Felicia and I went to Oakridge Mall this morning, part of our weekly errand circuit that includes the fancy new two-story Target there. We go early, before the rest of the stores are open. So far, the imposing metal gates across each store entrance seem to protect most of the merchandise from her destructive clutches. So far …

Anyway, today we discovered the escalator. With all of the stores closed, this was a major attraction! We took at least 11 trips up, and then 11 trips immediately back down. I lost track after that, so it’s possible we did many, many more. Like every other physical challenge, she mastered this one quickly and is able to get on and off mostly by herself.

It’s not the name of a new reality TV show, but it is what we did this weekend with Aunt Jenni & Ange. They went on a date on Saturday night, while we watched Kiana at our house. Sunday, we switched places with Felicia & Jocelyn staying with Kiana.

With the three cousins together on Saturday, we all went out to dinner at Tandoori Oven in the Pruneyard. We can’t really say that our girls like Indian food, but the saffron rice is usually a big hit, making TO one of our top destinations for family dining harmony. Felicia tried the Sag Paneer, and didn’t entirely dismiss the possibility of cooked spinach for the future.

On Sunday, Aunt Jenni & Ange took the girls to Santa Cruz for dinner at the beach. Pretty cool, actually! Karen and I prepared for the upcoming hockey season, attending a San Jose Sharks preseason game against Anaheim. Then we went out for ice cream and nice walk through an empty Oakridge Mall (hey, it was Sunday!).

It wasn’t a top-ten date, but it was better than this past Tuesday’s “date night” which was actually back-to-school night for us. That night, the girls stayed with Aunt Jenni while Karen and I had a romantic candle-lit dinner in the Booksin school cafeteria.

Felicia is practicing her ‘B’ words this week, and her vocabulary is growing:

Baaal: Her word for “Ball,” as long as she’s pointing at an actual ball. If she’s pointing at something else, then it could mean “cookie,” “apple,” “clock,” or anything else vaguely round. Give her time.

By the way, she can’t say it yet, but she’s pretty good with an actual ball. She can throw and kick with reasonable accuracy, and last week she was dribbling a soccer ball with her feet.

Buh: As in “belly button,” and she really likes belly buttons. If you’re not willing to share yours, don’t ask her to say the word. She’ll take your shirt off, if you’re not careful.

I think looking at Teddy Bears also inspires her to say ‘buh,’ but it’s not consistent.

Our soccer team has been interesting this year. As usual, the Keller-coached Sting Rays are very strong defensively, but lack any sort of scoring power. We’ve only scored two goals in three games.

In other news, Jocelyn has had a rough beginning to the season. She’s felt like a punching bag in the first two games, with the ball hitting her in the face and stomach a few times. That’s no fun. Last week, she left the field in tears during the first quarter, saying “I don’t like soccer games.” We coaxed her back in for the third quarter, but things looked grim for this week.

Today was a different story. Jocelyn got charged-up for this game (courtesy of significant parental propaganda), and wanted to start the game. She played forward in the first quarter, and was very good, fast and smart. At the end of the quarter, she came off the field and told me, “I was the best player on the field that time.” It was hard to argue with her. She wanted to play the whole game. I only let her play three quarters, and held her out in the fourth. That’s when we gave up two goals and lost the game. Oops. The truth is that Jocelyn has her own personal clean sheet going: the opposing team has yet to score with her on the field. (For hockey purists, she has a +/- of +1.)

What is a coach to do?

… and counting! Jocelyn loves purple. Her room is purple; she’s got purple pajamas, and lots of purple clothes. And on Sunday this week, we went The Children’s Place (our favorite clothes store) to but a few outfits. Again, we walked out with a fair amount of purple.

So starting Monday night, Jocelyn has been wearing purple 24/7. Shirts, skirts, jammies, etc … This morning, she passed the 60 hours mark. And, she’s decided to do a “pink marathon” after she’s done with purple.

Updated Wednesday: The purple streak ended at 67 hours, when our ballet class dress code required something different. There is no word on the pink streak, yet.

While we were at the State Fair on Sunday, Felicia got a temporary tattoo of a Chinook Salmon on her forearm. Of course, we chose a fish, because it is one of her favorite words right now. From a distance the tattoo looked like a nasty scar, but up close, it was definitely a fish.

Yesterday, the girls went swimming with Mommy, and the tattoo washed off (“swam away,” if you will). All day today, Felicia has been looking at her arm and pointing to the spot where the fish was. Do you think she misses it?

Since the demise of the Santa Clara County Fair, our family has turned to the California State Fair for our annual taste of summertime kitsch. For several years running, we’ve joined the Borg Family for a visit to Cal Expo in Sacramento. This year, we went on the Sunday before Labor Day.

This year was Felicia’s first real experience at the Fair, and she loved it! From the petting zoo (she really liked the potbellied pigs), to the Monorail, to the carnival midway, she had a great time. The lights! The sounds! The music! The corn dogs! With a good nap under her belt, she stayed awake and happy until 10:00 pm, when we finally left.

Jocelyn had a good time, too! She got to milk both a cow and a goat, and she got to hold a baby lamb. She made a “salmon-egg bracelet” and also spent a lot of time learning about fire safety at “Camp Smokey.”

It’s not exactly a word, but it definitely gets the point across. Felicia knows how to ask for something, and her vocabulary is growing. Here’s an update:

(p)Eeeeeeeeeeee: Her word for ‘please’ … it’s one long sound that at least definitely means “give me that!” The “p” sound in the front is still optional.

Iwannttattt: “I want that,” and I’m not going to be polite about it.

Shuu-Shuu: Her word for a “train,” of course.

SSshhhhhooossh: This definitely stands for “shoes” (as in, everybody put their shoes on and let’s go outside right now). Going outside is a top priority for her, and she’ll go get her shoes if anyone else uses the words “walk,” “outside,” “front yard,” or “let’s go.”

Wwwwufffffff: That’s a dog, whether she sees it or hears it.

SSshhhhhooossh: Could also mean cheese and/or juice, depending on what she’s pointing to.

SSshhhhhooossh: OK, sometimes it also means “fish.’