A photo of Boba's makeup for CATS

Actually, per my last post, it's a phone photo (so the quality's not great) of the lovely scrape/bruise on the tip of the left side of her nose. But what I also love about this photo is the cutie-patootie hairdo that her daycare provider, Naima, gave her yesterday. SOOOO adorable!

Also, check out Daddy's comments from yesterday's post about how Boba was a natural in front of an audience of about 60 people last night. SCARY. It's in her genes. Why am I surprised?

THIS IS TO APPEASE DADDY.

I've said that my parents ran off with our "good" digital camera, and that I don't like to blog sans photographs. Well, Jason has begged...and begged...and begged. For an update. You'd think he didn't LIVE WITH BOBA AND SEE HER EVERY DAY. Since he's the love-of-my-life-and-all, I figured I should probably oblige his request. So here goes.

• Now that Boba is walking, she is getting more and more confident about traveling around on her own (i.e., without holding Mommy's hand). Consequently, she's attempted to go faster than her little feet can carry her, and the other day she landed SPLAT! on her face. On the concrete. I was mortified...and only two feet away from her. She immediately burst into tears and I quickly scooped her up in my arms. Sure enough, there was a little gash on the side of her now-cherry-red nose that was bleeding slightly. (And who felt like the worst mother in the world??) I dabbed at the gash and she calmed down in my arms once I stuck a pacifier in her mouth - but the cherry-red nose seemed to smart more and more as time passed. By the next morning, she had a bruise on her nose that looked like someone had applied stage makeup on her for the musical CATS. And was interrupted while the nose was being done. Because the bruise only covers half of her nose. So from one side of her face, she looks like a perfectly healthy baby. The other side looks like Child Protection Services could be screeching into our driveway any second. Fortunately, she seems to have recoved from the trauma - emotionally, anyway - of her first official meeting with concrete. I'll try to get a photo of her nose with my phone...at least you'll get an idea!
• She luuuuuves being chased after. As in, "I'm gonna gitcha!"-grab her by the waist and pick her up as she screams in high-pitched giggles. Sometimes I only have to look at her a certain way and she just erupts in laughter because she knows I'm coming to get her. It's moments like that that make moments like the ones I'm about to describe bearable...
• ....the moments I'm referring to are the ones with the TEMPER TANTRUMS. And I mean full-blown, foot-stamping, face-scrunched-and-red, SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS temper tantrums. Do they really begin this early in life??? I mean, she gets pissed off like you would not believe! And that whole tactic where you try to distract her with one thing so that she doesn't pay attention the dangerous-thing-she-was-about-to-fiddle-with? NO LONGER WORKS. She remembers that you so coldly and cruelly denied her the opportunity to play with the POWER DRILL. Or the WATER IN THE TOILET BOWL. Or that when she reached to take a gulp of your steaming-hot coffee, you deigned to pull it out of her grasp. The way she screams, I'm surprised CPS hasn't already arrived at our doorstep. (Maybe they're staking out our property for the next time I let her have a face-plant into the concrete.)

Well, there ya go. How's that for an update, Daddy??

Yay! A photo!

Thanks to my good friend Elaine who gave me instructions on how to get the pictures from my phone! So, obviously the quality ain't great, but isn't she cute??? This was taken Tuesday morning and we hadn't combed her hair yet. Her hair is just ridiculous. Everytime I try to imagine her as an older child, no matter what age I can't help but see her with this overgrown mop sticking out all over the place. (Oh, I complain - but actually I love it!)

Three posts in one day! What has come over me???

Makeover Thursday

In honor of Boba's one-year birthday, and my increasing intolerance of Pepto-Bismol pink, I've donned a new look for Flamboba. Like it? A little easier on the eyes, I think.

Oh, the days of old...

...when I would blog daily. Jason lamented to me yesterday that my usual blogging habit has been reduced from once-a-day to once-a-week. Yes, honey, I know. I told him that to shoulder the responsibility of this online journaling (ha!), he should do a few guest posts - just so he can publicly complain about how his working wife, mother of his child, the singular romantic love of his life, DOES NOT BLOG DAILY. Oh, the abuse! How does he tolerate me???

