MY NIECE SOPHIA, 6

This is my beautiful 6 year old niece Sophia, modeling her new bikini and her new smile.

Sophia's favorite things are:

• Horses, horses and more horses
• Anything and everything "Princess".
• Color: PINK (are there any others?)
• Sparkly everything...
• Cupcakes and Ice cream WITH sprinkles
• Panda... (the animal and the Chinese food... yeah... I know... lol)
• School

and a lot more stuff

Sometimes I get a phone call and I say "hello"... and all I hear from the other side is "MEOW" and then a little laugh... and that's how I know that is Sophia trying to trick "Tia Rosana"... than I respond "QUACK"... and that is how we communicate for a little while... Until I say: "Hey Sophia, want to go to Michael's?" And then the conversation gets real serious and she is ready to go in minutes.

Loro, 41 Year Old Bird

This is my familie's bird fom when I was a little girl. I remember as if it was today, the day that we adopted him into our family. I was a 7 year old little girl. One evening after school, in Brazil, my mom (deceased), my middle brother Edson (deceased) and I walked a couple of miles over to the home of some friends to pick him up and bring him home. I was wearing my school uniforme, and running so excited about adopting "Lourinho". He had just a few gray feathers. That was 41 years ago. This picture was taken a few months ago by the new family that is taking care of him, since he is in Brazil and I am in USA.

He sings and speaks and calls my name and used to call my mom.

What memories I have of those times.

Scruff, 15

Picture by: Eliana Kaplan

This is my boy Scruff. He is 15 years old. He's been my buddy for the last 12 years. Lately his health has been weak, but he is a fighter and is hanging on for dear life. I am pretty sure he already used up all of his 9 lives plus a couple. The vet diagnosed him with liver cancer, probably very serious pancreatic problems too. But trough it all I often catch him playing with his little toys under the bed or in the closet, and still knows how to demand being petted 'the right way'.

Picture by: Eliana Kaplan