Elmo

Belle is obsessed with watching YouTube videos of Elmo... This is us cuddling up on the couch enjoying the video for the millionth time. She actually took a moment to look at me ;) actually it was probably to start the video but I will take what I can get.

Tchau,
Sara

Mistakes

Well looks like Nate and I are even for mistakes. His cost us a little more though. What you are looking at is twelve 12 packs of sprite zero.... Nate did our grocery shopping online and miss typed 2 with 12 so now we have 144 sprite zeros to drink.

Uhhh it couldn't have been a drink with at least a little caffeine!

The delivery guy was tipped with some cash and a twelve pack :)

Tchau,
Sara

Ps- yes you can do you grocery shopping online here and it's awesome! No waiting in lines for an hour anymore!

Week Wrap-up

The week went well. Belle slept great and all through the night the whole week. Her naps are back to normal and she is super happy. Of course I am chasing her around but it's fun because she isn't upset for every little mishap... she trips, falls, and gets right back up to running around.

I still need to take her 11 months photos and before I know it I will have to take her 1 year photos. I just cannot believe that ONE year will be coming up on August 9th!!! O my!!

Rosa showed up for work and said that she was sick the week before. Ummmm call me? For some reason this is really common in Brazil. People don't really feel like work deserves respect but each person feels that they deserve respect. Of course not everyone is like this but most of the population is like this.

Nate successfully fixed our toilet and sink which had been leaking. The untold story on the blog was that I paid the maintenance guy in our building to fix our constantly running toilet. He charged me ridiculous prices and it was still broken. I asked him to come back and fix it so he then grouted my shower.... what? Any way more money down the drain with a still broken toilet and a newly grouted shower. Then, fed up, Nate took the time to see the problem and buy the parts to fix it. Ten US dollars later the toilet was fixed.

Note to self: fix things yourself because then they get done right and you will spend less money.

Belle can now 'ooh ooh ahh ahh' like a monkey as she points to a tree. Weird when your child knows a monkey before she knows a cat.... That being said she started making the monkey sound when she saw a cat the other day. I guess she saw the tail but I didn't have the heart to tell her she was wrong so I started making the noise with her. I figure one day she will know the difference but now she is still pretty young.

Nate and I still are waiting for the day when she says 'mama' or 'dada' and means it. Really, other things must be much more exciting and important to her!

Tomorrow might be the day for the photos and then next week I promise to post something new everyday.

Tchau,
Sara

Singing

Look out world we have a performer! Ha. Not really but she found this in Nate's electronic drawer and it was too cute to take away ;)

Tchau,
Sara

Sigh of Relief

Just when you think you can't take anymore God decides to give you a break. Belle slept through the night.... 8 pm to 7am. I don't know what to do right now. She woke up happy, smiling and running around the house. She was babbling none stop "Ba, what's that (more like 'was tat' as she points) and then grabbing a book and bringing it me to read to her.

Completely different child. 

She even put herself to sleep for her nap without tears, kicking or screaming. Not once has she bitten me or thrown her head back in protest. 

I am lost. Is this what happiness is or did someone kill me in my sleep? 

I think I am still alive because my thighs are sore from the past week of squatting to constantly pick Belle up and hold her. That must mean I am alive right?

Anyway, I am going to take advantage of today and take a shower. Then who knows! When Belle wakes I hope that she is in the same mood. I have enjoyed playing with her all morning and chasing her around. 

I really am blessed. 

Tchau,

Sara

Week Update

Since I have managed to ignore the blog for a week I thought I should catch you all up on everything that has been going on!

1. Most important thing this week is that I got a car!!! Finally :) We are renting it from a company for the time being just to see if we like it. Already we are finding problems and the 'check engine' light came on this morning so we have to call the company to fix it. We are renting a Ford Ecosport- and surprisingly its smaller than the Toyota Corolla that we have already. The whole reason we rented it is because we thought it would be bigger for us and a little more comfortable than cramming into the Corolla.

Not mine but the exact same without the tinted windows.

and surprisingly its smaller than the Toyota Corolla that we have already. The whole reason we rented it is because we thought it would be bigger for us and a little more comfortable than cramming into the Corolla.

2. Rosa, our maid, didn't show up on Friday. No phone call, no text, and she didn't return any of my calls or texts. I am at a loss at what to do with her. I love her because Belle loves her but I cannot tolerate a no call no show... If she does come on Monday I will be having a serious chat with her. 

