Good, cheap fun

It's amazing how many toys this little boy of ours already has. He's got tons of books, talking stuffed animals, instruments that light up, and lots of assorted balls.

Surrounded by a few fave toys

While he does like all of those store-bought (mostly gifted) toys, he seems most fascinated with the cheapest things around the house.
He is particularly fond of boxes, no matter the size. He makes a mad dash for any of our boxes going out to recycling and gets some good use out of them before trash day. He also absolutely loves pulling the bags of refill wipes out of the big box they came in. It's nice for us cause we can put them back in the box, and he starts all over again!

Bubba also loves the laundry basket. When he was younger, we put him inside of it and pushed him around or let him try to find his way out of it. 

Now that he's up and cruising around the house, he uses the laundry basket as a walker. Such a brilliant baby :)

The other preferred "toys" of his are our cell phones, any remotes, and my laptop. He especially loves when the phone or remote lights up and is quick to grab these things and put them in his mouth (like everything else). It's funny how he doesn't want some imitation remote that has no batteries in it and isn't in use by us. That one is passed over in favor of the real deal, mostly when we are trying to use them!

Bubba has also enjoyed walking around the kitchen the past couple weeks, and he seems rather entertained by the cabinets and pulling down the dish towels. Jay spent last weekend baby-proofing after Bubs figured out how fun it is opening the cabinets and pulling stuff out.

Having kids is a great reminder to look for the joy in everyday things, and a great reminder of the value of recycling! 

March Update!

Wow. I cannot believe it is already March 1st! I feel like I always have to start my posts with an apology for not writing sooner... So no excuses this time. I am gonna do my best to get this up to date for my loyal readers (you both know who you are)!
Since my last post over a month ago, we have managed to stay quite busy with our little Bubster. First off, we had the amazing fortune of getting two of our most favorite people visiting us for a long weekend. My brother Aaron and his fiance Daphne made their first trip to the Northwest to see us- well, mostly their beloved nephew. After driving through the worst rain storm I've ever encountered in my life to pick up Aaron at the airport, we immediately got lost because I was talking too much and not paying attention!! Even after all these years, my brother and I are still BFFs and have plenty to talk about with each other. He of course just loves his nephew to pieces and was so happy to spend time with him.

Thanks to the typical Portland weather, Aaron and Daphne had a lot of indoor snuggle time with Bubba. When it started to clear up, we ventured into the city to check out the famous food carts. There are lots of city blocks filled with carts that are open for lunch and really popular out here. You can find every type of food imaginable, and it's all super affordable. Once we chose our lunches, it started pouring and we found ourselves running through the streets looking for the nearest Starbucks to take shelter! At least they get the real Portland experience :) 

Waiting in line outside Voodoo Donut, 

keepin Portland Weird!!

The last afternoon Daphne was with us, we went back to our fave Chinese restaurant for some dim sum. It didn't disappoint, and we chowed down on shrimp dumplings, steamed chicken, and some other unknown but yummy delicacies. 

We already can't wait to see them again and hope it's sooner than later. It was not only nice to spend time with them, but so great to have 4 extra arms around for holding Bubba! 

The weekend after they left was the Chinese New Year, and we actually went back for more dim sum with Bubba's other aunt and uncle from Jay's side and a few other friends. We definitely got a little carried away with 8 people at the table and had a table full of delicious Chinese food. All 3 plates of salt and pepper calamari were great! 

We continued our celebration of the Lunar New Year at the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. Because of the holiday, it was packed. There were a lot of arts and crafts for the kids and presentations of Tai Chi for the rest of us. It seemed like a really serene place (potentially), and I hope to go back one day to the Tea House when it's not so crowded. 

