American in Spain

On Saturday, we went into Santander for some shopping. Top on the list were some boots for Marga. She found some that she really liked the week before, but when we got home, it turned out that the left boot and the right boot weren’t exactly the same color. Doh! So I had to return them later that week. On Saturday she found a boot she really loved, but the store said that they only had the right boot and not the left. WTF? Pretty terrible luck, really.

After a quick stop for a beer, we headed to a children’s clothing store we like. Upon arrival, we were greeted by some friends, Maite, Miguel, and Carla. Marga met Maite in an aerobics class a few years ago, and they both happened to get pregnant about the same time. Their daughter, Carla, was born three months after Nora. Recently, Marga and Nora have been getting together with Maite and Carla for coffee and playground activities a few times a week, and Nora’s demeanor around both Carla and Maite is evidence of the time they’ve spent together. Nora likes them both very much.
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It’s been over a week since I’ve seen my daughter, and I miss her a lot. Her grandparents will be bringing her back on Sunday. If words from the front line are to be beleived, Nora is being extremely well behaved, is being polite to strangers, and even offering up her cheek to be kissed by total strangers (giving kisses is reserved for loved ones). Perhaps this kiss reception was learned with her “friend” Carla.

Carla is the daughter of one of Marga’s best friends from Extremadura. Nora and Carla first “met” last June in Madrid. Even though Carla was born 25 days after Nora, she is waaaay more advanced than Nora by just about every available metric. She walks freely, speaks several words, follows instructions, and gives people kisses…man, does she give some kisses! Carla’s parents suggest that it might be from spending 7 hours in daycare every day (Nora spends 3) with older kids that challenges her to excel. Nora won’t be where Carla is now for another four months.
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