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Just like his sister, Tobin isn’t getting attached to any specific stuffed animal. Nothing beats squeezing Luna, who has gotten very lenient towards kids over the past 3+ years.

Next step in the evolution of Mika’s potato people, as you can see in today’s drawing of “Mika (left) and Mami (right)”: We both got lots of hair, round noses, eyebrows (a first!), nice bodies with belly buttons, and a complete set of limbs.

Like me, you’ll be asking what the two extra lines and lots of dots between Mika’s legs might stand for?  I was relieved to hear that it’s her dress/skirt. The dots are – unmistakably – the tiny floral print on the white dress she was wearing all day today.

… Bathe With Your Sibling!

At Choo Choo Train, the kids have been discussing ways to conserve our resources, i.e. using less water, less electricity, or recycling their paper. I am not sure if Mika remembers the underlying ‘save water’ purpose here though … she’s having way too much fun splashing in the tub with Tobin!

There are only a few pieces of clothing that survived from my childhood … so it is truly special to see Mika wear a favorite T-shirt of mine from when i was 3 years old.

Couldn’t get Luna to pose for an exact replica of the picture though ;-)

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It’s been a while since we visited the ArandaLee’s in Garrison. We were excited to find out that both families had no plans for Memorial Day weekend (!) and got together for a little garden picnic. A special thanks to Santiago for graciously offering his fleet of vehicles to kids and grown-ups alike!

Despite an all-day-rain forecast, the afternoon turned out to be dry and mostly sunny. Mika had a great time running with Diego and his little sister Suko around Carroll Park. Earlier this morning, Tobin had some extra bonding time with Violet while Sarah and i tried to get some work done. Good thing Tobin isn’t crawling yet!

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Tobin’s latest skill: a screeching, ear piercing, high pitch scream that he makes ample use of whenever he is a) slightly tired, b) hungry, or c) just feeling like he wants to mix things up.

It reminds me of the “rare screaming caterpillar” (aka “screamapillar“) in one of the Simpsons’ episodes … the little bug who would screech around the clock, even in his sleep. Hopefully this will be just another phase. My ears are ringing and the cat seems to need a break as well.

Another drawing milestone: Mika’s ‘potato people’ first progressed by getting occasional bellies; then she started adding simple circles/dots for hands. All of a sudden, those hands are getting fingers and some of the feet toes. Funny how my left hand is as big as a flower bouquet though…

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Omi Hilde’s bunny got the royal treatment today as Mika’s “baby”: in the morning she was taken along on a scooter ride; in the afternoon she was bottle fed in tandem with Tobin. Neither bunny nor baby brother seemed to mind the pretend (trick) bottles…

Ingo, Noon, and baby Leila had us over for a delicious Thai brunch today. Although the babies missed out on our food, they had fun checking out each other. 3rd picture: Leila (3 months) and Tobin (6 months) as seen by Mika. Not true to scale.

We met with Cynthia, Phil, and their pup Linea at Habana Outpost for a taste of summer. Mika insisted that Tobin should join her in the (Cuban?) race car … making sure he doesn’t miss out on the fun. Later it was off to nearby Fort Greene Park to get Linea a nice run as well.

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On a slow, rainy day Tobin tagged along to a playdate with Mika and Gaang. Even though they let him be the bear cub while pretending to be bears under the table, he spent most of his time continuing the grueling workout…