Pause! That Means Stop

The other day Alex and I were playing cards with JP and Magdalena while Lucia was at a play date and Victoria was taking a nap.  JP had to get up to get something and as he ran from the table, he turned back, held his hand up in a "stop" motion and said, "Pause!  That means stop." :-)  We were happy to wait for him to return to the table to continue the game!

Victoria loves to take things from other people.  It's like anything that someone else has is now "Mine!  My Turn!  I want to do it!  I want to see it!"  Also with Victoria, now that she is in her big girl bed, it is hit or miss with naps.  Some days she does, some days she doesn't.  But on days that she does not nap, she tends to go to bed a little early (like 7 or 7:15 versus 8).  She does love to read - oh, and she turned TWO on February 1st!  We have to teach her to answer "how old are you?" with "I'm two!" rather than "Almost two!"  The books she is loving now are "Baby Dear" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."  All the kids have loved that latter one; not sure what the appeal is - maybe the funny voices mama uses? ;-)

Magdalena is behind me as I type reading a book about brains to Ama and Apa.  She is learning to pronounce "amygdala," "cerebellum," and "neurology."  Impressive.  I took a video to show her someday how well she read in Kindergarten.

Lucia is "blossoming" with her piano, direct quote from her teacher.  Both girls enjoy playing - especially for an audience - and Lucia really is taking off with both hands playing together and even singing along sometimes!  Lucia is writing her Literacy Project on Ruby Bridges, the black girl who, in 1960, became the first black child to integrate in a formerly all white school in New Orleans.  All the other kids in her class and practically the whole school stopped coming, and Ruby had her teacher to herself.  It is a great story, and Ruby is still active in human rights.  Lucia was taken with this story last year in first grade, so this year when the second graders had to choose an historical figure to read and write about, she chose Ruby Bridges.  The other day, Lucia came up to me as I was reading bedtime stories to JP and Victoria and was very concerned.  She had been hearing us talking about the upcoming election, I think, an she asked me "Mom, what if the new President decides that schools should be segregated again?"  Such a sweet innocent girl!  I explained to her that I believed we were past that in this country, and everyone knows that people are just that - people, regardless of skin color, etc.  It would never happen again.  Lucia was quite relieved.

Lucia and Magdalena outside their weekly Theater class

JP and V (who insisted on wearing JP's shirt) playing with her birthday toys 

Happy 2nd Birthday Victoria!

In the cute Minnie Mouse skirt from Uncle Ryan

Just LOVE this little dress and the shoes (a bit big still on those) - all three girls have worn both

M and JP watching a show together in Alex's office on Saturday morning, blanket shared over their knees (Lucia had commandeered the main screen with an American Girl doll movie)

JP at the Children's Museum in full Digger Gear

We went on a little play date to the CM the other day that the preschoolers didn't have school