Rumboogie Day By Day

Hi everyone,

It’s been quite some time since I have talked to you last.  I am doing great!  I have been spending time with my mom, my dad is in Cuba right now visiting my brother.  I get to go in December.  I can’t wait to go to the beach, play with the sand, and enjoy the Cuban sun. I also need to hear my reggaton music.  Me and my mom have been having fun, I have been getting to do a lot of things since my dad has been gone.  My Uncle Ray came to visit me from Washington D.C.  We got to go to a restaurant.  I tasted something called lasagna.  I don’t like it; I am not a fan of cheese.  I also got to go to different parks my mom discovered, there is one in Fremont that this famous ice-skater named Christy Yamaguchi built.  It’s specially designed for little people like me.  I hung out with my friend Raymond also; I got into trouble because I just wanted to give him a kiss.  His skin was so soft and smooth; I just wanted to see what would happen if I took a bite, just to see what it tasted like.  All the sudden Raymond starts crying and my mom starts yelling, and I found out that biting is bad.  Raymond didn’t even taste that good, I don’t know why I got into so much trouble. It happened one more time when I was playing with my cousins Roman and Clarke.  Clarke is smaller than me, I am the bigger cousin.  She can’t do to much, she just rolls on the ground and makes noise.  I felt that if I gave her a small bite, maybe she would do something different.  I watched, and waited.  When no one was looking, I decided to take a bite.  I had no idea my cousin could scream so loud! My mom started yelling, Big Mama came running, and I got scared.  I had to go into time out.  I don’t like time out.  I don’t like being in the room by myself.  Next time I am going to see if my mom can just bite me herself and get it over with.   I also got to Fairlyland in Oakland.  I really like that place.  It’s a park that looks like a fairytale.  I liked the carousel the most.  I wanted to go twice but my mom would not let me.  After the fairyland me and my mom went to the lake and there was a concert going on. I got to dance to hip hop.  I know how to do the cat-daddy dance.  I was practicing my moves with the bigger kids; people were taking pictures of me dance.  I also got to go to a dance class with my Madrina.  My madrina is nice, she let me play all over the store while my mom was taking a dance class.  I danced in the dance class too.  My madrina says I have potential.  I think I am going to be a dancer when I grow up.  This weekend I am excited.  I get to go to a barbeque and hang out with my Big Mama, after that I get to go to my Auntie Monider’s house.  I like her house.  There is a lot of room and I get to run and play a lot.  I have a lot of things to tell my dad when he gets back.  I got to talk to him on the phone.  I was trying to tell him the things I was doing here, but I don’t think he understood me.  I will wait until he gets back so I can tell him everything.  I hope everyone is having a good day.  I will have more rumboogie updates for you soon!

