Mika & Camila's Picture Diary

Camping and other stuff

Camila at the Cherry Festival and Elsewhere

Camila holding a friend's baby

So tired, she fell asleep in the chair

On a San Leandro Police motorcycle

On a festival swing ride

Proud of her colored tongue

Upside down at the playground

Visiting with Aunt Kathy

Falling asleep at the school open house

An afternoon nap

Dancing at a Moroccan restaurant

Waiting for ballon animals at the farmers' market

Fun shopping

At the movies

Fun at the mall

Watching performances at the Heritage Faire

Jumping at the Library's Heritage Faire with Asheba

Eggs to pythons

Before the egg hunt begins

Running at the beach

Napping at a play

Sharing with her sister

On a ride at the store

Face painting at CalDay

Playing with a python at CalDay

Sandbox, ice show, and zoo

Fun in the sand at the marina

A rare moment in her own seat at the Disney on Ice show

Look at me! Look at me!

Climbing a tomato frog at the zoo

Try to find us!

Mika and Camila Rolling Down a Hill

Camila's Day in Berkeley

Climbing

Feeding animals at a farm

Biting something

On the steam train

Fun on the steam train

Before and After the Flu

Before

After

From bubbles to bicycles

Camila inside a bubble at the local library

Sitting on a play structure at the park. She needed help to get up.

One of the few days that the weather has been nice enough to try out her new bicycle.

She loves her new dance class.

The official portrait

Camila at Xmas tea

Xmas pictures of the girls

My parents and siblings came to visit us for Xmas. They took the girls to San Francisco and Berkeley and then took them home with them.

My brother took many pictures of them and you can see them here.

Hanging out at the zoo with Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi

Mika has on a purple jacket and Camila is in the red. The picture was published in the December 15, 2007, edition of the Daily Review.

Santa at Garfield Elementary School

Camila with Santa at Garfield Elementary School

Mika with Santa at Garfield Elementary School

And now Camila

On the boat to the Shasta caves

And at the caves

Playing at the park

Celebrating the menora

Grandparents and Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we took our kids to Mike's parents home, so the kids could meet their cousins. They had an amazing time and Camila still tell us - every time we are in the car - "I want to go to grandma's house". On the way back we stopped at the Shasta caves, which Mika, at least, appreciated.

Then it's been home and Xmas preparations. We have the tree and have decorated - now it's time for the holiday celebrations!

The kids with cousins and grandparents

What will Santa bring us?

All ready for Xmas

We saw Santa at the lightening of the tree in San Leandro - Mika asked for Bratz, Camila for a Dora doll.

And then again at our realtor's office. Camila wasn't very cooperative.

Road Trip North

At a restaurant for dinner

Pancakes with chocolate chips for breakfast

Pancakes with chocolate chips for breakfast for Camila as well

Mika was a little lamb, little lamb...

Camila was a little lamb too

A bear hug

Camila with the bear

A rhinoceros at Wildlife Safari made Mika and Mom nervous

An impressive elk

The kids on the lookout for animals

This curious rhea pecked at Dad's shirt

Camila in costume and following her big sister

Trying out Mika's Wonder Woman costume

What is going on?

I'm pushing my baby

Throwing rocks at Oyster Bay

Now it's my turn to drive.

I'm almost all the way to the top.

Camila in her Halloween costume

Using wet-wipes as blankets for all the babies

I haven't put up pictures forever

Or rather, Mike hasn't, as he downloaded them to his camera.

The girls are doing well. Mika finds kindergarten a little bit slow, though they are finally ready to start working on words. The teacher gave us a long list and instructions to help our kids with them - fortunately my sister kathy is a teacher and she could give me some ideas of how to help her.

Mika has a new boyfriend named Angel, she's very much in love with him. They play at recess and have weekly playdates (we alternate houses). She's also made friends with the other kids, everyone seems to say goodbye when she leaves, which indicates to me that they like her. What's not to like? She's always been very socially intelligent.

Camila is doing better and becoming more independent without her sister around, though I realize I treat her much more like a baby that I ever did Mika. It's the curse of being the baby of the family. She's speaking much more clearly, and I'm hoping that by 3 she'll be speaking well.
She's very rambunctious but also very whiny. She has this weird condition now that her skin is peeling on her hands and feet - I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and have her seen.

