January with many new things

Aviva's 6! We had a birthday party for her last week. Abuelita and Greg visited. We went skiing, twice. On Aviva's birthday, she was very happy to be 6. But she was surprised that she was the same size; apparently she was expecting to be taller. We brought popsicles to her class, and the next day we had a birthday party at Laura and Dan's house. Abuelita and Greg visited from Wednesday until Sunday and we did a bunch of fun things, including the party which they helped plan.

We went to jiu jitsu and walked there in the rain. The kids had a school assembly Friday morning about Martin Luther King and Aviva and Noah's classes performed. 

Aviva is the front of the line (farthest left) because the kids are in
belt order, and she's the highest. She has a yellow belt with 5 stripes

The assembly was also a march, and the kids held signs and walked around the neighborhood.

Did you know that black liver matters?

Henry and Tommy

Aviva's birthday party was fun. We did a bunch of games and we did shrinky dinks and painted pet rocks, and Greg and Abuelita helped plan, including the balloon pop game with its details. Nana/Laura made a pretty ballerina cake. We told people not to bring gifts but one friend gave Aviva a unicorn diary that she has been writing in a lot. She keeps asking if there are things we want to remember, so she can write them down to help us. They are things like "listen to your body," "be nice," "kiss Noah." 

If other family members have more pictures, please send them to me and I"ll add them! 

Aviva just grew up

Aviva can read! Look:

How cool is that!!
She's also spelling words in our conversations. Three letter words, mostly, recognizing sounds and breaking words down into their sounds.

AND she can ride a bike, all of a sudden. Videos will be added soon. We found a new two-wheel scooter for Noah at Goodwill, and we went for an adventure around the neighborhood and campus, with him on his new scooter and Aviva on his old bike. We held her shoulders to help steady her, and then when we were going down a slight hill, she did it herself. I thought it was awesome and I told her that, and now that's the word that she is using about riding a bike.

AND she's sleeping on the bottom bunk of Noah's bed, and not her little closet-cave-room.

We're on a little ski trip to Donner Lake area, near Tahoe, and as we were driving up we started to see snow. Which Aviva did not remember ever seeing; she asked, "What's that white stuff? Can I touch it?"
More pictures and stories to follow...

Aviva after her lesson today