Day 67

Saturday October 23, 2010

Nina and I both slept in! We slept and slept and slept and by the time we woke up it was 10am!! It felt great! We soaked in the ginormous bathtub (Nina was very impressed!) and then our friend Jimmy joined us for breakfast. Soon after, Linda came over and we all worked on a Sponge Bob puzzle. Puzzles have become one of Nina's favorite pass-times. They are stimulating but don't require a ton of physical activity :(

Room service for Mademoiselle Nina

Almost done with Sponge Bob with Linda & Jimmy

In general, Nina has become very weary and nervous around less familiar people. To her, someone that she doesn't see on a regular basis is more than likely someone who is going to poke her with something sharp, draw blood, or make her swallow something nasty. My poor sweet girl! Consequently, all of our friends have learned to be extremely soft spoken and gentle with Nina. This is different for everyone because Nina was our easy-going, friendly, and social-butterfly child. Our friends could be animated with her and she would love it! When we'd go to Christmas Day with my Portuguese family, Todd and Teddy would inevitably end up finding a quiet corner to hang out in while Nina immersed herself in the crowd of kids within seconds of arriving. What is noteworthy about this is that Nina would see this extended family (and cousins) once a year! She had no problem leaving us and being independently social :) Oh, how things have changed. Now, she is super scared and easily made anxious. Most of all, she wants me by her side at all times. It is hard to see her so scared because no matter how hard I reassure her, someone in a set of scrubs is going to show up and scare her all over again!

After finishing our puzzle, we said goodbye to Jimmy and went home with Linda. As we waited in the lobby of the Four Sessions, Nina pointed out the chandelier. She loved it. She's always had an eye for interesting things, always been super observant; I love that this hasn't changed, even though so many other things have.

"Look Mama, the lights look like jelly fish!"

We then joined Eduardo and Cristina for delicious ice-cream. Nina chose one scoop of bubblegum and one of vanilla. Sometimes as adults we plan these huge events and activities thinking that they will delight our children when the simplest of things (i.e., getting ice cream with a friend) is far more meaningful! 

Although Nina did great at the new ice cream shop, by the time we arrived at the Marbans she was overwhelmed again. I explained that is was a frequent experience now and that the best thing was to just give her space, so that is exactly what we did. While the Marbans went inside, Nina and I waited in the car. I told her there was no pressure. That we could go in as soon as she was ready. She in turn explained that she was scared but couldn't elaborate why. My heart broke for her. I knew why...."new" in of itself meant more than likely "bad" or at least "painful". I was happy we had an opportunity this weekend to show her that "new" didn't always mean scary. About 10 minutes later, Eduardo came out with their doggie Paco. Nina loves dogs so after petting Paco and watching him run back into the house, she unbuckled and followed him in; motivation baby!!! We all need it!

The rest of the afternoon was delightful. We went and watched Secretariat. Great movie but not really fast enough for kids; about 1/2 way through Nina proclaimed she was done so Linda and Cristina joined us at Borders while Eduardo finished the movie. After the movie, we did what all ladies love doing....shopping! We went to Nordies and Nina picked out a pair of Ugg boots. Her feet have been really sensitive lately and none of her shoes are comfortable. In fact, she walks around in socks most of the time. Linda had suggested Uggs and to my delight Nina had agreed that they made her feet feel good. 

Picking movie snacks with Cristina

With our new Uggs on, we followed Cristina to the pet store where I was shocked to find out that they had puppies in display for adoption. I haven't seen a pet store like this since my adolescence. The fact that one exists in LA baffles me....how has PETA not shut this down??? Not that I'm suggesting that the store should be shut down, it was lovely. Just couldn't believe that in LA of all places you'd see such a store. I could see one of these existing in the Central Valley, say Bakersfield, but snooty/progressive LA. It made me laugh and Nina loved tapping the windows of all the cute puppies :)

How much is that doggie in the window? Ruff-ruff!

We had a lovely Cuban dinner back at the Marbans; Eduardo's version of chicken and rice. Fabulous!!! To top it all off, Eduardo made the most amazing mojitos! I love mojitos but I can sincerely say that Eduardo's is the best I have EVER had! I guess it takes a Cuban to make a killer Cuban drink :) 

Not only are the Marbans brilliant researchers and physicians....but boy, oh boy....can they throw a party :)