Arantxa can ride a bike!

Si quieren saltarse el rollo, acá está el video.
If you want to skip my ramblings, here is the video.

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Hace un par de meses, Arantxa nos dijo que quería aprender a andar en bicicleta sin rueditas. Después de haber presenciado el rotundo fracaso con las bicis que les trajo Santa a algunos niños (pasando de la ilusión, al desaliento y frustración, y finalmente a abondanar el intento); decidí buscar algo de información.
A couple of months ago, Arantxa told us she wanted to ride a bike without traning wheels. After witnessing the utter failure with bikes that Santa brought to some kids (going from illusion to frustration and lack of confidence to quitting); I decided to look for some information.

Mi mamá decía que lo importante era más bien el balance y estar en una bici suficientemente baja para poder pisar bien. Encontré en línea referencias a de plano olvidarse de los pedales (usando una bici de balance de plano quitándoselos). Entendiendo que lo mejor era una bici chica, decidí buscar una en "Freecycle" (gente que pasa cosas que ya no usa a desconocidos en lugar de venderlas o botarlas en la basura). Tuvimos suerte y fuimos a recoger una de 14, al recogerla vimos que era de 12". Pensamos que una de 14" estaría mejor, así que también en Freecycle conseguimos una de 14" a la que le tuvimos que cambiar la cámara y llanta.
My mom said that the most important parts were learning to balance/coast and use a small enough bike where they can touch the ground easily. I found references to a method in which pedals are completely forgotten (use a balance bike or simply remove them). Instead of buying a short one to use only for a while, I tried Freecycle (where people get rid of items they no longer use instead of selling them or dumping them), and got a 14"one. When we picked it up, we realized it was 12"; so we looked for another one. Thanks to Freecycle we got a 14" one! This one needed a change of tire and tube (word?).

Pablo y yo descubrimos que le puedes quitar los pedales pero no la cadena, así que le quitamos los pedales a la chica, y le amarró la cadena para que no estuviera suelta. Con las dos bicis estaba ideal, así que dejamos una con y una sin pedales. Empezamos a practicar un poco a mediados de Julio, pero con Gustavo, lo dejamos.
Pablo and I discovered that we could remove the pedals but not the chain from the small one, and he tied the chain so it wouldn't be loose. With 2 bycicles, we had the perfect set up so we kept one with pedals and one without.We began practicing some in July, but with Gustavo here it was harder t find time for that.

El principio fue lo más difícil, pero después de un par de días, logró atravesar el garage sin poner los pies. A lo largo de todo el proceso, Arantxa se ponía metas intermedias y pedía premios al lograrlas: casi siempre un beso o abrazo, pero un par de veces me pidió un dulce. Después pacticamos distancias más largas en la calle.
The beginning was, as usual, the hardest, but after a couple of tries she managed to coast our driveway without feet. Throughout the process, Arantxa set herself with intermediate goals and asked for small rewards (mostly kisses or hugs, but she did ask for a treat a couple of times). The driveway conquered, we practiced longer distances in the street.

Decidió que estaba lista para pedales, así que practicó 2 o 3 ratos con esa en la cancha. Logró atravesarla una vez, y luego se cayó varias veces. Finalmente hoy que tuvimos un día seco nuevamente, volvimos a intentar. Dijo que le tocaría un abrazo si lograba dar la vuelta a la glorieta, y para sorpresa de ambas lo logró a la segunda. Fuimos por Pablo para que la viera, y la pudiéramos filmar.
She deemed herself ready for pedals, so she practiced a couple of times on the court. She managed the length once, but fell a few times after that. Today, finally with dry weather again, we decided to try again. She wanted a hug if she completed the roundabout in our cul-de-sac, and surprised both of us (Ax and mom) she achieved that in her second try. We went to get Pablo, proud to show off and to be able to document the momentous occassion.

Le prometimos que le compraríamos su propia bici, así que búscaremos una pronto. Lorena tiene los ojos puestos en la de Dora (14") que hasta tiene una mochilita. A ella le prometimos que será suya en cuanto aprenda. Una vez que lo logré, pondremos la chica en Freecycle para que otra niño(a) pueda aprender.
We promised we'd get her a bike when she could ride one, so we'll be searching for one soon. Lorena is quite keen on the Dora (14") one that even has a little backpack. We promised her it was hers to keep as soon as she learned. Once she does, we'll be freecycling the small one again, so that another child can learn.

Las moralejas de la historia son:
1) Más chicos tienen menos miedo.
2) Uno puede intentar lo de siempre, o investigar un poco. El sito con el libro (si no funciona le devolvemos su dinero, http://www.ridingmadeeasy.com/) que podías bajar de internet decía que no perdieras tiempo empujando y corriendo atrás del niño, que empezar por el balance era lo más importante. Decidí intentar con eso, y pensaba pagar por el libro si nos atorábamos.
3) Las predicciones de desarrollo de nuestros hijos muchas veces son equivocadas. A los 3.5 años, Arantxa no podía pedalear el triciclo bien, eso lo dominó el verano pasado. Yo pensaba que iba a aprender mucho más tarde. Lo mismo me pasó con la leída, yo pensaba que iba a entrar a preprimaria sin saber leer; y está entrando leyendo libros de capítulos avanzados, justo antes de formalmente entrar a la escuela en preprimaria.
The morals of the story are:
1) Younger kids are less scared.
2) One can try the same as always, or research some. The website of the book you could download (money back gurantee, http://www.ridingmadeeasy.com/) said that you should not just chase after them, that learning to coast and balance needed to be learned before. We decided to give it a try with just that, but I was ready to pay the download if we got stuck.
3) The development predictions we make of our kids can frequently be erroneous. AT 3.5, Arantxa could barely pedal her trike; she finally managed well at 4.5, last summer. I thought she would go on 2 wheels much later. The same thing happened with reading. I was sure she'd enter K without knowing how to read, and here she is reading advanced chapter books right before school starts.

A bizarre day

Stating the obvious

Lorena pointed to a truck as we were driving to the Science museum asking me what it was carrying. I answered that it had plants. "Look mom!", she said excitedly, "a truck carrying plants!!!"

The girls love the Science Center and we visited the areas we usually see; we then headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Both lines wrapped around one of the food islands; it was really crowded and the cashier was moving slowly. After the girls picked up a PB&J sandwich, carrots, and apples; Arantxa decided to go look for a table. Lorena followed her and I couldn't see them, even though I knew the direction that they were headed had no other exits. I saved my spot and went to check on them, Lorena was already strapped to her high chair.

A good while later I was close enough to see that the cashier had a cell phone in hand which he was using as a calculator! Mmh... As my turn finally came, he input numbers in his phone and said "let's call it an even $14". I showed my credit card, but of course the whole system was down. "Just go and I'll look for you later" he replied as I explained that I had no cash. We were all hungry, so I just did. Halfway through lunch I went back and everything appeared to be working. The cashier effusively thanked me for going back to pay. Unusual day!

Before we left, Arantxa announced that she wanted to eat her remaining sandwich half later. I told her I would not be carrying it around, and forgot about the matter since I did not see the sandwich again. You, however, my dear reader, will not forget.

We visited some more exhibits and headed back to the parking lot. We were to return books from the Seattle Library (we usually do King County) so I tried typing the Queen Anne's address, but the GPS did not recognize it. I asked it to show me the 5 nearest cities: "there are no cities". Quite funny being where we were. I decided that maybe the parking structure was interfering with the receiver. Arantxa then told me that her straps were too tight and she needed help getting harnessed in. I was about to help her when she said, "maybe it is the sandwich". She proceeded to pull out the sandwich from her pants' front pocket!!!! Luckily she had wrapped it in the cling wrap plastic. She was very sad that her sandwich had been deformed, I, on the other hand, had to try hard not to laugh! I finally convinced her that it could have been MUCH worse and she ate it.

I backed up and saw a minivan struggling to get out. I mean, really struggling. I got out of the car to help the driver: a grandmother that was probably using a van that was not hers. Even with my help she kept running down the orange plastic tube barrier and going over the curb. I finally suggested she backed up the other way, "but, isn't it one way?". Yes, I explained, but she was pretty much stuck and out of other options, she could then use 2 open stalls to turn around. I went back to the car to back up and give her more space. She still had a very hard time, I had to use the horn to stop her from going over the curb and tube again. Another guy came up to his car and he watched in amusement. We made eye contact and shared a comprehension and slightly mischievous smile.

When she finally made it out (still going over the curb once more as she went down the ramp), the girls and I started cracking up. You know how it goes, begin with a smile and then laugh hard. I couldn't stop myself from laughing. In between laughs, I tried to explain to the girls that we could laugh now that we had helped her and knowing that she had made it out. I am sure those were the longest 10 minutes in her life.

We got out and I parked to find the library. Nothing! It kept suggesting places in PA and the east coast. It then dawned on me: the search area was not the NW. I remembered the battery had died the other day, so it forgot our settings. That fixed, I was able to find the location. As we were driving out there, Lorena said, "mom, look, my bruise is now tiny, do you know what it is like now? PLUTO!" Again, I thought she really wasn't paying much attention as we had played with a planets small exhibit. Apparently she was.

After the library it was already past 4 pm, too late for Lorena's nap; but they were both exhausted. I had to keep them awake. We managed that, on Lorena's suggestion, by playing "fortunately, unfortunately". We take turns telling a story that keeps getting worse and better, starting with one of those words and alternating. It can be fun.

They stayed awake and were super excited to see Agnes, Nicolas and Krystyna who returned from their summer in Poland this week. The kids really wanted to go outside, and it was cloudy and cold. We had to remind ourselves that "dry is good" so they went out in sweaters or jackets. This is still August, our summer was SO short.

The real sad ending...
Afterwards we went out for dinner. We decided to go to the Old Country Buffet, the girls absolute favorite place. We should have known there was something going on when there were plenty of parking spots available; the place is always packed! Then we saw the lights were out. I found flyers on all windows (interior) from another restaurant. Then I saw a different one "Come to Denny's, mention OCB is closed and get a 15% discount". Finally, in the door to the mall, a sign that explained the OCB was closed. The girls were SO sad. They SO loved to go there, eat baby corn, mac'n cheese, baked beans, beets, and especially, that soft serve ice cream with all the toppings. They will miss the pet BEE walking around handing out balloons. Lorena got SO excited every time it walked past us, talking to it.

This was already long, and I did skip over the little things, believe it or not.

Your favorite 100 books or Arantxa's summer reading.

Decidí mejor hacer este en inglés únicamente, incluyendo solo explicaciones relevantes en español.

N.B. Since I have been mainly writing about Lorena, this one will be devoted to Arantxa.

When I was a senior in high school (=6to de prepa), my friends and I found a "vocational orientation book" in the school's library. By the way, this was SO cool, the library was actually close to the classrooms and you could actually go there, which was not the case when we were sophomores and juniors, in the other campus (en 4to y 5to la biblioteca era prácticamente inaccesible). Anyway, this book had a series of quizzes to help you choose a "career". Oh, since I am already rambling on cultural differences, this one is definitely note-worthy. In Mexico, you don't major in anything; you choose a career: you come out of university a lawyer, a doctor, a mathematician, philospher, accountant, etc. There is no pre-med or law school. Granted, becoming a doctor takes longer than anything else; but that is not the case for lawyers since they start taking all the relevant classes from the beginning.

OK, back to our book. One of the questions was to "LIST YOUR FAVORITE 100 BOOKS". My close friends and I chuckled at the concept. We joked that probably if you combined all the books read by each student in a classroom, you probably would not get to 100; and we were talking about lifetime reading. Mexico is definitely not a country of readers. Some people might feel that I should not be saying this, but it gives you some context.

I still think that the question is a hard one. Can you list your favorite 100 books? I might be able to do 50, and I can now add a dozen or so great children/picture books. I mean, I have read and liked many books, but how would I determine the best 100, I have no idea.

So, what does all of this have to do with Arantxa? Arantxa is an avid reader. She began reading last March, at age 4 and 2 months; and became really independent and fluent after a summer hiatus. Then, it all moved really fast, and she's been reading at a high level (at least 4th grade for several months). Of course, the more she reads, the better she gets, the easier it is.