Anyway, joking aside, I actually do have a lot to report on, but I'm not a big fan of blogging without pictures so I really haven't been motivated to write anything. Lolo & Lola took the "good" digital camera with them on their world tour (ours doesn't have a flash - how crazy is that???), so we are momentarily photo-handicapped. We did purchase new camera phones, and I have the sweetest picture of Boba on my wallpaper, but being as technically-inept as I am, I have no idea have to upload camera photos on the computer. Hm. Maybe that's what that thing called the "Instruction Manual" is for.

So, let me say this...and oh my goodness, it's finally here...BOBA IS WALKING!! Oh, she'll fall on her butt a lot and basically has no sense of what direction she's going, but she's definitely using both feet to travel!! It's just remarkable!! Of course, this opens a whole new can of babyproofing worms as I now have to make sure that all objects that used to be out of her reach (therefore, everything at least 6 inches above her head) are, well, not within in her reach. This means constant pulling-things-off-shelves and moving-loose-objects-out-of-the-way and all such safety measures. If you have ever been to my parents' house, which is quite the museum of antiques, you can imagine how difficult all of this is. One might suggest that just clearing all shelves and tables would save us a lot of trouble, but seeing as this isn't our house to begin with, I'm loath to move anything without Lolo & Lola's permission. And they're not here. So? Mommy & Daddy perform the elaborate choreography of swiping-and-replacing, swiping-and-replacing. It's quite entertaining, though hell on the back muscles.

Let's see, what else? Did I mention she loves to give kisses? Oh, they're of the open-mouth variety, which worries us some, but as she's just a wee child it's actually very sweet and adorable. Her favorite word these days is "Ball" and the way she says it seems to correspond to the size of said ball. Little ball? "Boh." Medium ball? "Baww." Big-ass supersize ball? "BAHHHHWWW!!!"

See how much cuteness you're missing out on? My descriptions don't do any of this justice. Maybe Daddy's right after all. DO NOT DENY THE MASSES OF BOBA'S CUTENESS. MUST BLOG DAILY WITH MULTIPLE CLOSEUP PHOTOGRAPHS AND WITTY COMMENTARY.

Hm. I'll see what I can do.

Part II of Party Photos

Alas, I've been delayed! But what else is new?? Ah well...onwards with the part-ay!

Boba's Grand Entrance with Mommy

THISCLOSE to walking

Flirting toddler-style

Another cutie-patootie: Baby Calvin and Mommy Leila

Daddy and a lumpia-eating Boba (much to my chagrin)

The Birthday Family! (Damn that wind...I look like I've got cracks in my face!)

So unfortunately Daddy had to leave early for his show, which meant that our camera was pretty much ignored the rest of the afternoon. I do believe one of my family members was taking photos, but I'm not sure. It was quite a feat trying to juggle Mommy-duties, hostess-duties, and catching-up-with-friends duties. But Boba was truly a little princess and had a fabu time. I know, because she told me later. :)

To those of you who brought gifts for the little one, THANK YOU so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity. I swear, it was like you all read my mind. It was the perfect combination of clothes, toys, and books - not too many of one, and every gift was so PERFECT for her I was just in heaven. (Okay, so is this the only birthday where Mommy gets to feel like the gifts are more for her than for the baby? Or does this happen for the first few years?)

It was a lovely day, and a beautiful first birthday for my beautiful little girl. Thanks again to everyone who helped make the day so special!

Some Birthday present! (And Part I of Party Photos)

So Boba woke up on her birthday - Monday, July 10th - at 3am with a fever. Yikes. By about 10am it was at 102 degrees. Good lord! What a way to spend a first birthday! Good thing we had celebrated the day before, AND good thing she's at an age where getting sick on her birthday is like getting sick on ANY day. (As in - she doesn't care what day it is, she's just miserable.) We were able to bring her to the doctor that afternoon, and he confirmed a viral infection. This meant no antibiotics (which I was fine with - I HATE antibiotics), and no going to work for Mommy and Daddy for the next couple of days, given that Lolo and Lola were jetting off to Spain for 3 weeks on Tuesday. (AAAAHHH! Timing!) Strangely enough, however...despite a consistently high fever (it rarely went below 101), she seemed to be in the best of spirits. Probably because she was like, "Mommy and Daddy are here, with me, TOGETHER??? When the heck does THAT happen??? AWESOME." Yes, I'd have to say that that was the major bonus of the past few days: getting to spend some time together as the family that we are. Even if one of them was burning up like a little blowtorch.

