Elisa in the States

We have been back in the states on our furlough for a couple of weeks now. Elisa started off having a little bit of a difficult time. I mentioned in the last post that I had a dream that she had a mouth full of teeth - well, it is starting to actually happen! It looks like she might have 4 or 5 teeth coming in at about the same time. Two new teeth (they look to be molars - which is a little strange for a 16 month old) broke through the gum yesterday. Needless to say she has been in a lot of pain which makes her very fussy. To top it off she has had a little bit of a cold (possibly due to teething) and we took her to get some vaccines (4 shots). Poor little thing can't catch a break.

Jennifer's mom was able to take off work one day so that we could all take Elisa to the zoo. She had a great time hanging out with all the animals. The giraffes were the best! She had a lot of fun feeding them. She also enjoyed the hippos, the gorillas and the bears (who were especially active). Here is a great clip of Elisa feeding the lovable giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo:

Elisa is getting a lot more exposure to children her own age while in the states. That is a very good thing since she doesn't really play with any kids her age in Brazil. Our friends, James and Jolie, have a little girl, Paige, who is just a few months older than Elisa. Elisa and Paige got together for a play date last week and had a great time. We heard later that Paige cried the whole way home after dropping Jennifer and Elisa off at home. When Jolie (her mommy) asked her who she missed she said, "Elisa". Isn't that sweet!

Elisa and Paige get ready for playtime!

Even though it seems like she has been having a difficult start to her visit to the US, she has been doing pretty well in other areas. Her English is getting a good jump start as she isn't hearing much Portuguese. She has picked up a few new words and has actually started singing! The songs "Baa-baa Black Sheep", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the "A,B,C song" have the same tune. She just started singing this tune using one of the following words: Dada, Mama or Baba. It is hilarious! We were lucky enough to get it on film, but unfortunately it is too big of a file for me to get uploaded on this post. I will try to get her singing again soon.

We will try to keep you updated on the rest of our travels while in the states, but it may be difficult. You may just take a break and come back and see us at the New Year.