Summer is meant for outside play, swimming in the lake, BBQs, etc; but it is also about reading. The King county library had the challenge of reading/being read 1000 minutes. She was done with those by mid-July. Barnes and Noble offered a free book for kids who had read 8 books. She got her free book (chose Frindle, by Andrew Clements http://frindle.com/) and quickly read that. Here you can read a page http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0689818769/ref=sib_dp_pop_sup?ie=UTF8&p=random#reader-link

Her new school also has a reading summer program. Kids get their names on a postcard and a small prize if they read 12 books (every 100 pages count as one book for books over 200 pages long). So, I decided to get her reading log started. I thought of asking her to write at least a word from each title, but soon I realized that it would be too much. After all, she hasn't even started school yet. If we had done if from the beginning, we could have managed. I still have asked her to write some.

So, I start typing a spreadsheet and I am SHOCKED! We still have to walk around the house to see if we can remember what she has read, but so far, the list has 105 books!!!!

Some of those are simple picture books, a good chunk of them are from the Disney Wonderful world of Reading (about 45 pages, 1 to 5 paragraphs per page). But there are MANY, MANY early chapter books. She has read a ton of the Rainbow Fairy books since being introuced to them early August. She has also read several Disney Fairy books which contain decent language (not overly simplified), and are over 100 pages long. In addition, she has read other "regular" chapter books.

My guess is that this summer, and perhaps the next one, will be the ones in which she reads most books. I assume that later she'll naturally choose longer books. For now, she has loved reading new books, and re-reading her favorite chapter books like My Father's Dragon and all of those fairy books.

The list doesn't include the 5 or so she's read today. She was so happy when Lorena was taking a nap, and she said "Woo hoo! I read a full Disney fairy book, without interruption!".

I really don't need to do the list, but I think it will be fun for her to "read" when she is older, the books she devoured the summer before starting school.

This past couple of weeks, we've gotten to the point of wondering when it gets to the point of "too much reading". For now, she continues to play a lot and she is even managing to learn to ride her bike w/o training wheels and to swim. Aren't I the proud mom?

So, now, and just for fun, a couple of questions for my readers. When did you read the most? and what are your 100 favorite books? Well, you can at least mention a few ;).

Las interminables preguntas... Never ending questions

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ARGH! I HAD STARTED THE NEW POST EARLIER, SO WHEN I PUBLISHED IT, BLOGGER PLACED IT BELOW THIS ONE. PLEASE READ AFTER THIS ONE, OR SELECT ON THE RIGHT SIDE "THE BIG BAD WOLF.."
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Lorena está. desde hace unas semanas en la edad del porqué; pero no solo es porqué, sino cómo, qué tal si, cuándo, quién, etc. Algunas de sus preguntas son súper sencillas, otras filosóficas, complicadas, etc. Nos bombardea con preguntas todo el tiempo, muchas veces en el coche, son decenas por hora.
Lorena, in the last few weeks has reached the "age of "the whys". But it is not only why, but how, how come, what if, who, when, where... Some of her questions are pretty basic, others are philosophical, complicated, etc. We are bombarded by tens of questions per hour at some points; particularly in the car.

Aquí están algunas, en orden aleatorio.
So, here we go, in no particular order.

Lleva ya rato obsesionada con todo lo de bebés: acordándose, preguntando qué hacía de bebé, qué le gustaba, etc. Está guardando cosas para cuando sea grande y tenga su bebé Taryn. Lorena va a vivir con nosotros y yo voy a cuidar a sus bebés junto con ella.

"Mamá, ¿cómo me metiste a tu pancita? y ¿cómo me sacaste?"

She has been obsessed with her being a baby, remembering about that, asking what she was like, what she liked, etc. By the way, she is planning to keep some items for her baby Taryn; they are going to live with us, and I am going to take care of her babies with her.

"Mom, how did you get me in your tummy? And, how did you get me out?".

Todas estas preguntas, al ser respondidas, generan nuevas preguntas.
¿Cómo se hacen los zapatos?
¿Qué es el metal?
¿Cómo encuentran el metal?
¿Porqué las cortadas son rojas?
¿Porqué la sangre es roja?
¿Cómo hacen los coches?
All of these questions, of course, generate more questions when answered.
How are shoes made?
What is metal?
how is metal found?
Why are cuts (skin) red?
Why is blood red?
how do they make cars?

