Admittedly we were scared of the flights with the kids, but it went so smoothly we were beyond surprised. Nikolas had his own seat and he acted like an adult, he was a breeze to fly with, and the twins were shared between mommy and daddy. As soon as they got fidgety, snacks would temporarily solve the problem. Swapping them helped too. On the flights back, everyone slept almost all the time. Nikolas and Michael both turned over from daddy and hugged a lady who was sitting by the window in their row, and she was nice enough to let them sleep on her belly so each got to stretch across two seats for that time.
California gave us its best. We had wonderful weather, fresh organic food for mommy's taste, and got to see more friends than I expected to manage to see with three little ones around!
The first week we were in Banning at great-grandpa's. The days were hot, but without Floridian humidity it actually even felt pleasant. Mornings and evenings were definitely pleasant, which is when I took the kids out: we walked to a playground in the mornings and usually hung out in the community in the evening.
Sonja learned how to climb, turn, sit and slide down the slide forward as well as on her belly, and she would have tried walking down the slide if I hadn't been there to catch her. She is so independent and learns from older kids quickly. After a couple of days I didn't even have to stand by the slide while she kept going up and down!
Sonja's canines are all showing their tips. Maybe that's why she's been so loud! Loud, loud, loud!!! My ears and head vibrate and shrink in as she yells near me. She'll break glass with her voice one of these days.
Michael still has only two bottom teeth, but the next two teeth are almost showing under the skin. His thing is to walk away from a person and looking back wave and say 'da-da'. He has such a significant look on his face when he does this, as if he is about to get in a car and drive himself away.
Nikolas told me the other day: 'Mama, ti si moj kucni ljubimac.' (Mommy, you are my pet.)
Michael is walking for real. He just became interested in it the week before our trip, and now he is keeping up with it. Go, Mikice! When I'd take them for a walk around the neighborhood, the twins would, of course follow Nikolas and, like two little puppies, stop here and there to pick a flower, to pick something from the ground and hand it to me, etc. Sonja and Michael sought dogs in the yards to bark back at, while Nikolas started being extremely afraid of dogs. I don't know why, since he used to like them just like his siblings do right now, but he is terrified of dogs right now. A few times he didn't even want to go for a walk just so he wouldn't run into a dog (and many residents have them.) One day as we walked to the playground, a puppy ran out of the yard and joined us. He was so cute acting like he was our dog, patiently walking next to the stroller, looking at and wagging his tail. Sonja and Michael had a blast, but Nikolas... he cried in terror, switched side of the stroller he was walking on to be away from the dog and demanding that I carry him, which I did at some point but he is heavy and my back is not supposed to carry his weight. Needless to say, that was our last walk to the playground.
Deko is doing well just ahead of his 89th birthday. He joined us at the playground a few times later in the day and in our walks around the neighborhood. He carries the twins like he has been doing this forever. Of course, he lets them do more than I would (what else are grand (and great-grandparents) for?), so while we enjoyed our Turkish coffee and the kids wanted their own cups, he let them hold empty little cups--and we lost two, both to Sonja, to lots of little pieces, and deko's cup took a spill on the floor once too. I see who will be my coffee drinking partner in some years. Hopefully by then she'll be more careful with fragile things. Michael, I'm sure, will like to join too, he likes the smell of coffee. Only Nikolas stays away, warning us that we'll grow tails from drinking it.
At the end of the first week in Banning we drove to Santa Barbara for a few days where we got to see Lela, Mico and Marko, kids' great-aunt, great-uncle and uncle. When the kids discovered pebbles in the backyard, they could spend what to me seemed hours spreading them around, pouring them in and out of buckets, etc.Nikolas got a special treat when we left the twins at home for a nap while the two of us alone escaped for an ice-cream on State Street and to meet a couple of my friends from high school and college.
Mina came up from LA to see us in Santa Barbara and after meeting and chasing the kids around Paseo Nuevo, we occupied a coffee shop for the night!
At the beach:
On the way back from Santa Barbara, we stopped to visit James Douma:
Back in Banning, Sonja shows off her girly outfit:
We visited Atosa, Omid and their cute Amitis in Santa Monica:
After Santa Monica, we made it to Mina's place:
We visited great-grandma and (for the first time for all of us) deda's grave:
Sonja's canines are all showing their tips. Maybe that's why she's been so loud! Loud, loud, loud!!! My ears and head vibrate and shrink in as she yells near me. She'll break glass with her voice one of these days.
Michael still has only two bottom teeth, but the next two teeth are almost showing under the skin. His thing is to walk away from a person and looking back wave and say 'da-da'. He has such a significant look on his face when he does this, as if he is about to get in a car and drive himself away.
Nikolas told me the other day: 'Mama, ti si moj kucni ljubimac.' (Mommy, you are my pet.)
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