The two of them, as I've mentioned over and over, play very well together. They love dolls, babies and Mika is lately into puzzles (what she wants for Xmas are pluzzles and Bratz). Camila is into whatever her sister likes.

Camping & More

Mika and Camila went to the Adventure Park this weekend. This is a place in Berkeley where kids can build and paint and play at their own peril. They had a lot of fun and came home filthy.

We went parking last weekend - a first for me - and the kids had a lot of fun. Here is Camila touching a fish some other kids had caught.

Mike picked a lot of blackberries for the kids, this was the result.

Did I say Camila had a great time?

Here is our tent, we bought at at Target for less than $50. It was quite comfortable.

Singing at the playground

Mi Camila

Camila and Mika just spent two weeks with their maternal grandparents down in LA. They had a wonderful time, and I missed them terribly. They are back home now and back to their usual selves.

Camila continues to be a handful. She loves to play with water (and toothbrushes) and makes a huge mess in the bathroom. She continues to have problems articulating words, I just took her to the Dr. and she failed the hearing test on her right year. Now I'll have to wait weeks for referrals to an ear doctor and a speech therapist. *sigh* She is very affectionate and loves to hug me a lot. She loves to play monster (or dinosaur), coming after me with her hands extended, her hands looking like claws and going "aarrgh". She still loves horseplay.

Who is the cutest girl in the world?

Saying goodbye to Kathy

She often has a sad face

Daddy took them to the aquatic park while I was out for tea.

Camila around

2 little girls

Here are pictures from some activities. A couple of weeks ago Mike took them to the helicopter show, and both of them flew in a helicopter. We also took them to the Alameda County fair, and to the beach at Alameda. And then to socials here and there. For more info on them read my last report on Vox Publica

Words and Random Pictures

So the kids are growing up. Mika is doing pretty well, all in all, though she still has huge problems with transitions. She's outright rude when she has to interact with a new person (whether she knows them well or not), though eventually she warms up and is her friendly, bubbly self. She is both looking forward to, and apprehensive of kindergarden. Her social skills continue to amaze us, as her ability and desire to take care of all. However, she has began to judge herself in negative ways. The other day she was complaining about how she is always last at running races, she doesn't understand it and doesn't want to do it if she can't be good at it. She has also started to notice when people compliment Camila on how cute she is and not her. She gets very hurt by the idea the Camila could be cuter or Camila could have something cuter than her. I'm somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with these issues.

As for Camila, she is in the controlling phase of her life. She wants to do everything herself "me do it, me do it, me do it", and this can be very annoying specially when we are talking about serving herself milk, putting herself in the car seat or doing things she can't do. When she can't do something she is very specific as to who should do it, and will go into a fit if the wrong person does it. This is becoming very frustrating. Her vocabulary is improving and she can usually communicate quite well, though not always verbally. however, I'm concerned about her lack of correct pronunciation.

Both are pretty happy girls, though Mika has been missing daddy a lot now that he's in Seattle all the time. me too.

Having fun

I haven't posted pictures in a while, but it doesn't mean that the kids have not been all over the place, having fun in a million ways. In recent weeks they've been to the new water park at the Washington Manor twice, at the Oakland Museum, the Children's Discovery Museum, at the recycling center, at the airplane museum in oakland, and, to top it off, to an amusement park (discovery world) for MOTHER'S DAY (that was my stupid idea).

So here are the pictures of all of these events.

having fun at the water park

The discovery museum is always fun

As is flying planes

You can also be an artist at the Oakland Museum

And pose with garbage at the recycling center

The kids had fun at the Discovery World, or whatever it's called, though not as much as they should have given the expense and effort on our part - and the fact that it was Mother's Day for God's sake. Mika was very grumpy when she couldn't get all she wanted, and she didn't have the patience to wait in line. Camila behaved wonderfully and stayed in her stroller most of the time. I'm glad we went, but we won't be hurrying back.

Camila

eats ice cream

loves to swing in her little structure

plays

and touches goats

Pictures, old and new

We often go to Angelinas, a local pizzeria with a kids area. Big Mika, the kids teacher, works there, and our friends Eddie and Arthur love going there as well. The kids love it, and the pizza is pretty good.