Hablando de los personajes de Disney.
¿Porqué Maléfica es mala? ?Porqué no la invitaron a la fiesta de Aurora bebé? ?Porqué los papás aceptaron el regalo/maleficio de Maléfica?
¿Qué animal es Daisy? No, no es un pato, es un personaje: habla y hace cosas que los patos no hacen. Es muy chistoso.
¿Porqué los personajes malos son villanos?
¿Son malos los lobos de la Bella y la Bestia? ¿Porqué no son malos? ¿Es mala la madrastra de Cenicienta?
Speaking of Disney stories and characters.
Why is Maleficent evil? Why wasn't she invited to Aurora's baby party? Why did her parents accept her gift/curse?
What animal is Daisy? No, she is not a duck, she is a character: she talks and does things that animals don't do. It is very silly!
Why are the evil characters villains?
ARe the wolves from Beauty and the Beast evil? Why aren't they? Is Cinderella's stepmother evil?

sigue preguntando SIEMPRE, ¿porqué se llama así? Le pido que se conteste y siempre me recita mi respuesta: porque así le pusieron.
¿qué es "el mal"? Después de rezar el Padre Nuestro.
¿qué es dormir? Muchas de sus preguntas son semánticas, y son de las más difíciles de contestar. Se la pasa preguntando el significado de palabras nuevas, pero sobre todo de palabras aparentemente sencillas.
She continues to ask constantly one of her favorites. "Why is she/he named like that?". I now ask her to answer herself and she recites my response, "because that is how they named her/him".
After praying Our Father: "what is Evil?
What is "sleep"? Many of her questions are semantic, and those end up being among the hardest to answer. she constantly asks about new words she hears, but mostly, she asks about words she has used forever, and that are apparently easy.

!nos deja mentalmente agotados al final de cada día! Cuando me canso, le pregunto, "¿por qué me haces tantas preguntas?". y le enseñé a responderme: mamá, porque tengo 3 años y quiero aprender todo.
She leaves us mentally wiped by the end of every day! When I get tired, I ask her, "why are you making so many questions?". I have taught her to respond this way: mom. because I am 3 and I want to learn everything.

The Big Bad Wolf and other funnies

Más de Lorena. Le encanta probar nuevas palabras, y a veces abusa de las nuevas o las que le gustan más. Como se darán cuenta, está obsesionada con el lobo feroz, los 3 cochinitos, Caperucita Roja, etc.

Pasando frente a una peluquería: "Me URGE un corte de pelo".

A few more funnies. Lorena loves to try new words, and many times she overuses one that she really likes. As you'll notice, she is currently obsessed with the big bad wolf, the 3 little pigs, Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH), etc.

We went past a barber shop in Pike Place Market, and she said, "I am in URGENT need of a haircut".

"Todas las cosas carnivoras viven en el bosque, así que todos, Maurice (el papá de Bella), Bella, la Bestia, Caperucita.... no debían de haber ido ahí.... se los pueden comer. Suspiro. Qué bueno que no se los comieron. Todos ellos decidieron volver a ir al bosque, pero no debieron, porque las criaturas carnivoras viven ahí"

"All of the carnivore things live in the forest, so all of them: Maurice (belle's dad), Belle, LRRH, the Beast,... should not have gone there.... they can be eaten. Phew, they were not eaten, good. They all decided to go back through the forest, but they shouldn't have, beause the carnivore creatures live there".

"No me sé el nombre de todos los lobos"
"I don't know the name of al the wolves".

Para mejor entender las siguientes, es necesario que recuerden/sepan que Lorena es súper sensible. Lloraba cuando cantaba Cielito Lindo (canta y no llores.. BUAH!), y muchas otras historias, canciones, etc. la hacen llorar. Hace unas semanas se la pasó llorando la mitad de la película de WALL-E, "dónde está EVA, por qué no están juntos?".

Le estoy leyendo una versión de Caperucita en la que el lobo sí se las come a las dos. El cuento, naturalmente, tiene un final feliz cuando un cazador las saca a las dos de la panza, "todavía vivas". Sin embargo, lo siguiente lo dijo antes de que llegáramos a esa parte. Por cierto, le encanta comparar y contrastar las versiones de los cuentos.

