finish with a hearty "YAY KATRINA!" while clapping in front of her face. By then she's totally with me and waving her arms around with a huge smile on her face. (By the third photo she was really just humoring me...but as you can see, clapping always elicits some kind of a smile, even in spite of her growing impatience!)

And finally...

• GAME # 5 - STANDING BABY

Okay, so moments after this photo was taken, Katrina had a total meltdown, so we only managed to get one, but you get the idea. With "Standing Baby", we stand Katrina up on her legs and say, "It's a standing baby! It's a standing __-month-old baby! It's a miracle!" This is the one game that has something of an expiration date, if you will, given that standing will no longer be a "miracle" after seven months or so. But it was pretty funny when she was only three months old, and apparently she thought it was funny too, since she always laughed. Nowadays, at five-months-old, she will actually do a little bouncy dance with her knees. I think she wanted to add her personal flair to the game. Both her parents are performers, after all.

So there you have it! Five games for Boba. Of course, there are a handful of other little games we play that involve funny faces and noises, but these are my favorites. If/When any of you come to visit, print this out as a cheat-sheet for how to play with Boba. You'll become one of her favorite people in no time!

The games we play (part 1)

Every family must have their set of games that they like to play with their baby...the kinds of games that are guaranteed to make baby smile or giggle. Jason and I have our tried-and-true favorites, 5 games that never fail to entertain Boba. I'd like to take a moment to share them with you, so here they are...with pictorial demonstrations!

(Please note these were taken this morning right before Katrina's nap, so she progressively became annoyed with us as I shot photo after photo. Plus she got very distracted by the big camera that was continuously stuck in her face, so the smiles we usually get from playing these games are - as you'll see - absent. So you'll have to take our word for it that Katrina LOVES THESE GAMES!!!)

• GAME # 1 - THE POOPY GIRL SONG

Boba in different stages of reacting to her normally-favorite "Poopy Girl" song which I sing to her to make her smile. As you can see, she was somewhat confused by the song emerging from behind a Sony Cybershot camera.

When Katrina was just an infant, I came up with this song to sing to her while she pooped. It was to encourage her to enjoy the experience, rather than to see it as something unpleasant, so that she would do it copiously. (I know, parents are weird, aren't they? Only fellow parents will understand this!) The tune is very simple, and since I can't write music, I can't really share the melody, but the song goes something like this:

"POOOH - pygirl, poopygirl, poopygirl. POOOOOH - pygirl, poopygirl, poopygirl!"

Under normal circumstances she loves this song! And actually, by now we sing it so frequently that we can substitute "poopy girl" with any superlative: "Cutie pie" works well, as does "pretty girl" and other three-syllabled term of endearmeant. I know, I know...it's a little unorthodox to make a song out of this subject, but there are stranger things in life!

• GAME #2 - The classic and timeless PEEK-A-BOO

You really can't beat this one. The funny thing is, with Katrina's version of this game, you don't have to hide to make it funny. You can just say the words "Peek-a-boo!", and she will double over in giggles. It's the cutest thing.

• GAME #3 - MIRROR GIRL

We actually have two versions of this. Jason likes to make Katrina "fly" towards the mirror, which makes her laugh, but makes me cringe. (Although he assures me he has total control.) In my version, I just carry her facing the mirror while I say, "That's Katrina and Mommy!" And then I point to her and say, "That's Katrina...that's you!" Somehow, that always cracks her up. I think she enjoys knowing that it's her that she's seeing, and that there is a sound that she can identify herself with. (Incidentally, she does respond when called by her name...it might be right on schedule with her mental development....or she could just be a GENIUS.)

Whew...this has been a long post...games # 4 & 5 to be continued tomorrow!

The Legend of BOBA

BOBA in all her adorable glory

When I first started this blog, I mentioned that I would explain the origin of Katrina's nickname, BOBA. Actually, it's a little misleading to call it a nickname, seeing as we rarely call her that at home. It's more of an...indicator, if you will. Indicating that Katrina is cute. Or something.

