We had some car repairs to take care of today so it ended up being a long day at home. Bella's top two teeth are finally coming through so she was irritable and tired all day from her short or non-existent naps. (you wouldn't know if from these pics)
Addie and I ended up spending some fun time in the kitchen cooking and baking together. She loves helping me cook and I love her enthusiasm. She was thrilled to pull the parsley leaves off the stems and then turn on the food processor to bend the chicken apple bites we made. Adelaide insisted that it was "just chicken" when I tried to give the lunch a fun name. It was hardly "just chicken" we blended chicken, parsley, onion, celery (which she shoved down her shirt and danced around while laughing before it went in the meal), grated apple, bread crumbs, flax seed meal, and chicken broth. She then helped me roll them in little balls and pan fry them in a little olive oil. Both girls loved them. Lunch gets so boring in our house. We always fall back on grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when Dad takes the leftovers to work for lunch. I like having healthy lunch alternatives for the girls. Later, when we attempted to let Bella sleep during her afternoon siesta Addie and I baked our favorite chocolate crinkletop cookies. This time we left out the M&Ms and the were less sweet but still chocolaty enough.
I pulled out all the stops after Bella woke from her nap only 45 minutes after she fell asleep. We really needed a show stopping activity from 2:30-3:30 to get us through that afternoon hump. Nothing occupies my youngest daughter more than stickers on windows. The snowflakes and Christmas character decals are a tad out of place during the hot Manila summers but Bella loved it. She stood at the windows for a good 40 minutes picking off the decals and wading them up in her hands. Then I put them all back up and she does it again over and over. She grunts her frustration if she can't use her fingernail to get the edge of a sticker up. She cracks me up.
The girls and I hit the sweltering park for the last hour before dinner time. Bella toddled around the playground with her sister while we introduced ourselves to every dog at the park. I always love giving the Filipino Yaya's a heart attack with my liberal parenting skills (read: Western parenting skills). The fact that I am the one there with my kids at the park is, in itself, a shock to them. Then when I let my one year old walk around the grass without holding onto her shirt/arm/hand they always start lunging to catch her when she starts to look off balance. I just laugh at their concerned looks on their faces. Not that I let her fall on her face but a dirty knee or hand is what I'm hoping she'll come home with. She's learning to walk and if she doesn't stumble a bit I'd be worried. Anyway, I think it's insane that some Yayas are still pulling on 2 year old's arms, not letting them walk on their own. I also get amazed stares when they see Bella grab the sippy cup and drink from it with more skill than lots of kids older than her. It's not uncommon for us to see two year old kids laying across their Yaya's laps drinking toddler formula (no joke) from an Advent bottle; not unlike the ones I'm weaning Arabella from right now.Phew! It was a random day and I'm glad it's done!
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