Boba Heart Daddy

As much of a talker as Boba is, she hasn't really gotten the hang of saying "Mama" a whole lot. She'll say "Dada" all over the place, ALL THE TIME, and I'm starting to worry if she'll ever call me "Mama". Of course, I've read somewhere that toddlers will "group" things and call them all one thing - sort of like how Boba will call any furry animal "Dog" and any round thing "Ball". So maybe "Dada" is her word for "Parental Unit"? I don't know. I'm rationalizing.

I complained about this to Jason, and his reply was, "What, it's not enough you're the light of her life???"

See, he says this because she is extremely attached to me right now. Very much a Mommy's Girl. And of course I'd be lying if I said I didn't pick up the slight hint of jealousy in his voice.

So, in tribute to Jason and the wonderful "Dada" he is, I post this picture where Boba is clearly having a blast with him. Dada, you too are the light of Boba's life.

My after-work cuddle

After a long day at work, one of my favorite things to do once I get home is hop on the couch and gather Boba in my arms. She squeals when she sees me at the door, and when I scoop her up, she nestles her head in the crook of my neck while I wrap my arms around her, and we stay like that for more than a few moments. If I can sense that she's willing to be held for a little longer, I lay on the couch with her on top of me, and we cuddle some more. It's the most wonderful thing EVER. Usually the moment only lasts a few seconds before she gets squirmy and tries to wriggle out of my arms and start running around freely again, but for that brief moment I am in absolute bliss.

Smoochy-smoochy mama & baby

Dining Etiquette, as demonstrated by Boba

Boba really knows how to eat spaghetti. She doesn't simply eat it; she savors every noodle, one by one, and uses all five senses to enjoy the experience. At the end of it, her face is literally painted with spaghetti sauce.

She actually not much of an eater (the way Mommy is, anyway), so with spaghetti, it's something of a personal thrill watching her enjoy grown-up food.

And look how cute she looks with sauce all over her face!

Fun with Boba, Chapter Four

Take a look at these shots to see just how big she's getting!

Check out that BELLY!!

Remember how I mentioned she enjoys climbing the stairs? Well, here she is on her way up, with Lola hot on her heels, making sure that she doesn't hurt herself. Lemme tell you, babyproofing the house does only 50% of the work. The rest is left to you as you chase the wandering toddler everywhere, holding out your arms should she take a spill or run into a stationary object. (Jason tells me the best way for her to learn not to run into a wall is to let her run into a wall so that she can see that it's no fun. Is it any surprise that I don't quite go with him on this logic???)

This is Boba trying to "smile" for the camera. I think in her head "smile" means "show teeth".

What I do enjoy seeing is when she tries to fit into her old toys, like this shot here when she tries to fit into her boucy chair. You can see how much she's grown. She's been wearing 18-month clothes since her 12-month birthday...she's growing like a weed!

Toddler, schmoddler. She looks like a KID.

Crazy, right? I'm totally expecting her to start speaking in complete sentences any minute. I imagine the first thing she'll say is, "You know how you let me run into a wall? Not cool."

Fun with Boba, Chapter Three

The title of this post may be deceiving, because if Boba could talk I'm sure she would say that being restrained by the indoor gate is hardly fun, but it does provide a few good laughs for Mommy & Daddy, so we're sticking with it.

Poor Boba. She hates that damned gate. We don't have a lot of photos documenting her displeasure with it, but I think these three say it all.

"SOMEONE OPEN THIS STUPID THING!!!"

"WHY ISN'T ANYONE DOING ANYTHING???"

"I'M CALLING CPS ON YOUR ASSES!!!"

Ahhh, babyproofing. Hey, it's all fun and games until someone bonks their nose!

Fun with Boba, Chapter Two

And now...adventures with Daisy, the Invisible Dog!

(Okay, so she's not really invisible, she's just this elusive little pug who lives next door and barks endlessly, much to Boba's delight and wonder. The following photos demonstrate Boba's obsession with finding Daisy.)

Here she is at the fence that separates the house next door from ours. She hears Daisy barking and immediately stops everything she's doing to listen. I'm sure that in her head she's assessing the situation: "Must find source of dog noise. Must!"

Boba in stealth mode.

Daddy helps the visibility problem by giving Boba a boost.

Daddy taking a break from Operation: Find Daisy. Boba was none too happy about this and ran to Mommy for assistance, so...

...Mommy gave in and joined Boba's mission.

After all of that, we saw Daisy (!!!) for, oh, about 10 seconds. She really does like to play hard to get. I think she may have been a little freaked out by the little ponytailed head that was staring oh-so-intently into the yard. In any case, once Daisy made her appearance, she proceeded to hide in the bushes for the rest of the morning. Guess she didn't really appreciate Boba's burning need to observe her like some kind of menacing vulture.

The adventure continues tomorrow...at the new indoor gate we installed recently when we babyproofed the house! Egads, the horror that ensues! Watch out!

Weekend Fun with Boba

I know, I know...it's been AGES since I posted an update on Boba's doings! So, to make up for my lack of diligence, here is a photo essay from this past weekend, along with STORIES!!

