In the hope of keeping our moments alive, I decided to become more intentional about blogging this year. So many things happened in our lives in 2017! We welcomed Lara into the world, she is an absolute dream. Perfect from head to toe. I actually traveled to Brazil to have her because I didn’t want to be postpartum in Connecticut, away from my sweet mom. I stayed with mom for a whole month after Lara was born and that was the best decision I made. Dave took some time off work and was able to be in Brazil with us, so he got to watch and play with Levi while I recovered and bonded with little miss Lara. Mom cooked us meals everyday, it was so relaxing! Lara was almost two months old when we flew back to the States with her, can you imagine a baby that little with two passports? She came home with a dual citizenship, just like her brother. Our little international family becomes more special with every baby.
We’ve had some very quiet days as we settled back into our home. Being a mom to two has been by far the best adventure I’ve ever entered. I had been afraid of this change. But almost seven months in, I have realized this is the life I’ve always craved. Yes, somedays I’m tired, but not a day goes by without me feeling so grateful for this new season in my life.
We’ve had many afternoons spent outside during the summer. Levi spent most of his days running around the yard, playing with the sprinkler, lining up his trucks on the grass, searching for leaves that quietly whispered “fall is approaching”. The end of summer is always so bittersweet for us. One the things I loved doing most last year was to bring little Lara to the porch to nurse and watch Levi play and develop his own incredible imaginary world in our backyard. She used to nurse so quietly and her eyes would fall only on me. Her precious tiny and wandering hands were either rubbing against my chest or looking for a piece of my dress to grab onto. At seven months old I can’t say she nurses so peacefully anymore, she gets easily distracted these days.
Our neighborhood is peaceful and life is slow here. God has blessed us with amazing neighbors. I couldn’t garden last year, which I was disappointed about. But our neighbors, who don’t have little children yet, are pros on gardening and kept our baskets full all summer with their goodies. Some mornings I would wake up to a whole bag of fresh peaches and tomatoes waiting for me at the gate. They would drop them off early in the morning for us. These became the sweetest morning surprises during that season.
Levi has been doing amazing at learning to speak two different languages. He counts from 1 to 20 in both English and Portuguese. Knows all of his abc’s, tells us things at the dinner table, always mixing up both languages. He loves to use each and every corner I built to encourage him to learn independently. Books, puzzles, cars and other toys. He chats with all of them as if they had as vivid of a life as we do.
As we start the new year, I am setting some little goals for myself. I am getting good at meal planning, and just wish to improve! I have slacked in the past, just improvising most of the times and my family fell the weight of that. I promised myself I would try to have dinners at the table as a family at least five days a week, and I have to say it’s been so good for our family! I’ve been learning new recipes and just started an Instagram collaboration with Sarah Waldman. I’ll be sharing some of her recipes on my Instagram page soon 🙂 — Apart from that, I am determined to spend more time reading Scriptures and seeking His kingdom first! I have many things to pray about, both my shop and blog have been growing exponentially in the last couple of months and I’m praying for guidance. How can God use these opportunities for His glory?
Thank you for following our journey here and on my Instagram page. I have exciting plans for this blog! More free downloads are coming soon 🙂
Love,
Bruna Masalin
Bru
Photography: Além Fotografia // My shoes: Shop Sols // Dress: Roolee Boutique // Lara’s bloomers: She Loves Her Mama
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About Bruna
