Viagem no Brasil

Hello Everyone!

Swinging in the rede!

Me and vovô

Nicky sends his greetings from the tropics! He has adjusted very well from frigid temperatures to hot and humid weather. The first couple days were a little rough on us, but he is now enjoying the pleasures of swimming and wearing light clothing. In fact, he protests at getting dressed at all!

Here are some photos of Nicky's first trip to Brazil so far... we have to get the one of him arriving in Rio from Tia Dani, and we will put it in this post later on. We also need to gather some pictures from Tia Flávia and cousin Fernanda.

Eu e a minha titia Flávia

Swimming-- maybe better than bathtime!Playing in my onesie

We opted to stay around Juiz de Fora and so we haven't gotten to the beach yet. We may visit Dani in Rio and "aproveitar" the beach near her apartment.

Nicky is currently cutting three teeth at once, which one would expect would drive him (and us) a little crazy, but he seems ok, so far. The other big news is that Nicky is almost crawling! He can navigate by a kind of soldier-crawl. We build towers in his play area and he will crawl wildly to get there to knock the tower down. He also can pull himself up to standing in the playpen and crib. His affinity for danger has not diminished one bit, alas. Such a lively, wild, loving, smiley, and sweet boy! We all love our Nicholas!

It's been marvelous for Nicky to get to know his Brazilian family and other legions of adoring fans (his blue eyes are a big hit south of the equator!). He's really, really happy among his relatives and we think he will be lonely hanging out with just Mommy, Inca, and Manny once we get home. Bruno and I have also gotten a chance to take a break from housework and cooking, for the most part, and we have realized how tired we are. Many naps later we are feeling much better...!

Tomorrow Nicky will bring some school supplies to the orphans at the Aldeias SOS. We will get to meet one of the families there. Hopefully this inauguration of "Nicky's Kids" microphilanthropy will go well.

Nicky, although he loves it here, will surely be happy to get home in a week from now. He will be eight months old, can you believe it?? Already we are planning his 1st birthday party. Save the date: Sunday, June 28th, 2009! It will be the "piquenique (picnic) do Nicky". We think Tia Renata and Tio Arlindo and priminho Pedrinho will be there! Maybe Tia Dani as well!

Nicky sends "beijos" to all his pals!

Little Pandeirista

This weekend, Bruno's samba band, Deixa Sambar, was featured in a concert at Cornell, and Bruno got the chance to play with some real pros as well. Nicky was eager to make his debut and got some lessons on the pandeiro.

His future seems promising! Nicky really loved the music but couldn't get in a very good nap...He enjoyed seeing his friends Gustavo, Gracie, Tiago, and Tiago's vóvó! He also got to meet lots of people from the band. Everyone was passionate about Nicky's cheeks and blue eyes!

You can read an article about the performance here: http://cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2009/02/04/samba-de-janiero . Please excuse the misspelled "janiero"!

Afterwards we had a nice dinner at Tia Ashley's apartment, which Uncle Erik mostly had to cook because of Ashley's injured arm. Poor Tia Ashley! We wish her a speedy recovery. We also got to try a traditional Swiss dessert and some Swiss chocolate. A yummy end to a fun day!

Nicky is getting really excited for the trip-- he has new pajamas and rompers, and even some sunglasses! Mommy is trying to get everything ready to go! We will try to continue to post while we are traveling, but this will depend on the internet connections we encounter. Certainly, Nicky will have many tales to tell of his first trip to Brazil!

Some videos of Nicky

Nicky and Papai play ball

We've been taking a lot of short videos of Nicky lately, but they take a long time to upload. Here is one of him playing ball; soon we'll add one of him playing the piano!

So, the poll is closed on Nicholas' eye color, and we do think that his eyes will actually remain blue! We think they are very beautiful... all the more so for their improbability.

Only one week til our trip to Brazil! We are all very excited... as the snow piles up, our excitement grows!

Happy Seventh Months Birthday, Nicky!

Hey Everyone! Oi gente!

Dear Nicholas,

My goodness! You are already onto the second half of your first year! At 24 pounds, 27.5 inches, and with a giant head that is way off the charts, you are much bigger than we could have expected at the tender age of seven months. We love to admire your big blue eyes with their long black lashes, your expressive eyebrows, your button nose and big rosy cheeks... how did this beautiful boy find us? You have a wonderful sense of humor, giggling back and forth with Mommy, and raising a ruckus with Daddy as you play catch and hang upside down. Your babbling skills are in full force-- you repeatedly announced "Ba-ba-ba-ba-BA!" through the aisles of Wegman's today, and Mommy, like the crazy lady she is, babbled right back at ya. You are doing so well with your foods-- you love the highchair, to get your puffs and pick them up and put them in your mouth. Delicious! Last night you had some homemade banana yogurt, which was truly tasty. Your grandparents get to watch you chow down over Skype-- how cool!

Lately you have been enjoying playing with blocks and you don't hesitate to knock down the towers Mommy and Daddy build for you. You insist on playing the piano *by yourself*, moving our hands away from the keys. You do get a little jealous when Mommy takes care of Ainsley during the babysitting swap, but mostly you are very patient, loving, and fun.

This upcoming month will be very exciting for you: your first plane ride (oh boy...), getting to meet the Brazilian clan, maybe crawling (you're getting so strong!), eating lots of wonderful tropical fruits (eat lots of papaya, says Grandma Spofford!). It is a joy to watch you grow and develop into yourself. We love you sooooooooo much!

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy, Daddy, Inca, Manny, and the rest of your family and friends!

Nicky's Kids

Nicholas is enjoying his few remaining days as a six-month-old baby. He has been playing a lot, experimenting with new sounds (ba ba ba ba ba!), and reveling, albeit sloppily, in the delicious fruits the earth has to offer. He got a new suitcase for his trip to Brazil, and is quite happy these days, sleeping like a champ!

Nicky and his Mommy have decided to begin a little micro-philanthropy! Really micro, but no matter! We are taking the money we are saving from switching the cell phone to "pay-as-you-go" from the very expensive contract and donating it, either as money, goods, or time, to causes that catch our attention. Like we mentioned in another post, we will be donating some goods to the SOS Orphanage in Juiz de Fora, when we visit. Next, we plan to help Tia Ashley's friend's baby, Ezra, who has some health problems and needs money for medical treatments. As Nicky grows and begins to earn an allowance, he will continue donating to worthy causes! We hope this will be an important lesson for him, and a healthy practice for us all.

Interestingly, there was an Op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times today addressing this topic of micro-philanthropy, which is where I borrowed the term from. Here is a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25kristof.html?ref=opinion.

Right now, it seems Nicky prefers causes that involve kids and education! We were interested in the site Kiva, which allows people to give micro-loans worldwide, but we don't see anything directly tied to education or children right now. If you know of any special causes that need Nicky's help, please comment!

Baby, it's cold outside... and inside...

Nicky's new highchair-- and his three teeth!

Dinner time is so much fun now!

But, bathtime is still the best time!

This week has been truly and bitterly cold, and Nicky has missed going for nap-inducing walks with Inca and Mommy. (Mommy and Inca, incidentally, have also missed this!) Today, it is 1 degree fahrenheit (-17 celsius), which is just horrible. We are eagerly, eagerly anticipating our trip to Brazil in just a couple of weeks. But, as happens every year, it will warm up to around 70 degrees while we are gone... ; ) Even so, we will be happy to be indulging in tropical fruits and naps in the hammock.

There have been several fun events this week-- Maria Clara's first birthday party, going to the doctor (fun except for the vaccines!), playing with Ainsley and Andrea, getting the new camera and the highchair, and getting a neat shopping cart cover and new soft shoes. Nicky is saying "d", "th" and "t" sounds, and has even babbled "dada" a few times (though, naturally, still without meaning, or so they say!). His personality and will are emerging more clearly each day. As for the long road to mobility, he is now scooting backwards, and can pivot in place. He also rolls, of course, when there is something dangerous nearby to play with! He continues to love baths and piano songs!

So, we should be able to post more frequently now, since we have a camera again. The other one may show up again someday, but we didn't want to wait til May when the snow might actually melt to be able to take pictures again.

We will announce the new name of Nicky's Blog soon, so get your vote in soon!

Happy New Year! Feliz ano novo!

Dear everyone... Oi gente....

We are still without a camera, but not without good wishes to all of you for the New Year! 2009 looks to be pretty exciting! We may move to Brazil, and Mommy hopes to get her PhD! Not to mention I will be learning quite a lot: how to crawl, walk, talk... wow! We'd better get a camera soon to keep track of all these milestones!

Also, with the New Year, we would like to rename the blog, since it has been a while since I arrived. Please offer your suggestions in the comments section, or vote in the new poll.

Happy new year to all! Love you lots!

~Nicholas