Cold November Rain

didn't you already use that title, mama?

?

coming soon... maybe, maybe not

You poopie head!!!

We spent the beginning of the month, Labor Day, in Austin. When we arrived on Saturday, we went to the Buenos Aires Cafe of course. Then we saw some motorized bikes that we stopped and looked at and watched Papi try one. Then mama, I and Liam went shopping on Congress while Papi watched soccer with Dani. We went into some toy stores, and a highlight was watching two gilrs play violin and sing on the corner. Also, we stopped at the cupcake trailor, and I got a cupcake. Then we went to Waterloo, where there are lots of toys to play with. Finally, we made it to Bill's house, and went to bed. The next day, we went to brunch with Jenny, who is about to have a baby, and chancee. That was pretty fun, but I didn't truly appreciate my chocolate chip pancakes. We shopped around a little after that while my little baby brother napped. Then we decided to go to New Braunfels. When we arived at our hotel, I was excited to see the pool had a chute style slide, and I went down that over and over, once falling to really hurt my head. We swam and had a really great time. Meanwhile, Papi was grilling food for us, and we went over there to eat. There was another family with some older kids who had flow in the dark necklaces to play with. I meekly approached them and asked for some to share. We got to play with and enjoy these for a good while til I refused to acknowledge Papi's request that I not bite it or do something dangerous with it. So then we had to return them and we did. Soon after, we had to go to bed. We had a cool futon in the room with a futon, and Mama and Papi put us to bed watching cartoons on the TV. I tended to my brother and was really sweet. Eventually, we both fell asleep. The next day, we went out to the river and I was already to go but there was no action at all. Everything was closed and there were no people tubing. We just hung out there for a while, and here is a video of us playing:

Mama actually took a lot of videos of me telling stories, but they got erased.
I went to school, and really enjoyed sportstyme and soccer afterschool.
We decided to try the new Cooper's in New Braunfels. It was ok. Then we headed to San Marcos and decided to play mini-golf at Landa Park. That was really fun. I left my family in the dust and completed all the holes by myself. Then we headed to Wonderworld, but Mama decided for us to not go, and instead we went to ride the river down the Comal in San Marcos. I liked this; it was pretty fun. My little baby brother, William, didn't like it at all and cried the whole way. I thought it was neat how we could tie the tubes together and go down the river together, and the peril of when we got separated. I also watched in morbid curiosity at the boys who would jump of the high bridges into the water. There were also people jumping off ropes from the side of the river. In reality, however, all I was thinking of was acquiring a popcicle at the end of the voyage, and If I were really lucky, a package of chips too. I saw all that in the place where we rented the tubes, and that's the main thing I was thinking of the whole time. Thankfully, when we were done, Papi took me and bought me the chips and popcicle, which I shared with William.
end of vacation. Back at school. I played with Hassan one evening. We went to whole Foods, and I pushed my own cart. I went to Spanish Class on. Mama noted that now I'm saying, "what the..." or "what the heck? I let my parents know that Caroline talks like she has a booger in her throat. "she doesn't even try to drink a little water and make a little hole in there." I also said that "I wish Colton came over. I have missed him!" I spent the weekend then with Mimi. Mama got a note home from the teacher the next day that said I was talking during naptime and to please ask me to stop. The note provided for her to sign, and another note that said, "I had to ask you to sign and return this note because Lana said that if I sent a note home, she would just tear it up."
The next weekeend, I went to Isabela's party. She had a jumpy thing in the backyard, and I played with Nicky a lot. I presented Isabela with her present, and, wanted to stay the night with Mimi again. I went to school, and really enjoyed sportstyme and soccer afterschool. Mumsy picked me up, so I went to Mumsy's house and helped out a lot with Liam. The next day, Soon after, I got a Halloween catalog in the mail, and I wanted everything out of it. On Tuesday, I enjoyed gymnastics, and Mimi picked me up after that.
The next weekend, I went to the Galleria with Papi, had fun with the bungee jumping trampoline, and the rainforest cafe. I bought the same souvenir for me and one for Allison. The next day, I went to a birthday party that had swimming, and enjoyed that. On Sunday, we went to brunch at Pico's, and played in the fountain, which was broken.
A few days later, I had a special evening with Mama, Mimi, and Mumsy, and they took me to see the Wizard of Oz on the big screen. I really enjoyed that except that I didn't like the witch scenes and was disappointed we weren't allowed to buy any popcorn or drinks from the theater.
The next night, I pretended to be my teacher, and Mama realized my teacher don't take no crap. The next night, I spet with mimi. The night after, I saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with Allison. On Sunday, we went to brunch at Tintos, and the singer sang songs to me. Afterward, we went to the Halloween store, where I enj0yed the butterfly section.
That night, we had ice cream cones in celebration of William's 18 month birthday. Liam was looking at some bones meant for Fox, and I told him, "If you eat that, you will turn into a dog."
The next morning, there was a parent teacher conference, in which my teacher told me parents, "Lana has the potential to be a leader," and that I can do things that other kids don't have a clue about, and told a story of where I blindfolded myself and counted out 20 crayons without erring or cheating. My teacher also said I was very social and outgoing, and that I mixed well with the students from all different classes. My teacher also said I pick up things very quickly, and often finish before my peers even though I get a late start (thanks, mom). Mama also discovered that I had mistakenly been in ballet class, and, that I had been loving it!! The teacher suggested that maybe I liked it because we play with teddy bears and such, but I told Mama that the difference in this class is that the teacher wears a purple shirt with a ballerina in the middle, and I like that.
one time, Papi was listening to the TV too loudly, and I said, "turn that down, you poopie head!" I've taken to calling a lot of people "poopie head," this month.
On the 27th, it was Liam's 1 1/2 year birthday, and we celebrated with ice cream cones. On the last day of the month, I found out that I had been subscribed to the Highlights hideout magazine, and I was so cute in closing my eyes waiting for the surprise. Also, I was so happy to get it. I have really enjoyed this present each month.