So the story goes like this...last Christmas, the Montelibano clan all gathered in the Philippines. At the time the only granchild present was the handsome and brilliant Joaquin Ysidro Gonzalez Montelibano, son of Joji and Gabriella. (Katrina was but a mass of cells floating around Mommy's midsection, and Sophia was, as they say, "a glint in her daddy's eye.") Joaquin was a mere 15 months at the time, and was just beginning to talk. His then-favorite word (and many of you pacodoggie.com fans will already know this story!) was "boba", which evidently was his version of "bola", which is Spanish and tagalog for "ball". Anyway, whenever Joaquin saw something round, he would yell happily: "BOBA!", and sometimes, "Boba?", as though he wanted validation for his apt observations.

Now, I'm not sure if he actually did this, or if we just imagined it, or if we pointed it out to him, but someone in the family was developing a bit of a round tummy around that time (yes, that would be me). And suddenly, Joaquin's exclamations of "Boba" seemed very appropriate when describing Auntie Flambo's growing stomach. Before long, Jason and I were calling our bun-in-the-oven "Boba", which felt very right given we didn't know the sex of the baby anyway. And the rest, as they say...

...became the title of a lovely blog about a beautiful little baby girl who has made her Daddy's and my life exponentially more special each day!

How's that for a happy ending!

Boba in the Morning

"Throw some coffee grounds in my bottle, willya?"

I made a suggestion to Jason last night that perhaps the reason why Katrina slept through the night on Monday was because she knew he was home (as opposed to the nights when he's at the theatre). But she woke up for about 15 minutes at 4:20am this morning, and he was home last night, so that pretty much blew my theory out of the water.

But Uncle Joji had a very good point...time with Boba in the morning is a very sweet and intimate time, when we are both very mellow and sleepy and just gaze at each other until she drifts off to sleep once again. It's actually kinda precious. I mean, of course it's tiring and all that, but you really just bond so much in those few moments. There's so much trust and comfort communicated in that short period of time.

(Readers commence sniffling NOW.)

Anyway, perhaps the days of continuous sleeping-through-the-night are yet to come, but for now, I am happy to share my early mornings with our little angel!

Hooray for Boba!!!

Let's all give a big hand to Katrina who slept through the night last night!!!

WOO-HOO!!!!

Thank you, thank you. That's right, folks, 10 hours of totally uninterrupted sleep! (This isn't the first time, but it's been at least a few weeks!) Of course Mommy woke up a couple of times wondering if the little darling was still alive, but luckily the sleep coma took over and I was back snoozing away before I could get up and check. Besides, the getting-up-and-checking is really not a good idea since I think she senses, even in her sleep, a change in the energy of her room whenever I'm there, and subsequently wakes herself up. So, last night Mommy and baby were blissfully slumbering in their own beds, with nary an interruption. Heaven!

And since we're celebrating this little cutie-beauty-pie, let's partake of some more lovely pictures, shall we?

Look at those beautiful eyes!

Her mobility has really been developing...she really enjoys being on her tummy, and since she's hasn't quite mastered crawling yet, she has instead taken to "scootching" around the floor (i.e., stretching and pushing).

As you can see, rolling over has become a favorite activity, and she will literally throw her body over as if to say, "Take THAT, ya darned rattle...I'm gonna gitcha!"

Babies are simply amazing. Or at least, mine is. I'm not biased or anything.

"Um, Mommy? Can you stop staring and feed me now?"

And Boba Makes Three

The title of this post is about 5 months overdue, seeing as Boba "made three" in July. But it never ceases to amaze me. I mean, the other night Jason was rejoicing over the fact that he had two nights off this week from his show, which meant that he could spend time "with his family." My first thought was, "Huh? His parents are in town this week?" And then I realized he meant me and Katrina...DUH. But seriously, all stupidity aside, it is remarkable how the definition of "family" evolves when you have a baby. Now, when I say I'm spending time with my family, it actually means I'm staying at home! (As opposed to jetting off to another city, which it meant as recently as a year ago.)