Fast forward to today. At 6:30am she had a temperature of 98 degrees. Wha?? So quickly? Yep, AND THEN, by around 11am she had broken out in a rash all over her body. Good thing I had my handy dandy Baby 411 book with me (Thanks, Famini!) because I was totally prepared to diagnose her with Roseola, a virus that causes a high fever for approximately 3 days and then comes down drastically at the onset of a rash. The rash apparently doesn't bother her, and apparently just acts as a signal that the illness is on its last legs. Yay! Funny, though - she was extra clingy this morning, almost as though she knew that our time at home together was coming to an end. "What, I'm 'better'? No, not 'better'! I'm sure I've got another virus in here somewhere - hold on, let me check - see my fingernail? See how it's slightly less pink than the rest? That's the Pinkyola virus. Mommy must stay home with me MORE!"

Anyway, you all have heard me lament how tough it is when your baby is sick, and I won't bore you with repetition. But I'd just like to add that it's actually quite nice to have Daddy around at nights (his show closed last Sunday). So this illness was seemingly less stressful than the others.

So - ONWARDS WITH PHOTOS! (This is only Part I since I have yet to upload all the photos from that day)

Our friends from L.A.: Jen, Chris, Natalie & Derek

Lola Tess among a sea of family members

Baby Carter with Mommy Monica enjoying some balloons

Joshua, John, & Judy Rosen

Mommy & Boba's grand entrance at the party will be featured tomorrow! Stay tuned!

ONE YEAR!!!

Happy Birthday Boba!!!

Boba turns a year old today. Yesterday we celebrated with a party in the park...with big and little guests all around. And food. And balloons. And a cake! A Winnie the Pooh birthday cake! It was truly lovely!

(I will post pictures tomorrow, I promise!)

Happy Birthday to the mini-Love-of-My-Life. Watching you grow every day has made my life more whole, more profound, and more joyous than anything I could ever wish.

More fun in the sun!

Boba had a pretty rockin' Fourth of July weekend! And of course Mommy was a tool and didn't take too many photos. Fortunately Daddy was much more on the ball and managed to capture the supreme cuteness that is Boba in brand-spankin'-new outfits! Here's the budding model:

Boba at La Jolla Shores - yes, that's a flag on her onesie!

Hangin' with the ZHIVAGO cast - mingling with Broadway stars already!

"Wait - this is a frisbee? And I'm supposed to throw it at you?"

Boba was apparently a big hit with Daddy's fellow castmates. Especially with David McDonald, pictured above, who has two girls of his own and knew exactly how to play with a one-year-old. (Thanks, David!) Boba looooved the attention, and even had a blast in the water with Daddy. That's our So-Cal gal, alright...a beach bunny in the making!

Then, on the actual fourth, we took her up to the mountains for a party thrown by Sean Murray, Artistic Director of the Cygnet Theatre here in San Diego. It was a great bash, with lots of babies and dogs milling about, so Boba was just overwhelmed with the entertainment of it all. Well, okay, she was a bit overstimulated, but we still had a good time. Of course, no photos of the event (lazy Mommy!), but we did get a good shot of Boba in her Fourth of July outfit.

Red, White, and Boba

Hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend!

I'm at work - BLEAH

The title of this post says it all. I'm sitting here at my desk, TOTALLY disinterested in the pile of work staring at me from the side. Really, Globe, is it fair to make your honest and hardworking employees work a completely useless day that could otherwise be spent re-energizing via rest and relaxation with family and friends?

Ah, but we're a THEATRE company, we MUST be open lest someone calls demanding to know what happened to their script submission entitled "SuperSize Me: THE MUSICAL"!

(You think I'm kidding??? I. AM. NOT.)

What's worse is I have a.) no new pictures to post, and b.) no new cool stories either. I am totally uninspired. I'm telling you, this heat is melting my brain. Yesterday I had totally intended on taking photos at the Del Mar Fair, where Boba was wearing a super-cute dress & hat, but NO...the camera battery was dead. Argh!