The kids love climbing the book case

Some times it's hard taking pictures of Camila because she keeps reaching for the camera

But Mika can be the same

Obligatory picture of Camila with frosting on her face

I love this picture

The girls have learned to peel garlic on their own - without mommy's approval, that is. They left garlic peel all over the living room and my office.

Mika loves to draw. Here is a pictures of kisses that she made

and here are snowflakes

and here are baby carriages

She also likes to write and is definitely ready to learn to read and write. She knows all her letters and is able to spell out words - like signs on the streets. But there are few words she can spell on her own. Her name is the most common one.

This picture is from a few months ago, but she still likes to dress like a ballernina. We haven't taken her to ballet classes because she was bored when she took them at 3 1/2. She thinks she knows all of it and doesn't need to learn. Still, we should try again.

My aunt María del Carmen in Argentina made this beautiful poncho for Michaela

Lately Mika has been into climbing everything, and the roof of her little structure is one of the easiest things for her to climb. We got this structure for free on the street.

Camila, meanwhile, loves to swing

Mika loves animals, snakes, bugs and all things of the sort.

Aren't they cute together?

And now some lame videos

and now the two togehter

They had a great time together at Yerba Buena Gardens

They love taking baths together and having water fights. Though the last time around Camila pooped in the water.

Camila growing up

Camila is 25 months and as difficult as ever. But she's a lovely little girl, who is very loving two. She loves to give hugs and kisses, to be held, and to use mommy to reach things. She plays with her sister a lot, and gets into trouble. She loves to go the bathroom and play with the water from the sink (she can reach it by standing on the toilet). She continues to love wet wipes. She is saying tons of words and complete sentences, though her pronunciation is not very good. She understands both English and Spanish perfectly, but only speaks in English. She is very smart and can pretty much reach anywhere and climb anything. She is still very much attached to me, needs me to put her to sleep and continues to wake up and need mommy in the middle of the night - not great for my sleep.

She has a big mouth

The other day we went to Yerba Buena Gardens. Camila like the Merry-go-round, but not the up and down movement of the horse.

Slowly but surely Camila is potty training herself. About half to two thirds of the time she tells us when she needs to go to the potty - though she also likes to go when someone else is going.
She is not ready for panties, however, and we've had to throw one pair away.

And can be very whiny

And had a good time at the spaghetti feed

Dancing girls

A girl has a birthday

My little baby is no longer a baby. She turned 2 on Friday and I really can't believe how fast time has flied. She is just as difficult as she ever was, perhaps even more so. She barely has any attention span - except when she is doing something naughty. She's constantly testing us and challenging us. I'd say she was in her terrible twos, if it wasn't by the fact that she's always been the same. She's a happy child, however, with a good sense of fun. Lately she's been terribly attached to me, can only go to sleep with me and wakes up if I'm not in the bed with her. She's not always sleeping through the night, but usually she goes back to sleep pretty easily. We are still all co-sleeping.

My little butterfly

Her cake was white cake with strawberries and cream from Safeway, not half bad. She did not blow on her candles, but her friend Gregory was more than happy to do it for her.

The two girls have the time of their lives playing together

A bonanza of old pictures

No doubt as to her father is

Finally some pictures!

What can I say? Camila is the cutest girl in the world!

She likes to pose as well

She is a copy cat, daddy reads on the couch, she reads on the couch.

Mommy reads the Wall Street Journal in the bathroom, so does she.

And here for something completely different is our Xmas tree.

As for Camila, she is truly amazing. She is a complete copycat and does everything we do. She loves to climb, and will climb into everything she can - including the cat tree from where she jumps to the couch. My heart stops. She is saying tons of words and even short sentences. Since she came back from LA she's been very clingy, and wakes me up multiple times so she can sleep in my arms. She does move all over the bed during the night. She is also a whiner, and whines whenever she can't get her way. She gets into everything and wants to grab everything, you can't leave her alone for a minute. She is very happy, though (except when she's whining) and only cries when she's hurt or tired. Bringing her home in the stroller is a pain in the butt, however, because she constantly tries to get out of the stroller - and then refuses to walk. She is lovely, however, and very affectionate, giving us hugs and kisses all the time. She loves horseplay. She loves to play with babies and with her sister.

