Spring Fever...or just fever

Something strange seems to happen every time Doe leaves town. Boba gets sick! And not just sniffles-and-cough sick, but SICK. Like, the kind that knocks you off your feet for several days and requires a trashcan by your side at all hours. Yep, we had another visit from the stomach bug fairy, and this time Boba was granted the visit, poor thing!

And why does this always seem to happen when our back-up childcare - I mean, my wonderful doting mother, a.k.a. Doe - leaves town? I really don't know. Of course, it just means that we have less hands to help us deal with other things, specifically the care of our other child, the infant Fox who fortunately NEVER caught the bug (thank GOD!). Anyway, poor Boba was ill for a few days with a fever and upset stomach, leaving her lethargic and sleepy for most of it. The photos above show her at the worst of the illness. I was so panicked at one point about the continuous vomiting that I thought, this is it, it's another kidney infection, we're going to the emergency room. But thank goodness for the very kind and calm doctor at the after-hours clinic who reassured me after some tests that it wasn't a UTI; it was gastroenteritis (which is no fun either but at least not some catastrophic emergency) and that she would be better in a couple of days. Which she was. But those of you who are familiar with the never-ending energy of little Boba would have been just as shocked and frightened by how tired and immobile she was those days. Really. I'm so glad it's over.

And yes, Foxie never got it (another reason to rejoice to the heavens). He has been growing and delighting us every day with each and every new sound or move he makes. It really seems like he discovers one new thing each day.

Not quite crawling yet, but getting there!

He eats like a horse! Seriously, he eats about 3 times as much as Boba did at his age

In other news, the two siblings have been getting along so beautifully that, as Jason puts it, I just want to "bottle up those moments" for the future. Fox adores his sister! He laughs so easily every time she's in the room with him, and she is always asking to hold him or help feed him. Their age difference is such at the moment that they don't really play with each other, but often times they'll just do things together side-by-side, and as a mother it really is a beautiful sight.

In the meantime, Jason and I have been busy as ever - he is currently in a show in Coronado, and I am at work full-time still (yet another reason to be thankful). Fortunately, for the time being they both are sleeping very well (knock on wood), so we're not as crazy exhausted as we used to be. I never thought I would say this, but when Boba was Fox's age I was just a MESS, and now, even with two kids, I don't feel that way at all. Everything just feels so much smoother. So - two kids are easier than one? I'm not sure about that, exactly, but let's just say that I'm so much more easy going this time around than I was with her as a baby! Chalk it up to experience or something. :)

Much love to all of you out there!

Happy Easter

Just a quick post today.  Fox was sleeping, but here's a few quick pix of Boba's Easter.  

First up, an easter egg hunt with cousin Joaquin!

Mission accomplished!

 HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Hello, Spring!

Can anyone believe Spring is here? I swear I just updated this blog! And I know Daddy did too! Was that really over a month ago? Hmmm..

So I guess it's true that they'll be graduating from college before I know it, huh?

Well, one thing at a time! Let's see...Fox has two little bottom teeth now. Crazy, right? He's doing so well - just growing like a, like a, a what? A baby Buddha? Do baby Buddhas grow? Because if they do, that's our Fox right there. A regular growing baby Buddha.


(I'm very short on wit these days. Blame it on the economy.)

And Boba is looking less and less like a toddler each day. It's actually a little scary. I mean, she looks like a little girl. Which I know she is, actually, but do most 3-year-olds fit into 5T? Anyway, the most wonderful thing about her now is her imagination and her fascination with Princesses. (I swear I wish I had invested in Disney when I was younger. They're probably one of the few companies that's still holding strong these days.) She loves her little Princess dolls, and enjoys having Daddy play a Prince for her, and Mommy a witch (what that says about me I don't know). In fact, she never wears play clothes at home anymore...just Princess dresses. I know it's a little symptomatic of our crazy consumerist culture, but I'm thinking it's just a phase. I mean, she's not going to be into Princesses when she's 15, right? RIGHT?

Our little Princess....

....who's not quite seeming so little these days.

Anyway...it's really just adorable, and she is, after all, our little Princess, so we don't mind THAT much. In all, we're doing great over here, and we hope all of you are doing well too.

Sunday morning outside

Fox with Uncle Jeff, the reason for his middle name

Catching up with the Fox

Daddy post here. So, partially out of nostalgia and partially for survival preparation (what comes next?), Daddy went strolling through old Flamboba posts tonight – to check in on what Boba was doing at this age and what we should gear up for with Fox.