Plus Boba's been on a kick where, even though she's sleeping through the night, she's been getting up at 5 a.m. 5 a.m.!!! Double Argh!!!

So there you have it. Flambo's been in a funk. I can no longer blame my workload for not blogging; it's just me. And this damn weather. Southern California is supposed to be pleasant, yes? Uh huh, sure. Someone tell the weatherman because apparently he didn't get that memo.

In a word - BLEAH.

Cute, cute, and CUTE

She sure is growing up fast. It's funny, you know...at one point I remember thinking, "Oh my goodness, one day Boba will crawl." And then she did, and about a week after she started it was like no big deal. Then I also remember thinking, "Will she ever hold her bottle on her own?" And, lo and behold, she starts doing it almost immediately. It's like, right when I start wondering when she'll do something, she ups and does it. So of course now my thoughts are along the lines of, "I wonder when she'll find an agent and book her first national commercial."

Think big, I say.

But seriously, here's a quick update on the CUTE things she's added to her repertoire-of-stuff-she-does:

1. She brushes her hair! If you put a baby brush in her hand, she'll pat her head with it. She'll even pat my head with it. And then, of course, she begins to eat it.
2. She plays ball with us! She looooves to throw balls and have them thrown back at her. It's so adorable; after she throws she pumps her arms up and down in delight. Sometimes she throws it and it goes absolutely nowhere, but then she does the pumping thing, so I don't mind too much.
3. She can say "Daddy"! Which naturally just melts Jason's heart. She used to say "Mama" alot, but I think she realized that I respond to pretty much any noise she makes, so the frequency of "Mama" has dwindled. Bleah. I do enjoy hearing her say "Daddy", though.

More new photos soon, I promise! Work has slowed down, but so has my brain. Must be the heat.

Babyfaced

Check this out...as a parent you don't actually see your baby's face changing, but then you look at pictures and it's like OHMIGOD - the baby is no longer a baby but a person who looks a little bit like you. But really has her own unique face.

It's both enthralling and terrifying at the same time.

Behold:

(Progression: 1 month to 3 months to 6 months to 9 months)

And now, a mere two-and-a-half weeks from her 1-year birthday, here's her cute little mug:

SHE'S ALL GROWED'S UP!

(Okay, okay, so it's not like she's old enough to get a MySpace.com account, so I don't have to worry too much yet, right? Right??)

Happy Fathers Day! (And a note about where I've been)

And now, for yet another beeyootiful Father-Daughter photo (I have a lot of those, don't I?):

Yesterday, Father's Day, was actually spent rather uneventfully - we had lunch at Black Angus (again!) and then Daddy went off to do his shows while Mommy had to work and Lolo, Lola, and favorite babysitter Christina took turns watching Boba. Oh well, so much for trying to celebrate. Like Mother's Day, however, Father's Day should be a regular celebration instead of this once-a-year silliness. But that's no excuse for our lame festivities yesterday. Daddy, sorry...Boba and I will make it up to you soon, promise!

* * * * *

So, I've been absent for about a week and you're all probably at the edge of your seats wondering where the hell I've been. Well, let me tell you! I know I keep complaining about how rough life has been (yeah, yeah, poor me), but let me just say that if you don't hear from me at all then it means that things have to be pretty hectic to have me disappear for a while. Let's just do a quick run-down of the events of the past week, shall we?

