A day

Something about my life now, the girls.
They are on vacation, which means I have them with me full time. We’ll see how that goes.
Today I took them to Rockridge. Around noon. Mike took us to BART.
We first went to Crepevine. I thought the girls would be very excited about the crepes. Mika was very thirsty, though, and all she wanted was something to drink. The lemonade was too sour, she drank water instead.
I ordered a nutella and strawberry crepe. It was very good, it came with cream and ice cream. The girls ate part of the cream and ice cream, but they didn’t even finish it. They wanted nothing to do with the crepe. They must be sick (Mika has been pretty lethargic lately, and I think she run a fever a couple of days ago).
We then went to a bookstore and I gave in and bought them books – Captain Underpants for Mika, some floppy age-appropriate book for Camila. I think I spent $4 between the two of them 🙂
Then it was the toy store (after changing Camila). They played for a while and Mika insisted and bargained for a toy – I ended up buying her some $1 tattoos – better than nothing and they are very cute, butterflies, haven’t put them on yet.
We stopped by the marketplace, Mika wanted some free samples. She either didn’t like or just didn’t want the vegan german chocolate cake available. I liked it, so did Camila.
She didn’t want to go on, so we went home. She was a trooper walking home, no complains at all even though she was very tired. Camila fell asleep at the end, but woke up when we got home. Mika went to sleep on the couch for a while. Camila, as usual was whiny.
Now, as for them, let’s see.
Mika continues to be in the age of asking questions. Today it was why they were patches on the sidewalk. As usual, I have no clue as to the answers. She is extremely observant of the world around her, and pays a lot of attention to our conversations. She is always asking for clarification or explanations of what Mike and I say to each other. She is usually very obedient, though continues to have transition issues. She is very shy when approaching new people – even girls with whom she’d like to play – and hides behind my legs – a problem if I’m wearing a skirt. I think she’s very intelligent, she thinks a lot about things and tries to come up with conclusions herself. She seems quite good at drawing parallels which indicates to me piagetian intelligence. She is usually very good with her sister, and the two girls play very well together – though they have fights over objects. It’s generally Camila’s fault, she wants something Mika has. Thay may include mommy. It’s very hard for me to give Mika all the affection I’d like and feel for her, because Camila is always physically interrupting us. She’s hard to get off me.
Camila is great too – in a very different way. While Mika had the most amazing social skills at 2 years old, and was everybody’s best friend – Camila tends to be more of a loner. She does play with other kids, but she doesn’t seem to need them as much as Mika did and does. She likes dirt and she loves water play of all kind. My wood floors are not happy.
I’m concerned that Camila is not talking enough for her age. Half of her communication, if we call it that, is babbling. All she does in the phone, for example, is call daddy, kathy or nona and babble, there doesn’t seem to be an intention of communicating something. When she does talk, much of what she says is unintelligeable (sp?) though she is getting better. I have no idea how Mika was at her age, so I’m worried. I haven’t called the Dr. to make an appointment yet, though. She has become easier, she will usually stay in the stroller when some months ago I couldn’t go a block without her trying to get out.
Yesterday we went to the Alameda county fair – Camila stayed in the stroller most of the time without complaint. There were many things to see, so that may have been it. Our walk home is much more boring. We saw the Village People. The girls didn’t have that much fun. They were both/tired, sort of sick. Camila danced along some, and laid on my shoulder some, but she couldn’t really get comfortable. Mika slept for a while on daddy – though she did wake up for YMCA. I made Camila do the signs – she was somewhat amused by that. They didn’t go on many rides, Mika wasn’t up to it (she had to be sick), and we ended up with a bunch of extra tickets. They are extremely expensive ($50 for 80 and most rides take 3 or 4). Mika “won” a big stuffed animal (it cost us $15) and Camila a little one ($6). There is this game in which you throw water at a target, and the first one to reach the top wins. We play against each other so we can get a prize and make Mika happy.
Tonight is the Argentine/Colombia soccer game. We are going to go to the Englander to watch it – or part of it, I don’t know how well the girls will do.
Anyway, time to get ready.