Kids + Sun + Park = Fun Sunday

Yesterday was a PERFECT Sunday (aside from the fact that Laura and I had a cold)! It was as hot as a pleasant summer day and we took the girls to a nearby park where we met up with some friends and their kids for a picnic. 

Gosh, I hadn't seen so many small kids in one place in a looooong time (other than in a preschool). 

Laura pretended to be shy at first, but was soon having the time of her life running all over the place, picking kapok fiber from off the ground, getting attention from one of the little boys (who exclaimed with glee: "She's so chubby!"), and being a regular tomboy. 

My girls are anything but petite, dainty, girlish creatures ... I wonder who they took after? ... sigh. 

Alina sat around being a grump for a while because there weren't any kids her age or size. Thankfully, she got over that and joined in on the fun (putting handfuls of kapok on sticks and pretending that it was cotton candy). She later exclaimed that it was the funnest day ever. 

After a nap and snack, we ended our glorious day watching Home on the Range (Alina's new favorite movie) ... such fun!

People:

Some of the little people:

Alina's constipated face :)

About to devour her sandwich:

What joy!

Joining her sister in poking the tree (all that whitish fluffy stuff on the ground is kapok):

A cute baby:

The Joy of Playing

Playing dress-up:

Being a monkey:

Spinning:

Alina and her I-don't-know-how-to-smile face:

Out for a Walk ...

around the neighborhood ...

Miss Independent:

Walking back home from the grocery store (she insisted on carrying the bag with the little snack she'd chosen):

"Unh-unh!" (translation: Look, mom! The park!):

Hair Cut

Alina had her first real hair cut yesterday (she'd only trimmed her hair twice before). For the longest while she'd complain and whine every time I'd brush her hair and it'd get tangled and full of knots quite easily. 

So, I decided to chop it off and thus make her life and my life easier. Her long hair was beautiful but it wasn't worth the daily drama to brush it. 

Her hair is exactly like mine (poor child), but when I was a kid, I didn't have hair cream to help smooth out and untangle my hair and yes, it was a daily drama to brush my hair also. I got these HUGE knots a few times and after struggling for hours to try to untangle them, my mom simply cut them out leaving gaps in my hair. 

Thankfully, that didn't traumatize me, but it sure convinced me to not do the same with Alina. Now both of us are happy since she can easily brush her hair (by herself), and I don't need to get stressed out at the beginning of every day. 

And I must say, she looks very cute with her new hair cut.

Before:

After:

Of Fairs and Visits

Gabriel and his brother are participating in a 11-day international book fair here in São Paulo. He's been sleeping at a hotel because we live kinda far from where the fair is taking place and it'd be a hassle for him to go and come back home every day. 

I miss him ... a lot! Out of the 8 months of this year that have already passed, we've only spent 3 of them together ... sniff. 

Anyway, the girls and I went to the fair yesterday because my dad was passing through SP on his way home and so we met up there. 

We had lunch with him and my mom had given him some money specifically for Alina to buy herself an ice cream (which she happily did). 

Oh, and Bone came to visit Alina and he'll be here till the beginning of next week.

Waiting for the car to arrive:

 

At Daddy's stand -- she goes straight to the TV:

Alina and her grandpa (it's not a good pic, I know, but it's the only one I have):

Laura enjoying a popsicle after lunch (in her sister's coat):

My love (why so serious?):

A frog:

Miss Couch Potato:

 
 Making a sale:

Absorbed:

At a nearby stand:

Life

So, I had my first job interview ever this morning ... it was an interesting experience and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

It's a bilingual school for little people (babies through kindergarten) and my English is definitely better than everyone else's at the school (not to mention that I've had over 8 years of experience), but because I don't have a degree, I must suffer :). 

The school is really nice and it's ok that my Portuguese is as horrid as it is, AND it's walking distance from home, just that the salary sucks. 

What to do? I know I have to start somewhere sometime ...

Funny

Alina was playing with all her stuffed animals this afternoon and had given herself the great task of dividing them into "families". 

A while later she proudly shows me her families:

Alina: Look, Bob, this is the rabbit family, this is the bear family ... and this is the chipmunk family (holds up a chipmunk and a raccoon).

Me: You know that one is a chipmunk and the other is a raccoon, right? They are different animals.

Alina: But it's ok, they're from the same family ... all the animals like chipmunks, and squirrels, and macaroons!

A few minutes later she holds up several animals and informs me that "all the flying things" are one family and that "all the green things" are a family (the green family consisting of a frog, a cricket, and a turtle). 

Being a child has got to be fun! Everything's so simple (although incorrect at times, hehe)!

Last of Belo

Being a monkey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdCvnE4t2SE

Posing with a couple of the gifts from their cousins:

Getting a ride:

She starts off politely eating the appetizers:

Before I knew it, she had the little basket on her lap and was happily picking what she wanted and spitting out what she didn't like: