Doctor Review

The shots on Monday went pretty good. She had to get 4 (*&^%^&****) shots instead of 2. In Brazil they used the combination shots and the doctor here didn't have them :( 

Belle's US doctor actually spent quite a bit of time with us! I was honestly surprised that I got the chance to ask so many questions. In Brazil spending time with the doctor is a given but you have to wait for it.

Her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 8 oz and in the 70th percentile (up form 13 at 2 months) 

Height: 25 inches and in the 80th percentile (up from 24 at 2 months)

I didn't see the nurse measure her height but I really think that she grew more than 1 inch in 2 months. I will have to break out the tape measure this weekend.

We have the ok to start solid foods. I asked his opinion on which foods to start, because I read a few things about rice cereal not being the best to start out with, and he said that anything really would be great. If I chose not to feed her solids then I have to at least give her vitamins so she can get iron and vitamin D.

 Her first spoon full of food will be sweet potatoes that I am going to steam and add a little milk too to soften them up a little. I promise to get some good photos of her!! 

Nate is back in town but right now both Belle and him are sleeping so I cannot wait for their reunion! I love them both so much. 

Tchau,

Sara

Nate

Nate arrived in Houston on Monday and will get in to Tulsa on Saturday. The time we spent away from each other has flown by but with each passing day I miss him more and more. I really cannot wait for him to just be around and catch every little minute with Belle. 

I know that he misses us the same. I just really hope that we don't have to be away from each other for this long again. A month and a half really sucks. 

It was the right thing to do and now both families have gotten the chance to watch Belle grow and spend so good loving time!

Get home Nate

Tchau,

Sara

Ready for Santa

Yep. I am a sucker for marketing!

Tchau,
Sara

Shots?

Did someone says shots? I don't wanna go!!!

4 month check up today which I am positive it will end in tears for everyone!! I am making my mom go with me since Nate isn't in Tulsa yet!!

Tchau,
Sara

Moved!

So far everything has gone on schedule! The movers packed up everything in our house then waited until the morning to drive to Rio and start unloading into our new place.

When the movers showed up, all two of them, they were pretty pissed at how much stuff we had. Despite several attempts to have the company do an evaluation of our house before the move, the company insisted they knew what they were doing. Poor guys, I would be so made at my employer. Two more guys showed up late in the day to help move all the packed boxes to the truck. Good thing since our elevator was broken again (thank god we are moving from the money pit).

Total time to pack up our apartment and pack the boxes in the truck was a little over 12 hours. Makes for a long day for the movers!

Our stuff in the new place!

The last items on the list include SKY cable and internet with NET which both have already shown up on time. SKY let us bring our old cable boxes to the new place and is being set up now. NET, which boasts fast internet than what we previously had and is cheaper, seems to be having problems setting up our router. No worries. I am just soooo happy our stuff made it on time and that both service companies showed up when they said that they would.

The cable is working!!

Life is great in Barra.

Nate will be flying in Houston this Sunday for meetings then fly into Tulsa on next Saturday and will stay in the US until mid January when we both will go back to our new home in Barra Rio!! Yeah- cannot wait!!!

Tchau,

Sara

Christmas Card

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Coming to your mailbox soon!

Tchau,
Sara

4 Month Photo Shoot

Where did my little Belle go? She really is so amazing. The past two night she started sleeping through the night. Her bedtime is around 630 but sometimes 7 and sometimes 6. She wakes up once to eat and then wakes up for the day around 630 or 7 am. It's completely ok with me since I get a 6 hour stretch somewhere in the night!! I know that maybe it won't last and that's ok because I am soooo refreshed right now!

I was talking to my mom the other day and sometimes when you hold her you just want to squeeze her so tight because you love her so much! It's like in Of Mice and Men when he kills the rabbit. Of course I won't harm Belle ever but just to give you an idea of how huggable she is!

What she is doing these days:

She isn't on any sort of schedule these days. When she is hungry she eats and when she is tried she sleeps. The hard part comes in play when I try to read her cues.

Usually her feeding is every 2 1/2 hrs to 3 hrs

Her sleep is about every 2hrs of awake time but she has started to tolerate longer periods of being awake without fussing.

She watches everything you do and stares intently at you when your eating

She drools so much that I have to change her outfit!

She blows raspberries all the time and then laughs.

I can get her to belly laugh by tickling her tummy

We read together and she helps turn the pages... well she really just wants to put them in her mouth

She can grab things with more purpose that before

Her hair is getting thicker and blonder

That seems to be about it for now. Everyday I feel that she is growing so fast and I can't imagine how much Nate will be amazed at her growth. He should be coming into town next Saturday to be with us until mid January! He will get some good daddy time in then. I can't wait to see her smile ear to ear when he gets here. Gosh I miss that boy! Only one more week and a couple of days!

Tchau,

Sara

Thumb

Let the thumb sucking begin! She hasn't taken a pacifier in weeks but she is almost replacing it with her thumb :)

Turns out her dad did the same thing when he was little. I hope this helps her soothe herself if she gets upset!

Tchau,
Sara

More Tummy Time

This is what tummy time has turned into :) Lots of confused looks and acts of swimming.... no rolling

One day soon she will be mobile and I will be chasing her around the house. Until then I am going to enjoy the quiet moments!

Tchau,

Sara

Mistakes

Being back in the US after being in Brazil there are some mistakes that I generally make all the time! Here is a list of the top 5:

1. Right after I land I head to the Starbucks. Not necessarily for the coffee but for the 'to go' convenience. Anyway I have the hardest time pronouncing Grande and Vente in Italian... I pronounce it in Portuguese (Granjeee and Venchee) then get a crazy look. Now I have just started saying medium and large to avoid the confusion on both sides.

2. Drive like I own the road and rules don't apply. This always happens when I go to make a turn and I squeeze into the lane with the person. Usually results in 'what the f*^&' looks from people and luckily not a ticket. I am waiting for the day to come though.

3. Forget the name of Diet Coke and ask for a Coke Light instead and then tell the waiter Obrigada (Thank you) while continuing to look at my menu. Ooops. Wait for it. Wait for it. OK realize that the waiter is still standing at the table waiting for a real answer to his question. 

Which leads me into number

4. Talk in Portuguese to all service workers.... not a shining moment. I am so used to speaking Portuguese to everyone except my husband and a few close friends. All strangers get thrown into this category but the service workers get the brunt of my mistakes.

5. After I get over trying to use Portuguese all the time I switch to non-stop English. I talk everyone's ear off. I know when this happens cause I will wake up the next morning with a sore throat! Ahhhh dinner with friends is miserable the next day!!

What are so mistakes you make when you land in your home country? Please tell me I am not the only loose screw out there!

Tchau,

Sara