Tuning her skills

Josefine has been tuning several of her skills. Today I caught her following a fly. She followed it for several minutes, flying around the room, walking on the window (1.5 mts from her)and when she would 'loose' sight of the fly, she would look around searching for it. Also the other day, Jason and Kaio were playing soccer downstairs (we live on the 5th floor) and I pointed them out to her and she opened a big smile when she recognized them and followed them playing around! She claps her hands nicely together and when we join her with the clapping she gets very excited and smiles even more! She also waves to people! (she looks like those chinese cat dolls)Which is generally followed by a big smile!
She loves to sit (by herself) and play with things that are offered to her, although she does need 'new' toys to keep her entertained for longer!
This week she had another cold. It seems she has has colds on and off from her first week of life! (we had a break during the summer here in Brazil). She tends to get all stuffed and has a runny nose! Luckily she has managed to learn how to breath through her mouth when her nose is blocked, although it breaks our heart to see her sick like that! Last week she also had conjuntivitis (which probably came from Kaio), but which was better in 3 days!
Kaio loves to play pretend.. he loves being 'capitao gancho' (captain hook), Bob the builder (her puts on a hat and 'builds' houses) and the lobo mau bonzinho(the good bad wolf). He is very perticuliar in how he wants to arrange things (he uses chairs, pillows, other toys to build his ship, house, truck, etc)
Some pics:
1)Kaio helping with Josefine's bath. You can see she is sitting up nicely in it! (and does a lot of splashing!)
2)Kaio and Josefine playing in the new 'play house' build buy Bob the Builder (aka. Kaio Bernard!)
3)Kaio 'driving' his truck!
4)Kaio combing Josie's hair (she is not sure what to think about it, but he really enjoys it!)
5)Josie all dressed up for the cold!!
6)Josie eating cereal out of a bowl.

'Big girl'

Josie is changing so much. This week we have looked at her and commented several times (almost in disbelief)how much she has changed in the last couple of months.
Oma and Opa went travelling last week and they came back to a baby that is now sitting up straight, babbling a lot and eating 4 'meals' a day! (they were only gone for 7 days!)
Today we were having lunch in a restaurant and asked for a high chair. Kaio was eager to sit in it when it arrived, but we pointed out to him that he is the big boy that sits in the normal chair (which he had been doing for several months!) and that now Josefine sits in the highchair. He had a big smile on his face when looking at his little sister sitting up so nicely and being part of our lunch table! He loved the fact we gave her some of his pizza crust to 'suck' on and ate some of his peas... Kaio also understands that by eating someone grows, so he keeps saying how he will eat to become as big as us and how Josefine should eat to become as big as he is! Very cute!
Oma is going to Belgium for a month and she is curious to see how much Josefine will change again in the time she is gone!

Pictures

The other day I made a photo album of Josefine's first months (and pregnancy pics). It was such a dificult task. Just like with Kaio, we have taken SO MANY pictures of her! Here are some latest pictures:
1)Josie loves to stand. She does need support, however she is very sturdy on her legs!
2)Kaio having fun during the 'festa Junina' of his school
3)Kaio with some of his classmates
4)Josie sitting up nicely
5)Josie trying out a new hat!
6)In Bento Goncalves (the wine county here in Brazil)
7)Kaio having fun at the wineries
8)Josefine and I at sunset
9)Us with the gasometro (a landmark here in Port Alegre)
10)Kaio and I during a boat trip!

Check ups

This week we had Kaio's 2yr10month and Josefine's 7 month check up. They both are doing great!! They behaved very nicely while being weighed, measured, 'poked' and examined. Here are the stats:

- Kaio:
Weight: 12.4kg (27.4lbs)= which equals to the 9% (for boys of his age)
Height: 91.5cm (3') = which equals to the 25%

- Josefine:
Weight: 7.65kg (16.13lbs) = which equals to a little above the 50% (for 'girls' her age)
Height: 68cm (26'8")= which equals to almost the 75%

Josie is now well on her way to being weaned and the Dr. recommended starting her on beans (here in Brazil, black beans are served daily!), other meats, fruits and vegetables. We are also starting to give her some cookies. So far she has accepted everything well!

Josefine
mamamamama nanananana dadadadada - Josie has been babling a lot! She also screams, coos and makes all kind of noises. She is experimenting with her voice and it is adorable. She observes us, quietly, when we make a new noise and seems to be taking it all in.
She is doing really well at her swimming classes and is already going completely under water. She is all smiled during and afger the class!
We've started introducing food. She really likes her lunch soup (spinach, carrots, chuchu, meat and pumpkin.) as well as her fruit (mamao, pear, apple and orange) and chewing on cookies. It has also helped her sleep better and she is now only waking once a night for a feed!
Kaio
He is saying so much and seems to be picking up new words daily. He says full sentences and conjugates the verbs nicely. "quer brincar comigo?" (do you want to play with me?) "Este e' o meu barco, o barco do capitao gancho" (this is my boat, the boat of the capitain")(while sitting on the couch)"Eu estou com frio" (I am cold - after he comes out of his shower)"Hoje nao vamos lavar o cabelo" (today we are not going to wash our hair - he always tries to negotiate this when I say it is bath time!)
He also has become much more social. On friday, some good friends came for lunch, Kaio had never met them and he went over and kissed and hugged everyone! (5 months ago he would hide behind us and not get close!)
After we succesfully potty trained him using stickers (he would get the stickers if he used the potty) we started using the sticker scheme for his breakfast. He is so excited when he wakes up to go and play that it could sometimes take more then an hour for him to finish his bowl of cereal. So now we motivate him to finish his breakfast (fast) so he can get a sticker! It really works!

Memories...

Last night we got a babysitter (Oma) and went on a date! Although the intention is to 'disconnect' from everything and spend some Jason-Annelies time, we always end up talking about our wonderful kidlets and the journey of being parents!
Last night I was recalling the 2 unforgettable times I told Jason I was pregnant:
- Kaio: we had been trying for several months and Jason was totally not expecting anything when one weekday night he went to sit down for dinner and there was a present on his seat. He asked what the occasion was and I just told him to open it. I had bought a onsie and a bib with "I (heart) daddy" several months ago and I was finally able to give it to him. Jason's reaction was perfect he looked at it, looked at me and said "Are you pregnant, really?!" Followed by a big hug!
- Josefine: I had bought a t-shirt for Kaio that said "I am the big brother". I put it on Kaio and we waited for daddy to come home. Jason saw it instantly and asked again: "really?!" This was followed by a big family hug (which included the new big brother!)