Veterans Day Weekend, Part I - The Zoo

Now that I have a full-fledged toddler, I've learned the value of planning multiple outings and activities for the little one, especially over a 3-day weekend - her daily jaunts to the local park just weren't going to cut it. So, here's how our weekend went down, with visual aids:

FRIDAY

We went to the San Diego Zoo! We really are so lucky to live in a city that has amazing parks/culture/entertainment offerings abound. We left shortly after Boba's nap, and since I am a Balboa Park employee, I was able to get in free, and my folks had a guest pass for Jason to use. Of course, Boba was free as well, so we sauntered right through the gates, free of charge! Awesome!

We checked out the Children's Zoo (the petting zoo section was under construction, bleah), the pigs, the monkeys, the bears, the giraffes, and attempted to see the Pandas but the line was too long. I was actually pleasantly surprised that Boba held up so well during our visit; normally, if she spends too much time in her stroller she starts to get super-antsy, and then a meltdown is inevitable. But she was in a pretty good mood throughout! Oh, sure...she demanded that Mommy carry her for about half the time (so I got a good bicep workout out of the day), but other than that it was a really wonderful visit to the zoo!

Checking out the Pigeon house

Hangin' with the monkeys

Sitting pretty in front of...

...the GIRAFFES!!!

With Daddy at the Koala section

After we walked out of the zoo, we saw signs for the kiddie train nearby, so of course we had to take Boba for her first real train ride! It was a whopping $1.75 per person, so that meant we spent $3.50 for the entire day! Hooray for us!

CHOO-CHOO!

Tomorrow, Part II - Cute stories and even cuter pictures. Stay tuned!

"DA?!???!"

That's what Boba yells whenever she realizes that her Daddy isn't in the room with her. It's absolutely hilarious. Must be the Irish in her. (??!!?)

In celebration of Boba and her love for "DA!!"...

Swimming in Tucson

Sliding down with glee...into DA's arms

Happy Halloween!!!

Boba's just on the cusp of caring about this kind of thing, so I took the liberty of choosing what she was going to dress up as this year. Of course, as soon as Jason put her costume on she proceeded to tear it right off. He distracted her with a DVD just so he could take these pictures to prove that we celebrated Halloween this year. I swear, it's like you commit some kind of parental crime if you don't dress your baby up in a cute costume! And this little cowgirl is pretty cute, right?

To be honest, this was sort of a cop-out costume, since we basically pulled all the pieces from her already-vast wardrobe. I just didn't like anything I saw in the costume shops and the last thing I wanted was to see another kid dressed up like her show up at our doorstep. See, we didn't actually go trick-or-treating this year, seeing as she's too young to understand it all, and wouldn't it be slightly tacky if we paraded her around only to get the candy for ourselves? (My apologies to those parents who did this; no offense, really!) Plus this Daylight Savings change is kicking our butts in the sleep department, given that she's waking up "earlier" than normal (normal, of course, meaning "crack of dawn"). And ALSO, Lolo & Lola returned last night from their loooong Southeast Asia tour so Boba was basically just overwhelmed and overstimulated by EVERYTHING that was going on around her. Make a long story, um, less long? Trick or treating was out of the question this year. Apparently, neither was getting into the Halloween spirit, but at least she looked cute for the two minutes that she had her full costume on.

Oh, and props to Daddy for picking up the ADORABLE faux pink Uggs (with a teeny buckle). They were just perfect.

Check down the progression of "Boba's Halloween Meltdown":

"Gotta get this hat off..." (Daddy proceeds to put it back on)

"Okay then, let me get this vest off..." (Daddy pulls it back on)

"That's IT! I'm making a break for it..." (Daddy promptly grabs her, puts her boot back on, and places her by the door to greet more kids)

(After ripping off hat & vest) "GO AWAY, TRICK OR TREATERS! I'M TOO TIRED FOR ALL OF THIS!"

*sigh* Happy Halloween indeed!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I got this T-shirt from Babies R Us for $5 last week, and I was SO excited! But that's not the reason for the title of this post. The reason is the book she's holding and "reading". Unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of the title page while she had it in her hands, so the last shot will have to do. I haven't had much opportunity to chase Boba around with a camera, but today I just couldn't resist. What's funny is that Jason has been in L.A. for an audition since last night, so it was all me this morning. She didn't seem to mind; in fact, I think she knows when it's picture time! Daddy has her splashed all over his desktop on his Mac in our bedroom, and every time she sees it she points to herself excitedly. So yes, she is seeming to understand the whole picture thing. I'm not sure if I should be delighted or scared.

"Yes, I'm just going to take a moment to peruse this lovely anthology..."

"Must you STARE at me so much with that thing in your face?"

"Oh, a CLOSE-UP? Well, most certainly!"

"Enough with the paparazzi. I really must read this book..."

"....right on top of this suitcase that Daddy hasn't put away yet."

(You see? You see?? The book is "Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2001".)

The girl is truly mine!

Boba's Tucson Adventure

This past weekend, Jason decided to give me a much-needed respite from the craziness of my life (motherhood/work/chores/whatever else), and took Boba with him to visit his mom in Tucson, AZ. Yes, I know. I'M A REALLY BAD MOTHER FOR NEEDING A 2-DAY BREAK FROM EVERYTHING. (I know that's what someone is thinking, so let's just get that out of the way now!)

