Saturday: we discovered Sunnyvale Bay Lands Park and walked around together and loved it. Then we went to soccer practice.
Sunday: always special as breakfast Sunday to enjoy with family and friends. That Sunday even included some rarely seen friends.
Monday: Tami worked and I had both kids to myself and we played like professional players. Also, I took the Norton out for a short ride at the end of the day. When Tami took Ana with her to make copies for work, Enzo and I played night soccer in the back yard.
Tuesday: Tami worked and I had both kids to myself all morning. We went to the park and we played and Ana slept on my chest. At 1 I dropped off Ana to breast feed and remain with Tami at work. Don and I then took Enzo to Happy Hollow to play and see the animals.
Wednesday: Tami worked and again I had both kids to play with, and we had a great time at the park, and Ana fell asleep for her nap on my chest. At 1 I dropped off Ana and then Enzo and I went out to pizza together in Campbell and walked around town and played some more.
Thursday: Tami did not work and we spent the day as a family, went out to breakfast, and we played and we ate together. Then, we all had a blast at Pee-Wee Mariachi class together.
Friday: I took the Ducati out for a proper nice ride to Alice's Restaurant and out to Pescadero Beach. That is a nice bike. And then back to my family for dinner and play.
Saturday: we enjoyed breakfast together.... in Santa Cruz! We ate at Aldo's, played in the sand, and listened to "The Help" audiobook on the drive while the kids slept. Then we went to Enzo's soccer class and returned home for a night of family and resting.
Sunday: easy to be good; breakfast Sunday. Cousin Vincent and Tata (what Enzo calls his grandma Phyllis after we referred to her as Abuelita) came over to eat and play with us and we watched "Money Ball" which was quite good. Enzo even put on his A's shirt for the occasion.
9 straight days of special. Impressive by any standard I would say.
Now, there have been challenges. Enzo has a fat lip from falling off a chair after miss judging his position and cutting his bottom lip between his teeth and the floor on Sunday. And, Ana still loves her brother, but I have definitely been stressed by the fact that Enzo spent the last couple of days hitting, biting, and pushing her. To some degree this has been going on a little longer but increasing these last couple of days. I don't know why. He doesn't look angry when he does it. Tami assures me this is normal and not the first signs of a psycho killer. He looks like he is playing some times and other times that he simply wants Ana not to play with a certain toy. It's not horrible, exactly. Ana is not bruised or injured but she has cried a few times and I have been stressed about this a bit. Like I said, Tami said it's normal and he has not been brutal, but I am still concerned that I will parent correctly under these circumstances and that he will learn to be careful and thoughtful when venting his own stress or energy. Tami has noticed that these episodes happen when he is hungry or has to go to the bathroom. Today, while I was at work, he started to push Ana and Tami fed him. Then, he played with Ana and everything was the usual happy siblings between them again.
In other news, Enzo counts more often, in English and in Spanish. His vocabulary appears to increase beyond any rate I would have expected lately. Ana stands up like it is nothing. One day she started taking real steps, not little shuffles. That same day she took real steps many times and now that is normal for her. Never more than maybe 10, but like it's no big deal all of a sudden. And she still has the softest neck and belly to kiss.
And, I love them both very much. I am lucky to have had 9 days in a row to love them and my wife by spending so much time together. Other than a brief ride on the Norton and a long ride on the Ducati, I had not been apart from Enzo that whole time. Other than that, and from about 1 to 5 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, I had not been apart from Ana. And though Tami did work during the week, we managed to be together and to cuddle and love each other and enjoy our family and each other.
It has been an excellent vacation. And now that I am back at work, it is again made very clear how great it is that my job allows me so much family time and how lucky we are.