Ms. Carol did it once again. Two intense but fun weeks with Ms. Carol learning more swimming techniques and the improvement is astounding! They are getting so good at swimming, floating, diving and both John and I can tell they will be ready to tackle the waves on our family trip to Galveston next week! Thank you Ms. Carol. We will see you again next year!
Performances
This post will be mainly about different types of performances. Anything from dancing in the living room to singing the Portuguese National Anthem to gymnastics and a ballet and tap recital. It has mainly Joana's performances because Julia is still too young to take ballet and tap but she seems to be interested in doing it next year. One of their favorite shows is Bubble Guppies. It's an fun and interactive kids show that teaches them about a variety of topics and has great catchy songs that they love to sing and dance to. Their favorite one is, as you can see below, "I want to be a cowgirl."
On June 10, Portugal's Day, Joana was ready to sing the Portuguese National Anthem. It is quite long and difficult to learn because it has so many difficult words, but Joana learned it in 7 days and sang it beautifully for all to hear! We were so proud! She loves the song so much that she has been asking me to sing it to her every night as a lullaby.
And while we are on anthems, apparently Joana learned God Bless America at school so she wanted
Their favorite activity on Saturdays is gymnastics. They love to tumble, jump on the trampolines and do all the obstacle courses. Their coaches are so much fun and dynamic that they are exhausted at the end of the class. This is Julia's favorite sport and she makes a point to let me know because she tumbles on the carpet at home and jumps from one couch to the other without any difficulty. She is definitely a good jumper...ehehehe
At the beginning of June, after 8 months of attending ballet and tap classes, Joana had her first dance recital. Unfortunately, it was so dark and she was so far away that the video was of very poor quality. However, we were able to snag a few adorable pictures and a quick video of her before the recital. She was so excited and ready to perform!
During Julia's swimming classes with Ms. Carol, not only did she learn more swimming techniques but she also found time to flirt with the red headed boy, Isiah, and show him how well she sings Itsy Bitsy spider. Check it out :)
Happy 4th Birthday Joana
One of the best surprises for Joana's birthday was having Titi Jen, Namaw, Tyler and Dylan at our house to celebrate the day! Titi Jen spoiled the girls with makeovers, dress ups, braided hair, make up, ......you name it! Namaw and the boys played with the girls and we all had a great time during the party.
Joana's closest friends posed for these adorable pictures. On the left, our neighbor Aidan and on the right Vanessa from school.
And to top it all off, Vovô and Vovó were present for this special day! With so many princess presents, daddy's famous crawfish boil, so many friends and family it was without a doubt, a memorable day!
Julia liked it too....because there was cake....with blue icing....eheheheh
Right after Joana's birthday it was my 36 birthday. Daddy surprised me with a home baked cake that he and the girls prepared for me. I loved the surprise!
Vovô e Vovó for Easter!
It is now the end of March and Vovô is staying with us for 2 weeks and Vovó for two months! Joana and Julia are so excited and they arrive right about Easter celebration so let's get our bunny ears ready and find that candy in the easter eggs!
The most fun was going on the Easter egg hunt at church, though. The Easter Bunny left a lot of candy for all the kids to grab! HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
Random Moments
This post is a collection of random but very cute moments during the first three months of 2012. Enjoy!
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| Mommy cuddles at Celebration Station before riding the go-carts! |
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| Rockstar day at school |
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| Fashion divas. On our way to church looking stylish and adorable! No need for explanations for the video below. The girls are going crazy dancing to their favorite song. Having an iPad is a perk and the fact that it was given to me by my school was an even bigger one, but to use the device to teach my girls how to read, count, draw, color and learn so many other things is certainly the biggest perk of all. I mean, if they are going to play games, they might as well be learning something right? Julia knows all of her letters and the numbers up to 20, tons of different shapes and can even add a few basic numbers. Joana has been fascinated by reading since she saw Tori read her a book. Tori is 7 and is Laura and Mitchell's daughter, she is an avid reader and comes over often to play with the girls. I downloaded an app that teacher kids phonics and is decided in different lessons. Joana was doing one lesson a night and this particular night she surprised me. Check it out! |
Grandma Osborne 75th birthday!
It is spring break and because I am now working full time as a Spanish I and II teacher at Bishop Lynch High School, a wonderful co-ed school in Dallas, I am more limited to when I can take days off. Multi-Language Solutions, Inc, my interpretation and translation business is still going well, but now I am a full-time teacher and mom and a part-time business owner. It has been great but at times, a bit stressful. I am lucky to have an incredible husband who is very supportive and works hard to help me when he is not out working in other cities and countries.
So, grandma O's birthday fell on a day during spring break, so we were able to take the trip to New Orleans and surprise her. We had a blast with the family once again and Grandma was certainly very moved and surprised to see everyone at the restaurant with presents and a big yummy cake. Our gift to grandma was the picture below, in a beautiful frame. She was thrilled and very emotional because this was the first picture every taken with both Tyler, Dylan, Joana and Julia together.
