Swine Flu (H1N1)

No, Angelina doesn't have it, nor do Frederic or I, fortunately, though we did all have flu symptoms a few weeks ago....maybe we're already recovered?

Anyway, don't expect any updates for awhile. Our region is the "epicenter" of this event, and my job of former Pandemic Flu coordinator for the city and now Communicable Disease Manager for my region of the state means working far too hard for awhile. On the plus side, that means Angelina is spending more one on one time with Papa and therefore speaking a lot more French! :)

My professional word on this flu - no need to panic, there is cause to be concerned and vigilant. Like ANY TIME you are sick, you shouldn't go to work/school and infect others.

Fun with Cousins

We've been visiting CA for Nanny's Birthday. Angelina has been in heaven visiting her cousins.

Angelina's Rohr Uncles and Aunts

and Nanny and Opa

It's a rarity for all of us surviving 7 kids to be in the same place at the same time. This occasion was Nanny's 75th Birthday Party


I think you can tell by this picture that we all have very different styles, even though our husbands all claim we're all alike....

♪Singing in the Rain ♪

♪♪♪and Dancing....in the rain! ♪♪♪

So she's not quite Gene Kelly, but she was VERY excited to see the rain (it doesn't rain often here). As soon as it started pouring, Angelina yells "My Umbrella! My Umbrella! Outside!"

And of course she's not content to just watch the rain, she has to stand IN it.

In the biggest puddle.




I had to drag her in, rather unhappy....

More Dance

(she's standing on her potty as her stage)

Dancing Queen

The next adventure

Maison Angelina

Just Call me "Dirt Girl!"

♫"Dirt Pile/Dirt Pile/ Let's Play Dirt Pile!"♫
Yes, she was singing.
"Look Mommy! I'm Queen of the Mountain!"



She is clearly happiest when she's on her dirt pile.




This is what's left of the 12 yards of dirt I bought a few weeks ago for the grass. I'm rapidly making my way through it. Hopefully not too fast for Angelina's sake. This is also the dirt pile of "Mud" fame from last weekend's play.


This weekend I managed to keep her from using water, despite her begging me a million times for "Water! Mommy!" I didn't, however, manage to keep her clothes on. On Friday she sat on the pile, shirtless, and kept pouring dirt over herself.


Today she was content to leave her shirt on, provided she could continue to pour dirt over herself.

Angelina Quotes

"Super Nina!!!" (said quite randomly in the middle of dinner, with her hand shooting up in the air)

With Angelina at the chalkboard, writing:
Angelina: "I'm a scientist!"
Maman: "You're a scientist?"
Angelina: "Yes. I'm a scientist!"
Maman: "Are you a Space Scientist?"
Angelina "Um. Yes!"
Maman: "Are you going to the moon?"
Angelina: "YES!"
Maman: "Will you go to Mars?"
Angelina: "Yes!"

Needless to say, Papa was pleased!

Funny Girl

Where do I start?

First she comes home Miss Cool Chick, all decked out in her shades.





Then she sees what I got for her today (I went to the second hand shop - great stuff! We're finally at the point we actually have to buy clothes for her)

She has this thing about dresses. She sees IT.

Mommy! Put on dress! Dress! Dress!

"Look Mommy, I'm a Princess! A Princess!" As she twirls around in her frilly white dress picking it up as she spins.....



Then she saw there were other dresses. Not quite as frilly, but dresses nonetheless. So she put them on. ON TOP of each dress. Then the Dora bathing suit on top of all that (including the bottoms)

Finally she sees the Easter Bonnet my friend Trudi gave her today. At that point she was less interested in posing, but she insisted on wearing the bonnet for an hour.

The dresses, well, we had to fight to take them off her for bed and finally agreed to let her sleep with the white one.

She goes from naked one day to 4 layers of clothes the next....

More Parties

Sunday was Felice's birthday party at the Kiddie Park. It's been there since 1925 and kind of looks it...but it's a great place. Angelina loved it last year and I was sure she would again.


She did, until about 1 hour into it and Miss Party Girl's weekend of parties finally caught up to her, despite having had a nap before.





But before that point, she had a blast, especially because Papa was taking her on the rides.












A little ice cream makes everything better...











