We are making it happen...

Jack: 1st Steps

2011-11-07T22:10:00.001-05:00

Jack, my love, you have taken your 1st steps today!!!

Jack - 7 months

2011-03-26T13:14:00.001-04:00

Jack - 6 months

2011-02-26T01:00:00.002-05:00

Jack, my love, you are officially 6 months old – that's six whole months - 1/2 of a year. We're not sure how time has gone by so quickly, and you continue to amaze us each and every day!
You have grown in leaps and bounds this month both physically (you are our big boy), but especially socially. It seems like every few days you were mastering a new skill. From finding your feet to playing Winnie the Pooh horsey with Santana and talking... You love to play with daddy’s watch, just like Giulia used to. Oh, you love to talk. Your dad, Santana and I have so much fun having conversations with you. Things that I found out this past month are that you have a ticklish belly and we knew that you loved bath (you love to kick your legs and splash around) but we didn’t know how much you would love to take baths with me in the big tub. You sit on my belly and tap the water and laugh… You love to smile and you just light up when you see your dad or me. You also adore Giulia. I’m sure you just can’t wait until you can play with her…
You love to play. We started you on the Exersaucer, at 1st, you couldn’t stand it for more than a minute and now you are a lot more comfortable and playing with its various activities.

You are teething still, but no tooth yet. It’s really hard to see, but this is one of the big milestones in your baby life and boy, you will get through it with your dad and me right there with you. You are alos having poopies issues, although for the past couple of days I have given you prune juice, which has prompted you to poo 3 or 4 times. Daily.

You have been incredibly hungry and although I’ve been pumping like crazy, I haven’t been able to produce as much milk as you need, so we started to supplement your meals with some formula. We also tried some baby food – carrots and sweet potatoes (2/16) – but you really didn’t like it as much. That was surprising because you are ALWAYS hungry.

You are now wearing 9 to 12 month clothing. You still wear size 2 diapers, but those are starting to get to be too small. And look how big you’ve gotten!
I now understand when people say that a mother’s heart can hold an infinite amount of love. I can’t believe how much love this heart of mine can hold, it is simply enormous. Between my love for your dad, you and Giulia one would think it would explode! But no, it stays steady, and ready to experience what’s ahead. I just can’t wait. Love you so much, Mamae.

Jack - 4 months

2010-12-25T19:36:00.006-05:00

Jack. - You are four months old F-O-U-R , yes, four. 1/3-year old at that. This month has been crazy and our adventures even involved your 1st airplane ride to our home state, CT. You were an excellent traveler and never made a peep on the plane. At 4 months old, you’ve already earned your wings.

We needed to get our house ready to be rented out and we had Christmas at your Grammy Donna and Grampy Nicky’s. That was your 1st Christmas celebration and boy, did we have fun. You met your Aunt Julie – your Godmother – and Uncle Chris, your Uncle Rob and your Aunt Lisa and your beautiful cousin Lindsay. You were so cool being held by all of those new people, including many of your grandparent’s friends. Your big smile won everyone;s hearts. It was quite cold and snowy in the East Coast. It was also the 1st time you got a bit sick.

Jack, you were baptized on 12/26. You did absolutely wonderful, didn’t cry once. You bonded with your Godmother Julie from the get-go and we are sure that you will be really close with your Godfather, Leopoldo. We can’t wait for you to meet him and for your baptism celebration in Brazil.

When we got back from NY / CT, we had the best visit ever. Auntie Mara and Uncle Helio and your beautiful cousins Bia, Gabi and Pedro came to visit us. They spent the week with us and although that wasn’t enough, we cherished every second that we spent with them. Being here, the only one from our Brazilian family in the US, I really treasure every family visitor, especially someone who is like a sister to me (your Aunt Mara). Your father and I really hope that they had a great time and that they’ll want to come back to spend more time with us.

You went to daycare for the 1st time ever and everybody in Kindercare absolutely fell in love with you. You are still having poopie issues and on day 2 you had a major explosion. All my fears that I or Santana weren’t going to be there when you needed to be fed or changed went away because you did absolutely wonderful. It was actually the 1st time that you and your sister were in daycare at the same time. You guys did great, but your mom was worries sick. One of the thng that both you and Giulia have taught me is that you can be OK even though I’m not with you 100% of the time. On an intellectual level, I understand that. On an emotional level, I will always, and I mean always think that you need me and I will always be here for you. I really mean in – always. But I will also try my best to let you spread your wings. No pun intended!

What else have you been doing? Well, you oves toys, bright colors, catching your sister (pique-pega), making bubbles, dancing with me and the second I start dancing with you, your face lights up and you give me the biggest smile in the world. You only like your paci (not Giulia’s - quite opinionated!) and you love it when I sing to you, you look at me with so much love…
You love watching Dora and Ni Hao Hai-lan. These are colorful cartoons for little kids and you seem to be hypnotized by them.
.You made celebrating the holidays such a joy this year and your dad and I can't wait to continue celebrating our lives with you. It is so much fun to view the world through the eyes of a child and you and Giulia make us do just that.

Love you forever - Mamae

White Christmas

2010-12-25T19:36:00.003-05:00

Passport

2010-12-12T13:37:00.003-05:00

So we are still having poop issues with Jack. He'll go 2 or 3 days without going and then all of a sudden, he'll go for those 3 days and more. This past Friday, Santana, John and I finally made our way to City Hall to get a passport for Jack. We had all the required paperwork minus the photos, because the lady at Walgreens messed up his pictures. But the Passport place had a photo option, 3 times the price, but at that point we were willing to pay the fee.

While John and I were solemnly swearing that Jack is really our child and born in the USA, Jack had an EXPLOSION. It was so bad that his clothes were covered in poop, I even had to wash him in the sink.

We, of course, didn't have a change of clothes for him. And he needed that picture. As we were scrambling to find something to cover him up with, he had the most content expression in the world. Happy and relieved. Couldn't care less if he ever left our arms, let alone the country...

Laughs

2010-12-12T01:42:00.001-05:00

Jack, you went from smiling to flat-out laughing. And we are loving every second of it!!!

Poop! (Or Lack thereof....)

2010-12-09T01:58:00.003-05:00

So Jack went from pooping 4, 5 times a day to pooping once every 3 or 4 days. This really worried me since Giulia has never had this issue (as a baby or otherwise) and Jack had been super regular up until and before this.

I called the pedi and this is what I got. what I have to say is that thank God I am breastfeeding him....

How often should my baby poop?

In the first week, your baby should have a least 1 - 2 poops per day. This pattern should continue up until about 6 weeks of age.
After 6 - 8 weeks, some babies, particularly breast-fed babies, can poop after every feed and that's normal, while some babies, including breast-fed babies, only poop every few days and that's normal. Formula-fed babies often have less frequent and less liquid poops than breast-fed babies - that's normal.
So you can see that what is normal includes a wide range - if your baby is growing and contented and pooping at least once every week, there probably isn't anything to be worried about.

Is it normal for my baby to squirm around when he poops?

A baby will often squirm around and screw up his face when he poops. He is just helping his bowels move. Drawing up the legs puts him more in a squatting position that makes it easier to poop. It doesn't mean he has a problem or is in pain. As long as he is pooping and is growing, don't worry too much.

