Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas Almost Here

Hubbie and kids are all off from work and school. I am so excited to spend 2 weeks with them. And I can't wait for Christmas. I still get so excited to see what I am going to get, and to see my kids and husband's reaction as they open their presents. When I was a child, Christmas was always so magical to me, even though I hardly got anything. I only got one simple present, and sometimes it was one present to share with one of my sisters. It didn't bother me though. I was very nice to spend time with my whole family (we went to my uncle's farm every year with everybody), and eat yummy turkey, ham, Bacalhau, rabanadas, Pudim, Manja de Coco, etc. It was also nice to act the Nativity with my cousins, and watch Roberto Carlos on TV until midnight. I spent Christmas in Guapimirim (where the farm was) for 18 years until I came to the U.S. I was always the best time of the year for me.
Today my family has lots of new traditions (mostly American), but I still make Rabanadas (kind of like French Toasts). My kids and husband love it. And I miss Brazil more than any other time. My family was so close, and how I wish I could spend Christmas with them the way we used to. Time goes on though. And I am really happy with my new traditions.

Friday, December 11, 2009

What a Blessing

Yesterday Raphael wrote his name for the first time. I didn't even know he could write letters yet. His hand coordination has improved so much this past month. I was fascinated to see how beautiful his handwriting is for his age. He was so proud of himself! I sat on the couch and watched Julianna teaching him letter sounds and how to read. She was so patient and loving. And he is so teachable. At moments like this I feel so grateful for my little angels and the joy they bring to my life. Being a parent is so hard, but when we see our children showing love one to another it is the greatest feeling.

I had an OB/GYN appointment yesterday. The baby is doing great and the heartbeat was around 154. It's always so good to be reassured the baby is ok. Julianna asked me after the appointment if the Dr. could see any junk in the baby's stomach. I said, "no, why do you ask?" She answered, "you've been eating so much junk lately that I was worried the baby would be eating junk too." Ok, it was a wake up call. :-) I do need to eat better and exercise more. First trimester is over so I am feeling energetic and a lot less sick. Today I re-joined the gym and even did 30 minutes of elliptical. Raphael was thrilled to be back at the gym's childcare. He loves it.

Below are pictures of the urine gender test I took at 13 and 16 weeks. They basically turned out the same color, which is not really a boy color or a girl color. The test says that If your urine has turned green to dark/smoky green, you are having a boy. If your urine stays relatively unchanged or turns a deeper yellow or orange, you are having a girl. What do you guys think?