And then we followed up with a trip to Central Market. Angelina has this thing for cows. I guess it's the Swiss in her. She loves cows. The cheese section at Central Market has this cow she always wants to sit on. It's not really meant for kids to sit but they never seem to mind, probably because she's so cute....
She got annoyed when I took the camera out so she's not smiling, but 2 seconds before she was hugging the cow saying "I love my cow! Mooooo! Moooo!"



As for her dress - not really suitable for kiddie park but it's her Party Dress. We are not allowed to go to a party without that dress.

Sprinkler, dirt pile, new grass, and a bunch of kids and a Progessive Party, Lavaca Style

And why I love Lavaca part XXIV

Our new lawn came in handy this weekend.

I'd given up on Angelina taking a nap, so just went for some "quiet" time inside watching Dora, while I went outside to continue pulling weeds. Up walked our neighbor Courtney with her 4 yr old Nico. Nico was looking for some playmates. As Angelina is always in the mood for playmates, I said "Come on in!" but Nico wanted to bring her back to his house. No problem. I wandered over with her, stuck around for a bit then left her.

We were already planning to have Wiley and Felice over for an hour or so a bit later. So Courtney said she'd bring them both back in a bit. Great, more kids usually means I can do more while they entertain each other....

Nico and Angelina wander back, Wiley and Felice come over, they all run off to play. Meantime, some other neighbors walked by. I didn't know them but Courtney did, so they came on in with their two kids. Now we have 6 kids playing. Great! More the merrier.

As the grownups are all talking out front and discussing the merits of old homes, the kids ENTERTAINED themselves by turning on the sprinkler.

What I forgot about was the 12 yards of dirt (maybe it's about 8 yards now) in the back yard. I made my way back to see Wiley rolling wet in the dirt, covered with mud, all the other kids in some form of mud-ness, and Angelina just pulling off her last bit of clothes (her diaper) as she ran through the water and dirt.

In the end we had 6 kids in various states of dress, with Angelina completely naked, running around the yard getting soaked and muddy. The funniest part was the kids kept talking about "The Party!"

So then the kids wanted to play in Wiley's backyard, only his parents weren't home (which is why we had them). No worries, they'd left the house open in case the kids wanted to play there. So we all make our way over. Nico's dad Beto decides we need a beer run. An hour later we're sitting in Rick and Angela's living room having beers, kids running wild, when Rick and Angela walk up :) Nothing like throwing a party in someone else's house.

Not content to end the day just yet, Beto suggests we all head over to their house (where the kids' party started about 1pm that day) for more. About 10pm, some beer, pizza, and lots of good laughs and conversation later, we made it back home :)

I love my neighborhood. Even with all the muddy kids.

And Angelina managed to keep her clothes on the rest of the day.

Mop

This morning Angelina was wandering around calling out to her Cow (she loves cows). In both French and English. She found it.

So a bit later she starts calling out "Eh-ee air! Mop! Where are you?!" After some time we finally figured out the first was "teddy bear." So I took her to Teddy bear. We were scratching our heads at what "Mop" might be.

Then she sees it "Oh Mop! There you are!" Still clueless we waited for her to do something. She finally picked it up - Raggedy Ann. Poor Raggedy Ann didn't know she'd been re-christened "Mop!"

A New Bedroom

Some people prepare a nursery before their kid arrives. We were too busy preparing a bedroom for Maman and Papa. Then a bathroom, and a kitchen, and new foundation, roof, plumbing....


Fortunately Angelina is patient (besides, the longer it took us the longer she got to sleep in OUR room). At almost 3 years old, Angelina finally has a bedroom.

The Helper

No pictures again, because I was too busy working, but oh how I wish I had a camera handy!

Last weekend we laid sod or rather, I laid sod with some help...

In any case, Angelina couldn't stop herself from helping. She has her own wheelbarrow, rake, and shovel. But of course she wants to use the adult version. We did manage to convince her to use her own tools (she'd get frustrated with the big ones). I can't even begin to explain how cute it was to see her filling her wheelbarrow with dirt, dumping it, and raking it out. She was very happy to be part of the process!

Trying out her new airplane seat

Strange child.

She's always hated car seats. As an infant would scream getting into one, all the way while riding, and until she got out. As a toddler, she's accepted her fate but generally isn't much better. Then she learned to unlatch it, usually at 65MPH on I-37.

Unless it's a new car seat not actually installed in the car.
She's been sitting in this seat since it arrived on Thursday.


