Little lambs on memorial day

Today we spent the day at Ardenwood Farm here in California, a beautiful old working farm with lots of kid friendly activities set up for the holiday weekend. 

Thanks for the fun everyone!

Bada's Birthday

Today was my Bada's birthday.  We ALL got to celebrate.  We went to the Oakland zoo for the day and we had an American style Safari. 

Zebras, baboons, lions, ellelas and giraffes, they were all there along with a lot of other animals and plants, and places to run and play.  The best part of all?   We got a year membership so we can go there any time we want!  I can't wait!!!

skater dude

That's me!

Well, with a little help from my uncle, of course!

A date with my brother and Zayd

Today Aki and I met a new friend.  His name is Zayd.  He is the son of my Mommy's friend, Nicole and we all went to the San Jose Children's museum today.  There were a lot of fun things to do there.  I didn't really understand a lot of it, but whatever my brother was doing, I knew I wanted to be doing it too! 

And, I sure was mad when it was time to leave!

Helping...

Man, it is REALLY hard to help bake a cake when everyone is up sooo high and mixing, stirring, baking at counter top level.  Still, I found ways to help, even with my shortened stature....I will NOT be held back. 

I opened PLENTY of drawers in order to help find just the right tools.  I looked through the window of the oven to make sure that nothing else was in there so we could put the cake in....and I provided much needed moral support and injested tons of humor into the project. 

My Hair

There has been tons of focus on my hair, which makes me a little crazy.  But, its starting to pay off and life is getting better.  It use to be that when I saw that comb and lotion coming at me in the morning, I would cry, "no, No, NO!"  When we were in Tanzania Mommy used pink lotion and coconut oil on my hair and then just went for it with the comb.  ugh!

Now that we are back in the States though, there are ALL kinds of hair care products made just for my kind of hair.  Akira calls my hair soft as a baby lambs.  This comes from a book he reads at night with Mommy about all the different kinds of people in the world.  It talks about different kinds of hair, some people have hair like my Mommy's which flows like the river water and other people have hair like Akira and mine, which is soft as a baby lamb's curls.  But, my hair sure needs special attention so it can stay healthy and shiny, not dry and breakable. 

Mommy has found  routine and products that seem to work.  In the evening before bed, Mommy sprays both Akira and my head with three sprays from a spraybottle which has a mixture of olive oil and water in it.  Then, she gently massages it into our scalps and then combs through our hair just  bit to get the tangles closest to our scalps out.  She only washes our hair twice a week so she doesn't dry it out with shampoos.  On days when it's not washed with shampoo, we just get it wet in the bathtub.  When we get out of the bathtub, I get a special  leave in conditioner sprayed in every day.  It's from a product called Carole's Daughter.  They have all kinds of natural hair products for both adults and kids that have curly hair like mine.  It's called Black Vanilla leave in conditioner.  It smells sooo yummy and I smell good all day now. Plus it really is helping Mommy to comb through my hair without it hurting so much.  After the leave in conditoner Mommy also applies a dollop of hair milk, also from Carole's Daughter, which helps my hair to have shine and takes away the frizzy's which give my hair such terrible tangles.  Then, she combs my hair gently, slowly slowly working all the tangles out without causing any breakage (at least she tries).  What makes it a lot better though, is Akira's ellela, which he so nicely lets me squeeze and cuddle with in the morning while Mommy combs through my curls.  Sometimes I try to do Ellela's hair too.  Also, we watch Sesame Street sing along while we comb and Akira and I can sing along with Oscar the Grouch, cookie monster, Elmo and all those crazy puppets. This is a great distraction. 

Two more tips that she hasn't tried yet, but which are on her to-do list.  1) silk pillow case to sleep on because the cotton rubbing against my hair at night is damaging to it and 2) a deep conditioner to use once a week on a shampoo day (still trying some out and deciding which one is best....though, I bet she'll go with the Carole's Daugher line again.....she likes it because it's all natural and it's important to not put chemicals in my hair when I'm little which could really be damaging to my hair and even my whole body). 