Love,

Adriana

Rumboogie Wisdom

Hello everyone.  Hope everyone is well and enjoying the nice weather we have been having.  It’s been a little hot, but it’s cooled off some and I’m feeling great.  So I wanted to talk to you today about the things I love.  I am one years old and I feel that I have grown to know a lot about the things I love.  I love my mama.  She’s one of my most favorite people I know.  She loves me a lot.  She works really hard and buys me really nice things, and she spends a lot of time with me.  She takes me to a house where Miss Laura watches me in the day, I have Olivia and Caileigh to play with, the two brothers in my daycare house left so it’s just us girls now.  My mama tries to find things to do with me and my papa on the weekends so we can all be together because she has to go to work in the daytime during the week.  Sometimes I get to go to my Big Mama’s house when my mama and my papa want to go out and have fun, but I am lucky because my mama prefers to be with me.  She told me that she used to go to clubs every night of the week, but now she likes to spend her free time with me.  I wonder what a club is?  I bet it tastes good.  When I get home from Miss Laura’s house my mama cooks me dinner and we play a lot, then I get a hot bath and massage and I go to sleep.  I wake up around three in the morning because I miss her and my papa.  I cry, and she comes and gets me.  I like sleeping with my mama and papa; it’s more fun than sleeping on my own.  I forgot to tell you guys that I am a big girl now.  I gave up my bottle.  I drink my milk from a sippy cup now.  Milk.  I love that too.  Not cow milk though, yuck!  That’s for baby cows.  I like my mama’s milk.  It tastes better to me.  I like to lay in bed with her and drink in the morning; it’s a great way to start the day.  My mama has started trying to give me cow milk so I can stop drinking her milk.  I don’t like this idea too much.  I like being close to my mama.  I am going to fight her every step of the way.  Let the baby cows keep their milk.  I also love my papa.  My papa is the biggest man I know.  He is very big and strong and he looks scary, but he is a big teddy bear.  When he comes home from work he is dirty and sweaty, but he smells good to me.  He picks me up and lifts me up all the way high, and gives me a big kiss.  I can see the top of the world when I am on his shoulders.  My papa speaks Spanish.  I understand everything; I can’t wait to go back to Cuba to see my cousins and my big brother Alian.  I love my brother too.  My brother really nice and he loves me a lot.  I get to talk to him on the phone sometimes; my mama said we are going to visit him in December.  I can’t wait because I can walk now.  I am strong enough to really wrestle with him.  I will show him who is boss when I see him.  I love the sun.  The sun feels good on my face when I am lying in the grass, I close my eyes and I feel dreamy.  I love water.  I like the way the coolness spreads over my body, and I become light as a feather.  I got to spend a lot of time in the water in Cuba, and I love the pool.  My favorite time is bath time. I love to feel the water on my skin, it feels so good.  I love paper.  Paper? Yes, I love paper.  I like to grab fistfuls of the stuff and shove it in my mouth.  I like to chew it down until it gets nice and soft, and then I pack little pockets of paper in my cheeks to save for later.  When my mama catches me doing this she tries to take the paper away from me, but I usually have some saved so I can enjoy the sweet taste of paper.  I love grass too.  It tastes so good.  It tastes green to me.  Do you know what the color green tastes like?  It’s fresh, clean, and light.  If you come to my house I will let you sample the grass in my front yard, I have sampled other grasses, but the grass in front of my house tastes the freshest.  I love music.  The rhythm of music makes me dance and I can sing loud with the music.  It makes me so happy to sing and dance. I love life.  Every day I am learning new things and discovering more about myself and the world.  I see these grown-ups around me and they always seem worried about something.  I worry a little when my mama leaves the room but she always comes back to get me. Grown-ups, if you want your worries to go away, come lay with me so you can feel the sun in your face, taste fresh grass, listen to some music with me, and stick your feet in some water.  I guarantee that it will make you feel so much better.  My mama is coming to get me in a little while, so I just wanted to say hi to everyone.  Enjoy your week, and remember the things you love.  I love everything…except baby cow milk!

