Photos of Daniel After a Long Day with Azad and Azra

Daniel has now been with Nani Azad and Auntie Azra for 2 and a half weeks and he just loves it there - praise God! Yesterday we finally took some pictures when we went to pick him up after work:

Daniel very happy on Azad's lap (Azra on the left)

Daniel is so loved by them, they actually compete to hold him!

After picking him up, we decided to do a quick shop but did not have our stroller with us. But Daniel did great inside the shopping cart! As long as he can hold his monkey or chicken (or both at the same time - a new skill!), he is usually very happy! :-)

Remembering Jonathan David: 18 Months

Dear Son,

Today you would have been 18 months old and we are remembering you today in a special way. How we miss you! How we wish we could be with you! We often wonder what you are like right now in heaven... But for sure we know that you are so well, only having fun and completely healed. The image of Jesus with his arms around you holding you gives us much comfort. How we wish we could hold you again! But until we are called home to join you, we are comforted knowing that you are better than us. Your little brother, for example, in his short life so far has already experienced fever and pain. But you haven't and never will! And because of this, because of your eternal perfect life, we thank our Lord Jesus today even more for all that He has done for us. Because of Him, you are well, because of Him, we will be together again forever.

We love you so much. Even though the pain of losing you is less, even though we have experienced joy again, be sure that you will always be remembered and loved. And as soon as your baby brother Daniel can understand, be sure that he will know about you, his big brother.

With all our love and many, many kisses, touching your sweet face in heaven,

Mamae and Papa

Things Can Change So Quickly!

This past week has been better than the previous week... At the beginning of last week, after getting used to the idea of leaving Daniel with Kalida, she informed us that she could no longer keep Daniel and that we had to find another place for him! We were devastated; in summary, she had already committed herself to another family who hadn't confirmed a starting date but suddenly showed up with their infant last week...

And so our frantic search began for another family day care for him... After calling more than 25 places and interviewing 7, we finally found Azad and Azra, two young grandmothers (also from Pakistan!) who live much closer to us and are just what we were looking for. It was so hard for us to have to look for a complete stranger to look after Daniel; at times like this, we really realize how hard it is being so far away from family. It's such a big decision and responsibility finding just the right place (there are some terrible places out there - we saw some and were shocked!), and we don't want to keep moving him from place to place... But this time (we really hope so!), it's going to work out for the long-term and for the better.

It turns out that Azad is the mother of our eye doctor and so we have a connection with her after all! Though Kalida was great with him, this time he's got two women looking after him and they only have 1 other toddler there full-time. So basically Daniel is getting lots of love and attention, which a little baby needs. Most importantly, he's doing great with them. Every time we've picked him up this past week, he's been happy and very calm. He's eating and napping great; so so far, so good! I'll try to get some photos of Daniel at his new day care next week.

So after last week's distraction, we've been back at work this week and finally focusing better. It's been great working from Jonny's lab and having this extra time together. I even went to DC this week to catch up with colleagues and see my friend Katie (it was great seeing you, so excited for you!) which was nice.

Today we went for Daniel's four month's check-up and he got four shots on his thighs! We really hope that this time he will not react as badly as he did last time - he had fever for 5 days in a row. So far he's doing well, just a little fussy, but no crying or fever yet. He's currently asleep right next to me in his swing... We have a great Pediatrician and she was encouraged to see Daniel growing and developing so well. He even put his toes in his mouth for the first time in front of her today, it was so cute and we were all excited! He continues to be long and thin: weighing 15 pounds and 6 ounces (7.1 kilos) and is 26 1/2 inches long (67.3 cm).

The other big thing that he has just started to do is holding out his arms to be picked up! When I arrived to pick him up from day care yesterday, he stretched out his arms to me! It's so fun seeing him do new things literally every day!

Here are some other things Daniel has been doing and that we have captured on camera:

Daniel can now sit well in the Bumbo seat! This was his first try next to his very proud Papa!

He's also just recently started to put his toys in his mouth!

Loves to devour his monkey!

Keeping his legs high and holding his feet is still his favorite thing!

Daniel also loves being held up high and kissed - not the best photo but you can see his enjoyment!

Recent Photos of Daniel at 4 Months

Today we spent some time by the pool and Daniel loved being outdoors half naked! :-) Look at the fun he had:

And grabbing his feet!

This is Daniel with me after waking up from a nap a few days ago: You can really see how long he is getting!

And we tried his "jumperoo" today and he liked it but he is still too small for it since he can't touch the ground yet! Will wait a little longer before trying again...

Back to Work!

So much has happened since the last blog. Daniel is almost 4 and a half months old! I returned to work this past week and thank God, Daniel did great without me - better than I did without him the first day for sure! :-) There were some changes in Daniel's day care arrangements. After really considering all the work I have to get done each week, Jonny and I decided that I should have 3 full days of work instead of half days. So Daniel is now being taken care of by Kalida, a Pakistani woman who has a family day care and who had been highly recommended by a friend (thanks for being so understanding Justyna about this change, you're wonderful!).

Kalida is great! She is so calm and experienced, has 4 adorable children, and most importantly, Daniel is having a great time there. Every time we have picked him up after work he's been happy. Kalida's children love to play with him and so he's getting lots of interaction and just seems to be enjoying himself so much! Apparently he laughs a lot more with them than with us and they have promised to get it on video next week! The first day was a little hard because he didn't want to take the bottle but by the afternoon he ate and has been eating well since then. He's also been napping their more than he does at home (still 30 minutes at home!) so that's amazing to me too.