• Monday: Boba was pretty fussy, more so than usual. When she returns home from a party with Jason, I notice some red bumps on her butt. Figuring that it's a bad case of diaper rash, I slather her with Desitin and call it a night.
• Monday night: Boba doesn't sleep.
• Tuesday: I notice a blister-type bump on her right hand. I immediately make an appointment with her pediatrician. I suspect Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease, but I want confirmation. At 10:30am, after her appointment, Jason calls to confirm the diagnosis, but tells me that the doctor thinks it's a mild case. This does not assure me too much, as Boba is still fussy and irritable.
• Tuesday night: Boba doesn't sleep. (And in case I hadn't mentioned it, this means that Mommy and Daddy don't either.)
• Wednesday: I come down with a full-blown cold that I've been ignoring for the last two days. I can barely breathe. Luckily, Boba seems to be doing better, but I am slowly wearing down. Also, it' s the first day of rehearsal for one of our shows, and I'm the assigned dramaturg on the project, so I am busy the whole day.
• Wednesday night: Boba sleeps a little better. But my stuffy nose and sore throat prevent me from doing the same.
• Thursday: My health continues to deteriorate, but Boba shows signs of improvement. Meanwhile, my other "big" project, my boss' 25th Anniversary Gala, is approaching so I am doing double duty as I switch back and forth from dramaturgy-mode to party-planning-mode. I am thisclose to passing out.
• Thursday night: After a little (ahem) sleep-training, Boba seems to sleep better. But this totally wreaks havoc on my nerves. And again I can't sleep.
• Friday: Program deadline. Luckily I'm informed that our program doesn't go to print until the end of the month. THANK GOD. That way I can concentrate on my VIP-wrangling and my research on the British economy. The fact that I can separate the two at all at this point is an accomplishment. (I am also building a slow addiction to Afrin at this time. Scary.)
• Friday night: Boba has another "good" night. (As in, she only wakes up once, and goes right back to sleep.) Still, I can't seem to get the hang of going back to sleep when she does. SUCKS.
• Saturday: Pick up my boss from the airport and attend a work event. Boba comes along, so I get the benefit of showing off my cute baby to my co-workers. And my cute husband. (Boba gets more attention, but Jason has always been appreciated by my co-workers. Yes, the male ones too. Yes, I work in the theatre.) My cold has descended into my chest, but at least I'm no longer congested.
• Saturday night: Boba sleeps through the night! HOORAY!!! Mommy has, for once, a pretty good night, too. DOUBLE HOORAY!!!
• Sunday: The big Gala day. And Father's Day (see above). I spend the afternoon attending to the VIP's who are my boss' friends...big names in the theatre world who are just some of the nicest people I've ever met. Oh, like Terrence McNally. And Mary-Louise Parker. And my new best friend, who is the most wonderful and most-unlike-his-TV-counterpart-ever, John Glover!!! I swear to God, these people are soooo sweet! I kid you not, I will be vacationing in Aspen with John before the year is out, I SWEAR. Totally platonic, of course - I'd bring Boba & Jason and he'd bring his partner Adam - but we are totally BFF now. All because of this Gala!
• Sunday night: Boba sleeps through the night AGAIN!!! Life is soooo good at this point!

I am slowly resurfacing from my cold, which I still sorta have, but not as badly. I'm absolutely EXHAUSTED, but today I turned in my program notes, the party is over and the VIP's are being flown back to their respective homes as I type, and table work is over so my dramaturgy duties are pretty much done. Of course, I have a PILE of scripts to read, that have been neglected for the better part of a month or so, not to mention the scores of other little things that I could be doing, but for the most part, the major stressors are over. Done! And done successfully! So, as much as the last month (and most especially last week) was crazy, it is all beginning to wind down (a little), and I can now actually relax (a little).

And Boba is a happy healthy little girl once more! She's so close to walking that I swear it will be a matter of days before my post entitled, "DEAR GOD HELP ME NOW - SHE'S WALKING."

Until then, thanks for checking in!

Boba's first Birthday party!

Wow, it's been quite the slew of "firsts" for Boba, hasn't it??? First time at the beach, first time at the pool...and now, her first birthday party. Not hers, of course; that's not for another month, but the first time she's attended a birthday party for a fellow small-person - that "small-person" being Chamina Elise, daughter to my cousin Chamina Sr. (a.k.a. Jamie) and her husband Edgar (a.k.a. Egger).

Mama Chamina shows the Bday girl how to blow bubbles as Cousin Jillian looks on

It was Boba's first opportunity to really meet and play with her fellow cousins, and what a time she had! They had all actually met her when she was still a newborn peanut back in August of last year, but of course this time around she was able to interact with them. Needless to say, we all had a fantastic time.

