Back in May: Meeting Zolinha for the First Time!

The month of May was very full, with the visit of my extended family. The greatest joy was to meet our niece Zolinha, my sister's daughter, for the first time when she was 17 months old. She is such a joy, such a wonderful child, with a lovely personality. She is very active, loves to dance and is so affectionate -- she loved giving the whole family kisses, with her cute pout, several times a day. And to see my sister so happy and fulfilled as a mother was such a gift! They stayed with us for over 5 weeks and we loved every minute of it. Daniel fell in love with his cousin immediately and was getting up around 6 am every morning (very early for him) in the beginning to play with her. And she loved him too! They played so well together it was so sweet to watch. When they left, the house felt very empty and it took us some time to adjust to being "just us" again. Zolinha, we love you and miss you so much; we can't wait until we see you again!

Daniel's Point of View -- Related to His Baby Brother

D: Mamae, so the baby is going to come out naked? All the people [in the hospital] will see him like that? I thought our naked bodies were private!


D: Mamae, there is something I have wanted to ask you in a long time.
Me: OK honey, go ahead [I prepared myself to answer something really difficult]
D: When I'm a teenager, I'm not going to get to spend much time with my brother because I'll be out a lot, driving around. So when will I see him?


[When we were choosing what clothes to take to the hospital for the baby]
Me: Daniel, which pants should we take? [I showed him some options]
D: Let's take the red one. I like that it has a heart on it because I love my brother!


[After Daniel helped me pack the baby's hospital bag -- he chose each outfit.]
Me: Daniel, tomorrow you can help mamae pack my bag.
D: Yes, we have to choose something that will make you look really beautiful. Like a really beautiful dress. Not the one you are wearing now.


D: Mamae, when I go to the hospital to meet my brother, the first thing I'm going to do is kiss him!


D: I want to help with my brother, like hold him and kiss him. But I do not want to change his diapers!


D: I can't wait to teach my brother to like all the junk food I love, like McDonalds, Pizza, Chick-fil-A... And I'll teach him to like to speak English more than Portuguese. He will be just like me!

Pregnancy Update and Baby Showers!

So I'm 37 weeks pregnant today and officially full term! The baby could come at anytime now; though I'm hoping he will wait until vozinha and vovo Stephen arrive on September 10th. The funny (or maybe not!) thing is that our baby boy is acting just like his brother did: he continues to turn from being head down or breech almost on a daily basis! On Monday I had an ultrasound (his weight was estimated at 6.2 pounds) and he was breech and then by Wednesday when I saw my midwife he was head down. I ask for your prayers that he will stay head down or at least turn at the last minute like Daniel did. I'm trying to be open to whatever happens (c-section or not) and focus on the joy of bringing this little boy home!

 

My aim before the baby comes is to catch up on blogging since I still need to write some posts highlighting some events between May and July. Today, I wanted to share some photos of the baby showers my friends have been so generous and loving to do for me over the past month. This little boy has had not one, or two, but three showers! What a blessing to experience so much love! Thank you for all who participated and all that you did! Check out the photos of each of the baby showers I had.

 

Baby Shower # 1 (32 weeks): With friends from our "new" church and neighborhood

 

Lovely decorations...

Beautiful spread of food...

 

Joan (in the middle) was so kind to host the party.

 

Baby Shower # 2: (34 weeks) With friends from our time in Columbia and Laurel

More lovely decorations at Corinne's house!

Made by dear Corinne!

Favors for the guests from dear Kristen!

Fun game!





Jean guessed my size perfectly -- I was shocked!





Heather on the other hand... :)

All very dear friends...

Diaper cake showing lots of love from dear Shamane.

These swaddle blankets are so soft!

 

Baby Shower # 3 (36 weeks): With Work Colleagues

It was a lovely pot-luck lunch...

I love my colleagues, they are a great bunch of people!


 

Jonny's 36th Birthday!

With Daniel starting Kindergarten yesterday, I didn't mention that it was also Jonny's birthday! Jonny said the joy he experienced seeing Daniel start Kindergarten was the best present he could have had. This past Saturday though, we did celebrate his birthday: Jonny said he wanted to go to a Thai restaurant he had loved and been to about 11 years before (when he came for a job interview from England), followed by his favorite ice cream. Everything was indeed yummy and Daniel loved it too!

 

Happy 36th Birthday my love! Great to finally be the same age again! :)