Our son has arrived!

It's a boy!
Leo Finley Steeves

Wednesday, August 14 at 5:01 p.m.

5 pound, 2 ounces

19 inches

Arrived early (due date was Sept. 6), but thankfully, healthy!

Walking the hospital hallways and hoping for a miracle from gravity.

This woman not wearing scrubs and who looks like a model is my doctor.
Her prenatal care was excellent, as was all the healthcare I
received during the pregnancy and delivery.

My doctor arrived at the hospital shortly after we did and
stayed with us the entire time. I was her only patient that day.

The plumber had to be called in to fix the hot water in the tub,
though he said he didn't know why we'd bother
as it looked to him like I was pretty close to delivering.
Dammit if he wasn't right; we filled the tub but didn't get a change to use it.

Our healthy, but tiny, baby boy.

What a day!

Nana and Big Sister Eri visiting the hospital.

Our first family photo.

Nana and her new grandson.

Leo's future mother-in-law Molly said it best:
"I want to say he looks like Brye, but then I would be lying."

Eri is doing very well as a big sister and loves helping care for Leo.

It's hard to remember all the tricks of caring for a newborn,
but Geoff didn't forget the importance of "skin-to-skin."

At her first day back at preschool after Leo's arrival,
Eri brought a chocolate cake, and special guest Nana, to celebrate
her new status as a big sister with all her classmates.

My two babies!!!

Tidbits

Sharing: Brazilians are not germ-a-phobes. Without hesitation, they share drinks, food utensils and, presumably, germs. After I counted seven people share the same cup, using the same straw(!), I had to avert my eyes so as not to freak out. Once, someone brought a cake and a fork to class, which were passed down the row for everyone to have a bite. Well, almost everyone.

Diminutive: In portuguese, it's possible to change the ending of a noun to indicate its size. For example, in english, we say "a small cup of coffee," but in portuguese "cafe" is changed to "cafezinho" to mean a small cup of coffee. However, Brazilians use the diminutive form for anything and everything, regardless of size. It dives me crazy for two reasons: this was two sets of new words to learn, but more so, I find it ridiculous to speak this way. For example, whenever someone asks Eri how old she is, it's the equivalent of saying, "How many little years do you have?" As her mother, I can attest her years are 365 days, just like everyone else's. "Tchau" is "tchauzinho" (a little goodbye), "mao" is "maozinho" (a little hand) ... Nothing is little, yet everything is.

Being Experts on the U.S.: We are often looked at to answer all things related to the United States. I am very careful with my answers, especially at the university, because I am more than likely the only American perspective that my classmates will encounter. The questions really run the gamut. I was recently asked, nearly back-to-back, 1. what the benefits to the U.S. were for the use of private security forces abroad versus the use of military forces, and 2. why Kim Kardashian gained so much weight during her pregnancy. Although I can speculate on both, I don't know for sure, so I just say I don't know.

A few recent pictures: including Nana's arrival, to be followed shortly by our Brazilian-American baby's arrival ...

We're in the middle of winter here, but it hasn't been so bad.

Eri and her teacher practicing the breast stroke at swim lessons.

Nana's arrival!
Eri ran through the security area as soon as she saw her.

The shirt says it all ...

... and then some!

Family of almost 4!
One of Eri's friends at preschool said (translated):
"Man, that baby still hasn't been born yet?"
The new semester at the university just started, and my classmates said the same thing.
I guess this is the one instance where the diminutive doesn't apply in this country.

Dia dos Pais / Father's Day

Today is Father's Day in Brazil, which is always in August here rather than June like the states. 

Feliz Dia do Pais, Geoff!

At preschool, Eri filled a mug of candy for
Geoff (which was eaten by her pregnant mother)
 and decorated a generic dad to look like hers.

An uncanny resemblance and so handsome.

All dads were invited to preschool to do an activity with their child's class.
Geoff choose to read a story in portuguese with an american accent. It went over well,
and Eri was very proud to have him there. 

Knowing her dad isn't a sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-TV guy,
Eri presented him with a smoothie blender to fuel his kayaking,
rock climbing, biking, running, etc.