Blog da Elis

7 ways Brazil will ruin your children

2012-01-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

I love Brazil!

Brazil fan in Paranapiacaba

Although I was born in Canada, I only spent the first 7 weeks of my life there, plus a few return trips over the last few years. Generally, Brazil's a great place to be a kid. (São Paulo isn't the best place in Brazil to be a kid, though - no freedom, no space, lots of pollution, and insane traffic.) But getting back to the good points of life in Brazil: people are extra-nice to children (and their parents) here, I never get dirty looks for being noisy, and I don't get kicked out of restaurants, concerts, and bars just because I'm underage.

Dancing with Tia Elena, who always takes me to fun places!

The New York Times said to visit this bar in the Barra Funda neighbourhood of São Paulo, so I did! (Well, to tell the truth, I went there first!)

Bar by the beach in Iguape

Plus, I've got the best nanny in the whole world, a ton of cousins and aunts and uncles, and at least a dozen neighbourhood kids who regularly knock on the door to play with me. (No need to get driven around to play dates and sign up for a million organized kids' activities...the fun comes to me!)

The neighbourhood gang celebrating my birthday last year

What more could you want when you're three?

Checking out plants and bugs in an abandoned lot with my biologist buddy, Oliver

But, all this fun comes with a few drawbacks. So, for my other dual-nationality friends (that's you, Oliver, Sophie, Sophia, Davi and August, plus all my virtual friends from the blogging world), and parents of half-Brazilian kids, prepare yourselves! Brazil may turn out to be a bad influence on you, too. Here's why:

1) I like to sing Luan Santana, Michel Teló and evangelical pop at the top of my lungs.

2) I think a meal without meat and rice isn't real food ("Mãe, não quero isso, quero comiiiida!") Plain white rice, however, is delicious!

3) I regularly stay up until midnight. (This is my parents' fault more than Brazil's, of course.)

4) I think that putting salt on or in random things, like oranges or milk, is a good idea. (This may be because I'm three, not because I'm Brazilian...but I think the two are related.)

5) I speak broken English, or none at all. (The video below shows me at the height of my English-speaking abilities, on the eve of returning to Brazil after 6 weeks in Canada.) I refer to cupcakes as "bolinhos" and regularly mix up "oatmeal" and "omelette" (leading to a crying fit the other day when I discovered that I was being served omelette, when I was expecting oatmeal!)

6) I am confused by household appliances, demanding long explanations when I see a dishwasher or dryer.

7) When left alone for a few minutes at my grandma's house, I take advantage of my freedom to eat salty snacks, put on my cousin's high heels, and watch really, really bad television.

Caught! (Yes, it's Faustão....)

Cousins, second cousins, primos & primas

2012-01-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

All I have to say is that I have some darn cute cousins! After spending the past 30 hours with a gaggle of them, I thought I would share some photos. In no particular order, here are a few of my Brazilian priminhos and Canadian cousins - with my apologies to the many cousins who are missing from the photos....And yes, some of these photos were stolen off Facebook, from weddings and parties that I didn't even get to go to!

OK, maybe not cousins, but still cute and worthy of posting on the internet: Auntie Lizz making faces on Skype (with Ryan looking amused in the background)

Feliz Ano Novo! Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T08:42:00.000-08:00

Me arrumei sozinha e estou pronta para o Ano Novo! Check out my New Year's Eve outfit - now that I'm almost four, I LOVE dressing myself!

Desejo um maravilhoso 2012 para todos os amigos!
Happy New Year, everyone!

Maloqueira internacional.....(ou, canadense da quebrada)

2011-11-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

A while back, I said to my mom, "Nóis é tough." If you understand why this (or anything else in this post) is funny, consider yourself bilingual in English and São Paulo slang. She thought it was hilarious and told me to post it on my blog, along with my question and answer to myself during the last election campaign: "Você vai votar em quem?" "Corinthians!" I'm sure Lula would agree with me. To top it off, I recently appeared on TV Corinthians!

Since the World Cup will be opening in São Paulo in the not-too-distant future, and I know my way around Itaquera (home of the new soccer stadium for the opening game, as well as the Corinthians soccer team), I would like to offer my services to all the foreign tourists out there who are in need of a very cute translator/bodyguard. Here are a few of the places and events in Itaquera that I've been to lately; for a small fee, I'll take you to all these fun places between soccer matches!

COHAB José Bonifácio with Artistas Viajantes da Nossa Goma

Parque Raul Seixas

Garbage clean-up in my party dress! (OK, this isn't Itaquera, but doesn't it prove how sophisticated I am?)

Reggae na Rua in the rain

All this fun thanks to the nice itaquerenses from ALMA Ambiental! Here I am checking out slugs with my friend Nayê, in front of ALMA's office.

But after all this excitement, plus two trains and two buses to get home from Itaquera, I'm one tired kid!

Can't beat the system (a.k.a Justin Bieber mania hits São Paulo)

2011-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

My mom was chatting with our neighbour, so I sat down in front of the TV in our neighbour's living room.

Returning from the kitchen to find me glued to the TV, my mom said, "Elis, you know you're not allowed to watch TV."

My smart response?

"But it's Justin Bieber!"

He's playing in São Paulo tonight. If only I were thirteen, and not three....

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (With love from Elis)

2011-08-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hoje comemorei seu aniversário com sorvete de frambuesa!

E lembrei das nossas viagens juntos!
(Chile, dezembro de 2008)

Só falta você aqui....Estamos com saudades!

Whitehorse...

2011-07-17T03:14:00.000-07:00

Foi corrida minha visita à minha cidade natal, Whitehorse, e não tive tempo para mandar notícias! Então, aqui vão as fotos, todas de uma vez!

A viagem:

Auto-retrato às 5h - Houston, Texas. Não tem fila prioritária para ninguém e demorou un século....Não gostei!

Pelo menos o trenzinho entre terminais em Houston compensou a má recepção nos Estados Unidos!

Cheguei no Canadá!

36h depois de sair de casa, cheguei na casa do vovô.

E o dia seguinte comecei a fazer amizades....

E aproveitar das coisas legais no Canadá:

Adoro banho de banheira!

Ajudando meu vô, que diz que reciclar dá muito trabalho. (E dá mesmo, por que precisa separar tudo - e não só entre plástico, papel e metal, se não por número de plástico, tipo de papel etc - e ainda levar para a estação de coleta. Outra desvantagem de morar em cidadezinha do interior do Canadá é ônibus que funciona até 19h da noite e não funciona aos domingos!)

Amigas da minha mãe - Shauna e Sabine

Cachecol do Free Store (Brechó gratuito) da estação de coleta de recicláveis

Urso feroz na margem do Rio Yukon

Observem meu crachá de guardaparque, do qual eu sou muito orgulhosa!

Pancakes!

Cheezie

Já vi esta cena

Minha amigua desde nascimento, Mali

Árvores para subir....preciso treinar!

Levando a Maggie para o parque

Andando no trenzinho de Whitehorse

Chique no último!

Ajudando o vovô montar a nova churrasqueira

Brincando na chuva com a Maggie

Primo Carter

Priminha Sophie

Brasileira no desfile do Dia do Canadá (1ro de julho). Foi uns 10 minutos de desfile, mas tudo bem, tentaram....

Bagel com cream cheese no Tim Horton´s

Não falei que sou chique no último? Com meu uniforme de escola particular e salto alto....

Fireweed

Copacabana canadense (Carcross, Yukon)

Ajudei a arrumar a casa do vovô todos os dias

Cansei! Preciso de um whiskey....(Meus pais também!)

E agora, novas aventuras me esperam! (Daqui umas horas, bem cedinho, embarco para Toronto.) Tchau!

Em fevereiro, tem Carnaval!

2011-03-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Moro em um pais tropical, mas fez frio em São Paulo neste Carnaval de março. Meus pais ficaram trabalhando e não me deixaram fazer nada...então tive que pular Carnaval em casa!

Happy Carnival, everyone! Here's me showing off my samba skills to bad Brazilian pop music! (Note to self - fairy wands and samba are a potentially dangerous combination....)

I was, after all, born on Carnival weekend, 3 years ago....I'd better know a thing or two about samba!

I must say that I've improved a bit since the beginning of my dancing career!

Got to work at it a bit longer before I get to the sambódromo, though....But if these kids can do it, why not me?

3 aninhos!

2011-02-04T00:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've sure come a long way since that chilly February morning in Whitehorse in 2008. In case you've forgotten, check out these photos:
Birthday (as in, the day I was born!)
First birthday
Second birthday

As of today, I'm 3 years old - can you believe it? If you're in the neighbourhood, why don't you stop by my birthday picnic?

Christmas Day in Santo André

2010-12-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

No presents (that was on the 24th, at night), no snow, no milk and cookies for Santa Claus (or carrots for his reindeer)....just 24 hours of barbecue, sun, really annoying firecrackers, loud music, dancing, and playing in the street....

*Nota para os amigos gestores, engenheiros, arquitetas e urbanistas - fiquem à vontade de usar esta foto para mostrar (mais uma vez) que o desenho dos conjuntos habitacionais tem que pensar melhor o espaço comum de convivência e lazer e modificar radicalmente a prioridade total que é dada até hoje para o carro....Mas mesmo com este péssimo planejamento, nós mesmos fechamos a rua e criamos uma rua de lazer em quase todos os feriados.

Even the adults got in on the fun!

Yes, that IS our stylish grill, thank you very much.

And whose fault was all this bagunça? My dad's, of course!

Now I'm off to Brasilia for New Year's.....tchau!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

2010-12-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

I love manioc flour!

2010-10-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Who has time to blog when you're two years old?

2010-03-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

OK, so I am now almost two years and two months old, but here's a quick look back at my most recent birthday.

My bilingual birthday invitation....

My birthday party was pretty fun.....

And there was even chocolate cake....but I didn't get any! By the way, don't get the wrong idea. This is not a typical Brazilian birthday party - a REAL Brazilian party includes lots of fried pastries and pop. Lots. And then some more. Serving tropical fruit is considered weird. I only get away with it because, well, I was born at 30 below zero....

Here are some of my neighbours....

All in all, it was a pretty fun party - I should have birthdays more often!

A riddle for you....

2009-09-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix Canadian and Brazilian genes - and 6 trips between the megalopolis of São Paulo and small-town northern Canada - into one 20-month-old kid?

a) the world's only moose-eating, soccer-playing samba dancer?
b) a happy, even-tempered tot who's as comfortable hanging out in international airports as in favelas (7 and 4, respectively, at last count)
c) a fearless superhero who can take on the mean streets of São Paulo, as well as the odd muskox, bear, and giant beaver?
d) a multilingual parrot?
e) (organic brown salt-free) rice and beans at midnight?
f) all of the above.

You guessed it - f) all of the above is the answer! Proof to come in the next post...keep your eye on my blog!

Ahhhh....summer in the Yukon!

2009-09-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

No Brazilian beaches in sight, but it sure was a nice summer!

It's a bird....

2009-09-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

It's a bird.....

(Thanks, Tia Sarom, for the fabulous chickadee with the ultra-realistic chirp!)

It's a plane......

(OK, so it's not in the picture, but Ellazora and I are pointing at an airplane, really we are!)

It's...........

.........

...............

........................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................................

SkookumYukon Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

______________________________________________________________________

I have added dozens of English words to my vocabulary in the last few months. Words like "moose," for example. Yep, I sure do like mooses! And squirrels. And buses and airplanes.

While it probably doesn't interest anyone but me and my parents, here's what I could say at 18 1/2 months - in mid-August - for the record.

(These are words that I say spontaneously - not just copying someone - and consistently, listed in the language that I say them in. While I understand all of these words - and many more - in both Portuguese and English, I almost always say any particular word in just one language....and so end up saying funny things like "Mais (more) cheese!" Sometimes, my "words" are so far off that they're not actually words in any language, but if I use a sound consistently to mean something recognizable, it's included. Words that I already said at 15 months aren't on this list - you can see them on the post from May.)

hello ("lo")

purse ("puss")

banana

blusa (sweater)

outside ("ow-sigh")

nenê & baby

puppy

bunny

dress

onion ("anyeh")

tchau & bye bye

guitar ("tao" - with guitar sign)

Harley ("ah-ley" - 5-year-old neighbour)

bus

mess (I just love throwing things on the floor and then announcing that there's a "mess!")

vroom (car -"bum")

num num or papa (a.k.a food)

tetê (milk/nurse)

meia ("mia" - sock or leggings)

real & money

yeah

OK ("otay" - OK, I don't really say it spontaneously, but I copy it a lot.)

bug ("bu" with spider sign)

pants

shirt ("shut")

apple ("apo")

rice

pão (bread)

cheese

bird ("buwd")

avião

train ("tayn")

tractor ("tato")

diaper ("data")

boat

moto (motorcycle)

bike ("bat")

rio (river)

umbrella ("bala")

flower ("flau")

hat ("ata")

Vovô ("wowo" - Grandpa)

ovo ("o" - egg)

towel (tau-oh)

Po (the dog we took care of)

desce (down)

all done

sapatos ("paty" - shoes)

moose

horsie

pee & "sss"

poo

thank you ("te" along with sign)

meow (cat), grrr (bear), fish lips (fish), tongue click (squirrel), bow wow (dog)

bola (ball)

"bat" (glasses/goggles)

anda & walk ("wa")

monster ("monta")

eyes

bum

mão (hand)

please ("pees")

keys ("tees")

tree ("tee")

I am starting to get proficient at combining two words together, too. For example:

Daddy, done.

Mamãe/Tia/Daddy, dress/blusa/paty. (a.k.a sapato - shoe)

Blue, tia. (Translation: "Draw a picture for me, auntie." It took Shauna a while to discover what she was being commanded to do!)

Mais cheese!

Mamãe, tee (tree) á. (Translation: "Mommy, water the plants.")

Bowwow, anda!/Po, anda!

Tia 'Lo (Translation: "Auntie Hello" - Shauna's neighbour's name is Carol, not Hello - but we always say hello to her!)

Mamãe, tetê/num/pão.

All done.

Vovô vrum! (I identify cars by their owner - "vrum tia," "vrum vovô," and "Harley vrum.")

Nice bus!

Bom dia!

Me at 17 months in the Yukon!

2009-07-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

For some reason, the audio is ahead of the video....but if you can ignore that, you'll see just how clever I am these days!

Almost 16 months old!

2009-06-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

My little neighbours came over to play and brought their digital camera! I really wanted to make a video showing off everything that I know now, especially since it's almost my Grandpa's birthday and he hasn't seen me in ages! I'll bring your birthday present personally in a few weeks, OK, Vovô Greg?

Blog comments

2009-05-28T03:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who commented recently! I'm so bad at responding to comments. From now on I'll make more of an effort, because I do love reading them! Obrigada a todos que comentaram no meu blog. Me desculpem por não responder a todos antes - vou me esforçar de escrever mais daqui para frente, porque adoro ler seus comentários!

I woke up with my Dad today, at 6 am, and insisted (by making a "psss" sound) on being taken to pee three times in less than an hour. So, believe it or not, I peed three times in a row in my potty. That is definitely a milestone. Generally it's hit or miss - sometimes I will signal that I need to pee, other times I can't be bothered and just pee in my diaper. I confess - I just wanted to be allowed to get out of bed to play! Normally, I'm the best morning sleeper - I go to bed late, but then I sleep until 10 or 11am - so I don't quite know what happened today.

After all that commotion, and a cracker, and playing a bit, I fell asleep in the middle of the living room. To share with Julie and the Casa Rosa gang, I took this photo - I call it Self Portrait with the Casa Rosa Quilt. Aren't I cute?

And here are a couple more cute photos that I took recently, for good measure....

And now for Auntie Lizz....

Mission accomplished. Sorta.

Way too many photos of me in Santiago

2009-05-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

Way, way too many unedited, unselected photos from my visit to Santiago, Chile in December 2008....

Me at 15 months

2009-05-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today I am 15 months old! I don't mean to boast, of course (do I ever?), but I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments. My mom has been writing things down in a book, once-in-a-while-if-she-remembers-sort of-maybe, but in this day and age, everything that's important is digital, is it not? I told her to get with it and let ME do the list - on my blog. I mean, I'm already behind the times because I don't use Twitter, right? (I would, but my mom doesn't let me. She says it's silly. My dad doesn't know what it is and doesn't care.) So here's a digital list of my accomplishments, big and (mostly) small.

I weigh 10.8 kg and am 78.5cm tall. I have 8 teeth and hardly any hair. I can:

Say in English: Mom, Daddy, dog, muh (milk.) I also answer "Eissh" when asked "What's your name?"

Say in Portuguese: Mamãe (mommy), bow wow (not sure how it's spelled - maybe bau uau - for dog), a (for água - water), dá (give), and something that sounds like "desce" (down.) Answer "Cadê o dodoi?" (Where's the owie?) by saying "ay" and pointing to the place that hurts.

Say the names of some of my friends and neighbours - Jessa (Jessica), Chagõ (Tiago), Deiss (Deise), Tata (Carla) and Chi (Tia - auntie - for my babysitter Sandra.)

Point to my head, nose, mouth, foot, hand, and belly button when asked in English or Portuguese.

Follow simple instructions in both Portuguese and English. Here are some that I have mastered in both languages:

Give Mommy/Daddy the ......
Come here.
Go get your car/ball/book/diaper.
Go to Daddy.
Put it in the garbage.
Brush your hair. (Yeah, yeah, I know I don't actually have any hair!)
Sit down (although I understand, I usually don't obey!)
Kiss the baby (kiss myself in the mirror!)
Kick (the ball)
Dance

Two words that I only know in Portuguese are "gira" (to which I spin wildly in circles - I haven't learned the word "spin" yet!) and "carinho" (to which I gently touch - or hit - a person or animal.)

Charm people by showing off that I understand both languages - they can say any of the words below, and I do the appropriate action!

Blink or piscadinha
Kiss or beijo
Hug or abraço
Tchau or bye bye

Fill in the missing "da" if you say "Você é minha vi...." or "Elis is from Cana....." OK, OK, so I don't actually know what I'm saying, but that's beside the point. My neighbour Carla taught me that trick, and everybody loves it!

Use hand signs for "hungry," "milk," "doggy," "bath" and "all done" and shake my head to disagree.

And of course it's not all about language skills. No, I am multi-talented, you see. I can pee and poop in my potty (not all the time, of course - but at least a couple of times per day. I like to think of it as doing my bit for the environment - fewer laundry loads of cloth diapers and hardly a disposable diaper in sight these days, except for at night. My dad works for the municipal garbage department and the local landfill is within months of being completely full - what's a concerned baby to do?) I can nurse lying down, sitting, and even standing up! I just learned how to walk backwards, and these days I love climbing up on things (and into things, like closets.) And I love to dance, of course - I clap, tap my toes, stamp my feet and bounce to everything from reggae to samba to folky Yukon tunes. I can manage to very messily ingest a bowl of food on my own, although the spoon is more for decoration than for use - what's the point, really, when you can get your hands messy? I do scribble, but the crayon is more likely to end up in my mouth than on the paper. I am particularly fond of pressing buttons - from turning on the TV at the neighbours' house to taking photos to flushing the toilet. And I just discovered how to blow bubbles in the bathtub - my mom thinks it looks kind of dangerous and watches me like a hawk, but I think it's just plain fun! I try to be helpful, sometimes - recently I dumped my water all over the floor, and then - without anyone telling me to - found a cloth and began to wipe it up. That was an isolated incident, though - usually I just make huge messes. Emptying drawers, grabbing CDs and other reachable objects and throwing them on the floor - and if anyone tries to stop me, I let them have it. Ah, yes, I can't wait for the terrible twos...

Well, that was the most photo-free post I have ever done. I will work on getting some photo and video evidence for all these grand claims. In the meantime, please encourage me by leaving comments - I might even get those pictures up faster if you do! But for now, I've got some sleeping, growing, and learning to attend to!

Sophisticated Me

2009-04-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

My dad and mom and babysitter Sandra made an exhibit of some of the big events in my life to show to our friends at my first birthday party, at the beginning of February....

Well, I think they missed some key details....My first doll, my first book, baby photos and passports (yes, that's plural - did you ever doubt my sophisticatedness?) are all well and good, but what about these sophisticated things I've done in the past year?

- Spent Rendezvous in Whitehorse, Chinese New Year in Vancouver's Chinatown and Carnaval in Brazil

- Not been allowed to eat the yummy food at far too many fine restaurants.

- And at some not-so-fine restaurants....

- Imbibed more alcohol than I should have and still managed to crawl straight

- Visited 5 countries and 4 national capitals (still need to work on Brasília!)

Ottawa

Santiago

Buenos Aires

Montevideo

- Travelled by plane, automobile, bus, motorbike, electric bicycle, small boat, train, subway, streetcar, dogsled, ferry, and backpack.

- Dipped my toes in the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, Lake Ontario, and the Yukon and São Francisco Rivers

Pacific Ocean - Chiloé Island, Chile

Lake Ontario
Yukon River

- Hung out with Madonna AND Evita in Buenos Aires, Lula in Brazil, and....hmmm....some Yukon bloggers in the Yukon....

Eva Perón's tomb, Buenos Aires

Lula and ministers, Santo André

- Slept, bathed, nursed and been the life of the party in too many exotic places to count.

Montréal

Buenos Aires

Chiloé National Park, Chile

Santiago, with my amiguita Rocío

- Pondered the world's problems

Whew! That's enough bragging for one night. If you encourage me by leaving comments, I might add to the list another day! Heck, I might even add some recent pictures of me doing sophisticated things like peeing on the potty, riding my mini-tricycle, and eating tofu. Oh wait, those aren't sophisticated, you say? Right, maybe I'll go back to solving the world's problems....

Elis meets the the Casa Rosa gang

2009-02-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

To whom it may concern:
This top-secret report has been kept undercover for months, and only recently released under strict orders to destroy after reading.
Thank you,
Agent E.

Note to readers: this is the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.

It has nothing to do with the Casa Rosa, which is believed to be located in Vancouver near Dunbar and 23rd Avenue. Recent reconnaissance missions confirm that it is longer as pink as it was in 1999-2000, when it was inhabited by 7 members of a shadowy group with links to a suspected terrorist organization based at UBC.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-02-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today I'm turning one! Can you believe it? Can't chat right now...got to get my cake baked and my invitations e-mailed and my hair done in time for the big party!

Guess my mom won't be needing this book anymore, now that I'm all growed up...I wonder if she'll let me rip it up? Or colour in it - I got to colour with crayons for the first time the other day.

I was pretty proud of myself when I was born - I thought being 4196 grams (9 pounds, 4 ounces) and 56 centimetres made me pretty tough. Not to mention that we walked to the hospital at 30 below! I spent 2 nights keeping my mom awake as I was getting ready to be be born, but I didn't want to spend time hanging around Whitehorse General Hospital. So we arrived at 8:10 in the morning, and in three and a half hours, I was born. Drugs and medical interventions really are overrated, I say. Anyway, as I was saying, after that I thought I was pretty darn tough. But looking back, I can't believe what a scrawny, ugly runt I was then! Now I'm 10kg and 77cm, and quite a bit cuter!

I did get bit a cuter over the next week, but I was still pretty skinny and short!

Anyway, that's enough chatting for now. This gal's got a big day ahead of her!

Crazy Yukon dads

2009-01-31T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ummm....you won't catch my dad doing this:

This is MY dad at -42C in the Yukon. Note that he is NOT about to take off his clothing.

But since I would love to see these cute girls get to spend 6 months on an island in Australia, you should go here to vote for their dad's video. It's pretty darn funny.

Assistem um vídeo muito doido de um rapaz da minha cidade nadando en água muito gelada! Votem nele para que ele possa concorrer para "o melhor emprego do mundo" - morando 6 meses em uma ilha da Australia. Você também pode enviar seu próprio vídeo para concorrer ao prêmio!

Me at 11 2/3 months

2009-01-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

Learning to walk and dance - January 24th, 2009:

There's more of my dancing, walking and falling here.

Can you tell that I will soon be a talented samba and forró dancer? I can't wait until I'm a better dancer than my mom - I think I'll manage that feat before I start school. Here I am dancing with my dad.

In my spare time, I'm learning to play the guitar.

Here I am accompanying Elis Regina on my ukelele (or whatever that thing's called!)

Well, there's your update for today. I've come a long way in the last year, haven't I? (Here I am on Jan 24th, 2008!)

Feliz Natal - bilingual January edition

2009-01-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

You know, this bilingualism thing is tough. I just turned 11 months old, and people expect me to be bilingual already. Not only that, they complain when I don't say everything twice on my blog! I mean, por favor! I understand myself just fine the first time. For the rest of you, there's a very decent translator here - just enter the website address, and it will translate the entire page. Once in a while, it does spit out some pretty funny translations, though....check out the first paragraph of my original Christmas greeting:

This Christmas was very special for me, since that is the first step in this world without being within the mother of my potbelly. It is my first Christmas, and that Christmas!

All kidding aside (haha....See? I can already make not-funny and not-translatable puns. My Avô Greg would be proud!), I did mean to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in both Portuguese and English, but we only had a couple of hours off the ferry in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Day. (No, we weren't in Alaska - we were in Puerto Chacabuco in southern Chile.) It was lucky we found internet at all! Since my Christmas greeting didn't get uploaded in time, here it is now:

This video is for my Aunt Lizz, who complains that my mom doesn't teach me enough English. Here is the proof that I am learning some...in a mixed-up way. My friend Carla is doing a great job of learning along with me - dog is cachorro in Portuguese, but she and I both practiced the word dog today. If I can understand both "Cadê o doggy?" and "Where's the doggy?" at 11 months, I think I'm going to turn out all right. I also wave when I hear either "bye-bye" or "tchau" as well as blow kisses (well, smack my lips) in response to "beijo" and "kiss" (even though I didn't show it off very well in the video.) I am not totally bilingual, though...I hand objects over on command (when I'm feeling generous) and say "da" when I want something, but haven't yet learned to understand "give it to me" - that's way more complicated. And I call my Dad "Daddy" and not "Papai" - since I was babbling Dadada anyway, my parents thought that they'd teach me that first.

Anyway, chega....that's enough talking and blogging for tonight! Até mais!

Feliz Natal!!! Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Este Natal foi muito especial para mim, já que é o primeiro que passo neste mundo, sem estar dentro da barriguinha da minha mãe. É meu primeiro Natal e, que Natal!!!

Eu já ouvi vários amigos dos meus pais dizendo que eles são loucos...Definitivamente eu digo eles são loucos, mas loucos por aventura. Imagina que depois de atravessar de barco para o Uruguai, de viajar 20 horas dentro de um ônibus, indo de Buenos Aires para a Cordilheira dos Andes, e dando um pulo na ilha de Chiloé...depois de atravessar tantas montanhas e neve, de pegar tanta balsa.... agora eis que passamos este dia dentro de um navio em pleno Oceano Pacífico, na costa sul do Chile.

Ufa, depois de tudo isso, eu digo que ainda não acabou. O barco nos espera e Santiago, lá vamos nós!!!

Mas antes de seguir viagem aproveito para desejar aos nossos amigos muita felicidade.
Esses são os meus votos, mas é claro também são os de meu pai e de minha mãe, que estão aqui me ajudando a fazer esta postagem.

Feliz Natal!

Elis

Chile, 25 de dezembro de 2008.

Chile

2008-12-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Meus dias no Chile.

2008-12-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Buenos Aires, 1:20 am, December 11th.

It must have been the espresso and the yummy coffee ice cream that my mom ate that did it. For whatever reason, it is after 1 am and I am bouncing off the walls, crawling on the floor, ripping up guidebooks, and yelling happily to no one in particular.

My dad has been asleep for hours. When he stirred, my mom pointedly told him "Your daughter won't sleep." He muttered "Hit her then" and rolled over and went back to sleep.

He won't even remember it in the morning, I bet. Just to show him that he shouldn't say mean things like that, it's going on my blog.

Madonna and Elis storm Buenos Aires

2008-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

Live from Buenos Aires. December 8, 2008.

Yes, it's true, and very annoying. It wasn't just me who had the great idea to visit Buenos Aires. If only I'd known that I'd have to compete with Madonna for attention, I might have changed my plans. Or worn more metal and glitter...

Here are some photos of the stops on my Buenos Aires tour. I'll try to write more when I get a chance, and I'll keep posting new photos all month as I travel around Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

I hear that Madonna's heading to São Paulo next. As long as she doesn't turn up in Whitehorse, I'll let her get away with it...

Elis and Anthony's trip to the beach

2008-12-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Anthony is my cousin. He's 9 years old and his birthday present from my parents was a weekend at the beach. It wasn't my birthday, but they let me go along too....

29

2008-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know anything about birthdays yet, but if my first birthday next February 4th is as fun as my mom's 29th birthday, I promise I won't cry or complain.

So 29 isn't supposed to be a big deal...the plan was just to spend the weekend with friends. My silly dad had to work - see the photos of what he was up to at www.conjuntoprestesmaia.blogspot.com - so my mom and I decided to have lunch with Elena and Marisa...

And we spent Sunday with good friends at a cultural event organized by the Cape Verde Association....we had a great time dancing, eating and listening to music from Cape Verde....

By Sunday evening, we were ready to go home and go to bed! But my dad had other plans.....although he didn't let on a thing! He went to visit our neighbour who has been sick recently, and called my mom on the phone to say that they were going to take her to the hospital....so could she please go there quickly to help. Did she suspect a thing? No. It was a pretty good surprise! I wasn't fooled, though.

Luckily our friend Cal has two kids - one just turned 2 (Yasmin, the cute one with the broken arm below), and the other one, Junior, just turned 9. Since my dad hadn't thought of details like candles, it was pretty lucky that my mom really was turning 29.

My only complaint about the birthday party is that all my friends showed up. I like them a lot, but they always look cuter than me in the photos, and that's not allowed!

Well, that's enough birthday news for tonight....A belated thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes! Muito obrigada a tod@s que desejaram feliz aniversário para minha mãe! I'll just show off these cute teeth before I leave you!

September in the Yukon - yet again...

2008-10-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Just playing with photo software....all the same photos as below!

Skookum Yukon baby, part 2

2008-10-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

More Yukon adventures
Mais aventuras yukonenses

Should I play for the Brazilian or the Canadian national soccer team?
Marta canadense

Going hiking in Kluane National Park, where my mom used to work.
Fazendo trilhas no Parque Nacional Kluane, onde minha mãe trabalhou.

No hiking to the top of King's Throne mountain for my mom these days....
Minha mãe deixou de subir esta montanha esta vez....

Looking tough at the Kluane Visitor Centre....
Não mexe comigo....

....and at Canyon Creek.

My Grandpa is pretty skookum, too!
...nem com meu avô!

Cold feet? Of course not!
Frio nos pés? Imagina...

Getting to know Yukon wildlife. (I've had enough of São Paulo's cockroaches, rats, and stray dogs!) Conhecendo os bichos yukonenses. (Chega de baratas, ratas e cachorros de rua!)

Dall Elis
Elis fantasiada de carneiro de montanha

Stacie's sled dogs - this time without snow!
Fazendo visita novamente para os cachorros da minha amiga Stacie

Elk
Um tipo de veado chamado "elk"

We also saw bison on the same trip between Whitehorse and Haines Junction, but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture.
Também vimos bisontes na mesma estrada - mas não conseguí tirar uma foto!

Moose - my first meat ever.
Alce - a primeira vez que como carne.

I kept my distance from the Yukon's most famous wildlife.
Fiquei longe do bicho mais famoso do Yukon.

I couldn't avoid, however, these biting creatures!
Mas o animal mais feroz do Yukon me pegou!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Off to Vancouver!
Indo embora para Vancouver!

Too skookum for Robson Street: drinking coffee in downtown Vancouver with my mom's Yukon friend Joan.
Café tamanho yukonense, mesmo em Vancouver

Skookum Yukon baby

2008-08-31T02:20:00.000-07:00

Elis no Yukon - agosto de 2008

Estão com saudades de mim? Aqui são algumas fotos das minhas aventuras recentes no norte do Canadá!

Superbaby?

Naked and dirty
Just because I'm forced to pose with flowers or wearing a napkin doesn't mean I'm not tough!

First camping trip - Wolf Creek Campground/Acampando pela primeira vez!

Why does everyone else look so rough? I'm having fun!

Quando vim de Minas...

2008-07-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Minas Gerais...I had been wanting to see where I lived when I was still in my mom's tummy. 14 hours by bus from Santo André, the towns of Três Marias and São Gonçalo do Abaeté are on the banks of the São Francisco River, in the north-central region of the state of Minas Gerais. This beautiful region has a rich traditional culture based on fishing, river navigation, and family farms. It also has big industries - metal refining, dams, eucalyptus plantations, and large-scale agriculture. The Peixes, Pessoas e Água project that my mom worked with brought stakeholders together to support research, conservation, and strong participation by fishers in environmental management.

Para meus amigos brasileiros: Me desculpem, por favor, de escrever somente em inglês - aqui no Canadá estou treinando bastante o meu inglês e preciso explicar para meus amigos canadenses um pouco sobre o Brasil. Na próxima postagem, volto para o português para contar sobre o Canadá.

First stop: After an eight-hour bus ride from Santo André (in the state of São Paulo), we arrived in the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, where we spent the night and visited the municipal market.

The next day, we continued on to Três Marias. We passed the time chatting with our friend, Seu Raimundo, president of the Professional Fishermen's Federation of Minas Gerais.

Next stop: Três Marias and São Gonçalo do Abaeté, where we stayed with Thaís and Edson, at the house that Thaís, Sarah and Alison used to share...now Thaís and Edson share the yard with chickens!

We went to Minas that week so that we could attend the graduation ceremony of a youth environmental leadership and training project that my mom and Thaís were involved in creating at the end of the Peixes, Pessoas e Água project.

We also accompanied Seu Norberto in his boat on a river clean-up day. I didn't help at all!

I did, however, (vicariously, if that's the word for it) enjoy the yummy lunch afterward, prepared by project participants from the Fish Smoking group!

My mom wouldn't let me take a bath in the water in Beira Rio - she says that it is an outrage that a community of several hundred people still relies on water from wells and the river, both of which have been shown to be contaminated. Accidentally ingesting some of this water was likely the reason that my mom caught toxoplasmosis, a parasite that could have caused me to be born with birth defects or other problems. The nearby city of Três Marias sends its sewage without treatment into the river, just upstream from Beira Rio. Luckily, Alessandra and her family were nice enough to allow me to take a bath with the treated water at their home in Três Marias, after we went swimming in the Três Marias Lake!

We visited many wonderful friends in Beira Rio!

Here's me with Jaqueline, who makes beautiful jewellery.

And here's me with Gislaine - or maybe it's her twin Gislâne, I can never be sure - both active participants in PPA environmental education activities. We're at the Beira Rio Festa Junina, a traditional party held all over Brazil in June to celebrate the June saints' days (in this case, São Pedro - Saint Peter.) Note my lovely caipira, or country, dress that is worn to participate in Festa Junina square dances. But instead of the requisite straw hat, I have chosen a Canadian tuque to keep me warm....Beira Rio gets chilly at night in the winter, believe it or not!

And their parents Seu Manoel and Dona Odilia.

We visited Dona Zezé and Seu Raimundo's family one afternoon. Here's me with Osana.

And Obadias and Evelyn, from Chile. Their backyard is full of medicinal plants, rabbits, dogs, mango trees, sugar cane, lime trees, and just about everything else you could imagine!

We even went to the Beira Rio rodeo!

Pirapora is a city that's a few hundred kilometres away from Três Marias. Like Três Marias, it is famous for its surubim - a huge migratory catfish - although fisheries have declined significantly in recent years due to dams, industrial and urban pollution, and overfishing.

Evelyn with the dourado phone booth!

Pirapora is the city of bicycles. Here's us causing a bike jam on the old train bridge that connects the cities of Pirapora and Buritizeiro.

Visits with friends in Pirapora:

The Antunes family

Nicinha, Camila, Thaís, and Tiago at the Pirapora Night Market.

Nicinha and Socorro, from the Fishing Colony (association of professional fishers)

Well, that's enough photos for now! Next post will be my trip in Canada! Tchau!

2008-07-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Old friends

2008-07-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day! I received a package in the mail from my mom's host family in France! She lived with them in 1998, right after high school - and despite how bad my mom is at keeping in touch, they found me and sent me this cute little dress and other great presents. Comme je suis adorable! Merci beaucoup, Danielle et Joel. Je vous enverrai un petit mot par courrier bientôt!

The very same day, I was thrilled to meet Evelyn and Carlos, from Chile. Evelyn and my mom studied together in 2001, in the environmental sciences program at the Universidad de Chile. Here we are at the Parque Celso Daniel in Santo André.

