An Answer to Prayer: Child Care Sorted for Daniel!

Granny Heather has had to unfortunately postpone her trip to visit us and help me take care of Daniel as I go back to work on July 7th. She got shingles a few weeks back and is still recuperating - please keep her in your prayers. The plan is that she will now be coming in September. We are praying for your recuperation and eagerly waiting for you dear Heather!

So in the last week we've had to quickly think of an alternative plan of child care and after a couple of options that didn't work out, we got an even better solution: Our Polish neighbor who has a 6 month old girl is going to look after Daniel for 4 hours 4 times a week. We are so relieved, not only do we completely trust our neighbor, Daniel will literally only be one minute away. I'll be able to continue to nurse him and can visit him whenever I want to or need to! Wow, it's a big step for me returning back to work and a little scary - even though it's from home and part time - so please pray for this transition!

Here are some recent photos of Daniel with Enya, my neighbor's adorable little girl and Daniel's new friend:

It's going to be so much fun to see them grow together! Thank you dear Justyna for your willingness to help out!

I Can't Believe I'm 31!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and my first with Daniel. I have always loved celebrating my birthday but this year, I really did not feel like doing anything - I guess mainly because of the business and exhaustion of having a small baby. But on Friday, we decided that it would be nice to have some friends over to celebrate and though it was very last minute, it ended up being a special day. It was also my dad's last full day with us so it was good to do something special.

The day started with a big surprise: the two "siblings" officially became friends! Buffy for the first time felt comfortable lying next to Daniel and we got some cute pictures:

(Just in case anyone is worried about this, we are very careful to make sure that Buffy and Daniel are never alone together. :-))

It was special for me to take lots of pictures with my most precious gift of the past year: our son Daniel Peter who is 16 weeks today!

When singing happy birthday with friends and blowing out the candles, I wanted to make sure I was holding Daniel! It was fun! But I decided that this would be the last birthday in which the candles would explicitly tell my age. :-) It's just hard to believe I'm 31 and I think it's now time to stop counting!

What was really cute is that Daniel got to sit and hold hands with his friend Ella (2 1/2 years old) whilst her dad read them a book!

Thanks for all those who called, e-mailed and sent cards! Sorry it's still so hard to actually speak to me on the phone. Here is a cute picture I received from Tia Fafa and Tio Juju - a special birthday kiss!

The other big thing that's been happening around here is that we've had to get the external part of our house ready for the housing association's inspection. So my dad and Jonny power-washed and stained our deck and did a great job! I thought my dad had had a lot of practice in painting considering his long years of life but it was the first time he ever did it and he really enjoyed it! Here is a photo of them hard at work:

So my dear Daddy returned back to Brazil today and I'm feeling very sad... We had such a nice time together and it was great to have him around. I miss you already Daddy! Thank you so much for coming and all that you have done for us, we love you! Here are some photos we took this morning... next time you see Daniel again he will be a lot bigger!

Developing Fast: 15 Weeks Old!

Just in the last few days Daniel has been doing some new and exciting things which we definitely want to record! First, he has been holding his head very high during tummy time:

And yesterday, he started to reach for his dangling toy in the baby gym! He doesn't hold on to it yet but is definitely trying! Look at his concentration, so cute!

In the meantime, Daniel has been enjoying hanging out with his Brazilian Grandpa - Vovo Daddy - who is here for another week. Today he wore his special "Grandpa shirt" that his Malaysian Grandpa bought for him.

Here is Daniel a few weeks ago with Grandpa Boon:

And today, with Grandpa Tarcisio.

Jonny has been enjoying following the Euro 2008 football tournament and was pleased to see that Daniel attentively followed the game too - even if it was just for a few seconds! :-)

Photo Shoot of Daniel at 3 Months!

Sweet Smile

Excited baby

John Travolta move!


Am growing fast and even have more hair now!

Daniel is Three Months Old!

Daniel is now officially 3 months old! Since my last blog, we've had wonderful but also challenging times. Here's a quick recap of what has been going on:

1. Daniel had his 2 month shots and really had a hard time. He had fever for five mornings in a row and cried inconsolably for almost an hour the morning of his shots. Thank God for Tylenol since it really helped him - and us - through those days! I'm already dreading the next set of shots at 4 months but hopefully his body will react better next time.

2. Grandpa Boon and Jo-Ann visited us for 6 days all the way from Malaysia and we had a wonderful time with them! They were so generous with us, took us shopping for diapers and clothes and so we are now stocked up for the next few months! Thank you!

