Eleven months already!

We've been remiss in updating this blog due to the sheer fact that I'm a handful. Charming and giggly but I move at a speed faster than light, I get into all sorts of trouble. To date, I've split my lip, bit my chin, bruised my head on several occasions. I've coughed, had stuffy noses which have inhibited my sleep but overall as healthy as a horse. I've been standing up on my own for the past few weeks and even finding myself standing without holing onto anything (which when I realize what I'm doing I promptly fall on my behind). Who needs t walk when you can crawl - and oh the things I find on the floor it's a literal buffet chez nous- drives mommy bonkers to see me with dust bunnies in my hand and with my mouth wide open to receive it. I've gotten on a great schedule, I wake up around 7 mommy or daddy gives me a bottle (with a little cereal) and then I either take a little nap or I play...then if needed a little sieste before lunch but recently I've been eating around 11:30 so that mommy can be assured that I've eaten as sometimes I like to sleep for 3 hours which screws up the rest of the day....after lunch I usually take a nap and then play play play. I've got my buddy Melissa, and then recently I met a new friend, Maya - who is half turk and half polish, she and I discussed the trials and tribulations of being trilingual.

It's Cooooool in Paris, fall seems to have brought bright blue skies but a chill that caused Mommy to rush out and buy two jackets for me. One that is brown wool with bits of blue and even blue stars on my elbows, and then a forest green jacket with orange silky material inside. I am a vision in both. I'll send pictures as soon as mommy can get me to sit still.

I'm looking forward to Christmas in Brazil! With both sets of grandparents and I get to meet my uncle Mauricio!!! My Daddy's twin brother who was in South Africa during the World Cup when the family came to Paris and Prague.

Sending you all big wet kisses!

Lucas

Three Generations of Bonato

All in one photo and all currently living under one roof. Sergio Bonato, Cleber's father and Lucas' grandfather is visiting us from Sao Paulo for a month and we had a great time dressing Lucas up in the various hats that Sergio brought from Brazil. Enjoy!

I'm crawling, it's official the house is no longer a nest it's a danger zone!

It's so much fun being able to zip around the house and entertain even more new sensations and toys. Love the way the rubber feels on my hands and I'm tearing the plus out of the wall and the plactic bottles of water that I try to lift with my bare hands, all very superman like as they probably weigh more than I do. Can't get enough of chasing after my ball and attempting to raise myself up on my legs but to date I've not gotten past the reaching up phase, but mommy's been great in giving me moral support.

I just got over the pain of three teeth when another three decide to appear on the scene! Causing me to wail and want mommy and daddy to help me ALOT. It's painful and I'm only a small child what do you expect!

I had my first taste of ginger just recently, mommy put together a little lunch of carrots, zucchini and ginger. Yummm! However when the results of eating blueberry puree landed in my diapers mommy was stunned by the results....who knew I could poop in blue?!

July 2010

After the rush of June which included my parents religious mariage and my baptism, it was onto July which was filled with the arrival of my three teeth. And three at one time is extremely "douleureux", painful, in whatever language it led me to bite everything in my path. I was almost dracula like yet I looked liked a pumpkin. I droooled and drooooled, everything that I wore seemed to fly off of me as mommy is not keen on a wet baby. Not to mention that I was beginning to show signs of crawling which sent mommy and daddy to various stores to ensure that all cables and breakable items were secure and out of reach from my strong and determined hands.

And then there was the fall. I managed to find the single moment in time when mommy didn't secure me in my stroller to lean over and eventually slide right over the side of my stroller, or my rolling throne as I like to call it. I ended up in the children's hospital for 2 nights and scared the living daylights out of my family who stayed by my side throughout the drama. I didn't even have a bruise, nor a scratch and thankfully other than a headache I came out of it as good as new and with about 6 new nurse girfriends. Mommy can't believe her stupidity but she wanted me to pass along a message to you new mothers': "We can therefore we do, so please do not forget to secure us before you turn your back because we might just be on the floor when you turn around"

Busy bee in June

As you can imagine with vovo in town I've been suuuuuper bizeeeeeee with entertaining her and the arrival of Marcio, my uncle, who has been a blast and has made me laugh as hard as Daddy does...June has been filled with family from all over the world as Mommy and Daddy were married religiously in Prague and I became a Child of God with my batism that same weekend. The weekend reunited my Czech family from Prague and Brno, my French family, my Brazilian family and my US family who were joined by wonderful family and friends ... I am a very lucky little boy and particularly well behaved child in restaurants and airplanes which has led granpa to believe that I am a perfect child. There are so many photos to share but where to begin. we are trying to gather them together and we'll let you know where to find them. In the meantime, here are a few to keep you entertained....

Vovo is here from Sao Paulo

My grandmother is here from Sao Paulo. She came just to see me, me, me.... It sure beats looking at her on a screen. That was getting rather old for both of us. I felt so comfortable with her from the start. She's got a lovely smell that I enjoy and she makes me smile with her songs and funny noises. It's been 23 years since she last handled a baby but she certainly knows what she's doing. She's been a blessing for mommy and daddy - Daddy's missed her alot, and mommy is thrilled to have an extra pair of hands to help her out.