That aside, my awesome-beautiful-generous-wise-handsome husband and my sweet, sweet daughter left early on Saturday morning, not to return until Monday afternoon. They were supposed to leave on Friday afternoon, but because of a fiasco at the airport their departure was postponed until the next morning. I was quite pleased with this, as the thought of 3 nights away from Boba was bordering on unbearable, so when it became 2 nights I was much relieved.

Did you all notice that I didn't mention any of this until after the trip itself? Yes, I was pretty much holding my breath, partially because I was afraid it wouldn't actually happen and partially because I had such mixed feelings about not being with Boba that I thought I might veto the entire trip at any moment.

Of course, there was that teeny-tiny part of me that was just salivating at the thought of two days of alone-time.

Anyway, (bad mother, Kim! Bad mother!) as to be expected Jason & Boba had a fabulous time with Grandma Robin. They swam in the pool a lot, visited the zoo for a short time, and took long walks in public parks. Apparently when they walked into Grandma Robin's apartment it was like Toys R'Us had decided to set up shop in her living room. (Thanks, G-ma!) So as you can imagine, Boba had a heck of a time in her new surroundings and with all her new toys. And naturally she and Daddy bonded so closely that they are BFF now. So it's all good, right?

And I won't go into too much detail, because this is a blog about Boba, and not me, but I had a really lovely weekend as well. R&R indeed.

Here are some photos of Boba's trip. Naturally, Daddy's hands were full most of the time, having been a "single" parent all weekend, so he didn't take that many photos. Grandma is supposed to send us some (please? please?), so when she does I'll try to post more.

Here she is cavorting with tigers & bears at the zoo:

Good times were had by all!

The Overdue Boba Update

See, I admit it. Readily. So it's taken me over a week to update Flamboba. Good god, what has the world come to? How have you all coped? Did I lose my membership to the Mommy Blogger Club?

I hope not, because have I got the cutest Boba stories for you to enjoy today!

Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of photos, however, as I've been supremely lazy with my camera-duties. Thank goodness phones these days take pictures, because this would be a naked, text-only post, and let's face it, those posts do only half the job of "blogging" in the truest sense!

(I'm sure I just pissed off a fellow Mommy-Blogger! My membership has TOTALLY been revoked!)

Onward with the stories...

• One of Boba's favorite sayings is "Ee-ai-ee-ai?" This refers to the "Ee-ai-ee-ai-oh" chorus in that all-time favorite tune, "Old MacDonald Had a Farm". SHE CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS DAMN SONG. Every morning, she comes downstairs and stands in front of the TV repeating, "Ee-ai-ee-ai?", as her way of begging me to put the "Baby MacDonald" DVD in the player. When we're playing in her room, she stands by the CD player and repeats it over and over again until I hit track 13 on her Baby Einstein Music Box CD, which of course is her beloved song. Then she dances. And oh my god, this is the reason why we have kids. She bounces on her knees, stamps her feet, and turns in circles. So in case you're wondering why I haven't shot myself in the head yet after hearing "Old MacDonald" 6,517 times, THAT is why. Because to watch Boba dancing is CUTENESS PERSONIFIED.
• Her next-favorite thing to say to me is "Bab'm?" It's her word for "Food", which, if you can remember from this post, used to be "Dabin". Well, now it's evolved into "Bab'm". Don't ask me why. There are several meanings to "Bab'm", however, and though it's basic meaning is "Food", it can also mean "Can we go to the kitchen?" Or, "Can we go to the kitchen which is next to the TV room?" Or, "Can we go to the kitchen which is next to the TV room so I can listen to my 24th round of ee-ai-ee-ai?" Yes, the child is making connections. And as annoying as it is to bring her downstairs for the umpteenth time, only to be demanded "Ee-ai-ee-ai? Ee-ai-ee-ai?", all she has to do is dance and then I'm just putty.
• She sings the alphabet song! Only she doesn't actually say the letters. She just repeats the long e vowel sound several times, but to the same rhythm as the song. So it sounds like this: "Ee. Ee. Ee. Ee. Ee. Ee. EEEE." So adorable.
• She now can say "Banana." Or, at least, a version of "Banana". A version that sounds a lot like "Nnnnnya."
• She also has a version of "Thank you" when you give her something, which is "Tenk."
• If she wants more of something, be it food (bab'm) or a book, she says "Moh."
• And of course, she still says "Bye", "Dog", and "Ball" fairly regularly.

Yep, she's still cute as ever, and getting cuter every day. Maybe later this week I'll have a chance to take some new photos. And maybe one of these days I'll even find a way to post a video of her dancing. It really is one of the most adorable things you'll ever see! (And I'm SO not biased.)

(This is a picture of her being doused by the hose while Daddy watered the plants outside. I can't tell if she's pleased about getting wet, but according to Daddy, she had a good time!)

Boba Plays in the Yard

That sounds like a good title for a book, doesn't it? Anyway, here is a series of photos of Boba with her face turned away from the camera. So either I'm a lousy photographer or she's just hard to capture in action. (It's the latter, believe me.) She plays in the yard alot and really enjoys herself! I just love watching her play because she really is in her own wonderful little world. Too bad we just can't see her cute mug!

She's also got a new "dog" that she "walks" in the yard:

Here she is examining the underside of her little push-cart:

She's just a busy little bee!

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!"