First of all, it’s something we comment on all the time, but to go back and look at the photos, it’s uncanny how much Fox looks like Boba did at this age. In the face, of course. Boba was always long and lean, where, as Mommy notes, Fox is a bit more of a “baby Buddha”. But if I didn’t know the photos so well, I could get confused as to which was which (well, at first glance anyway).

I also noted that our worst fears have come true. Boba received near daily posts, chronicling her every snot wipe, belch, and diaper change. If we’re not careful, the Fox years will pretty much read: Blog Entry #7: Fox is crawling. Hoping his sister stops creating obstacle courses for him with Daddy’s shoes. Blog Entry #8. Up late. Waiting for Fox to return from the prom. Can’t believe we’re still letting him drive after that fender bender.

So, as Fox is edging toward being seven months old in a few days (and to alleviate parental guilt), I thought I’d share a few observations:

- Man, he’s chill. That’s not to say that he doesn’t cry (cause he does) or that he never gets fussy (cause he does). But his default mode really seems to be relaxed and groovy. Boba ALWAYS let us know she was awake in the morning with tears and anguish. With Fox, by the time we finally peek in on his smiling, chilling face, we never can be sure that he hasn’t been up for a few hours just hanging out and enjoying the day. Here’s hoping it lasts.

- We started him on baby foods recently and he’s devouring them. Bananas. Green beans. Carrots. Applesauce. And he does not care for that whole time lapse when the spoon leaves his mouth, picks up more food and returns to his mouth. As far as he is concerned, that’s time wasted!! But he still likes to cap off with a nice dessert of bottled milk.

- Boba has really been fabulous with him. Considering the kind of rock-your-universe transformation of being dislodged as the center of Mom & Dad’s universe, I am so proud of her. Knock wood, she hasn’t taken anything out on him. There have been some understandable moments here and there of frustration when parents aren’t instantly available, but on the whole, she has really been amazing. Though of course, one of her new games is a role-playing game where she assumes the role of “Baby”, only speaks the dialogue “goo-goo, gah, gah” and feels her only blocking is in Mom’s arms. Not sure where that’s coming from!

- Fox is really tuned into the world now. He clocks what’s going on around him and can be fascinated with movement and sounds. He loves faces and can be entertained with goofy contortions. He also loves it when Mommy and Daddy “eat” his stomach or legs. THAT is the funniest thing ever in Fox-land.

- He can be content for long stretches of time to be in one of his “chairs” (either his swing or his little bouncy chair), as long as someone else is in the room, but he does NOT like it when said people leave, even if only to grab a refill of coffee. We’re working on him, cause if he can get over this, he’ll save us a lot on sitters next year.

- He recently started sleeping on his tummy, which he took to as though he’d been doing it forever. That first night, Mommy and Daddy did not sleep well as nightmare thoughts kept us checking in on him hourly, just to make sure he was okay.

- Boba and Fox are, in the grand scheme of things, sleeping well. A typical night has each of them waking once, and able to be soothed back to sleep in 5-20 minutes. Some glorious nights, they both sleep straight through. And others, well, let’s just say that little sleep is had by all. On the whole though, it’s feeling like we’re heading in the right direction.

- A shout out to Mommy, who continues to be Super Mom. Mommy and Daddy both work a lot of hours each week. But due to Daddy’s show schedule, Mommy is the one who puts the kids to bed at least five nights a week. Kudos to her.

- A shout out to the economy, which gave us a silver lining. Due to finances, we cut back our day care from five days a week to three days a week. Daddy is working a bit less at his part-time job and splitting the two extra days with Papa and Doe. This has actually given him a lot more quality day time with the kids, which we think is better for everyone. (And as always, the shout out to Papa and Doe – we couldn’t imagine doing this without them. They are our release valve and it means so much to us and to the kids to have them there.)

That’s all for tonight. We had a fun family day today, including time at Java Mama and a ride on the Merry Go Round at the mall for Boba. These are the days that put the gas back in the tank.

Cuteness Abound

You don't really want to hear from me, do you?? I'm just the lame Mommy-blogger who can't keep up with the posting. What you really want is some cute pictures, right? RIGHT?

Of course you do! So here they are!

The cuteness!! Can you just STAND IT??

Sweet siblings!

Two hot dads and their confused babies

Boba being silly

Princess Aurora-Boba and Prince Foxie-Fox

He loves his food...just like his Mama

Who's not looking like a toddler anymore??

