Cute cute and CUTE!

I have mentioned several times how Kaio and Josefine just adore each other and it is so true and absolutely amazing! It fills my mother's heart with so much proud, happiness, joy and excitement/curiousity in how they will continue this relationship as they grow older.
A couple of cute moments:
- in the morning, Josie has been sleeping until later and Kaio is always immediately at her bed side to see her! This morning he was on the toilet and heard she had woken up, he went running, without any pants and a dirty 'bunda', to be next to her bed saying good morning and asking if she had slept well!
- Josie and Kaio face each other in the car (with an empty seat in the middle of them). Everytime we go somewhere we can hear the giggles and happy squeals from the back seat! Kaio smiles and talks to her and she responds immediately.
- He call her "querida" (sweetheart), "amiga" (friend) and "linda" (beautiful)! And she always responds with a smile!
- When strangers walk up to me to see Josefine, he proudly says to them - "minha mana" (my sister)
- When she cries he goes running to give her a toy or to say - "teu mano esta' aqui" (your brother is here)
We really hope that they continue being so fond of each other and grow up to be friends!

Kidisms...

Kaio has a bit of dificulties saying some letters, like F, S and K. One word he has alwasy said 'wrong' is silly. He says - tui. We think it is adorable, but recently we have been trying to help him pronounce some words better (specially now that he speaks 2 languages and, at times, it is dificult to understand him as we don't know which of them he is speaking in). So we started trying to making him say SSSSS, which he does, then we say: sssssssssss sily, he then says - ssssssssssss TUI! It is adorable! I remember when my brother was his age he had the same with Supermercado(supermarket), which he would pronounce as 'fumercado', so I would make him say ssssssssssss supermercado and he would say ssssssssss fumercado!
The other day we were talking about going home and making some food for Kaio a couple of moments before we had talked about a frog. Kaio then said - "comida do togy' (food for 'togy') We did not understand what he meant by togy, so we asked him if it was doggy or some other words, when he saw we did not understand him, he said - comida do sapo (food for the frog) which shows he knows both languages and knows how to use them!!! Clever boy!
Sometimes when Kaio wants to start a conversation or doesn't know what to talk about he says - "mommy/Oma/daddy, what are YOU doing?". It is one of the few 'sentences' he still says in english.
Some recent pics:
- Daddy and the kids at the end of the day - a bit of TV time. We were able to convince Kaio to look at the camera for 2 secs to say 'cheese'. Josie was mesmerized.
- Blue eyes baby doing push ups
- Kaio and Josie having fun together!
- On mother's day with Oma
- Smiley baby
- Oma and Opa with the kids

Mother's day!

Last weekend was mother's day and I can honestly say I am the happiest mommy on earth! I have such a great family and could not imagine a second of my life without any them!
Kaio and daddy prepared a nice breakfast and let me sleep until 8:30. Jason put together a nice album with several pictures from when I was pregnant with Kaio all the way until our trip to Argentina... Kaio was very interested in the album and seemed to know when he was in my belly or when Josie was in 'it' and which baby was Josefine and which one was him.
After that we went for a jog/rollerblade with the kids. Kaio and Josie in the pram, I was jogging and Jason rollerblading! It was by the river and we all enjoyed it!
For lunch we went to Oma for a nice barbeque! Jason and Opa did the cooking! We had some champagne, good chats and looked at pictures when we were young! We had a relaxing afternoon and finished the day chatting about our lovely children over a glass of wine! (while they were sounds asleep)

5 month check

Josefine had her 5 month check this week. She is doing really well! She weighs 6.9kg (15.2lbs) and is 65cm tall. Which is right on the 50% for weight and 75% for height. The paediatrician was also very impressed with all her abilities (turning over, grabbing objects, responding to noise, babbling, smiling, etc). The Dr. also believes she will keep her blue eyes! They are just beautiful and impressive.
Her sleeping pattern is still a bit off but it's getting better, the most important is that she is feeding really well.
Since she does not take the bottle (or pacifier) we have started giving her milk in a cup. We use the top of one of her bottles and give it slowly. So far, she has accepted it well and it makes me happy she is not 100% dependent on me (and my breast!)
Kaio still 'tests' us on several occasions. Sometimes he also 'tests' Josie's limits. Although he knows that he is in trouble when she cries with his 'tests'! Which does not happen often, since she is always so smiley and happy when she sees him. But overall he is getting better in listening and understanding the consequences of misbehaving (if we give him warnings he might loose his 1/2hr TV session before he goes to bed or spend some 'out' time in his room or not go to the park, etc). He continues very interested in helping us cook, clean up and other house chores!
Several of my friends are pregnant and it is funny that they consider me 'the baby expert'. They admire me/us in how well behaved Kaio and Josie are and are constantly asking me tips in how to educate and handle them... which on one side is funny to me but on the other hand, I do have two great kids and I am very proud of them!

Argentina

Last week we flew off again. This time we went to Argentina - Buenos Aires and Mendoza - for one week.
We left Kaio with Oma (the longest we were without Kaio! We really missed him!) and Josefine came with us as she is still exclusively breastfed.
Kaio loved staying with Oma because his cousins were still here and he just absolutely loves Oma and Opa. Every time I called to check how things were, Oma and Opa mentioned he barely asked where his mommy and daddy were! It makes me very glad he is independent and enjoys staying with Oma, but a tiny part of mine would like it if he missed me a bit more ;-)
The trip went really well and Josie behaved as a proper globe trotter! It is a pity she does not take the dummy since it would be helpful to pacify her sometimes. As always, she was very smiley to anyone that gave her attention!
When we arrived back, at the airport, the first person Kaio went to give a kiss and hug = JOSEFINE MAIA! (he does not call her Josie or Josefine, it is Josefine Maia or “mana” (which means sister)!
Josie has been mixing up her nights and day feeds. During the day, she is not much of an eater, but then at night she wakes every 2 or 3 hrs to feed! Luckily she does go back to sleep right after a feed, however it is tiring (for her and me) not having a long stretch of sleep! She also doesn't take long naps and usually has around 4 x 30min naps a day. She seems to be very sensitive to noises or movements and will easily wake up.
Kaio's Portuguese is coming along very nicely. He seems to be speaking more Portuguese and sometimes even mixes in some Flemish.
We completed 3 months of our sabbatical and are very happy with what we have accomplished so far! We are enjoying our kids, each other, Brazil, family and friends daily, we are travelling and starting to figure out what we want to do next!
1) Mommy and Josie at one of the beautiful parks in Mendoza
2) Josie "eating" her first breadstick... she just sucked on it!
3) Daddy and Josie at a parrilada lunch in Mendoza, it lasted for 2 hrs and she behaved amazingly well!
4) Visiting one of the oldest wineries in Mendoza
5) Mommy and happy Josefine (1)
6) Mommy and happy Josefine (2)

Funny hair!

I was looking at some old pictures of Kaio, and if it is for their hair, they do have the same genes! Josie is entering the phase where she is loosing the hair from the circumference from one ear to another and keeping a spot on the top and bottom.... Kaio had the same!
Kaio:

Josefine:

Rolling...

Josefine turned 4 months last friday.
She started attempting some roles yesterday at Oma's house and today she is rolling non stop. This morning I woke up with her crying because she had rolled on her belly and was 'stuck'. It's absolutely adorable, you just put her on her back and in no time she flips her legs to the side and now has mastered moving her hand also. Unfortunately the belly position is not her favourite, so after a couple of seconds she starts fussing because she is 'stuck'. I read back to when Kaio started rolling and he did the opposite, he used to love his tummy time and his first rolls were from the tummy to the back!
Josie continues to be a super happy baby. She also seems to be very social. She smiles easily to anyone and when she is a bit upset (when she is bored 'playing' with a toy), it just takes a couple of seconds of face to face time with her and she is happy again!
It's becoming very difficult to choose pictures to post, since they are all so adorable and priceless! Below is a nice selection of the last couple of weeks:
1)Happy girl
2)Kaio and his 'mana' (sister)
3)Big smile!
4)"I can be serious too!"
5)Still fascinated by her hands
6)Kaio and Daddy trying the first 'churrasco'! Yummie chicken hearts!
7)Kaio loves his sister - he constantly asks to hold her!
8)Big eyes! She does look like me in this pic
9)Kaio with Opa on his new boat. Kaio has been on several boat trips and he loves it!
10)Exploring the playmat together

Cousins in town

Lucas and Ana Julia came to Brazil to spend Easter with us. Kaio was very excited the days leading up to their arrival and although they had not seen each other for almost a year, when we went to pick them up at the airport, Kaio was super cute and hugged and kissed everyone immediately (no shy boy!). The days following he would wake up asking for his cousins - "Ucas and Tutu". They have had so much fun together, and although they don't speak the same langauge (Kaio speaks portuguese and english and they speak flemish) they do understand each other and really have a lot of fun! He is also very fond of his "tante Karo" (aunt Karo)
Juju also adores 'playing' with Josefine, it's like a little doll for her!
We received a very nice Easter box from grandma and granpa. Kaio's favourite item - a musical card. Grandma has indeed found something Kaio loves and he keeps all musical cards and gets them out to play and dance several times per month!
Here is a link to his latest card: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ8xUsxIOA4
Josefine is getting stronger by the day. She sits up nicely (with assistance) and is really getting big! She also continues to giggle, babble and explore with her hands. She is also "half rolling" (she rolls on her side). Both kids adore each other and when Josie hears Kaio's voice she smiles and Kaio always gives her hugs and kisses when he sees her. She 'tells' him stories and he loves to listen to her coo and see her kick around! People often ask me if he is jealous of her and I can truely say he has never expressed any jealousy our anger towards her! (touch wood it stays like that)

Terrible twos?

The last couple of weeks Kaio has ‘tested’ us a little bit and has had some ‘tantrums’. He gets very frustrated and jumps and screams (like you see in movies…) It’s also a bit frustrated for us since we try to avoid them and when they happen we try to ‘reason’ with him but it does not seem to work. I believe we are fairly strict parents and are not spoiling him, so having been spoiled by grandparents and uncles/aunts for a couple of months also contributed to his current behaviour. Overall he is a great little guy, but I believe these are clearly the ‘terrible twos’! (Luckily these ‘moments’ are not daily and tend to last for max. of 5 – 10 mins)
Kaio loves his school. In the 2 weeks he has been there I believe he likes it better then his previous nursery! He has not cried and is always in a great mood when we pick him up. The children seem all polite and have fun together! All the teachers are very nice and caring! Kaio is in a small classroom (5 children) and gets lots of attention. They have a great outside play area and several types of toys and activities.
Josefine and Kaio remain good friends and she always looks at Kaio when he dances, sings or tells her stories. He sometimes 'tests' her limits too, not in a harmful way but in a curious toddler kind of way!
Kaio has the greatest giggles ever and we love to ‘get him going’. Sometimes it is as easy as throwing Josie’s soft toys at him to get him started! They are truly belly giggles and are hilarious!Josefine continues to smile a lot, I have never seen a baby smile so much! She is also ‘talking’ and experimenting with noises.. and then there are the proper giggles!!! Ah, we do everything to get them and they are absolutely adorable. It is even better when her giggles spark Kaio to giggle, which of course makes us giggle and we all end up giggling over a small little toy (which started Josie’s giggles!)Josie is also mastering her hands and grabs toys easily. She loves to smile to her or us when we place her in front of the mirror.
Kaio is really picking up Portuguese. We are having more difficulty understanding what he is trying to say to us since we don’t know if it’s Portuguese or English. He is definitely learning new words at nursery and comes home with words like – coelhinho da Pascoa (easter bunny), La’ fora (outside), mais por favour (more, please)This weekend we went to Gramado, to visit the Chocofest which is a chocolate festival leading up to Easter. Kaio was very good with all the fun ‘bunnies’, strangers coming up to him to say ‘hi’ (Brazilians are very outgoing and absolutely love children) and both car trips (2 hrs each way).
Kaio is very cute when he pronounces some words and phrases, like:
- potator - por favor = please
- oder weare - over there
- tuii - silly.
- Tanto - He can not pronounce the S properly. He calls my sister’s boyfriend Tanto (his name is Santo). We try to make him say ssssss, he repeats ssssss, so then we tells him to say Ssssssanto and he says – SssssssTanto.
- Totetine Maia – his little sister
- Poopies/pipies in the potty – to go to the bathroom
- Too BIIIIIG (reaching with his hands wide out)
- Daddy fall down the bus – Jason fell down whil getting down from a bus and told into Kaio, since then Kaio has said it numerous times
- Poopies in the bunda - Bunda means 'behind'. He is starting to mix some words.
- Pasta for breakfast - the other morning we asked what he wanted for breakfast and he said - ice cream. When I said it was too early for ice cream he said - PASTA!
He tries to repeat everything we say and it is hilarious when we say complicated words...

New home!

Last week we moved into a new flat. It is perfectly located and 15 mins from Oma and Opa and 15 mins from the city centre. We now live in a beautiful apartment block that has several out door amenities, such as swimming pool, children play area (Indoor and outdoor), soccer field, etc. It is also 5 mins from a major mall and 2 mins from the main river here in the south. Each of the kids have their own room and Kaio is really enjoying it. He also has his own bathroom and loves 'decorating' it. (we got towls and a mat with ducks on it) Josefine also moved into her own room now and is adapting nicely!
Kaio started nursery on monday. He will go to a local school (15mins walk) and will be going there 5 days a week from 8am until 1pm. It will be great for him to learn portuguese. He adapted very nicely and everyone is really friendly. He talks about his new friends and is happy to return every day. The teacher said he seems to understand everything and makes himself clear (if he doesn't know the words in portuguese he points or grabs the teacher by her hand to point out what he wants). He did not cry at all and his classmates seem very nice and happy children!
We also rented a car this week and are more independent now (Oma was always driving us around). Kaio does miss his Oma and living at their house (they had a much bigger garden) but we still are very close and have seen Oma every day.
1) Josie and her new hairband
2) Josie and Kaio (aren't they just absolutely georgeous)
3) Kaio very happy with his new (spiderman) backpack to go to school
4) Kaio singing and dancing at the barbeque of some friends

Rio - cidade maravilhosa!

This week we had a mini break from our sabbatical and went to Rio de Janeiro for 3 days. Kaio stayed with Oma in Porto Alegre.
Josefine behaved very well during the entire trip. She slept on both plane trips and in Rio she was very content with the full attention she got from us. We were able to see the main attractions in Rio and also enjoy some nice meals.
Josie continues to progress very well with her motor skills and is able to reach for toys and grab them. She is also very talkative and started having real giggles! She continues to be a happy and very smiley baby. She definitely does not like the dummy and is also not very keen on the bottle. She has started sucking her fingers and makes funny noises when she 'finds' them. Her sleeping patterns are still a bit irregular but she has been able to sleep for 8 hrs straight several times. Josie wears pink cloths, however we frequently get asked if she is a boy. In Brazil, ALL baby girls get their ears pierced when they are a couple of days old and since she does not have pierced ears, some people think she might just be a fasionable boy dressed in pink!
Kaio is doing really well and continues to love all the new experiences in Brazil. This week he went with titia to ride a horse and he absolutely adored it (I thought he would be affraid but he was very excited). Kaio is becoming much less shy and adores spending time with everyone in the family. He also has moments he just goes and sits outside in the grass to see the golf players go by or watch the ducks. Potty training is going really well, although we still have some accidents which are mainly due to him getting so excited playing and forgets to go to the potty.
Some pics:
1) Josie with her little hair bows
2) Kaio's new haircut
3) Kaio with Oma and titio
Rio de Janeiro:
1) Josie and mommy at the Christo Redentor
2) Josie (in her pretty dress) with daddy
3) Josie and daddy having fun
4) Family pic on top of the pao de acucar (Josie was not very happy with the bright sun!)
5) Josie and mommy in Ipanema beach!
6) Josie waiting to go to the Cristo Redentor

Kaio BERnard!

The kids are settling in nicely. Josie is getting so big so fast. I don't remember Kaio smiling so much so early; every time we look at her it seems like she's got big smiles and coo-ing.
And Kaio has been really cute in the last few days: he will point at himself and say "who's this one?". We respond: "Kaio Bernard", and then he'll respond back to us: "Daio BERnard, Daio BERnard, Daio BERnard". (or sometimes he sponteneously says - "this one Daio BERnard!")
He still can't say Kaio 100% correct (very close though!) but he can say Bernard perfectly. Sometimes we'll also say "Bernie", to which he'll respond, "No! Kaio BERnard! Not Bernie"
When we point at Josie he says - "Totetine MAIA". I am - "Anelie" and Jason is "Ason"
Josie is exploring with her arms and legs. She looks like a boxing kangeroo. She holds her fists closed and tries to reach to objects. A couple of times she has been successful in actually grabbing toys held in front of her.
On monday it will be 3 weeks since we arrived in Brazil and everything it going smoothly. We've found a nice apartment, started applying for Jason's permanent residency card, I am getting my driver license sorted, etc. Lot's of burocracy, but we are looking forward in living here!

Blue eyed girl...

First set of pics from Brazil:
1 & 2) Josie is a smiley baby! She continues to smile and steals everyone's heart with her happy personality!
3) Kaio and daddy having fun in the pool
4) Mommy with Kaio on the potty - he is doing so well with the potty training!!!!
5) Kaio very proud in his underwear
6) Kaio loves watching the birdies at Oma's house
7) Sleeping in his 'big boy's' bed. He transitioned really well to it. (having the bed next to Oma's bed is definitely helping)
8) Josefine
9) Blue eyes - they seem to be here to stay!