Laura (2) playing with her cousin Leticia (almost 3):
Alina (almost 7) setting up a picnic for her stuffed animals:
Chocolate oatmeal balls are still a favorite:
Trying to run away from her shadow (backwards):
Doing something educational and of course, wearing her favorite polka-dot ballerina skirt:
Studying portuguese grammar:
Sniffing flowers:
Alina, Daddy, and I made this 500-piece puzzle on Sunday while Laura was napping.
On Sunday we took the girls over to a friend's house where my dad was staying for him to spend some time with them. They were able to go swimming since it was actually hot and sunny, for a change. It was the first time they went swimming since we moved and they undoubtedly had a wonderful time.
I wasn't too thrilled about getting sunburnt, or wet, for that matter, but one of us had to stay in the pool so that our crazy daughter wouldn't kill herself trying to jump in.
After spending almost two hours in the pool, Laura started holding up her fingers and saying "Ow". I figured she thought they were hurt because the tips were shrivelled.
Oh, and Alina started learning how to do a "cannon ball jump", with the main goal being that of wetting us all as much as possible. Thrilling, I know.
Daddy and Grandpa having a deep conversation:
Alina collecting different leaves, twigs, and pinecones:
Nice and dry again after all that water play:
To our great surprise and delight, Dad showed up at our door this morning! Mom had told me he'd be in town for a conference next week, but she didn't inform me he'd be here on the weekend as well. So sneaky.
He took the girls out shopping and got them several of their favorite snacks and foods, like raisins, olives, ovomaltine, chips, grapes ... yeah, yummy stuff. Thanks so much, Dad! And thanks also, Mom, for the little gifts you sent the girls.
After two weeks of rain and lots of hot chocolate, we were greeted one morning by a wonderfully sunny day and a beautiful rose blossom. At last, the first signs of spring!
Needless to say, the girls were thrilled to be able to get out of the house and after admiring (and sniffing) the rose, they wanted to water it. They probably felt like they were doing a good deed, though not realizing that it had just been raining for the longest time.
The budding grapevine:
It's sooooo tempting to pluck off the petals:
We didn't do much during the holiday thanks to nasty weather, but at least we had some fun and Alina is still overjoyed that this school week is only 3 days long. One of Gabriel's sisters spent the holiday here with her little munchkin and the girls enjoyed playing with her (she's so tiny!).
On Sunday we went over to some friends' house for a barbecue and that was pretty fun ... great food, beer, and company! Before we knew it, the place was running over with little people -- which was just grand for the girls. They played tag, read different books, watched a video, and played with hundreds of little cars that one of the boys had.
Monday was a bum-around-and-watch-videos day. And on Tuesday, which was Children's day, we went out for lunch, took the girls to a nearby playground, got an ice cream (and pão de mel, and chips), watched "Furry Vengeance", Daddy tried to start teaching me how to drive (with absolutely NO success), and we ended our day with a yummy creamy gelatin dessert I made.
No, I still don't know how to cook much, but I came across this simple recipe for an extremely easy dessert to make and the girls love it. I think it's because it has one of their favorite junk foods: gelatin! I'll include the recipe at the end of this post in case anyone is interested, but be forewarned that it's pretty sweet (well, I love sweet stuff so it's fine for me, but I guess you shouldn't even try it if you don't have such a sweet tooth :D).
I didn't take any pics of the barbecue, but here are a few from Children's Day.
I wonder whose hand that is!
Lili with her aunt Mana and cousin Lianna before they traveled back to Curitiba:
Gelatin Mush
Ingredients:
- 2 little packages/boxes (ranges from 30-85g) of gelatin (whichever flavor you prefer)
- 1 small bottle (200 ml) of coconut milk (the milky type that has little pieces of coconut in it)
- 1 box/can (200g) of cream (creme de leite)
- 1 box/can (395g) of condensed milk (it can be less if you don't want it to be so sweet)
Boil 2 cups (500ml) of water and pour into a blender with the gelatin. Blend for 3 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, cream, and condensed milk. Blend for 5 minutes. Pour into a serving bowl and put it in the refrigerator until it is firm.