Riverstone School - The end of another year
Riverstone School has been a blessing to our family. Mrs. Logan and her staff are a wonderful group of professionals who truly work tirelessly to provide the best for our children. It is inspirational how Mrs. Logan, the owner, seeks the healthiest and most original foods and meals for the kiddos and teaches them that fruit, veggies and healthy habits are the key to a healthy brain and body.
Both Julia and Joana have had wonderful teachers throughout the last two years at Riverstone and have created a special bond with each of them. Julia started with Ms. Donna a fun loving and very goofy teacher who always peeks her head out of her class to say hi to Julia when she passes by. Then it was Ms. Tawanda, soft spoken and always smiling, who always hugged Julia every morning. Ms. Carla is the teacher in the picture below. Again, a treat as a teacher and ever so loving.
Julia has many friends in her class but without a doubt, the ones she talks about the most are her "boys". Yes, the child is boy crazy already. Her biggest fan is Zachary, the blonde boy behind her in the picture with the brown shirt and her second love is Eduardo, the boy sitting next to her.
Her best friends are Vanessa, the girl in the plaid shirt in the front, then Victoria, the girl in the blue dress next to her and Hailey the blonde girl to her left. Her favorite boyfriend is Beau the cute little boy in the brown t-shirt next to Victoria.
Both Julia and Joana have had wonderful teachers throughout the last two years at Riverstone and have created a special bond with each of them. Julia started with Ms. Donna a fun loving and very goofy teacher who always peeks her head out of her class to say hi to Julia when she passes by. Then it was Ms. Tawanda, soft spoken and always smiling, who always hugged Julia every morning. Ms. Carla is the teacher in the picture below. Again, a treat as a teacher and ever so loving.
Joana has been at Riverstone for two years now and has had the same wonderful teachers. She started with Ms. Tawanda, the picture above and now with Ms. Lisa and Ms. Long (pic below). She has learned so much from all of these wonderful teachers and she has made several friends in her class. You can tell how much she has changed from one year to the other looking at the picture above and the one below.
Her best friends are Vanessa, the girl in the plaid shirt in the front, then Victoria, the girl in the blue dress next to her and Hailey the blonde girl to her left. Her favorite boyfriend is Beau the cute little boy in the brown t-shirt next to Victoria.
Christmas 2011
Before Christmas, we made sure we would have the girls Christmas pictures taken in Mississippi, where we were spending Thanksgiving. It's now a tradition to do it there, and these turned out MUCH better than what I had anticipated. Once we were back in Texas, Santa stopped by Riverstone school (their daycare) and both girls got to ask him for their dream presents!
Bikes! Of course! And the girls were so excited that they wanted to go out that afternoon and show the rest of the neighborhood how cool they looked. And they did look very cool :) Below is a video of the girls opening their presents. Thank you to all of you who sent the most loving and amazing gifts. We are all very grateful :)
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| Ariel Vanity - Gift from Mawmaw. One for each...of course. No wonder these girls are spoiled :) |
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| Mommy, daddy said we could sleep with our helmets on so that we are ready to ride in the morning. Please? |
We ended the year with a loud parade around the house. Happy New Year everyone, and may 2012 bring you health, love and prosperity!
Halloween and Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving was here in a flash and it was time for us to go to New Orleans and then Mississippi. In New Orleans we spent a lot of time with the family. The picture above is Julia and Joana with Uncle Brian. They loved playing and coloring with him. He looks tough but he is a bit sweet teddy bear and they know it :). The girls also played tirelessly with Annabelle, their cousin and probably best friend right now. What an adorable group hug! They even enjoyed a fun sleepover together.
We also went to the incredible Aquarium of the Americas in Namaw and the girls and to get there we crossed the mighty Mississippi on the ferry boat. At the aquarium Joana and Julia were once again amazed at the beauty of the fish and other sea creatures. But the most fun was not at the aquarium. It was definitely with the family. Check out the two videos below.
We wrapped up the stay in New Orleans in a very patriotic manner. Joana surprised us all with a random moment saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I guess she was learning it at daycare and when she saw the American flag she felt compelled to recite it. I had to get it on camera, so I asked her to do it again and called the whole family to hear it. Here it is for your enjoyment.
And now....MISSISSIPPI! Yup, we divided Thanksgiving into two places with two young children and they are both 6 to 7 hours away from each other. Daring? Nooooo....Stupid? Hardly.......We had dvd players in the car and an iPad to keep the girls busy. BAM!!!
Below is a picture with Dampaw who loves to go to Mississppi to enjoy the company of the family and go dear hunting, of course!
And now....7 hours more all the way to Dallas. Let's do it during their nap time and hope for the best, shall we? Shhhhhhh....we are very tired.
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