Dada out of town

We tried to pass the time while Jeff was out of town for four days. In Vegas. At a "conference." We made yummy enchiladas. And even managed to save some left-overs for Dada. Enzo soaked the tortillas in chicken broth, helped to fill and roll them, drizzled green sauce and cheese on top, sprinkled green onion, and helped me eat em up.

Enzo stopped screaming "Dada" and "eat. eat. eat." long enough for these two shots at his last swimming lesson for the session.

This is Ms. Rose - his swim coach.

Claire, Kayden, and my mom joined us at the Fullerton Market. We lounged in the grass, played, listened to music and had dinner.

Check this out. I took both my children TO THE MOVIES!! Um, yeah, I did. Only because it was the Regal Family Film Festival in Brea and I figured if Enzo or Gianna couldn't hang, we could always leave. I mean, it's free. And the theater would be filled with other kids whining and being fidgety. After the initial "no. no. no. bye bye. bye bye." I thought we'd be done. Then, the genius that I am came up with "Enzo, it's a giant DVD. And here is a special candy I've been saving for a special occasion." Awww, yeah. Worked like a charm.

Even Gianna was craning her neck to see the flick. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Foxie enjoyed the movie, and the cushy velour seats as well. Before I knew it, the credits were rolling and I was in shock that we survived a movie!! An entire movie. Then I felt lame for making such a big deal about it, until I got a high-five from a fellow mom (she had two girls, maybe 8 and 10) in the parking lot.

If going to see a movie wasn't enough excitement for one day, Enzo and I painted our very first painting, thanks to Brooke for the easle and paper. I put an old t-shirt of Jeff's on him and he rubbed his face into the shoulder and fondly said "Aww. Dada shirt." Enzo is an artiste, just like his Auntie Godmother, for sure.

And this pic was just too cute not to include.

All in all, we survived without Dad. But let me tell you - it will be a long time before we let him out of our sight for that long again. And mad props to single parents out there. It is no joke.

Summer birthdays

On the hottest day of the year so far, we went to Enzo's buddy Jonathan's 2nd birthday party in San Gabriel. Good thing it was a water party! Here's Enzo wishing a happy birthday to the birthday boy.

Enzo wasn't a fan of all the pools with big kids splashing and being rambunctious, so he chillaxed in the best playhouse ever - complete with grill, cash register, and cell phone. Multi-tasking.

This is particularly funny to me because when I was a kid, I was ob-sessed with cash registers and adding machines. I had about five or seven at any given time and I'd take all the shampoo, soap and toiletries out from under all the bathroom counters and pretend I was a cashier ringing up all the items. When I saw Enzo immediately drawn to the cash register, I was like, yep that's my kid.

My lovely OLDER sister Josie had a birthday as well, and we all celebrated her with a nice dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.

Look at Gianna eyeing the steak. This was right before she opened wide.

Enzo liked mommy's ice cream cake...

... made from scratch, transported an hour to Corona, and eaten by all of us (and the restaurant staff.) There was no way that thing was making it all the way home. It was a chocolate fudge and raspberry slush/smoothie cake. But tasted pretty excellent. Josie's birthday wish came true -- "ice cream and cake and cake."

Back to work: Week 1 done

On my first day back to the office, this lovely poster was waiting for me on my desk. And since I try to squeeze in four days worth of work on three days and am the earliest to arrive, I had a chance to reacclimate in silence and peace. And had a chance to remember what I do for a living. Yep, I'm back in the saddle.

Returning to work after my second maternity leave is night and day from the first time. After having Enzo, and having just hired a nanny to take care of my precious baby, I had to deal with the fact that a stranger was in my house, hoping the house wouldn't burn down, or my child would be kidnapped. (On top of all the guilt, second-guessing, and stress that comes along with being a working mom.) This time I just had to deal with the latter, being that Brooke has been working with us for more than a year and has done a great job with Enzo. We are at ease with the quality of care our children are getting, and it's pretty much the same for her, except for an additional child. And a larger paycheck.

Gianna looks like she really misses me, huh? Torn. Up.

A pouty kiss sent to me via MMS text. These things keep me going while I'm at work.

And today was Jeff's first day solo with both children. And boy does he appreciate me now. I walked in the door and this is what I saw. Jeff soaked in Gianna's "spit up." Literally head to knees. Does anyone agree that this amount of spit up is NOT "normal?"

Cheap. Frugal. Smart.

I read on Facebook that my friend and doula, Brenda, was dressing her kids up as cows for a free meal at Chick-Fil-A. I was like, whhaaaatt? So I went to their website and learned all about Cow Appreciation Day, and proceeded to download and print the "cow starter kit" complete with a tail, spots, nose, and ears. Afterall, if you came dressed as a cow, you got a free meal. I'm in.
And Jeff was a little excited about the prospect of dressing up for Halloween in the middle of July.

Yeah. I did it. What?

"Oh my gosh. For a free chicken strip? Really?! You are totally embarrassing me!"

Even Gianna is mortified. But cute in her bovine bib. Presh! A little public discomfort was worth a free $26 meal.

Then, in Real Simple magazine, I read that on 7/11/10, 7-11 was giving away free slurpees from 7 am to 11 pm. So yeah, I put it on my calendar and we headed to our neighborhood 7-11 for a 7.11 oz slurpee.

Jeff has no idea that Gianna is throwing up into his slurpee. By the way - the nicest strip of grass in an alley behind a 7-11 that I've ever seen.