pretty little school girl

On the first day of the month, I started off going to Colton's birthday party in Galveston. It was really fun. I love the beach. The ice cream truck came by and I bought a tweety bird ice cream and shared it with Liam. Mama thought she had put enough sunscream on me but we were out there for a really long time ago and I got my first sunburn. I really enjoyed playing in the sand. When we got back to town, Mama met Mumsy at the Galleria, and Papi took us around to get something to eat and to play around. The next day was Aubrey's birthday! It was at her grandparent's really cool house. We got to go swimming and Colton was there too! We had a fun scavenger hunt where we had to find prizes wrapped in our color tissue paper, and I got to look for both mine and william's things. During the candle blowing out ceremony, I was kinda like, "been there done that, let's get this show on the road and get me my cupcake!" After that, and playing with lots of bubbles, I got to play for a long time with Aubrey and Colton while our Mamas chatted.
On Monday, we went to pick out my uniforms for my new school! I really enjoyed this. They didn't have my size, so we had to order a bunch of stuff. But for the stuff they did have, when we got home I spread it all out on the floor and requested that Mama hang it in my closet immediately. I was very proud of it. That evening, I went to my first set of private swim lessons with a new teacher, Kara. After that, I went to the gym nursery while Mama worked out and greeted my friends who were there waiting for me. The next day, Mama finally hooked up my computer keyboard that I got for Christmas! And thus began the fighting over the computer amongst all the family members. Even William wanted to get in on the action and I would have to hold him at bay so he wouldn't mess up what I was working on. My favorite things to do on the computer are art projects. Later, I went with Mama to get her clothes altered, and I was a very good helper while we were there. Then, I persuaded Mama and Papi to take me to Happy Meal! I had my own private little meal with them and got to play for a little bit. I told Papi that Mama was "going to go to work to make some money." Then we had to go because Papi had to go to Loseyanna.
The next morning, I woke up really early and came downstairs and climbed in bed with Mama. But, I wouldn't sit still or be quiet, so mama gave me some milk and cereal to watch cartoons in front of the living room TV. In a little while, Mama and Liam got up and we went to our last library storytime. I made a card for Miss Leona thanking her for the past year of wonderful storytimes and gave her a big good-bye hug. Miss Leona said she had really enjoyed having us come every week. After the library, we went to the water park behind the library, and had a really good time, though it was really really hot in Mama's opinion. We stayed there a little while playing, and then Mama took us to our last Chick Fil A visit. Mama was trying to do all the things we like to do in her last week home from work. She even got up and played with us in the play area. We said good bye to the old man who always gives us balloons and lemonade refills and thanked him for always being so kind. This time, he even gave us some desert mints too! When we got home, I drew pictures for a few hours, and then we went to my swim class. Mama let Liam and I play for a little while in the water after the lesson. Then we went home and she made us blueberry smoothies, which we really like a lot! That evening, I ate the Dora pasta of my choice out of a Spongebob bowl, and watched Wow Wow Wubzy I got for my birthday during dinner. Mama was in super indulgent mode, I loved it! Afterward, I took a rare bath, and then we went to my room I admired my new uniforms. I dressed my new constant companion, the neon yellow elephant from the rodeo carnival, in some of my pajamas. I got to play with my new computer a little bit and then had to finally go to bed.
On Thursday, we had a wonderful day at the beach with Mrs. Alsup and her husband, Al. I told mama that, "This is my favorite place!!" We played on the beach in the morning, and then we went and had a nice lunch, where I got a ring out of the little vending machine, and Liam got a little ball. When we got back, they showed me some different shells and the sounds they make. I played with Al for hours, pretending we were riding in a bus and all sorts of things. I really gave his patience a run for his money, but I hope he enjoyed it. They gave me a flamingo purse before leaving, which I think is so darling. Liam took a nap in the hammock outside. It was really nice out there. I hung out inside with Mrs. Alsup for a little while. Finally, Mama was talking about how it was going to be time for us to leave soon, and I told her, "But we can stay the night, Mama, she has extra bedrooms for you and for me and Liam." But, we had to go. I was so tired, that I fell asleep in the car before we got off the seawall. Just before we got home, we stopped at Mimi's, where she had baked me a carrot cake, and Mumsy and Papa had finally brought their presents for my birthday over. When we were getting out of the car, Mama saw that Liam had been chewing on a styrophome cup back there, and said, "OMG, I didn't know he was doing that," and I deadpanned, "I hope he doesn't die." We went inside, and I received my first pair of roller skates! I was so so proud of them and can't wait to skate all over the place. Here are some videos:


The next day, we went early in the morning to visit mine and Liam's new school. Liam got to meet his teacher and do a test run of hanging out there. I stayed with him just in case. Mama had to do some paperwork, and when she came back, we took off to one of the most fun things we've ever done, the Preschool Skate at the Dairy Ashford Roller Rink, where Mama always went when she was little. There were like 100 kids there and a line out the door to get in. Liam got to bring his scooter and he was tearing through the parking lot on it. We got inside and it was so fun. They had a dj playing, and I got to eat popcorn and sprite and play some games, but the best part was finally dressing up in my roller girl outfit and giving it a go. Mama never learned how to skate, so some of the other moms we were meeting there helped me skate around. Mama thought I was a natural and did very well! That afternoon, my friend Ashley and her older sister Hailey came over to play with me. That was really fun. We have been meaning to get together all summer and this was our last chance. We had a great time playing together, and kept trying to kick Liam out of our room. Mama was pleased that with these friends, we didn't tear anything up or make a mess. After they left, Mama had to dedicate herself to cleaning because she was hosting a girls' night party. A few friends came over to play with me: Mateo and Colton. Surbi brought me a birthday present, and it was a really cool collection of princess things, a purple boa, tiara, things to match, all in a purple bod. A really cool idea! I modeled the items for her. The only problem with the night was that Mama and Papi tried to keep us in the playroom because it was supposed to be a grownup party, and Liam kept wanting to go burn his arm off in the oven, but besides that, it was fun, especially when we were finally allowed to roam free. On Saturday morning, we went to Gabriel's birthday party, which was fun. It was at Biron's, and it was a transformers theme and we all got capes! I got to see coach naomi for the last time and she hugged me and told me she loved me. As soon as we got home, I had to don my bathing suit for my best friend, Allison's 4th birthday party. Papi took me over there while Mama and Liam took a little nap. I had a blast on the big water slide and playing with Allison and all her girlfriends, and eating lots of candy. I ended up getting to sleep over there with them. What a blast.
On Monday, Mama started work, and so I spent the day at Arminda's with Lucas and Adrian. Mama was shocked when she picked me up that I was sitting at the table pleasantly eating a well balanced meal. Mama wanted to know why I won't do that for her! The next day at there house was lots of fun. I had water balloon fights, went swimming, went to the gym nursery and ballet and tumbling class there, and I read a book and played video games with Adrian, "who didn't teached me!" That night, I talked to Abuela and my other family in Argentina and sang Feliz Cumpleanos to her. It was very sweet. I tried to get Liam to say Feliz Cumpleanos too, and I said, "just say it, Liam, Don't just be nervous!"
I continued to have a marvelous time at Arminda's house the rest of the week. She took us to do lots of things and played with us a lot at home. On Friday, Griffin came over, and we played and we watched the Muppet Movie. I am convinced that Animal is really Elmo in disguise. The next afternoon was Dannia's birthday party. In addition to her present, I made a painting for her, which Liam helped with. We swam in her pool of course, and I almost had a scare when my noodle got out from under me. I enjoyed playing with all my friends there,including Siona, Selin, Ximena, Naia, and Alondra, and Dannia had a really fancy mermaid pinata. After the party, I went to Mimi's house and spent the night with her. On Sunday, we went to brunch at Hungry's, which was delicious, and then we went to Sofia's birthday party at a gym out in Katy. It turns out this was one of the most fun and cleanest gyms we've ever been to and the whole family had fun. We got to take turns doing things on the various equipment, and jumped on trampolines a lot, and played in a big play area. I got some really nice party favors too. Here are some videos from the gym:




After the party, we went to Macy's, and apparently from Mama's notes I acted up there, but I can't remember what I did. After Macy's, we went to the Transco Tower Fountain, which was really amazing! We also played in the field in front, and I practiced doing 4rolls and helped Liam to do them too. The next day began my week with Mimi, in which I was catered to in every way. I went to a swim lesson in the evening, and then went back to Mimi's house. After my last swim class on Wednesday, when we went back to Mimi's house, I played tricks on her by ringing the door bell and running and hiding in front of the garage. I thought this was soooo funny. Unfortunately, Mimi did't hear the doorbell, so I didn't reap the full rewards of the gag. I still had the biggest smile of anticipation while I waited. That night, Mumsy came over and fed me like a baby, still one of my favorite things.
On Friday, I spent the evening with Papi while Mama went out shopping. On Saturday, we went test driving cars, and then the babysitter came over that night while Mama and Papi went out to a birthday party. On Sunday, we ate blueberry waffles, and on Monday, it was:
MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! When we were leaving the house, Papi tried to say bye to me but I started crying real tears in sadness that he wasn't accompanying us. But when we got there and were collecting our things out on the sidewalk, Papi surprised me! So, I started Pre-Kindergarten with Mrs. Maness. I was so very excited!! I really liked having my book bag and lunch kit, and I have my own cubby to store them in. Mama and Papi took lots of pictures of my first day. It was weird for Mama because she started school at this very place and she remebers her first day of school too, like it was yesterday! After school that day and every day thereafter, however, I disappointed Mama by not telling her a single thing about it. Every day I say, "I forgot. I already told you, Mom, I forgot everything. No, I didn't make any friends." So, I've been keeping Mama in the dark about what I've been doing, but she has found out from all the work being sent home that I am learning about colors, shapes, the days of the week, how to write, how to cut. I also go to motor skills, science, music, spanish classes and library. I also have chapel in Cheezus' house. On Friday, I spent the night with Mimi. She took me to McDonald's, and we were going to play in the back but there were so many big kids there yelling and screaming that "she couldn't stand it" so we left. That afternoon, I talked to Mimi and Liam on the phone, and Mama couldn't believe how grown up I sounded. This was also the first time we have had a conversation over the phone! It was cute. On Monday, as Mama was driving me to school, concerned about her maneuvering, I said, "Watch it, Mama, I don't want to be dead!" And so begins my life in school. I've been bugging Mama to let me start school for so long, and she would always say, don't worry, you have 25 years of school ahead of you (hoping I'll be a doctor, I guess), and anyway, so here begins my educational journey!

