The future of politics. . . Yes she can.

Liliana's 1st Birthday!!! 12 Months Old??!!!!!!!!!!!

December has been a happily looooooong month.  First and most importantly, we welcomed Kaya Kealani Caravalho to our household on December 18th!  Rachael, Mike, Logan and Kaya are all doing wonderfully, and we're excited to now have photos of 3 beautiful children to share with you all ( :

Now, on to Liliana--This month, it seems like

 she reaches new milestones everyday.  She walks, she talks (okay, not in complete sentences, but watch the video- this is a girl

 who can communicate).  My favorite are please, thank you, and when she does the motions for the itsy-bitsy spider.  She loves the itsy bitsy spider.  She laughs even more now.  She has always been a smiley girl, but she really cracks up, especially at Logan--her cousin, best friend and hero.  They share everything, usually without complaint, and have recently fallen in love with the game of tackling each other (I'm sure that will come back to haunt us one of these days).

And us?  Things get easier and easier, it seems.  As we reflect on this amazing year, we have learned so much not just about parenting, but about our daughter.  We assume that much of what we know is applicable to all children, but really so much of it is just applicable to her--our sweet Liliana.  Logan only eats what he wants to. Lily, on the other hand will eat anything, provided you're sharing it with her.  Logan is extraordinarily patient when figuring out a problem.  Lily, not so much.  I think that's what's made this such a great month- she's telling us so much more, and we can't wait to see what she teaches us next.

This month, we saw more snow in Seattle than in the last 10 years combined.  Lily and Logan built their first (and second) snowmen, sledded down the back steps repeatedly, and generally had a blast, as did their parents.  Our visitors this month included our cousins Justin, Jessica, and Evan, Carrie Russell, and the whole Henrie clan (Gabby, Russ, Cynthia, and Andy). We feel so grateful to be all together again this year for the holidays, especially when it took G-Mo and Pop Pop so long to get here because of this crazy snow!  It's truly wonderful to be surrounded by family in times of change, growth, and joy.

It's a time of year to reflect on the good people in your life, and the good things.  We hope your holiday season has been blessed.  Ours certainly was.

Love,

Liliana, Ian, and Marita

Liliana Walking . . . Take II . . . Live Action Video

Well, here it is. After days of trying to capture her walking on several cameras at different resolution we finally got this one uploaded. Enjoy! Can you believe Liliana will be one year old in just a matter of days! What a wonderful year it has been . . .

Liliana Learns to Walk!

Thankful for 11 Month Old Liliana!

What better way to celebrate Liliana's 11 months birthday than celebrating Thanksgiving on the same day.  We could not be more thankful this year.  We have extremely loving and supportive friends and family.  Truly we are blessed to share a home and daily life with Rachael, Mike , and Logan--and soon another sweet baby will join our extended family.   Liliana could not be more lucky to have such loving surrogate parents in Rach and Mike.  And Logan, sweet Logan.  The relationship that Liliana and Logan are creating is just precious, something much more than merely cousins.  They are truly best friends.  Logan takes after Liliana daily showing her new toys and books, as well as sharing yummy snacks.  Logan just loves his "Neenee."

In the meantime, Liliana continues her focused mission to walk.  Those two cute bottom teeth have four friends moving into the neighborhood.  She still eats like a champion even through the pain of teething.  Lily is loving the park more and more and more as she becomes more independent.  Right now she is loving the slide.  You can tell from the pictures that Liliana is loving books.  The first thing she does after her moring nursing is sit up and motion to her books.  We love watching Liliana find new ways to communicate.  She is starting to use more signing for requests like please and more.   We absolutely love her animals noises/signs which include rabbit, penguin, elephant, horse, frog, and our favorite gorilla (she uses her palms to hit her chest and says ah-ah-ah . . .so cute!).  Liliana is also starting to become a bit of a parrot and regularly says up, apple, hat, dad, and most recently mama.   It is simply amazing to simultaneously think about the fact that Liliana is already 11 months old and that Liliana has only been in our lives for 11 months.  What was life like before Liliana?  Not nearly as wonderful . . .

Once again it was great to have so many wonderful visitors--Grandma Alice, Grandpa Tom, Great-Canuncle Richard and Auntie LeeAnn.  It's amazing to think that our next post will mark Liliana's first birthday.  Perhaps it's even more amazing that in the same month we will be welcoming the newest member of our family- Baby Caravalho (due late December).   

This next month we look forward to seeing Auntie Carrie, Auntie Clare, and the whole Henrie clan--G-Mo Cynthia, G-Pop Russ, Auntie Gaga and Uncle Andy, as they help us welcome our new niece or nephew, and celebrate the greatest year of our lives.  We thank you guys for following along, and for the love and good thoughts you send us.  Stay happy and safe this holiday season.  

Love,

Marita, Ian, and Liliana  

Could Liliana really be 10 months old?!!

Welcome back, folks.  Lots of pictures this month, but then again it was a very, very big month.  Liliana had her first family road trip- she did very well, didn't even ask "Are we there yet?" once.  She did however meet (in no particular order) her maternal great-grandparents- yup, all 4 of them, Aunts Sue, Georgia, Lynn & Ka, Uncles Doug, Rich, Chad & AJ, her cousins Zoe, Maya, Holden, Kayden, Jet, Kael.  She also got to hang out with G-Mo Cindi, Auntie Gabby, Aunt Janine & Uncle Brook.  Whew. . . that’s quite a trip.

Also, Liliana loves camping- hiking, sleeping in tents, getting very dirty- you name it, she loved it- all with a runny nose!  Truly, we had an amazing time and it was great to be able to both spend so much wonderful time surrounded by our incredible family, and to also have a rare opportunity to spend so much time just the 3 of us.  Utah and Arizona are true wonders to explore.

This month, I feel like we also see some of the best shots of Lily playing- you can really see her developing her play habits, mannerisms, and generally starting the trip from infant to toddler.  Having Logan as an example only adds to the speed at which she learns, and the sheer joy that she expresses along the way.  

Anyway, it’s past our bedtime, and tomorrow is a working day.  Enjoy the photos.  Hopefully they provide a glimpse into our pride and amazement as our daughter moves through her day, whether “chatting” with Logan over breakfast, exploring the dirt of our local parks, or (I swear she’s saying this, and it couldn’t possibly be wishful thinking) her calls of “Dad” when I come home from work.  See you all next month- don’t be strangers- she grows quick these days.

Love,

Liliana, Marita, and Ian.

Liliana 9 months (and a day . . . or so!)

So Liliana says forget walking, I just want to dance! And, yes, this girl dances. And dances. And dances some more. She dances to any music. A little ditty from Lightning McQueen makes Liliana shake her little tooshie. The 123 Song and we get a one handed raise the roof. Liliana will clap and clap while watching her song DVD (okay so most of the time she sits and stares like a zombie. TV = SCARY.) Hanging with her monkey and dancing to the rainforest music. Climbing up onto the 1st step to hold onto the safety gate means that Liliana is on stage for the entertainment of all in the room. She doesn't need an audience. Sometimes she doesn't even need music. She just needs the opportunity to let her body wiggle.


Liliana also says forget walking, I just want to climb the stairs. Don't leave the gate open or I'm gone! Catch me if you can!

Oh, goodness Liliana is a happy child whose smile is pure sweetness. Her grin has changed from an open mouth awestruck smile to a wide silly grin showing off her two growing teeth. You can't help smiling with her. It is so funny to think I once thought she wasn't a laugher. The sound of her giggle is just too much. Liliana is not just happy she is a total love-bug. She loves to greet people with a little wave hello and goodbye, but all she wants to do is hug and kiss other babies. We admit that she may be considered a little forward for some kids who aren't used to so much aggressive lovin'. Today she was attacking Logan with kisses while he was getting a diaper change. Logan kept laughing because he had her drool dripping down his face. The more he laughed the more she kissed and giggled. Do you remember how much these kids love each other? It is still so true. The kids have been having so much fun on the morning trip to the park. Liliana loves the swings, but can so easily be convinced that the sandbox with all the trucks is the real place to be. She has gone beyond watching Logan and now loves to dig in the dirt, too. We are all learning not to eat the sand. But, a little dirt doesn't hurt anyone, right? We can't even imagine what kind of relationship Logan and Lily will develop over the years. They will be so much like siblings, hopefully minus the competition since they each have a set of spoiling parents.

We know you see a lot of pictures of Liliana eating, but she does spend a lot of her time, well, eating. She loves to eat. Seriously. A few weeks ago we were in awe of how she could finish her plate and then eat Logan's left overs. Seriously she was eating as much as twice as much as Logan. Logan is at that more picky stage and has been teething. The funniest conclusion to all of the daily eating contests has to be that each child had a check-up with the pediatrician, Dr. Danielson and received stunning results concerning weight. Liliana is below the 25th percentile for weight coming in between 16 and 17 pounds. Logan, on the other hand, was in the 90th percentile. Truth be told Liliana is a little shrimpster shorty and Logan is a giant off the charts for his age. At any rate, Liliana seems to be getting over eating in grand quantities. I guess the "people" food has just begun to lose the magic it once had when she switched from baby food. Now, no surprise, Liliana seems obsessed with drinking water from a sippy cup straw--just like her cousin Logan!

Liliana has been blessed with visitors this month, too. You'll notice pictures of a proud Great-Grandma Nana, Gram Alice, Grandpa Tom, Great-Aunt Janet, (Real) Uncle Dan, Canuncle Aaron (Ian's Canadian cousin), as well as many friends in the slide-show album this month.

The final update is probably more exciting for mom and dad. Liliana now sleeps in her own room. Yes, this big girl is sleeping through the night like a champion and likes to take two long naps a day instead of 30 minute cat naps. It is amazing how much changes when you get sleep and begin each day well-rested. Liliana is happier and so are mom and dad! Wish us luck this month when we take Liliana on a camping road trip where she will meet her maternal great-grandparents, including her namesake Neva, as well as the whole Brimhall Clan and the infamous Tommy O! Who would be able to sleep with all this excitement ahead?!