Nap at Mema's

This has been the challenge - napping anywhere that isn't his crib. So, since we were at my mom's, she crawled in there with him and rocked him to sleep reading him stories. What was hilarious was 20 minutes later prying her out of there as a baby lay on her lap and she had no room to move. THAT was a memory!

Family fun night: Sunset at the zoo

It's been a few months since we last got together at Papa's house for Family Fun Night in March. We substituted Easter for April's and Enzo's first birthday for May's. Since I didn't want to cook and clean and there were no offers to host, I figured "let's go to the zoo!" Which, I must say, was one of my best ideas.

Live jazz, a picnic in the grass, the zoo open just for us, dessert and hot chocolate - I mean, what more can we ask for?


Oh, a merry-go-round!!


Wonder. Just wonder.

We hopped on the giraffe until we were told that was the only animal that didn't go up and down. So we instead settled for a cheetah or cougar. Or whatever it was. It was FAST!


There were monkeys (LOTS of monkeys!), llamas, reptiles, farm animals, and this - a bald freakin eagle! Enzo was impressed.


And on a day when Enzo got no nap, we thought he'd melt down at some point. This was him in the car on the way home at 8:15 pm. Stoked from an evening at the zoo.

Afternoon at the Promenade

Enzo and I met up with Tracy in Santa Monica for chunky jewelry shopping and lunch on the promenade. Jeff was riding bikes in the Santa Monica mountains, so we passed the time with good food and even better company. And God love Banana Republic, which had the only baby changing table on Third Street. Muah!

Day at the Lake

Jeff and Enzo spent the morning at the Lake just a few miles from our house. Their plan was to feed the ducks (and had brought the hot dog buns that are still curiously "fresh" even though they were left-over from Enzo's birthday party on May 9!!!).


Unfortunately, there was a sign that said "no feeding the ducks" with a semi-friendly elderly volunteer park ranger standing at the ready to reprimand someone.

One of a kind day

Today was an interesting day: a few firsts, the birth of a new life, the ending of an incredible life, power outages, picnics...

It was a big day for me, because I finally got enough courage to leave Enzo at the Kids' Zone at 24 Hour Fitness while I took a Zumba class. I was sort of nervous, being there were about 25 kids in the room, and he was the only one still on all fours. Is the carpet clean? When was the last time any of these toys have had a Clorex soak? Will he be bullied/trampled/ignored? He actually did fairly well. I checked on him a few times, and he was clutching the babysitter, resting on her bosom. What can I say? He wouldn't let her put him down -- in an activity center, on the floor, in a foam piece corral. Nada. Wanted to be held. We both survived, and it was the best $2 spent for a semi-uninterrupted, sweaty workout!

I called up Jeff, since I was halfway to his office, and he had lunchtime free. We met up, picked up some Subway, and had a wonderful picnic in the park. We sat on a blanket under this huge shady tree that sprinkled teeny white and purple flowers on us. The perfect spot to change a stinky diaper, too. Thank you Downey Waste Management for taking that one off our hands. What a great treat for us all!!

My intern called me and said she had been sitting in the dark for an hour, and wondered if she could go home. Then I got emergency text messages and emails from USC saying that 40 buildings on campus had lost power and the earliest ETA of restored power was 6-8 hours. I always miss the interesting stuff when I'm off-campus. In the past few weeks, I've missed a shooting (not sad about that), a gas leak, an earthquake, a Lakers championship parade that sent the surrounding neighborhood into chaos, and a power outage. Fortunately, TrojanAlert - the emergency text messaging system - keeps me apprised of what I'm missing.

My great friend Amy G. gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl named Sofia Louise. She and her wonderful husband, Steve, will make great parents! Congrats to the new family. And this kid sure looks like Mommy!! Fortunately, Sofia did not stay in the piked position right under Amy's ribcage following the cesarian birth. She unfolded and looks like an angel!

And then, as if all this excitement wasn't enough, my dear childhood idol, Michael Jackson, passed away unexpectedly. I can only imagine that this must have been what my parents felt like when Elvis died. Unexpectedly, about the same age, a talented (semi-crazy) musician with an awsome pelvis who transformed music and popular culture sadly left the world. And prescriptions might have been involved. As a lover of his music and his moves, I began getting texts from friends asking if I was okay. It was these friends who likely have seen my rendition of the Beat It video dance routine at parties and weddings -- even my own.

Yes, I moonwalked, shimmied, and grabbed my wedding gown covered crotch during my wedding reception. In the middle of a dance battle circle. Classy. MJ - Rest in peace. Finally.

Dad is glad

Jeff's second Father's Day - how far we've all come since last Father's Day. Last year, Jeff captured Enzo's first recorded smile (see Enzo TV at right). This year, Enzo sat in a booster seat for the first time.


I don't look the least bit nervous, do I?


Jeff really dug his new outdoor surround-sound speakers. Who wants to come over for a BBQ?

Time for tummy zerberts. Hahahahahaha.

Papa tickling Enzo, and Enzo teaching Papa his famous Uuuuuuu face.

A high five and a smile

Enzo has learned all about the high five... seeing it in action makes me laugh.

A toddler and a dog

Here is a glimpse of how Enzo and Murphy will be pals in the future.

Big Dog

At some friends' house, there is this enormous dog.

No fear.

Date night

We had been saving up for this one! Last December, I won the grand prize at my work Christmas, ahem, Holiday - party. Tickets to the ballet on June 5 (which seemed like a lifetime away) and a stay at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Since I brought Enzo with me to the party, and folks knew I could use a night out, everyone was stoked that I won. So was Jeff.

Since the ballet was on a Friday night, we opted to save the overnight stay for a day when we could get full use of the athletic club, spas, etc. But we did take the opportunity to use an auction item we won recently which included dinner for two at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. Sweet!

All in all it was a fantastic night. Nana took great care of Enzo (who ate all his ravioli!!) and Jeff and I had a nice dress-up night that wasn't work-related. Alleluia! This pic was taken just before the curtain lifted at Ballet Hispanico and immediately before we were severely scolded for having a camera in our possession. Whups.

The many faces of Enzo