And right in the midst of RSV, he starts crawling for us!!!!

Oliver was home with us last week for most of the week. We found out he had RSV on Wed, and he has been on breathing treatments since then. We had a rough week, but he is starting to get better now: eating better, sleeping better!

On Sunday, all of a sudden, after a couple of weeks of so much frustration and trying, he started crawling!!! We are very excited. Needless to say, he is already pulling up and standing...so, bye bye to mommy and daddy's peace of mind!!! (He already loves to get in Bella's food and water!)

Here are a few short movies of the crawler on Sunday!!! Enjoy!!!

Oliver: 8 months, the frustration age!

It is official: he is a big boy now!!!!

Mom and Dad finally gave in...and decided to admit that Noah was ready for a big boy's bed! After a lot of talking, and a lot of deep breathing, on Saturday morning we finally did it: we headed to ToysRUS, for the so famous Lightning McQueen bed that Noah so wanted! Uncle Tim and Aunt Fabi came over right after we got back to be part of the big event. Uncle Tim was really nice to help us put it together, while daddy continued to put up the blinds on the first floor (finally!). Thank you so much, uncle Tim, for putting the bed together, and for all the patience with our big boy, who wanted to participate and help at all times!

He was so proud! Once the bed was ready and in place, Noah did not want to leave his room!
Soooo cute! Of course, mommy cried a lot.
We also had fun putting some wall stickers up to match the bed. Uncle Tim also put together the toy organizer, that of course, matches the bed.

Now, the cutest thing, I have to tell you, was when he finally got to lie down on his new bed, he looked at daddy and asked: "Can I have a mama today?!?" (Mama means bottle in Portuguese for the ones wondering)...Yes, filho, you are allowed to be a baby one more time today... :-)

He slept really well the first night! Not even a peep from 8 all the way to 6 the other morning on Sunday, making mom and dad really proud!!!

Last night was another good night. He fell off the bed at around 3:30, but went right back to sleep when mommy went there to tuck him back in, with her heart broken. Her little baby was not a baby any longer...and she really did not need the bed to come to that realization.

We love you, little big boy! In our hearts you will always be our little big boy, Noah!

Visiting the Childrens Museum

Noah and Mommy went to the Childrens Museum last weekend with our friends Keri and Bryce, to see the Curious George exhibit.

Noah had so much fun exploring the place and spending time with Bryce.

We had a chance to play with George, and also go to the Carrousel, and also explore the digger and the tchu-tchu trains.

We had lunch with Keri and Bryce and headed home after spending 2 hours of fun.

Needless to say, Noah fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot, and took a good 2-hour nap when he got home, giving mommy time to get everything ready to have uncle Carlos, uncle Ron and great-grandma over for dinner. When we got home daddy had cleaned the whole first floor of the house! Noah, I guess we need to go out more, filho, just the two of us!!! :-)

Noah - 27 months - Do I need to say anything?!?

Oliver - 6 and 7 months!

Oliver, Oliver…amor da minha vida.
You are so full of peace and joy...that is how I describe you, our little piece of heaven.
You have learned, though, to get mad at your brother when he bothers you, takes a toy away from you, or is all over you (you don’t like touchy people, I take it!).
You learned to sit-up right around Thanksgiving break, and sure enough started pulling up by Christmas break!!!
You love your mommy and look for daddy when you hear his voice.
You try to get to things by shaking your whole body (to see if your little but will go anywhere).
You love your Exersaucer, but mommy’s lap is so much better! J
You love your teachers at daycare, and your face lights up when they talk to you.
You started eating meats this past week, and you like it much better than plain veggies…now, your favorite thing is fruit!!! That is what you like!
You like crackers and wagon wheels, have tried bagels and little fruit stars...and you love them all!
I love you so much it hurts.
Somehow I did not know what peace was until you came into my life, filho.
When I am rocking you, when I smell your little neck, when I kiss your bald head, when you are napping in my arms…that is what peace feels like!

Holidays 2007/2008 - Recap...Wow! Finally!!!

Yeah, yeah, after taking a whole month without writing, and another couple of weeks fooling the blog by going in and just putting a sentence in there to save the date…here I am, back again!
I also thought I owed this to my great friend Lori, who has been asking me to post so that she can hear about "the boys"! Lori, thanks for keeping me honest!!!