Happy New....what??!? It's 2009??!?!?

I can't believe it. I simply can't believe it. I remember thinking in 2005 that time was flying. I was about to have a kid! And here I am...with another kid! Um, WHAT??

It's funny, you know....there are days when I think, "If people say that time flies, why is it that there are days when I feel like the seconds are just CRAWLING by?" That, my friends, is the sleep deprivation talking. It's when you can't seem to come up with a single coherent idea, because your brain is operating at pony-express speed. And you wonder if there will ever come a time when you'll be well-rested. Yeah, time sure doesn't feel like it flies then.

But then, before you know it - it's 2009!

2008 was a year of life lessons, one where I learned the absolute value of the one thing we all take for granted: our health. I don't think I will ever be more grateful for doctors, medicine, access to new medical technology...if you've been following this blog, you'll know why. This year, come what may, I am so much more cognizant of the choices we make that will affect our long-term well-being.

That said, life is also too short to deny one's self a good scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Or two.

There's plenty to be happy about and celebrate in the Boba-Fox household. We may be lacking in sleep, but not in joy.

Happy New Year to all!

Ohmigosh - it's an update!

Hello there!  Remember us?  We used to blog every day...and then it was every other day, and then it was about twice a week, then about once a week, then about once a month....

And here we are, almost halfway through December, and November wasn't even touched.  Shame on us!  

We skipped on posting photos of Halloween, Mommy's birthday, Papa's birthday, Thanksgiving...which is a shame because they were all joyous events - good times that really should have been shared with you, our faithful three readers, but alas, life with jobs, two kids, and a house to take care of was really kicking our butts over here.  So you'll forgive us if we neglected you for a bit, because, you know, we had stuff to do.

So without further ado, here are some photos of the last few months that you should enjoy!

First, a couple of photos of Fox when he was just a newborn, taken by our lovely friend Karen:

Aren't those awesome?  And just to see how much he's grown, take a look at this:

That hair just keeps getting better and better!  And here's one I like to call "My Crazy Kids":

Speaking of crazy, here's a little girl who is just that, mostly in a good way:

Most of the time she's crazy, but sometimes she's pretty reserved, ESPECIALLY when she's dressed up like a princess on Halloween:

But then pump her up with sugar and she's back to being crazy!

That look on her face spells nothing but trouble!

On the other hand, she is allowed to go crazy once in a while, especially on the night of November 4th, when her Mommy, Daddy, and pretty much any sane person in the United States went crazy with glee:

Occasionally we take her to places where she can be her free, crazy self, like in Legoland (thanks, Sabrina & Larry & family!):

That's a butterfly painted on her face, by the way.  Totally intentional, although, yes - she does smear her face in paint for no reason occasionally.

All of this is to say, we're doing great, the kids are thriving...and Mommy and Daddy are doing pretty well too.  Lack of sleep not withstanding.  This has been a great year, and we're looking forward to the holidays when we can celebrate with family coming to San Diego.  And if I'm as busy as I have been the last few months, so much so that you become neglected once again:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Family Fun

We're finding a groove.  Fox has slept straight through the night (10 hours!) several times, but Boba is regressing a bit and waking in the night.  All in all, we're just enjoying each other!

More Pix

Always in motion

Well, life has been busy, with Daddy opening a show, and Mommy doing double duty with the kids.  We have been able to grab a little family time here and there.  Above, you see Boba flying off of her bouncy ball, one of her favorite parent-heart-attack-inducing moves.  "Just stay on the grass, honey"

And here we have Mommy and the kids.  It's nice when there are no tears... (note Boba's princess dress - yes, she's a girly-girl.  She loves dresses, but we are happy that last week she chose the "boy" toy - a helicopter- with her Happy Meal, so all is not lost.

Mommy has several "stations" set up for Fox around the house.  This seat vibrates, which can be lulling when he's in the right mood.  Fox is sleeping more and more through the night, for which Mommy & Daddy are grateful.

Just Chillin'

Well, two of us are happy...

Hank Comes To Visit

Working the slings.

One of the joys of parenting is having friends who are sharing the journey.  Our good friends Albert and Katherine from L.A. came to visit a few weeks back.  Their son Henry was born just three days before Fox.  Needless to say, the boys weren't ready to play together just yet, but Katrina was so excited to have TWO babies to run around.

Daddies!

Henry also has a blog.

Mommies!