And since you all indulged my much-overdue-and-therefore-lame revelation, here is (finally) a cute photo of this new Heil family:

Katrina and her gene pool. Not too shabby, right?

Toys...yum, yum!

I'm putting this up just because it's such a cute picture and I just had to share it. Katrina has been able to sit on her own for about 5 seconds at a time...amazing! (That's Lola Tess propping her up behind her.)

AWMIGOD SHE'S SO CUTE!!!!

Grandparents Are Fun

And now I'd like to introduce Lolo Bob, my father, who is one of Katrina's most ardent fans.

Lolo Bob is actually quite terrified of Boba, thinking that she is the most precious and fragile little thing in his midst, so he tends to just stare at her with big googly eyes about a foot away most of the time. When he is brave, he will actually pick her up and cuddle her...he is most adept at burping her after a good feeding. Though he has never changed a diaper (he tried to with baby Miko once - who is now 38 - and it was a bad idea), he has done all sorts of incredibly helpful things for Boba. For one, he is her faithful chauffeur whenever she is shuttled from day care back home. He is also quite the skilled stroller-pusher, and the two of them enjoy long walks together in the park. Recently he picked up some really cute socks and mittens for her, since the weather has turned so cold. He has also discovered a surefire way to comfort her when Mommy and Daddy are not around: swinging her in her carseat while muttering "Ah-boo." (Extra props to Lolo for that one - handling a crying Boba is never easy.) And, though an indirect benefit to Boba, he picks up great food for Mommy for when she returns home from work and has no time to make dinner!

So you see, Lolo is a HUGELY important presence in Boba's life! Here's to Lolo!

(Note to other grandparents: Watch out! You too will be featured here someday!!)

The "Boba"

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Katrina's hairdo is undeniably a mullet. She actually started off with a Billy-Idol-type style when she was a newborn, but it has since settled into a more Daryl-Hall-of-Hall-and-Oates-type style. I guess she prefers R&B over rock.


Spikes galore at 1 month........to mullet perfection at 4 months.

And no, her tan didn't fade from 1 month to 4. That's just a lighting thing.

She is also doing a little bit better with her cold each day. In fact, mostly she barely notices it. Case in point:

Cold, Schmold

"Sick? Who's sick?"

Katrina has been taking her cold like a champ. Granted, she hates it when we squirt her little nostrils with saline drops, and she gets totally annoyed when we wipe her nose, but then all it takes is a little cooing from Mommy and Daddy to get her to smile again. And boy, that smile just wins us over.

Of course, as a new mother, I find this petty little cold as alarming as I would a case of German measles. I mean, I just sit there looking at her and think, "What the hell should I do?" I was a little suspicious at first of the nurse I spoke to at my 24-hr Nurse Connection phone service (provided by my doctor's office - NICE), who said, in so many words, that there was actually not much I could do...barring the saline drops, a cool-mist humidifier, and some extra hugs. Then I read on the internet...and my Baby 411 book...and my "What to Expect in the First Year" book...and more internet articles...and another 24-hr Nurse...and they all said the same thing. (Hooray for not overmedicating!) Then, the best part was, most sources said that colds were actually good for healthy, full-term babies, since they build their immune system and protect them against that particular bug when encountering it in the future. In other words, once a baby gets one cold, they will never get that cold ever again!

(Never mind there are over 100 types of colds out there. One bug at a time, please!)

Needless to say, this has been quite an emotional experience, one that reminds me why parents are some of the most resilient and honorable folks out there. It's like I want to tell Katrina, "This hurts me more than you!"

And then she giggles, and it's almost like she gets it.

