reunited

At 9 a.m. Tuesday morning I saw Amy waving over a stack of suitcases coming through the doors of the customs office. Then I saw two little heads shooting by with their carry-ons in tow. So I got my hugs after a month of being a part. Lucy was in the stroller all snug in a little white onesie that even had little footies on it. She didn't cry at least when she saw me. But she's been all smiles and grins since, showing off her two bottom teeth.

Yesterday we went to Parque Dom Pedro (rumored to be the largest shopping mall in South America) to celebrate Simon's birthday. The boys got to play at a really large play place in the mall with slides and pools of balls and computer games. And then we went and ate at T.G.I. Friday's. Simon liked his brownie but didn't like the singing for his birthday. And when they tried to get him to stand up in a chair and dance, he just crossed his arms and furled his eyebrows. He didn't like his present (the movie Soccer Dog) because he said... "it's got a bad guy in it". Apparently the dog catcher in the movie was just a little too scary.

So we are settling in now to Campinas-life. We are staying in a three-bedroom house three blocks from "downtown" (which isn't saying much). We are enjoying the slowed-down pace after Belo's 3-million-plus pace. Most everything is in walking distance (for normal people) and the house has a yard which is great for us apartment folk. I bought a table today (we had been eating sitting on the counter top in the kitchen with the kids on the floor) for R$80... that's less than $40! It is sky blue with two sky blue chairs that match and rotate!