We have 2 months ahead of us to play and I'm going to make the most of every moment.

5 months and 27 days...

I am approaching my 6 month birthday and my parents are most certainly going to celebrate the fact that they got me to this point in one piece.

Reflecting upon the past 5 months, I'd say that I'm a pretty easy going baby. I get alot of compliments (oh il est beau! translation: Oh isn't he handsome, Oh il est sage - translation Oh isn't he calm, you get the picture so far I'm Mr. Popular) The fact that I have 3 passports seems to excite everyone around me and that I'll be speaking 3 languages in due time also seems to call for a round of applause and envy. I am the quintessential baby citizen of the world...

I'm grabbing at faces and toys with both hands, I continue to smile and laugh ALOT, I love looking at the crane that Daddy bought me in Prague and the kites on my ceiling. I have started eating solids, not so fond of red peppers, but adore cauliflower and turnip (seriously who knew???) and I drink about 240ml 4x a day....Sleeping through the night is a relative term as mommy doesn't think that 5:30am is a dignified hour to be waking up, but hey I haven't eaten since 9pm!!! Daddy is the best when ever I cry in the middle of the night he tends to lean towards the "he must be hungry camp" therefore I get a little extra bottle lovin' but mommy's determined to put an end to that boondoggle, as is my pediatrician who is trying to brainwash mommy that a child should be getting his last bottle at 8 and sleeping until 8 the next morning. I do pirouettes in my bed....360 but not in rolling style - I more resemble a clock....I love sleeping on my side and I am SOOOO angelic when I do. I still fart and spit up which is part of my charm and because I'm so cute I'm forgiven all my trespasses. Being a baby is everything and more than I could have dreamed of and I am especially blessed by my family who loves me more than life itself.

Jump Jump Jump

I've been stranded on land due to the vacances scolaires in France, there's always something!, but Mommy's keeping me active (aka out of her hair while she attends to the needs of her client and the house) by introduciing me to a bouncy chair which was kindly offered by our friend Jen. I am lovin' it, at first I was afraid I was petrified not knowing if this chair would actually hold me but now I'm turning about and bouncing up and down and having the time of my life. So much for the pool I'm now convinced that the bouncy chair is where it's at. And if mom can ever figure out how to upload the video you'll see for yourselves what a star I am.

Here's to all of you who could use a bouncy chair and a smile...

Bebe Nageur

Basically mom's already gearing me to overtake Michael Phelp's record... as we're off to bebe nageur class this weekend. A moment of pure bonheur in the pool with mom and dad. Effectively we babies are quite adept in water so this will be easy as pie. And in light of this latest adventure, one must gear up with the appropriate water wear which means a baby bathingsuit and as there is a high probability that I will pee in the pool, there are specific water adapted diapers made for this type of torture, did I say that??? What I really meant to say is that my mother is assuring that my motor skills are on par with all the other flailing infants that will be joining me on Saturday for a little H20 (up the nose).

But back to my point, my mom has searched high and low in the department stores for these famous diapers and no go, but on the Internet where you can find everything your little heart desires she indeed found the perfect pair - complete in color, wait for it..... BRAZILIAN!!!!....I'm going to be breaking some hearts in my multi colored wonders.... will add photos once they arrive.

California Dreamin'

Arrival at SFO was an emotional one with my grandfather waiting for us, as we exited the passenger zone and entered into the light we noticed a few tears welling up in his eyes. Little did he know how excited I was to see him! Looking up to see my mom, she too was unable to hold back the tears that she knew would well in light of this extraordinary encounter. We headed out to the car, as we had a little drive ahead of us, and grandad commented in a joiking way that he saw for the first time someone else with our heinously bright green luggage....only to have minutes later a phone call on my father's cell from my mother that some girl had called the house in a panic that we had her luggage. And sure enough we did, or should I say she mistakenly took ours. What a surprise she would have had as most the luggage was dedicated to my wardrobe and blankets and formula (just in case) and other key items that my parents brought in from Paris to ensure my wellbeing.

We eventually made it home to Sacramento where we were greeted by my very enthusiastic grandmother who took me immediately out of mom's arms to coo and to kiss me ALL OVER. All this attention will never get old, never!

It seems that I've arrived in Nirvana for the days that have passed I've been cuddled, kissed, coo'd, rubbed, warmed, hugged, walked, read to, told stories, shuttled, wined and dined, cared for, shuttled in Swedish autos all around town all by my lovely family which only keeps growing - and the accents keep changing which makes it a tad difficult to figure out what they are trying to say, but they all have big smiles when I laugh and even bigger smiles when I cry as they are trying to get me to mimick them - silly people don't they know that crying is part of my charm.

