Nicky at Tia Flávia's Wedding

Nicholas was a great "supporting" star in his Tia Flávia's wedding in late September.  He got to get dressed up in a fancy suit, and hold the hand of a beautiful daminha as he walked up the aisle of the crowded church.

We were worried he would go wild and/or cry, being only 2 years old, but as you can see, he played his part "direitinho" (just right).

Nicholas is growing fast and developing rapidly.  He knows all his colors in both languages, including "dark" and "light", all his shapes (the basics, including trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, octagon), and the alphabet. He can count to ten independently, and with help, to twenty.  He has a pretty big vocabulary and his sentences are getting much more complex.  His pronunciation is becoming more clear-- now he says "octopus" correctly (used to be ah-poo-ta).  He can recount a simple narrative (where did we go?  what did you eat?), and tell the next event in a story he knows.  He will hold a simple phone conversation.  He sings songs (Farmer in the Dell, Sapo cu-ru-ru) by himself.  He also has several books memorized, so he can "read".   Although he now knows the phonetic alphabet, he doesn't seem to be able to make the leap to real reading yet-- of course, he's only 2 (and 3 months)!  No need to rush!

It's really fun and refreshing to be part of a child's innate curiosity and drive to learn.  It makes one wonder how older kids get so negative, bored, and jaded so quickly.  I am getting nervous about school-- the institutionalization of children... I mean, I hope we'll find a really good school later on... but since homeschooling is illegal in Brazil (to prevent the possibility of children being shipped off to work), we'll have to deal with what's available-- unless we return to the US.  Even then, I'm not sure homeschooling would be best, but it's something I think and read about.  I had a really good public education as a child, with creative teachers, field trips, computers (when these were new), huge libraries, sports, art, theater, music... times are different now with budget constraints in the US, and in Brazil, schools just aren't at the same level.   That's not to say that kids don't get a good education-- Bruno certainly did.  But definitely, learning begins at home.  In my experience, learning is mostly about attitude, goals, and self-application.

In other news, we are trying to buy a house, and hopefully that will come through for December, when our lease is up in our current house.  Buying a house in this city has proven extremely difficult.  We originally intended to build, but things go sooooo slowly here, we knew it wouldn't be a viable option in the short-term.  Also, we don't want to buy another car, so living in the countryside would be hard here, where people and services really concentrate in the "urban" (more like suburban in our town) neighborhoods.  The house we are buying needs a little work, but it's affordable and should be really nice once we fix it up!  Nicky can't wait!!

Fotos chiques/Cool pics

Nicky, looking cute in his studio pics!

Nicky: A retrospective

It's so much fun to look back and see how much our munchkin has changed in the past two years:

From a sweet newborn with black hair, our "little Bruno"




To a smiley, toothless baby


To a rosy cheeked and chubby bubby



And then to a speedy crawler



Soon Nicky was a curly-haired, toothy walker (and tumbler)


A phase evolving into many an adventure on two sturdy (but skinnier) legs




And now we enjoy the company of a handsome two-year old toddler


Who knows what Nicky will become next? All we know for sure is how much we adore and love him! :)

Nicholas, age two!

Nicky, Grandma, and Grandpa during his visit to Old Forge

Since getting out of the blogging habit while in the throes of dissertation-writing, I haven't been able to get back into it. But, I did want to post a couple of photos of Nicky, as I haven't done that in a long time, and some of his occasional followers (if they haven't given up on this blog entirely) might be interested to see what two-year-old Nicky looks like.

Nicky loves his daddy!!

Nicky's beloved Aunt Kathy

Nicky (and Inca) in our front yard

Nicky trying to give his friend Luiza (Lulu) a little kiss

Nicky at play in the gardens

Nicky and Vovó at his party in Juiz de Fora

Nicky and Grandpa watching cartoons

Our little fireman at his 2nd birthday party

Nicholas is a wonderful boy, very bright, healthy, and active. He is the joy of our lives. He loves his family, his toys, and his little adventures around the neighborhood. These usually involve pushing his red car (from Grandma) and collecting stones. He's quite talkative, in both English and Portuguese, and now he selects which language to use with certain people (as long as he knows the expression in both languages). He seems to be passionate about music. We recently got some "studio" photos done of him for his 2nd birthday, and we'll be able to post some of those soon. But as I look through my haphazard point-and-shoots, I think I enjoy these photos more-- their intimacy and candor trumps the lack of technique, in general.

Nicky and Mommy at Graduation

Nicky loves his cousin Sammi!

I have a feeling that we'll need a new blog soon, something that more reflects Nicky and our lives here in Brazil, but for now, this will do! If I can, I will post a "Nicky retrospective" soon, a shortcut look at him from 0-2 years!

We hope you all are enjoying your summer- we are enjoying the mild winter here.

Going to the USA!

Dear fans of the now 22 month old Nicky,

In just a couple of days, Nicky will board the "avião" to see his family in the US! Mommy managed to finish the draft of her dissertation (although it was truly and terribly exhausting), and will be in Ithaca for her defense the second week of May (11-12th). We would love to see anyone who still lives there (and still follows this blog!). There will also be invitations sent shortly for a graduation picnic on the 30th.

Nicky is doing great. He talks all the time, is a whiz at the iPod touch, is using 3-4 word sentences, can build a tower with 7 blocks, runs really fast, and gives the best hugs and kisses. We have been enjoying many a full night's sleep -- what a luxury! Nicky is a very loving, fun-spirited boy. We always feel blessed that he is our son.

