Happy Birthday!

Kaio turns 3 today!!! It seems like it was yesterday when we brought him home form the hospital! It is amazing to think that the little bundle we brought home that day is now a sweet, smart, bi-lingual, athletic and amazing little guy!
We have been planning his birthday for a couple of weeks now. He decided he wanted a pirate themed party. Unfortanetly there are not many birthday items with pirates, but we looked everywhere and believe we pulled off a great party! I have been involving him in the purchases and planning and he seemed very excited! Several times I joked we were having a 'Sherk/pilot/fireman' party and everytime he 'corrected' me saying it was a pirate party!
He had a fabulous day, was surrounded by friends and family, received lots of gifts and was exhausted at the end of the day!

Some 'comparison' pics

I was browsing some pics (it is just impossible not to take pictures of these little ones)... Can you see the similarities between the pics?
- Both like to eat and coincidentally have/had highchairs with dots!


- "jumping chair" - in the beginning it entertains them only for 3mins.. but after a couple of months - let the fun begin! (the pics were taken after 3mins during the first atempts in the chair)


- Same green outfit! (and 2 happy babies!!!)


- Both showing off their thighs...can you see the diference in the leg size, folds, etc?!


- And to finish - two cute faces!

A new Belgian in the family!

From now on we will have 10 passports between the 4 of us! This past week we went to Sao Paulo to sign the documents so that Josefine is now officially a Belgian! With her beautiful blue eyes and blond hair, she definitely deserves it!
Kaio stayed with Oma and Opa while we were away. As usual, he behaved very well and barely asked for us. It was also the first time I had a nice conversation over the phone while we were away. He told me he was playing with Opa and Oma and that we would return soon ("no outro dia" - the next day)! His vocabulary is great and he builds sentences really well.
Josefine continues to accept all foods very well and it impresses me that she pretty much eats any of the food I offer her. Like a mixture of collard greens and potatoes, or soggy rice with beans, etc. The other day when Kaio was helping me make her food and saw the puree of potatoes and colored greens he said he also liked potatoes but in the 'french fries format' - I don't blame him, the puree did not look appetizing!
Josefine has two teeth now and her hair is getting long. We constantly get so many complements on her good looks! This week we even had someone encourage us to sign her up for a competition a brazilian company is running to pick their new "model" for their advertising campaign...

9 month check

Kaio and I went with Josefine for her 9 month check up! They both behaved really well. Kaio was very protective of her and very curious when the dr. examined her. Josefine is now 8.5kg (18.7lbs) and 70cm (27.6inches). Which is exactly 1 kg and 1 cm bigger then Kaio at 9 months. Josefine has been struggling with another cold (I have lost the count of how many she has had!) and has not been sleeping well. She is also constipated and we need to give her some extra fiber and lactulose to help loosen her stools as it has been very painful for her the last couple of weeks! But, overall, she is developing brilliantly!
I have been explaining to Kaio where the beverages and food go when we consume them. Now he started saying things like:
Este suco vai all the way para down (This juice goes all the way down)
We have been called to Kaio's school due him hitting his classmates and although he does not hit us much at home, they believe it is becoming more then normal. They mentioned it might be a delayed reaction to all the huge changes that happened in the last 6 months/1 year - moving to Brazil, new home, new school, new culture, new language, new sister, new 'big boy bed', potty training, etc. If you get to think of it, they are indeed HUGE changes that Kaio took very well! We now need to ensure we emphasis his good behavior, his lovely big hugs, his kisses, when he is gentle with Josefine, etc. He is indeed a great little boy and just needs some support to get over this phase.

They finally arrived...

...her teeth that is! We always thought she would have teeth early since she has had red cheeks and chewed on toys since she was around 5 months. But they never came... until last week when we saw her lower gums go all red and a couple of days later her first tooth cut through!
Josefine is eating very well and we have been trying different foods, including french fries, avocados, corn, bread, etc. Kaio loves trying to give her his food! Today I was in a rush, making lunch and getting the kids ready and asked Jason to give Josefine her lunch, Kaio promptly offered to help. I thought that allowing him to give her a couple of bites would not harm and delay us too much, but instead he gave her entire lunch without much assistance. As she adores him, she was all smiles throughout the entire meal!
Kaio is making a big 'soup' of languages.. he constantly mixes both languages and clearly understands them both! Yesterday we asked him what he wanted for dessert and he said - Ice cream and sorvete!
Josefientje has become VERY attached to me and everytime I leave a room (even for a couple of seconds) she cries instantly!
She does not seem to have much interest in crawling but does want to stand and she can spend hours sitting and playing (on one side it is good that she is not mobile yet, as it will require double attention as I can no longer leave her seated playing... she will be all over!)
Jason recently started working again (after 7 months of sabbatical)and it has been very busy for me... before Jason would help me feed, dress, clean, entertain, etc one of them and often I had time to myself to run, read, etc (he took both of them) but now it is very busy trying to 'juggle' both. It is extremly rewarding and I LOVE being a mommy, but it is a whole diferent experience of motherhood and the days are just flying by....