Discovering bubbles with Cousin Joey and Auntie Armi

Hugging Cousin Marley

Checking out Cousin Johnny-Boy

Discussing the finer points of the monkey exhibit with Auntie Armi

Wanna know something kinda cool and scary at the same time? Well, this party marked the first time for all the 3rd generation Maniquis-babies to get together, and I kid you not...it was like seeing me and my cousins, the self-named "The Westside Posse" (WSP), all over again! I mean take a look at this shot...it's the WSP REDUX!!!

The West Side Posse II

Oh, to be small and cute again. The party was a blast, and Boba had such a great time with her cousins. Good thing we went too, 'coz now I know all about small-people birthday parties! And Boba's is in a MONTH! Gotta start preparing now!

Anywayzzz...Happy Birthday, Chamina Elise! Hope you had a boo-tiful day!

Childproofing the house is inevitable

She is sooooo close to walking, it's ridiculous. But unlike those days when I was so anxious for her to crawl, I am now waiting in trepidation. Because walking? Opens up a veritable world of possibilities, "disaster" and "mayhem" being on top of the list.

Among some other cute things she now does that clearly indicates what a genius she is:

• She can operate a door knob! Of course, she's not tall enough to reach it, but when I hoist her up she knows what to do!
• When I say, "Feed Mommy" while she's eating, she'll pick up a piece of food and put it in my mouth.
• She plays her toy piano note by note, IN SUCCESSION. As in, "do-re-mi-fa-so", or "so-fa-mi-re-do"! A budding virtuoso, I tell you!

This girl's got MAD intelligence on her! I can just feel it!

Swimming in Coronado

Yep, it's summer, alright. And what this means is that we slowly increasing Boba's exposure to all things June-July-&August...including...WATER SPORTS! And...CHLORINE! And...SUNBLOCK!

And...SEMI-NUDE BABY SWIMMING WHEN MOMMY FORGETS YOUR SWIMSUIT!

Last weekend, Boba was introduced to all of these (re-introduced to sunblock, as she was well-slathered once again) when Poppy Tom & Grandma Julie, Jason's folks, were in town to see Jason's show. They stayed in a sweet little hotel in Coronado that had a rockin' pool, so Jason and I suited up, packed our baby bags (and yes, Mommy forgot Boba's swimsuit so she swam in her diaper), and headed over. Needless to say, the grand-units were thrilled to see the growing Boba once again, and were more than happy to float her around the pool. At first she wasn't really sure what to make of the whole oversized-tub thing, just like the weekend before at the beach, but she was darned happy the rest of the day, so my guess is that she had a good time.

(Yes, the photos turned out a little dark, but you get the idea.)

Boba & Poppy

G'ma Julie & Boba

Pool Party

Boba's still a little bewildered

Poppy & G'ma Julie left the next day for a week in Lake Tahoe, but we were so glad to have had at least a couple of days with them! And mark my words, this isn't the last you'll see of Boba in the water. After all...it's summertime! In San Diego! My word, I may just have to get her a bikini!

Anyhow, thanks again to Dad & Julie for the great time at the pool. Boba misses you already! Hurry back!

It's been rough.

I haven't been absent on purpose. It's just been...well...crazy. And kind of difficult. Boba is going through some kind of weird sleep phase (or lack thereof). It's as though she's decided that sleep is merely an OPTION, something among many OTHER options that she could be doing in the 8pm-6am time slot. Oh, like squirming in Mommy's arms (okay, not so bad). Or, flinging toys and socks at your face from her crib while screaming (okay, BAD).

To coincide with this is that, suddenly, my work load has seemingly QUADRUPLED. Don't get me wrong; it's all kinda good in that it indicates that I'm actually needed around here (have I mentioned how I am serially insecure about my career? So yes, this is all kinda nice for my otherwise-fragile ego). But I find myself grappling with the eternal guilt of the working mother: am I neglecting my child by devoting 40 hours a week to my job? Is my daily absence going to damage her in some way? Of course, I don't really believe it will, but mother-guilt can be a bitch...(oh, and did I also mention I am serially insecure about being a mother?)

And so, May sort of came to a head in all those regards. I'm not sure how much better June will be, but perhaps I will at least have more camera ops so I'll have something pretty to post. Hey, she could be walking any day now, so I'm sure that will be the June HEADLINER! Exciting, huh?

So, keep checking up on Flamboba, and if I'm AWOL for a couple of days, don't fear. Boba and I will be back soon, promise!

