Just life with a new kitty

We recently adopted a little black and white "tuxedo" kitten.  We've named her Lilly, or as the Brazilians say it, "Lee Lee," but most of the time, she just gets called, "kitten."  It's been fun having a little creature around the house who jumps at our feet, and skampers down the halls.  I've been taking good care of her....Isla.....well....let's just say Lilly has learned to run when she sees Isla heading her way!

Poor kitten....she has no idea what she's up against.

Just kidding....Isla can be a sweet girl.

I think I've taught her well.

Still, if I were the kitty, I'd stay under the couch for the time being! ;)

~ Avery

Two Little Monkeys...

Jumpin' on the bed...

...and playing possum

Thank goodness, no one fell off and broke their head!

Isla's 1st Day of Preschool

This week was very eventful:  I started pre-school! Avery has been going to school for as long as I can remember, and now, I can get in on the action, too!

My first day, we took commemorative pictures before we left the house, and I was ready to go "bye bye."

 

 ...but, when we arrived at school, everything looked unfamiliar, and I wasn't too sure...

Thank goodness, my Big Sister could watch out for me, and "show me the ropes."

Still, it was a little scary.

After a few hours, though, all was right in the World.

 

~ Isla

Cozy Times with the Cousins

Oh, what fun it was to see my girlie cousins, Isabela and Sofia during our trip to Texas!  A few days, it was even cool enough for us to cozy up to a fire!

...aaaaand....We were right there to welcome our NEWEST cousin, Oliver when he arrived!  We already love this little guy so much, and can't wait to play with him when he gets a bit bigger.

 

~ Avery & Isla

A Brazilian Christmas Weekend

We thought that spending Christmas at home in Brazil would mean quiet times for the holiday.  We may not have had any schedules to keep, but that didn't stop us from having a fun weekend, full of holiday cheer....Brazilian style!

Saturday evening, we put on our darling dresses to head out to Vigil Mass.  Needless to say, capturing a picture of BOTH of us sitting pretty is still a challenge.

One of us (ahem) cooperates better than the other!

That night, it was lights out early, as our Santa Tracker said he was on his way!  On Christmas morning, we awoke to quite the pile of loot!

My Elf must have delivered all my wishes for a Barbie computer right to Santa himself!

Isla will also have the chance to practice her techno-savvy.

It wasn't long before we tested out our new sets of wheels

Later in the afternoon, we took to the pool with Daddy-O (aka Santa wanna-be ;)

....and wrapped up the day by making some very festive cupcakes.

It was such a wonderful Christmas, with much to be thankful for.  We hope you also had a very Merry Christmas!

~ Avery

Prepping for the Claus man

Since this is the first year we'll be spending Christmas at home in Brazil, we've been kicking our Big Day preparations into high gear.  We're extra-excited because Mims is here to spend the holidays with us, and she's a big fan of Christmas.

First, we decked our halls with a tree that already has many presents underneath!

We dressed up in our little festive outfits so our Christmas card picture would look nice....

...that's still a work in progress...

More importantly, Santa paid a pre-visit down to Brasilia to listen to gift wishlists.  This was the first year I felt confident about telling The Head Honcho ear-to-ear what I'm hoping will appear under the tree Christmas morn, but Isla needed a little moral support.

I went first, to show her how the pros do it.

...but, I think we still have some work to do for next year.

 

~ Avery

Walk like a Bra-zil-ian

I think I can handle my own in Mommy's Big Girl shoes!