Happy Fourth Birthday Dear Holly!

Sweet beautiful Holly, the daughter of my dear friend Kristen, is now 4 years old! I first met Holly when she was 6 weeks old and have been at all her birthdays so far. It has been very special watching her grow up into a friendly, sweet, affectionate, loving and precious little girl - we just love her so much! She is so funny and witty; we love reading "The Kids' Perspective" - Kristen's record of what Holly says! We had fun celebrating her birthday last Friday and especially seeing her excitement as her best friend Riya arrived!

Beautiful birthday table that Kristen prepared for Holly

Holly and Riya: So excited to be friends!

Holly and Daniel (7 months exactly!)

Good-bye My Dear Vovó...

Saturday morning, September 27th, I woke up to the news that my last living grandparent, my mother's mother, passed away peacefully in her sleep in her home in Campos, Brazil, at the age of 94. She had always wished that she would die in her sleep and would "fly away as a little bird." I thank God that her wish was granted...

As expected, I am feeling sad with the news of her passing, but am also thankful for the long and productive life she lived. I'm so grateful that she was my grandmother and I know that the legacy of her life will live on in those who knew her or heard about her.

There are so many reasons why I'm thankful for her. She was a very wise, strong and hardworking woman who did her best to bring up her 12 children (only 8 made it to adulthood), in very difficult circumstances. She had many "sayings of wisdom" that my mother frequently repeated, and still repeats, which I hope to pass on to our own children. She was very affectionate and I will always remember her love and affection towards my grandfather - who passed away about 7 years ago, after 66 years of marriage!

But I think that what I will remember the most about my grandmother, were the beautiful blessings she gave me every time I spoke to her. My mother taught me that each time I started a conversation with my grandmother (and grandfather) on the phone or in person, I needed to start by saying "Blessing Vovó." My grandmother would then reply something like: "May Jesus bless you my child; may He give you health, happiness, and love." When I was younger, her blessings were a lot longer and I would always listen attentively (even as a child, I knew they were special), but as she grew older, they were short and sweet, similar to as quoted above.

Now that I look back, I appreciate this beautiful tradition, but also recognize that her blessings were much more than just a custom. They were her heartfelt prayer that Jesus would indeed bless me, the way she hoped. Though in my life so far I have not always experienced "health, happiness and love" as she wished, I believe her prayers have been answered: God has blessed me with the faith to believe in Jesus, the person she always asked to bless me, which is the greatest blessing I could ever receive.

So to my dear Vovó: Good-bye for now. I miss you already. Thank you for being my grandmother, for your wonderful life example and for the hundreds of blessings you gave me throughout my life. Until it's my time to meet you again, enjoy the rest and peace God has prepared for you with your loved ones, including my beloved son Jonathan David. What joy I feel to know that you are all together with our Lord Jesus!


***

Here are some old photos of my grandmother...

On her wedding day - I believe it was 1936!

Twenty-five years wedding anniversary (1961) photo with her husband and 8 children - (my mother is the one on the top row, second from the left)



My mother with her parents on their 50th wedding anniversary (1986) - I remember attending the party, I was 9 years old!

And here are some more recent photos...

My grandmother sitting on her varanda the last time I visited her (May 2006, age 92) as she did every day for years...

I enjoyed holding her hand - she was always very affectionate!

And kissing her!

The last photo that the three of us (my mother, sister and I) took with my grandmother together - May 2006


And finally, my beloved grandmother on her 90th birthday - I have this photo on my wall!

Pictures of Daniel Sitting!

I can sit now on my own!

One-hand sitting!

I think I'll be saying good-bye to my beloved bouncy seat soon... I only like it if I'm sitting up!

P.S. Look at the t-shirt I'm wearing in honor of my grandmothers!

The Experience of Introducing Solids: Any Advice?

So we officially started to give Daniel solids in Portugal. We started with oatmeal cereal and for the first few days, it seemed to go very well (he actually opened his mouth and ate a few teaspoons). Since coming back home, however, it hasn't been too fun... So far, we've given him a taste of carrot, sweet potato, butternut-squash, banana, pear, apple and he doesn't really like anything! :-( We've tried both home-made food as well as shop-bought. He just complains, looks away and even starts to gag! He even started to complain just by seeing the spoon and then when we tried to put on his bib! So we decided to have a few days break, let him just play with his spoon during the day, and yesterday, very casually gave him a small taste of pear and just let it be... (he still didn't like it but at least didn't complain as much). Maybe he's just not ready? It's true that even though he's 6 months, he hasn't really showed much interest in what we are eating like some children do. We're just going to take things really slowly and not force it on him... we figure he'll start eating eventually. I guess we just expected him to just love food and start to eat quickly... but it seems that it will just take time... If you have any encouraging advice to give us, we'd really appreciate it!

Daniel's 6 Months Check-up

Daniel had his 6 months check-up last Friday and he's doing great. He's a very big boy, weighing just over 19 pounds (75th percentile) and is 29 inches long (he's off the chart in height, he's a very tall boy!). It was so funny because his Doctor asked us if he was sitting and we said "not yet" but then when she put him in the sitting position, he did - using his hands for support! At the last check-up he started to suck his toes for the first time in front of the Doctor so he likes to wait to show off to her! :-)

The best thing was that the doctor decided to only give him half his shots after we told her that after his 4 month vaccines, he had a high fever for 3 days and was really unwell (I had to hold him most of the time until he got better). And thank God, he did great after these shots! He had a mild fever a few hours later but it wasn't high enough to bother him. So after being prepared to spend the weekend holding him again, it was a huge blessing that Daniel was well. We'll go back for the remaining shots in a month's time.