Memorial Weekend (a.k.a., Boba's first time at the BEACH!!!)

I have some cute photos from Memorial Day. I'll let them do the talking.

You can't tell, but she is SLATHERED in sunblock

Not sure about this sand thing (apologies for the wedgie shot on the right)

Fun in the sun

Outfit change!!! Hell, she's cute in whatever she wears!

We had a really nice time at the beach. Granted, we were there all of 45 minutes, but it was so worth it!! Oh, and confession - Sunday for Mommy was spent at a day spa with the cousters (that would be my cousins who are like sisters to me). AWESOME time. I would post photos and talk more about it, but: a.) cameras were not allowed on this excursion, and b.) I spent a LOT of time venting. Because, if you couldn't tell from the blog, I've had a rough couple of weeks lately. Good thing Boba's healthy...and so am I, for that matter, finally...because my brain is about 5 steps behind the rest of me. It ain't a good feeling. Fortunately, Sunday's spa day provided a much-needed recharge that is probably the only reason why I am able to type complete sentences today. Good lord.

But what makes up for it are moments like this: today, Boba learned a new word. And she says it over and over again. And that new word is....DUCK!!! As in:

"DUCK!"

She loves this freaking duck! And she can't stop saying it!! IT'S SOOOO CUTE!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have children. For beach days and bathing suits and new words. That's right:

Good Weather + Cute Outfit + Word Repetition = INCOMPARABLE JOY

And that, my friends, was my Memorial Weekend. Hope yours was sweet. :)

All about DABIN

"What'd I do???"

"Dabin" is Boba's word for "food". She will actually tell me from time to time, right as she's in the middle of playing with her blocks - "Dabin." As in, "Feed me." As in, "I just got a hunger pang and I must be fed RIGHT NOW."

But then it gets confusing. You see, when we first started her on solids, she pretty much welcomed everything we gave her. It was a slow process, but I had her on a fairly balanced-yet-diverse diet. She wasn't exhibiting any signs of allergies, so I would introduce new stuff to her on almost a daily basis. She just ate it up. Once in a while, she'd wrinkle her nose and turn her head away from the spoonful I was offering her, but for the most part, she was a really good eater.

Until she had the stomach flu.

We did everything according to the book as far as treating the flu, and sure enough, she got better. BUT, all of a sudden, even though she was better, eating became a chore. Not surprising, I suppose, but it became quite frustrating when old favorites were suddenly pushed away with impudence. The only things she would eat were one of 4 items:

1. Bananas (fresh or baby-food style)
2. Applesauce
3. Special K (Mommy's cereal obsession)
4. Biter biscuits

(The biter biscuits are a loose addition to that list because mainly it acts as a filler until I can get the Special K out of the pantry and sprinkled in front of her. She is CRAZY about Special K, like me. Then she drops the biscuit on the floor like it never even existed.)

I'm getting a little frustrated at the lack of variety in her diet right now, but no matter what I try to feed her she twists away so violently I'm afraid she might get a cramp. Finally I feed her one of the 4 items above just so she has something substantial in her tummy!

Do food woes really start this early????

Anyway, she is still on at least 6 bottles of milk a day, so there is that source of nutrition. But I really do need to get her to eat more veggies and stuff. Any suggestions on foods that worked for YOUR child?? I'll try anything!

I am so out of it.

I've been trying to keep this out of the blog, but I can't any longer. I have a really bad cold. It knocked me out last week for a day, and then because I felt guilty for taking a sick day when Boba wasn't sick, I decided to return to work the next day. Plus I've only got one to spare anyway. But my thinking was that, if I could nip this cold in the bud right away, Boba would have less of a chance of catching it. Well, that was stupid; she's had the sniffles since Mother's Day, so either she had the cold originally and I got it; or she had a mild runny nose that I contributed to by catching a new cold at work. Ah, screw it. It's not worth trying to figure out the contagion-chain anymore with Boba and I. I kiss her waayyy too much to track it all down.

Thus,....I am miserable. Miserable, tired, and at work. What a great combination.

(On an unrelated note, congratulations to Daddy for a fabulous Opening Night of ZHIVAGO!!! Yay, Daddy!)