Camila is smart

I've suspected that Camila would be smart pretty much since she was born. I'm not particularly sure why, perhaps it was instict, but she's confirming it every day. Tonight she didn't want to go to sleep. She tossed and turned on the bed and finally she got up. I turned off all the lights in the house saved for the one in the hallway. So what did she do? She went to the dark living room, got the Indonesian stool (which is about half her height and made of wood - the tallest short stool we have) and brought it all the way to our bedroom. She positioned it underneath the light switched and then climbed on it to turn the light on. She was very proud of herself.

The degree of abstract thought she needed to formulate that plan is outstanding. OK, maybe not, it's the kind of thing that chimps would do - but it's pretty smart anyway.

The fact is, she can pretty much figure out how to get anywhere. Her vocabulary is increasing very fast. Her favorite word lately - save for "shoes" - is "outside", which she pronounces very well. She also says "up" and "down" very clearly, as well as "cat", "duck", "agua", "molk" (milk) and many other words I can't remember. She repeats words like a parrot, so sometimes I'm not sure if she knows a word or is just repeating it. If we don't understand her, she takes us by the finger to wherever or whatever she wants.

She nods yes and no but I'm not sure she really distinguishes them. She loves to laugh, often copying laughter, and she does everything her sister does. Mika has turned to lowering her head, pouting and going away when she doesn't get what she wants - and today Camila imitated her when I told her she had to share a toy. Too cute.

Camila is in the not-sharing stage, pretty much like her older sister. But she will share sometimes for the emotional reward. The girls play very well together (until they fight) and Mika takes good care of her little sister.

Camila calls herself "baby" or "bebe", at least that's what she does when she sees her picture, though of course she calls other babies the same.

She's a sweetie pie and I only wish I was a better mother to her.

Camila at 19 1/2 months

I never write much about my little girls but I really should. They are truly amazing human beings.

As I've mentioned before Camila likes danger. She climbs everywhere: chairs, tables, the cat tree (though she can't make it to the top unaided yet, only to the third step), the george foreman grill on top of the table, counters, etc. etc.). She knows how to push a stool to get to a chair to get to a table to get to a counter. She likes to climb to her high chair and will insist in getting into her stroller by herself - she has been known to fall out in the way out however.

Her language is developing and she now has a large vocabulary beyond "shoes," though that continues to be her favorite word and her favorite item. She can count to three, she loves the ABC song and can kind of sing along while making random hand (sign language) signs. She knows her facial features and she knows who she is, though she tends to call herself either "baby" or "billa" the name Rosemarie has given her (from 'bebilla' or "bambila"). Still, her preferred way of making herself understood is by pointing and going "aaaah, aaah, aaaah" with the most annoying voice possible. She's always been unusually loud since she was born.

She loves to be pushed in her little car and, of course, to push her stroller and other things. She loves to play with babies, to draw and paint, to dance. She is very coquetish and will twirl whenever you put a dress or something cute on her - she really likes dresses. She hates getting changed or getting dressed by me, apparently she has no problems letting Mica doing it.

I think she understands pretty much everything we say, and she can follow instructions when she wants to - she often doesn't. She is still very much of a mashmellow but she doesn't like snuggling with me :( She'll do it with her dad more often, and with Mica and Rosemarie even more often.

She loves to play with her friends and can be kept quiet and occupied as long as she is in a new environment, there are lots of things to explore and/or there are new kids. At home, however, she can get very whiny. She plays quite well with her sister, but she does have a tendency of grabbing things she shouldn't, and thus gets scolded a lot and cries. She is also pretty needy - or perhaps I'm just neglectful and used to a 4-yo. She is quite self-sufficient come to think about it.

She looks just like her dad, she has his nose, his hair, though my small mouth and double chin. His cheeks.

Lately she's been having problems sleeping, waking up several times at night. She's now going to sleep with a water bottle though at some point I should end that. I kept Mika in the bottle until she was 2 1/2 so it's hard :(

Anyway, that's Camila.

Did we mention she's fearless and gets into everything?

Salta, salta, pequeña langosta

My brother has put a link to a video of Camila & Nikki jumping at
youtube

And here is a video of Camila in early May.