I was 3 before but now I just turned 4

This was my birthday month!! Finally, I have been waiting for July to come for like 6 months! I began the month at the Noah's Ark pool. I had a blast there with my friends as always. Mama showed my my birthday evite, and I said, "I can't wait to find out what's in her for my birthday. Well, that sure was a good present for my birthday." [editor's note: I might be missing some context here for the statement]. The next day, I spent with Mimi, and later I went to Allison's house to play. Over the weekend, I spent time with my grandparents and Mimi. Mumsy and Papa took me to Benihana ("the volcano place"), and I was the life of the table, chatting up all our tablemates. On Monday, I had a swim lesson. I did Monday/Wednesday lessons for July. A couple of times my swim partner didn't show up and Mama noticed that I performed much better one on one with the teacher. The next day, we watched the Michael Jackson memorial, and Mama tried to hide it from me, but I saw she got a little emotional. She watched it on CNN, and later when we were in the car and they played MJ on the radio, I said, "This is news, Mama!" She explained how she really used to like this singer when she was a very little girl, but the angels came to take him with them. That afternoon, I went to a tumbling and ballet class at the gym. I still don't like ballet, and didn't receive a sticker for my poor behavior, but later Miss Sandra relented and gave me a sticker because I did perform quite exceptionally during the earlier tumbling class. On Wednesday, we went to library storytime.
I started saying some small sentences in Spanish this month, which surprised Mama, who also thought it was about time after being spoken to by Papi in Spanish for 4 years. I nonchalantly threw in phrases, like, "ok, ok, I'm already coming, ya voy!! (in annoyed tone)" Speaking of talking, I LOVE to engage in imaginary conversations, and imaginary role playing games, and all kinds of pretend. Although I've gotten better about eating, there are still times when I fool around and don't eat, and one night, Mama pulled the "you won't turn 4" card--she said, "If you don't eat, you won't grow, so you won't turn 4, and then you won't be able to have a birthday party." I was unphased and didn't fall for it at all. I retorted, "But LiSA, I won't just be stuck in July forever!!" I also started off July going to Arya's very first birthday party!! It was at a really cool park, and as I was headed out there, I was so ready to get the party started! That night at dinner, I made an observation during dinner: "Abuela lives far away, Jordan lives far away, Val lives far away, so I know 3 people who all live far away, and they're all womens." The next day I did some wacky things. I ate peanut butter pretzel treats with ketchup, and I cut my own hair. Mama was helping me cut out some backyardigans domino things for my birthday with real scissors. I seemed to be acting very responsible about it all and she had to get up to answer the phone. When she returned, I had cut off a long precious lock of my hair. Mama was quite upset and asked me why on earth would I do that, and I replied, "You have to watch me!!!" Later, Mama told me she was digging around for something and I pointed out, "Actually, you are are not digging, you are just walking around looking for something." Later on, Mama had left the water running while not actively using the stream for 2 seconds and I commanded her, "Mama, turn off the water!! Mimi says that's expensive!"
On Friday, the 10th, we celebrated Santiago's birthday during the Playgroup en Espanol, and that was fun. I stocked up on candy from the pinata. But the big event of the day was going to see Dora Live at the Wortham Theater downtown. I have seen advertisements for this show for 7 months and begged Mama to go, and she kept saying, "but she's not in Houston right now." Well, finally she was here. Mama and I got dressed up in fancy dresses, heels, and a bit of makeup for our girls night out at the theater. I was so excited, and Mama and I placed bets on where Dora would appear on the stage at the opening of the play. Ice cream was at stake. We were in a pretty high profile spot in the front row behind orchestra, and Mama tried to take a few pictures of me before the show with the stage in the background, but got busted by a Morgan Freeman look-a-like usher who apparently took his job and occasion way too seriously, especially in light of the thousands of flashbulbs going off all over the theater. Anyway, Dora popped out of the O in her name, so I won the bet! I was so excited during the play and had that magical look of happiness that brings tears to Mama's eyes on my face throughout. When Dora came out, I yelled out to her, "Hi, Dora!!" and "Hi, Boots!!" I danced during the singing parts of the show and was extremely well behaved during the show. The adventure was to go to the numbers pyramid, where we had to add and subtract, through the mixed up forest, and across a lake to reach the City of Lost Toys. After the show, I was determined to meet Dora in person. Afterall, Mama is the woman who has delivered in person introductions to Willie Nelson, the Gourds, The Company on Stage Theater, and numerous other acts. Mama tried everything she could to try to get me to meet Dora and we even went to the Green Room and backstage, but Dora was gone--off to another city already. This kept me sad for several weeks, that I didnt' get to meet her. I tried to explain to her that it's just like Willie, he comes once a year or so, and has to spend the rest of his time traveling to other cities so other people can see him, but look forward to when he comes back! This consoled me somewhat, but not that much. I made up several blues numbers lamenting my missed opportunity to meet Dora in person. That aside, I collected on my bet and Mama took me to the fabulous chocolate bar to have any ice cream I wanted. I didn't like the one I picked and traded with Mama. I started to get fidgety after a while and my time was running out--time to go home. But what a wonderful evening. I was excited about going downtown, and going into the tunnel to park, and everything, really, I don't think I'll ever forget it. Mama took me to Mimi's house that night to spend the night. The next day, I went to my second bestest friend, Isabella's 4th birthday party. It was a circus theme so Mama dressed as a clown, put me and Liam in polka dot outfits and painted circles on our faces. The party was at my old gymnastics place, so I got to see Coach Naomi again! The party was an organized attempt to get the invitees to follow a gymnastics routine, but I of course was the only one not to comply and to go off and do my own things. I participated some, but not that much. After the party, I went to Isabella's house and played for a few hours til Papi came to pick me up. That was fun. The next morning was Mateo's 2nd birthday. I was especially excited about this because it was at the Stomping Grounds, and I LOVE the stomping grounds. I enjoyed playing with Athena a lot. Mateo had a gigantic ice cream sundae instead of a birthday cake, and there were copious bottles of sprinkes to put on your own bowl, and boy did I load up on the sprinkles. That was my favorite part. After that, we went out to Katy Mills and did some shopping for Mama. There was a clown in the mall and he made balloons, and I requested an Elmo one. I loved him. While we were shopping, his foot popped and we went back and the nice clown gave him a new foot and a heart balloon for his trip to the doctor. Later, Mama accidentally broke his arm off-but explained to me that I needed to love and take care of Elmo just as he is, even with a missing arm, because he is still the same Elmo that loves me. Before leaving the mall, we stopped at the Rainforest Cafe. I really enjoyed looking at the fish and walking around and looking at all the animals, and coloring. That is an awesome place. On the way home, we stopped at Griffin's house and I played with him and his tricycle for a little bit. That night, I got to eat Dora soup and watch the Curious George movie. I watched it all the way through.
On Monday, I went to my swim lesson, the nursery, out to shop for things for my party. At Costco, my parents took a picture of me squooshed underneath all the things they bought. Afterward, I went to Mimi's house to finally rest from my big weekend. No rest for the weary, however. Mama picked me up early the next morning to take me to my first IMAX 3D movie about sea life at the Science Museum, aka "Fishy movie at the feater." This was pretty incredible. I loved it. I kept reaching out with my hands to grab the cute fish and kicked out with my feet at the scary eels. At the end of the movie, sea lions swimmed out to kiss us. After that, we went to an amazing butterfly exhibit, where they had butterflies outside! After that, we went to the group of friends we were with to eat lunch, which was really yummy and I got a fish cookie with colored icing of my choice on top. Mama decided we weren't done with our morning without Liam yet and took me shopping in the Village, since we were over there. She took me to a neat toy shop, but the best was Mama's favorite, the Five and Dime. While she browsed, I took all the basket and lined them up according to color, and then selected some stuffed animals to drink from their "troughs." Mama gave me 5 dollars to purchase a small Hello Kitty lunchbox I wanted. While we were shopping, I had to stop and poop and had a hard time. I told Mama that a fish tale must have broke off in my hiney. When we got home, I saw Papi building an outdoor grill for fire for my birthday party!! That was pretty loco! Later, I went to gymnastics and ballet class at the gym, then the nursery, then home. The next day, we went to HEB and to swim class, and then I played in the pool with another girl, but I wouldn't really practice my swimming. Miss Casey said I need to practice floating without freaking out to move up a swim level. The next evening, I spent with Mumsy, and the day after that, Isabella came over for a little while and then in the afternoon, we ran some errands. On Saturday morning, I went with Griffin, Mateo, Athena, Juliana, and some other friends to see The Little Mermaid play. I really enjoyed that, and then we ate lunch together and I played in the fountain. After that, Mama took me to Mimi's house, and I spent the night over there while Mama prepared for my BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!
Mama came to get me the next day in the wagon. She presented me with a backyardigans lunchbox with a tinkerbell bathing suit inside that has a matching coverup, and a beautiful purple dress that my Abuela made for me. I was excited last year, but this year I was super duper excited, I had waited for this day forever and I knew what it meant and that there was going to be a big party for me! I had requested a backyardigans "ho daddy" party, and Mama figured out that was from the surfing episode, so she had a real surfboard on a wave for all my friends to get their pictures taken on. The night before, I had helped paint a bunch of really tall surfboards, and Mama had her beloved wakeboard out for kids to hold and get their pictures with. There were also some water and beachy things, like a pool, a slip and slide, and a sandbox. I had a great time with all these things and with my friends and so did my little brother! Isabella's mom made 3 incredible birthday cakes from the surfing episode, and Mimi made her famous carrot cake. After the party-party part, Papi started cooking beside his campfire thing he built, but I wasn't really paying attention to this. I was playing with my friends. We were all up pretty late and had a blast. Here is a video of when they sang happy birthday to me. It was funny at first because I got upset when Mateo blew out my candle!

