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).
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