Almost 2009

Can you believe we are almost in 2009. I remember being a kid and thinking how the world would look like in 2010, and I must tell you it was a lot more futuristic then it is now. But I am so glad I was wrong ... the world looks just fine the way it is. If we can just conserve it and make sure it is around for our children to enjoy, great!
Let me give you an update about Isabela, she had a great sleeping run... she was going to bed at 7:30pm and waking up at 6am! GREAT! finally.. that went on for about 2 weeks, I thought for sure we were finally at the easier stage. Oh well.. today she decided to wake up at 4am, ready to go! That is no fun! I can not function before 5am, so hard. Hopefully it was just a fluke and she'll go back to sleeping better again, that way I can convince her daddy to think about baby #2 :-)
She also has been transitioning to whole milk, and doing very well! She loves it! Drinks it from her sippy cup, and seems to be adapting to the transition (not easy to stop nursing.. for me or her actually). She has been very talkative lately, she can say daddy, but no Mommy yet! She loves the intro to playhouse disney show, with Ohh and Ahh, the two funny monkeys. She can sing the song along... well, its all just oohhh and ahh... Too bad she has already watched her dvd's a million times... starting to memorize them by now, I need to ask someone in the US to record some more for me. Before I came I recorded about 20 dvds of the Disney channel, I would set up the dvd to record from 6am on.. and they saved my life! Here in Brazil for some reason cartoons don't start until 9am!!! As if kids woke up that late!
Not that I leave her in front of the tv, don't get me wrong. Her attention span only lasts 15-20min anyways, but it is long enough for me to go to the bathroom and change in the morning. I have need too!
We are heading to Campinas tomorrow to spend a couple of days at my aunt Virginia's house. She has a pool, so we are hoping the weather will be nice so Isabela can get in the pool for the first time ever.. can you believe it! She still hasn't made it into the pool...
we are spending New Years there as well. I am very anxious about all the fireworks and noise... it will not be a fun night for Isabela, but we'll make it.
I have to also comment how much I love facebook lately! I have been able to connect with some very very dear friends of mine that I had lost touch about 7-8 years ago! And it was so nice to see them married, with their adorable children. I really hope we get to see each other again once I get back to the US.
I better go try to get some zzzz... before Isabela wakes up from her nap... after all waking up at 4am, I won't last until 7pm either!
Have a happy NEW YEAR 2009!

Wrap up!

Okay, its Christmas already?! Amazing how as we get older Christmas just seems to come so fast every year. I remember as a kid waiting so long for the next one..., now I blink and its here again. I took Isabela to see Santa at the mall, and although she loves xmas trees and decorations, she wasn't a big fan of Santa. She stood there for two seconds for the picture and then cried... I wasn't surprised since she rarely goes with strangers anyways... now this large old man in a red suit wasn't going to be easy.
She had a great time at her birthday party a couple of weeks ago, her favorite part was unwrapping gifts. Didn't matter what was inside, she just wanted to unwrap. So under the xmas tree she will have lots of empty boxes wrapped this year! Seems to be her favorite anyways... why spend tons of money on toys when all she really wants are empty card board boxes, tapeware, pan lids, paper... Anything that is mine and I tell her she can't have it, she wants it. I am looking foward to Christmas, although last year was her official first xmas, I feel like this one will be more like it since last year she was only 2 weeks old.
Here in Brazil, Christmas is huge! Since most of the population here is Catholic the holiday starts with a mass celebration on the 24th, usually around midnight, and then a feast follows. Then on the 25th, another feast!
well, it is the 23rd, so I have lots of cookies to bake, better run.

Proud to be a Gator, proud to be São Paulina and Proud Mommy

Wow, what a weekend this was. My dear gators did it! They beat Alabama in the SEC championship game, and are now on the BCS Championship game. We woke up and dressed our gator gear! All three of us, orange and blue. Waited all day long for the game, finally at 7pm our time we connected with our friend Dylan, who broadcasted the game to us via a webcame turned to the TV. It wasn´t easy to watch.. we couldn´t really hear what was going on, and the image was foggy. But it was better than nothing! And we loved every minute of it!
Now its BCS time! and we are already trying to search for a better way to watch the game... we´ll see what we can get.
Then came Sunday, and our soccer team São Paulo took the field to try to win their 6th title of best team in Brazil. My family here are huge fans, and I grew up watching this team. So it was time to bite nails again and watch closely... and again! Party! They won the game and got the title! They are the most successful soccer team in Brazil, with the most wins ever. My father was so happy!
And now for the biggest party of the week, my little baby girl turns one tomorrow!!! Oh my.. I can´t believe it, but yes, she will be a toddler. She is almost walking, takes a couple of steps towards me on her own already. Although I´m not sure who´s more scared, her of letting go, or me of her falling. If I could I would make her wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads. But my mom tells me that a little bump and bruises are part of growing up.
We will have a little cake for her tomorrow and then her party will be on Saturday. Picture to follow for sure.

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.

Granpda turned 80!

My grandfather turned 80 this week! He is my mother's father. He has been a source of strength for our whole family all these years. When I was little I used to think he was the best grandpa in the world, now as a "grownup" I realize he is not just the best grandpa in the world, but an example of man for us all. He has lived his life with integrity, with respect, always placing his family at top priority. I have learned so much from him and will continue to learn. And we are so lucky that he is so strong to be around for a while and teach Isabela and any other children we have the many lessons in life I have learned from him. We threw him a big birthday party! He deserves it! Everyone had fun, I'm posting some pictures down below of Isabela at the party.





Another note... my father is visiting China at the moment for a citrus congress. He has sent us some pictures and already is telling us amazing stories about China. I never was really interested in traveling to that side of the world to be honest... but now I am! He says it is so neat, the culture there is incredibly different from anything we've seen. The world is so huge.. it makes me realize that when I think about the fact that I'm living 10,000 k away from my home in Clearwater, my brother is in California, my father at the moment in China... technology has made it possible for such an immense world to be connected. Thanks to skype we've been able to talk to him during his trip.

We had a blast!

The weekend was full of fun! Isabela cooperated wonderfully and we were able to go to our cousin´s wedding! She went to sleep at 7:30pm, and only woke up at 5am. So we went to the cerimony at 8pm and were back at home by 2am. Sure it was no fun waking up in 3 hours to take care of baby... but it was worth it. It had been so long since we were up past midnight, we had a great time. We ate good food, danced, had a drink, got crazy and everything! I´m posting some pictures below. Enjoy. And btw- go RAYS!