Black Friday

2010-11-26T23:26:00.002-05:00

So, in all the years that I’ve been living in the United States, today is the 1st Black Friday I have actually went out shopping. I absolutely hate crowds, lines, and honestly, no sale has ever tempted me enough to have me wake up at 2AM to go to a store. I mean, not even at 8AM! But today I went to a couple of stores with John and Donna (my mother-in-law) and the whole (dreaded) trip wasn’t that bad... Granted, we left home at 1PM (no waking up at ungodly hours to shop) and we only hit 3 stores, but we actually had a good time. We bought nothing at Pier 1, nothing at World Market and 350 dollars worth of bargains (!!) in Old Navy. How could I possibly resist $5 comfy pants? Not even when I bought 10 pairs worth…. :) The good news is that out of the 6 bags that I brought home, I’ll be returning 4. Phew!

All in all, I bought gifts for 2 people, plus lots of comfy stuff for myself. Best of it all, Black Friday will never be dreaded again!

Jack - 3 months

2010-11-25T00:28:00.002-05:00

Jack,

It has been three months since you came into this world and into our lives. It has been a privilege to get to know you, the little nuances of you, everything, all the joy you bring into our lives.

We now have the longest conversations…. We talk and talk and talk…. And we laugh and laugh and laugh! You love to be held, cuddle up with papai, Santana and me, you love it when I give you 100 kisses (ataque de beijo!!), you make the cutest face when I am kissing you, like you are exactly where you want to be.

I can’t get enough of your sweet disposition, the way you curl your little toes, how you love to take baths, play jumpy, jumpy with Santana and how you hold your little hands together as if you were praying…

This past month was one of many celebrations: we celebrated Bá’s and Mamãe’s birthdays (on Halloween!) and Grammy Donna and Grampy Nicky were here so that we could all celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. And since we are talking about giving thanks, I am so thankful for so many things in my life, but most of all, I am thankful for the 3 of you, the most important people in my life, and the love that you, Giulia and papai give me. Mostly and especially, I am thankful for the way that the 3 of you have taught me how to love: deeply, absolutely and unconditionally. A way to love that very few people in this world have the privilege to know how...

Mamãe

Stats:
Birth / Nascimento:

Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm

Weight / Peso: 8.55 pounds / 3.87 kg

Head Circumference:

6 weeks / 6 semanas:

Length / Comprimento: in / cm (%)

Weight / Peso: lb / kg (%)

Head Circumference:

Newsletter: Month 30

2010-10-31T00:22:00.000-04:00

2010-10-27T00:12:00.001-04:00

Jack - 2 months

2010-10-26T23:29:00.001-04:00

Jack - 2 months

2010-10-22T00:46:00.002-04:00

Jack,

I can’t believe it’s already been 2 months since your birth. These couple of months have flown by and you are becoming more interactive. You now smile. And Jack, thankfully for us, you smile all the time, my baby.

You are beginning to make sounds like you want to communicate with us. You are hungry all the time and clearly growing a lot. You only cry when you are really tired or really hungry. At all other times, you smile, smile, smile.

I went back to work 2 days before you turned 1 month old. It was an incredibly difficult thing to do, but after much thought, I decided to go back in order to maximize my days with you next year. I can’t wait until next summer when I’ll take my maternity leave and will get to spend a lot of time with you.

Jack, I love how you put your hands together like you are praying, I love how you curl your little toes, how you have fun with Charlie and Daisy and your sister, how you are so easygoing and cool. And Jack, I simply LOVE how you smile all the time. I absolutely love you, my son. Happy 2 months.

Santana's B-Day

2010-10-17T01:00:00.001-04:00

Jack: Happy One Month!

2010-09-24T21:50:00.008-04:00

Jack,

It has been one month since you came into this world. We love you so much and are so happy that you are here with us. You are the sweetest boy and such a wonderful baby. As of now, you pretty much sleep all the time but I can’t think of anything cuter…
You make the funniest faces (which show your beautiful dimples) and noises, it feels like you are almost "talking" to me and understanding what I'm saying to you... You are always hungry and want to feed all the time. Like your sister, you love taking baths... your vovó Rita gave you your 1st bath and you just enjoyed it, not crying once. You love and always sleep during car rides. Unlike your sister, you like the pacifier. You have the most expressive hands and like keeping them by your eyes, like a little bunny.

This past month was spent with 2 of the most special people in the world to me: your grandma and your great-grandma. They came here on 8/21 only to meet you and spent the better part of last month with you. In the 1st month of your life, you’ve done your share of shopping with them – we were already out and about only 3 days after your birth! It was a busy month, but a month when you felt much love from your grandmas, grammy Donna and granpy Nicky (who spent a week here in Seattle with us), Santana, your dad, sister and me. One thing you should know, my little one, is that you are so incredibly loved.

From the time that we laid our eyes on you, to having had our parents in town, managing it all, as well as Giulia, your dad and I have been really busy. Even though we were pretty concerned, Giulia has been nothing but incredibly loving towards you.

Now that you are here, your father and I have also felt incredibly right and complete. I can’t be happier or feel more blessed than I do – I have the most beautiful family in the world and when I think that things can’t get better or that I can’t have any more than what I already do, God blesses me with more...

You are our beautiful gift and we can’t wait to enjoy more and more of you.
We love you. Mamãe

Stats:
Birth / Nascimento:
Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm
Weight / Peso: 8.55 pounds / 3.87 kg
Head Circumference:

6 weeks / 6 semanas:
Length / Comprimento: in / cm (%)
Weight / Peso: lb / kg (%)
Head Circumference:

.

2010-09-12T22:57:00.001-04:00

August 24th, 2010 - A Birth Story

2010-08-29T14:25:00.000-04:00

Vo -- Parabens pra voce, nessa data tao querida!!!

2010-07-28T18:17:00.003-04:00

Pool

2010-07-21T01:34:00.014-04:00

Giulia loves to go swimming. Now if the weather would cooperate and Giulia would stop being sick... Then we would be able to enjoy this one month of summer that we get to have here in Seattle!

Major Breakthrough!!

2010-07-21T01:19:00.005-04:00

I've been trying to get Giulia to "want" to go potty (if it's not something that she wants, then there's no way that she'll do it!) for a coupleof weeks now and she doesn't seem interested at all. Well today I went "potty" - I usually bring her into the bath room with me - and as she watched me, she asked for me to take her clothes off. I promptly obliged. She sat on the potty, but nothing happened. Then she got off the potty and went to the sink to brush her teeth. Well all of a sudden, she sat on the potty again and went pee!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I immediately gave a "reward" (chocolate bunny) so that she could make a positive association with going potty. I am over the moon!

Take my clothes off, mommy!