Diving and Dentist

This week, Enzo had two firsts: swimming lessons and a trip to the dentist. He was a true champ for both occasions.

I had scheduled a consultation for Enzo immediately following my teeth cleaning, just so the dentist could maybe peek inside real quick to tell me how his chompers were faring. I knew that he would not sit through an entire exam. (Afterall, I have to bribe the kid with a vitamin every morning and night in order to get him to brush his teeth for 1 minute.) After about 3 minutes of him wiggling on my lap, he opened wide and let the dentist look inside with a tiny mirror. (Must of been all the practicing I had done with him during the week leading up to the dentist. Oh, and we read Elmo Visits the Dentist over and over again, too.) Then, the hygienist wanted to take a try at polishing his teeth which I was sure was going to be an exercise in futility. After she tickled his fingernail with the spinning, funny, and very special toothbrush, she polished every one of his teeth with bubblegum toothpaste. As he laid there with his mouth open wide. Ah. Maze. Ing.

A few days later, the swimming lesson...

We weren't sure how it was going to go. We had previewed a class before we signed up to see if he wanted to do a Parent and Me class with the other kids. "Yes. Pool." he said, so we signed up several weeks ago. He looked a little apprehensive at first.

It turns out that our little Enzo took to swimming like a fish in, er, water. I taught him how to blow bubbles in the water during our Palm Desert vacation, so this skill was review for him. I've never seen a kid with dimples look so cute blowing bubbles in a swimming pool.

Here are all the other parents and me's. Special thanks to my mom for serving as lifeguard, photographer, and deckside babysitter to Gianna.

The next day, we visited Josie's new home in Ontario, complete with a few community pools.

Here, we practiced "[Eye Contact.] 1. 2. 3. Jump!"

Gianna coo'd and observed from the deck.

Enzo screamed with delight while in the pool with his Auntie Godmother.

Independence Weekend

We had a fun-filled and relaxing weekend, celebrating the 4th. We had a great time in Yorba Linda at Brent's cousins' house, bbq'ing and swimming. We love when Brent housesits - it always feels like vacation when we're at this amazing home!

Then, Jeff and I had date night - our first one in about four or five months. We left Gianna for the first time but knew that both kids would have a fun time with Auntie Josie. (Thanks, Jo!)

It was dinner at this kitchy Tahitian place, where they served flaming bowls of booze. Or rather, flaming bowls of alcohol-flavored punch, watered down by tons of ice. It was a good thing, though, since we ate lots of ribs. Pictured here: Jeff who was VERY excited that his cocktail was on fire.

...and proceeded to polish it off with the VERY long straw. You should have seen us trying to get a photo that included Jeff's head and the bottom of the bowl while sitting about two feet across the table from him. Hilarious.

The next morning, Enzo and I baked and decorated a festive Fourth of July cake. He was quite excited.

I asked him not to put his fingers in the icing, so he grabbed a spoon when I turned my back. Sneaky fellow.

Here, he carefully applies the sprinkles.


...and then he devours the icing on the spatula!


Voila! The finished product, which this little one was so PROUD of!!


We hung out in the warm sunshine and cool breeze, lounging in the mini pools and playing around with Cozy Coupes. And learned that Briana and Jared are expecting baby #2!! A girl in November!!

Nana and Gianna.


Lukas testing out the water (after the weight of his soaking-wet diaper almost pulled him under.)


Enzo practicing sharing.


...and benefitting from Lukas sharing his deluxe pirate water table.

Lukas the Strong (who recently started walking) pushed his older cousin all the way across the yard.

Enzo thought it was all too much effort.

Gianna got to bond with her Godmother Briana. And I swear she's saying "hi."

3 months old

It's kind of hard to believe this little one with the double chin is 3 months old. She is our joy.

* She is growing so fast. She takes up a lot more room in our arms, in her carseat, swing, and changing table. She's officially not a newborn anymore.

* Gianna is a smile maniac. A tickle to the tummy, a stroke to the cheek, a funny face delivered with stage presence all make her grin from ear to ear.

* Her gas problems persist. After a whole month of abstaining from dairy and eggs, I determined it wasn't me since there was absolutely no change in her periodic bouts with tummyaches. The doc said it could just be a predisposition to gas or an immature gastrointestinal tract. He assures us it will come to an end soon (ish).

*She has begun to hold on to stuffed animals and other toys. Such a milestone! I seem waay more excited about it than she does. Here, she's rocking out to her maracas.

*When you hold her in front of you, she tries to stand up. Her squats and powerlunges are giving her quite the lower body workout.

*She's able to face forward in the baby carrier aka "front pack" as Jeff calls is. Her head and neck control is improving a lot.

* She loves herself a handwich. Yumm! Especially now that she can get her hands to her mouth unassisted!

*She is definitely finding her voice. She coos, goos, gaahs, ooos, gurrrrsss, kkkkkaaaas, gurgles, and bbpppprrrrrrs.

* In a matter of seconds, Gianna can pump her legs and lift her pelvis, propelling herself backwards so she travels across whatever surface she's on. She seems to be able to get herself to where she wants to go.

* She loves looking at her brother. He makes her smile and whatever he's doing is quite interesting to her. These two are peas in a pod.


* She has begun to notice television, which is rarely on in our home during the week. Here, I propped her up for her first Baby Mozart DVD, which is safe to say she dug.