Nosso Brasileirinho

It's official! Our little Brasileiro has his Brazilian passport. Since he was born in Manaus, he automatically has dual citizenship with the USA. We are going to be traveling this summer to the States, so we need both of his passports before we can leave the country.
We applied for his American one at the consulate here in the city and are expected to receive it next week (4 week process with quite a bit of paperwork). The Brazilian passport is an easier process and typically takes only 6 business days start to finish. We were alas not surprised when we showed up at the scheduled time to pick it up and were told they could not give it to us. After a 30 minute drive to the Policia Federal with a newborn who does not like his car seat, I had the passport in my hand when the lady realized that someone had neglected to do their job, and we were therefore missing some document. She apologized, took my cell phone number, and promised to call us back that afternoon when it was ready.
We drove home disappointed but after so many other so called easy things have gone wrong for us here, we weren't too shocked. Incompetence seems to be a very common occurrence around this town. I proceeded to call the Policia Federal everyday for the rest of the week since no one ever called me back, and was met with lots of ringing and no information. I finally got through at the end of the week and was told that his passport was indeed ready.
While I stayed home with the baby, Jay went by himself to pick it up. Lo and behold, the same exact thing happened to him. He had the passport in his hand when they realized that again no one had done their side of the job, and there was still a document missing. He expressed his growing annoyance to them and came home empty handed. Mind you, it is not that easy to get to the Policia Federal, and everything turns into a bigger chore with a newborn in tow.
Today seems to be our lucky day though because not only did we actually get the Brazilian passport, but we heard that the American one is one its way to Manaus. Nothing like things really happening to lift your spirits!
I don't have a picture to show you of his new passport, but I do have some cute smiley pics from the last few days. Elijah turns into a smiley little guy when he sees me or Jay, and it is just the most adorable thing ever! He also has become fond of lying in his pack and play looking at the shadows and lights around the window or gazing at the giraffes hanging above him. It's so cute cause he makes happy little sounds in there, and we appreciate the free-time to use both of our hands at the same time. As a matter of fact, he is enjoying some pack and play time right now while I write this!

Who wouldn't

LOVE

this boy?!

We are both so infatuated with our little Bubba and every day are amazed by basically everything he does. It's true! We grab the camera so many times during the day or call to each other to come check something out that he's doing. He's already getting so big- 7 weeks, 12 lb 2 oz- and he's outgrown his newborn size clothes now. 

Sounds like pack and play time is done, so I'm off to get our little Brasiliero! 

Tales of the Sleep Deprived

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted anything for more than a month. We've had our hands full with our little guy, Elijah, who will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday. As I reread the last post at 2 weeks old, I had to laugh out loud at the 2-3 hour nap, eat, poop schedule we had. Those long naps basically ended the day I wrote that cause this boy has an appetite like Mamae and Papai and loves to eat every 2 hours. He also only takes daytime naps while someone is holding him, so you can see that he's been keeping us working! Luckily for me, Jay is an incredibly involved and patient dad that never complains about walking around in circles shushing the baby everyday or changing the umpteenth dirty diaper.

We recently had the great pleasure of having my mom here in Manaus with us for 3 weeks. It was not only helpful to have her here to help with the baby but it was really nice to have some of her home cooking again. She of course fell in love with Elijah, and I know the feeling was mutual. Elijah loved his afternoon naps being rocked to sleep by his Mumsey, and she was more than happy to oblige. The time just flew by while she was here, and we were all sad to see her go. 

On our way to the airport to get Mumsey, 3 wks old

I could not be happier to see my mom!

She's got the touch. 

Elijah's favorite position with Daddy.

He spends most evenings like this 

riding around the house sucking on Daddy's thumb.

Look how much he's grown in the 3 wks Mumsey was here!

Despite being sleep deprived, we've managed to get quite a bit done since Elijah was born. We've registered his birth and gotten his official Brazilian birth certificate, had his teste de pezinho (foot prick test) and eyes and ears tests, applied for his American passport, applied for his Brazilian passport, taken care of important bank stuff, and even managed to see a movie at the theater this week together. Elijah is usually a happy, sleepy boy when we're out in public since he spends most of his time in a sling or being carried by Daddy. He is not a fan of the traffic in Manaus though and lets us know by crying whenever we're not moving! 

He loves the sling.

One of the highlights everyday at our house is seeing our little Bubba launch into a big old grin when he sees us. It's really hard to get on camera, but it is just the sweetest thing ever. He's been practicing his giggles too, and I can't wait til he gets the hang of laughing for real. 

Our big boy

Well, it's 9:30pm now and I hate to admit it, but it's my bedtime! The advice to sleep when the baby sleeps is really true. Maybe we'll get lucky tonight and get 4 hours in a row...