By the end of Mommy's dissertating, Nicky was beginning to lose patience with the amount of time she was devoting to the "tador" (computer). At first he thought it was fun to say, "Mamãe vai estudar?" and then close the door to her office. But about 2-3 days before Mommy finished the draft, he started crying when he realized that yes, Mommy was in fact going to keep studying.... When the draft was finally sent, he learned that Mommy "acabou de estudar" (is done studying), and his good humor instantly revived.

We hope to see some of Nicky's fans during this trip to the US, including Nicky's newest friend, Julian Herz! : ) (Oh, and Julian's parents, too...Nicky sends his official congratulations to Erik and Ashley!)

Lots of hugs from Nicky!

Long time, no posts!

Dear Fans of the now 20-month-old Nicky,

We're sorry for having been "offline" for over two months! Nicky's mommy has been, er, a bit busy/crazy with her dissertation, and has put the blog on the back burner. However, an update is more than overdue.

Nicholas has changed a lot in the past months. He has learned many new words in Portuguese and in English (though mostly Portuguese), developed an obsession with Elmo, is learning to jump, decided to stop nursing (finally), listens to and occasionally heeds our requests, usually sleeps through the night in his own bed, can draw a circle, walks the dog, adds "sound effects" to his physical movements (i.e. "Boom!" as he jumps), is a wild splashing swimmer, enjoys digging in dirt and rocks, brings lots of flowers to Mommy, spits his toothpaste out as he rinses his mouth, cut one set of second molars and is working on the next, has a slightly obsessive sense of order and hygiene, and continues to eat like a champ.

His phrases are usually 2 words long now, which is par for the course... sometimes he says 3 word phrases, although I think this is mostly imitation-- such as "Tem que lavar" (It needs to be washed) and "I don't know". He will also say, for example, "I don't know ball?" meaning, "where is the ball?" or "I can't find the ball..." Now he says things like "feed Inca" "cooking" "trator papai dirigir" (roughly translated, "Daddy drove the car away"). He says "please" and "por favor", complete with mineiro "r" (very, very exaggerated). He also says thank you, often unprompted, but "obrigado" is much harder. He says mommy's real name, "Lilia", and is usually calling me Mamãe, but sometimes "Mamoo". It really shocked me when he said my name! In any case, he is very talkative and communicates his needs and desires clearly.

"Abrir" is probably his favorite verb, which really means "to open", but he uses it for lots of things, like to break, to take off, and to take out. He will also say "open" if asked-- we are trying to help him distinguish better between Portuguese and English. To be fair, many English verbs have mandatory prepositions and objects that make it harder for him (most likely) to figure out which sounds corresponds to the verb. He also likes "botar", a kind of slangy verb which can mean to put away or put somewhere. After he is done communing with Elmo, he orders us to "botar 'tador" which in Nicky speak, means "put away computer" (computador). Sometimes, he adds a "please", if we ask him too!

The electronic obsession shows no sign of abating, as this past month he discovered the iPod Touch, which he can turn on, unlock, and choose his favorite game from-- scary. He does, however, still adore reading, especially books about cats (Mimi is the name of EVERY cat now!). He enjoys watching a "show" now and again. It doesn't seem to affect him negatively, except when he whines to see a particular video. (He has gotten much whinier, alas). He is learning the alphabet in English right now, and can recognize almost all the letters, though a few he is reluctant to say, and he has his favorites. He also knows the numbers 2, 3, and 4. He has added "Daddy" to complement his now properly pronounced "Papai". This list could go on and on for some time, as his development has really taken off.

But what really strikes Bruno and me is that Nicky is no longer a baby. He is, without a doubt, a toddler, a little boy, and though he still looks somewhat baby-like in his diaper, I think his baby-days are gone. I am experiencing a bit of sadness, as if my role as mother has really changed now, and Nicky no longer "needs" his mommy in the same fashion. But I am also thrilled that he has grown up to be so strong and healthy, so lively and bright, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Nicky's mom is aiming to have her dissertation defense the first week or two of May, right after she and Nicky return to the US, and so is on a very strict schedule! Lots of work to do. I will put up some pictures of Nicky, hopefully later tonight.

Happy New Year! Feliz ano novo!

2010... wowee! We are wishing you all a fantastic new year. No matter how arbitrary the turning of the year may seem, it still carries a hefty symbolic value. One that is, naturally, still not clear to Nicky, but certainly is to his Mommy and Daddy.

We feel a certain relief with the tumults and transitions of 2009 behind us, and an eager anticipation of the possibilities of 2010.

Nicky has been a little under the weather the past two days, suffering from a reaction to his DtaP vaccine, with a lot of pain in his leg ("Doi doi") and an elevated fever. Today he is doing much better, and his fever seems to be gone. He did wake up this morning terrified of his pillow, shaking with fear-- the first time I have seen him really scared. Poor guy! Luckily he has his new kitten, Mimi, to comfort him! Pictures soon!

We are so excited to see how Nicky will grow and change in 2010. He will turn 2! He will accompany Mommy to her graduation from Cornell (again, though this time in fancier garb!). Surely he will begin speaking more complex phrases, and maybe he will learn to write and draw more clearly. Whatever he does, it doesn't much matter, except for how it helps him express who he is-- our beloved baby boy, sweet, curious, and much adored.