Highlights from my trip:
- Meeting my grandfather and grandmother and seeing my Auntie again
- Being held by my grandfather, grandmother and Auntie
- Being tickled and talked to by grandfather, grandmother and Auntie
- Sleeping in my mother's baby bed (the one she slept in at my age)
- Discovering the garden thanks to some sunny California days
- Walks with mom and Grandfather
- Shopping with mom and grandmother
- Smiling at my Auntie
- Long discussions with my grandmother
- Meeting mom's friends
- Our night out at the Starlight room in SF and dinner at the Burger Bar
- Receiving beautiful gifts from friends and family (espeically my cow from Auntie Marie)
- And last but not least, bringing a smile to the faces of the people that love me most.





Only three months and I've already travelled to 2 continents and 2 capital cities, not bad for a young lad...in about a month I'm headed to London and then to Prague to meet more of the family with the big smiles.

My first laugh...

Today Daddy and Mommy's heart melted as I laughed and laughed (Smile plus sound +Laugh). It all started out while sitting on Daddy's lap in the position we often refer to as the CaCa position - needless to say it's my favorite position from which I can see right into Daddy's and Mommy's eyes and feel relaxed enough to a) go to the toilet in my diapers or b) enjoy a round of smiles with my parents while they make silly noises at me. Daddy's noises sound a bit different than mommy's - Brazilian Portugese and French and then Mommy offers a little American English and French...I suppose they are hoping that one of these days I'll be able to figure it all out and respond accordingly. I suppose with my three passports it's the least I can do. I've included a video for you to enjoy! This is dedicated to my family in Brazil, France, United States and the Czech Republic - as it's my universal way of communicating to you that I'm having a great time!

Two Months old and a day

Yesterday January 20th, I celebrated my 2nd month here on earth. It's been grand, mom and dad dote on me daily. I have my good days and my bad days. I'm slowly growing out of my onesies and PJs every week which is truly freaking mommy out and she can't believe how fast I'm growing and on top of it every time she puts aside the outgrown clothes - they happen to mysteriously find there way back into the drawer. Is it Daddy? Or is mom suffering from anal retentive short term memory syndrome - everything in it's place and if it's sitting outside we must put in back in ... even if we left it outside for a reason!!!

Dad thinks I'm going through baby puberty - he keeps telling mommy that my voice is changing - could be, I can't really tell all I know is that I currently laugh and smile in silence and although every once in a while a gurgle will accompany a laugh or smile which floats mommy's boat to no end. Mommy and I spend LOTS of time together. She feeds me, changes me and puts me to sleep in her arms. Daddy is working alot these days which he loves but every free minute he has he's all mine and I'm all his. He can't get enough of me and I can't blame him because I'm cute.

I have yet to learn certain manners, like no passing gas while at the dinner table or in the arms of my parent's friends.. but I'm small it just sneaks up on me what can I do...and if I stare up with my big grey blue eyes I'm usually forgiven.

I've had a number of visitors to the house in the past few weeks, including Dominique and her daughter Laetitia (Dominique grew up around the corner from my Grandmere Anne-Louise, and Laetitia came to stay with mommy and her family when she was young), Sylvain and Virginie (mommy's cousin and his girfriend) took care of me while Mom and Dad went out - I fell asleep on Sylvain which was sooo fun as there was so much space to spread out on. I love having visitors and I hope that I'll be able to meet all of mommy and daddy's friends and family in the next few months. So come on over! I'm waiting.....

The Haricot Vert Variety

It seems that no matter how hard we try to plumpen up our little Lucas he remains very long and very thin...I like to think of him as my haricot vert baby. In comparison to the other babies I meet (and god knows mother's compare) who are more of the sugar plum variety round and rosy, Lucas' features are almost doll like and although he continues to gain the 20g/day as required and seems to replenish his diapers with that and more - I am always wondering is he eating enough?

That being said his structure leads our minds to wonder about what he will become and we imagine him having hands of a pianist, long and lean, which will deliver sultry sounds into the air, as we're all about Jazz and Bossa Nova in this house with a touch of classical to lull him to sleep during the day...Speaking of music, Papa bear Cleber loves to sing to his little one, and its heartwarming to hear him as Lucas just stares intently up at him wondering what on earth he's saying as we have three languages in the house. I try to sing, but tend to avoid singing when anyone else is around as I know my son will love me no matter and frankly I'm having to make songs up as I've forgotten all the songs I should be singing. My dad tended to sing to me in Czech and alas I wouldn't have the slightest clue as to where to begin. Must get lullabye CD in the states in order to replenish my song repetoire.

Actually grandpa Jan will indeed have the chance to sing in Czech as we're headed to the US for three weeks to visit with the Radimsky's and hopefully catch up with some old and dear friends.

We've added a few fun photos of our little guy, including one with James Wecker, my dear friend from LA who used to live in Paris. It was very fashion photo shoot as they were just too handsome for words and their outfits were quite complimentary.

We wish everyone well for the New Year....

Cheers,

Lucie-Anne and Cleber

My Faces

My parents have the chance to view my "faces" on a daily basis, I've put together a few of my favorites in the hope that they bring you happy faces....