Summer Love is a Strawberry Shortcake

Turns out I *did* take pictures of Arin and his strawberry shortcake adventure.


Gotta love that whipped cream beard!



Om Nom Nummy!



Arin is *super* serious when it comes to eating, he always puts on his battle face.



Strawberry shortcake = conquered.

Time Rushing By

Lately I've been looking at Arin and I can't fathom how he got SO big so fast. I look through old pictures of him as a chubby little bunny and wonder where that went... when did my tiny baby sneak off and grow into a little boy? And why didn't he ask my permission first?? I'm glad he's getting bigger and exploring the world and learning all sorts of fun things, but it's still sad to think how much time has already gone by, and that he'll never be a tiny little munchkin again. At this rate, he will be a teenager in a year it seems like! :(



I just wish we had more time. But really, all the time in the universe wouldn't be enough, I'd still want more. I just hope he stays little for a while longer.


I love you Bobo Bear!

Spike, Part Deux

Here are the pictures from the other time Arin asked me to 'piiike' his hair. It seems right now his hair got super long again overnight... one day it was sticking up and short, and the next it was flattened down and long. Crazy.



I'm hoping to find some clippers and give him a military-style haircut this time... short and cool for summer time, and I think it will look very nice with his blond hair.



But with a face like this, any kind of hair would work. So much cute!!

Bobotron and the Ride-Along Truck

I love how bright and colorful his shirt is, it matches the truck!




We have been keeping this on the porch, so he only gets to play with it when he is able to get out there and then he drags it into the kitchen. It makes a ton of noise you turn the key, just like a real truck.. and the horn and turn signals also work. Very fun for a little Bobo who's favorite things in the world are 'cars'!

Mommy's Time-Consuming Project

Sorry I haven't been updating in the past week and a half - I've been quite busy finishing up a project of mine. I am quite proud of it, even though it's not really all that exciting... it's more of the accomplishment of getting something finished!



Well, there it is... my novel! The cover anyway. You can click to enlarge and read the back if you're curious what it's about. I am waiting for the printer to approve the files, and in a few days a proof copy will be created and sent to my door and soon in my hands I will hold my very own book. :)

Before you gasp to yourself in pride at knowing a famous published author, relax... it's just a "prize" that everyone who completes National Novel Writing Month (the thing that ate up my entire November) is eligible to receive. You can set up your book on Createspace.com and they will professionally print it for you, and list it on their e-store and Amazon if you so choose. Nanowrimo gives you a code for a free proof copy when you 'win', so that's what I'm doing.

So, after a month of writing and a frantic, horrifying week and a half of editing... it's done and I can go on with my life, continue blogging and finally clean up the house again! Hee hee. Don't worry, I'll be posting pictures in various authorly poses with the book once it arrives. I'm sure it will look very distinguished. :)

'Mommy Spike My Hair Please!'

Well, he doesn't quite express himself in full sentences or say please yet, but the other day Arin asked me to spike his hair! It was so cute.



He was under the impression that you use moisturizer to style your hair... so finally after months of wrestling the lotion away from him every time he can get his hands on it and muss it into his hair... I showed him the hairspray can. I explained that THAT was what you used to spike your hair, and that lotion was JUST for skin. He got it right away, and immediately demanded that I 'spiiiiike, spiiiiike' his little hair!


Too cute. A few days later he asked me the same thing, I have to find those pictures too. I think he looks so grown up, like a little kid not a toddler! That's sad, everything goes by way too fast...



Speaking of which, these pictures demonstrate how big he is... whenever he gets the living room to himself at night he'll hop onto the computer and try to locate his Youtube playlist collection of Shaun the Sheep, Thomas the Tank Engine and Cascada videos. He likes it even more than his Thomas DVDs!

Strawberry Season

Summer time means lots of fresh strawberries! Bobo loves berries, and all winter long has been faithfully chomping on frozen raspberries. Now he is definitely enjoying these, as you can see.