After fussing with her other car seat on our last airplane trip (it's narrow, but is not possible to wheel onto the plane, so carrying the seat + backpack + wild 2.5 yr old...well....), we decided to buy this folding car seat. It IS great, it folds up and can be easily carried with a strap, backpack style. I still have to carry it, but at least it's maneuverable. Well, except it's also damned heavy. We'll see next month how great it really is, but everyone who has one raves about it. I hope so, as it wasn't cheap. That said, we have yet to actually pay for a car seat since all ours have been hand me downs from Switzerland (in excellent condition)...

Oh, and she MUST have the belt latched, even though she's sitting on the floor in the house. Go figure. She'll probably refuse to latch it in the car.

"Mommy, I want to see Lucian!"

She is such a girl....

Late today, she ripped off her top and insisted on putting on a dress. Not just any dress, but her frilly frouncy Christmas dress.

Once she put it on, the first thing she said was "I want to see
Lucian". Lucian is our friend Gloria's 2 yr old son with whom Angelina occasionally plays. I'm hoping she just associates this dress with one time she played with him, rather than that she got all dressed up because she wants to see a boy.....it's too soon for that.

(of course, about 30 minutes later she also said she wanted to go see Melody, whom she saw the same day she saw Lucian, so maybe it is just the dress associations)

Why I love Lavaca, Part LXIV

Ok, not technically in my neighborhood, but given that it's a hop skip, and jump from home, that people park in my neighborhood to attend, and half my block were participants[1], it's close enough. Last night San Antonio got Lit Luminaria, a festival of art and light.

This is our second go at it, and it was great! I confess I almost didn't go. We all fell asleep for late naps, and when we woke up, I just wasn't in the mood. But Fredo was and so was Angelina, so I decided to join along. I'm glad I did. Since we didn't venture out til past 8:30, we missed a lot of the early performances, but we still had a great show. Angelina LOVED it all.

I loved seeing the symphony perform. We used to go to see them at the Majestic, but it's been awhile. It was a neat environment to see them, sort of "music for the masses" - kids running around, people wandering in and out, but many many people sitting listening, and the musicians looked to be having fun too. And of course, all the other art: visual, performance, literary....very impressive to know we're surrounded by such talent.

That said, I liked last year better. Yes, they tripled the number of artists, but much of the paint/sculpture/installations were in the Convention Center. Probably a good idea given the threat of rain, but the relative quiet of Houston and Broadway was a little disappointing compared to last year, when every type of art imaginable was packed into little alley ways and main streets. You'd turn a corner and feel like you encountered another surprise world. The Convention Center became a gallery, which detracted a bit from the street show which makes it unique. Still, it was amazing. I liked the use of HemisFair Park for film, and the better dispersement of musicians. I loved the light shows everywhere.

Kudos to my adopted city for the enlightened thinking which created this event. And thanks to Mother Nature the cold and rain went away just in time.

[1] I don't have an ounce of artistic blood in me, so I hang around the cool kids and hope I can be artistic by association :)

My Silly Girl

"She misses you. You should go home to her."

Ouch. Plunge a knife into my heart.

I had to go away on Sunday to Del Rio for work. Again. I've been having to go to this border town A. Lot. Far too much.

I try to keep my trips to no more than 2 nights, 1 if I can manage, though this one is 3 nights (and really I should stay 5 but won't).

She doesn't like me leaving, which is funny because when I'm home she only wants Papa. "Mommy, I need Papa" is what I hear every day.

So, tonight, my second night away from her, I'm sitting outside a presentation (I've heard it before, but I have to be here to answer questions), and call Angelina since it's her time. I tell her all sorts of sweet things, talk about missing her, when I'll be home, etc (she asks for me, she also asks for my colleague JJ...so I'm not sure it's just me she misses).

Anyway, all along there's a little girl, maybe 8 yrs old, playing nearby (we were giving the presentation at a school, parents inside, lots of kids playing outside).

After I hung up, the little girl says to me: "She misses you. You should go home."

I say "I have to stay here to work a few more days."

She says "But she misses you."

Ouch, ouch, double ouch!

Ready to Fly!

She must be taking after her GrandMaman Gisele and Papa. She loves being in the cockpit!


