Help you?

2am. I wake up in pain. Back spasms. I try to stretch. Not working. 2:30am, I give. I take a muscle relaxant. Everyone else is fast asleep. I stay awake until I feel it working, then I crash.

7am. Animalia wakes up. "Maaaaamaaaaaaa, wheh aaahhhhh youuuuu?" Daht is still in bed, having stayed up late playing video games. I stumble to her camita, lift her out and into bed with me. She likes to sleep til 8, so maybe she'll fall back to sleep. I still feel the pill.

7:15am. Animalia is bouncing on and around us. We're barcos first, then horseys. Mama and Daht are still asleep.

7:30am. A tiny voice says "Mama help you?" I open one eye. Animalia is wedged in the narrow space between the wall and the bed. I can only see her from the shoulders up. She's giggling. "Mama help you?" she asks again. I manage to wake up and pull her out of the hole. She hugs and kisses. She also wants off the bed. I put her in her bedroom, immediately adjacent to our room, and she wanders away to play.

7:45am. I hear her tiny voice talking to her zapatos, putting on calcetines, talking to her dollies. Daht decides to wake up at this point. I struggle to open my eyes. He tells me that she's fine, they'll hang out together, go ahead and get some more sleep.

8:00am. Animalia has entertained herself for an hour. The struggle is over. Awake has won. "Mama help you?" is echoing in my mind. Guilt has won.

Animalia, creepy

Mother's intuition woke me up, sometime around 2 a.m.

Animalia's tiny voice said, "Niiiiiiinnnnaaaaaaaaaaa. Whehhh aahhhh yooouuuuuu?"

I checked on her. She was fast asleep.

Pain in the butt.

Nana was bothering Animalia, as per usual.

"Nana pain in the butt," Animalia said, under her breath.
Nana, shocked and apalled, asked the Animalia, "Did you just call Nana a pain in the butt?"
"No?" replied Animalia, somewhat confidently.

Later, as Nana was telling me this story I just knew. I just knew Animalia had said it and was trying to cover her own pain in the butt.

P.S. She learned the term "pain in the butt" from Nana. Reap what you sow, Nana. Reap what you sow.

What we mean to her:

Nana means papa, coloring, dancing, libros, going to the post office, shopping for fruits and vegetables and pan, baths, owies, and good mornings. Nana drives a brown(ish) car. Nana is called Nona Nana Mana (and various combinations of these things), Nans, Nanis, Nani, Nanitas.

Tata means horsey, help watering flowers, dancing, platanos, agua con hielo, and buenos dias. Tata drives a big white truck that's good for playing in. Tata is called Tatis, Tats, Tomás No Más, Tatati, Tatitas.

Daht means drawing, upside down, tickling, jumping in the bed, parks, dogs, hiding under the water, popsicles, cookies, fighting and blankets at night. Daht is called Daddy, Dad, Dah, Jimmy, and James.

Mama means sopita, arroz, pasta, bailando, playing piano, libros, "see you later, Nana," abrazos, and mimis. Mama's car is red. Mama is called mom, mami, mum, corazón, and Maya.

Uncle (Unko) means horsey and fixing it. Unko broke it. Unko also means huggables and lounging watching TV. Unko rides a bicycle.

Popsicles: Animalia manipulates (in three parts)

Part ONE:
One evening we pulled some Otter Pops out of the freezer. Animalia, as per usual, decided that she would be sharing with her Mama. She was happy until it was over. She looked over, noticed that Daht still had some and crawled across the couch to him. Mwahhhh! Mwahhhh! Abrazos, Daht. Aya love Daht. She crawled onto his lap and happily shared his remaining pop.

Part TWO:
The following evening. Same setup. Mama's pop is gone. Daht still has some. Animalia crawls over to him. Daht Aya's friend, she says. Friends. Aya want it. Friends? Her Daht is a sucker. He shares. She shivers with frio, as she knows Daht thinks this is adorable.

Part THREE:
Third night of Otter Pops. Again, same setup. This time, Aya tells Daht she will HELP him with his pop. Aya help Daht. Aya good girl. Aya helper.

Aya knows how to work her Daht. Aya has a sweet tooth.

This morning...

Animalia was counting the bars on the wrought iron outside my bedroom window. "One, two, three, four, five," she said, "and a SHINY PENNY!"

Where on earth does she get this stuff?

P.S. There was no shiny penny.

Tiny zapatos

I walked into Nana's for lunch. The first thing I noticed was Animalia, sitting in her high chair, happy as a clam. The second thing I noticed was her zapatos. Her toes were hanging over the front of these tiny white sandals. "I think those shoes are too small for her," I told Nana.
"I KNOW those shoes are too small," replied Nana, "but she found them and insisted on wearing them. She calls them her Tiny Zapatos. It was really funny when we took her to the May Day thing at the park and she danced around in them."
"You took her outside looking like that?!" I asked, appalled.
"She insisted," said Nana.
"Mama, look Aya's tiny zapatos," Animalia said happily.

A few days later she would find a tank top that no longer fits and insist on wearing her "tiny shirt."

¡Noches!

"Na-night, Nana.
Na-night, Tata.
Na-night, Daht.
Na-night, Cupo.
Na-night, Unko.
Na-night, Yito Yi.
Na-night, Yina.
Na-night, Nina.
Na-night, Mahnda.
Na-night, Deg.



Noches, Mama."





Goodnight, baby. Buenas noches.

No, kids!

This morning, the Animalia was reading a JCPenny ad. She focused on the children's pages, offering the kids in the picture her rubber ducky. "Here, kids. Pato!" she said happily. "Here you go, kids!" Apparently they were way too interested in her pato because after awhile she snatched it back, saying, "No, kids! Es Aya's Pato!"

Methinks we need to take expose her to more kids. Fighting with imaginary kids seems a little sadly hilarious, no?