The "Potty"

The Reward

Seattle Coffee Crawl - May 30, 2010

2010-06-01T01:49:00.017-04:00

Newsletter: Month 25

2010-06-01T00:48:00.003-04:00

Giulia,

Today you turned 25 months old. You are this amazingly creative, smart, loving and absolutely beautiful little girl. This month was super cool because we had some very special visitors from Brazil: Titia Mara e Titio Helio. They spent a couple of weeks with us and we got to do some great things with them. You bonded with them very quickly and to date, almost a month later, you still ask for “Titia Mala” e “Titio Mala”, actually quite often!
This past Memorial Day weekend was also quite special because we had Titia Carla come and visit us from Dallas. We went to Leavenworth, Snohomish, downtown Seattle (on a very cool “coffee crawl”), to West Seattle and on awesome car rides throughout beautiful WA. You loved spending time with Titia Carla and the 2 of you got along beautifully.

It didn’t take us long to see Titia Mara e Titio Helio again. On May 7th we left for Brazil for your Dindinha Buba’s wedding. You, again, did great on the trip over and back (thank God for portable DVD players!) making this otherwise tiring process a fairly easy one on your dad and me.

You looked like a princess in your flower girl dress, you played amazingly well with your cousin Maria, swam in the kids pool with Jusia, papai and mamae, had beautiful moments with Vovo Rita, Vovo Toinho e Vovo Nair, had much fun with Dindinhos Dede and Buba, had a great time playing with Malu, Mariana and Joao Pedro, amongst many other amazing and unforgettable moments you got to spent with some very special people while we were in Brazil.

Giulia, our bond grows every day as you and I have become incredibly attached. It is so difficult to be away from you, I have an incredibly hard time every time I have to leave you, despite knowing that you are in great hands and being as loved as ever.

Today there was a moment that will be in my heart forever. We went to the airport to drop off Titia Carla and stopped at the Mall. I sat down to wait for your dad while you and Santana went up and down the escalators. As you went up, you kept looking towards me to make sure that I was still there. As you came down you kept on waving at me and smiling and the second you were off the escalator, you ran towards me, with the biggest and most beautiful smile on your face, with your arms wide open to give me a hug. You repeated this, 5 or 6 times and every time you and I would have this amazing moment when we would looked at each other and you would run towards me to give me the biggest hug... In that moment, it seemed like it was only the 2 of us in this whole universe and nothing else mattered! It was only pure love, emanating from both of us, a love so complete and perfect, which I’d never known existed, not until I laid my eyes on you. May you always continue to search for me, Giulia, and every time you do, I promise that you will find me still there.

I love you so, so much, Mamae

Happy Birthday Little Princess!

2010-04-30T23:30:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow

2010-04-29T23:45:00.003-04:00

Giulia, tomorrow you'll be 2 years old. Part of me is so excited for all the things that are yet to come, the life that your dad and me will be sharing with you... but part of me is missing the days that you were a little baby and wishing you could stay this innocent and little forever...

Soon Mamae will be giving birth to your little brother and our family will have one more miracle. Although we can't wait for the day we meet your brother, we also want you to stay just the way your are. The main reasons for this is because we are both in such a great place in our life that and we are enjoying our family so much that we don't want time to go by... But time does go by and every day your personality grows more and more. You are growing into such a special child and we love you so much...

We love you, little one.
Thank you for the best 2 years ever of our lives.

Happy Birthday

Mamae e papai

Ultrasound

2010-04-27T22:38:00.001-04:00

Kendall Payne - I Will Show You Love

2010-04-26T20:48:00.000-04:00

Newsletter: Month 23

2010-04-03T13:09:00.001-04:00

Newsletter: Month 22

2010-03-11T00:05:00.001-05:00

Newsletter: Month 21

2010-02-02T21:31:00.002-05:00

Giulia, my big baby (literally, see below!), you are now 21 months old. You’ve had a huge growth spurt this month and yep, a bunch of your pretty clothes all of a sudden became way too small for you. It scares me how quickly you are growing – it’s almost like God’s way of reminding your papai and me to enjoy every second of this gift (you!) that He’s given us. Here are some things that you’ve been doing this month:

You love the puppies – you’re always giving them big, tight hugs… hey at least one of you enjoys those hugs – a lot!

You reach your little hand and say “a mao” (the hand) when you want to take any of us wherever you want to go / do what you want to do. You will say “senta, mamae / papai / Ba” when you want one of us to sit with you. Then you instruct us to do the next thing, like pinta, mamae (let’s color mommy). And you know exactly what you want, expect us to do and where you want to go.

You love to sing (you know every Xuxa song by heart!) and you just love to dance. Amongst many others, you can sing the ABC song in English and you can count to 10 in both English and Portuguese. Smarty pants.

You love going to the library with Santana. She walks with you to and from the library and you get home and still, you still have so much energy… You love going to the park and going down the slide. The other day, your father and I were walking with you in the path behind our house and when we got to a certain point you diverted from the path and started walking toward a condo complex. You wanted us to follow you, so, even though we weren’t quite sure what was going on, your father and I followed. You took us to this playground where you go with Santana sometimes. You knew exactly how to get there, which slide you wanted to go and how long you wanted to be there (although I had to grab you from the playground because in your book, that would have meant never!). It’s amazing how determined you are and how you know exactly what you want. This makes your father and I so happy because we’ve always wanted things in your life to go your way, for you to do what you want, for you to have the freedom to choose your own path. And we will always do whatever we possibly can to make sure you have all the tools to do just that.

And the best thing that’s happened this month is that now you hug me. Giulia, you just come and hug me sometimes, you’ll hug my legs and you’ll squeal -- you’ll hug me with so, so much love… You’ve become so much more loving towards me and you are just so much closer to me. And Giulia, I enjoy every second of it, I am enjoying my gift so very much – I never take you for granted. May this trend only grow and may we get closer and closer – I love you.

Newsletter: Month 20

2010-01-02T20:25:00.001-05:00

Christmas Day Lunch @ the McCarthy's

2009-12-25T23:50:00.005-05:00

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T23:50:00.003-05:00

Christmas Day

2009-12-25T23:49:00.002-05:00

Christmas

2009-12-25T23:43:00.002-05:00

Aquarium

2009-12-24T00:40:00.010-05:00

Giulia ~ today was a furlough day (i.e. no work) for mamae and papai and although papai still had to work all day long, mamae enjoyed the day with you...

Seattle Aquarium

This (Xmas) weekend we...

2009-12-20T19:51:00.010-05:00

1. Got our X-mas card made, enveloped, addressed and sent out.

2. Got our X-mas treet, ornaments, lights... and put everything up.

3. Bought stocking stuffers.

4. Wrapped gifts and put some under the tree.

5. Others, we put in boxes to ship them to much nicer and warmer places (Brazil and Florida).
6. Danced with Giulia to classic X-mas songs.

7. Baked X-mas cookies to our friends in Seattle.
8. Found out really cool news.

And we were parents, husband and wife and flight-testers. Phew!

Giulia.... When I say, get off the table....

2009-12-20T19:50:00.003-05:00

... you must get off the table, little one. Yet, 5 or 6 time-outs later, you're still there.