"Espero que el lobo se haya tragado a la abuelita rápido. Si no, le puede pasar lo que me pasó esta mañana cuando se me atoró el cereal en la espalda (eso dijo en la mañana, yo creo que se le fue chueco y así lo describió)".

"Yo creo que le quitó la capa antes de comerse a Capeucita".

To better understand the following, it is important to remember that Lorena has always been hyper-sensitive. Even a few months ago she would cry when hearing "Rock-A-Bye Baby"; even versions that were purely silly. Many songs, stories, music, books make her cry. Just a couple of weeks ago, cried half of Wall-E (movie) because the 2 robots were separated.

She, by the way, loves to compare and contrast stories and books versions of the same or different tales. I was reading to her a version of Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH) in which the wolf actually eats both of them. Naturally, there is a happy ending when a hunter takes them out of the belly "still alive". However, when she made her comments, we had not reached that part.

"I hope the wolf swallowed the grandma quickly, if not, it could happen to him like me, when the cereal got stuck in my back (in the AM she had complained like that, I think she swallowed wrong)".


"I think he removed the cape first, before eating LRRH, it would be much easier that way".

Después de mi shock inicial, me di cuenta que es una buena señal. Hace poco, todavía era incapaz de ver la historia desde otro punto de vista. No entendía "por qué el Rey y la Reina aceptaron el regalo/maleficio de Maléfica".

After my initial shock, I realized that it is a good sign. She is now able to see the story from different perspectives, and a little while ago she couldn't. she'd say things like: why did Aurora receive Maleficent's"gift/curse".

"El lobo debía de haber ido a la tienda a comprar su comida". Creánlo o no, le explicamos con frecuencia que las chuletas son de marrano/puerco, la carne de res es de vacas, etc. y que somos omnívoros. Aparentemente no le importa siempre que llegue a su plato sin forma discernible.

"The wolf should have gone to the store to buy his food instead of trying to eat the pigs". Believe it or not, we make a big point of us being omnivores, that the pork chops come from pigs, beef from cows, etc. Apparently, as long as they come already cut in pieces, she has no problem with it.

En el súper, tratando de convencerme. "Mamá, porfa cómprame ese yogurt, me ayuda a concentrarme mejor". y eso, viniendo de una niña que no ve anuncios....

In the supermarket. trying her best to convince me, "Mom, please buy me that yogurt, it helps me concentrate better". That coming from a girl that doesn't even see TV ads..

Antes de ir a casa de unos amigos a cenar. "Tenemos que investigar que juguetes tiene Galia para saber con qué vamos a jugar en su casa".

En la cena, ve que la mesa está puesta con mantelitos de esos de mezclilla que parecen jeans. "Mira, convirtieron la mesa en pantalones!".

Before going to our friends' house for dinner. "We need to research which toys G has so that we know what we'll play with at her house".

We got their house and the placemats were those denim ones with pockets (look like jeans). "Look, they converted the table into some pants!".

Viendo la inauguración de las Olimpiadas hubo un anuncio con un dragón. Mmh, sí ha visto anuncios de TV.
Lorena: !qué difícil para el dragón escupir fuego!
Arantxa: Son robots, Lorena.

Watching the Olympics opening ceremony there was an ad with a dragon that scared her. Oops! I guess she has seen TV ads!

Lorena: How difficult for the dragon (the one in the new TV ads, GE I think) to spit fire!"
Arantxa: They are robots Lorena.

Arantxa me quería contar un secreto, y le dije que Lorena se iba a sentir. Así que llamó a su hermana y le dijo cualquier cosa como secreto. Un rato después me llamó a su cuarto para decirme el verdadero secreto. "Mamá, !creo que tengo oro de a de veraz en mi cuarto! Lo encontré en mi cofre de tesoro". O sea que debemos ir más seguido a McDonald's... hace meses daban oro en sus cofres de Piratas del Caribe, pero no nos dimos cuenta a tiempo.

Arantxa wanted to tell me a secret and I told her Lorena would feel bad, that she could tell me later. she instead called Lorena and told her something. Later, she called me into her room for the real secret. "Mom, I think I have real gold in my room! I found some in my treasure chest" Too bad we did not realize on time, we would have headed for more Happy Meal toys from McDonald's a few months ago when they had the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.

