Father's Day (Minus Ours)

We celebrated Fathers' Day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Many relatives came for swimming and bbq. The only one missing was OUR father. No, not Zayed. . . . Miquel!!!

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY PAPA!!! 

We miss you and hope you are doing fine in Brazil!

I made chocolate cake to celebrate the day.

Pau impressed the crowd with his enormous appetite.

Aunt Shirley thought Pau was adorable. . . and a mess!

Aunt Donna kept us busy with songs and chasing.

Unfortunately Mama didn't get the best photos of everyone. Not pictured are Cousin Scott, Maya, Lauren, Naomi and Grandma, of course! Thanks to all who came.

Fun with Jack, Andy, Brandon and Henry the Dog

Brandon comforts Pau because he is afraid of Henry (I pronounce it, "Hungry").

Tired and teething. 

We had a blast exploring the Ambassador College Campus in Pasadena. It had fountains, ponds, a waterfall, giant trees, and a great grassy hill to roll down. Jack and Brandon rolled on their sides. Pau went head first. I watched.

Luckily we all had waterproof shoes because that fountain was too nice to stay out of.

Thanks for the good times! Hopefully next time we play we won't be so tired and jet-lagged.

Turtle Pond in Franklin Canyon

Today we went with Uncle Ben and Lauren to the pond in Franklin Canyon. We saw turtles, ducks, coi fish, dogs, people, and a lizard. 

Lauren looked up the difference between frogs and toads. In case you were wondering, toads are bumpy and have short back legs while frogs are slimy and have long back legs.

Veteran Park Playground

Yesterday we visited cousin Florence in Westwood and wished her a (belated) 96th birthday! Afterwards we went to the park across the street to run around and have some lunch.

Zoo Carousel

Pau sees the peacock on roof next to the carousel.

I chose the puffin for my second ride.
(The photographer is in the  mirror.)

Los Angeles Zoo

Percussive Pau

Planting with Grandpa

A snack after all of our hard work. 

Later I told Mama to put up a sign on our plants that says, "No Squirrels Allowed."

Shane's Inspiration Playground

in Griffith Park

Family!

We Made It!!!

We all survived our looooooooooong trip from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles. We left our hotel in Abu Dhabi at 10pm on Friday night GST (11am Friday PST), drove with Papa 1.5 hours to Dubai airport, checked our luggage, said goodbye to Papa at passport security (where I had small fit and ran away holding my passport when Mama demanded that she hold it), got to the gate, checked our stroller, boarded, got delayed when they had to "offload 7 passengers and all of their belongings for security reasons," flew the 16 hours to LAX, de-planed, went through passport security (I had another melt-down about holding my passport - Pau had a melt-down out of sheer exhaustion), found our luggage, cleared customs, met Grandpa Don and Uncle Ben, and drove to Grandpa's house in Studio City where we arrived (asleep) around 10am Saturday PST (9pm Saturday night GST).

TOTAL TRAVEL TIME = 23 HOURS

Without the kindness of strangers who helped Mama with our belongings and with us, we might not have arrived in one piece! Mama said Pau and I were amazing travelers. The flight attendant said we were the best kids on the plane! Good thing I like movies and Pau has a long attention span for playing. And good thing we managed to sleep in 2 long chunks. Whew, I am glad that is over.

Now to adjust to the 11 hour time difference here. . . .

Wish Us Luck!

We are about to take a 16.5 hour flight to Los Angeles. Please send us good thougts for safe, smooth, RESTFUL, EASY travel.
Thank you!!

Check-Up

Our pediatrician says we look great!

I am 92cm / 3 feet tall and weigh 16kg / 35 lbs

Pau is 78cm / 31" tall and weighs 12kg / 26 1/2 lbs

Packing for California

He fits!

Now get out of my suitcase.

36 °C / 98 °F

22 °C / 72 °F

max humidity 100%

Big Cheese

44 °C / 111 °F

27 °C / 81 °F

max humidity 89%

Friday Poolside

Rice

This is the rice aisle at LuLu Hypermarket. We had no idea there could be so many choices!

There is also an aisle dedicated to mangoes of all kinds. We didn't get a photo, but they all taste very different than the ones we ate in the U.S.

43 °C / 109 °F

24 °C / 76 °F

max humidity 84%

Abu Dhabi Mums

Today Mama took us to the Abu Dhabi Mums play group. It is basically a giant room filled with babies, toddlers, moms, and toys. Chaos reigns. I can't stand it. Pau loves it.

I try to stay focused on one thing or another but it's nearly impossible. The kids are mostly younger than me so I'm not too interested. 

Pau, on the other hand, is in heaven. He jumps right in, riding on everything, making friends, and bouncing from one thing to the next, un-phased by all the disarray. 

Mama is more like me, but she does her best to keep us both engaged and sometimes tries to socialize (not her strength).

35 °C / 95 °F

clear skies are back!

The Look

So far (3pm) it's only 38 °C / 100 °F

but when we left the mall "play fun area" and walked outside into the uncovered parking lot, the heat hit me like a ton of bricks.

"It's so hot it's hard on my body," I told Mama. She agreed. 

We let the AC run in the car for a minute before getting inside to drive home.

In case you are wondering, it's a kitchen timer in my hand. A wonderful tool I use for timing things I am cooking or baking. Also good for trying to wake up Pau.

Nilanthi!

This is our wonderful babysitter Nilanthi. She is from Sri Lanka. She plays with us and cooks the most delicious dinners! She even lets us help in the kitchen. We love you Nilanthi!!!

eat. big. lamb bone.

43 °C / 110 °F

28 °C / 82 °F

max humidity 70%

still dusty

T I R E D

Lately Pau and I are keeping eachother awake.

At night, I like to read him stories and ask him questions and explain things. The more he has to say, the more fun this is, and the longer it lasts each night.

But no matter how late we go to bed, Pau seems to wake up early asking for milk, or wanting to see Mama. He wakes me up, and, knowing there is a day of fun ahead, it's hard for me to get back to sleep.

When it comes to nap time, Pau usually falls fast asleep. . . but not me. I like reading to myself or watching cartoons and I REALLY don't want to nap.

Sometimes my reading gets so loud, Pau wakes up from his nap.

Sometimes when he is napping I say,
"Pau. . . . Pau. . . Pau. . . Pau!"
until he hears me (and wakes up).

So, you see, lately we are T I R E D.