Newsletter: Month 19

2009-12-05T20:45:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T18:17:00.010-05:00

Giulia with Grandpy Nick:

Giulia checking out her blog:

Riding my new pony:

Reading a book:

Hanging in my PJs:

At Salty's:

At Ivar's for Brunch:

At Pike Market:

At Teryiaki:

And my favorite picture of them all:

Newsletter: Month 18

2009-10-31T13:35:00.001-04:00

Newsletter: Month 17

2009-10-07T13:45:00.001-04:00

Newsletter: Month 16

2009-09-01T20:18:00.004-04:00

Giulia,

Giulia, today you turned 16 months old. This month was pretty special for our family, because after your 1st trip to Brazil, when you were 2 ½ months, we went back there to visit our family and friends. Everybody was so happy to see you and you’ve managed to captivate everybody’s hearts again and again. Your dad and I were a bit worried – due to the fact that you’re bilingual – that your vocabulary would be a bit behind, but you surprised us all – people couldn’t believe what a chatterbox you are and how advanced your vocabulary is for your age.

We got to spend some time with your Dindinho Andre and Titia Ana in Sao Paulo. We had a great time going to Irabuera Park and playing in the swings, in the evening we saw this beautiful show at the Mongolian Grill where dindinho took us. It was colorful and there were women climbing ropes and dancing and doing circus acts – you absolutely loved it.

We arrived in Goiania the next day and had vovo Rita and vovo Nair waiting for us at the airport. You were half asleep when I handed you to vovo Rita and she said that when you opened up your eyes, you became extremely quiet, just staring at her the entire time. The next day you saw your cousin Maria, aka “Baby”, and when you initially met her, the 2 of you didn’t know how to react with each other and both of you felt like the other one was “invading” their space. Mamae and Daddy were a bit concerned because we both feel that family is so, so important and we both hoped you would be best friends. Fortunately, our concerns were alleviated the next day or so and as the 2 of you spent more time together, your bond grew much stronger. You watched Xuxa together (over and over and over!), played with the toys that vovo Rita, tivo Maria and Joao Pedro gave you and swam in the club (this time we couldn’t take you out of the pool!). Speaking of, we took swim lessons with titia Rogeria and Joao Pedro and I can’t say if it was you or daddy and I who had the most fun! You were laughing and excited the entire time, the cutest fishy I have seen!

There were many memorable moments…. Vovo Nair hosted a wonderful lunch for us and our entire family was there. We went to dinner with tio Toe, tia Cris, tivo Maria, tio Marconi, vovo Nair, vovo Rita and vovo Toinho. Your just loved watching and dancing with your dindinha Buba, who by the way, knew the lyrics and dances to every Xuxa song. You saw your vovo Paulo e vovo Sirlei. We took a day trip to Brasilia with vovo Rita and vovo Nair and met up with titia Mara and titio Helio at a churrascaria for lunch. Brasilia is a beautiful city, but your dad found the drive (to and from there) the most memorable time because you were singing Xuxa songs with me and your vovo Rita and you were learning the vowels with vovo Nair. Seeing all of us have such a great time with each other was one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever had in my life. Everything just made sense: it crystallized in my mind that the most important thing in life are the moments we share with those we love.

And Giulia, you go between being a baby and a big girl, you are so independent and yet, you still hold on to us like you so need us…. I am just looking at you, and you are holding on to your dad and pulling on his ears (just like your uncle Rob!) and you look so tiny, you are such a baby… defenseless, beautiful, needy… like you will always be to me and your dad. Always.

Giulia's 2nd day in School

2009-08-19T09:54:00.000-04:00

Newsletter: Month 15

2009-08-18T21:11:00.002-04:00

1st day of School

2009-08-18T21:11:00.001-04:00

You are my everything, and everything is you.........

2009-06-19T23:26:00.004-04:00

Dear Giulia. You are walking now. Not only taking a couple of steps and falling on the floor, but really, really walking. Like a big girl and all. You are no longer a dependant little baby now, honey. You are a little person. A little walker at that.
Congratuations sweetheart.
Love, Mommy.

This is a huge milestone for both of us. xx

Giulia: Night Owl

2009-06-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

SINGAPORE DIARY - DAY 3 (Crazy Day)

2009-06-05T22:26:00.003-04:00

What a weird day.... Left early and stay late at work, hate it when that happens..... Didn't spend much time with Giulia today but we did get to go to our neighbor Dorothy's and Miss G. was the hit of the party, as expected. The kids loved her, played with her, wanted to hang with her... She is so amazingly cool, it is my absolute pleasure to hang and sspend time with my daughter. Giulia, you rock!

John, honey, you are now on an airplane, on your way back to us and we simply can't wait to see you. We love you so much and since you left, we've been quite empty.

Singapore - DIARY - day 2

2009-06-04T22:37:00.002-04:00

Interesting day.... many changes happening... The one good thing is that you may be coming home soon...

Singapore - DIARY

2009-06-03T16:05:00.004-04:00

John left yesterday for a TWELVE day business trip. Giulia and I promised to write him a daily log between now and when he gets back.
Tuesday 6/2:
I worked in the office until 3:30. At lunchtime I stopped in Gymboree (had gotten a call that everything was an extra 30% off) and purchased some summer items for Gi. Got 4 pairs of socks, a hat, capris, a bodysuit, 4 tank-tops and a pair of boots for $28. How? Well, with the exception of the boots, 1 tank top and the bodysuits, EVERY OTHER ITEM was less than one dollar! We did pretty well here, ey? :)

Came home and spent the rest of the day / night with Ms. Gi. It was a beautiful day and she got to spend it outside with Santana. At 7ish Gi went to sleep. At 9ish she woke up and we hung out until 10ish when she went to sleep. At 6:00AM she woke up and despite my efforts to have her go back to sleep, Giulia was up for the day!

I worked all day, went grocery shopping and came home. This is what was awaiting me....

Newsletter: Month 13

2009-06-03T14:38:00.006-04:00

Giulia, yesterday you turned 13 months old. This has been a crazy month for mommy and daddy because we have been negotiating for a job in Seattle for the past month, so our anxiety level has been high.... Mommy in particular doesn't do too well with uncertainty!

The weather has turned for the better in the last few weeks so you have begun to play in your princess pool. You are reluctant when getting into the pool but once you are in you seem to enjoy it.

You are also becoming more secure in your walking and have been exploring new sounds. Your books have become very important to you. In particular you like the small Baby Einstein books and love to have Mommy, Daddy and Santana read to you. Your favorites are the Brazilian book you always chew and the Baby Einstein book with the pop open flaps.

Mommy has been working with you on petting Charlie and Daisy. She has been trying to teach you not to grab and pull their fur but to pet them. You love Charlie and Daisy very much but at times can be a bit energetic with them.

Lately you have become a bit needy with Mommy and Daddy. You love to be held and carried around the house. You get upset when you are put down or when you are given to someone else and you have begun to hug more. We can't tell you how wonderful it is to get a hug from you.

Your sleeping is still an issue and you are still teething. Lately you have been waking up in the early morning and not going straight back to sleep. Mommy and Daddy made the tactical error of bringing you into our bedroom and feeding you a bottle to get you back to sleep. We are now having a difficult time transitioning you back to your own bed. Mommy and Daddy cherish our time with you but is sure makes our work day a quite trying.

Even though our anxiety levels have been up do to the pending move our love for you and each other has kept us grounded. You constanty remind us of the important things in life which are our love for each other and you and the esance of our family.