The next day was Monday, and Papi is usually home Monday morning, so that's when we opened my presents. I got so many awesome presents from my friends. Lots of dress up and craft type presents. Very cool. I also opened my parents' presents-and some of them I already new about because we would be in the store and when I wanted something Mama would get it but tell me I had to wait for my birthday. And there were some things I specifically asked for and some things that were obvious. Here I am opening presents:

But there was one big surprise: A shiny red Haro bike! with a pink horn I had picked out and a helmet. I was so excited! This is my first bike! Here is a video:


I went on my first bike ride to Mimi's house. Liam got a little pretend bike too and he came with me. We went next door to Nicky's house too and he happened to be on a bikeride also and I crashed into him at the bottom of his driveway. Nicky had a matching little bike for Liam, so Liam gets to borrow a matching bike that's better than the one he got from my parents. But Monday wasn't all fun and games. In the afternoon, we had to go to my doctor for my four year checkup and I had to get a bunch of shots. I had grown 3 1/2 inches in the past year, which is 1 inch more than normal, but I am still "petite." I was 39 1/4 inches tall (40%), 34 1/2 lbs (45%), and still have a big head of course. The shots really hurt my legs and made it uncomfortable to walk for a few days.
I had gotten my first barbie doll for my birthday from Naia, with some clothes, and I spent lots of time playing with her the next day. I told Mama, "She's going to the museum, sh's got to be beautiful," as I changed her clothes. I was also really into the snoopy snowcone machine, but Mama wasn't up for figuring out how it worked. I wrote all my thank you notes and drew pictures for everyone, but as of the transcription of this blog, mama has yet to address all the envelopes and mail them. Later that day, after Papi got home from work, I opened my presents from los abuelos. They sent me a really big card and some clothes. That night, at dinner, I announced to Mama very matter of factly: "I'm too big for the booster seat now that I"m 4... I might break it." So Mama removed the booster seat and I now sit at the table without any kind of kiddie apparati. But conversely, I adopted a new babyish thing: I took up with a sad carnival prize neon yellow elephant and have started carting it around with me everywhere and dressing it up, and even bringing it to ballet.
Colton had given me some really cool paint pens, and on the 22nd, I drew my first rainbow. We also went to a playgroup at the stomping grounds. Later that afternoon, I had my swimming class, and then we all swam together for a little while afterward, and there was this little latino boy next to me that kept doing "around the worlds" with some toy on a string that kept hitting me, so I turned to him and screamed, "No se pega!!" which really surprised both his mom and my mom! When we got home, I returned to drawing with my new pens and drew my first hearts. The day after that, we started madly looking at schools. Mama apparently got a new job and so I needed to start a new school, but not the one where Miss Ana teaches; one closer to our house. We went to a bunch of different ones and I liked them all pretty much. I am so ready for school and to bust outta this joint! There's only so much blues clues I can take before I need to take it to the next level!
On Friday, we went to our last play group en espanol. My boyfriend, Carlos, was there, and in the car later, I asked Mama, "Mama, when I get older, can I play with Carlos? Can I get married to him? I can't wait to get married!" I said all this stuff to Papi too which about made him explode. That night, I gave all my baby board books to little baby William, who I am now sometimes just calling "brother." The next day, Mama was on her computer and I was on mine. Mama expressed some exasperation about how slow her computer is, and I tried to console her, saying, "Mommy, my computer is slow too! It's not writing either!!" That night, I watched Mama Mia with Allison and a couple of her friends she had over. That was fun.
On Saturday, we went to the Noah's Ark pool to meet Griffin, and Jorge brought Nicky too. I had a total blast, and didn't want to leave, even after 3 hours of swimming and baking in the sun. I had gotten to eat pizza and a corndog there. Afterward, I went to Mimi's to take a nap, cuz we went to the pool early and Mama wanted me to sleep before our party that night. We had like a little followup asado party to my birthday party, and Isabella, Natalia, Nicky, Isabela, Griffin, Lucas, Adrian, and Aubrey all came to play with me while our parents ate, hung out and danced to 80's music. Aubrey slept over and her mom watched me and William while my parents and some friends went out. Before they left, we took this photo together on Griffin's dad's motorcycle!! We had a blast.
The next day, Mama cooked brunch and I played with Aubrey some more. Later, Mama and and Papi played ping pong, and I acted as the official ball retriever. I really liked this job and would get enraged if Mama accidentally went to get her own ball. We had a pretty chill day at home, and that evening we went on a bike ride over to Allison's house.
On Tuesday, I went to the Aquarium with Sophia and some other kids, which was really cool! They had all kinds of fish to see and a diver's costume that I posed for like a hundred photographs in until people started to get annoyed that I was there. We had lunch, and then we went on the train, which was really cool--we got to see sharks through the roof of the train, and the ferris wheel and the carosel. I loved it. But it was really hot and Mama and Liam were starting to get kind of miserable by the time we left, plus Mama was getting sick but she didn't really know it-just that she felt weird. But I saw octopus, eel, sharks, all kinds of fish; it was pretty incredible. That night, I went on a bike ride with Papi, and I fell. That night, I worked on some more thank you notes and painted. The next morning I spent with Mumsy. That afternoon, I surprised Mama by killing a fly. I went to my last swim class with Miss Casey, and took her a painting that I had done especially for her the night before. The next night, we went to Target to pick out some shoes and a lunchbox, and then stopped at the park for a little while. Later, Griffin came over and we played and had fun. On the last day of the month, we went to a splash party for one of our playgroups, and that night, Joe came over with his girlfriend. They both paid a lot of attention to me and we had a blast. Joe and Papi had fun cooking out and we all had fun eating. I would sum up this month with my oft repeated phrase, "I was 3 before but now I just turned 4." I'll leave you with some musical stylings:

Whaaatever, Lisa

I started off the month singing one of my signature songs, "I want a girl baby in my belly so I can have superbabies like Dora.." Mama claims that you have to be grown up and married to have a baby, but I pointed out that kids don't get married and, "I don't want to wait til I'm grown up, that's a long time ago!" Anyway, I have been dropping regular hints that I am desirous of a baby sister; but, for the mean time I'll continue to rough up the baby that I have.
On the first of the month, we went to the park and then to Mimi's house. The next day, we saw a clown at the library, went to Chick Fil A, gym and ballet class, at the gym, then Swim class, where my teacher said I was doing fantastic and that she was really impressed. I took 2 weeks of every day swim classes with Miss Casey. After class, I went to the gym nursery, where I got to play with Isabella. After that, I got to go play over at Isabella's house.
On June 3rd, I drew my first recognizeable person on Yazmin's birthday card. This month I further developed my artistic capabilities by drawing a portrait of Mama, of my family, and coloring inside the lines but with some layered color flair. One night, Mama and I were clashing in a battle of wills over candy or juice probably, and I just said, "whatever, Lisa. If you keep yelling at me every day and every night, you'll ruin my life, and all my birthdays. Whaaatever, Lisa." The next day, we took Fox to his doctor, and then I also went to swim class, and then did some extra swimming with Mama after class (you've got to cracktice!), then to the nursery, where somebody tricked me (tripped me) and then to Mimi's house. Mimi took me to McDonald's the next day for lunch. Later, I gave Liam my toy from my Happy Meal. On Friday, I went to my spanish playgroup. Later that day, Ximena came over and we played and Mama babysat her til very late in the night. Mama watched on the monitor as Ximena dutifully went to sleep, but I said, "come on, Ximena, let's not go to sleep, let's stay up! Let's read books!" Ximena would reply, "No, Lana, it's late, it's time to sleep," and I'd persist in trying to coax her to stay up and be naughty with me.
The next day, Mimi came over and Mama made blueberry waffles for us to eat. We played a round of Memory, and I won! I went home with Mimi while Mama went to a baby shower. She came rushing back to take me to the neighborhood ice cream social party at the pool where I played with Nicky, Gabby, Adriana, and Allison and ate ice cream with all the sprinkles I wanted. That night, I decided I would go to sleep on my own without a story, preferring to play in my Dora dollhouse for 10 minutes or so until I went to bed and turned off my own lamp all by myself. I would start to do this on and off throughout the month.
On Monday, nothing exciting- we went to swim class and watered the plants. It hasn't rained in forever. The next day, swim class again, then to Target, where I thought Mama was acquiring a bowling set that was on sale for my birthday by magic, but then at the end I saw it under the cart and declared, "You didn't get the bowling set by magic!!" On the way home, I was complaining that my birthday was a whole month away and asked Mama, "Why does it take so long to get to July?" Mama asked me which way to turn to get home and was surprised that I know left from right, better than she does! The next morning, I went to a playgroup at the Noah's Ark pool, where I played with Sophia, who is also my current swim class partner. On Wednesday, we went to the library in the morning and I assisted Miss Leona in leading the class with some songs:

