Over the past few weeks, Culhane has been busy getting lots of special time with lots of special people. A few days after Aunt Lise left, Michael, Culhane and I flew to Jackson, Mississippi to celebrate two of our dear friends getting married – yay Kern & Emily! I’m obviously behind on blogging and will do a post on that trip soon, but right after we got back to São Paulo, my parents arrived for a fabulous 10 day visit! My mom was here for a few weeks right after Culhane was born, but this was my dad’s first visit and his first time meeting his sweet grandson who shares his middle name – McGeever!

My parents arrived in Brazil on November 22. We met them at the São Paulo airport and then all flew together to Rio de Janeiro. We were unlucky with the weather there and it rained every single day so we weren’t able to do the beach or other fun, touristy things, however this did make for lots of extra grandparent-snuggle time with Colt. Also — little known fact about my dad — he is an avid stamp collector so the trip to Rio was actually dual-purpose as the annual international stamp show was happening, so we did that as well.

Meeting at the airport! Visiting the famous and beautiful Copacabana Palace for lunch and a little tour. 

Culhane’s first sink-bath in our Rio apartment! The Stamp Show! My dad and these 2 gentlemen are the 3 co-VPs of the American Philatelic Society. Fun dinner at a fav spot – Zaza-Bistro! 

After a rainy weekend we headed back to São Paulo where we enjoyed beautiful weather, great friends and lots of amazing restaurants.

Day 1 started with lunch at Museu da Casa Brasilera. Then a visit to Michael’s office. Finally, we headed across the street to Shopping Iguatemi for some holiday cheer! Outside the mall — Santa and his dog in their rainy-day attire. 

We capped off the night with a visit to Hotel Unique for cocktails and beautiful views of the city. 

Up Next: Gigi & Pasha Part 2 – Thanksgiving!

To close out their visit, Sharon and Ollie took Joe, Michael, Colt & me to the Fasano at the Fazenda Boa Vista — an incredible hotel on an even more impressive property.  

We drove out on Friday afternoon and it was only about an hour and a half outside the city, but it felt like a complete and total escape from São Paulo. Everything was so magnificent – I’ve really never been anywhere like it.

Culhane was immediately excited about the room as ours was all set up for him with a beautiful crib, a baby bath and a changing station! 

But even with all of these amenities, Culhane still tried to steal our bed! That little rascal! 

We spent the weekend relaxing, exploring the property, enjoying the spa, eating great food and soaking up our time together.

Morning stroll on the deck before breakfast.

Afternoon biking around the property.

In spite of the cold water, Michael jumped in the lake for a quick swim. 

Lots of snuggle-time with Culhane. 

On Saturday night we celebrated Michael’s upcoming 31st birthday (on September 9th) with a surprise cake that had an even more surprising candle / explosive device on top that Sharon had found at the supermarket! It even played music!

It was the perfect setting for us all to enjoy being together for a few final days before Sharon & Ollie headed back to Arizona. It was such a special time and when it came time to say goodbye, Culhane was the saddest one of all!

Come back soon, Nana & Papa!