Yesterday was my little monkey's 6th birthday! Yay! We celebrated it at the Guanabara amusement park with several of her friends. Thankfully, the weather didn't get in the way of the success of the party (spring showers!), and lots of fun was had by all.
At six years of age Laurie can read and write the basics, she can add and subtract, she still loves to sing and dance (and is quite good at it, heh), she knows how to tie her shoes, she can do a front flip into the pool (as well as on the trampoline), she still loves to help around the house, and she is a good girl at school. Her current favorite food is banana milk. She's still really into Monster High dolls, My Little Pony, and all things "Frozen".
The birthday girl opening presents at 6 a.m. before going to school:
My silly goose!
Striking a pose before heading to the park:
... and another one:
Having fun with friends:
Time for something sweet:
... a month later ... to the day, heh.
Yes, so, Arthur is the latest addition to our family. He's my sister Ana's kid and the 11th grandchild. He's obviously still too small to be of much fun, but the girls (especially Laura) are excited to finally have a cousin in this part of the world. All of their cousins, from my side, are currently in the States and Japan and they have yet to meet them.
I will now list the cousins, both for the sake of my memory and for the girls to refer to if they so wish. There are too many now to keep track of, heh.
Sara (17, Patricia's, July 17)
Cale (13??, Kalita's, July 12)
Alina (12, Patricia's, May 25)
Alina (10, mine, November 13)
Natalie (8, Cris's, November 7)
Aidric (8, Kalita's, September 10??)
Olivia (8, Patricia's, April 27)
Anna (6, Cris's, July 22)
Laura (5, mine, September 26)
Serafina (6 mo., Angelina's, March 7)
Arthur (1 mo., Ana's, August 19)
Phew! Somebody please inform me if any of the info is incorrect. :D
Proudly holding 3-day-old Arthur:
Alina's turn:
The day I thought would take a loooong time in coming came this Monday, September 08, when Laurie learned to read! I'm so, SO proud of her! She had been having a difficult time grasping the concept of it all and naturally, her reading is VERY basic. Nevertheless, it's HUGE progress!
Hurrah for my little princess!
After Laurie accomplished the amazing feat of reading the whole book, Alina and I entertained ourselves with this:
... and our bare almond tree. :D
Alina, in all her cleverness, made a swing for herself and Laurie out of rope and an old blanket. Fun!
In the beginning of August our family spent a lovely weekend at Caraça. Love, love, LOVE that place! As usual, we stayed up to see the maned wolf and were rewarded with the visit of two of them. Very cool!
Alina and I were wretchedly sick, yet I managed to wake up early the next day to go hiking with my siblings. The kids stayed back with Gabriel and my parents. We hiked 11 km in 2 hours and spent a couple of hours exploring and enjoying nature. Yes, I nearly fainted from exhaustion, heh. I hadn't done that (hiked) in a looooooong time though, so it was worth it.
My little monkey:
Alina, Grandpa, and Grandma:
Two things that make me happy: a good drink and a beautiful place! :D (photo courtesy of Laurie)
Little poser:
Our companions during the wait for the wolf:
Sister and boyfriend:
Yes, it was cold.
Mom:
Our visitor:
Mom in the fog:
Good morning sunshine!
Our destination: between those mountains
Getting there ...
Bocaina waterfall with its humble, winter trickle:
Aw, what love!
At the top of the waterfall after having climbed up its side:
Rocks! My almost-2m-tall brother is there somewhere ...
A pretty little waterfall:
So high ...
Caveman:
Another caveman:
Resting:
Heading back:
The monkeys taking it easy:
