"This is a Coke!"

So, I am back. I apologize to all those who have actually checked back here over the last few months. Thanks for your interest. I will try to catch you all up on what has gone on for us since last November.
Marcio was promoted in December and we were, of course, very pleased. In February we began the purchase of our first home and moved in after the first week in April. Incidentally, Marcio was unexpectedly promoted again the day after we closed on the house, which was a huge blessing from Heavenly Father.
Things have been really great in our new home. We have really appreciated the neighborhood and the proximity to friends and family. Marcio's brother returned from his mission last December as well and moved in with us shortly after we moved into our new home. His name is Rodrigo (Rigo) and he lives in a room in our basement. He is going to college right now and has been a joy to have in our home. Caio especially loves him. Speaking of missions and missionaries. My brother, Andrew, left on a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in March. And speaking of my beloved son, he has been growing up so much. He is now 19 months old and is less of a baby every day. I love him so much!!!!
He now has a growing vocabulary (ball, bubble, duck, shoe (and shoes), nose, knee, mouth, mamma, dad, this, that, etc.). It has been such a joy. We all love it. A little over a month ago he would go around the house pointing at things and asking what they were by saying "This?" or "That?" until we would tell him what it was. We didn't get what he was doing at first, but when we figured it out we were good to play along, not sure what was really sinking in; but it was nice that he was understanding what we were saying to him better and better. Then one day he was pointing at a wall and asking me, "This? This?" and I said, "Wall." He looked at me and smiled and pointed again and said twice, very clearly, "This, Wall. This, Wall." I just about fell over. He has never said the word wall since, but he continued to ask what things were and our communication with him has become increasingly better since then. Then on the 3rd of July, we were on our way to see a fireworks display and my husband sat in the backseat with him for a minute. Caio became so excited that he started babbling for a little bit and then grabbed his little left foot and said, "This is a shoe!" A day or two after that while I was giving him a bath he picked up a rubber duck and told me, "This is a duck!" I can't do it justice in writing because he has a very strong "baby accent" (LOL) ;-) but it is very distinguishable to us. Today, Marcio got a little sick to his stomache and feverish. I got him a Coke to try and help out and pulled out my other nursing magic that I can remember seeing my own mother do. He became better after only a couple of hours and came out with his bottle of Coke to watch some TV with the family. Since we rarely have soda pop in the house, Caio became interested and walked over to the bottle and started pointing and asking, "This? This?" Marcio answered, "Coke." Then CJ repeated a few times, "This is a Coke," while pointing to the bottle.
Another funny thing that happened tonight was the increasing bravery of Baby Boy. Now that he is a walker (well it would be more acurate to call him a runner/dancer since he does those more than walking) he has also become quite the talented climber, so his nerve has been ever increasing, anyway. Well, tonight he stood on the edge of the couch cushion and decided it was time for him to become a jumper. His first attempt was a little shaky, but he quickly gained courage and momentum. After a couple of successful jumps I began doing a "one-two-three" countdown for him, which he loved. After doing that a couple of times he would climb on the couch and hold up his index finger and say something along the lines of "wee-wuh-ah-ah" or something like that and then jump. When Marcio joined us later, CJ decided to show off and jumped up there and held his finger up and said his little mantra and jumped. When I explained to Marcio what he was doing, we both laughed and began helping provide the countdown for the proud performer.
Really, everything has been so great for us that I am just so happy. I forgot to mention earlier that I am expecting baby number two (the due date is New Year's Day 2008, but we'll see).
I will post again soon. Maybe this time I will get some updated pics on here.
Take Care!