I hope you got a chuckle out of these!

Espero que algunas de estas los hayan hecho reir....

Some of the funny things Lorena says

THINGS LORENA SAYS. LO QUE LORENA DICE.

Cada disfraz necesita tener un símbolo para que sepan de qué es el disfraz, o de qué princesa es.
Each costume needs to have a symbol so that they know what the costume is, or what princess it is.

Gustavo was tickling her during lunch so she said, "People don't like being tickled while they are eating".
Gustavo le estaba haciendo cosquillas en la comida. "a las personas no les gusta que les hagan cosquillas mientras comen."

Pablo is away for the week. "Dad is a bit angry because he is not with his little ones".
Pablo está fuera esta semana. "Papá está un poco enojado porque no está con sus chiquitas".

The last day Gustavo was here, again while eating, she turned to him frowning, and sad "Hey, the day you got here, I was VERY hungry". How is that for holding a grudge? He arrived at 6, so we ate dinner at the airport. We reminded her of that and let her know that it was really not Gustavo's fault. She replied, like the caterpillar, "but I was still hungry". We did have to eat fast in order to be there when he came.
El último día que Gustavo estvo aquí, otra vez durante la comida, se voltea y le dice frunciendo el ceño: "Hey, el día que llegaste tenía MUCHA hambre". ?Qué tal la guardada del rencor, eh? Leegó a las 6 así que cenamos en el aeropuerto. Le recordamos eso y le aclaramos que no era culp de Gusi. Respondió, como la oruga del libro de Carle, "pero todavía tenía hambre". Claro, tuvimos que carrerearlas para irlo a recibir.

A couple of months ago she had a pee accident, and when I asked her why, she explained "because I am not very fast".
Hace unos meses tuvo un accidente de pipí y cuando le pregunté el porqué, me respondió "es que no soy muy rápida".

"It would seem that my dinosaur had a horse's mane"
"Pareciera que mi dinosaurio tuviera una crin.". Sus construcciones me siguen impresionando.

Lorena painted me a mug and committed the crime of giving Pablo some coffee in it. "Mothers can't give coffee to their fathers (instead of saying husbands) in their special mother's day mugs".
Lorena me había pintado un tarro, y yo osé servirle café a Pablo en él. "Las mamás no pueden darle café sus papás (en lugar de decir esposos) en sus tarros especiales del día de las madres".

Sometimes she gets confused with words...
Ejemplos de cuando se confunde de palabras.

We were out for dinner, and she said in Spanish "?sabes cómo se dice albóndigas en Inglés? (Do you know how meatballas are called in English?). Then she answers herself, full volume, in English of course, NIPPLES!!! NIPPLES!
Fuimos a cenar y dijo en Españo, "?sabes cómo se dice albóndigas en Inglés?". Y se respondió en voz alta, a todo volumen: NIPPLES! NIPPLES! (pezones).

The other one would make sense only in Spanish. She said Mia and she had eaten "Original" tortillas for lunch. I asked her what those were, and she said the ones with little dots on them. Ah, "whole wheat". the words in Spanish are integral and original. Not even that close, but also rhyming. I think she is ready for more rhyming games.
La recogimos de la escuela (summer camp) y nos dijo que ella y Mia habían comido tortillas originales en la comida. Le pregunté que cuáles eran las tortillas originales, y me explicó que las que tenían puntitos . !Eran integrales!

Yesterday it was only the 2 of us in the car and she says angrily "Hey, who did not arrange my shirt? It has lines and I feel my skin!". She hates for her shirt to get wrinkled in her car seat, or that the shirt rides up and leaves some exposed skin. This is another example of how she loves to say things indirectly.
Ayer estábamos en el coche las dos solas y me dice enojada, "Hey, ?quién no me arregló la blusa? !Tiene rayitas y siento mi piel!". LE choca que su blusa se haga "rayitas" (arrugas) en la silla del coche o que la blusa se le suba y le deje piel expuesta.

One from Arantxa . "the cake was not pretty, it was delightful".
Una de Arantxa: "el pastel no está bonito, está encantador".

Mañana voy a escribir de las preguntas que me traen loca....
Tomorrow I'll share some of the questions that are drivng me crazy.