Some Photos of Nicky in August and September

Nicky, World Traveler!

Me and Papai at the beach on Long Island in August

It's been a while since we have been organized enough to get some photos up on Nicky's blog, but here are some to enjoy! These include his trip to Long Island to spend time with his Grandma and Grandpa, his trip to the cabin in Maine, and some photos from Brazil.

Building my first sand castle at Fire Island

My great-great grandpa J. Tenney Spofford's cabin at Orr's Island, Maine


Beautiful View at the Giant Steps, Bailey Island

Backpacking is a lot of fun!

Nicky is doing great, despite all the changes in his life. Luckily he is a resilient, happy fellow who adores novelty. His favorite word is "titia" (pronounced chee cheea) (Flávia is also his much adored aunt) and he loves to name us all. He is learning to "draw" with crayons and is walking/running everywhere. He blows kisses, says "tchau" as he waves bye-bye, gives lots of love to all the doggies (especially Kika/Kriska/Triska, who he calls "kaka"). He is rolling his "r"s like a maniac -- will be useful for Spanish later on! He likes to let us know when his diaper ("dah-gun") needs changing by saying "cocô" or "shi shi"-- for some reason he says these in Portuguese rather than English! And now he will bring us a diaper when asked. He is just beginning to sit on a potty to get to know what it is, though potty training is a long way off yet.

Some of my Family (including Inca!) in Brazil

Nicky also recognizes both Portuguese and English words that refer to the same thing. I've noticed him do this for "belly" (barriguinha) and "dog" (cachorro). For the first, he will show his belly, and the second, he goes "woof- woof"... so there's not much doubt what he means!

Recently we got our shipment and Nicky was thrilled to get a few of his toys again-- many are still packed up. Especially welcomed were his red car, "rocket ship", rocking horse, piano (well, Mommy's piano), and puzzles. Let's not forget the mixing bowls and tupperware... beloved favorites...

Who is this boy who knows how to do Fierce Lion? It's Papai! (That hair looks familiar, too!)

Daddy's smile reminds me of someone I know! Me!

We have traveled a couple of times to Ouro Branco, which is beautiful; however, we are still awaiting the university to officially hire Bruno. The government has allocated the funding and authorized the hiring as of October 1st. However, it seems the numbers are not what the University expected, so we are unsure if Bruno will be hired this round or asked to wait-- indefinitely. Which basically means we will go on with our lives, and if later on Ouro Branco calls Bruno to work there, we'll evaluate that decision then. Of course, this is not the situation we expected or hoped for, but luckily we have plenty of family support, so we do have some flexibility.

For now we are postponing any decisions regarding anything, pretty much, until we have a more definite timeline-- we should know by next week if Bruno will be hired now or "later"-- the famous Brazilian slogan, "daqui a pouco" (in a little while). In the meantime, Mommy is working on her dissertation, Nicky is learning to run and eating like a champ, and Papai is building some cabinets (and preparing his CV)!