Sunday, June 27, 2010

June Randomness

A couple of weeks ago a family spent a few days here on business. Their stay ended up being quite fun for Alina because there was a little boy around her age and it had been quite a while since she'd played with someone her age. 

It's a pity I didn't take more pictures. Anyway, here are a couple of them playing Can-Can during one of the evenings.




Meanwhile Laura watches mommy playing Boggle by herself:


Laura continues with her obsession with chapsitcks and lipsticks (or anything that resembles them, including stick glue):


Oh, I actually managed to make semi-decent chocolate chip cookies the week before last! 

They're quite simple to make, but something always goes wrong whenever I attempt to make them. At least they tasted good and the girls devoured them in a jiffy, hehe.

A satisfied customer:

Yes, the little monkey is growing up and learning to enjoy helping out with household duties. Her latest thing is washing dishes ... at least she thinks that's what she's doing. 

The first time she tried her hand at it, she managed to give herself a bath (by sticking her head under the faucet). I do believe she's finally gotten the hang of it and has passed from the first phase, that of wetting everything, to the second phase, which is soaping up the dishes.


Accomplishing phase two of dishwashing:


Entertaining herself with Boggle cubes:


The tower she made (before it crumbled after she tried to put the 9th cube):

Saturday, June 26, 2010

About Cats and Dogs ...

... for memory's sake.

Alina: Bob, when we move to São Paulo can we get a cat?

Me: Maybe. What kind of cat would you want?

Alina: A white cat. Do you know what kind of cat is white?

Me: No, but we can look it up it up, do some research.

Alina: Good! So we can get two cats but they have to be the same kind 'cause I want them to have kittens.

Me: But I'm allergic to cats.

Alina: Oh, that's ok, you don't need to be by them all the time. And I don't need to sleep with you any more so they can stay with me!

A few minutes later ...


Alina: Bob, do you know why cats are the best option (for a pet)? Because dogs are messy and need baths and cats don't. And then bunnies and hamsters are fragile and delicate and always die. Then parakeets ... they are birds and always run away. And fish, well, you can't play with them. That's why cats are perfect!

As she rambled on I wondered where she came up with all these words like "fragile", "delicate", "option" ... I thought it was so cute the way she stated the pros to having a cat in the hopes of convincing me to get her one. She probably felt like such a grown-up knowing so much about the right kind of pet to get. 

Well, I don't blame her for wanting a cat, as opposed to another animal. She's probably traumatized with rabbits and hamsters, being that all the ones we've had here ever since she was born have died (I can't even remember them all!). 

And then she hears her uncle and aunt telling tales about the dozens of parakeets they once had which died or escaped. 

She continued blabbing about the advantages of having cats, but the above was all I was able to write down ... she does talk pretty fast. Precious child that I'm blessed with!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

My 26th Birthday

Well, the best thing about it was that our family was together and we spent the whole day just hanging around (together :D). 

In the evening, we had a dinner here at home to celebrate the geminis' birthday and some sort of "going away" thing for my parents who will be traveling to the States for 5 weeks or so. 

My mom kindly forgot to inform people that it happened to be my birthday, so several of them were rather embarrassed when they arrived and found out. 

Alina was more excited then I was about my birthday and she made it her duty to inform people that it was my birthday (hence the embarrassment of some individuals who hadn't previously been informed). 
 
Anyway, overall it was a pleasant dinner. Laura went to bed before the food was served and Alina started falling asleep on the couch halfway into the dinner. 

Poor thing, she cried as I put her to bed because she wanted to stay up until dessert was served. There was plenty left over and so she had some the next day. 

One of my 'bestest' childhood friends called all the way from Pakistan, staying true to our tradition of calling each other on our birthdays (thanks Topher!). Some other friends also called and wrote and it all made my day special and meaningful. 

Oh, and Gabriel got me some gorgeous flowers. No sooner had I placed them on my bedside table, then Laura sneakily picked some petals! Such a rascal! 

Oh well, they've survived till now, so that is progress ... although they're probably a major temptation to the little destroyer. 

I'm happy to be starting a new year of life, even though it means I'm that much older. My 25th year was extremely bittersweet ... plenty of good times were had, but also there were waaaaay too many disappointments. 

Ah well, where there's life there's hope so I'm hoping for the best and trying to prepare for the worst ... sigh. 

Oh, right, onto the pictures.

Thanks Love!

Alina's lovely shot of us:

The sweet child pulled out her clips, hence the crazy monkey look:


Peek-a-boo or "Don't take a picture of me!":

Horrid posture:

Alina and her aunt Marina:


Alina and Junior:

The father and mother with Marcia and Dinha:

Deep conversation :)


Mariane, Junior, the father, and Concéssio:

Me and Manu:

The Geminis ... beware!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Daddy's Visit

Gabriel came for a 3-day visit last week which was really, really nice. We missed him so much! The last time we'd seen him was almost 3 months ago ... very sad, heh. 

He wasn't able to stay for long this time, but at least we were able to spend my birthday together AND cheer for Brazil as a family during Sunday's game (very important!). 

So anyhow, all these super good quality photos (not) are from the weekend.

Coconuts!



Laura watching daddy make a fire for our special evening:

Our child-friendly version of chocolate fondue (minus the wine):

Our chocolate-smeared girls:



Some pictures Alina took of me while Gabriel was putting Laura to bed:


One of the days we went down to the lake for a walk and there was a large capybara close to where we parked. The girls enjoyed watching it calmly eat and then go into the water. (it's that brown mound by the waters' edge) 




Alina getting a closer look at the horses (there were more on the other side):


Refreshing sugarcane juice and coconut milk after the "tiring" walk:


Ready to cheer for Brazil ... sadly, I'd already packed her face paints (I thought we would have moved by the time the World Cup came around, tsk, tsk).

Taking without asking is stealing, so I stole my sister's shirt for the game, hehe.

It's been fun watching the games with Alina because since she's older she understands what's going on and is actually pretty into it. 

She knows who Brazil has played against and who it will play against, what the score of the games was, when Brazil will play, who the opposing team last played against ... a regular little fan. 

Either that, or she just really enjoys the cookies, popcorn, and juice that go with the game!

This little girl has NO idea what's going on and for sure is only there for the snacks!