Liverpool Fans!

Jonny is a serious Liverpool fan; he has supported them since he was a young boy. His lab's good-bye gift also included a Liverpool outfit for Daniel! Even though it's still too big, Jonny couldn't wait to put it on him and take lots of photos. It was the cutest thing ever seeing Daniel wearing the Liverpool gear next to his very proud Papai wearing the same shirt! And Daniel had fun playing next to the goal and seeing Jonny kick the ball. Now Jonny's just waiting for Daniel to learn how to kick himself and hopefully, become a Liverpool fan too...

Reason #3 For This Being A Special Week: Getting Ready To Walk Through The Open Door...

So Jonny had his last day at work this past Thursday and said his final good-byes to his boss and colleagues in the lab. On Thursday, Yu brought in her famous cake to celebrate Jonny's birthday too. Jonny also brought in Champagne and chocolates for the lab as a good-bye gift. He also received: the current Liverpool football shirt (his favorite football team, that was such a thoughtful gift! I think he now has 4 different colors of the official shirts!), a Hopkins print and a lovely good-bye card signed by everyone with a similar message written by all - that it was great having him in the lab and that he will be missed...nice words to hear!

Jonny came home after his last day very happy because he felt that he had finished well. The past 6 years in this lab were not easy; there were many more downs than ups since his research project just kept producing technical problems followed by negative results. Jonny really had to keep persevering, it wasn't easy... But, he always knew that God had a purpose for him being there and that with His help, he would be able to leave well.

God is faithful and would you believe it that just in the last few weeks his project finally produced some concrete results?! He was able to leave the lab with a draft of a paper to be published and the bulk of his project finalized! Why only in the last few weeks? It is so clear to us that it was all in God's timing...

Jonny was also encouraged because his boss said to him: "You did a great job, you had a very hard project but you succeeded in the end!" Thank you Lord for bringing him through and the encouragement he received!

Here are the pictures that were taken on Thursday:

Jonny with Yu and her famous cake that she made for him!

Jonny wearing one of his Liverpool shirts...He wears them now all the time, he says it's to bring Liverpool luck at the beginning of the season! :-)

The whole lab enjoying the Champagne!


With his boss and the Hopkins print they gave him


And as a bonus photo: Jonny with Daniel later that evening. Our neighbor Heather brought him some cupcakes to celebrate his birthday! Daniel was intrigued by the candles (2 for 32)!

So now that the good-byes have been said, we are thinking more about what is next. And I was reminded of this blog I wrote back in June, about how God had finally opened a clear door for our family: Jonny's new job that he will start next Tuesday, September 1st. We are now getting ready to "walk through that open door"...

And as with any big change, we are excited as well as a little nervous. We are excited for Jonny working on a different and more applied area of research, which he finds very interesting and will provide him with the opportunity to learn new and exciting things.

But, we are also preparing ourselves for some adjustments, the main one being: 1) Jonny will be going to work a lot earlier and will have to leave home before Daniel gets up. So during the week, he will only see Daniel in the evenings. This also means that I will be alone with Daniel in the morning and will have to get us both ready on my own; 2) We will be spending less time together since I will not be commuting with him or having lunch with him on my work days. So our evening and weekends together will be a lot more precious; and of course 3) a new area of research in a new organization with a new boss and new colleagues!

But as we get ready to "walk through the open door", we again turn to God, the leader and meaning of our lives. He reminds us that we do not need to fear, that He is with us:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

And so we walk through the open door with faith, excited to see what our good and loving Lord, who is with us at all times, has in store for us next. May we be faithful to Him and may He be glorified in all that we experience on the other side of the open door...

Reason #2 For This Being A Special Week: Jonny Turns 32!

Yay, I'm no longer a cradle snatcher! Every year after my birthday, for exactly 2 months and 4 days, Jonny loves to tease me that I'm a cradle snatcher. And on his birthday, every year, I like to remind him that I no longer am (of course, I know too well that him becoming the same age doesn't change the fact that I'm still older)! :-)

Jonny said he has really enjoyed his birthday today. The highlights have been: two special cards from us as soon as he got up, lunch with two of his colleagues overlooking the bay in Baltimore, playing with Daniel in the evening, a special dinner cooked by our family friend Maria Helena, phone calls from loved ones and of course, the wonderful blog comments! Thank you, they meant a lot to him!

Here are some photos of Jonny today and the different fun things he enjoyed:

Lunch with special colleagues

View from our table

Jonny talking to his brother Peter all the way in Belgium

Playing with Daniel on the deck

Daniel loved playing with the water, bowl and spoons!

Maria Helena is always participating in our special days

We had to take off his shorts after playing with the water - he was a happy boy!

Now this is for the birthday boy:

My dear husband and wonderful Papai,

Happy Birthday! We are so thankful for you, we praise God for creating you and choosing us to be in your family; we know we are so blessed! We love you more than words could ever describe! We are so excited about what God has planned for you in this next year of your life and feel honored to be at your side always.

With all our love now and forever,

Your wife and precious sons, JD and DP

Reason #1 For This Being A Special Week: Time To Say Good-Bye...

This is a very special week for our family for many reasons and in today's post, I will focus on reason # 1: It is Jonny's last week at Johns Hopkins after working there for 6 years.

It is a week where Jonny will be saying many good-byes... Good-bye to colleagues and friends, to the lab environment, to cell signalling and Dictyostelium as a main area of research (oh, dear project, why was the relationship so difficult?!), to the Hopkins campus, to the cafe and local market, and in some ways too, good-bye to Baltimore (we are less likely to visit the city from now on)...

His last day will be this Thursday and tomorrow, he will have an official good-bye party with his lab (they are planning to take him to his favorite restaurant in town, the Brazilian restaurant Fogo de Chao; how nice!).

I too will be saying good-bye this week. Good-bye to: commutes to and from work with my dear husband, frequent lunch dates, yummy lunch foods from the local market, working from the Medical library where I have had all sorts of privileges like being able to print documents, and even some friends that I have made along the way (like Sharon, the guard - we will miss you!).

Good-byes are hard; even when there is excitement for what is next. We've just been feeling very nostalgic today but also feeling grateful for the past 6 years at Hopkins - even though there were lots of ups and down (both research wise for Jonny and in our personal lives during this time).

Today, we took photos in different places that we would like to remember. These places have lots of meaning, lots of memories... We now share them with you too and keep a record for the future...

Spinning Away At 17 Months!

Every so often we get home from work and discover that Daniel has started to do something new. Just the other day, we found Daniel spinning away! I was able to catch him doing it on video - see below. He loves spinning and doesn't seem bothered about getting dizzy or falling over repeatedly. What fun! I clearly remember loving to spin too!

Never Underestimate Your Child

This past Sunday at church, I was watching Daniel play in the toddler's room and was sitting talking to a friend about our children. We were both sharing our stories of life with a toddler and how challenging it can be at times.

Suddenly it was snack time and as in previous weeks, the much older toddlers (Daniel is by far the youngest in the room, most are at least over 2) all made their way to the table to sit down and eat their snack and drink their juice. I immediately thought, "Yes, Daniel is still too young to sit at the table, it's not even worth trying. " But as Daniel showed a desire to join the other children, I took him over and sat him on the seat, thinking that he wouldn't sit for long. But, I was wrong! He completely surprised me. Not only did he sit still, but he also joined the children in nicely eating the animal biscuits and drinking his juice, just like "a big boy!" Oh, and he also wanted to share his snack! I was amazed and so proud of him!

And then my friend turned to me and said: "Ana, as parents, we should never underestimate our children. Look what progress you are seeing in Daniel today!" Her words of wisdom really rung true to me and I said "Yes, you are so right! I really need to remember that!" Look at how well he did!

But of course, I take time to learn things and tonight, my friend's words of wisdom popped into my mind as I underestimated Daniel yet again. We were having dinner and Jonny had made us for the first time in ages, corn on the cob. We had not planned to give Daniel any since we thought he would not know what to do with it. Up until very recently, he hasn't been very good at biting pieces off food like biscuits, for example. But sure enough, he started pointing at the corn we were eating and nodding his head, clearly letting us know he also wanted some. And you guessed it, much to our surprise and delight, he ate the corn just like a big boy!

I think that most of the times that I have underestimated Daniel, I have just done so in my thoughts, but haven't actually limited him from doing new things. But, my friend's words really reminded me that my underestimation could actually lead me to prevent him from developing to his full potential. It could lead me, for example, to not let him try a new activity (and so learn a new skill) or even a new food or one that he did not like the day before (and thus encourage him to just keep eating the same thing). The truth is, he changes so rapidly that I could never keep up with him! So, yes, I hope I will remember this and continue to let him show me, at his own pace, how fast he is becoming our "big boy." Yes, Daniel, it's happening much faster than I could have ever imagined!

Papai Dresses Daniel: The Surprise Outfit

Jonny loves to choose Daniel's clothes and to put on things "that no adult man" would ever wear. He just finds it very cute that Daniel gets to wear things he would never get caught wearing, like "his light blue pants and matching yellow shorts and shirts."

Just the other afternoon, Jonny changed Daniel before his nap and put him to bed. After we all woke up from our naps (we love having a family nap on weekends after lunch!), Jonny said to me: "I've got a surprise for you, I put on some "home clothes" on Daniel before his nap." And I thought "Ooohhh, what did he choose this time?"

And then suddenly Daniel appeared, all happy after his nap dressed up in a way I had never seen before: with the light blue pants and a way too big Brazilian national football (soccer) shirt! He looked so cute!

I had bought the shirt at the local thrift store where I buy most of Daniel's clothes for only $1.90. It's the original Nike shirt and though I knew it was too big, I thought it was so lucky for me to find it and so I bought it, thinking that he would wear it in about 2 years... Well, Jonny had a completely different idea!

And so this became the photo opportunity of the afternoon and I took loads of pictures of Daniel in the outfit that his Papai had chosen, knowing that the Brazilian side of the family would love to see him wearing it. And it was a sweet reminder that he is indeed a "Half-Brazilian Boy!"

Will he grow up to be a football player? I know for sure his Papai hopes so; maybe that's why he put it on, secretly hoping the shirt would "rub off" some of those famous "samba skills"! :-)

Check out the slide show with several of the photos I took. The photos also show you all the different things Daniel gets up to in a just a few minutes of playing in the living room!

The First Of Many At The County Fair

We went to County Fair this weekend with some of our neighbors and had a wonderful time! Daniel got to do several new things for the first time: He touched a sheep and a duck, learned to milk a "cow", played in a "corn box", saw and/or heard the sounds of cows, goats, sheep, donkey and alpacas, and even rode a Pony! Have a look at the slide show below (to download photos or see larger, click on slide show and you will be taken to Picasa):




One of the highlights of the trip was that the 3 toddlers got really excited together about playing inside this empty wooden house/shed. I even caught them on video, so check it out!

We just feel so blessed that our neighbors are now friends of ours and that our children love each other! This is definitely an answer to prayer which we are very grateful for!

Fun Times At The Pool

With only a few weeks left to enjoy the pool (outdoor pools close here the first week of September) and some typical hot August days, we have been going to the pool a lot. Daniel just absolutely loves the water and so it's a very enjoyable time out for all. What has been extra special lately is that we have been having lots of different friends join us at the pool and so the fun has been even greater!

Just yesterday, we had several of Daniel's friends from church join us and despite it being overcast and not as hot as usual, it was so cute to see them all together! We had a total of 6 little boys, 4 all about Daniel's age and 2 five-month olds. Here are some photos!

This was Santiago's first time in the pool ever - how special! This is when he first entered the pool...he loved it!

Marcus was also very happy!

We tried to get a picture of the 4 toddlers together but it didn't work too well and they started to cry...this is the best shot I got.


The babies particiapted from their car seats most of the time...

Earlier this week, we also enjoyed the pool with Ella, my dear friend Corinne's daughter, and with Enya, our neighbor.

This is Ella trying to give Daniel a kiss!

Enya and Daniel liked looking inside the "hole" on the side of the pool (don't know what it's called...)

And here are some photos of Daniel enjoying the pool on his own:

Anyway, we will miss the pool soooo much when it closes!!! But for now, we plan to keep enjoying it as much as possible. So if you are ever wondering what we are doing on a hot afternoon, we are more than likely having fun at the pool... And if you want to join us, do just let us know!

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Note On Cultural Blunder:

I'm not sure if you noticed but Daniel wore shorts over his swimmers yesterday but before, I didn't think shorts were necessary - I just thought his swimmers were enough. Well, it turns out that I committed another "cultural blunder" because I was told off by one of the lifeguards that "boys need to wear shorts over their diapers!" I told her that I didn't know that, that all summer he has only been wearing his swimmers and that they are not the same as diapers, they are swimmers!

In any case, I also I didn't think twice about the swimmers because of my Brazilian background, where to wear a "speedo" is the norm (that's what the swimmers remind me of). Remember the blog I wrote about Jonny and his speedo a couple of years ago? Well, you may also have noticed, that Jonny now only wears shorts to the pool here! I guess we have been slowly learning that "when in Rome, it's better to do as the Romans do!" Hopefully by the time Daniel can understand more, we will be better at all of this cross-cultural adaptation and not embarrass him! It's just hard to keep up with all these cultural differences.

But in the meantime, I have a favor to ask the loved ones that also live here: if you notice us doing something that is "not culturally appropriate", will you please let us know? We really would like to know because we often just don't have a clue! And we would prefer to hear it from loved ones than from strangers who may be offended. Thanks! :-)

Let's Dish!

This summer, I've been going with my neighbor Heather to Let's Dish once a month. Not only do we always have a great time when we go (it's such a fun "girls night out") but, our family also ends up with 8 wonderful meals to enjoy during the month!

For those of you who have never heard of Let's Dish, it's basically a large kitchen with several workstations with all the ingredients you need to assemble different dishes. You just have to follow the easy instructions and then you leave at the end of your session with delicious meals to put in your freezer and enjoy throughout the month. It's such a great idea! This month, for example, I brought home these dishes: Four-Star BBQ Pork Tenderloins, Irresistible Asian Pork Chops, Louisiana-Style Jambalaya, Thai-Marinated Flank Steak and Pasta Pomodoro.

Since I don't cook often (Jonny is the main chef in our home), when I'm at Let's Dish, I just feel so competent and productive in the kitchen! It's so much fun, easy to do, great value, healthy fresh meals and most importantly, the food is really yummy! And at the end, after we have finished dishing, we get to enjoy some free delicious snacks and drinks whilst enjoying lots of girl talk! I'm already looking forward to going again next month, Heather!

Here are two photos that were taken of us the last time we went together this past Friday. Having to wear an apron and head-scarf makes me feel even more of a "real" chef - though Jonny says we look like factory workers! :-)