Gravity!

My little scientist just figured out gravity, oh yes, how proud I am! I turned her sippy cup upside down and watch the water drip as she shook it. And loved it... so now, all the time.. in the car, in the living room, couch, anywhere anytime, its time to shake up the sippy cup and get everything wet. I'm lucky that all she has in the cup is water, so although it makes a mess, its just water. I'm not giving her any juice until around 18 months... oh that's a big one! Everyday I get the look from somebody when I say that.. oh poor baby! Give me a break! I made the decision and I'm sticking to it. And its a good choice, juice is nothing bug sugar water sprinkled with a little big of vitamins. Why not give the fruit instead? Plus for dehydration, they need water only! Also there is so much evidence of juice leading to diarrhea, to malnutrition (by not eating as much food since they are too full from just drinking juice).. and the list goes on. So.. sorry folks, I know so many people, specially here in Brazil, start with juice as early as 2 months, but that's the beauty of being a parent. You get to make the decision for YOUR child to the best of your knowledge for their best.
Sorry.. its a hard subject for me.. as a dietitian I am trying my best to do with my child what I have for years taught other moms to do. It's not easy, I give you that.. but its basics. Like: no soda!, no junk food (she is one! she doesn't need chocolate chip cookies!). Not that I'm never going to let her have that stuff.. of course I will! I hope to bake many cookies with her and eat them too! But she is just to young, lets first get her a good start by teaching her that fruits and veggies are great!
On another note, Thursday is thanksgiving! We will be cooking a turkey at my mom's house and she has an exchange student in her classroom at school from Illinois that will be joining us. I'm going to try to make some pecan pie, but I'm sure it won't be as good as Cracker Barrels. And the day after thanksgiving.. that glorious shopping day.. well, we won't talk about that.

November already!

Time flies... I can't believe its mid-november already! I have to start planning Isabela's first birthday party for next month. She has grown so fast! She is almost walking, crawls around so fast, and she is starting that phase where she mirrors everything we do. If we laugh, so does she; if we cough, so does she, its so funny. She has 5 teeth already, and is eating very well. She loves to pick up foods and feed herself, not always a practical option, but her favorite. She still has some sleeping issues we are working on... waking up at night to feed, and not napping very consistently. But if that's my problems, then I'm happy! I'm still nursing her, looking to start weaning when she turns one, although I'm not in a hurry.. if it continues to be convenient for me and her I don't see why to stop just yet. A little independence would be nice too though.
Jason is doing well, continues to make progress on his Portuguese and working hard at the farm. They are planting eucalyptus so he has been busy with that. Last weekend we went to a concert at our city theater. It was a Beatles cover band, and it was decent for a Brazilian band trying to cover Beatles. We enjoyed doing something grown up for a difference.
We are technically still in the spring, but for the most part it feels like summer already! We wake up to 90F and go to sleep to 95F... without AC sometimes it feels like 100F inside our apt. I'm trying to make some crafts for x-mas to decorate our home since I left all of my stuff back in Clearwater. I really do miss my xmas tree! It will be hard not having stuff to decorate this year. Also with thanksgiving fast approaching my favorite day of the year-black Friday! Needless to say I am devastated that I'll miss it this year... I am already looking online at all the awesome deals, but the best part is always waking up really early (4am!) and driving to walmart to stand next to the huge covered mountains of goodies! And when the clock hits 5am, its time to shop!!! Thanks to my friend Nic who introduced me to this great marathon! I'll be back soon so we can plan our next one!
Nap time for Isabela so I better run... missing you all very much.