Newsletter: Month 12

2009-05-03T11:24:00.003-04:00

Giulia, today you turned one year old. I’ve been thinking of what I wanted to say to you when you reached this milestone, and I decided that I wanted to start with even before your father and I got pregnant with you… even then, we already wanted you so, so much. As soon as your dad and I started dating, we would have conversations about one day soon, having kids. Then on April 14th 2007 we secretly eloped and got married. Well, as soon as your dad and I made it “legal”, we decided that this “one day” should be immediately! Luckily for us, it took us one try and a month later we found out that we were expecting you.

On Saturday August 25th, three days after my period was supposed to start, your dad and I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. On the 26th, your dad drove me to the airport and I left for Asia on a business trip. During my 1st night in Singapore – I’d been lying awake pretty much all night, unable to sleep / get adjusted to the time difference – so, I decided to call your dinda Bruna to chat and while we were on the phone debating whether if “drinking wine and eating raw fish could harm the baby, just in case I had taken the pregnancy test too soon thus getting a false “negative” result”, I decided to take yet another pregnancy test, “just to make sure”. This time, the result was positive and I just can’t describe how incredibly happy I felt when I saw the double pink line. I hung up with your dinda and called your dad to tell him that our life as we knew it was going to change forever! Needless to say, those were the longest 2 weeks ever – I so desperately wanted to be home with your father and celebrate and share every single second of this pregnancy with him and no wine or fish for me!

And Gi, here you are now, a year after the nurse handed you to me in the hospital and you reached your little hand out to me. The love that I instantaneously felt for you and the overwhelming desire to protect you and to make sure that you had the best possible life was and still is the most powerful thing I’ve ever felt in my life.

You are a totally different baby then when we brought you home. You are so happy and independent and you know what you want and what you like and you make sure that everybody is aware of what that is! You like to play with your new toys, your big thing now is to talk on the telephone, untwist caps, put things into something and take them out, you love books and babies (neném!) and you are starting to stand on your own and to babble quite a bit. I love how excited you get at bath time when you play with your toys in the big girls tub and when you look at yourself in the mirror. You still love to watch Xuxa and to sing along with her and you love to watch the new DVDs that vovó brought to you from Brazil. You’ve become such a cuddler of late and when you give us the absolute best and biggest hugs, your dad and I simply melt in your arms...

This has been the best year of my life: I have never learned so much about life and compassion and love. You have taught me so much already... I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life, one through the magic of your eyes. Our world has so much more color since you’ve been in it and now everything makes so much more sense and we feel so complete since you’ve become a part of our lives. There has never been a more peaceful moment in my life than when I go into your room and watch you sleep, breathe, to hear your life in the air. I thought there was meaning in my life before you came along, but in reality, I didn’t even know the meaning of meaning.

Stats:

Weight: 23 pounds - 75%

Length: 31.5 inches - 97%

Roseolla

2009-04-30T18:12:00.003-04:00

Roseola (roseola infantum) is a mild illness caused by a virus. It is generally harmless and is most common in children 6 months to 2 years of age. It is rare after age 4. Roseola is caused by two common viruses. The viruses that cause roseola are spread through tiny droplets of fluid from the nose and throat of infected people when they laugh, talk, sneeze, or cough. It is thought that the viruses are spread by someone who has not yet developed the symptoms of roseola. There is no known way to prevent the spread of roseola.Roseola often starts with a sudden high fever [103° (39.4°) to 105° (40.6°)] that lasts 2 to 3 days, although it can last up to 8 days. The rapid increase in temperature may be the first sign of roseola and often occurs before you realize that your child has a fever. The fever ends suddenly.After the fever ends, a rosy-pink rash may appear over your child's entire body, starting on the torso and spreading to the face, neck, and arms. The rash is not itchy and may last 1 to 2 days. The rash may appear without the fever. On rare occasions, a sore throat, stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhea occur.A child with roseola may appear fussy or irritable and may have a decreased appetite, but most children behave almost normally.

Poor bunny...

Happy Birthday, my Beautiful Princess!

2009-04-30T18:12:00.002-04:00

Sunday, 4/19/2009

2009-04-19T21:03:00.006-04:00

Someone is....

2009-04-18T11:16:00.004-04:00

standing up all by herself (started a couple of days before Easter) and as of a couple of days ago, taking tiny steps....

I don't think it will be long before Giulia starts walking!

Newsletter: Month 11

2009-04-03T17:08:00.001-04:00

Dear Giulia,

On 3/30 you turned 11 months old. This letter will have a bit of a different format than previous ones, because you’ve developed so much this month that I want to make sure that I capture as much as I can here, so that when you have your own babies, you can show them how advanced, smart and extremely cute you were as a baby (qualities, which I am sure you will continue to have for the rest of your life):

· We are still working on having you sleep in your crib by yourself: sometimes it works, but most times it doesn’t. You have, however, begun to let go of our hand in less and less time, once we put you in your crib. Part of the problem here is that your daddy and I love it so much when you hang on to us, so even though we know that we "should" be letting you sleep on your own, we just love it when you cling on to us and don’t let us go. I have a feeling that, consequently, this process will continue to develop slowly...
· You are standing on your feet more and more – you’ll be walking any time now. In mid-March you stood in the big girls tub all by yourself. You are letting go of our hands and trying to walk on your own. When you crawl, you do a funny crawl/walk, because I think that you can't stand not being able to walk yet!
· You are really enjoying bath time again and are doing great in the big tub.
· Santana brought our Pilates ball upstairs and she has been playing with you by rolling you on the ball. One morning, as I was going down the stairs to go to work, I heard the most contagious laugh coming from downstairs. I stood by the room where you 2 were playing and Giulia; you were laughing so deliciously hard and having so much fun, that I couldn’t stop looking at you amazed at how happy you are. I thank God every day that you are so incredibly happy - it's contagious, really.
· You started eating real apples, home-made baby food, yogurt melts (you can’t get enough of them), crackers…. You have graduated to real food now, little one.
· You are quite vocal and you make the funniest sounds. You have said: mama, dada, papa, esse (“this” in Portuguese), you will say: eeeeeeeeeeey!, trrrrrrrrrrrrra!
· You blow kisses, wave good-bye, make fishy-mouth.
· You clap hands, you sing, you play with Charlie and Daisy. It took this long, but now Charlie actually loves to play with you! I know, our puppy was jeaulous of you at 1st, but now, he can't get enough of you - as we knew he would.
· On weekends, the 2 of us have been going out on mommy and daughter trips: we go to the stores, supermarket, walks… and everywhere we go, people can’t believe how happy, smiley and beautiful you are. .Daddy still loves to put you to bed at night and is spring loaded to run into your bedroom when you make the slightest peep. In the morning you are typically waking up before us so we go and get you and cuddle with you for 10 or 15 minutes before you start your day. This is the best part of mommy and daddy's day.
· When we come home from work at the end of they day you are always very happy to greet us. We can't tell you how wonderful the feeling is to see your smiling face after the workday.
· You are staring to understand what 'no' means. Since your baby teeth (you have 6 of them now) came in you can no longer chew on our hands without hurting Mommy and Daddy so we have begun telling you 'no, that hurts Mommy (or Daddy)' and you usually stop when we say this to you.

OK, my little genius. Mommy is planning your 1st birthday party and part of me can’t believe how fast this time flew by and I feel nostalgic about my little baby that was so tiny, only 11 months ago, but the other, more prevailing one, feels so lucky and so blessed to have had the best – almost – year of my life. You and your father have made me complete.

Gi-u-llina Ballerina - The blue butterfly hair-thingy was NOT my idea!

2009-03-19T18:45:00.006-04:00

Ready for "The Teeth"?

2009-03-14T09:27:00.004-04:00

Lindsay came to visit from New Jersey! Weekend of 3/6

2009-03-13T18:08:00.005-04:00

I've graduated to the big-girls tub!! - Olha so as caras e bocas!!

2009-03-13T18:08:00.003-04:00

Abby came to visit from NYC! ~ 2/29

2009-03-13T18:03:00.005-04:00

We had so much fun and mommy and Aunty Abby had some girly-grown-up time together! Fun times!

Somebody's gonna be walking real soon.................

2009-03-09T20:13:00.001-04:00

Newsletter: Month 10

2009-03-02T21:05:00.002-05:00

Giulia, on the 28th, you turned 10 months old. The reason we are celebrating yet another month in your life so early, is because this February only had 28 days. Don’t worry, once you get older, you will not want to celebrate your birthday a couple of days early, but for now, I’m sure you won’t mind.

In the beginning of the month you had your 2 bottom teeth. Then after a couple of very difficult days, mommy found that you, all of a sudden, had six teeth: 4 upper and 2 lower pearly whites. Now, level with me, kid, why did you have to go and grow those six teeth and did they really have to sprout at the same time? You are usually such a good-natured baby, but I had no idea what teeth could do to a human being, even to the sweetest of them all! And to make things even more exciting for your daddy and I, people everywhere would say, “oh, don’t worry, things will get so much easier…”, and then in the same breath “…but this will last until she’s 3 years old!”

In the last month we have met Miss Personality: you love certain things and really, really don't like other things. You love banana puffs. You do not like spaghetti baby food and you will make the cutest “this-is-so-yucky” face when we try to feed it to you. You like applesauce. You do not like to be kissed. You love to watch Xuxa (so much that mommy and daddy have are now singing Bila Bilú in their sleep!), but hate it when I try to clean your nose.

You are crawling everywhere; putting every single thing is your mouth, testing your limits… You are curious, happy, tenacious… You’ve learned to stand really well and you are trying to walk. You’ve become a biter but you are also learning that that’s not an OK thing and when we say “no”, you actually stop. You are playing with Charlie and Daisy a lot more and they seem to want to play with your toys and you seem to want to play with theirs, making it very difficult to keep them separate. Every morning you wave us goodbye, and you are always smiling and that reassures us and enables us to actually leave our home, because Giulia, even though we’ve been back at work for some months now, we can’t tell you how difficult it is to leave you every morning. But knowing that you’re OK makes it so much more bearable.

Daddy has finished working on the condo and he is back feeding, bathing, playing with and putting you to sleep every night. During the time that he was working on the condo, daddy woke up every single night and morning to feed you. It was your special time with him and something that your daddy learned to cherish and look forward to.

One day you started coughing and to mommy it was obvious that something wasn’t right – sure enough, you had swallowed a little piece of plastic, which was causing you to choke. Thanks to a very quick reaction from Santana, she was able to dislodge it from your throat. The whole thing lasted 5 or 10 minutes, but to us, it felt like an eternity, because right then we both realized how precious your life is to us, and that just our knowledge that you were not OK, scared us tremendously. Right then, we further realized that ensuring your well-being and us protecting you from any and all harm is much more than just another job of being parent, it is our essence and an integral part of who we are.

Newsletter: Month 9

2009-01-31T20:30:00.001-05:00

Fotos da Disney

2009-01-15T19:40:00.003-05:00

Some X-mas Pictures

2009-01-10T18:06:00.006-05:00

You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine....

2009-01-10T17:55:00.002-05:00

Hair

2009-01-10T17:31:00.002-05:00

What to do when you have no time to take care of of a super long hair? Chop-chop....

Life is SO much easier now!!

Newsletter: Month 8

2009-01-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Major Breakthrough!!!

2008-12-23T16:44:00.001-05:00

Newsletter: Month 7

2008-12-03T20:32:00.001-05:00

In NY for Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T14:17:00.001-05:00

Back at Work

2008-11-18T19:56:00.001-05:00

On Monday, I went back to work. That dreaded 1st day of work came and went and then very quickly the 1st week of work came and went. I saw colleagues that I hadn’t seen in 7 months, attended meetings, was brought up to speed on what happened during my leave, blah, blah, and yes, I survived. I did OK, but I also really missed spending time during the day with my daughter. And I missed not having to go into work… I guess I need to do some soul-searching and figure out whether I what I really, actually like and want to do.

A part of me also enjoyed being away, finally starting life as I knew it BG (“Before Giulia”), interacting and having adult conversations, feeling challenged, feeling like a person again (whereas before, I could only feel like “mom”)…

I guess the anticipation was indeed worse than actually going back....

2008-11-13T22:10:00.001-05:00

This is my last week, full-time at home with Giulia. I am having disagreements with people I love, I am trying to

Another great day with Giulia

2008-11-11T19:01:00.004-05:00

Today was a stay-all-day-in-your-pj's kinda day. Giulia woke up in the middle of the night again, so I gave her to MS and got a bit more sleep. I woke-up, played with Gi, finished some scrapbooking pages for my in-laws, played with Gi some more and pretty much lounged with her all day... My idea of a perfect day.

Factoid: Giulia really likes sweet potatoes and have now started a love affair with...... water.

Vovo e Tivo Chegaram!!! NYC Pics

2008-11-02T12:27:00.006-05:00

My mom and aunt arrived in NYC on 10/22. We all went to NYC on the 26th and 27th. We had an unforgettable time and I'll let the pictures tell the story....

26th: Walked around in Times Square, ate at Ruby Tuesday's, saw Grease, had drinks at Hilton

27th: Breakfast at Starbucks, shopping on 5th Ave, dressed up at Disney Store - look at my faerie!

Newsletter: Month 6

2008-11-02T12:27:00.005-05:00

Giulia,

On October 30th, you turned 6 months old. That’s half a year, for crying out loud – where did this time go? We celebrated your ½ year birthday with a birthday cake, hats, noise makers, many, many smiles, and of course, happy birthday songs in both English and Portuguese. We all had so much fun celebrating you and the joy you bring into our lives.

Many things happened this month - you are clearly becoming more independent and self-sufficient, like, for instance, you are now sitting up, spinning around in the Exersaucer, blowing kisses, bouncing your body, as asking to be picked up and even dancing when we play or sing you a song. You are now eating baby food. You love sweet potatoes and carrots and you like apple sauce. You’ve started to hold your own bottle, which was devastating for us (you are growing up too fast!!) but wonderful for you. During this month the adventure continued with vovó Nair and with the return of vovó Rita and the arrival of tivó Maria coming to stay with us. Thanks to them, you have become a frequent shopper at the Clinton Outlet Mall. We also spent a weekend in NYC. You really enjoyed walking around Times Square, people watching, seeing all the beautiful, bright colors and lights and the craziness of the city.

On October 31st, we celebrated mommy’s birthday and we dressed up and went “trick-or-treating” for Halloween: mommy was Winnie the Pooh, Daddy was Tigger and you were the cutest chipmunk I have ever seen. So cute that the neighbors who we visited we taking pictures of YOU! We had fun handing out candy too. Mommy and Daddy felt that we truly experienced Halloween this year, since we got to trick-or-treat with you.

You had your 6-month apointment, got your shots, examined and more importantly, a clean bill of health.

This was a wonderful month spent with vovó Nair. Our relationship with her has become so much stronger. To me, she has always been one of the single most influential people and it was nice to, 10 years later, share my life again with her. Your daddy feels like he “has a new grandmother” – a feeling that, I know, is shared by vovó Nair, and Giulia, you’ve developed a very special bond with her. This time has left everybody with a desire to spend even more time with you, and hopefully they will all come back to celebrate the one year of absolute joy and blessings that your birth has brought to us all. Thank you for adding so much to all of our lives.

Stats:

Length / Comprimento: 27 3/4 inches / 70.5 cm (97%)

Weight / Peso: 19.2 pounds / 8.7 kg (95%)

Head Circumference: 43 1/4 (75%)

The inevitable has occurred.....

2008-10-14T11:59:00.000-04:00

Giulia has a cold...

Carrots

2008-10-13T20:55:00.002-04:00

We have now added a 2nd item in Giulia's solid-food repertoire: carrots! We started feeding her sweet potatoes and she wanted more, so I decided to try carrots and she loved it!

Sleeping Bunny

2008-10-07T20:03:00.003-04:00

Giulia - today you slept so well, I wonder if you are going thru a growth spurt. You woke-up a NINE-THIRTY this morning and you slept again at noon for a whole hour and then, when grandma, mommy, Santana and you were out shopping, you fell asleep yet AGAIN for 2 hours! You even took your cat-"just before dinner"-nap tonight! I just wonder if all this means you won't be sleeping tonight?

Daddy came home and played with you. You wouldn't give up until he did and you guys played all night long together!

Grammy and Grampy will be here soon, visiting from NY.

Sitting already??

2008-10-06T19:04:00.001-04:00

What's up with that??

Newsletter: Month 5

2008-10-01T18:10:00.002-04:00

Giulia,

Yesterday you turned 5 months old. We have reached some major milestones this month and mommy and daddy still can’t believe how fast you are growing.

You’ve learned how to turn on your tummy! We think that you may have turned before, but last week was the 1st time that we have actually seen it. You’ve tried, for the 1st time, rice cereal. I had only added one little spoon of it to your milk and you liked it. Then yesterday, we gave it to you in a paste-like form (with less milk), with a spoon, and guess what? It was the cutest thing in the world. You had food all over your face and you definitely liked it!

These past few days you’ve been teething and this has interrupted “our” sleep at night. We see the outline of your 2 front teeth and expect and hope that they’ll be coming in soon. We’ve observed and can definitely tell that it’s been bothering you. We have given you many teething toys, and you put them and everything else you get little hands on, right into your mouth. You love to play on your gym-mat, with various toys and you love to pet Charlie and Daisy. You squeal in delight when your dad tickles your belly. Your eyes are turning browner, but today, when you were in the car and it became sunny, they were a beautiful shade of green, so who knows what color they’ll end up being. When we go out with you, you are a really smiley baby and your smile can melt the hearts of everyone we pass. Your personality is starting to develop into a strong-willed, happy, positive little person.

Your grandma Nair is staying in our home this and next month, visiting us. She loves to hold and play with you. In particular, you love to play “clappy-hands” with her: you participate by holding the back of your vovo’s hands while she claps and sings to you. Sometimes, you take naps in your vovo’s arms and the 2 of you look so peaceful together. Mommy can’t tell you how special this time is with you and vovo, because she is one of the most influential people in mommy’s life and mommy loves to share this special time with the 2 of you. Your middle name was chosen in her honor and in the hope that someday, you’ll become a bit like her. Another very important thing: in the mornings, she watches you, while mommy gets a few precious additional minutes of sleep and boy, is mommy thankful for that!

You were also reunited with Santana, who you met in Brazil, as she accompanied your vovo to the US. You really love to play with her, to dance to Xuxa DVDs and your walks in the backyard. Santana is very loving toward you and your friendship with her has continued right where you guys left it off in Brazil!

You are happy. You are healthy. You are smart. And you are still the most beautiful baby in the world.

Mommy feels really blessed that I’ve gotten to spend these past 5 months at home with you. After I return to work and for the rest of your life, for that matter, I want to continue to discover every little thing about you and root for you and be there for you, every step of the way, as, Giulia, your dad and I are, and will always be your number 1 fans. We love you, little monkey.

Hibachi

2008-09-23T20:23:00.013-04:00

I am so lucky. 2 of my favorite people in the world, my grandma and brother, are both here, visiting us.

On Saturday, John and I took them to a Hibachi restaurant.....

She's the coolest lady in the world. Look below. Need I say more??

Gargalhadas da Giulia Nair

2008-08-13T13:17:00.001-04:00

Daddy back to USA

2008-08-10T14:45:00.003-04:00

Baptism

2008-08-10T14:45:00.001-04:00

2008-08-10T14:44:00.002-04:00

Brazil

2008-08-10T14:44:00.001-04:00

Newsletter: Month 2

2008-07-01T20:56:00.010-04:00

Giulia,

Yesterday you turned 2 months old. My suspicions that you are growing WAY too fast were confirmed at your pediatrician’s appointment: you grew a whole FIVE INCHES since your birth, putting you in the 97% for height and weight.

Your eyes can now track objects. You like playing with the mobiles in your crib and car seat. We let you sit in front of the TV for 5 or 10 minutes to watch Dora – it’s so much fun to watch you: you are attracted to the myriad of colors on the screen and you scream excitedly and laugh at times. (This prompts us to laugh with you!) - You can now really look at your dad and me, I mean, you can "see" us. We love it when we know that you are becoming more and more familiar with us, the 2 people in this world who love you the most. We want you to know who your mommy and daddy are, but especially, we want you to know that you are so incredibly loved by us.

We sing the “Charlie, Daisy, mommy, daddy and Giulia” song that your dad made up just for you. Once we start singing it, you give us the biggest smile in the world and you sing along by making the most adorable sounds. You are becoming one animated baby!

We went to NYC to get your Brazilian passport. This time we had all the required paperwork, everything worked out great at the Embassy, and we had a couple of hours to walk around beautiful NYC. You enjoyed the people, colors, lights and your dad and I had a blast watching you take everything in. You did great, you, jet-setter, you! We received your passport in a little over a week and now we can finally take you to Brazil to meet your Brazilian family.

You are still making your own daily schedule but I am learning different cues, you’re your different “cries”, the times that you are fussing because you are tired, or hungry or simply bored, when you want to be picked up, when you want to play. You don’t mind much laying in your porta-crib – so long as the mobiles are entertaining you. We KNOW when you are done with them! Actually, you are pretty good about telling us when you are happy and particularly when you are not. You are one opinionated little one!

