Family in Town...

We can now say that we have "family in town"; that to us is a very special and welcome phenomenon! My cousin Josani and her two wonderful daughters, Natasha and Giulia, are now living in the area! We have already started to spend a lot of time with them at the weekends and are looking forward to seeing them more and more.

It's funny because the girls have made me acutely aware that I need desperate training in "modern history" since I hadn't heard of the "pop groups" they listen to or experienced the latest technology such as the "Wii." This is so funny because I remember clearly being a teenager and feeling that my older family members had no clue about the "real world!" And now, here I am, in the exact same position! So Nana and Giugiu, I promise to get up to speed on this - I may have to write things down though cause I already forgot the name of the oldest brother of the "Jonas Brothers" - is it Nick? :-)

Jonny and Daniel with Josie, Natasha and Giulia

Having fun together...

Josie playing with Daniel - he was talking to the bottle!

And for a special treat, here is a cute video of Daniel laughing with Giulia - so happy I was able to record this special moment as we were walking in their neighborhood!

The Experience of Introducing Solids Part II

Well, thank God, little Daniel (who is now 7 months old!) is eating much better now! Thanks for the advice I received after my previous blog! After our 3 day break, we started again with pears for 3 days before trying other foods and he's now actually enjoying the experience! Hurray!!! He hasn't complained or gagged in a while and we've been finishing each meal with him happy! We even gave him prunes this past weekend to help him get through some "poop issues" :-) and after thinking briefly about the new and strong taste, he ate several teaspoons with no problem! Of course prunes also create a lot more mess as seen in the photos below! We are now getting more excited about introducing, slowly, more and more new flavors and then a mixture of them! We just keep learning that everything just happens at the right time; no point panicking or trying to speed things up - hopefully I'll remember this the next time I start to worry about him reaching the next new milestone...

Thinking about it...

I want more! Toy or prunes?

What a relief: Happy after eating prunes!

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? :-)