The next day was the last day of the two week session, and the end of class, I swallowed some water and blew chunks in the pool, causing it to have to close for the rest of the day. Later, we were in the bathroom and I said to Mama, "I'm trying to pee but it won't come. It's such a jerk!" I had a make up swim class on Friday and we went to Target. That night, Colton and Josh came over, and we played all night long while Mama had fun with their moms. In anticipation of their arrival, Mama and I made our first rice crispie treats, with our own personal addition of butterscotch chips. Mama had bought some cut outs of stars, wavy squares, and circles, because she saw a commercial showing a happy housewife warmly smiling at her beautiful blond children as she swiftly and adeptly whisked a heart shaped cutter in and out of a pan of rice crispie treats, instantly presenting her children with a perfectly shaped rice crispie heart to goo and gah over-admiring the perfect heart in unison of course, no fighting or ripping the heart into bits between the siblings. Well, it wasn't that easy and was actually more of a struggle to make these shaped treats, but we got them all cut out and I was in charge of stacking them perfectly according to category, and deciding that adults would get the circle ones, the boys would get the square ones, and of course I would get the star ones, and maybe let Liam have one arm of a star. I was very proud to offer them to my guests. The next day, we did some bike shopping in preparation for my birthday, and then I spent two days with Mimi and my grandparents. When I got back home, I was soooo happy to see Liam and we squealed and hugged and kissed each other, just like in the rice crispie treat commercial. On Sunday, we went to a paella brunch, which was pretty yummy, and had a laid back day at home, so, I gather Mama and Papi were worn out from whatever they did the night before. On Tuesday, I met a playgroup up at Mission Burritos, where I climbed everywhere and played a lot with Zoe and the twins, and listened to Mama's same old complaints about how this isn't the cool hippie joint it used to be. Well, the hippies grew up, franchised, cut corners, and installed a playground, when will she figure that out? On Wednesday, I went to my library storytime and saw a bunch of my friends there, including Sammy, Alondra and Selin. Gymboree was there and did their whole parachute dog and pony show. I loved it and it brought back fond memories. Afterward, we went to Chick Fil A, then went home where I played dress up with William. Then we went to the gym nursery and played peek a boo with the babysitters, Liam, and Isabella. Papi came to pick us up that night because the nursery closes before Mama's yoga class is actually over, and we ran up and down the hall yelling outside the class and staring in the windows. Everyone in the class got mad at Mama so she told us not to do make so much noise out there again (even though usually she just leaves class early and picks us up because Papi doesn't come up there to get us), and I said, "But we make noise because we like you. You're our mom!" On Friday, we had a birthday party for Alondra during the Friday playgroup. That was a lot of fun. Later that afternoon, I played in the gym nursery with Isabella. We've really tight lately. Here I am with her and Siona, my boyfriend's sister.
On Saturday, I went to Naia's birthday party, which was at Biron's gymnastics, so I got to see coach Naomi again! She picked me up and said, "I love you!" On Sunday, we went to brunch at Pico's, and then we went to a Father's Day pool party at Dannia's house, where Papi did an impressive cannonball, and I got to swim with Carlos, touch him, and solicit his help in the pool as much as possible. When we arrived at Dannia's house, Carlos came over to our car to help carry some heavy stuff inside. I gazed at him adoringly and commented to mama in a smiley daze, "Carlos is soooooo strong....he is helping us!" Oh lordy, Mama sees that Lana is going to make her boyfriends the sun, the moon, and the stars.
The next day, I went to Mimi's house. The day after that, again with the baby girl talk, I was going through little baby girl clothes searching for "the baby girl that's coming in your belly." [editor's note--No such thing is in the works!!]. I began tracing circles around coins and things, and did so over the rest of Mama's notes for June, so we'll see what's left that's legible. Ah, one day after leaving out of the gym, Mama spied a Jeep that was just like the CJ7 Laredo she used to have. So she put us up in there and snapped as many pictures as she could before the owner appeared. We crawled all over that thing; it's lucky he was cool about it. Mama had to sell her jeep when I was in her belly. She still remembers her last joy ride on her way to deliver it to its new home and how much I kicked in her belly during the bumpy ride. Here I am in her belly as she photographs her beloved jeep in the bluebonnets in Austin.
Anyway, later, I went to Mimi's house again, and closed out the week with my Spanish playgroup at Arminda's house, where we jumped lots and lots and lots on the trampoline. Mama relished this exertion of energy. I jumped with Alondra, Siona, Naia, Sammy, and of course, my boyfriend Carlos. That afternoon, we took off to Austin, where I took a little nap and was really looking forward to the prospect of seeing Jordan that night. We slid into the Buenos Aires Cafe and ate empanadas. That night, Jordan came over and Mama and Papi went out. The next morning, we hightailed it out to Cooper's and ate delicious bar b q. We were trying to get there before they run out of the succulent cabrito, and you order from the open pit in a line. There was only one piece left and Papi was extremely tense and angry after our high speed run out to Llano, Texas just for this, and sure'nuff, the couple in front of us claimed it. But not to worry, they brought out a moist and tender fresh slab of it and then everyone was happy again. After filling up on all that meat, Liam fell asleep in the car and Mama and I took that opportunity to shop in some of the "boutiques" and antique shops in Llano. I helped her pick out some jewelry. It was really fun. Then we headed back toward Austin, when Mama got a call inviting her out to Willie's golf course. Perfect timing, as we were just passing the turnoff to head out there. So we went and I met Linda, who is so sweet and who took so many awesome pictures of our family. We had a blast playing on the golf course, chasing deer, and racing the golf carts through the hills and trees of this hill country paradise. Back at the pro shop, I got my own Willie ball. After that, we were hot and whooped, so, we headed back to austin and jumped straight into the pool at our temporary apartment. That was really fun and we stayed there chillin til Jordan showed up to play with us for the night while Mama and Papi went out to do whatever it is they do. The next morning, we went to a brunch that was good, but time consuming, and then we went out to Paleface to go swimming and to hang out with Papi's friends. Gerson is my favorite. While we cove shopped, Liam took a nap and Papi and I would get out and survey they baby friendliness of the cliffs. None of them were suitable so we just went to the beach area where we had a fun time playing in the sand, and what trip wouldn't be complete without a car crisis-we got stuck in the sand. I really liked setting up my towel just perfectly for me to set on and Liam kept scuffling by and messing it up and I had to get up like every 5 seconds to make if perfect again. It made mama laugh. we had a nice time and were there til sunset. That night, we ate at a yummy pizza place. The next morning, we leisurely brunched at the other Buenos Aires Cafe, where everyone knows what we're going to eat and which wine Mama is going to drink. Then we went riding around Westlake Hills to see some things Mama wanted to show Papi while Liam caught some zzz's. That was fun; it's so beautiful, rustic, and hilly!! Mama likes the High Road and searching for the blinking red towers. When Liam started to come to, we went to Barton Springs pool. Boy was this fun, and cold! We were there for a little while, but we couldn't really get a good spot on the grass-it was pretty crowded and we were stuck in the zone for people w/ floats, so we left, intending to take the Zephyr but the last train had just left!! I was pretty crestfallen over this, but we hurried over to the canoes and took a canoe ride out to Town Lake. We saw turtles and swans and ducks and fish on the way. It was really neat but I wasn't that happy because I wanted to help row but Mama was too nervous, having to hold onto William and not knowing how to swim. So, basically, I was glad when it was over and we went to the park to play until it got dark. Then, we had go back to pack up our things and leave. I started sniffling in the car, stating I wasn't ready to go yet, and Mama said, yeah, but focus on the positive, you got to do all this stuff at Zilker today, and that we stayed an extra day to play and everything. But I corrected her, saying in my most mournful voice, "But actually, I didn't get to ride the train and that's what I wanted to do." OK, next time: train first!!! We stopped at a new Italian restaurant in the Triangle, an area Mama keeps complaining about but seems drawn to, and I enjoyed chicken fingers and lemonade. I slept on the way back to Houston and spent the last day of the month with Mimi. Whew, I'm so glad to be done with this month so I can at last be in my birthday month!!

Young Girl in Love

This would be my theme song for the month, courtesy of Lil Cap'n Travis:

Young girl, young girl in love
Young girl, young girl in love
Young girl, young girl, she's so confused and happy
young girl, young girl in love

Here's a video. If she had her poop together, Mama would overlay this entry with the song.

Anyway, so I fell in love this month, with a ten year old boy named Carlos. He is almost 7 years my senior. It started at Luz's birthday party. I would perch next to him on the couch and gaze admiringly at him. I was smitten. Later in the month, we went camping, and then we became boyfriend and girlfriend, or so I have declared to my parents, grandparents, and anyone whom I have a chance to tell. I wake up and ask my mama about him, and concern myself throughout the day about him. Mama cannot believe my infatuation and how I glowingly grin ear to ear, almost embarrassed, just to mention the sweetness of his name. Anyway, more on that later.
This month was full of activities and accomplishments. I started off the month at my spanish playgroup, and I played with Chipis like he was my own baby. We also went to a new playgroup that afternoon where I busied myself playing with all kinds of new toys while the moms sat around and drank wine. When we got home, Griffin was there waiting for me. We played for a little while. Later on, Mama ordered a pizza delivered to the house, and I went outside and drew Xs all the way up the driveway for the delivery guy to follow up to the door. I think my markings helped him. This evening, I started a new game, where I would ask Mama, "Can go to to the festival you're in?" I instructed her to tell me no unless I had a specified amount of money for tickets and to ask me if I had enough money. I would reply, "Well, I don't know, let me see! And I would check the little panda pockets I had discovered on the front of my dress, rummage around until I produced sufficient coins necessary to enter the festival. I repeated this same routine over and over, and thought it was a total riot each time. here is a video of me singing while wearing the panda dress:

And here is a video of me dancing in my Dora gown:

Mama doesn't remember why, but she has written that she marveled at my ingenuity and how smart I am. Later, somebody broke the gate to the stairs, and we don't know who, but I recounted an very elaborate story to Mama about how William did it. All of this occurred on the first day of May. The next day was Saturday, and I watched Max and Ruby like all day. I fed William some yogurt. In the late afternoon, I went to Hassan's house and played on his slip'n slide. That night, we went to Luz's birthday, donde me quede enamorada con este chico. Carlos is Columbian, and Mama sees/worries that Lana is going to have the same weakness for latin men that she does. Even though we were at the party for 5 hours, I wanted to stay longer and was extremely distraught over the prospect of leaving, because I wanted to spend more time with Carlos and to see where he had vanished to. On Sunday, we went to baby Isabela's baptism party, which was a really fun party. I got to play with Nicholas and some other kids. While at the party, I put together a puzzle, and I absconded with Mama's camera and went rogue around their house taking pictures of various people and things, including this self portrait.
On Monday, I went to my first swim lesson. We later went to Target, and I helped Mama try on some clothes and keep Liam under control in the dressing room. Later that night, Liam started to get on my nerves, and I ordered Mama to "take him away, moooom, put him in his playpen!" The next day, we went to a playgroup at the Stomping Grounds. That was fun, as always, and I was second to last to leave. After that, we stopped by Mimi's house for a visit. That night, I asked Mama, "Why did you have a baby?" She answered, "because he was born." Mama was awestruck that I was satisfied with that simplistic response. On Wednesday, I went to ballet, and I actually did well because not as many kids were in the class that day. Then I went to my swim class, and my teacher Casey said I was doing very good. After my class, Mama took a yoga class, and I got to spy on her through the window. Later, I asked her, "Why were you sleeping in that class?" Papi cooked paella for dinner that night and Mama gave me all her shrimp. I asked her why she was doing that and she replied, "because I love you, honey!" I rolled my eyes. [Mama does not like shrimp] That night, when I was getting dressed for bed, I selected a gown I really like and I said to Mama, You're a loster so I am going to hold onto this because I don't want to lose it. I told Mama, "I want you to sleep with me. Just relax and close your eyes and when the sun comes up you can get up and go potty. Some time in our bedtime conversation, Las Vegas came up, but I call it "Lost Vegas." On Thursday, I went to gymnastics, and we began a new routine of stopping by smoothie king after that and on the way to Mama's gym, where William and I hang out while she exercises and sleeps in classes. That night, Papi met up with us and we went to the Lemon Tree to eat, and I got a special peruvian fruit soda, and shared ceviche with Mama. On Friday, we joined a new playgroup to eat lunch at Clay's, where they have horses, goats, donkeys, roosters and chickens, and a fantastic game r00m with some old school video games. When we looked at the donkey, I commented that it was "interesting." We arrived late so most folks were packing up to leave as we got there but that's how the cookie crumbles. They are a punctual group and we run more on latino time. They had a big sandbox with some balls and toys in it, and Liam stood by himself for significant amounts of time in the sandbox. There were some mechanical horses that required 50 cents to operate but Mama didn't have any coins so I panhandled about the restraurant to scrounge up coins from other patrons. They were all stingy though and noone gave me anything. Mama was impressed anyway by my chutzpa. It was pretty hot outside and I decided I would go back inside to play in the gameroom, and I told Mama, "I'll just meet you there." The fun was not nearly over for this day. Later that afternoon, Papi and Adrian took me and Yazmin to see MOnsters vs. Aliens 3D. It was really cool but I didn't really utilize the glasses that much. Then Yazmin came on over to my house and we had a mini asado of Choris. Yum Yum. On Saturday, we went to the art car parade, which, after parking and walking a mile in the heat, we discovered we had missed. Not to worry, Mama and Papi came up with plan B. Since we had some time while Liam was at Griffin's house, we went to Pico's and we all had some fruit drinks. Adrian was with us with a friend and we had very enjoyable time out on their patio. That night, Griffin came over to my house while Emily and her hubby went out to dinner and a movie. I was at Mimi's house at first but he got along really well with Liam doing boy things. Mama came to pick me up in the wagon so we all three got to go on a nice wagon ride and play for the rest of the evening all together. The next day was Mother's day, and I drew a really nice special card for Mama. I dictated to Papi what to write: "Thank you, Lisa for taking me to the park.... thank you for all the fun things we do together. thanks for making me pancake people," and I drew some. I also wrote "I love you" and tried to sign William's name. So sweet. Then we went to Cindy's house for an Asado, where Barbie and Imelda were also there. I got to play with all the kids... Juliana, Saylor, Athena. It was a blast and we hated to leave.
On Monday, Papi took me to swim class, so that was nice treat! Papi was amazed at my running commentary to the teacher throughout the class. On Tuesday, our story time was special! The real author of a book came to speak to us and read from her book, and there was a raffle to win some autographed copies of the book, and I got one!!!!!!!!!!!! Miss Leona also showed me an ongoing project that I missed because we've been slacking at the library, where caterpillars were holed up in coccoons just about ready to become butterflies. After that, we went to Chick Fil A. That afternoon, I tried out a new tumbling and ballet class at our new gym where my swim class is. I loved the tumbling, but, I just don't fancy ballet, even in a different class, place & teacher. In the tumbling class, however; I shocked mama by very methodically doing the exercises, not being in a crazy race to finish like the other kids. But I just act like a juvenile delinquent during ballet class. On Wednesday, I went to my regular ballet class, and then that evening, Mimi took me to swim class. Mimi really enjoyed watching me, and was told by the teacher that "lana is a very smart and special girl." On Thurday, I went to gym class, then smoothie king, then the gym nursery while Mama exercised. We waited in the car for a little bit before going in to give Liam an opportunity to nap some more. The sun was shining in on him. Lana stated, "The sun is mean. It woke me up this morning and it just didn't even say it was sorry." That night, Mama read me a story in Spanish that had a baby tasmanian devil in it. I of course had a billion question about every scene depicted in the book. "Why doesn't he have a diaper on? why is he spinning? Why can't you see his body? Why can you see his arms?" No, sirree, I take nothing at face value.
On Friday, Papi came home early from work and we set off on our grand camping trip with the spanish playgroup. What an adventure this would be. Luz, Angela, Sandra, Alina, and Adriana all came with their families. Ximena and Chipis camped next to us. But, I only had eyes for Carlos and was only interested in what he was doing and how I could follow him or wind up in his tent. I was very concerned for his wellbeing, too. For instance, I woke up on Saturday, and first thing I said was, I got a bugbite. I sure hope a bad old bug didn't bite Carlos. The first night, we roasted marshmellows and made s'mores and listened to stories by the fire. The next day, we went swimmingin the lake and I was re goma following Carlos around and wanting to swim with him. When I awoke that morning, I pondered to Mama, "I wonder if Carlos is still sleeping. I'll just think about Carlos. Can Carlos come over to my house when I get bigger?" Wow, planning ahead! Papi took me and Liam along with Isabella and Natalia's dad on a bike ride. We were gone for a long time, played frisbee, and Liam fell asleep on my shoulder. That night, it rained, but Papi and Roman had it covered. They grilled a ton of meat under an umbrella, and our tent has a screened in patio in front and we had a table and chairs and everything. So we had a little party that night, but I don't think the others fared so well. It rained most of the night. The next day, todos se tomaron el palo, but we hung around with Isabella and Ximena's families and made a nice afternoon asado, tranquilos y felices. It was a little cold and windy, so Isabella, Ximena and I all had fun running around inside Mama and Papi's big tent. After we left, I asked Papi if we could stop back by the heart gas station (Love's) and get the heart shaped Lollipop that I saw there. That afternoon, we went by Mimi's house, and I announced to her that I have a boyfriend and his name is Carlos. "We weren't at Luz's party, but now we are." Later, when we were reviewing the pictures from camping, the reference point for every picture was what Carlos was doing at the time. "That's when Carlos was still swimming. That's when Carlos was fishing."
Monday back in Houston was a beautiful day, and Papi played a little hookie. We went to the park, and then to the Krusty Krab for lunch (Ragin Cagun). I have been asking ever since to go back to the Krusty Krab. Papi took me to swim class again that night. "It was good," was all me or Papi would tell Mama about it. In the afternoon, I helped Mama with the laundry. I like to help her separate and stack Little Baby William's bibs. On Thursday, we went to Kinkaid to have lunch with Mama's teacher. She totally indulged me and bought me everything I wanted and got me a million to go boxes to take everything I wanted to take with me, including the melted ice cream. Later, we went to the gym and I was in the nursery. I told Mama later, "no one would play with me. Neither Liam. No one knew my name." After that, we stopped by the park to play and then went to Mimi's house, where I spent the night. The next morning, I came home. We went to eat lunch with Selin, Adriana, and Alex at a mexican place. I loved it and really enjoyed playing ring around the rosies around the table with the other girls. We went straight from there to ballet. After ballet, I went to Allison's house for a little bit, and then I had to go to my swim lesson. Miss Casey told Mama, "Lana is very smart. She knows so many things, I can't believe it." Mama swelled up with pride, knowing that miss Casey has taught hundreds upon hundreds of kids. IN swim class, I put my head all the way down to the bottom stair. I am very brave. As Casey walked by, I explained, "I'm teaching my mama how to do some things." After swim, we had to stop by Target, and we looked at some bikes; Mama said I could pick out a bicycle for my fourth birthday. I found one I liked in the moment and I told Mama, "If you don't get me this bicycle, you're going to ruin my life!" Later, I found some brownies I wanted and Mama said no. I said, "You're ruining my life again! Every time I pick up something you say no." Once we got home it was late and we had to go straight to bed. I actually started rattling off Spanish vocabulary in an effort to keep Mama in my room longer. The next day, I talked to Richard on the telephone and told him how I wanted to go in the water when we go up there on Memorial Day. It was really sweet. On Thursday, I occupied myself by drawing pictures for Carlos for the next time we go camping. That afternoon was my year end gymnastics performance, and I did my "4roll", a floor routine, and a balance beam performance, all for which I won my first trophy! Here is a video:




And here is a video Mama made with music:

Mimi and Papi came and I kept running over to them and giving them hugs and telling them I loved them. I was the only kid to do that. Afterward, we went to the gym. I didn't want to leave the nursery this time because I was having fun. Then we went to Chilango's where I got a strawberry agua fresca and some yummy food. Mama and Papi were talking about the Austin trip and I became concerned that someone would get into our house while we were gone, maybe "by mistake." On Friday afternoon, we set out on our Austin trip. We stopped for gas and I saw that there was car wash there. I told Papi, "Papi, look, there's a car wash here! you need to come back here and car wash Mama's blue car because it's really dirty. When we got to Austin, I saw the apartment I had had a purple bed with flowers and a matching lamp and I was thrilled. We went to eat at BsAs Cafe and ate some super yummy food. They opened a new location on East 6th street that's really fancy. Here I am in their bathroom with the fancing sink, doing one of my favorite things: washing my hands. This modern bathroom is the complete opposite of the one in South Austin! After that, we caught a Gourds show at Threadgill's. I was very excited about this, and I sat up on stage waiting for them to come on. While we waited, we shared an alphajor and I was careful to save half of it for Papi. After the show started, I wanted to go up front and center, just like my Mama, and we did and we danced. I wanted to actually get up on stage too, but Mama wouldn't let me. I also asked Mama a lot of questions, "Why is he stepping on his guitar cord? Why is he sticking his tongue out? Why does he have a pink thing on his thumb?" Mama told me to shout out in between songs for "Caledonia," and at first I was shy about this proposition, but I built up the courage by the end and started shouting it out as loud as I could, but alas, they didn't play it. Mama said that's an old song from back when she went to see them when they were a new band and they don't play the good old songs much anymore. But I had a blast. When we got back to the apartment, I helped to soothe William to sleep. On Saturday, we went to meet Mama's friend Stacy and her baby, Bodie at Freddie's, a really cool place that has music and a playground. We talked for a bit and I was asked if I remember being in Mama's belly. I said, "No, it was really dark in there and I didn't know where I was. I didn't have a flashlight." I enjoyed that a lot and didn't want to leave but we had to make it to Bill's house for a visit before he had to leave for a party. I really enjoyed playing at Bill's house, as always, and he had a bunch of beanie babies which I put in perfect alignment on his couch. When Bill walked by I cautioned, "shhhh, the babies are sleeping!" Mama and Bill went on into the kitchen and meanwhile I rearranged all the animals and summoned Mama and Bill to demonstrate that they were now awake and at attention. Then I started another game where Mama had to select an animal, I had to find it, and then have it make certain noises and movements to get to a new destination. Bill gave me a white tiger to keep and a cool little keychain flashlight. We went back to the apartment where I met a new babysitter named Jordan. She took care of us while Mama and Papi went out to see Lil Cap'n Travis. She was really nice and played lots of games with us on the computer. ON Sunday, we went to Moonshine Grill for brunch, which took forever. It was pretty neat though to get to pick from so many different things to eat. That took so long that the rest of our day was kind of shot. We went to Waterloo and looked at records and toys, and then to the clothing store next door Mama likes where she let me try on a shirt and a skirt. Then Mama returned to Waterloo and bought me a little tin container as a present. After that, we cruised on over to Amy's Ice Cream. I requested m&ms on top. I was very excited as I sat down at the table with my ice cream and exclaimed, "I love being in Austin!!!!" I ate all the m&ms and then completely lost interest in the ice cream. Liam wasn't really into the ice cream either. Oh well. The next day, we dined at BsAs Cafe again, where we were treated to free deserts! After that, we went up to the lake at Richard's house. I had been asking every day of the trip when were we going to get to Richard's house. We went swimming, and I got some real world swimming practice with Papi who chose not to use my lifejacket. The water was down so low that we were peddling around with the bottom feeders and mama got bitten by a catfish. After that, Papi got the asado underway. After we ate, I initiated a hopscotch game on Richard's black and white checkered kitchen floor. The object of the game was to hop over to William and give him a big hug and kiss, and then hop back. I convinced every adult there to participate in my game. Richard's girlfriend failed to do the hug part of the game and I called her out on it, "No, you have to give him a hug too!" William really delighted in this game. He felt like a king there with everyone hopping to him and lathering affection on him and he had such a happy smile on his face. Most of my games are positively oriented like this, and I'm really getting into devising games all the time. However, I do like to go first, and I like to be the leader. Finally, we had to say good-bye. I really didn't want to leave, but when we arrived back home and I was in my bed, I said, "I really missed this ball while I was gone, I missed everything."
The next day was just a relax day. We went to the gym nursery for a while and got to eat mickey mouse chicken nuggets that night. On Wednesday, I went to my final ballet class. I was just starting to really like ballet class again, after my class size shrunk back down to a more reasonable amount of students. Selin brought treats for us to all share when the class was over, and we got our picture taken with our teacher, Miss Katie. After class, we stopped to visit Mimi. On Thursday, I had my last gym class. That was really fun; we worked on a lot of different skills that day, including jumping to grab this bar:

When Mama said, well, that was your last gym class, I corrected her and said, no, Lisa, it's gymnastics." When I dressed myself for class, I put a headband around my head hippie style. It was cute. After class, we got a smoothie and then headed over to the gym nursery. After that, we stopped into Costco, where we bought a big pizza and we ate that for dinner. Mama added onions and red peppers and seasoning to the pizza, but "NOT ON MY SECTION!!!" The next day, we just kind of hung out; we skipped the spanish playgroup to sleep in. I was singing for Mama and asked her for any special requests. She wanted to hear Shotgun Willie, but I told her, "I can't sing that one because it's not on my radio." Later on, we went to the gym nursery, then to Target, and then I spent the night with Mimi.
On Saturday morning, Mama picked me up, and took me to see a play with a bunch of my other friends, like Griffin and Ethan and Mateo. It was the Pied Piper of Hamlintown, and I really enjoyed it. After the play, I got to get the signatures of all the cast members. Then we all went to eat lunch at Cafe Express, where I enjoyed chicken fingers with ketchup and mustard, and played in the fountain with Griffin at the end. We rode together and bickered on the way home. Mama doesn't have any more pictures after that because her camera broke. After that, we went to Papa's house to pick up William and wound up staying there a good while to visit. While we were there, I had to poop, and Mama got impatient and kept asking me if I was done. First, I hopped off the commode and looked at my output and commented, no, I ate a whole lot so I need to poop a real lot too." Done? "no, one more piece. uugghhh." Done? No, that was just a tiny piece. I have to go one more, that was just a tiny piece.... Aahhh, all better." When we got home, I took off to Christopher's house on my tricycle. Liam wanted to follow on the scooter, and somehow he ended up in the middle to the street while Mama was tending to something else. I jumped off my trike and came running toward him, "I'll rescue you, my baby!" and I did. On Sunday, I had a little mate tea party with Mama, and I arranged and rearranged everything on the tray perfectly and symmetrically. "There, now it's perfect," I declared. And then the rest of the day was an absolute blast. We went to Ximena's house for an asado, and their pool is really awesome, with two sets of fountains and a little area for kids to play in and we really enjoyed getting to swim around. Papi and Roman worked at dueling grills and we did not lack for any food to eat! It was all delicious and fun. They also had a really super cool playground right there, and at the end, we hung out in their apartment for a little while, and then... home and to bed and that's the end of the month!!!!!!!!!! I'll conclude with a video of me and Liam playing chase in the house: