Happy Birthday, Fox!!

It's been a year since the little Fox joined our world. I remember how calm and confident I felt the day he was born - so much less so than the day I gave birth to his sister - and how that confidence slowly began to dissipate as news of his health was relayed to us. Remember all that?

Well, look at the big boy now!!

He is just a dream, this baby of ours. He is so sweet, so laid-back, and so unbelievably adorable that it's all I can do not to chew on his arms. And his belly. And his thighs. He is so, SOOOO baby-delicious!

Fox is nothing but pure joy in our house. He delights us with his smiles, giggles, coos, growls...and we love watching his growth and progress in everything he does. Right now he's crawling up a storm - and loves "racing" us as he does - and climbing into everything he can possibly reach. He eats like a little monster, nothing at all like big sister Boba who ate like a bird and still does. Nope, Fox eats a TON, and the best part is he will pretty much eat anything! (Including things he shouldn't eat, but that's another story.)

He's a great little sleeper too, although he definitely has his rough nights (which translates to rough nights for us too). What I love best is to hear him call to us when he's ready to get out of bed, and when we walk through the door to his room, he's sitting their with the biggest smile on his face.

We didn't do a huge party this year for the little guy - I know, bad Mommy - not that HE cares, of course! But we did celebrate with a (cheese)cake and candle, which Boba was happy to blow out for him since he really didn't have a clue. He also got a nice haul of birthday presents from family and friends around the country, including Grandma Robin, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Jan & Kathryn and Cosette, and Aunt Nancy & Uncle Bill. Oh, and he also got huge kisses from his big sister. But she gives him those every day.

To borrow a phrase, we've come a long way since those days at the NICU at Rady Children's Hospital. Happy Birthday, Foxie....here's to many, many more!!

Disneyland & California Adventure!!

This year, for Boba's birthday, we decided to forego a birthday party in favor of a trip to everyone's favorite theme park - Disneyland!! A few months ago, Daddy bid on a "Family Fun" package at a silent auction which included 4 park-hopper passes to D-land and California Adventure. Much to our delight and surprise, we won the package with a very reasonable bid!! So we made our way to Anaheim, CA, on Monday morning to begin our Disney adventure. We left Fox at home with my folks - it would have been too stressful and uncomfortable with a baby, anyway - and began Boba's first visit with lots of excitement and anticipation. We met up with cousin Chamina and her daughter, mini-Chamina, and had a blast. Unfortunately, the day was super-hot and the park was super-crowded, which meant that there were some super-meltdowns in store for us, but we managed to get in some very key rides ("it's a small world") and character visits...take a look!

You'll notice that there aren't many photos of me or Daddy - it was all about Boba and cousin Chamina. But here's a rare one of Daddy accompanying Boba on the one ride that had a short line - the carousel.

Minnie Mouse at her "house." We waited a long time for this photo! Even Minnie looks a little burnt out.

Tinkerbell was our first character "visit." Didn't realize you had to line up to see characters these days! Ahh, how Disneyland has changed since MY day!

The "Princess Faire" line was absolutely ridiculous, though...soooooo long, and just to see 3 Princesses for about 30 seconds each. Oh well...the girls loved every minute and forgot about the long wait once they glimpsed the royal beauties!

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother! (A character that DIDN'T require a line)

Princess Jasmine. So glad they had an "ethnic" princess in the lineup!

Speaking of ethnic! Her name in fairyland is "Silver Mist," but since she made bubbles we always called her "Bubble Girl" at home. By the way, I think that's the same wig I wore when I played Pocahontas at the park.

I said, "Put your arm around Goofy!" and she did this instead. Hmmm.

Ice cream with Chamina at CA Adventure!

There's that arm again!

The two girls having a blast at CA Adventure

Many thanks to Chamina & Edgar for hosting us the last few days! I tell you, hanging out with them was waayyy better than checking into a hotel, because their house was awesome, our kids entertained each other, AND they fed us AWESOME FOOD! (Kalbi, anyone?? Yum!)

Lucky Boba is going to get to return to Disney next week with Papa & Doe! And with any luck, I'll be able to escape work again and take her back one of these days. Why? Because Disney freakin' ROCKS!!

Happy Month of July!

July is a big month at our house. Not only is it officially summertime, but it's the birthday month for BOTH our kids, as well as countless others in my extended family. So, there are birthday celebrations to be had, as well as our annual trip to the SD County Fair! The "annual" part is a bit of an accident, because we never intended it to become a family tradition, but it has certainly become that. Daddy and I walked the fair for 5 HOURS when I was pregnant with Boba to get the labor starting (I was already a week late), and only succeeded in having a false alarm that night. That girl did NOT want to come out.

Anyway, the fair was a blast, and I'm happy to say that I've discovered a few essential things to make the trip a success:

• Go when the park opens
• Bring your own food
• Purchase tickets in advance online - cheaper and more convenient!

We also left early and beat the crowd. I know that defeats the purpose of going on the holiday weekend - what with the fireworks and all - but this year Daddy and Boba enjoyed a fireworks display just 5 minutes from our house. So, win-win!

Poppy was with us and accompanied Boba on one of the better rides - a roller coaster for kids that had just the right amount of bumps, falls, and turns to thrill the little ones. Boba loved it. You can see it all over her face.

This year, we bought a discounted package deal that gave us a large number of ride tickets, so Boba got to go on a LOT of rides:

And that was just a fraction of them.

Daddy got an order of deep-fried oreos, which had to be one of the less toxic offerings in the fair-food department. (Deep fried Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, anyone? Or how about a deep fried White Castle burger?) I declined a taste (I value the condition of my arteries a little too much, apparently), but Daddy gave it a thumbs-up. I was so grossed out I didn't bother taking a picture.

And where was Fox during all this? Why, chilling out in his stroller, of course. Man, what a laid-back kid. Boba was never like that. He just watched everything go by, and then he napped for a little while, and then he crawled in the Kid's Tent for a bit....super chill. I don't have any photos of him because, well, he didn't really do anything. He played in the tent with a bunch of other kids, but I was too busy making sure that they weren't trampling him (he was the only crawler of the bunch), and Daddy was too busy checking out the hot ladies looking after their kids. Oh wait, did I type that out loud? I mean, he was too busy watching Boba.

(Passive agressive? Who, me? Naaahhhh...)

Anyway, it was good times all around at the fair! This month should be a bit better on the posting since we have a lot of stuff coming up. Also, stay tuned for a post all about the Fox!

Happy 4th of July!

Summer's here! - A pictorial essay

So - summer is now upon is, which means several wonderful things in store!

For one, it means that our apricot tree has been bursting with fruit, so 'tis the season for apricot-jam-making:

It also means our pink lemon tree has been bountiful as well, so lots and lots of sweet lemonade goodness:

Summer also brings with it plenty of opportunity to play outdoors! Recently Daddy and Boba took in a baseball game.

No comment from Mommy about the mustache Daddy is sporting, other than....ugh.

Moving on in our essay! Boba got to enjoy a genuine, honest-to-goodness, ballpark ice cream cone:

Do you like it, Boba? Do ya?

I think she likes it.

Meanwhile, back at home, Fox has discovered crawling on all fours (not just the "military arm-dragging crawl" that he favored for many weeks), and has terrorized the entire house, pretty much. Sometimes, though, we like to give him a couple obstacles to his path of destruction.

We're such silly parents, aren't we? Always looking for cheesy photo ops. We just couldn't pass up the "Fox in the Box"!

At least he likes it!

Or......maybe not so much.

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

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??