Now that Elijah is getting older- 9.5 months!- we can get out and do more stuff together. We started going once a week to a Mommy and Me group at a preschool with a great group of Moms and kids. I'm fortunate to have found this group because all the moms get along really well. Besides a 4 month old, Elijah is the youngest mobile kid there and has a fun time crawling around, playing with their toys, and interacting with the bigger toddler kids. He has done a good job of charming the other mommies and flashes his big 4 teeth smiles when we sing and dance. It's cool seeing him exploring the room and being so independent. Not to mention, we don't have to clean up :) 

At home after our play group

We also have been waiting for an opportunity to get together with a Portuguese/Brazilian group in the area. Until a few weeks ago, the only outings were at clubs starting at 10 pm at night and that definitely doesn't work for us anymore. We were really pumped when we found out about the Carnaval Party at the Bahia Cultural Center that started earlier for families. We all dressed up for the festa and all the Portuguese was music to our ears! There were a lot of kids in costume, fun decorations, Brazilian music playing, and videos from Carnaval in Rio. We enjoyed the presentation of the kids' capoeira class, and it felt nice to be surrounded by so many Brazilians again! After all that stimulation and fun, Elijah passed out immediately in the car on the way home.

Our cute little monkey

On that note, I think that is enough blogging for one night! For some reason, I can't wait to go gaze at my precious boy sleeping soundly in his crib....

Snow Day

Last Sunday was a stay at home and hibernate type of day at our house. We watched a lot of football, kept the fire burning, and even drank some hot chocolate. It was the perfect day to enjoy our first snow in Oregon. As you can see, Bubba seemed to enjoy the fat white stuff falling from the sky... sure beats our typical rainy days!

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year to all my blog-reading friends and family! This time last year we were halfway through my pregnancy and had a low-key New Year's Eve get together with a few friends in Brasil. I know neither Jay nor I will ever forget the highlight of that evening- eating a delicious, lightly fried leaf fresh from our friends' garden.

This year brought us some changes, and we sadly did not have anyone to make us that particular appetizer. But that didn't stop us from trying some new food at our NYE dinner date. Jay ordered the foie gras as his appetizer, and he so generously shared with me. I only ate a single bite and would have spit it out had we not been in a fancy restaurant! 

Don't let the presentation fool you ;)

Beyond that choice, we both loved our dinners and the wine pairings. It was only our second time in about 8 months or so having dinner out without the baby, so we really savored our time together. 

We stayed out til about 11 and headed home to watch the ball drop on tv with my mom. I am very proud of us for staying awake til past midnight since the night before was a rough one with our Bubba teething. 

The next morning, Jay and I took Bubster out for a long hike at a trail near our house. We've learned very quickly to take advantage of the days when it isn't raining, and we lucked out on January 1st with some sunshine. 

The fresh air was very invigorating and a nice way to start off the new year. I know Bubba had a good time snoozing while on his walk and kept Daddy nice and warm.
Here's to a 2012 filled with new adventures for us all, close to the ones we love!

End of Hanukkah

The end of December has brought us many gifts, both literally and figuratively. Bubba cleaned up at Hanukkah thanks to his generous aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Thanks to them, he had wrapping paper and bows to eat for all 8 nights!! Bubba's dream come true...

Another gift we are so thankful for is that my mom aka Mumsey is in town visiting. We finally got to spend Hanukkah together after so many years apart since her winter break from school overlaps the holiday. I am always happy to see my mom, and I know Bubba is happy to have his Mumsey around for snuggles. Plus, she makes a mean latke, and we just had to have our family over for a little Hanukkah party!

We also found ourselves a new Christmas day tradition- dim sum at the Chinese restaurant! It's the total Jewish cliche for Xmas day, but it totally works for us. We originally went just in search of some normal Chinese lunch but decided to take full advantage of all the food zipping by us on the carts. All of us loved the food, and Jay even went all out and tried some chicken feet. His verdict- not so good- but everything else was delish. The only downside is that I haven't stopped craving Chinese since then. 

We also hit a new milestone for Bubba that morning when Mumsey was letting him chew her finger and got a little bite. His first tooth broke through Christmas morning, and now a week later, his second tooth has broken through, too. They still look like little teeny white spots on his bottom gum, but the first one sure is sharp! Hopefully he'll get a break before more teeth start coming in. And by "he," I mean "we." Not that we were ever blessed with a good sleeper, but teething has taken us to some new levels of sleep deprivation for a couple nights. Good thing he's just so darn cute and lovable!! Bring it on, teeth! 

