My sweet baby

As we were putting Natalia to bed last night she was so sweet. We laid her down, covered her with all her blankets (she totally gets this from me, even when it's warm, she loves being under the weight of a billion blankets) and were saying goodnight. As we were walking toward the door she turned her head toward us and said "Aye YOooo" which is how she says I love you!!!!! Usually she will say it this after I say "I love you," but last night she said it completely on her own and unprompted. It was the best moment ever!!!!!!!!

Obama has my phone bugged!!

I know this because he totally is using my idea of capping CEO salaries! If you haven't heard, CEO's of companies who received bailout money are now having their salaries capped at $500k/year. While this still sounds like a lot, you have to keep in mind that people who are making a lot of money tend to have a lot of bills. We don't want these guys going into default also and adding yet another foreclosure to this mess.

Congrats Mr.
President, I think listening to me is a good idea!!

http://features. csmonitor. com/economyrebuild/2009/02/04/obama%E2%80%99s-cap-on-ceo-pay-strives-to-end-era-of-excess/

Oh the places she'll go!

Current mood: fascinated

So, Natalia is doing all sorts of new things since the last time I posted a blog. The most significant of them is this new walking thing! She started it on 12/21 (it's a Christmas miracle!!) and hasn't slowed down since. She just keeps getting faster and faster! She also waves good-bye pretty consistantly now, although not where the person that she's waving to can see her. We still don't have any English or Portuguese words, but she is a joke master in her own language. On 1/7 she gave her first little kiss, she kissed me right on the cheek. She is becoming a master at eating with a spoon, but still finds it faster to use her hands, we have quite a few tantrums over this because using her hands involves smearing food in her hair. Mommy has decided that this is not allowed and Natalia vehemetly disagrees. She likes to wear bracelets, which is pretty much anything circular that her hand fits through, and she walks all over the house showing them off.
She has 4 teeth now and we are enjoying her little snaggle toothed look before it disappears. Mommy and Daddy just love that big ol' toothy grin!
She is also quite the little performer and has become quite adept at imitations, most notable are her Tarzan and Godzilla.
She loves to read to us and carries her books all over her house. I think her favorite toy is her bookshelf, she spends hours pulling books down and putting them back up.
Natalia is enjoying bathtime more and more every day, although she doesn't really care about her toys. She prefers to play with the pumice stone and shower brush, not to mention the drain.
She is very independent and will sometimes spend an hour playing in her room by herself. But this little independent streak has it's downsides too, especially when we are in a hurry. She enjoys picking out her own clothes and I usually hold up to her closet so that she can decide.
She is Menininha do Papai and prefers to be with Daddy over Mommy at any time. This makes Mommy sad sometimes, but she does have Talia all to herself during the day.
We are pretty lucky to have such a wonderful little girl!

Happy Birthday Talia!!!

Well, yesterday was Natalia's 1st birthday. It's ridiculous how fast it has come up. I can't believe how big she is now. On Saturday, as many of you know, we had her 1st birthday party. It was lots of fun. We played Natalia Jeopardy and had lots of laughs. Also, Natalia's grandparents, aunt and cousin came from Brasil to visit for her birthday. It has been really great.



Here is a little trip of what she used to look like:
just born:

href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vcGljYXNhd2ViLmdvb2dsZS5jb20vam1tb250ZXMvTmF0YWxpYUlzSGVyZT9hdXRoa2V5PXkyelpaOWtOei13">

2 days old:



a couple of weeks old:



1 month:



2 months:



3 months:



4 months:



5 months:



6 months:



7 months:



8 months:



9 months:



10 months:



11 months:



1 yr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

teefs and stuff

talia's getting them! i noticed this evening (as she was chewing on my knee) that she is getting teeth for real now! shes been faking it for several months and a couple of days ago i felt her gums and i could feel the ridge of a tooth in there. tonight it has poked itself out!! you can feel the sharp little corners. and for a baby that is teething, she has been so sweet! hardly cranky at all!!!! i love my little baby! she is also trying to stand by herself. on monday night she did it on accident for about a second. we were playing on the floor and she tried to stand up, using my shoulders as support, but she missed and she caught herself and stood, unsupported for a second!!! then today as we were on the floor she pushed herself up from my legs and stood for, like, 2 seconds!!! OMG!!!!!!! also, some of brunos family will be here starting next week. his sister and niece get in on the 8th and his parents arrive on the 13th. we are so excited!!!

something new

Current mood: drained

natalia pulled herself into a sitting position last night. it wasnt from completely flat, but about 45 degrees (she fell backward ontop of a folded blanket). pretty soon she will be able to do it laying down completely. she still wont roll over though... just onto her side...
she also has a cold right now. im pretty sure she got it in sf while riding bart and muni. because of this, she woke up every hour sunday night. last night she only woke up once, but i cant wait for her to sleep all the way through again. she is napping right now after chowing down on an enormous amount of food (two ice tray cubes of carrots mixed w/ oatmeal to thicken it up, about 1 cup of prepared oatmeal with 40 cc's of milk and then 4 oz of formula), i thought she was never going to stop eating. the baby book that lisa gave us said that one cube of food from an ice cube tray is the perfect portion size for a baby... apparently not for natalia

so many new things!

Current mood: relieved natalia is doing so many cute new things now! she finally started grabbing for things about 4 weeks ago. and once she started, there was no stopping her. its amazing how long her arms actually are, she can get to almost anything that you dont want her to (raw chicken, for example, as one is trying to cook dinner at a time when she does not want to be put down). now, after grabbing something, she can pick it up, and hold on to it, too. and the things she can hold are getting bigger, like she can pick up her bear and take it with her when you pick her up. she has become interested in her toys also. she loves her stuffed animals, her books and plastic cups. and apparently they all taste really yummy! she has also discovered that mommys nose is delicious and that her glasses come off! yay! that is so much fun!! mommy needs to get contacts now... she does some super cute things now when we change her diaper; she lifts up her bum to help! she does this in two different ways: curling her legs up to her chest until her bum comes up or she plants her feet, arches her back, and pulls her hips up. in the last couple of days she has started something new. when i have her sit up on the couch in the boppy, i have her face the back of the couch so she doesnt watch tv. but now, she puts her feet on the back of the couch and pushes so that she slides off the boppy and her head is upside down until she can see the tv. shes so crafty! natalia is also laughing a lot at mommy, but the only other person she lets see her laugh is daddy. now we just need to work on tummy-time to get rid of that little, tiny flat spot.