me and my girl

I took S to run an errand and pick up our veggie share. And the truck was late. Rather than get stressed and leave and try to figure out how to come back later, I accepted the delay as an opportunity to just hang out with S without an agenda. And it was super sweet. I rarely have one on one time with the kiddos. And since we all have so much fun together, I don't really miss it. But, I'm certain S adored the attention.

And we got some wonderful selfies out of it. 

This is the only pic I took. 

Then S took over. And had a blast. 

She discovered filters. 

And loves playing with composition. 

Or just needs to work on her aim. You decide.  

the birthday party

We had one party for all the kiddos this year. We weren't going to do much for a theme, but then they asked for pirates and mermaids and it was fairly easy to make that happen. Everyone had a great time and O still (a month later) runs around talking (shouting) like a pirate.

We created a treasure hunt and separated the kids by ages to work the puzzles. 

The buried treasure was a hit 

Of course we had a piñata. We may need to blindfold the kids next year. They're getting good at piñatas!

Treasure!

What an adorable, surly pirate. 

And everyone got to decorate their own cupcake.

And eat them, of course!

Happy birthdays, Vassariños!

helpers

We decided to paint the backs of our built in bookcases. And all the Vassariños wanted to help. Never one to discourage their willingness to pitch in, I outlined a box for each to paint. Pretty soon, we can really get things done around here!

birthday fun

I'm a little late to posting about the twins' birthday celebrationS!

The family morning celebration on their actual birthday was going to be my first day at my new job, so we decided to celebrate the morning before. Which, was also fun because the cousins were staying over for a sleepover, so it turned into a party. 

Tía Sonja helped me make their fun cakes. S knew exactly what she wanted, a mermaid cake with candy rocks. R had no idea what he wanted, so I got to pick for him. Which was probably good, because I initially looked for Star Wars ideas and they all looked like things that I wouldn't have pulled off very well. 

little art teacher

S loves art. Anything creative is her favorite thing to do. She can color for hours. And even got left in the house once because we thought she had left with the others but was sitting by herself coloring in the play room. 

She also loves teaching others how to do things. So, it's no surprise that she came up with this lesson, but it still was impressive to me!

How to draw a star. Those little brains never cease to amaze me. Of course, as their mom, it's my job to be impressed.