Happy Holidays!!

I know, I know...it's been forever! Well, as you all know from my last post, I was slowly starting to lose my mind, what with all the holiday hoopla going on AND not having my husband around at the same time. Well, Jason returned from a successful week in New York City, safe and sound, but of course right around the time he got back Boba decided to start waking up throughout the night again!! I believe we've fixed the situation by adjusting the temperature in her room, and surprisingly, I've also noticed a difference with how I've been putting her to bed. See, our usual routine is this: First, I dim the lights in her room halfway. Then I pick her up and we go sit in our comfy rocker together, where I read her a book or two, usually 2-3 times each. (She keeps saying "Muy?" after each read, which is Bobaspeak for "More." Don't ask.) Then, I dim the lights to about 10%, and then we "slowdance" our way to the crib, with her head on my shoulder...and after about 5 minutes I put her in her crib, and her eyes are usually shut by then. But the past couple of nights she was squirming during our slowdance, which indicated to me that she couldn't get comfortable, so I just put her in her crib after less than a minute of snuggling. Well, her eyes were WIDE open, so I thought for SURE that she was going to scream as soon as I shut the door. But no, she was completely quiet, and sure enough...she's been sleeping through the night!!! Is that the answer?? Putting your kid to sleep when drowsy-but-awake?? WOW!!!

Anyway, life has slowed down a tad since I've gotten almost all of my Xmas shopping out of the way, which is a good thing. I'm taking most of next week off to travel with Jason & Boba to a magical snowy place where children wear cute things like mittens! and hats! (i.e., things that are completely foreign to us Southern Californians) So you won't be hearing much from me, but hey, you're used to THAT by now, right??!?

Before I go, of course, I'd like to share a couple of things so that you won't feel completely deprived of Boba and her Incredible Cuteness. Here's a couple of lists that I've compiled mentally as I continue my education as a Mother of a Toddler - "notes to self", if you will. Enjoy!

BOBA'S LIKES

Food Category

1. Steamed white rice
2. Whole Milk
3. Sinigang (Mommy's favorite Filipino Food!)
4. Mild Cheddar Cheese
5. Ham
6. Green peas
7. Green beans
8. Steamed white rice

Toy Category

1. Stuffed animals (especially Dogs!)
2. Things that can be emptied
3. Things that can be toppled over
4. Things that light up or make noise when pushed
5. Things that MAKE NOISE
6. Mommy's toothbrush
7. Anything green
8. Sand
9. Bouncy balls

Event Category

1. Going to the park
2. Going down the slide
3. Running down a hill
4. Running into the street
5. Grabbing anything within her reach
6. Bathtime
7. Pooping

BOBA'S DISLIKES (don't worry, it's a shorter list)

1. Her Highchair
2. Getting her diaper changed
3. Getting stuff taken away from her
4. Getting snatched away while running towards something, like traffic
5. Getting her hair fixed
6. Getting pulled out of the tub
7. Mommy leaving her to go to work (I hate it too, sweetie!)

There you have it! And since you've all been so wonderfully patient with me, here's a another festive photo of the family, recently taken for the holiday season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HANNUKKAH/SWINGIN' KWANZAA/WHATEVAAA!!!

Where in the World is Flambo??

Actually, the question you should be asking is: Where in the World is Jason?? Well, he is currently in New York City, in rehearsals for a benefit performance of the musical version of Zhivago, in which he appeared in its prior two incarnations at La Jolla Playhouse. (God, I think I may have butchered the grammar in that sentence. But moving on...) What this means, among other things, is that Flambo has been single-parenting Boba, although not really, since she and Boba live with Lolo & Lola, after all, but it does mean that Flambo does get up in the wee hours of the morning to comfort the crying Boba, and then AGAIN two hours later when Boba gets up for the day at 5 A.M. (Note: These are SHIFTS that Jason and I usually trade off, which is really the much more humane and managable way to deal with a toddler's less-than-desirable sleep habits.) This also means that Flambo has not gotten much sleep, and has had to do Daddy's usual share of chores (laundry, grocery shopping, etc.) on top of her typical day (8-hour work day, 1-hour commute, feeding-and-caring for Boba - although in truth Lola has handled MANY Boba duties lately - THANKS LOLA!!!), in addition to it being the holidays and all and there's that small matter of Christmas shopping that needs to be done, not to mention sending out Christmas cards - oh, sorry...SEASONS GREETINGS cards (in case Christmas is not your holiday-of-choice) - and, uh, well, let's face it....

I'm wiped.

End of story. Oh, and I have no new photos except the ones that we took for our Christmas cards, and I don't want to ruin THAT surprise for you all. Argh. Well, suffice it to say that despite the stress of the season, Jason is having a well-deserved FABULOUS time in NYC, we are all in good health and spirits, and Boba has some of the best Grandparents in the world. Example: Lola relieves me at 5:30am to let me go back to sleep for a couple of hours. What I would do without that I don't know. Probably crawling on my office floor pleading for mercy.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Funny Girl

You know how in the "old days", before Cable TV and DVR were available, people would supposedly gather around the fire and someone would tell a story for entertainment? Well, for us it's almost the same thing except: a. ) We have Cable TV and DVR but are choosing not to view them, and b.) We gather not around a fire but around Boba. And, boy, are we ever entertained!! I know everyone thinks their kid is the cutest and the funniest, blah blah blah, so feel free to take me with the obligatory grain of salt when I say that Boba is the funniest baby ever. Oh yes, she is. Her crazy little faces, her incoherent but super-cute babbling, and her physical antics have us in stitches night after night. Behold:

See how much Lola is enjoying the show? And that's just the start of Boba's routine. Even just striking a pose like so:

...can cause this:

I guess you just had to be there. I certainly enjoy her performance as well:

What can I say, the girl just cracks me up.

"I'll be here all week - Good Night!! Try the veal!!"

HAPPY 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, FLAMBOBA!!

It has been officially one year since I first created and posted on Flamboba! And though I have no pictures available to celebrate (BAD Flambo), I would like to display the first photo of Boba I posted:

And now, to show you how much Boba has blossomed in the last year:

Crazy, right?? And she just keeps getting bigger!!

Happy Anniversary, Flamboba! May Flambo and Boba have many, many more adventures to write about for the masses!