Little Pieces of Her IV

TV commercial on the background: " Let’s go to Sears now!"

Cookie: "Let’s go to Sears, mana! Let’s go to Sears!"

....

Little Pieces of Her III

Raul found a pacifier on my bed today, after the three of us (Cookie, mom, and I) had been laying there. So it went like this:

Raul: "Whose bibi is this?"

Cookie: “not mine, that’s for babies. It must be mana's” and then we all looked at her and she was holding her nose with her hand (so it wouldn’t grow like Pinochio’s). She kind of gave it away.

Little Pieces of Her II

Cookie watching a mummy show:

Is that a mummy?

Yes.

Like our mommy?

No. A different mummy.

=]

Little Pieces of Her I

A few days ago it was really cold, and Cookie got her cozy socks and gloves.

Cookie: "I got cozy socks, cozy glubs…"

Me: "Not glubs, it’s with a v.

Her (with the weirdest face): "Vlubs?"

Me: die laughing.

Curiosa...

Eu: Mae, no proximo semestre eu vou ter uma classe de Asilo.

Mae (do banheiro): Espera ai, que eu nao to ouvindo nada.

Cookie (do banheiro): eu nao to ouvindo nada tambem.

=]

Cookie's welcome back party

After cookie got back from Calistoga, I decided we could make cookies together. It has been such a long time since we'd done it. I drove to Safeway and bought chocolate and mint chips, plus cake frosting (that I figured we'd use as cookie frosting). I was so excited, knowing she would love the activity more than actually eating the cookies. It was also out first time baking alone (usually Aunt Toco helps, but she was working). After a long time and many calls, we got the cookies in the oven. The dough was delicious (yes, we ate some before it was baked). The first batch had cookies that were too large, so they flattened out and burned. The second one was actually ok, but when I broke a little piece it was crunchy, so I took the third batch out of the oven in less time. The third one didn't cook all the way through =/. So out of 3 batches of cookies, we only got one that was edible. But with that one batch we had a blast. Cookie decorated 3 of them, and I decorated another 3. We saved some for Tio Raul (which I never delivered). Cookie was happy, and so was I.

When I mentioned that they weren't very pretty, my angel said "it's ok mana. They're very delicious." =P

Calistoga Pics

Just as I imagined, Cookie got home that day extremely excited about her trip, and proceeded to tell me the entire story. They took the train at Napa Valley, and had lunch there. They didn't fall off because there were metal bars protecting the outside of the cabin. She had desert because they give you sweets after the food. Once in Calistoga, she could touch the bottom of the pool with her little toes, and she did not need her life vest. Cookie and Uncle Glenn also stayed upside-down in the pool to see who could do it better. Aunt Nene took very few pictures, according to her, and here are some.

How Could I Not?

It was cold the other night, so Cookie put her gloves on. She was wearing her Christmas pajamas I got her a while ago, because "it's almost Christmas". She was falling asleep on the couch, so I carried her to the bed. I love how she laughs so hard when I throw her on the bed like a sack of potatoes. Don't ask me why, but she loves it. Sack of Cookie dropped, I went to take a shower, and when I came back this is what I found:
As if she doesn't break a plate when she's awake. I can't help but falling in love with her all over again when I see something like this.How could I not?

She Owns the World

Cookie travels a lot. By a lot, I mean usually once every two weeks or so. Her aunts (3) and uncles are always taking her somewhere cool, and sometimes she comes with mom and I, too. She's always off camping somewhere or playing in the snow, or visiting a distant lake. Today she's in Calistoga. She left yesterday with her aunt, uncle, and grandma (who's visiting from Brazil this month) and they should be back today. Last I heard from her, she refused to leave the pool of warm waters. She got up yesterday and was so excited that she put toothpaste on her toothbrush, but forgot to brush her teeth. That is so like her. Try to get her up to go to school, and you're in for at least an hour. But wake her up at 7 to go on a trip, and she forgets to even brush her teeth. She also forgot her blankie; my heart shrank when I saw it yesterday night. She doesn't go to sleep without her blankie. I hope all went well.

I already miss her like crazy (it's awful in here when she's gone), even though she gets on my nerves sometimes. She's been very calm and polite lately (tantrums aside), so maybe that's why I miss her more. =] I can't help but worry myself sick over her stay in Calistoga. I hate trusting others to look after the most precious thing in my life. But hey, soon it will be college parties, so I guess I'm still good. Did I mention she'll be back tonight? I'm excited. I miss her. I can't wait to hear her magical stories about the house, the warm water, and her swimming skills. I've been walking around and collecting lots of love to give her (because everyone knows that's how you get love, duh).

Rituals

My Cookie has grown so big, and I haven’t written anything here in such a long time. She can now read some words (like stop, no, mana, etc.) and she can do simple math. Sometimes I look at her and she’s so adult-like that it scares me. She’s five. Her notions of fairness and consistency are impeccable.

For a while we’ve had a ritual. We used to quantify our love for each other, and we’d say “I love you as big as the ocean”, or “as big as the freeway”, and we’d compete to see who loved the other more. Silly, but it brought warmth to my heart. Then I told her we should find a simpler pattern, where one person would say “I love you”, the other would answer “I love you more”, and the first one would finalize with “I love you most”. Nowadays Cookie just jumps to “I love you most” whenever she remembers it, and we’ve included “you’re most beautiful, most smart, most fashion”, and her latest addition, “most cutie”.

I think the idea originated from a book we read sometimes called “How Do I Love You?” which quantifies and qualifies a person’s love for another (presumably the mom’s love for her daughter). Then I guess we just got creative.

Another ritual of ours is that every night, just before one of us falls asleep, we say “good night, sleep with God and dream of little angels”. The other says “Amen”, and repeats the same wishes back. Now mom (the tag-along that she is) has joined in too.

It’s incredible how simple rituals can be rewarding.

p.s. Mana loves you, Cookie. ;)