3. My sister and dad arrived followed by her fiance for the weekend and we've really been enjoying our time together. My sister returns back to England this Friday but my dad will stay with us until the 23rd. I hadn't seen my dad in 2 years so it's really special to have him around.

4. Daniel had a growth spurt last week which really took a lot out of me. All of the sudden, he started eating every 1 and a half to two hours night and day and by the third day, I was so exhausted and became very emotional. But thank God, he has started sleeping more again at night and Jonny has been giving him a couple of bottles to allow me to sleep more. My sister was also so encouraging during this time, thank you for all your support! I'm feeling much better again, I was really scared that this would last forever - yes, when you are sleep deprived you became irrational! :-) We weighed him on Monday and he gained half a pound in one week which is the most he has gained in one week (except for when he was less than a month old) so now we know for sure it was growth spurt. He is now weighing 12 pounds 8 1/2 ounces (5.6 KG).

5. Daniel is still napping very short naps - about 30 minutes each nap - but I'm just patiently waiting for that to change as he gets older. A few days he surprised us with about a 90 minute nap in the morning so I think his brain is slowly learning to do it. But what has become really obvious now is that he no longer sleeps well in his car seat, stroller, etc. like he used to just a week ago! So this basically means we cannot go out as much anymore during the day so that at least his short naps are as peaceful as possible. Oh well, I'll just have to wait now for him to be able to stay awake a little longer (still averaging about an hour each awake period) and go out with him awake. Or maybe he may just start sleeping again in the car seat? Just never know, everything seems to change every few days...

6. I have been able to extend my maternity leave until July 7th which is wonderful. By then Grandma Heather will be here to take care of Daniel while I work a few hours every morning from the basement. Thank God I'm able to work part-time and from home, I still can't imagine leaving him for too long right now.

7. Jonny is well, working hard and enjoying his son very much. It's so wonderful when he is home because he loves being with Daniel, does a great job and so i get a much needed break. So can't wait for the weekend again!

Will post some photos soon!

A Busy Past Two Weeks: Daniel Now 10 Weeks Old!

We've had an eventful past couple of weeks. The same night my mother and step-father returned to Portugal (and after a very teary good-bye - we miss you so much!) Peter and Jennifer arrived from France and spent 8 memorable days with us! We had so much fun with them, visited several places, talked loads; it was great. It was the most time we have ever spent together as a couple and it was very special and we just love Jennifer - well chosen Peter :-)!! Thank you for coming all this way to get to know your nephew! Here are some photos of the airport goodbye with "vozinha teteti e vozinho fofinho" and our time with P & J.

Saying good-bye to Daniel at the airport...We miss you!

Celebrating Peter and Jennifer's trip to the U.S.!

Enjoying Maryland crab cakes!

Daniel loved his uncle P!

Proud auntie!

Happy couple: Daniel can't wait for cousins!

We also finally took Daniel to Jonny's lab and about 15 plus of his colleagues came to see him! Daniel slept most of the time so it wasn't overwhelming for him. He also wore a very cute jean dungaree that day courtesy of our neighbor Tacumi:

With some of Jonny's colleagues:

Mother's day this past Sunday was very special. We spent most of the day with the Staggers, after attending Mikey's baby dedication at their church. We remembered that day all that God has done in our lives this past year, since mother's day last year. I wrote a blog about last year's mother's day and it was very difficult and I wasn't even pregnant yet. But here we are, one year later, much stronger and blessed with another baby boy, Daniel Peter! Thank you Lord!

First mother's day with Daniel:

With my dear friend Kristen

Daniel is truly blossoming now and we're having so much fun with his cooing and smiling - he's just adorable! Also, he slept 8 hours for the first time last night, from 8 PM to 4 AM - and then another 2 hours after feeding!! We kept waking up every couple of hours wondering, "is he still asleep?" Amazing, our little boy is growing up and we are feeling so much more rested! What a difference it makes!

Daniel cooing away!

Tomorrow though is going to be a difficult day for us since Daniel will be getting his 2 months shots! Oh, I hope they don't hurt too much and that he doesn't have a bad reaction to it... Being a parent brings many concerns, even when it's for his own good...you were right maezinha!

Some notes for us to remember about his development:

- He started cooing and smiling a lot at 9-10 weeks. He loves it when we talk back to him and coos even more! I have a feeling he's going to be quite a talker. Has he taken after his mother? :-) Still too soon to tell!