More pictures at the Nono's

Camila & Nikki

Camila, Nikki & Kathy

As they say, there are loves that kill

Camila and Nikki

Here are some pictures from Nikki's blog. Camila spent a couple of days with her nonos & her cousin Nikki a couple of weeks ago.

Camila & Nikki playing at the mall

She looks so cute with pony tails

Camila likes to eat, Nikki not so much

But they both like to dance

Camila looks like her dad

But she's a cutie pie

With Alice, my 88-yo aunt's doll from when she was a little girl

Two blondies

Funny pictures

Someone asked me to put some funny pictures of Camila. Well, here are some:

Astrogirl!

Every time I put some lotion, soap or really any creamy substance on me or the girls, Camila insists that I give her some. Then she rubs it on her right cheek. She must have the cleanest, softest and most sun-screened right cheek in the world.

If anyone ever doubts she's her daddy's daughter, I think this picture settles it forever.

My Camichan

Camila & Daddy @ Rosemaries

What's with the wind?

Camping, messy, and danger

Camila's Stats

I took Camila to the doctor for her 18-month checkup.

She is 32" high, weighs 24lbs 2 oz and has a head circurference of 47 cm (I imagine). That puts her just slightly above average for height, average for weight and having a big head. In other words, she's perfect.

She got a vaccine (or rather two combined into a shot) and she reacted quite well.

17 months

Camila is already 17 months. She doesn't talk much, but she prefers words with the sound "sh", "shoes", "shake" (she shakes her booty to the sound of the song). She communicates by pointing at what she was and saying "ma ma". When she really wants something she also waves her hand from side to side. She will also take you by the hand to what she wants. She understands pretty much everything both in English and Spanish. In particular, she likes putting on her shoes (and taking them off).

She loves to dance, run and climb, no table or shelf is safe since she figured out how to push stools and chairs to get wherever she can't reach. She continues to be very demanding, she grows bored quickly and is in constant need of stimulation. She's no longer nursing, which has made sleeping time more difficult. She loves the water, can get into and out of the bathtub by herself.

She loves bellybuttons, will laugh outloud putting her finger into yours. She is very affectionate and gives (and blows) kisses and hugs. She's extremely huggable. Here are some pictures:

She loves to paint

and she is her best canvass

Sometimes she loves food

and sometimes she doesn't

And she loves getting on my chair, pressing my keyboard or trying to climb on my desk

Spring is hers

With former San Leandro Mayor and California State Assembly Member Ellen Corbett

Walking, talking, and coming into her own

Peek-a-boo!

Let's go for a ride.

I want chocolate!

Can I take this toy home with me?

Yumm....my favorite flavor.

Life is good!

Camila & Mika visit their nonos

Mika and Camila are visiting their cousing Nikki, their grandparents and aunts and uncles in LA. They seem to be having a very good time. For photos go to their cousin's website at:

http://www.ournikki.com/

You can also see a short video of Camila and hear her say "bye" at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVyDV7fel0

Camila in the snow

Finding herself and imitating her big sister

For my next impression...

I'll let you have it back if I can play too.

I can get down myself, thank you.

When Mommy gives me chocolate, I become...the Chocolate Monster!

It's hard to play the game when you can't see the board.

I want one!

Ah, the sound of two objects banging together.

Family Visit

<

With cousin Leslie.

Playing on Aunt Alex's bed.

Four little cousins, all in a row.

Gimme that!

With cousin Jamie.

With Grandpa.

With Grandma.

Camila is a toddler

All of the sudden my little baby has become a toddler. After much practicing Camila started walking last week and now, there is nothing to stop her. Even before walking she was already climbing - she knows how to use step-stools to reach the drawers in the kitchen and how to use Mika's chair to get to the window. She loves using tools of all kinds, she insists on using a fork to feed herself, writing with pen on paper and has even figured out she can use a pen to reach the computer keyboard that mom put far away from her hands. She LOVES using the computer, which makes it hard for Mika to watch her shows.

She also loves being outside and ride on ride-on toys. She loves petting the cats and eating their food. Like Syria, she likes to go into the shower after we take a shower - unlike Syria she also likes taking baths.

Here are some pictures of my non-baby:

In Nono's arms, wearing my dress from when I was 1.

She must use a fork

She knows how to get on and off the bed now

Chasing after the seagulls was fun, but also dancing with them

I'm in the shower