Look at how big she's gotten! I swear sometimes I look at her and she's not even a baby anymore. She's still got that cute baby-skin-fold in her thighs, which I think means she's still officially a baby, and her hands are still slightly dimpled, so....maybe I'm just in denial. She's been talking ALOT in her own little language that I've talked about before. We have no idea what she's saying but I'm sure she thinks she's making sense. I'll have to make a recording of it someday. It is the absolute ULTIMATE in cuteness.

So the photo is a little dark, but you can still see her in action as she plays with her toys. It's great hanging out with her now - not that it wasn't before - but now she really gets into her toys and practically forgets you're sitting there next to her. She has this very elaborate game that involves picking up a toy, examining it closely, then flinging it into some container. Pick up, examine, fling, repeat. She does this with practically all of her toys, and her favorites are ones that have some kind of receptacle; be it a box, or a canister, or even a hollow lid...she has this very precise system and it is absolutely fascinating to watch. I'd love to hear her thoughts at those moments. It's like she's thinking, "Blue circle. Smooth exterior. Little scratch on the bottom. Check." Or, "Colorful box. Interesting pictures. Bad interpretation of a zebra, though. Check."

And here she is showing off her new talent: climbing. I really didn't see this one coming. All of a sudden, she's able to climb sofas, chairs, stairs - although she prefers climbing the stairs like a grown-up, with one foot at a time (with Mommy's help, of course). That's my dad spotting her. And in the last photo I think she's proclaiming her victory over all inanimate, climb-able objects - or something.

Here she is with her tower of blocks that she LOVES to topple over. It's kind of funny, actually, because she will make sure each and every block has been toppled over sufficiently. That means, if the bottom-most block is somehow left standing there, even though all the others have tumbled to the side, she has to push that last one to make sure all possible damage has been had. It's nice to see she's got a thing for demolition. Bodes well for all the antiques in Lolo & Lola's house.

Tomorrow I will post another photo essay about Daisy, the neighbor's dog. Only you will never actually see Daisy in the photos. How could that be, you wonder? Well, stay tuned and find out!

JAKsquared Reunion Part Deux

Jill, Angie, Kay and I had another reunion over the weekend at Kay's neck of the woods in North Carolina. AWESOME. Only this time we were even more lame than the first reunion because during the entire weekend none of us came up with a camera. So, no proof of our shenanigans. (Actually, that may be a good thing.)

Oh, it is so great to meet up with old friends after a crazy month at work. And Kay, may I just say, was the HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST. She not only got each of us girls a one-hour massage at the fancy-schmancy day spa; she cooked almost every meal for us. That's right; breakfast, dinner on the grill, snacks, upgraded leftovers. (As in, leftover fried rice, re-fried with EGG! AWESOME!) She is, as they say, da BOMB.

Anyway, by the time I was flying into the San Diego airport yesterday, my arms were aching for Boba. And Jason had brought her to the airport with him, so I got to cuddle her in the car on the way home. She fell asleep shortly after, and I joined her early this morning for our daily cuddle session, which I had so missed over the weekend.

Wish I had something to show you all, but suffice it to say that Flambo is quite refreshed and happy after some good rest, great food, and even better company. Cheers!

Why does Mama ignore me so much?

BECAUSE, ladies and gentlemen, take a look at last week's schedule:

Monday: In addition to the typical beginning-of-the-week chaos, I had to sit in on our Open Call for HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. Not too bad.
Tuesday: Pick up my big-cheese boss from the airport. Attend the first day of rehearsal for our production of PIG FARM. Scramble like mad to gather documents for said boss's accountant. Then, close the day with casting for our Educational Program's production of THE STONES. Yee-ha.
Wednesday: On the phone all day arranging call-backs. In between phone calls, attend a seminar my boss is holding for our MFA students/actors, as well as take care of his appointments that day.
Thursday: Call-backs for THE STONES. Cast two actors (one of whom I "discovered" in a local production - YAY!). Drive to L.A., a drive that is concluded, happily, with a trip to my favorite Little Tokyo restaurant in downtown, Mr. Ramen. (Cold miso ramen. Mmm-mmm, good!)
Friday: Open call for GRINCH. 14 actors show up. Thank goodness two of them (well, two-and-a-half) make the day worthwhile for me. Afterwards, I wait out the traffic at the apartment of my good friend Jen, and eventually drive back to San Diego.

(Note: Other than Thursday night, which was largely spent at the Safari Motel in Burbank watching Season One of Veronica Mars on my newly-gifted portable DVD player, none of the aforementioned nights allowed me more than 3 hours of sleep AT A TIME. )

(ALSO: Note that none of the duties above match what my title suggests. I am supposedly the Literary Associate, and yet is anything up there remotely "literary"? Yeah, not quite. Such is the career in the theatre. "Anything Goes!")

That is why I have been ignoring you, blog. Please forgive me, and know that when things slow down (this week is a little better), I'll share plenty of fun stories of Boba!

"Crazy schedules at work are A-OK!"