Between having a rotten internet connection and running out of photo storage, I've only been able to post our Christmas pics now, sigh.
These are from our Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents' place.
A "jagular":
Piggy #1:
Piggy #2:
Dad and his brother:
Marina and Alina with Grandpa:
A gift from her great-grandparents:
Laura being a nut:
Alina sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve:
So, we're moving back to Belo. For now.
We'll be living with my folks for a while and I'm going to start working in my Dad's company.
I'll be looking into a school for Alina next week and needless to say, she's quite happy to be going back. When I was packing her things I came across a diary entry she had written as part of school:
Eu mudei pra São Paulo e eu estou muito infeliz. Eu já estou aqui há uma semana.
It was kind of funny reading it again and I could picture her leaning her head on her hand and pouting while she wrote it.
Once again, the hubby can't understand why we have so much stuff and thinks we could get rid of most of it. It's just the natural course of life. When you have kids, everything's multiplied.
Hence the boxes and boxes of books, toys, art supplies, dress-up outfits, trinkets ... you name it!
Here are several thousand pictures of our family by the Christmas tree before heading to my grandparents' place for a Christmas Eve dinner.
My darlings!
Being naughty and turning off the lights while photos were being taken:
Witha aunt Ana:
With aunt Marina:
My big girl:
The parents:
Alina helping make candy wreaths for the Christmas party at her grandparents' social project:
Laura clearing the snack dishes while her mom and aunts practice:
Cookie thief!
Marix and I gift-wrapping the 1000+ cookies:
A pose for the Moother:
Shopping with Grandma:
Playing while Grandma shops:
Busking at the airport:
Alina accompanied us almost every time we went. Such a big girl and a silly mascot!
Takin' a break:
Singing at a chain of bookstores:
Browsing the books before singing:
A pose by one mall's Christmas tree/manger scene:
Singing to supporters at the market.
Laura was tired and fussy so I had to hold her whilst trying to sing and shush her whining. Half-way into a song, she yanked Alina's Santa hat off, meanwhile giggling, and then tried to yank mine off. Such a naughty monkey!
Observing the oranges being put into crates and going down the conveyor belt:
My sis entertaining herself with a cat before singing:
Our exhausting singing and cookie-making marathons ended today. I'm sure our efforts made a lot of people happy.
Alina was thrilled silly to be a part of all of this and it sure made me proud to see her participating in meaningful activities and reaching out to others ... in her special way.
She's really into making friends and almost every day she'd tell me of some new friend she'd made (any little girl she chatted with).
During one of the days that we were at the airport, she informed me of one such new friend she'd made. When we started singing in the international departure, her "friend" came in with her father, and so when the singing was over Alina went to chat with her.
Shortly afterwards, she got a Christmas poster to give to her "friend". She happily exclaimed that it was ok if her friend didn't know how to read because her dad could read it to her.
There are no words to describe the joy she radiated. Sure made my day.
Anyhoo, Merry Christmas to all my dear friends and family!