Grammy and Grandpa spent a long weekend with you and they had a blast. You love to be held by your grammy. You spend a lot of time sleeping in her arms. Your grandpa can't believe how beautiful you are. You have quickly become everyone's little snuggle bunny!

I can’t believe it’s only been 2 months that you came into and completely transformed our lives. You are the most beautiful and the best baby ever and you are changing and growing so much every single day, it is hard to keep up with all the wonders. But no matter how big you become, I promise you that my heart will always be even bigger and that you will always be in it, as my love for you will exponentially grow bigger, each and every day, for the rest of my life.

Stats:

Birth / Nascimento:

Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm

Weight / Peso: 8.6 pounds / 3.91 kg

Head Circumference:

6 days / 6 dias:

Length / Comprimento: 20.5 in / 52.7 cm

Weight / Peso: 7.15lbs / 3.25 kg

Head Circumference: 35

1 month / 1 mes:

Length / Comprimento: 22.5 in / 57.15cm (90%)

Weight / Peso: 10.6 lb / 4.82 kg (95%)

Head Circumference: 37

2 months / 2 meses:

Length / Comprimento: 25 in / 63.5cm (97%)

Weight / Peso: 13.3 lb / 6.05 kg (97%)

Head Circumference: 39

Blessed

2008-06-24T16:49:00.002-04:00

She is peacefully sleeping next to me.
As I look at her little body,
she is so perfect, so beautiful...
I can't believe the how lucky I am
to have been blessed with
Giulia.

Gi's new toy

2008-06-19T19:26:00.004-04:00

Daycare

2008-06-18T11:20:00.001-04:00

I’ve been struggling with the idea of going back to work since the day that Giulia was born. Initially, just the thought of leaving her with someone other that my husband, a trusted family member or me would bring me to tears: what would go through my mind is that nobody would be as patient or know the little things about her, like lifting her legs to alleviate her gas cramps to make her feel better. I mean, who would do that besides us?!?

Now 49 days later, she has changed so much, and, with each change, I develop a completely new anxiety, which one way or another goes back to my not caring for her full-time. That said, I have also been changing, in that now, generally speaking, I am mildly more relaxed when it comes to Giulia. For instance, just last week, while in the car, Gi was cranky and exhausted, so on our way back to our house, she started to cry/scream. I talked to and comforted her and even though she continued to cry, I went ahead and resumed my conversation with John, who stopped mid-sentence to point out that had that happened a month ago, I would have freaked out and made him pull over so that I could sit next to her to try and have her stop crying. Moreover, I can now let her sleep without sticking my finger under her nose to make sure that she’s breathing. I can hear her cry when she has gas cramps and help her get some relief without crying also. I can have fun while I bathe her. I guess I feel marginally more secure and a bit more comfortable about being a mom.

My mind is in turmoil: it would make much more sense for us if I went back to work, but the thought of leaving her under someone else’s care is killing me. I’ve debated over asking my boss to go part-time or asking for a flexible work arrangement upon returning to work, but I started it with telling my boss that I would take the entire 16 weeks of FMLA, which, considering how important my job was for me, was a huge step. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that I learn to focus on today rather than obsessing over the future.

Now, the one thing that hasn’t changed is my overwhelming love for my daughter. I trust that God will give me whatever I need to feel better about this whole thing and the tools to be a wonderful mom, even if she ends up in daycare, full-time.

New York, New York

2008-06-13T14:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, John, Giulia and I went to NYC to get Giulia's Brazilian passport. A menina esta totalmente documentada! We can now go to Brazil and I am extremely excited that we'll soon have both Gi's passports.

On a side note, it was such a nice day with my husband and our daughter. We had a blast together. I just love our family...

Cry Baby

2008-06-08T11:27:00.002-04:00

Newsletter: Month One

2008-06-04T10:27:00.002-04:00

Giulia,

On May 30th, you turned four weeks old. I can’t believe how you’ve changed in the past month. You now coo and you make the funniest faces and sounds when you are lying in your bassinette, nursing or when you see something that interests you, like when you see the colorful butterfly I hung on your car seat, which seems to distract you from the fact that, no, your dad and I are not holding you in our arms or carrying you around in your Snuggly.

Speaking of that, you have made it very clear to us, in the past couple of weeks that you want to be held all the time. It doesn’t matter if we are home, shopping at CVS or having dinner at Ruby Tuesdays: you want to be held, always. You can now see our faces and you recognize our voices and we are able to calm you down when we talk close to your face. You have also begun to smile. Giulia you have the most beautiful smile in the world and your dad and I live for those smiles.

You love car rides. You love going on walks. You love lying on your belly. You love taking baths. I was so nervous when your grandma Rita left to return to her home in Brazil, and I had to give you a bath all by myself, especially considering that you had liked it so much when your vovó Rita gave you a bath (while I stood there watching how much you were enjoying it all). Well, despite my fears, I did give you a bath, and luckily, you spent the entire time having fun while I spent it crying, not only because I was actually ‘doing it’, but also because I was missing my mom, who had helped me so much during your 1st month of life. Your baths have now become one of our super fun things that we do together.

You have quickly become our little sunshine and you so have your dad and I wrapped around your little fingers. Like, yesterday, your dad skipped golf to come home and hang with you. He then changed out of his black T-shirt to a white one because he is convinced that you don't like the color black. And even though we tell you every 2 seconds how beautiful you are and how much we love you, it is just not enough to express how we really feel. You are lovely, amazing and the best gift that God could have ever given us and we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

These days that I have had the privilege of spending with you have been the best days of my life. I have loved every single second that we’ve spent together and I look forward to the days ahead when I’ll be discovering more little nuances of you. I love you so, so much.

Mamãe

Stats:

Birth / Nascimento:
Length / Comprimento: 20 inches / 50.8 cm
Weight / Peso: 8.6 pounds / 3.91 kg
Head Circumference:

6 days / 6 dias:
Length / Comprimento: 20.5 in / 52.7 cm
Weight / Peso: 7.15lbs / 3.25 kg
Head Circumference: 35

1 month / 1 mes:
Length / Comprimento: 22.5 in / 57.15cm (90%)
Peso: 10.6 lb / 4.82 kg (95%)
Head Circumference: 37

Hanging out in our Backyard - Dia 7 - VERMELHO (April 6, 2008)

2008-05-25T15:12:00.001-04:00

Com a vovo:

Hanging with our "other" kids:

We are Home!! - Our 1st Walk - April 4, 2008

2008-05-25T11:46:00.004-04:00

With Mamae, Daddy and Vovo - April 4, 2008

Getting Ready to Go:

In front of our Home:

Hospital Pictures - Room Bliss 619

2008-05-25T11:00:00.004-04:00

In the Hospital - April 30, 2008 to April 4, 2008

Room #: Bliss 619 Visit from Aunt Cheraye:

With vovo, Cher and me:

With Dad:

In the Bassinette:

My Gorgeous Face:

With Aunt Linda and me:

Cake - a present from the nurses:

With Dad in the morning:

With Aunt Maria and me:

3 Generations:

With Grandma Donna:

Daddy: Fingerfeeding

With Vovo Rita:

Bliss 619: The Board

Please stop bugging us every 5 minutes!!!