Last month of MLK day, we joined Lucian and his Mommy Gloria for a morning at the Kids' Museum. It was a gorgeous day so we rode the bike over, one of the great things about living downtown. Though I was feeling like crud due to allergies from hell which still won't go away, Angelina had a blast playing with the cool stuff and with Lucian. She loves playing with Lucian! We need to do it more. More photos here.

Dirt

It rained last night and today, so the ground is damp.

As usual, we get home and Angelina wants to play outside.

After some time, I said "Angelina, let's go in side and have dinner."

Her response: "No Maman. I HAVE to play in DIRT!" as she rubs her hands in the dirt...

Yes, she loves her dirt. I guess I'm glad she's not a prissy little girl afraid to get dirty. But a little less love of dirt would be nice sometimes.....

Bare bummed riding

I really don't know how this came about...she does have a tendency to run around naked. I usually let her go for a few minutes, but I guess I wasn't paying attention. Yes, she's wearing a winter hat, light pajamas, and nothing on bottom. Not even a diaper.

Chocolate!

You can take the child out of Switzerland, but can you take a Swiss's love of Chocolate out of them? Apparently not.

This afternoon Angelina wasn't agreeing to her nap (so what is new). After some debate (a few times to bed), I put her in the bed and said she couldn't come out until I came to get her.

I went outside to work.

30 minutes or so later I decided to check on her. I quietly open the door to hear a very sweet, somewhat sad and scared "Mommy?" I walk over to her. "Mommy, I made a mess."

Mess indeed. (which, by the way, is her favourite phrase) She had a chocolate ball (she'd had it earlier, wrapped in a cool globe-like paper, she didn't know it was chocolate, she thought it was just a ball). In her hot little hands it melted....

all over her face, her clothes, her hands, the bed......

Never met a puddle she didn't like....

Need I say more?

Hard at work

For more, go to the Money Pit

Dresses

I guess she's really a girl.

She hasn't worn dresses much lately since we don't have any "winter" dresses, only sun dresses and as she doesn't normally like stockings, I haven't bothered to get her any.

She had other things in mind though. From Saturday where she HAD to wear the black felt/white taffeta dress to Bubblehead, along with the green socks and purple flowered tights. Then squealed "Look Maman! I'm wearing a DRESS!"

To Sunday when she insisted on wearing her favourite multi-colored dress with stockings (and later sweats). We've gotten A LOT of life out of this dress. Given to us by our neighbor, Felice, it's size 18 months but she's been wearing it since before she turned 1 and still wears it now at 2.5. It seems to grow with her.







To Monday when getting ready for daycare we put on her thick brown woolly sweatpant type pants because a cold front swooped in over night. She insisted on wearing a dress. I finally agreed as long as she wore a sweater over it....

A Style All Her Own

Earlier Saturday (before Papa came home) we decided to go to Bubblehead to see Melody (the owners' 5 month old daughter whom Angelina loves). She was ready to go, but HAD to wear a dress. I obliged, even though she was wearing almost hiking shoes, green socks, and purple leggings... She put it on and was twirling around saying "Look mommy! I'm wearing a dress!" while lifting up the skirt.

We saw Lucien (and his mom and dad) at Bubblehead, which was tons of fun for her.

She slept in that dress too. We finally managed to pry it off her this morning.

But then...

It was kind of chilly, and she'd picked out her purple stockings to wear. However when Fredo put on a sweatshirt she freaked, would not wear it. I managed to get her into a T-shirt. Ok, but it was cold. Apparently she has this inner oven which keeps her warm. She never wants a sweater. Over the course of the next 30 minutes she changed to a sleeveless dress to this sundress. She wanted to put on her swimming stuff but we managed to stop that....so here she is, purple cotton winter stockings and summer dress....good thing it was warm by mid-morning.

About that Spirit

I can't complain about it, since it was no doubt all these "spirited" traits that pulled her through her first NICU days when they didn't think she'd survive.

And it comes through in so many fun ways:

Fun with toilet paper:

She had already used a roll running around the house before I'd realized what she was doing...fortunately it wasn't wasted (and I did put a stop to it, but had to get a picture first - she was just having too much fun).

Yay! Papa's Home


After a few days of saying "Maman, I want to go to France and see Papa!" the only way to get her to nap Saturday was to tell her Papa would be here when she woke up, and that he couldn't come until after she went to sleep. Fortunately his flight was on time and when she awoke, there he was! You've never seen a kid so happy!