Kokochi

Welcoming the Year of the Snake

2012  We're finishing these past 3 weeks in a fog of coughing kids, interrupted sleep all through the night, humidifiers, nebulizer for asthma, medicine, spit ups, and a tad of fever here and there. That's not including multiple doctor visits with one late night ER visit for Aila. Both T and Aila have had a horrible cough, and have been quite sick for what feels like an eternity. And this was after I recovered from a flu that put me in bed for 4 days (usually, I function somewhat even when sick, but I was totally out). Deep thanks to Gran Marie and Nanny Sarah for really picking up when neither Dav nor I could. So, wrapping up 2012 and moving on to a new year is quite welcome.

My mom was born in the year of the snake. However, she has a very strong phobia and dislike of snakes, related to the passing of her younger sister which is a story for another time. I grew up knowing that my mom didn't like snakes for deeply personal reasons, but I never felt a discomfort myself. As I grew older, I even found myself touching and being curious about snakes, then finding myself quite fine with snakes. Later, I realized I actually had a snake around me when Dav and I got married on the playa (here I am using its tale  to wipe a happy tear). And in other ways, I am finding the snake as a symbol in my life. 

I'm curious what 2013 will bring. To be honest, 2012 was a bit arduous and slow. Figuring out the work/family balance, waiting to see where Dav's work will take him, learning to juggle 2 kids, and just feeling more tired all made the year difficult. If 2011 was the arrival of Aila, and 2012 was settling into the rhythm of a family of 4, then hopefully 2013 will be about getting our groove back. We'll see. Patience...

In the meantime, I am smitten to bits with my family.

 

Past cards: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006

Aila babble

Aila babbling, singing, and reading to herself as she preps for sleepy time. Unlike her sister, she takes time to settle down, and enjoys entertaining herself. I love peeking in during these times. : ) 

A poem by Tesla

Love All The Time

I love everything all the time. 

I love plants all the time.

I love me all the time.

            November 18, 2012

 

Halloween and Day of the Dead

It's only in recent years that I started to really appreicate the Day of the Dead, especially since San Francisco does such a great job in honoring it. The procession is amazing, and the alters people make are moving.

I like how Halloween and the Day of the Dead sort of merge together, one full of kid costumes and trick or treating, the other with more tradition and about community. For Tesla and Aila, it's all a fun experience.

This year Tesla wanted both of us to be spiders. I made our costumes, and being her unique self, Tesla requested her spider arms to come off her skirt, not the side of her torso. Initially I tried to convince her that spider legs should come out the side, but I have to say, she made her outfit work well. Below she drew her outfit for a writing assingnment with the note, "For Halloween, I will be a spider. I would like my [arms?] and teeth. Now we can bite." With the added blood coming out of her mouth, I think she'd getting into the scariness : )

Aila was an elephant, and was so cute. The waddly butt of the costume was just perfect.

Tesla decided to paint her pumpkin, inspired by a book she saw. The picture she found was a purple painted pumpkin with one giant eye. T made hers into a 3-eyed monster with a bloody lip.

For Day of the Dead, this was the first year we painted our faces. Aila watched the three of us get ready, and was so happy to be included when we lastly turned to her and painted her face. Dav did the white part, and T did the rest.

 

Inspite all the fun, these evening parades/processions were tough on the kids. On Halloween, I ended up walking mostly home with Aila wailing in the ergo from being overtired while Dav, T, and Lorene finished up dinner on 18th street. On Day of the Dead, about 15 minutes after arriving, I had to catch a taxi home with the kids since they were tired. Still worth it to share the fun of the season...

 

Growing up together

One of my biggest pleasures is watching these sisters bond. They so love each other.

Tesla is starting to show frustration when Aila waltzes over to Tesla's carefully constructed imaginary worlds and carelessly messes it all up. I recently found this posted by Tesla. But I would too; Aila can be a bit of a terror.

Otherwise though, these two are truly  bonded. They are sisters, after all. : )

↓  Post bath fun rolling on the floor:

 

↓  At the restaurant for dinner a bit back. All Aila wants to do is copy her sister. If T draws, Aila draws. Now I get why 2nd children learn so quickly!

 

Aila P------!

Although, as Auntie Jessa pointed out, Aila is Aila M, for some reason, I keep calling her "Aila P----" (elongated for max effect). This particularly matches as I call after her when she is running off, which she often does, in the opposite direction I am hoping for. 

I have a toddler on my hands, in full swing, even though my heart still calls her babycakes.

Here is my Aila P---- running around at Aesha's birthday party. I love her to bits. A bit blury, but check out her look in the 1st pic ; )

The cutest dress, is thanks to the Mann family, who now has a 2nd beautiful child, soon to be toddler, he he.

Mama & Aila & Tesla

♡ ♡ ♡

Hair-do

Nora lives a block away, and is a 5th grader at Rosa Parks. Since last year, we've been carpooling with Nora, making our commute a whole lot better, and we've been delighted to get to know Nora. Everyone knows Tesla comes to school with Nora; she's like a big sister at school for Tesla. 

Anyway, every once in a while, on the days we pick up the girls, Nora stays for a bit at our house vs. us dropping her off at home. The other day, Nora and I started playing with Aila...or, er, we went to town putting stuff in Aila's hair. Aila enjoyed the attention, and it just cracked us up.

Telling Tesla our story

Dav read "our story" to Tesla tonight. 

I hadn't thought of that lovely, so beautiful storybook Dav put together for us, for quite some time. It warmed me so. Especially since Tesla has been to Burning Man, and can get some of the context. Not sure much clicked tonight for her, but for me, I was immediately pulled back to when we got married, and marveled where we are now, with a rambunctious and lively 6 year old, and fire-powered Aila. Seems so long ago, yet not. 

And we have such a true love story. And children growing within it and because of it. At times, this family is a lot of work. Real hard work. But I love it, and this story is our foundation. Getting to hear Dav read it to Tesla seemed so meant-to-be, but at the time, neither of us could have imagined. 

: )

 

 

Burning Man 2012 - Family Lemonade Stand

Despite our RV breaking down, us having to switch quickly to tent camping mode (which we hadn't done in years, and now have 2 little ones in tow), and having to rely on campmates to bring us our car, and carry all our theme camp stuff, we had a great year! It was a lot of work, but at least for me, worth it. To see Tesla so excited by what she experienced, playing together, and seeing her do the lemonade stand with Fia was special. And although Aila is too young to comprehend it all, she fit right in without a bat of an eye.

We wondered how this year would be with the ticket fiasco, but the art was exceptional, and every first time burner we met seemed to get it, and many were in fact already voluenteering.

Because we had to ask for water donations for the lemonade stand, we felt the playa love, and met some incredible folks. The lemonade stand was a huge hit; we even had lines. And Fia and T rocked it. Dav was quite the lemonade master himself.

 

Getting to do simple fun stuff together, like riding a pendulum. 

  

One morning, we went bowling in the middle of the playa.

A nice capture by JR. Doesn't Aila look like she was meant to be a burner baby?

Bestie Fia. I love that T and Fia will always share this experience together.

Tent camping wasn't so bad. The gals loved playing in the tent.

We camped next to the Pancake Playhouse. Every morning, we had hot pancakes! And the pink heart swing was from the first evening bike ride out. It set the stage for T.

 

My happy spot.