Learning some Japanese
美咲ちゃん(Misaki-chan) having fun with one of her birthday gifts from Japan. For each animal in the book, there's a button that plays the animal's sound. Her favorite, as in the real world, is the dog (inu).
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March 30, 2009
March 28, 2009
"Feliz Cumpleaños"
Whoah! Flame accompanied by song?!!???!?
Marina's first birthday party
I hope it's ok with Raquel, but below I'm pasting her response to Gina's mom's request for a report on how the party went:
"Marina estaba PRECIOSA y creo que se divirtió mucho. Estaba con vuestro vestido... parecía una princesa. Al principio, creo que se veía rara, pero luego se lo tocaba, se daba una vuelta... (como una princesa, vamos). Eso sí, no se lo podrá poner mucho porque le queda justo para ahora, y con lo que crece... Al principio se extrañó de que hubiese tanta gente, pero luego creo que se lo pasó muy bien. Había bastantes niños: unos cuatro o cinco y casi todos pequeñitos. Con los gorros, los "matasuegras" (no me imagino como es en inglés "son los que soplas y se estira"), los dulces... miró la vela con cara de "qué es esto" y creo que pensó lo mismo con el "cumpleaños feliz"...pero... le llegó la hora de comer y volvió a ser la "princesa más feliz del planeta" (come estupendamente bien). Gina y Tyler, seguro que tienen un montón de trabajo hoy. Éramos bastantes y no sé a qué hora se irían todos... Seguro que enseguida os envían fotos. Fue todo muy bien y seguro que a "la princesa de la casa" le hubiera gustado que estuvieran sus abuelos... pero, otra vez será."
Thanks to Gina's mom, Marina DID very much act the part of a princess/hostess greeting everyone at the door and making everyone feel at home. She enjoyed very much every minute of the party and was sad when it was all over. The only thing she couldn't quite figure out was why there was a burning stick in a cupcake in front of her while everyone sang a song to her.
March 27, 2009
Olga en Barcelona
Olga met us at the Cerveseria Catalana for tapas where we picked up where we left off last year. Afterwards we went back home and Olga read Marina the bedtime story "La Luna está Triste."
March 26, 2009
Happy Birthday!
We celebrated Marina's first birthday by having cake and chocolate at Sampaka. Qué divertido! And what a mess!
March 25, 2009
O-bento basu
美咲ちゃんは菜食主義なのにえびフライチャンが大好きです！
March 17, 2009
Saint Patrick's Day
There is no strong tradition of celebrating Saint Patrick's Day here in Spain, with the exception of the many bars that wish capitalize off it -- I saw at least one claiming it was Saint Patrick's week! Anyway, it was a beautiful day and Marina had lunch on the balcony. In the afternoon, Marina got to play with her playmates, Oriol and Maria.
March 15, 2009
Beach season has arrived!
Well, it's still a little cool out, but Marina doesn't mind. She's already discovered dirt (at the playground) and now she's totally into sand! Gina was just remarking how going to the beach is so much more fun and relaxing once you have kids. I agree with her. Even the Barceloneta beaches (if not the most pristine beaches in Catalunya) can be fun -- they seem to be turning into our new weekend hang-out.
March 05, 2009
Tulipanes
The tulips from Holland that we planted in January bloomed and we were able to enjoy them a little bit longer this year. We put them on the back terrace out of direct sunlight, which seemed to help. That said they had to withstand several new challenges this year: they weren't exactly toddler proof, as Marina enjoyed crushing them in her hands, and in the end they succumbed to some strong winds and all the petals blew off.
March 01, 2009
Back in marathon shape!
Spending time with Marina in the morning while Gina goes out to train has cut into my marathon-training program quite drastically, so I was quite pleased with our performance in this year's Barcelona Marathon (i.e. we finished!). I was worried since I barely finished the half marathon three weeks prior. But as the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race (well finishes in this case :-)