Labor Day and Gabriela's First Mug Shot

Yesterday was Labor Day down here, so Eric had the day off to play with Gabriela and me.

If it seems like he has had a lot of days off lately - he has. April 3, 10, 21, and May 1 were all holidays here. Which all happened to make long weekends. So in the last month, he's only worked one full week. Gotta love it when the holiday schedule works out like that. Obviously, we didn't consult the holiday calendar before procreating. Can you imagine all the traveling we could have done if we weren't 9+ months prego/with a newborn? We'll remind her one day of all the sacrifices we had to make for her . . . meanwhile, I guess she's worth it. ;)

We decided to head to the plant/flower market yesterday. It comes around every Friday, but only runs until dark so Eric never gets to go with me. We loaded up and drove down there, taking along Gabriela's car seat carrier stroller (which actually fits in the Punto, as opposed to her jogging stroller which doesn't stand a chance of getting into the trunk.)


It's going to take me a while before I get used to being stopped everywhere I go for people to ooh and aaw over the baby and ask all about her. I was so anonymous before baby - but I think my days of going out for a walk and not having to necessarily talk to anyone are over!


Like all the interesting things we've done with the little squirt so far, she slept through the whole thing. Which is probably just as well. At home, I've found that she much prefers staring at the blank white wall or the ceiling than any of the brightly colored, noise-making toys I wave around in front of her. Newborns really have no appreciation for quality entertainment nor culture experiences. hehehe

I think our favorite part of the market is the setting. The fresh cut tropical flowers, gorgeous orchids, and lush potted plants are great too, but the corridor of gnarled old trees and the cool, fresh air when surrounded by so much green is most fabulous!

Today Eric wanted to try out our Babybjorn carrier. It was a little breezy and overcast this evening, so we put a hat on the little monkey before going for a walk.

I promise she is awake sometimes. Just not much longer than it takes her to get her belly full.

We're thinking Little Miss might be seeing lots of miles in this thing. Hopefully she'll continue to like it.

And for today, I think I'll leave you with her very first mug shot. Glassy, half-opened eyes, messed up hair . . . wonder what she's in for?




Actually, the way it went down was this: we have an appointment with the Polícia Federal on Wednesday. They're the ones who handle passports in Brasil. Our little brasileira needs her Brasilian passport before we can leave the country with her. And before we go to our appointment, we needed to have a passport picture taken. To meet the photo requirements, she had to be sitting up, looking at the camera, eyes open, and with no other person/hands in the photo. Ever tried getting a shot like that from an eleven day old baby?

They gave us a tall stool for her to sit on. So Eric and I crouched on either side of her each using one hand to support her from the side and the other hand to support her back and head - all while trying to keep our hands out of the picture, keep her awake, and keep her head from rolling forward. She did great though and it only took three pictures to get one we could use! Of course, Chick had car seat hair like nobody's business and no amount of Momma spit was helping. (Is there a certain amount of time that has to pass before my saliva officially becomes 'Momma Spit'? Because I don't think it has the proper molecular make-up quite yet . . .)