Sleep Update

I'd like to just take a moment to recognize the angel that took all-night baby duty on Friday...that would be my mother, Lola Tess. ("Lola" is grandmother in tagalog.) She graciously offered to take care of my little congested sweetheart all night so that Daddy and I could get some proper rest. I think I was so bleary-eyed and incoherent Friday evening that she and my dad thought it was probably safer for Katrina to be cared for by someone more than half-conscious. They were SOOOO right.

So I slept a glorious 7 hours (straight!) on Friday night. And on Saturday night, Katrina only woke up once for a half-hour, and Jason offered to take that shift, so Mommy again had another 7 blissful hours of sleep.

You non-baby folks have no idea how absolutely amazing it is to have two nights straight of 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep after months of sleeping just 5-6 hours, broken up in 2 or 3 chunks! You feel like you can run a marathon the next day!

So, here's to Lola. Thanks, Mom. You're the BEST!

Lola Tess with 2-day old Baby Boba

Rebelling Against the Culture of Pink

Okay, I admit...despite the title of this post, part of the reason why Katrina has so little pink couture is because we decided not to find out the sex of the baby while I was pregnant. So - and those of you who did the same with your child will understand this - baby gifts were largely in various shades of white, yellow, and green. But as I received more and more "gender-neutral" baby stuff, I started to realize the advantages of not associating your child with one color.

(Here's a shout-out to Daddy for convincing Mommy not to find out the sex in the first place. Mommy had her reservations. I mean, I had no patience. This has since changed. I guess having a baby does that to you.)

Pink is a sweet, lovely color. And Katrina looks absolutely delicious in pink. (I'm no Color-Me-Beautiful expert, but I'd say she's a Spring. And the Spring palette has an array of pinks.) But pink is limiting. What else does pink say other than "young girl"? Oh sure, innocence and all that. But what about "precocious"? "Wise"? "Soulful"?

Pink says none of these.

Green, on the other hand, says "I am one with the soul of the earth." Blue says "I am deep and complex." Purple says, "I am not afraid of change." Black says, "I may just be a baby, but I can still kick your ass." (Okay, so black was only for Halloween.)

So, Pink, though you may be the quintessential color of all baby girls, this baby girl is just a little too colorful for you.

Bring on the rainbow!

By the way...

....I know some of you are going to comment on the bare outlet right behind the baby in the photo below. (Bad mother, Kim, bad mother!) I'd like to reassure everyone that a.) this particular jumper does not turn around, so she is actually stuck facing away from it, and b.) it is much farther away from her than it looks. Yes, I promise you, her little baby arms are too short to reach it!

Now stop heckling me!

Ah, Motherhood.

Last night Katrina had her first real cold. (Actually, I should say she HAS her first real cold, seeing as she still has it.) She's had runny noses in the past, but nothing like this. This is a full-blown, coughing-and-wheezing, stay-up-all-night-and-tear-your-hair-out cold.

And in case it's not clear...this was no fun for Mommy.

Daddy (lucky bastard) is actually coming down with something himself, and since he's deep into rehearsals for his show, we decided to let him sleep all night to take care of his little bug. So, of course, Mommy had full-time duty all night with Boba.

Whenever I am in these situations, I think...how do people with twins do this? Triplets? People with more than one child? People with a child, 3 cats, and a hamster? And then I think, ah, I have a healthy baby and a working actor husband. Life could be so much worse.

Plus she looks like this. I mean, c'mon now...THIS HELPS.

Happier times (pre-cold). Hairstyling by Naima's Day Care.

My first foray into blogging

Who knew that I would finally give in to this new online phenomenon? I've barely recovered from programming my IPod. Plus, with a 4.5 month-old baby, it's not like I have time for a new "hobby". Ah well. With no time for regular & personal email updates to send to friends and family far and wide, I suppose this is the next best option. So...here goes 'nuthin!

Intro: my Blog name. Flamboba. It's a compound nickname (if there is such a thing) that combines my childhood moniker ("Flambo"), and that of Baby Katrina's ("Boba"). Long story accompanies both, so perhaps those will be saved for a future blog.

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite photos of Boba herself.