It was already hot by 8am Saturday morning, but I had decided I wanted to do something fun with Emma outside. We all put on our grubby clothes and walked about 15 minutes to the park near the center of town. Emma had chosen some sand toys from our tote and she had a blast shoveling sand into her bucket and making sand animals. I can't wait to take her to the beach someday!
Seems like her feet get bigger every day!
Finding treasures (sticks and rocks) in the sand makes her happy! She mostly played in the sand but ventured over to the swings for a few minutes. It was fun; at one point, all three of us were swing next to each other and I just thought it was kind of cute. I love our family.
After a nice sweaty walk back home, Emma practiced her shapes. OK, not really. She just played with the new tool. I'm trying to think of fun things to teach her, so we might experiment with finger painting the shapes. We'll see!!
Frying up some zucchini has become a Saturday noon ritual. Kevin always does it and we usually eat two whole zucchini between the three of us! Zucchini, oregano, sea salt and a little bit of oil = yummy stuff!!
While we were in the kitchen fixing lunch, Emma was busy having her own lunch with friends! I walked into the play room to check on her and just smiled at the precision with which she had set up her tea party.
Very cute. Very sweet. I think she'd like to have some real friends, too.
Silvia, me, Holly, Barbara, Mollie (Ex-pats in Horizontina)
After lunch, I went to Barbara's house for Holly's baby shower. Holly is due on Feb. 13th, so we wanted to throw her a little shower before their little boy arrives!
Mommy-to-be. "Cha de Bebe" means Tea of Baby.
We had ordered some sweets and some salty goodies. These were chocolate covered grapes, strawberries, peanut butter and creamy something-or-others. They were awesome!!
The diaper cake I made for a decoration.
Guests at the shower (Americans, Brazilians and a German)
We all had a really great time celebrating with Holly. Since the shower, several of the Brazilians have commented on how much fun they had, how great the shower was and how nice it was for the mommy-to-be. Apparently the showers they have here are different. One guest said every shower she's been to was boring and this one was so fun and beautiful! I think Holly had a great time too, so I guess it was success all around! We played games, ate some incredible food (chocolate cupcakes with ice cream, veggies with Ranch dip, sweets, "salgados" or salty foods), played some more games, handed out door prizes and laughed a ton!! We are just so excited for baby Jacob to be here soon!
On a really fun note for me, Holly and Aaron have asked me to be in the labor room with them as their doula! I couldn't be more thrilled! Their moms will be coming about two weeks after the due date to ensure they get to see the little guy. They didn't want to risk paying for tickets here and then have to leave if he decided to be late. So, while I'm really excited to be a part of labor and delivery (again), this will be a new experience for all of us. We're in a foreign country where we are still learning to speak the language! The doctor isn't sure what a doula is, nor is he real excited to have someone else in his delivery room. Please pray that I'll be welcome, play my part, encourage the mom- and dad-to-be, and help them welcome their baby boy with the best delivery possible! Pictures will follow once he makes his debut!!
Yes, that's a Speedo for a baby boy! Speedos are very common here. . . sadly, not just for little boys. Grown, adult, hairy, massive men wear Speedos and they wear them proudly! They even wear white ones! It's just not right. Someone should put a stop to it. Seriously.
In honor of the Wildcats who were playing KU on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the Cats lost, but I
heard it was a good game.
Our happy little girl. . . she makes us happy, too.
