I met my friend Catia over two years ago, the day we moved to Horizontina. She's the manager of the hotel where we lived for three months. At the time, she spoke more English than I did Portuguese and she made herself available to answer my neverending language and cultural questions. Shortly after we arrived, she told me that she was pregnant with their first child and she was due in August. On June 6th, I walked down to the lobby of the hotel and heard that Catia had delivered her baby. At first I wondered if I had misinterpreted the due date, but then I remembered that she had specifically told me she was due in August! I later found out that the placenta had basically stopped growing and providing nutrients to her baby and she was sent to Porto Alegre. Livia was delivered via C-section at 29 weeks gestation. She was soooo tiny! Everything I heard from the grapevine was good, that even though Livia was 11 weeks premature, she was growing and developing and doing just fine. Around her due date in August, Catia and Marcelo were finally able to bring their daughter home. By then, Kevin and I were out of the hotel and in our home and we didn't see them for a while. Our first year here flew by and only in the past year have we reconnected! We've really enjoyed getting to know Catia and Marcelo and Livia. One Saturday, a few weeks ago, we celebrated Livia's second birthday with them and their families. It's just amazing to see how healthy and happy their little girl is! You'd never know she was fighting for her life when she was born.
The day after Livia's birthday party, we drove to Santa Rosa and met Marcelo and Catia and Marcelo's parents for lunch at Casa do Marques (one of our favorite restaurants). Afterward, we drove to a large feira (fair) that was similar to a home-expo show. We didn't buy anything, but we had a really great time. Kevin and I were both pretty excited to be spending time with another family. Even in the U.S., it seems rare to find a couple that we both really enjoy! The sun was out and the day was beautiful. Marcelo bought cotton candy for Emma (her first) and she and her daddy shared it. After wandering around for a few hours, we headed home for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. It was one of those weekends that I just loved!!