Rumboogie Love

Hello my fellow rumboogieites.  It’s been a while.  I wanted to wait until I had something good to write about.  So, I turned one.  How does it feel you ask?  Quite good.  I got to eat cake for the first time for my birthday, and I think I am hooked.  My mom and dad did a good job giving me a good birthday party.  I had a small party at my daycare when my birthday landed on June 1^st, and then I had my big party on Saturday.  We were supposed to have it at the park but it rained.  I believe rain does not stop the show; it’s my birthday after all.  I got to see my mom and dad’s friends.  I can be quite time consuming, it is all about me you know.  I hadn’t seen a lot of my mom and dad’s friends in a while.  My Madrina was there, Auntie Monider, Auntie Desiree, Aunt Jerri,  and a whole bunch of other people who seemed to know me but I didn’t know them.  My friend Raymond came, and then I got to meet Zavi for the first time. His parents are Pipo and Kelly.  He’s a pretty cute guy if I say so for myself.  So, I have never really had my own birthday party but it seems to me that the older people sit around, talk, eat a lot, and drink.  When they drink a lot then they start to dance.  I got to dance with my Madrina a lot, she says that when I get older she will teach me a lot of dancing.  I love music so I am ready. My dad was happy all day, he works a lot so it was nice to see him having fun.  I got to taste some barbeque for the first time also.  My mom was raised in Texas, she says her favorite food is barbeque.  I preferred barbeque chicken, it was nice and just the right spice for me. Everyone got to sing a song for me when it was time for my cake, and my mom let me stick my hands in it.  I got a lot of new toys and clothes also.  For me, I just like to socialize and dance, but getting presents was an extra bonus for me.  I got a new stuffed bear, a baby doll, a big car to ride around in, some learning toys, and tons of new outfits. I even got some money and something called gift cards.  My mom says we can go to the store with these cards and buy whatever I want.  I think I want a pair of sunglasses so I can be fabulous like my mama.  I am going to be the best dressed baby at my daycare.  All the other little girls are going to be so jealous of me.  My madrina even gave me pictures from my trip to Cuba, I got to see my pictures from my baptism at the Cobre, these were very special moments for me, my dad worked all year long so that my whole family could go to Cuba for my baptism.  It was nice looking back to see how I have grown up.  As the night went on, I got tired but I wanted to stay up and keep dancing.  My parents are happy people, and I love staying up and having fun with them.  I feel like I am a big girl now.  I have six teeth now, and I am walking a little more.  My big cousin Nataya sent me a walking dinosaur yesterday.  I get to practice walking on him, and he has teeth so he looks really scary.  I think it makes me look tough.  I am looking forward to this year is playing more, learning how to walk, and trying more different foods.  I love the weekends when my parents take me to the park and I enjoy the sun.  I have my personal car that my Aunt Jerri gave me, so I can ride in style to the park.  That’s all for now, I will be writing soon to let you know how my walking is going and new things I am discovering.  It’s a big world and Adriana is here to take it over!

A Day in the life of La Reina

Hi,

My name is Adriana Bella Despaigne. I am 10 months old. In about a week I will be 11 months. I live with my mom Nova and my dad Adrian. They both are big time suckers. I have them wrapped around my pinkie. If I want something all I do is say the magic word "papa" and they smile and laugh like idiots. I have been having fun so far. My mom and dad like to do things with me, I have been to the zoo, the park, to San Francisco, and I love the mall. My favorite trip was when I got to go to Cuba. I love the beach. I like the way the sand feels, just nor in my diaper. When my mom and dad need a break, I go to my big mama's house. Big mama has the best toys. I like watching the music videos on big mama's computer. When my mom and dad go to work, I get to visit my friends in the daycare. My dad gets me ready in the morning. We watch music videos. This morning Little Wayne is bumping and my dad picks out something cute for me to wear while my mom gets ready. I am the best dressed baby in my daycare. When we are ready, i get in the car and I ride to San Jose with my mom. She takes me to Miss Laura's house and I get to play with my friends there. There is Kaylee, Olivia, Waylon, and his little brother Harley. I used to be the youngest, but I have got Harley beat by 4 months. We go outside and play alot, I like to eat grass. When I get tired I lay in my crib, it sits right in a nice sunbeam. My mom comes to get me at 5'oclock. I wish I could stay longer but my mom works around the block so I am usually the first to leave. We hit the road and my mom plays the radio for me. I really like songs by Chris Brown and Niki Minaj right now. When we get home my dad is at work. We watch the music videos while my mom cooks. I love chicken and broccoli. When we eat my dad calls. I get to talk to him on the phone. I speak Spanish too. My dad tells me in Spanish he will be home soon. I get to play some more and then my mom gives me a hot bath. I like my massages after my bath, my muscles get tired after playing hard all day. I get sleepy after my massage. I sit with my mom and drink milk, I am getting more sleepy. I hit the bed and knock out. A little later my dad comes home. He thinks I am sleeping but I wait for him. I flip over so he can give me a hug. I think I will stay in my crib for about two more hours. I want to sleep in my mom and dad's bed a little later, it's nice and warm. I just need to holler a little and my mom will come get me. Well, I will talk to you guys tomorrow, that is a day I'm the life of me, "la Reina". In Spanish that means "the Queen". I am going to big mama's house later, I think she has some new outfits for me. Ciao!!

-Adriana