Thanks for loving my baby lambs curls and taking good care of them, Mommy.  It's a tough job, but quite frankly, I think my Mommy is pretty privileged to have the job! 

http://www.carolsdaughter.com/category/kids.do

version 1.5

I'm a year and a half old today, a whole 18 months that I've been around.  It's been a pretty good 18 months so far, and I think that there are so many fun times ahead.  I can't wait!  As usual, we celebrated up a storm for my special day.  I got my first strawberry milshake....yum!  And, we all went out for a great half birthday dinner! 

Happy half birhday to me!!!

Farmer's Markets

My Mommy is obssessed with FOOD.  I don't mean that she wants to eat all the time, but she insists on feeding Akira and actual food rather than processed plastic and corn from the grocery store.  That means we get a lot of cooked from scratch foods.  It also means that we are often on the hunt for vegtables, grains, meat and dairy, fruits etc.  The farmers market is a good start. 

I got to go to the farmer's market this week without my brother.  Oh, I ate a LOT of cherries and strawberries.  I had a fantastic time.  And....I can't wait for next week!

I found my calling....

I am destined to be a gardener.  I LOVE making a mess and I have no qualms about DIGGING IN!

Thanks for gardening with me today Akira, Mommy and Bada.  I had a great time.

Shhh....quiet in the library

Today, Akira and I learned all about the library.  We learned that you have to talk softly in the library.  Akira remembered that you also have to be quiet at church, and he remembered that you get to sing songs at church, so he thought we should also sing songs in the library.....but Mommy explained that the church and library were different places and that at the library we just try to talk softly so we don't disturb the other people there who are trying to read. 

We also learned that the library lets you check out or 'borrow' books for free!  Wow....there doesn't seem to be much that is free in this world, can you imagine?  Mommy let us each choose one book to take home for the week.  I chose a book about being little and big at the same time (as Mommy says often, it's all relative). 

I also learned that is is very sad that people are not supporting public libraries much.  There were so many people waiting for the library to open today.  But, not many of those people looked particularly influential in the government process.  There were older people, and people with disabilities and people who didn't drive their car but took the bus to the library....lots and lots of people who were very anxious to use the services of the library.  But, because of budget cuts, the library isn't open too often.  It didn't open until 1 today and it closes at 4.  Not too much time for people to check the internet or do important research.  hmmmm....well, I know I want to support the library and all it has to offer.  I can't wait to go back...oh, except that means I have to take my book back.  I guess it's ok, since I am only borrowing it and there are SO MANY more to choose from. If you haven't gone in a while....go check out your local library, it's worth the visit!

Berenike in Berkeley

Today Mommy and Aki and I met an old friend in new territory.  Nike is a German student studying at Berkeley, just down the road from our house.  Two years ago she volunteered at Cradle of Love in Usa River and took care of Akira when he was a baby.  Last summer she came to Arusha again to volunteer and I got a chance to meet her. 

Today, we met her for a healthy, Berkeley-like lunch of veggie soup, salads and sandwiches.  Then, we headed to the science center where they have a section just for kids!  It was sooo fun and great to see her.  She seems to be really enjoying her time in America (we are too!). 

Thanks for taking time during finals to hang out with us Nike and a HUGE special thank you for taking care of my big brother when he needed it most. 

Happy Mothers Day!

What a happy day and how happy to have a mommy and a grandma.  This morning, they went to brunch without me though, which was a little unfair.  But, they made up for it by spending the afternoon and evening with Akira and I and having a great home cooked dinner. 

Most important though is that I am so lucky to have a forever family.  Today I do miss my biological mommy though, and my sister Veyce.  I know Veyce checks in on me through my Mommy and I feel really lucky to have a family here in America and a family back in Tanzania that loves me.  So, even though today is about moms, it's also about kids who are so so lucky to have mommies. 

Saturday

Just another Saturday at the park in America!!!!  I love this life!