RIBEIRO

Christmas has come and gone so quickly! We've had a very busy December with visits from Cara and Olivia and Amanda's family and then a trip to Kelowna to celebrate Christmas with our Kelowna family. It was great to celebrate Jonas's first Christmas and he was definitely the hit of the party while we were in Kelowna. He seemed to like grabbing at the wrapping paper and pulling at it but like a true child, he seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper more than the gift itself! I do think he was a bit sad/lonely today as he seemed to want to be held more than normal and he was quite clingy to Keith when he came home from work today. It was quite cute and sad all at the same time. Some of his firsts this month included eating rice cereal and now barley cereal! He loves it and opens his mouth like a little bird being fed worms! Another first, sitting up without any support and staying up for prolonged periods. He had his first snow fall which he looked at with a questioning eye.

One of the perks living in the townhouse is getting to know our neighbors really well. For quite a while we've been getting together every 6 weeks for brunch with 2 other families, alternating houses each time. However, the Calvert's have decided to move to Ontario and will be leaving us in early January. We're very sad to see them leave as they were great neighbors and they have a little guy ( and another little guy on the way) whom Jonas would have loved to play with once he got a bit older. We'll miss you!

For the last few weeks we've noticed the signs that Jonas might be interested in more than just watching us eat. So, yesterday we decided to try rice cereal for the first time. He loved it! This morning, I actually felt guilty eating a banana in front of him as his eyes were watching my every move. This was something I was hoping to leave til January but Jonas felt otherwise! We've also been enjoying the snow the last few days...from inside the house! It's so cold outside that it's not even fun to go for a walk in the snow. Our big adventure was going to the Mitchell's for lunch today. When it's snowing like this, it's so nice to have neighbors/friends that live close that you don't have to get in a car to go visit.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas Season!

We've had such a great December and it's only the 9th! Oh ya...and today is Mommy's Birthday too! My special friend Olivia came to visit with her mama Cara for the first 3 days of Dec. We did lot's of fun things. I was a lucky boy travelling with three pretty ladies and I sure missed them when they left. I showed Livy how I talk and she seemed to listen! I love to squeal and make my voice very high or very low! Then my Mumzee, Grandpa, Auntie Drea and Uncle Ryan came and we did an early Christmas this past weekend. I loved all the shiny paper and tried to put it in my mouth before it was quickly snatched away. We even went to a very fancy North Pole ( Van Dusen gardens light show) where I got to meet Santa and his elves and see lot's of fancy lights! We all went to Church on Sunday and there was a special dedication ceremony for me and my friends Natalie and Jasmine. Mummy and Daddy read a special letter to me of how much they love me and then the Pastor prayed th

This past week we celebrated Keith's Birthday! Jonas, of course, was the best giftof the day. He decided to show off some skill and sit up for the first time on his own. If left too long, his head slowly falls between his legs but he puts in a good effort! We're fairly certain a tooth will be erupting any day. He's drooling constantly and just loves having his gums massaged to the point that he'll grab our finger and put it in his mouth. He's also become interested in food and the fact that it's not going in his mouth. His eyes will follow us as we are eating and he would much rather sit on our lap watching us eat and try to grab at our plates, then sit away from the table!

Peek a boo. Pumpkin and the pea (pod) Mommy, time for big person tub. Baby sign language???!!! Avo and Avosi crack me up!

Today marked Jonas's 4 month shots and his face was priceless but so so SAD!!! He was sitting on my lap facing me, looking up at me with the biggest pitiful tears that would make your heart melt! If he could talk, I'm sure he would have had alot to say to me! He weighs 17lbs and measures 64.5 cm long. We've also noticed his personality really come out in the last 2 weeks. He still refuses to actually suck on the soother but likes to chew on it. I'm really hoping it's not the sign of teeth yet! He also sucks his thumb so hard that he ends up getting most of his fist in his mouth to the point of choking himself. He "babbles" alot and it seems like we have full conversations......then I remind myself to find some adult conversation! Keith's parents have been with us for the last 2 weeks and Jonas loved every moment of it! He has been given 24 hour attention and I'm sure will be expecting that from me when reality hits him Monday morning! Up

Hello Everybody...mommy let me on the computer so I can tell you what's going on in my world. Right now Avo & Avo-si are visiting me for 2 weeks and I'm loving all the attention! I taught them pretty quickly that I LOVE to be held and so they take me on little walks around the house and sing to me lot's! They'll be staying with us until the 15th of November. Daddy even took this week off so we can be one big happy family! I'm not quite sure what made you adults change the time on me the other day...it's really messed up my clock. I'm wide awake at 6am ( my body thinks it's 7am) and I want to play and talk but everyone else is still sleeping. Mommy and Daddy are being way to sleepy and aren't as excited about the morning like I am. Some of my new skills are reaching for toys and putting everything in my mouth. I can also roll from my tummy to my back although I need some help still. Many people can't believe that I'm almost 4 mon

It's been a while since we've written. In the last 3 weeks we've been to Kelowna for Thanksgiving ( thank you Kelowna family for a great time), Victoria to visit Cara, Nuno and the new baby OLIVIA!!! And this last week Andrea, Amanda's sister, had a conference in Vancouver and extended her stay to visit us til tomorrow! Jonas has now travelled by car, by ferry and by skytrain. By the end of his first year, he'll be sure to have flown by plane as well! We had a great Thanksgiving this year, which included 4 Turkey Dinners! We should be so thankful to even have one! Part of our visit included a large group of our family going to a Pumpkin Patch farm close to our Grandparents house! We were able to pick out a few pumpkins, do a haymaze, cornmaze and a hay ride around the farm. Hopefully we'll make this an annual event! We were also invited to a wonderful turkey dinner with our friends, the Mitchells, up at Christina's parents Chalet up on the hill overlook

The first part of October has been fairly routine. Jonas and I try to get out of the house at least once a day and we're part of two baby groups during the week. We had a great play date with the Pereira's this week. It's great having friends with kids similar ages! Keith is midway through another course at SFU and seems to be enjoying it. We've also become involved in the Roots of Empathy program. rootsofempathy.org It's such a great program for school age children. The program is meant to create empathy among young people and reduce bulllying, etc. There really is so much more to it. Check out the website. Jonas is starting to outgrow his baby bathtub....he loves his baths still but enjoys pushing himself off the sides of the tub to see how far he can go! He's wacked his head on the babytub too many times so I think it's time to upgrade to the big tub! He's also become very oral. EVERYTHING goes in his mouth including his thumb which he's fully f

Hello Monday! I couldn't resist posting photos of our "little soprano"! We had a great weekend, getting together for meals with three different sets of friends. We've also been really focusing on Jonas's bedtime routine and it's still going very well! He averages 7-8 hours of sleep, eats and then sleeps 2-3 more hours before he's up for the day. It's really nice to be able to understand his cycle/daily routine. At this very moment we're waiting for news of a birth for our great friends Nuno and Cara...we can't wait to meet the new baby!

Hello! Mommy and Daddy took me on quite an adventure this week, my first Vancouver Canuck's Game!! They told me that this happens once in a while and that I need to get use to it. Well...I promised them I'd be good for one period and then all bets were off. I decided midway through the second period that I was tired of sitting and it was time to go. Mom and Dad were okay, they thought I'd only make it to the end of the second period anyways. I'm letting Mommy and Daddy sleep more as well. They put me to bed around 9pm and I only get up once, around 4:30ish to eat and then I sleep til about 7am. Everyone is very happy with this new sleep schedule. Mommy's been taking me to a few playgroups during the week. I love getting out of the house! I'm getting soooo big that I'm wearing some 6 month outfits already!

This weekend has been pretty relaxing! We went out for brunch, just the three of us, had a nice dinner with Keith's cousin, took a bath, went to Church and watched a little football! Jonas seems to enjoy watching football a s this last picture shows him staring intently! You can catch his eyes darting back and forth as they chase the ball. We might have a future CFL player on our hands! He definitely has the large size hands and feet for the job. This last week he has decided to go against my wishes and started to suck his hand/thumb! I quickly reintroduced the soother and he seems to take it, although the thumb is the next best thing when he loses his soother. I've tried to explain this problem to him and he seems to take it in with a loud smack of his lips connecting with his thumb! We may need to start saving for orthodontics! I can see it now! A big milestone this week was moving him from the bassinett in our room, into his crib in his own room. He's done very w

Hi Everyone! I'm 9 weeks old this week or 2 months old, yeh! I've had a very busy week full of visits, shopping and my 2 month immunizations, which I DID NOT like very much! I had 2 needles in each thigh and I cried alot! Ouch! I've been growing alot, I'm 60cm tall and weigh 13lbs! Some of the things I love to do include bath time, going for walks in the stroller, listening to Daddy sing to me and sleeping on Mommy's chest. It's been so nice here in the evenings that Mommy, Daddy and I try to go for walks in the evenings is I'm up for it! Lately I've been a bit of a bear from 8-10pm! ROAR!!

I can see where toy stores can easily make alot of money! We finally realized that we need some more larger objects for Jonas and we bought a bouncy chair. Jonas loves to constantly move and be stimulated and there is a point in the day where I need 2 hands to do things around the house. The bouncy chair worked like magic today! Great invention! We have also joined he world of SKYPE recently and love to be in video/phone contact with family. Especially now that we can show of Jonas' latest tricks, etc. If any of you, our family and friends are connected with Skype, let us know, we'd love to be able to connect with you as well! As you've read in my last post, I love the Fall and it's starting to look like a great one. We've already had the RIBEIRO HOTEL booked for a weekend or two for Sept, Oct. Nov and Dec! One of the advantages of living in the Lower Mainland is that you're guaranteed to have people stopping in on the way in or out of Vancouver. Here

We had an eventful but relaxing long weekend. On Friday night we attended Keith's cousins wedding down in Gastown. It was a very nice celebration...congrats Melissa and Matt! Many of Keith's family were able to meet Jonas for the first time. He loved all the snuggles and kisses so much that we met the family...all 19 of us...out for brunch on the Sunday. It was scrumptious! Jonas had a Dr's appt today and he's now 12lbs 5 oz and is 59cm! Those are good numbers, so we're happy. I love September, we've been trying to take advantage of our nice evening weather with lot's of walks. Jonas is happiest when he is on the move, he's not one to just sit around! September has also brought back school for Keith, who is taking classes again 2 days a week. Busy, busy, busy!

We have started to feel like we have a routine. As of 2 weeks ago, Jonas weighed 10.2 lbs, so we're betting he's at least 11 lbs now! It's amazing that he is 7 weeks old today but he already has a personality that seems wiser then a newborn. The first pic in this post is of Jonas modelling some rainboots from friends of ours, Samantha and Brent. He loves the boots, especially in our rainy Vancouver weather. However, we never asked his permission to take his photo, so he decided he was going to be upset! Jonas has been giving us "real" smiles, no it's not gas! He has also been interested in grabbing at bright coloured toys. Now if we could just get him to sleep through the night life would be great!

We wish to thank everyone who has supported us; those who have prayed, sent gifts, cards, words of wisdom and encouragement during the first wonderful weeks of Jonas' life. Thanks to Tony Mitchell for his professional style photography you see here. It has been an amazing and humbling experience. Our love and sincere gratitude go out to you all.

We ventured off to the Okanagan for August long weekend for a Spletzer family reunion ( Amanda's Mom's side ). The weather has been so great that we're staying for a little while longer to enjoy family and the Okanagan weather. Jonas is loving all the attention! Everyone has tried to share him, although people are throwing the term "baby hog" around!

Today was the first full day with just the three of us. Amanda's parents left yesterday, after helping us out for 10 days. Having family around has been great! Jonas had his last big medical appointment on Monday at Children's Hospital for his VSD. After 3 and a half long hours involving 2 consultations with the Cardiologist, an Echo and an ECG, we received really good news! Although Jonas has a VSD, it is very minor and should close up within the next few months or so. He'll need a follow-up appointment with Children's in one year to confirm that the gap has closed. It's so nice to be done with what seems like a million Dr's appointments and we can now just enjoy eachother and be a family!

Hi! My name is Jonas Carter Ribeiro and my parents welcomed me into the world on July 10, 2008 at 1:03 AM at Women's and Children's Hospital in Vancouver, BC! I'm nice and light, weighing 6lbs 13oz and 50 cm long. The Drs and Nurses at the hospital thought I was so cute they wanted me to stay for 10 days to give me medicine to make my blood healthy. It was a bit hard for my Mommy and Daddy but they stayed with me for 17 hours everyday! My Mommy and Daddy have so many family and friends that love them and me, so we always had visitors while I was at the hospital. I was finally able to come home on July 19th. I love having company, call my Mommy and Daddy and arrange a play date with me!

The greatest day of our lives.

Greetings. This Ribeiro Family of Burnaby British Columbia consists of Keith, Amanda (nee Church) and as of July 10, 2008, Jonas Carter our newborn son! Welcome to our new blog. Check back regularly for new things as I will attempt to make updates weekly! May love and peace be with you. Keith