Flexing my aunt skills

I dreamed in Russian last night. My sister and I were separated at an amusement park and I was trying to find the metro so I could ride a few stops to meet her. I woke up a bit confused...

When I went downstairs, Nastia and Angelica were visiting. Angelica is my sole niece, but will be joined by a baby cousin in the fall!

We tried to keep Angelica occupied so that Nastia could work on a project.

She did a little drawing...




...but kept getting distracted since M-o-m-m-y was still in the vicinity.

So the next idea was for Ti-ti (that's a Spanish version of Auntie...in Russia I'm "Tyo-tya") to take Angelica for a little walk.

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Angelica gladly hopped into her stroller, but boy was she mad when she found out I was going with her and Mommy was staying behind.

So I walked around the neighborhood with a screaming 2-yr-old and tried to play it cool so I wouldn't be accused of child abduction. I pointed at various things, trying to make them seem exciting. But apparently I wasn't very convincing.

When we got to a grassy area, I let her out of the stroller. She was still mad. She got her chips and juice out and made me stand about 10 feet away, yet I was allowed to come closer and get a chip so she could share. I saw a few smiles appear. A 10-minute respite...

Then all of a sudden, the floodgates opened again. I got her back in the stroller and acted like we were going home. After walking around a little bit....silence.

Even in her sleep she looks mad! :)

Meanwhile, Nastia and Mom were measuring the backyard to see what the possibilities are for a rehearsal dinner next month before the Big Day.



Angelica woke up to wave a tear-crusted goodbye before being escorted to the car. Another day in the life of a 2 yr old...