Kalida with her 3 daughters

Kalida with Daniel: Her calm presence gives me much peace!

This is Daniel after his second day with Kalida as I put him in the car seat to come home - Happy!

And for me, though I still think about Daniel a lot during the day and worry about him, it's been good to get back to work. Since I'm an official telecommuter and can work from home (the commute to DC is far too long), we decided it would be best for me to get out of the house and have some adult interaction. So I've actually been working from Jonny's lab (his boss said it was fine for me to work from his desk!), and it's been great! We can get to spend a lot more time together this way and I'm not alone at home all day.

So all in all I just have to praise God about how wonderful the transition has been this past week. It hasn't been easy, but it couldn't have gone smoother than it has. I have continued to battle with insomnia and anxiety but it is getting better and now that this big step in going back to work has occurred, I think I will continue to get better. Please do continue to pray for me. Having a baby has been a much greater adjustment than I had ever imagined!

Big developmental advances and changes in the last couple of weeks:

- Daniel is grabbing things more and more and now even his legs and feet! (It amazes me how he doesn't seem to realize how exciting this is, he just does these new things as if he always has!)

- He's laughing more and more - though still quite short laughs.

- He is cooing so loudly that you can hear him from a long distance - and his voice even went a bit hoarse for a few days!

- He's stopped turning from his tummy to his back but is threatening to move onto his side when on his back.

- He needs to wear a bib all the time now because he's drooling so much - we go through 3-4 bibs a day!

- He's been sleeping now without a swaddle for about 2 weeks and is doing great - it surprised us that it didn't affect his sleeping at all, the time was just right! This was something I was anxious about too, but like most things, I didn't have to be!

Look What Daniel is Doing at 17 Weeks!

Truly amazing how he is developing so quickly! He couldn't do this last week!

An Answer to Prayer: Child Care Sorted for Daniel!

Granny Heather has had to unfortunately postpone her trip to visit us and help me take care of Daniel as I go back to work on July 7th. She got shingles a few weeks back and is still recuperating - please keep her in your prayers. The plan is that she will now be coming in September. We are praying for your recuperation and eagerly waiting for you dear Heather!

So in the last week we've had to quickly think of an alternative plan of child care and after a couple of options that didn't work out, we got an even better solution: Our Polish neighbor who has a 6 month old girl is going to look after Daniel for 4 hours 4 times a week. We are so relieved, not only do we completely trust our neighbor, Daniel will literally only be one minute away. I'll be able to continue to nurse him and can visit him whenever I want to or need to! Wow, it's a big step for me returning back to work and a little scary - even though it's from home and part time - so please pray for this transition!

Here are some recent photos of Daniel with Enya, my neighbor's adorable little girl and Daniel's new friend:

It's going to be so much fun to see them grow together! Thank you dear Justyna for your willingness to help out!

I Can't Believe I'm 31!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and my first with Daniel. I have always loved celebrating my birthday but this year, I really did not feel like doing anything - I guess mainly because of the business and exhaustion of having a small baby. But on Friday, we decided that it would be nice to have some friends over to celebrate and though it was very last minute, it ended up being a special day. It was also my dad's last full day with us so it was good to do something special.

The day started with a big surprise: the two "siblings" officially became friends! Buffy for the first time felt comfortable lying next to Daniel and we got some cute pictures:

(Just in case anyone is worried about this, we are very careful to make sure that Buffy and Daniel are never alone together. :-))

It was special for me to take lots of pictures with my most precious gift of the past year: our son Daniel Peter who is 16 weeks today!

When singing happy birthday with friends and blowing out the candles, I wanted to make sure I was holding Daniel! It was fun! But I decided that this would be the last birthday in which the candles would explicitly tell my age. :-) It's just hard to believe I'm 31 and I think it's now time to stop counting!

What was really cute is that Daniel got to sit and hold hands with his friend Ella (2 1/2 years old) whilst her dad read them a book!

Thanks for all those who called, e-mailed and sent cards! Sorry it's still so hard to actually speak to me on the phone. Here is a cute picture I received from Tia Fafa and Tio Juju - a special birthday kiss!

The other big thing that's been happening around here is that we've had to get the external part of our house ready for the housing association's inspection. So my dad and Jonny power-washed and stained our deck and did a great job! I thought my dad had had a lot of practice in painting considering his long years of life but it was the first time he ever did it and he really enjoyed it! Here is a photo of them hard at work:

So my dear Daddy returned back to Brazil today and I'm feeling very sad... We had such a nice time together and it was great to have him around. I miss you already Daddy! Thank you so much for coming and all that you have done for us, we love you! Here are some photos we took this morning... next time you see Daniel again he will be a lot bigger!

Developing Fast: 15 Weeks Old!

Just in the last few days Daniel has been doing some new and exciting things which we definitely want to record! First, he has been holding his head very high during tummy time:

And yesterday, he started to reach for his dangling toy in the baby gym! He doesn't hold on to it yet but is definitely trying! Look at his concentration, so cute!

In the meantime, Daniel has been enjoying hanging out with his Brazilian Grandpa - Vovo Daddy - who is here for another week. Today he wore his special "Grandpa shirt" that his Malaysian Grandpa bought for him.

Here is Daniel a few weeks ago with Grandpa Boon:

And today, with Grandpa Tarcisio.

Jonny has been enjoying following the Euro 2008 football tournament and was pleased to see that Daniel attentively followed the game too - even if it was just for a few seconds! :-)

Photo Shoot of Daniel at 3 Months!

Sweet Smile

Excited baby

John Travolta move!


Am growing fast and even have more hair now!