Now really, I have to tell you: WOW! What a month! So much has happened during this month, it will take me all day to tell you. And again, you might be asking, so why in the world didn’t you post more times when things happen?!?! I know, I know, I know all that! Just like I know all the techniques from all the different books and programs around losing weight…that does not mean that I do it, does it?!?! Well, the important thing is that I am back. I won’t even promise to write more often this time, because some of you are going to say: Yeah, yeah, yeah, not happening! So all I am going to say is that I am going to keep trying! J

Let’s see, where do I start? The grandparents! They arrived on Dec 14th! As soon as they got out of that airplane, our holidays started! So much fun it was! Lots of chocolate, chocolate milk, diet coke, lots of hugs, kisses, late nights, lots of laughs and looooots of love!

Snow! Yes! Noah got to play with snow for the first time!!! He enjoyed it a lot. To be honest with you I don’t enjoy much, and I think it is too much work just to get outside and play for a bit…but hey, everything for my little boys, right?!? What I really enjoyed was going to BabiesRUs at 11 at night to get him a snow suit with my mom…that is the part I enjoyed! J

During this time Oliver turned 6 months, and then is just turning 7 months (you will see a post just for him) and Noah turned 27 months (he will also get a post), Oliver got his first really bad cold, and had a hard time breathing at night, which caused us to take lots of naps together (I am afraid those were the last times he slept on my shoulders…he wants nothing to do with that position anymore! L)
On the positive note, Oliver is eating his jar foods and loving every bite of them! I have to tell you though. The whole strategy around starting with the veggies so that he did not get hooked on the sweets...did not work! He looooooves his fruits!!! I don't blame you Oliver! Who in this world can say they love pureed green beans?!? You are all me, filho. You can look like your dad as much as you want...but you are me!!!

Noah also started soccer practice! Yes, friends, and who thought it was going to take another couple of years? He loves it! He is really good at it already, and kicks the ball like a pro. He only needs to practice (a bit, just a bit of) active listening!!! Don't we all, though?!?! We love it too, specially the afterwards nap that comes with it!!!

We had a Christmas party at out house on Christmas Eve, and our friends Cris, Bruce and Nicholas came to join us while we waited for Santa to arrive. Noah was very disappointed that the old man came, ate a piece of grandma’s fruit cake, drank milk, left the presents and did not even bother going to the basement where we all were to say hi to him! But I have to tell you though, that all that disappointment went away really fast, as soon as we started opening the presents!!!
Noah was so excited with all the presents! If you saw him you would swear the kid was on a sugar high! We had a blast this year with him, and how much awareness he had of the whole thing! How different from last year!!! And of course, the kid is 2 years old, and what does he get for Christmas? An MP3 player, a digital camera, a walk-in kitchen, tools, a truck, and a helicopter. Based on the standards we are setting here, next year we are going for a Wii and a motorcycle!
Baby Oliver just chills...that is what best describes him...chilling and playing happy with whatever his brother lets him play with. He also got some cool toys from Santa, but he really loves the Exersaucer that used to be his brother's.

Noah got to build a gingerbread house with grandma on Christmas morning, and got some good quality time with her. These two have this great connection that no one really can explain. Since he was born, Noah and grandma have a bonding that I have to say I believe comes from many other lives...not something easy to explain, but awesome to see. I couldn't be happier to see how much they love each other!

We spent New Years at Cris and Bruce’s house, and Noah got to play with his friend Nicholas a lot that evening. He went to bed at 11:00 exhausted, but had a great time! Grandma and Grandpa have left, and we miss them immensely. They spoiled us all rotten. If I tell you that I would come back from work, and dinner was ready for me, and then the kids would stay at Fabi's house with them, and Marcio and I would come home and sleep in until 8:00 the other day...would you tell me that defines spoiled?!?
Mae e pai, if you guys are reading this, I don't think we will ever be able to thank you enough for all that you have done for us this year. Thanks for being there for us, for all the laughs and tears, for all the support and the example you guys set everyday. I just hope that we can teach Noah and Oliver all that we have learned from you about morale, respect for one another, faith, and family! If I have forgotten anything, pictures will tell!!!

Love you! I am so glad to be back!!!