Four Months

Earlier this month we hit 4 months living here in Brazil. How times flies. I walked the family through a little exercise I hope to repeat several times while we are here. I started off with "What We Love in Brazil."

As usual, some of the answers surprised me (Christo Rei-their school), some made me laugh (The Beaches, The Amazon, neither of which we have been to) and some were completely expected (the piscina-that's pool in Portuguese, tiny bananas) .

To round out the activity, and because I was immensely curious what the little ones would say, we also documented "What we miss from home."

I am not sure who had more fun with this one, the kids of the adults. Momma and Daddy certainly had plenty to add (tonuge in cheek)....stopping at stop signs, flushing toilet paper, the Park Avenue, 24-hour supermarkets.....

But here I was really surprised, and quite proud, at the junior answers...mostly people (if you are a Grandma, you made the list) M's beloved Bob, our house, Dum Dum suckers, graham crackers, and Red Lobster (this one is pretty funny, because I can count on one hand the number of times we've taken them there, and typically they appreciated the lobster tank in the lobby more than their food). The kids tried to add "the toys we left at home" to the list, but after a lot of prodding from me, they could not name one single toy specifically, so we decided we don't miss that stuff all that much after all.

The kids often talk about home on the Big River. M often asks if we can do XX when we go back to the Big River, and while they know it's a long way off, and how old they'll be when we get home, I don't think that either one has a grasp on how different they will be by that time. On the upside, the things the remember, talk about, long for, are usually people, places and experiences, not things. It gives me joy to know that's what brings joy to them.