Thankful For Our Neighborhood

I can't believe that it's almost 3 years since we moved into our home - time really does fly by. Recently, I have been feeling particularly thankful for our home and especially, for our neighborhood friends. We have been getting know so many children close to Daniel's age and he just loves to play with them. Right now, just around our house, Daniel knows 6 other children and each time we go to the park, we meet more.

I was recently talking to one of the mothers and we both agreed that due to the the current housing market, it is unlikely that any of the families that we know will be moving anywhere else soon. And that is great, because the kids are getting to know each other and are growing up together.

Now that the weather is much warmer, all the kids have been spending a lot of time outside and so Daniel gets to play with them almost every day. Yesterday morning, for example, we were walking to the park with our family friend Maria Helena who was visiting us and our Japanese neighbor decided to join us with 2 of her children. We had so much fun and you could see that Daniel was on cloud 9!

At one point I even said to Maria Helena: "Look how happy Daniel is right now!" And then she wisely explained: "Well of course: he is with his mother, outside playing in the park, with his friends, enjoying the nice weather, has a full tummy, what else does he need?" So true... Daniel certainly didn't need anything else and just played and played, smiling often. And I watched, feeling such joy and thanking God for the special time we were having in our neighborhood.

Here are photos of Daniel having fun with Takumi and Nina at the park...

Daniel walking with "Tia Helena"

P.S. We are feeling sad that our Japanese neighbor will be going to Japan for the summer at the end of May. Daniel will miss the children so much! But it will be a great reunion in August and fun to see how much Daniel and Takumi have grown (they are only 6 weeks apart). Isn't it special to see how much they have grown since the last time they returned from Japan? I love this feature of blogging!

Memories of April...

It is amazing to me that we are already in May and that yesterday, Daniel turned 14 months old! This year seems to be flying by... Since we have been so entertained with Daniel walking, I haven't posted many photos recently and realized when going though our camera that we've actually had many special moments in April. So here is a slide show of what is now great memories of the month that just passed... It's funny to see from the photos that we had both very cold and very hot days in April!

Update on Daniel at 14 months:

Since Daniel started walking about 1 and a half weeks ago, he is already so much more stable and can do over 50 steps in a row - though he does continue to wobble and loses his balance often! The progress is rapid and we are enjoying it so much! He also continues to have that cutest grin on his face each time he walks - it's definitely his favorite activity right now! He's also getting very good at standing up and walking from sitting or kneeling without holding on to anything. And he can walk in circles and turn corners very easily. Just amazing to watch how quickly it all happens!

Since yesterday, we have noticed that Daniel has discovered his nostrils! He puts his little finger inside them very gently and always has this curious expression on his face. The funny thing is that he does it most during meals, when he has food on his finger! So we are telling him not to do it but you can see that he is just so intrigued! The other thing he has been doing during meal time, is hiding food on his seat, right next to his leg, under his tray. What a bizarre thing to do! As you can see, table etiquette is collapsing all around us! :-)

Another cute thing we would like to remember is that when Daniel points at things, he likes to cross his index finger with his middle one - it's so funny and cute! We hope to get a photo of this but he points for only a few seconds at a time so we haven't succeeded yet...

Guess Who Is WALKING?

Well, the day has arrived. I have been dreaming about blogging about this for months...drum role please!

Daniel Peter is now officially a walker! It started at the end of last week: on Friday, April 24th, he took 3 to 4 steps, on Saturday he took 8 and on Sunday 14! Today, we were finally able to catch several cute video clips of Daniel walking. He was in a great mood, a bit hyper, but managed to show off his new skills! By the end of the evening, before bath time, he was so hyperactive that he couldn't stand straight - as you will see in this video. Look at his enjoyment and all his squeals! And of course, Mamae and Papai are having fun too! What a joy! So cute to watch and experience! Enjoy!

16 years of Ana and Jonny!

For a change this is Jonny blogging, not Ana! What is the reason for this strange turn of events you are probably wondering... Well, it just so happens that today, April 25^th, marks the anniversary of when Ana and I started dating! And it has been 16 years now! It is funny to think that it has been 16 years because that seems like a long time but it has flown by. We have now officially been together for more than half our lives, as we were 15 years old when we I asked Ana to “please go out with me”. Little did I know that this would lead to marriage and babies but I am so thankful to God that it did! Together, we have gone through a lot over the last 16 years and I am glad that I have a partner to share all of life’s ups and downs with. She makes me smile every day, is my best friend and brings out the best in me. Over the last 14 months I have also seen her become an amazing mother (as all you regular readers can tell from the blogs she has written) and I am very proud to be her husband.

Ana, I love you very much and I thank God for all that you are and all that you do. Happy 16^th anniversary!

Learning to Walk...

How special it is to watch Daniel Peter learn to walk! Just in the last couple of weeks, he has been standing on his own for several seconds and has taken at least 1 step on his own! Soon, he will be officially walking - how exciting!

Check out this sweet video of Daniel "learning to walk" with his Papai this past weekend at the park. Even since this video was taken, he is already more steady on his feet. But we don't want to forget this cute wobbliness, we know it will not last for long!

You are growing up too fast Daniel! But we are excited to witness this new special milestone reached soon! Oh, how we love you; you are so precious!!!

Fruits, Vacuum Cleaners and Brooms: What do They Have in Common?

Daniel absolutely LOVES them!

I understand his love of fruits - current favorites are oranges and grapes - but vacuum cleaners and brooms??? I thought children usually dislike vacuum cleaners because of the loud noise, but whenever we get our vacuum cleaner out, he follows it everywhere and gets particularly excited when it's on! Daniel loves noise, especially loud ones! And the broom, if he gets hold of one he will not let it go and will carry it around the house, including up the stairs! It's so funny to see his fascination with these cleaning tools! What will you be when you grow up Daniel? :-)

Here are a couple of photos of Daniel carrying our broom around (and yes, I know, we desperately need a new one!):



And here is a special video taken especially for the grandparents (who are the most likely to watch it all - it's long, 7 minutes) of Daniel eating oranges!

You will see clearly what I mean when I say he LOVES them!!!

A Special Reminder of the Risen Lord

Yesterday morning as we made our way downstairs, we were greeted by a very special sight: The balloons that I had blown up for Daniel the afternoon before, were all floating by the window (above the air vent that was on)! We were all excited to see the colorful sight against the shining sun, when we remembered that it was Easter morning and that like Jesus, the balloons had risen! What a special and sweet reminder of our Lord! We spent the day remembering Him and all the hope and joy His resurrection brings.

Here is a short video of Daniel enjoying the "risen balloons!"

Sisters: How Blessed We Are!

After putting Daniel to bed tonight, I came downstairs and it suddenly hit me that my sister was no longer here. For the past 10 days she's been downstairs waiting for me every night. But tonight, it was different; and my heart ached and I started to cry...

Fafa, I miss you already! Thank you so much for coming to visit us, it was so wonderful! We really had wonderful quality time together and I thank God for you! I love you so much! I only wish we lived closer! But God knows the desire of our hearts and we trust in Him for the places we are meant to live...

You know, my sister and I haven't always been that close. She is 7 years older and we were for a lot of our lives, living very different experiences. Imagine, she was 18, going to University and I was 11, still not even a teenager... But thank God, with time, we have become closer and especially since we both gave our lives to Jesus. This recent visit, where we spent lots of time together, and loved and enjoyed each moment, is a testimony of how God has united us.

Thank you Lord! Thank you for creating sisters and thank you that my own big sister is tia Fafa! I'm truly blessed to have her as my sister!



Here are some other fun photos ...

I got to climb a tree again! I loved climbing trees as a child!

Fafa under the best Cherry Blossom we saw in DC yesterday

We had fun with "Tia Helena"

Visiting the Arboretum together this past weekend

And tio Juju - the new addition to our family who we love too! It was wonderful to see you too and please continue to take great care of my dear sister!

Having Fun with Tia Fafa e Tio Juju!

My sister (tia Fafa) and her husband Julian (tio Juju) arrived one week ago and we have really been enjoying our time together! Tio Juju only stayed for about 24 hours before flying to California for meetings, but we were really able to enjoy the time that we had with him. It is so wonderful to see my dear sister so happy and we are excited to see what God has planned for their lives as husband and wife - hopefully some cousins for Daniel :-)! Tia Fafa is still staying with us and will be here for a few more days so we're having lots of quality time together.

They were both so excited to see Daniel again! Tia Fafa has been a wonderful auntie and has even babysat for us which has been so helpful - she is a natural with him! We only wish we lived closer so she could look after Daniel more often!

Tia Fafa and tio Juju brought Daniel a very special gift from their world trip: t-shirts from each of the countries they visited - Mozambique, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong and Panama! What an international selection of clothes Daniel now has! Thanks tia Fafa and tio Juju for being so thoughtful!!!

Check out the slide show below from our the last week (to download photos, click on the slide show):

Update on Daniel's development at 13 months:

As usual, more changes have occurred recently!

- Daniel can walk using the walker and is doing better with us supporting his hands and just generally showing more interest in doing so! We think he'll be walking soon!

- Daniel is now eating table foods! He really started to resist being spoon-fed and has wanted to self-feed and it is generally going well. He eats best when we also eat so now we are having proper family meals together which is very special. But, we are struggling a bit about what to cook for him! Each change takes some adjusting but we are confident that soon we will all have it figured out! On a related note, he is still not into milk but is loving his water (now he knows how to tilt his head back when using his sippy cup)!

- He is teething again! It's been about 5 months since Daniel got his first 6 teeth and now there is a new bottom tooth on the way which probably means more are coming soon too. He has been a bit sensitive at times because of the teeth but is sleeping well at night so we're all coping well.

- He has learned to blow kisses and knows well that when I say in Portuguese "manda beijo" that is what I want him to do! Very cute and special!

- He loves music and has started moving more and more to the rhythm of music when he hears it. His particular favorite is the "Galinha Magricela"song from Brazil! This song is about "the skinny and defeathered chicken" who lays eggs every day, up to 1000, and can even lay 4 eggs at the same time after doing a somersault! She is so skinny because of laying so many eggs! It's a great song and Daniel loves it! :-)

The Newly Weds Are Arriving!

Just a quick blog to mark our excitement and anticipation of the arrival of the newly weds: my dear sister and her husband Julian! They are coming to visit us after traveling for 3 months around the world and our home will be their final destination! Last time we saw them was at their wedding in England, last September, so we have a lot to catch up on. Daniel was then only 6 months old so it will be very special for them to see how much he has grown and changed!

Tia Fafa and Tio Juju, we can't wait to see you tomorrow!!!