- Bedtime is now at 8 PM since Daniel was starting to have his deep night sleep much earlier and this new routine has been great - bath time is about 7 PM. We get a couple of hours together before going to bed (and get to watch American Idol!) or we have the option of going to bed when he does - which is most nights!

- Napping right now is a challenge. He sleeps for about 30 minutes and then cannot sleep again for another 30 minutes or so. We have to hold him until he sleeps again or else he is too tired and will be fussy. He naps generally better in the car or in the stroller since the motion lulls him back to sleep after he wakes up. But he needs to learn to nap well in his crib! Any advice from anyone? Please let us know!

- He still can only stay awake for about an hour at a time but can stay awake the longest mostly in the afternoons (about 1 hour and a half), before his last nap (total of 4 naps per day, before bedtime). Tummy time works best now in the afternoon and helps him use up his energy!

Eight Weeks Today!

Daniel Peter is eight weeks old today! He has grown so much and is getting heavy! I think he is about 11 pounds (Jonny likes to remind me that he now weighs the same as our cat!) and you can now see the extra fat on his thighs, arms, tummy and face - very cute! He is also so much more alert, opens his eyes nice and wide, likes to flail his arms about, is smiling at times (though not frequent yet and it's a big deal when he does) and definitely gets excited and happy.

Jonny officially started Daniel's football training today - or "soccer" as our American friends would say. I'm praying that Daniel will love football as much as his father does but I've already warned Jonny that this may not happen so we'll just have to be prepared and see what sport he will like! Here are some pictures of Daniel kicking the soccer ball for the first time:

We had a nice weekend; the last before my mother and step-father leave on Friday :-( and Peter and Jennifer arrive from Paris :-). We visited the National Arboretum in DC on Saturday and it was a hot summer day and Daniel got to wear short sleeves for the first time! We loved the arboretum, it is really beautiful and we never realized it was so close to us and free, so we expect to make it a frequent place to visit from now on as a family. On Sunday, we had brunch at my work colleague's house so Daniel has been getting around!

All in all we are doing well and enjoying little Daniel so much. The hardest part of everything still continues to be the sleep deprivation. Right now bedtime is between 9:00 and 10:00 PM (which is ours too, we are exhausted by the end of the day!) and he will generally sleep about 4 hours, then another 2 and another 2. For a few nights he slept for almost 5 hours the first stretch but that's still not common. We've read that babies between 8 and 12 weeks start to sleep 6 to 8 hours straight so we are hoping that will begin soon. Daytime napping has been quite inconsistent - one day some of his naps will be almost 2 hours long and then the next he will wake up after only 30 minutes. I'm interested to see how things will settle in the next few weeks...

One of the most special moments of the day is bath time, usually between 8:00 and 9:00 PM, which he absolutely loves! You can see his excitement and anticipation in his eyes each evening, as we are getting him ready. So far it has worked best for him to bath with us (we take turns) and we love it too!

Here are some photos from the last few days:

Getting ready for bath time: look at Daniel's excitement!

Visiting the National Arboretum in DC - Daniel wearing short sleeves for the first time!

Visiting tia Lucia:

Our Fifteenth Anniversary

Today is our fifteenth "together" anniversary. On April 25th, 1993, at about 8:50 PM next to the bus transport building at the United World College campus in Singapore, Jonny asked me: "Ana, will you please go out with me?" And of course I said "yes", never knowing that it was a yes that would last forever! It's amazing to think that we now have been together for half of our lives and we praise God for bringing us together at such a young age and for keeping our love and commitement so alive.

Here are a couple of pictures of what we looked like 15 years ago:

The last 15 years have been a great adventure and we have experienced so much joy as well as great pain together. The loss of our first son in particular was the most testing time (still is in many ways) but proved itself to be the most strengthing experience of our relationship. We had been warned to really take care of our marriage during our tragic loss since the stats show that 80% of couples who lose a child end up divorcing - understandbly, it's just too much for couples to bear, too many memories... But thank God, the opposite occurred for us and today, we are closer than ever.

Today is a day for us to stop, reflect and pray: "Lord, thank you for blessing us with each other and our marriage. We can see your hand in our lives throughout the past 15 years and we are so grateful that you brought and have kept us together. Please continue to bless, protect and strengthen our marriage. And please guide us day by day in the parenting of Daniel and any future children. In your name, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen."