So far some things have been going very well. Daisy has recovered well from the triple whammy of a twelve hour flight, jetlag, and a recent MMR jab. She's sleeping through, enjoying "children's beebies" which is what she is calling the Discovery Kids cable channel. She doesn't seem to care that some of her old favourites like Lazytown are now in Spanish instead of English. In fact, the Spanish does not phase her too much - she always answers in English but I realise how much she goes by inflections and body language rather than actual words since she has a good grasp of what is going on.
We've enjoyed trips to the zocalo (like a town square) where we bought Daisy a balloon turtle for a pound (not as good as the baby Jesus, obviously, but she seems to like it). She is thoroughly grimy most of the time (as is Clover), and I am slightly ashamed to see that she is dirtier than the kids who beg and sell things around the craft market, who are all beautifully dressed. It can only be a matter of time before someone gives her money. I am trying to stop her eating snacks off the floor, but it feels like a losing battle.
People even remembered us in the market, although some clearly have very little sense of time passing because they thought Clover was Daisy. We bought beautiful fruit and veg and mostly managed to stop Daisy tumbling the fruit on the floor. Daisy is enjoying being able to have strawberries, mango, melon etc every day, and Clover is chomping through avocado and banana. Daisy also likes tortillas, which is a relief!
Daisy is not scared of the skeletons, which are everywhere, and is currently obsessed with a large papier mache La Catrina skeleton which stands outside one of the shops. We have to cuddle and kiss her every time we go past.
What Clover has not been doing, however, is sleeping. We've had several rotten nights with her. Unfortunately she clearly finds jetlag harder than her sister, and is not happy going down in her cot. Last night was much better so we are hoping for improvements now. Daisy sleeps through it, in the same room, which is amazing. She copes well with the myriad night noises (dogs, loud Spanish, and the ubiquitous fireworks). Clover turns six months today, but is still disinterested in rolling over. She sits up well, eats prodigiously and giggles and shouts so I'm not too worried.
Last night our friends Enrique and Mariet came round with their kids... It was lovely to see them, although our girls were in bed so they haven't met Clover yet. We're trying our best to get the girls settled so not too many exciting trips and late nights yet! I mostly coped with the Spanish, although trying to explain homebirths and maternity leave proved too much, especially since Enrique used the word Incapacidad about my leave. I may be tired, but I'm not incapacitated!
What has been really interesting is that Daisy seems to remember that she has been here before. Yesterday she asked where her chair with the straps was, that she had on the chair here before (like a booster seat) and she has also asked for Grandmere, who stayed here with us last time we were here. Obviously it is just familiar images rather than total recall, but I am sure it has helped her to settle quickly. She's supposed to start nursery tomorrow so I hope the settling goes well there too.