Here are some things Evelyn and Carlos liked in Santo André:

O Rei da Tapioca....cheap and tasty tapioca (pancakes typical of the Brazilian Northeast), very hygenically prepared in the Tapioca King's car. You know it is tapioca time when the jingle plays from the loudspeaker on the car's roof and kids start lining up in the street.

Taking me out to the bars....

Hanging out with friends at the Parque Central.

Going to a huge Festa Junina with a crowd of neighbours, including about 10 kids between us, and walking home together late. See the photos of the Festa Junina that my dad and our neighbours organize every year on the Prestes Maia Apartment Complex blog.

And visiting Paranapiacaba, the charming historic town nestled in the mountains between Santo André and the coast.
We climbed up to a look-out, from which we could see the port of Santos and the ocean.

And saw the sunset....and walked down in the dark!

Elis in Brazil - May 2008

2008-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

At long last, here's the update that everyone has been waiting for....I have been so busy meeting friends and relatives in Brazil (not to mention sleeping, eating and growing like a weed) that I haven't kept my blog up to date. So on the theory that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million, here is a video of what I have been up to over the last two months. Please don't think that I am self-centred....my silly parents take far too many photos of my every move.

Para meus amigos brasileiros, espero que gostem destas fotos de nós! Tem mais fotos ainda, então se você não estiver no meu primeiro videozinho, não se preocupe - logo farei outro vídeo com mais fotos recentes....

Toronto and Montreal

2008-05-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

I had already been to 5 states in Brazil, as well as to Ontario, BC, and the Yukon before I was born...and of course there was that quick trip to Vancouver when I was one day old....but at the age of 6 weeks, I started to travel for real. First stop: to meet my Toronto relatives.

My dad had to return to work in Brazil, but my mom and I stayed longer in Canada...I missed my dad a lot, and also missed taking photos with our camera that he took with him! That is why I don't have any more photos to show you of my visit with my Toronto family. I sure had fun meeting everyone, though! If anyone out there has more photos, please send them to me so that I can add them to the blog.

After Toronto got dull, I headed off to the bright lights of Montreal. I did many sophisticated and cosmopolitan things there, such as:

Travelling by train to Montreal...and in first class, believe it or not!

Looking dashing in rouge....

Sleeping on the table of a sushi restaurant...

Being babysat by Niki while Sarom took my mom to AeroSamba class at the Y....

Savouring wontons at Antoine and Chee's apartment....

Visiting the butterfly exhibit at the Jardin Botanique....

Enjoying a stroll on Mont-Royal with Sarom and Chee....

Hanging out with Sarom in the outfit she brought me back from Buenos Aires....

Worrying about the future of the world ...

Chatting on Skype with Sansan...

And watching an Iranian film.

Wedding photos/Fotos do casamento dos meus pais

2008-05-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Some people spend a year or two planning their weddings....but not my parents! They decided to get married on Thursday and were married on Sunday! They never planned to get married - after all, what difference does a piece of paper make? But then they started thinking about the complications of travelling between and living in each other's countries, and thought that a piece of paper might not be such a bad idea after all.

So they told their families on Thursday evening, found a wonderful marriage commissioner, Sheila Rose, to go along with the crazy plan the same night, and invited the guests by e-mail around midnight. Since Friday was the day we all went dogsledding, skiing and sledding (see photos below), the only thing that they had time to do on Friday was get the marriage license.

The rest of the organizing was done on Saturday - from ordering the cake to finding a wedding dress to writing the plan for the ceremony. Luckily, people were around to help - Greg, Sandy and Shanon organized everything from food and flowers to the ring cushion to a dress for me. Heather and Andrew Finton offered to host the wedding at their beautiful Sundog Resort. Asheya Hennessey chose a lovely song to sing during the ceremony, Kate Weekes and Grant Simpson didn't mind being asked on Saturday evening to do the music, Rob McClure and Stuart Drummond took on the photography, and Kataya and Tanner agreed to be the flower girl and ring bearer. And lots of people turned up, despite the short notice! All in all, it was a stylish event, if I do say so myself....

And after the ceremony, we posed for photos around Whitehorse, despite the chilly, windy weather...

Whitehorse fun!

2008-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

I may be little, but I sure know how to have fun!
Embora pequena, sei me divertir bastante!

Subí o morro ao lado de casa e descí escorregando.....Dá para ver nosso apartamento no fundo da foto da minha mãe.

Depois, tomamos um café quente....

Jantei na casa dos meus amigos, a familia Findlater....Eles eram vizinhos da minha mãe quando criança. Heather e Andrew moraram no Rio Grande do Sul e falam o português - acho que são só eles e meus pais que falam português na cidade de Whitehorse!

Fiquei uma tarde inteira no trabalho do meu avô, no governo do Yukon. Ele não se incomodou em ficar de babá enquanto meus pais foram fazer uma visita para o aterro e o centro de reciclagem de Whitehorse...

E o mais divertido de tudo foi o dia de trenô de cachorro e esqui na cabana da minha amiga Stacie, gerente do Centro de Beringia, onde minha trabalhou antes do meu nascimento.
Ray, Stacie e Heather são todos mushers de verdade. Eles gostam muito de criar e treinar cachorros.

Eu e as gêmeas Sarah e Adelaide, no trenô de cachorros.

Stacie e Sharon, preparando para andar de trenô...

Além do trenô de cachorro, tentei esquiar. Eu e minha mãe desistimos depois de cairmos, mas meu pai e meus amigos Sharon e seus filhos Kataya e Tanner fizeram de tudo....até a Kataya esquiou puxada por um cachorro!

Também gostei bastante do dia quando eu e meu pai fizemos aula de natação com outros pais, mães e bebês do programa Mães e Bebês Saudáveis, do Ministério da Saúde do Canadá.

Rendezvous

2008-04-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was born just in time to enjoy Rendezvous and the end of the Yukon Quest in Whitehorse!

Nascí na hora certa para curtir o festival de inverno do Yukon, Rendezvous, que comemora a época da febre de ouro no Yukon (1898) com brincadeiras, esculturas de neve, concursos e festas na rua.

O deputado federal do Yukon narrando o concurso de carregar sacos de farinha...

Minha amiga Angelica, da Colômbia, trabalhando na Cabane à Sucre, uma tradição da região francesa do Canadá....meus pais comeram um doce de xarope de maple jogado na neve. Disseram que era uma delícia e não deram nada para mim!

Outros bebezinhos também participaram do Rendezvous, olhando as esculturas de neve.

Uma das minhas amigas gêmeas, Sarah e Adelaide, está abaixo do casaco do pai delas, Sean. Só não sei qual é! Eu estou quentinha também, perto do meu pai.

Dançando o can-can com raquetes de neve nos pés!

A Yukon Quest é uma corrida de treinô de cachorro de 1600km entre Fairbanks, Alaska e Whitehorse....ví esta musher, Kyla Boivin, terminando a corrida. Ela pareceu bastante feliz! As yukonenses são fortes, não somos?

Amigos me visitam/Visits from friends

2008-02-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Lizz who came to visit me from Toronto.

Lucy from Vancouver.

Aunt Margaret from Toronto having coffee whith me in Vancouver.

Darren, my parents and I celebrated Chinese New Year in Vancouver. I slept through it.

Alison and Jason visited me at B. C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

Stacie, Sharon, and Stefan from the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre

Shauna and Shauna's mother, Mary - my mom's neighbours for many years....

My grandparents Sandy and Stuart

Anna from Dawson City

Asheya's son Elias.

Yukon News divulga meu nascimento

2008-02-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

Na Edição do Jornal Canadense Yukon News eu pude agradecer algumas pessoas que foram muito importante em todo o meu nascimento.
Os jornais disponibilizam este tipo de serviço, por isso é muito comum os pais divulgarem o nascimento de seus filhos.
Agradeci aos meus pais e aos avós pelo carinho e a equipe do Hospital de Whitehorse e a nossa doula, que contribuiram para que eu pudesse nascer com saúde e tranquilidade.

Demorei para voltar, pois estava descansando

2008-02-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Veja a minha rotina dos 10 primeiros dias de vida.Depois eu conto mais.

I'm here!

2008-02-04T19:29:00.001-08:00

The funniest thing just happened! I spent 9 months speaking Portuguese so my Daddy would understand me; but when I came out I started speaking English. I don't know how that happened. It must have been the cold. I am getting ahead of myself though.

On Saturday night, at around 11pm I decided I was tired of swimming in goo and I wanted to get out. So I worked really hard and did my best but my Mummy wouldn't let me come out! It took me 33 hours before my Mummy and Daddy would even go to the hospital - even though my Auntie Lizz harassed Mummy to go (I sure do like that Auntie Lizz). Where was I? Oh right, leaving for the hospital. My Mummy is so tough that she walked all the way to the hospital in -30°C weather with me struggling to get out!

After we got settled in at the hospital I decided enough was enough- it was time to come out!

So at 11:40am, on February 4, out I came. I was pretty gooey but the nurses took good care of me. I weighed 9lbs 4oz (that is 4196g for my Brazillian family) and I was 22inches (56cms) long.

Would you like to see more of me? My Auntie Lizz took a lot of very charming pictures of me. I have to say that I am pretty darn cute!

This is my Daddy. He seems to be quite fond of me.

This is my Auntie Lizz.

This is my Yukon Grandpa

This is my Aunt Margaret. She came all the way from Toronto to see me.

Ela Vem Chegando e Feliz Vou Esperando

2008-02-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

Agora só falta algumas horas para eu nascer, por isso as próximas postagens vão demorar uns três dias, tenho que descansar e meus pais também.

Elis

Agora é pra valer... Chegou a hora de nascer!!!

2008-02-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Já comecei dar os primeiros sinais de que vou nascer. Sabe aquelas contrações, então é isso que minha mãe está sentindo agora. Eu esperei todo mundo chegar pra nascer, minha Tia Avó Margaret e minha tia Elizabeth, elas vieram de Toronto para me ver. Agora só faltar nascer.

Como era já previsto nós iremos andando até o hospital, mesmo debaixo destas temperaturas.

Até mais,

Elis

O negócio é se divertir...

2008-01-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

Já que estou demorando, sigo me divertindo.

O primeiro tombo...

Já está ficando profissional...

Treinando para o concurso dança no gelo.

Ainda nada... nada de chegar!!!

2008-01-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

O frio que fez ontem, -40 graus, tá doido! Não saio mesmo, vou continuar esperando.

Enquanto espero fui curtir uma piscina aquecida no Canada Games Centre com meus pais.

Eu e minha mãe preferimos nadar na piscina olímpica.

Meu pai se divertiu no tobogã.

Meu avó foi também, mas ele prefere jogar futebol. Olha ele lá no gol.

Tô demorando mesmo, hem?

2008-01-27T07:14:00.000-08:00

Se eu demorar como demorou para ficar pronto este tapete, vocês vão ter que esperar muito!!!

Este tapete foi um presente muito especial que meu avô Gregory me deu. Ele terminou de fazer esta semana e veio aqui na minha casa entregar.

Meu avô começou a confeccioná-lo em outubro de 1979 e era para presentear a minha mãe que iria nascer, mas como não ficou pronto ele foi deixando o tempo passar e confeccionando com muita paciência. Só agora em janeiro de 2008, quer dizer 28 anos depois ele terminou. Legal né ?

Veja a etiqueta com a data de início e término do tapete

Olha meu avó aí, todo orgulhoso por ter terminado o tapete.

É claro que neste período todo muita gente também ajudou, até minha mãe, a minha avó Lorraine, a Shanon - companheira de meu avó.

Olha minha mãe tentando saber se já está na hora do nascimento. Segundo a nossa amiga, a Shanon, se parar um copo em pé na barriga é porque já está na hora de sair, será?

E não é que parou...

... que nada, fui eu que parei de chutar, por isso não caiu.

O dia marcado é hoje, mas vou esperar mais um pouquinho...

2008-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

Os médicos disseram que hoje é o dia que eu vou nascer, mas eles esqueceram que sou eu que escolho o dia certo, e para provar isto, eu não nasci. Resolvi aproveitar bastante que hoje o sol apareceu para caminhar numa trilha aqui perto da minha casa. Dá uma olhada no vídeo e nas fotos, foi muito divertido.

meus queridos pais
acho que eu estou pesando

O pulo é para esquentar

Mamãe, sem comentários

cuidado papai, você não tem experiência

Apenas alguns dias do nascimento da Elis

2008-01-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

Hoje, dia 19 de janeiro, há cinco dias da data prevista para o meu nascimento, meus pais resolveram visitar o hospital onde irei nascer e já foram treinando. Caminharam até lá, uns 25 minutos, legal né?
E no dia do meu nascimento vai ser assim também. Até poderíamos pegar um taxi, o meu avó poderia levar e tantos outros amigos que se ofereceram. Eu agradeço, mas vai ser bem melhor ir caminhando, é bom para a saúde da minha mãe, para minha saúde e bom para o meio ambiente. Menos carros trafegando,menos poluição.

Vídeo dos pais caminhando para conhecer o hospital onde eu vou nascer.

O Hospital é publico e o único de Whitehorse. É onde todos os bebês do Território nascem.

Olha eu aí, na barriga da minha mãe.

Esse é um dos quarto que poderemos ficar. E esta enfermeira é a Jeddy com a minha mãe.

Meu pai também vai ficar aqui no quarto comigo. Legal isso, ele vai acompanhar todo o parto e vai cortar o cordão umbilical. Todo o parto vai acontecer neste quarto, tem banheiro, Tv, vídeo, telefone, comida e tem uma sala de recepção muito maneira.

Este é o meu bercinho no quarto, mas eu vou ficar aqui só um pouquinho, eu prefiro ficar lá juntinho da minha mãe e do meu pai.

É,acho que o dia de nascer esta mesmo chegando e aí sim eu terei história pra contar.

Bem você já viu que eu gosto de falar bastante... eu na verdade não entendo aquem puxei, será que ao meu pai ou a minha mãe?

Então até o nascimento, depois eu mando notícias.

beijos.

Elis

Nono Mês de Gravidez: Ela vem chegando!!!

2008-01-18T22:16:00.001-08:00

Janeiro de 2008 - Happy New Year! E eu já estou chegando, agora só falto um pouquinho. Enquanto não chego meus pais aproveitam o inverno.

Fazendo Snowshoeing no Fish Lake

Gerry, nosso guia de Snowshoeing

Minha mãe parou de trabalhar mas não para de trabalhar.

Este presente que minha mãe recebeu dos amigos da faculdade foi reponsável por várias lágrimas derramadas, mas foram lágrimas de alegria.

Eles são fantásticos mesmo. Enviaram um livro escrito para mim, contando várias histórias da minha mãe e cada um cedeu um pedaço de pano para confeccionar esta manta tão especial, que guardarei com muito cuidado e carinho.

Oitavo Mês de Gravidez: enfim, família reunida!

2008-01-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Dezembro: Meu pai chegou em Victoria, mas demorou pra gente se ver porque ele teve muitos compromissos de trabalhos lá. Isso atrasou nosso reencontro, mas enfim nos encontramos depois de uma semana. E claro, eu tive que viajar novamente para Victoria e Vancouver com minha mãe, se não demoraria mais tempo, mas como eu estava com muita saudade fiz este sacrifício. Estou ainda muito novinha para tanta viagem...Aproveitei para conhecer meus "tios" e "tias" - os amigos do tempo da faculdade da minha mãe. Depois colocarei fotos do nosso encontro!

Aqui eu estava no Aeroporto de Whitehorse partindo para Vancouver.

Esta é a vista que eu tive quando estava chegando em Vancouver.

Ricardo, Alison, Cathy, Edi, Yogi e Tomas

Casa do Yogi e Cathy onde meu pai ficou hospedado durante o trabalho em Victoria. Adorei o café da manhã canadense. Os canadenses também são um povo hospitaleiro.

Equipe do Aterro Hartland em Victoria que meu pai conheceu durante a visita de trabalho.

Meu pai aprendeu bastante no Aterro de Victoria, a viagem permitiu um apredizado profissional muito importante para ele levar para Santo André. O gerenciamento dos resídos sólidos é muito importante para as futuras gerações como a minha. É isso mesmo, ele cuida do lixo!!!

Alison e Edi - Esta comida japonesa estava muito boa: hummmm.

Meus pais no Parque Stanley, em Vancouver.

De novo em Whitehorse, agora eu só saio daqui depois que nascer: chega de tanta viagem!!!

Meu pai aprendendo a tirar neve da calçada.

Meus pais na Reserva de Fauna Selvagem do Yukon

Minha mãe e o Alce ( Moose)

Minha mãe e os Dall Sheep

Edi, Maggie e Sarah
Jantar de Natal na casa do meu Avô

Sétimo Mês de Gravidez: eba, meu pai vem pra cá!!!

2008-01-18T21:09:00.000-08:00

Novembro: Aproveitamos para alugar uma casa, pois meu pai iria chegar e tínhamos que deixar tudo preparado. Então minha mãe pesquisou bastante e conseguiu um apartamento bem no centro da cidade, mas é muito difícil conseguir, mas deu certo, eu estava torcendo muito, dei vários pulos de alegria.

Meu pai aproveitou para reunir os amigos lá no Vero Verde, em Santo André, e se despediu de todos antes de viajar para o Canadá.

Sexto Mês de Gravidez: Lar doce lar!

2008-01-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Outubro: Minha mãe, até que enfim, depois de muito tempo me trouxe para conhecer a cidade que irei nascer - Whitehorse.

Já estava bastante crescidinha

Aqui é frio d+ no inverno - por isso aproveitei o pouquinho que restava de calor para concentrar bastante energia.

Essa é a casa do meu avó Gregory, onde minha mãe morava.

Este mamute fica bem na entrada do novo trabalho da minha mãe: O Centro Interpretativo da Beringia.

Aproveitei e me diverti bastante com o meu Avó e com a parceira dele, a Shanon, durante o Halloween.

Meu pai se divertiu bastante com os amigos lá na praia do Gonzaga, em Santos.

Elias, Edi, Poio, Beatriz, Mateus e Ricardo.

Elias, Edi e Ricardo

Quinto Mês de Gravidez: Bye Bye Brasil

2008-01-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

Setembro: Mais uma viagem e desta vez para conhecer minha outra terra, o Canadá. Fazia muito tempo que minha mãe não revê os amigos, então uma visita em Victoria e Vancouver caiu bem neste momento.

Foi o que ela fez, e eu sempre juntinho dela.

Veja só quanto bagagem!!! (rodoviária de Vancouver)

Minha mãe foi para Victoria, pois tinha que terminar alguns relatórios do projeto e também aproveitou para rever pessoas como a Cathy, Yogi e os filhos deles.

Quarto Mês de Gravidez: é menina e vai se chamar Elis!!!

2008-01-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

Agosto foi realizado o segundo ultrasson e desta vez já deu pra ver que eu era uma menina. Meus pais já tinham decidido meu nome. Se fosse menina seria Elis e assim se fez:

ELIS

Um nome fácil, que cai bem nos dois idiomas: português e inglês.

Este mês foi um mês de finalização do trabalho de minha mãe lá em Minas Gerais.

Olha minha mãe ai, com o pessoal lá da Beira do Rio São Francisco.

Agosto também foi o aniversário de meu pai. Ah neste mês, meu pai teve que ficar um tempinho longe de mim e da minha mãe, depois de velho - pegou caxumba, imagina.

meu pai comemorando o aniversário, 27 aninhos.

Terceiro Mês de Gravidez: Forró pra esquentar!!!

2008-01-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

Julho, no Brasil traz as tradições do campo pra cidade e foi assim que minha mãe e meu pai se divertiram bastante, lá no Conjunto Prestes Maia, em Santo André.

Sarah caipira.

Cal e Sarah

Minha mãe gosta muito dessas festas populares e meu pai nem se fala, formaram um par perfeito. Foram dias muitos felizes, o pessoal do Conjunto é muito divertido, teve quadrilhas, banda de forró, barracas com comidas típicas, artesanato e muita diversão.

Maurílio e Edi

Olha só a felicidade de meu pai, sua energia de fato contagia.

E não que o povo comparece, criança, jovem e adultos, todos se divertem mesmo e eu também estava lá, pulando na barriga da minha mãe.

Anarriê, olha a chuva!!!

A ponte quebrou!!!

Viva os noivos!!!

Quantos amigos que eu vou ter!!!!

Segundo Mês de Gravidez: a notícia!!!

2008-01-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

Junho foi o mês de contar a notícias aos amigos e aproveitar que a barriga ainda não estava pesando pra poder viajar e curtir o Brasil.

Elis no segundo mês já havia percorrido quilometros e quilometros viajando de Minas pra São Paulo, de São Paulo para Minas novamente, Espírito Santo, Bahia e Rio de Janeiro antes de retornar a Santo André.

Sarah e Saron - Bahia: Salvador

Amigos que conhecemos na Bahia e roupas pra Elis.

No Rio de Janeiro pedalamos um dia inteiro.

Sarah, Alison, Daiana e Elias na festa junina na casa da Sarah e Thaís no Beira Rio (Minas Gerais: São Gonçalo do Abaeté)

Primeiro Mês de Gravidez - a surpresa!

2008-01-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Maio de 2007, ainda lembro quando a Sarah ligou-me de Minas Gerais para contar o resultado do exame de gravidez. ''Você esta sentado?'' perguntou-me ela. Havia alguns minutos que acabara de terminar uma palestra, então sentei: ''Parabéns, vc vai ser pai!!!". Uma felicidade tomou-me conta aliada a uma sensação de responsabilidade.

Nós já sabíamos da suspeita de gravidez, mas quando se tem a confirmação tudo muda, o papo com os amigos já muda também:

"Como vai se chamar?"

"Você está feliz?"

"Já sabe se e menino ou menina?"

"Vocês vão morar aqui ou no Canada?"

E assim vai, e esta conversa continua até o nono mês...

Naquele mesmo dia, uma sexta-feira, viajei para Minas Gerais e fui encontrar com a Sarah na cidade de Diamantina, onde passamos um final de semana muito legal, junto de alguns amigos muito legais.

Ailton, Ivonete e Thais.

Assim começa a história da Elis, que será contada neste blog mês a mês.....(Que menina antenada! Nem nasceu ainda e já tem blog!)

Convidamos a vocês, nossos amigos de perto e longe, a escrever seus comentários e lembranças para somar a esta história da Elis!