Friday, June 19, 2009

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

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



Sunday, June 14, 2009

Friday, June 5, 2009

SINGAPORE DIARY - DAY 3 (Crazy Day)

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.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Singapore - DIARY - day 2

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

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Singapore - DIARY

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

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.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Newsletter: Month 12

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%

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Roseolla

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!

Sunday, April 19, 2009