Mika & Camila's Picture Diary

Camila's drawings

These are pictures that Camila drew of Mommy and Daddy at her daycare. I couldn't have been more amazed and pleased :-)

Maker Faire

Watching sparks from a tesla coil

Playing with a prototype toy

Playing on the wheel-o-rator

A bit more nervous on the wheel-o-rator

Posing on a sculpture

Creativity flowing

More creativity

They loved the decorated cars, but they are not allowed to do that to our car

Posing the figures

Hanging from the structure of a huge swing

Hanging out with a robot

Mika in one of the cupcake cars

Camila in one of the cupcake cars

Checking out a doghouse

Checking out a doghouse

Edible art

Edible art

Cavegirl Camila

Too young to be a propeller head

Playing with a spinning table

Getting ready for summer

Dancing on a wall

Goofing around during garden day at school

Roller coaster video ride

Cooling off on a hot spring day

Getting ready for school

Climbing, parade, and a fair

Climbing a fence

Climbing the backstop fence at school

On a fire truck before the parade

Trying on a firefighter's hat

At the local heritage faire

Trip to the Egyptian Museum

Sphinx at the front of the museum

Posing with Tawaret, Goddess-Demoness of Birth, Rebirth and the Northern Sky

Trees must be climbed

Posing at the obelisk on the museum grounds

Another sphinx on the museum grounds

Salamanders and Party Girl

The kids love finding salamanders, but it's not so good for the salamanders

Snacking at a friend's party

Science Festival

Making bubbles

More bubbles

Making friends with a king snake

It took a few tries, but we finally got a working solar car made from legos

Camila's Hospital Adventure

A quick checkup

In hospital scrubs

In the waiting room

Smells like strawberries

After the operation

Cal Day

BART ride

Camila plants a poppy seed

Velociraptor Awareness

Tree climbing at Cal

Hillside picnic

Campanile

Tree climbing at Cal

Mika tries out the tightrope

Camila tries out the tightrope

Blowing a bubble

Partying, Rain and the Zoo

Mika and some friends

Camila having fun in a huge puddle

Camila jumping and dancing

Mika on her first solo roller coaster ride

On the zoo carousel

On a car ride at the zoo

On a plane ride at the zoo

Atop a lion

Girls atop a turtle

Wheels, jumping, exploration

Mika then and now

Tennis class

On stage with Step Down

Having a treat at the park

Bouncing

Tennis class

Riding around at school

Riding around at school

Finding wildlife: a big worm

Jumping from a swing

On a ride to the library

Cooking, Rain and Snow

Camila loves to cook

Jumping in rain puddles

Jumping in rain puddles

Playing at San Leandro Creek

Throwing rocks at San Leandro Creek

Dressed up for skating

Resting after a little rock climbing

Dressed for the snow

Building a fort in the snow

Mika the storyteller

A weekend in the snow

Mika during her first snowboard lesson

Mika on the chairlift during her snowboard lesson

Her first snowman

Camila helps build a snowman

Mika takes a break while Camila starts another run

Camila and friend walk the sled back up the hill

Mika sets off down the hill

Camila at the end of a run

Fearless and headfirst down the hill

Camila at play

Camila with a boa in Berkeley

At the school playground

Kids at the wildlife museum

Camila posing with Obama

Baby birds waiting for mother bird

Working on a floor puzzle at the museum

Camila working on a dragonfly puzzle

Mika working the rings at the park next to the museum

Exploring at the park

Mika found these salamanders under a log at the park.

Helping out natural decay of a log

Camila and a friend walking with a doll

Climbing a tree at the park

Camila joined her friend to "hide" in this tree nook

Celebrating a birthday

Snow fun

Christmas 2008

All Around

At the fair and a show

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