Bub's First Hanukkah!

I have to admit I haven't had any particularly special Hanukkahs for probably 8 or 9 years. Being far from family, whether in New York City or Manaus, made the holiday much less fun for me. Not to mention, it's hard to have presents for 8 nights when your mom is hundreds of miles away! ;)
Now that we have a little boy to share the holidays with, they're automatically so much more fun! Last night was Bubba's first night of Hanukkah. He didn't seem too excited, but we were plenty excited for him. We put his presents all around him and let him crawl to the one he wanted to open. He mostly just patted the wrapping paper and tried to eat the tag and ribbon, but we had a good time watching him.

Yummy present

Happy Holidays to all of you! We hope they are filled with lots of joy and love wherever you may be.

Box of Fun

Bubba has had us laughing right along with him for months now, but we still get a kick out of making him laugh daily. He's especially fond of playing peek-a-boo, loves when we bark like a dog, and giggles when getting his belly and back kissed. We've recently discovered his fascination with boxes and laundry baskets. Who needs expensive toys when you've got something as fun as this?!

First time playing in a box with Daddy

I know I am biased, but isn't that laugh just the sweetest sound ever?

Still catchin' up

Alright, well I've caught you up to the part where we move to Oregon, right? Only 4 more months to go!
One of the reasons we moved here was to be closer to Jay's brother and his family. We visited for about a week one time several years ago, and thanks to our adorable toddler niece, we have felt pulled to come back ever since. She is no longer a tot and is in fact already in kindergarten, but she is still as charming as she was at 2! She is absolutely in love with her little cousin Elijah, and even brought his picture to school as one of her 3 favorite things. How sweet is that? She loves holding him, kissing him, and playing with him. I'm sure she'll be getting him into trouble in no time!

Cousin love, first day meeting each other

While having a baby in tow can make some things more of a drag, having a baby at the holidays is awesome. It's so much fun to have a real reason to go all out decorating the house or partaking in the season's activities that are normally suited to kids. I think there is also something really special about making memories with your kids that are the same memories you had growing up- like going to the pumpkin farm. Even if he didn't really know where we were at only 5 months, he still seemed to be happy walking around the fields with us, playing with family, and riding the hay ride. Mommy even went in her first corn maze!

A few weeks later, we met the family at another cool place with Halloween arts and crafts for the kids, face painting, and even a small pumpkin patch. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon with our lil moo cow.

We've also been fortunate to have some visitors here in Beaverton. Both Jay's parents and my mom have already come to visit us. We proudly drove them around in our new-to-us car, another perk of living in the burbs. We checked out some trails, the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and some downtown spots with them when we weren't oohing and ahhing over the baby boy. 

Bath time with PurPur and Gramps

Mumsey's in da house!

 Japanese Garden in Portland

The Rose Garden

We also were graced with the presence of my oldest best friend Amy, better known as Boppa. We've been trying to get together forever but something always came up that prevented us from reuniting. Finally the stars aligned, and we had a super fun week exploring new restaurants in the city and remembering the good ol' days like only old friends can do. It was really nice for me to have a best friend around since we don't know many people here and being at home with a baby can be quite isolating. Having her here also made me remember that I'm still *me* even with a baby. Thanks, Boppa! 

Girls Night Out in Portland-

So much fun, too much eating! :)

She came at the perfect time to see the leaves.

Lunch in the city

 Photo shoot at the park

Elijah's first time in a swing..weeeeee!

Looking back over these pictures, it's amazing to see how much our little guy has changed and grown since we moved. We've seen him learn to roll over both directions, sit up unassisted, pull himself up on us, and be able to sit in a cart at the store or a high chair at restaurants. He's constantly adding new expressions, sounds, and laughs to his repertoire, and we fall even more in love with him every day. He is a happy, smiley little baby who flirts with strangers and squeals in delight when you play peek-a-boo. He's just about as perfect as it gets.

Just don't ask me if he's sleeping through the night yet ;)