3. Belle stopped sleeping throughout the night last week. I got two wonderful nights in and then the rest of the week has been crap. Once again I am unable to console her and I spend hours at night trying to get her to go back to sleep. This leaves me exhausted beyond belief and really gives me little energy to want to do anything more than crawl into a little ball. I would love to start working out again and maybe just have more energy in general. Instead I drink way too much coffee in the morning and throughout the day so I can keep up with her and then at night I have a glass of wine and sometimes two just to help me wind down. 

I should try this instead of drinking it.

I realize that I am essentially on a upper downer schedule. Hopefully this stage will pass soon as I don't think that I can manage it much longer.

4. Nate has been working really hard as usual but he has really made an effort to come home around 5pm so we have the evenings together as a family. This small gesture really helps my sanity and I love finally having family dinners.

5. I am currently talking my mom into coming for a visit! I want to show her around the new place and finally take her to see Cristos :)

6. I have given up on planning anything for Belle's birthday. I wanted to maybe try and invite some people over for a party but I would rather share the day with Belle and Nate. If we had family and really close friends here then that would be different but I don't want to waste a special day with randoms. 

I think that's about it. Today is a new day and I am going into the week positive. Someone said to me to change saying, "I am so tired" with "I am so blessed". It worked for a couple of days but then the sleep monster crep back into my mind. I think I just need to try harder. 

Oh, and in case i haven't mentioned it I really love you Mom! Thank you for all the sleepless nights you gave to me and I now know why you drink a 12 cups of coffee a day and wake up consistently at 5am everyday. I bet you are tearing up right now because you have been waiting for my realization of how much you really do love me and how much you really went through to make sure I was happy and loved. 

Gotta run. Belle's up from her nap :)

Tchau,

Sara

Happy Fourth!

Our little flash is just too fast for me to dress her all the way! Besides she is sooo happy half dressed ;) after days if teething an a new tooth I will take anything that makes her smile!

Tchau,
Sara

Havaianas

Belles first pair of flip-flops! She hated them!!

Tchau,
Sara

Tired

She never does this. Ever. She is teething hard core so sleeping has become unpredictable. I will take this moment and cherish it!

Tchau,
Sara
Enviado pelo meu aparelho BlackBerry® da Vivo

Spirited

Reading another book about babies and what to expect through the toddler years. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, "didn't those other books make her crazy". Well this book is already calming me down for some reason.

The Happiest Toddler on the Block (name of the book) is supposed to teach me how to communicate with my little cave person. Speak toddler language, how to listen, and how to react to major NO NO's in the household fill the pages of the book.

Of course things go out the window in the heat of the moment but I feel that I need to be reading this or doing something to teach Belle now before we get really out of control. She has already started bitting when she doesn't like what you are doing....

There are three temperaments that toddlers fall under (according to this book):

Easy- She could be described as easy so we can't rule this out. As a first time parent who knows if she is easy or I am just overreacting about little things.

Shy- Not at all so leave that one for some other kid

Spirited: Described as in the book- "These super active kids range from cheery to moody, stubborn, and defiant. Fortunately, spirited children usually grow into happy, enthusiastic kids as long as they get lots of outside play, consistent but flexible limits, and a steady supply of patience and love."

More on Spirited: Fidgets a lot, unpredictable patterns (with eating and sleeping), either delight or complete rejection for strangers, moods have big ups and big downs, very persistent, sensitive to noise and distracts easily.

Oh how this describes Belle more than other way that I could describe her! She is so independent but needy at the same time... does that make any sense? No. It doesn't to me either but I love her all the same. When she gets in a really rough mood she doesn't want you to hold her, so she points down, and when you put her down she gets even more angry. So I work with distraction quite a bit and that works for a little while!

Another test that the book stated to figure out your babies temperament was to take them to the mall when it's not crowded and pretend to turn your back for 2 seconds- does she stand still=easy; does she cling to you and cry= shy; does she take off running= spirited. I had a hard time basing figuring it out based on these examples because I honestly could see her doing all three of them. Oh the joys of having a child! Unpredictable (rubik's cube).

Then we went to the park. Uncrowded. An she just took off walking toward what she wanted. THE BALL. BALL. BA. BA!

The whole time she was saying BA BA. 

Finally getting her BA and only then did she realize that she was
alone without me.

Right now I am delighted and relieved to say that I have a spirited child. She will continue to challenge me and I love it. I am impressed with everything she does and I have become the parent that LOVES anything that my baby does. 

Ahhh another day which I have no idea what will bring me. Bring it!

Tchau,

Sara