Makes 8-10 servings.
This Thursday we all went to a dinner that some of my in-laws were hosting. Aside from both of Laura's bathroom emergencies, the evening was pretty pleasant.
The girls had plenty of fun running around playing with one of their cousins (and eating, of course :D), and I met up with a dear friend and fellow gemini ... ah, it's so nice to talk, heh.
Anyway, here are some pics from that night.
Headless -- Alina's work of art:
This doesn't look like me ... must be the straight(er) hair
My darlings!
Laura wasn't interested in putting down her cup of juice for the pic:
Still at it:
Gabriel with his mom and 4 of 9 siblings:
After reading what I just posted about Laura, Alina asked me to make a similar list about her. So here goes ... some of it isn't all that recent though.
Is finishing the 3rd Grade in Portuguese and English.
Her jump-roping has gotten better.
Some favorite toys are My Little Ponies, Laura's ball, tea/kitchen set, certain stuffed animals.
Some favorite foods are pancakes, cereal, milk, fruits, chocolate, tomatoes, carrots, grilled cheese sandwich, noodles, beef, gelatin, sausages, chocolate oatmeal balls, and hot-dogs.
Latest favorite video is Care Bears.
Presently has 24 teeth (all gaps are filled).
Can add, subtract, multiply, and divide (multiple digits).
Is memorizing Hebrews 11 (she's on verse 17).
Enjoys drawing and singing.
Changes her mind almost every week about what she wants to be/do when she grows up.
Doesn't like to sleep alone (which happens when Laura runs away from the room).
Usually likes to help out around the house.
Faithfully washes her dishes and brushes her teeth after every meal.
Laura has been doing some of these things for a while now, but I don't think I've registered them here yet. So, this is for her to look back on when she's old enough to understand this kind of stuff ... and for Alina's amusement, meanwhile.
Climbs up and down the stairs alternating feet.
Jumps with both feet.
Knocks on doors and waits for them to be opened.
Looks at books right-side-up and turns all the pages.
Uses a napkin properly.
Hums.
Imitates the sound of a cat, dog, and horse.
Removes all articles of clothing minus shirts, sweaters, and some dresses.
Opens and closes the DVD player and puts videos on for herself.
Climbs up on chairs to reach things that are higher up.
Stays dry for a few hours.
Says "Uh-oh", "Bye", "Ow", "Ball", "Bad", "Eyee", "Bebe", and "Dada".
Holds up her index fingers to indicate her age.
Has 4 molars coming in (teeth #17-20).
Some of her favorite foods are banana, cereal, rice, farofa, milk, papaya, raisins, watermelon, apple, strawberries, gelatin, noodles, french fries, and pancakes.
Throws and kicks balls.
Dances whenever she hears ANY kind of music.
Imitates most everything Alina does.
Says "Shhhhh" when she's pretending a stuffed animal or doll is asleep.
Shakes her head and index finger to say "No" and nods her head for "Yes".
Imitates grown-ups talking on the phone, including holding up her hand to say "Wait", jabbering for a few more seconds, then passing the "phone" to someone.
... And that's all I can think of right now.
This week I started a reading project with Alina.
Each night we've been reading a chapter of Robinson Crusoe, which is sometimes accompanied by a snack.
She's been thoroughly enjoying these special times when it's just the two of us (Daddy does something else with Laura), as well as the story. She's all into adventure stories and it's even been educational in that we've gotten out an atlas a couple of times to look up places that are mentioned in the story.
Other books she has read recently are The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, The Call of the Wild, White Fang, Heidi, and a simplified version of Pilgrim's Progress.
Her all time favorite book is Little Women. The one she used to read stayed back in Belo 'cause it's her aunt's, but I'm going to get her one for Christmas ... or her birthday.
One of my goals in life is to set up a mini-library for my kids. They already have science books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, storybooks, history books, and I started collecting some literature classics (several for when they're older). Now I just need to get lots of sturdy shelves or a large bookcase (simple! :D).
Here are some lovely photos of my darling rascal busy at play (while her older sister was busy studying).
Se achando:
