Half and Half

Saturday afternoon we went over to my friend Adiel's for dinner. Adiel is from Brazil and we became good friends when we both were still single and used to go to Oxygen (the singles group at Forest Hill church, which no longer exists). Anyway, he has 2 kids (Ian is 2 1/2 and Isabella is 8 months). He is married to an American, so his kids are like Jacqueline--half American and half Brazilian.
This is Ian. Jacqueline was wearing a denim skirt and he got curious and left her skirt while she was crawling. It was so funny! (Not too funny if they were both teenagers!). I tried to take a picture, but I wasn't fast enough.

She is loved!

Lynn (Adiel's wife) playing with Isabella and Ian

3 half and half babies

Vovo (my mom) and Grandpa Bob were there too

The food was delicious! Adiel's beans were to die for! Lynn made one of my fav dishes--pineapple w/ Ritz crackers...Yummy! I ate two servings of dinner and two servings of dessert, My stomach was hurting and I should had come rolling home!

Free Lunch

Jacqueline and I had lunch with Kyle on Thursday. We met him at his office (we were surrounded by his co-workers all wanting to see "Mini-Kyle") then we headed to Bentley's for a nice lunch. For those who don't remember or don't know, Bentley's is the place where we had our wedding reception. Above is the view from the booth where we sat. Bentley's is on the 27th floor of a building uptown and has a magnificient panoramic skyline of Charlotte.

Kyle is posing and our daugher is completely unware that I'm trying to get her to look at the camera

I finally got her attention after she got tired of staring at the yellow cushion of my seat

Almost to pretty to eat, this was my luscious meal. As shocking as this may sounds, this art piece was only $12!!! I can go to a "hole in the wall" restaurant, receive poor service and get something I can cook home for the same price. I enjoyed my meal (along with 2 warm ciabbatta rolls) and for our surprised the owner didn't charge us. I wish he was feeling this generous when he gave us our wedding reception bill! Anyway, it was very nice of him to not charge us, specially to find out on the way out that business is kind of slow. So if you are from Charlotte, consider going to Bentley's for a delicious lunch with beautiful view and excellent service.

PS: I wish I had ordered dessert!

My Sweet Hubby is 34!

We went to Outback to celebrate Kyle's B-day. It was the first time Jacqueline sat in a high chair at a restaurant. She did great, but she was a really disappointed b/c we didn't get her Blooming onions for appetizer!
This picture doesn't do justice to how ENORMOUS Kyle's steak was! He ate every bit of it and still had room to eat some of my catfish.

Connor(Kyle's brother) called to wish him happy birthday

A giant cookie and milk in wine glasses(aka self-esteem glasses). It doesn't get better than that!

Happy Birthday, Sweetness! I love you so much and I'm glad to be back in time from Brazil to celebrate YOU! You are the BEST husband and Dad. I love you and I'm proud to be your wife!

Baby in Brazil

Our morning walk.

Everything is packed (including the Baby!)

Getting a Tan (Doubtful. She had # 60 sunblock)

My sister Sara, Jacqueline and I

Tropical Baby Food Flavors--Mango and Guava. Jacqueline LOVED them!

My brother Natan, me and his girlfriend Lili

Three Generations

She loves pulling my hair

My cousin's children

I bought Jacqueline few Brazilian children books and DVD's

This is a Pardo(type of fish) fried cake. Simply delicious!

Beach Park

Life is hard!

Everyone in Brazil loves laying in a hammock--especially Jacqueline!

Glaucia and Jacqueline

I miss that "rede"!

Proud Grandfather

We took many trips to this snack place (O Ponto da Pamonha). They had delicious cakes!

Davi(my cousin's son) and Jacqueline

"Facebooking" in Brazil...the addiction NEVER stops!

Enjoying a late afternoon "swim"

Hanging out in the pool w/ my Dad and Glaucia(his wife)

Time to head home, say good-bye and fake a smile...

Meeting Vovô

My Dad´s long time dream was to meet one of his grandchildren. I had promised him that once I had my first child I would bring her to meet him. I kept my promise and on July 6, 2009 early in the morning, he met met Jacqueline. He was ectatic and Jacqueline was experiencing a bit of anxiety. In the next few moments after this picture, she started to cry.
In December my brother Daniel is bringing his two children to meet him. What an incredible year for Dad to meet all of his grandchildren in the same year! To dream is to wish something great to happen; reality put a smile on our hearts and create unforgettable moments to be treasured.

Going Bye Bye on The Big Airplane

Jacqueline and I are in Brazil on vacation for 3 weeks. I brought her to meet my Dad, his wife and siblings. My Dad has never met any of his grandchildren, so it has being very special our time here in Brazil.
It was the first time she ever been in a airplane and she did great! Luckily we had 3 seats for the 2 of us and I was able to place her car seat in the window seat and slept on the other two seats(I only paid for my ticket and she was a "lap baby"). The plane left at 8:45pm. She was very hyper at first. She was laughing and intrigued by all the lights in the plane. By 10pm she got tired and crashed. She slept all night and only woke up when we landed in Fortaleza at 5:45am. The vibration of the airplane is better than any car ride!

"Bye Bye, Charlotte!"