Also, I don't have any pictures of it... but Arin is already a HUGE fan of strawberry shortcake... yum!

Dandelion Chomper

This year, we have about 6 million dandelions gracing our backyard. Arin loves them when they turn to puffers, he picks little bouquets of them and waves them in the wind so the little seeds fly and spread to even more of our lawn.



The first time he encountered them though... he didn't quite get the right idea at first. :)

French Toast Love

Sometimes when we're having a lazy day Arin gets a cute breakfast like this. It usually involves hearts because that's such a fun cookie cutter to use... and it makes everything from toast to sticky rice taste yummier, right?? I think so.



This french toast was made using the thick Texas Toast for not-yet-posted Sugared Mexican French Toast (is that redundant? maybe I should be more logical with names)... and made *without* cinnamon. This is a big step for me... cinnamon ALWAYS goes into the french toast batter in my world... but I have to admit, I'm really digging the homey goodness without it now too, just a splash of some vanilla and milk and eggs and ... mmm!



Not to mention, Arin doesn't think it's half bad either. And I get to take cute pictures like this.



Of course, the only downside is that my breakfast ends up looking like this:



At least I get the crispy crusty bits!

New Thomas Shirt

Arin really likes Thomas the Tank Engine... big surprise. I never thought he would be one of "those" babies... the ones who are all into baby brands like Thomas or Barney... but hey if it makes him happy I'll go along with it.



He already has a set of a collared Thomas shirt and (2) Thomas shorts that Alex sent ages ago when their factory was producing them... at the time Arin was too little to know what Thomas was or care, but now he sure likes them!



We saw this shirt in the store the other day, and as soon as Arin saw the huge plastic Thomas... yeah it was over. It is such a ridiculous design... it is just a huge solid piece of shiny plastic they sewed on to the shirt... that gets completely bent out of shape if you try to fold it or wash it or even look at it. Oh well, he doesn't seem to care and he thinks its 'cool'. ;)



Too sweet to resist!

That 70s Party

No, just kidding, we didn't actually go to a 70s party (I just used PW's 70s action on these photos). We went to a baby shower for Mary, a girl my mom works with. It was fun, and we ended up staying until almost 10pm! They had lots of good food - like the empanadas that my mom loves, and a delicious pineapple cake with meringue frosting that Mary's neighbor (a former pastry chef from the Dominican) made. The only unpleasant part of the evening was a horrifying game they made everyone play... it was traumatizing. I'll post/describe more later, if I remember. :)



The girl on the right is Mary, the one who's shower it was. She's holding Mary (another one) and Carlos' little baby girl... so cute! The girl on the left is Silvia, who is also expecting and is due August 17. They both have absolutely adorable baby bumps!



Oh, and my little Bobosauric Angel? Yeah, notice the confetti stuff on the floor? Guess who's responsible for all that mess! Glad we left before clean-up! :)

Bobo and the Tractor Farm

Arin loves trucks and cars, so it was no surprise when he was set into fits of joy over getting to ride and 'drive' a huge tractor!





It was a windy day and there was a big metal windmill that Bobo found almost as fascinating as his tractor.



I just loved all the crazy faces he kept pulling, he was having so much fun!





Checking out the whoosing windmill again:



Showing mommy how to drive a tractor:



Now he has to show Momo how it works:



There was a peacock sitting on the other side of the fence. Those things are LOUD, they make shrieking noises that sound just like a baby crying out, very distracting.



They are pretty though! Maybe instead of chickens I will start raising peacocks.



This was so cute, Arin found a bench and sat up on it like a little old man in the park... all by himself!



The petting zoo was closed, but you could still ride on these horses!



I think he would make a grand little cowboy. How young is too young to ride a horse?



Loving that windmill!


Hahah, the sign at the entryway to the zoo has enough faces for a family of eight!



Love this one!


And this is when you know it's time to head home...



These were all more pics from the Franklin Park Zoo, and in spite of the last picture we all had a fantastic day!