Fun Times in May!

Hi Loved Ones! I've been so bad at blogging recently, sorry about that. We've been busy as usual and when we are not at work, we are enjoying the lovely summer weather, meeting up with different friends and having fun outdoors. Here are some highlights from May!

1.  Aternoon of games with our Brazilian Friends. For the last few months, we've been getting together with our Brazilian friends, Daniel and Larissa and their two sons Alex and Dylan, once a month for an afternoon of games. We usually play "Buraco" (Brazilian card game) but last time we met we also played the "Settlers of Catan" board game and loved it! As we play, snack and laugh (a lot!), the boys also have fun playing together around the house. We enjoy these monthly meetings so much! Next week we are actually going to spend the night at our friends' house so we can play late into the night -- it will be Daniel's first sleep over ever!

2. Mother's Day. For Mother's Day I was treated like a queen by Papai and Nani and felt very loved. We went to my favorite ice cream place (Daniel got to eat ice cream on a cone for the first time!) and just enjoyed having a wonderful time outdoors together.

3. Washingtonian Center. Only 5 minutes from our house is a nice shopping and restaurant area with a lake and playground that we love to go to. We went on the pedal boat and saw some nice "wild life" too!

Sweet moment between the two loves of my life...

And cute random photo of Daniel:

4. Reunion with Katie and family. We finally got together with my English friend Katie (we did our Master's degree together in London) and got to meet her gorgeous son Jonas for the first time (just turned 1). Sophia (3) and Daniel loved playing together and it was so nice to catch up with Katie and Dov! And we went to my favorite ice cream place again!

Recent visit from Tia Fafa

We were blessed with a recent special visit from tia Fafa. We had her for two weeks and enjoyed her so much. Daniel got to spend two full days with her while we were at work; she took him to the zoo and then one day to the mall. They had a blast together! She read to him most nights and he loved cuddling up to her. We love you, dear tia Fafa, and miss you very much!

Daniel's First Karate Belt Test: From White to Gold!

Just over a week ago, Daniel had his first ever Karate belt test. He had to demonstrate all his new skills before he could be given his new "gold" color belt. And he did a fabulous job! He showed his "sensei" that he could do the: attention stance, guarding stance, bow, focus, jab-cross punch, back-leg kick, jump-kick and lastly, the stomp-kick where he got to break a real wooden board! It was a special ceremony and he wasn't intimidated by it at all. You can see the fun he had and how proud he was through these pictures and video.

Video of the special moment!

Congratulations, Daniel! We are all so proud of you!

Sweet singing Daniel at age 4!

He just loves to sing this song and will pretty much sing it to anyone who asks! Enjoy!