Weighing Daniel at 6 months: He's a big boy!

Measuring his head circumference

Waiting for the Doctor...

Sitting up for the Doctor for the first time!

Since his appointment, Daniel has been sitting for longer and longer and I'll post some photos of that soon. Wow, our baby boy is growing up so fast!

P.S. I forgot to write earlier, the Doctor felt that there are some little teeth starting to come out in the middle of Daniel's bottom gum! His gum did look redder than normal yesterday and so it seems like he's officially teething! Very exciting! Maybe that explains why he was a little fussy this morning... Hopefully it will not be too painful!

Visit to the National Arboretum

On Sunday we took Heather to the National Arboretum; it's truly a gem so close to our home! Here are some of the photos of our afternoon there:

Can you see the family under the amazing tree?

At times it feels like you're in a tropical jungle!

Beautiful Herb Garden

Daniel really enjoyed the visit and being in the Baby Bjorn

Extra Photos of Enya's Baptism from Heather's Camera

Family and Friends at the Baptism

They are a special family, we are so blessed to know them!

Mother and Son in the Beautiful Garden of the Restaurant

Enya's Baptism: A Special Day With Our Neighbors

On Saturday, we spent most of the day celebrating baby Enya's baptism (9 months old); the daughter of our Polish neighbors Justyna and Conrad. We felt very honored to be invited, since only their family and closest friends were there. Thanks for including us! The baptisms took place in this beautiful old church in Silver Spring and then afterwards, we had lunch in this old house with a beautiful garden that reminded us so much of England. Here are some pictures of the day:

Enya in her cute dress with her parents

The four of us outside the church (Granny Heather will be with us until mid-October)

Daniel and Jonny had matching clothes for the first time ever!

Beautiful old tree outside the church

Lovely view of the tree which Daniel enjoyed admiring

Daniel peacefully asleep in the car on the way home... Aren't his lips so cute? :-)

Daniel at 6 Months and Enjoying the Park!

Daniel is 6 months old now and we're able to do lots more with him which has been so much fun! Our friends from England, Essi and John with their daughter Ava (12 months old), stayed with us for a couple of days last week and we took our children to the park. Daniel went on the swing for the first time and really enjoyed it! We are now going to the park with him often and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible before it gets cold.

Daniel on the swing for the second time ever!

This was fun to watch: Daniel and Ava together on the swing!

Daniel squealed with delight on the swing!

Swinging next to my son: so much fun and so cute to see the size difference!


Daniel trying out the slide for the first time!

Playing with Ava...

Trying out "The Alligator"

So many new things, how fun!

Some new things Daniel has been doing:

- In the last few weeks, Daniel has been grabbing toys and other objects with both hands, switches from hand to hand and holds them for a long time. He loves to stretch out his hands to grab things and likes to examine his toys in great detail.

- He has recently started to play with toys during bath time which has been fun to watch. He also loves to splash the water and doesn't seem to mind his face getting wet!

- He can sit for a few seconds on his own with his arms supporting him but still tends to flop to one side.

- He is turning a lot on the floor and has woken up completely on the other side of the crib in the morning. He turns around by turning on his side over and over again.

- He loves holding and playing with balls! Jonny is hopeful that this will lead to a great love of football! :-)

We're Back From Europe: Check-out the Slideshow!

We're back home after almost 3 weeks away in Europe. We had such a wonderful time - so many special moments with family and friends! We thank God that everything went so well! Daniel, who turned 6 months during our trip, did wonderfully and proved to be a very adaptable little boy! We are amazed at how well he did; he did not suffer any jet lag on the way there (it was a little harder on the way back, but he still did better than us), slept well in 3 different cots and just took all of the novelty in his stride. Thank you Lord for answering our prayers! Once again You are teaching me that I shouldn't worry so much and trust You more!

We first went straight to Eastbourne in the south of England to attend Abbie's wedding. It was great to see Jonny's English family again and introduce Daniel to all of them. The wedding was on a beautiful sunny day - a true gift from God since it apparently had not been as nice in months - and we got to witness the beautiful commitment of a special young couple. We are so excited about their marriage and look forward to following their new life together in the months and years to come!

We then went to London to prepare and participate in my dear sister's wedding to tio Juju! Wow, they are now husband and wife and we are so excited for them! Congratulations again! It was a very special and intimate wedding and everything turned out just as they had hoped. They are now honeymooning in Brazil and we can't wait to hear how they are doing!

After a busy week in London doing lots of wedding stuff and then spending time with friends and family, we traveled to Portugal for 5 days. We had such a nice time enjoying my mother's wonderful hospitality and enjoying our walks by the sea.

So now we are back home and trying to readjust to our normal routine and work life. Jonny's mother is visiting us for the next month so it's nice that we are not alone again. Daniel is back with Azad for 2 days a week so that he doesn't forget her while Heather is visiting.

We have over 400 photos of our trip and so I thought it would be best to just put up a slideshow - I'm continually amazed by technology! :-) So check it out if you have time and enjoy! The photos are not all in the right order of events since they are from several different cameras!