We have been busy!

"É MEU!"

This week, Kaio was playing with a toy and Josefine went over and grabbed it from his hands to which he said - "É MEU!" (it´s mine!) To which, she said "É MEU" back and not letting go of the toy! Which seems pure imitation but we laughed a lot since she said "é meu" it perfectly. And yesterday when we were in the store, she was holding on to the receipt, when I grabbed it from her she looked at me and said - "É MEU!!" showing she clearly understands the meaning.
Kaio has English classes at school and it is adorable how he comes home saying - "flor é flower" "sim é yes" "carro é car", etc and he repeats it several times, which is probably what they do at school. So he comes home and says:
flor é flower flor é flower flor é flower flor é flower flor é flower flor é flower flor é flower...
Josefine has been trying to feed herself and she has been very succesful at it.

Love love love

It always brings so much joy to my heart, body and life when I see how spontaneously Kaio wants to hug and kiss his sister and then, out of nowhere, she just walks up to him and hugs him. Just at random times of the day! Of course, there are moments that both of them want to play with the same toy or want to sit on my lap (without the other one also being there, although my lap has space for both) but overall they are just so adorable with each other.
Josefine is overall very independent and has a strong will, however she also loves to imitate Kaio. He sometimes does not understand why (he is, still, constantly saying "por que" this or that) Josefine wants to do the things he does. But he continues taking on the role of big brother very well and helps Josefine, shows her how to do things, corrects when she says something wrong.
Now that we live a bit further away, I spend more time with them in the car. Somedays they are not in the best mood and it becomes a LONG drive, but most of the time we sing, laugh and have fun!
Josefine is talking a lot in both English and Portuguese. She really pays attention on the words we say and tries to repeat them. It is adorable and we laugh a lot, specially Kaio, who thinks it is very funny the way she says things wrong - but she doesn´t mind and laughs with us!
Kaio continues being a sweet boy and now he has the habit of very fast, after a misunderstanding, ask forgeviness! (to me, daddy or Josefine). He has english class at school and is really getting that there are 2 languages he understands and when we listen to music he knows when the songs are english or in portuguese (and then he starts questioning what they are singing about....).
We continue living at Oma and Opa´s house, but we are getting VERY excited to move into our new home! Today when we went to look at the instalment of the curtains (Kaio is getting the Grêmio blue curtains) he asked - "Quando nos vamos dormir na casa nova?" (when are we going to live in our new home?) and I said that it would be very soon, he replied - "eu quero agora" (I want it now). Josefine, every time we go to the house, loves the stairs (we have not installed the gates yet) and loves to walk around. We will probably move in a couple of weeks and it will be AWESOME!
On another note - Josefine has had an alergy we have been able to control a bit latetly. She has had it for 2 months and we have tried several medicines. The dermatologist has not been able to identify what is causing the reactions (she has red blots on her face, scalp and hands which itch and just look aweful) but she is much better and we hope she will "grow out of it".
Some older pics (I just "found" on my camera):

And another move...

Last weekend we moved from our flat to Oma and Opa´s house. We will be staying here until our house is ready (Oma and Opa are spending a couple of months in Belgium and allowed us to stay in their house!) The kids are LOVING it! Besides the amount of space, fun toys and diferent activities, they have been sleeping very well. (it is very silent and peaceful!) Josefine is even sleeping from 8 to 8 without waking up for a bottle at 6am. I also think they are sleeping so well because it is starting to cool off and with the warm and cozy PJs grandma brought from the US, they want to spend more time in their bed ;-)
We are also getting excited about our new house, which will have a big garden, play room, both kids have their own big room and lot´s of space! Kaio and I have started doing some fun arts and crafts to decorate the new house! He is really enjoying all the coloring, cutting and planning!
Besides Josefine´s allergy, she is doing really well. She repeats EVERYTHING we say! One of the funiest once is when I catch her making mess (throwing papers on the floor or the contents of her glass of water) I say - JOSEFINE! and she replies "Gunça" (=bagunça =mess) It´s also cute to see Kaio trying to correct her. When she says "mão" (=pão=bread) he says - "filha, é PPPPão" (=daughter, it´s BBBBread)

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF... VVVVVVVVVVv

Kaio had a major linguistic breakthrough! He can now say the F and V. It had become a "joke" with my dad and brother. They would ask if Kaio wanted a fruta (=fruit) and he would say - "sim, quero uma puta" (=hooker) because he couldn´t say the f. After he realized they were joking around, he would say - "sim, quero uma maça". (yes, I would like an apple)
Yesterday he was telling us a story about an "artore" (which should be arvore=tree) and I explained that I understood him but he had to try and say it correctly so other people could understand him. So he tried, tried and tried and he got it! He was so proud of himself that he started saying all the words he knew with F and V. Flor, Feliz, Josefine, vaca, etc and he even started putting Fs and Vs where there weren´t, like VVVVVCOPO (=VVVV"GLASS")

She is a walker!!

Josefine had been very firm on her legs and walking (with someone´s/anyone´s finger as support) for a while. She would also walk for several steps with lots of motivation... (like a waffle, cookie or a big hug!) But she was not confident enough to walk around herself. A pediatrician said she had all the motor capabilities but it was a sign she will be a very "reluctant" kid - she needs to be very sure before adventuring around! (I think she was just being a bit lazy!)
On thursday (march 21st) we were at home (it was Easter Holiday) and I was in my room getting dressed when suddenly she walks in by herself, without anyone having motivated her. From that moment onwards, she is walking, walking and walking. She just gets up and starts walking around to one room, then the other, the kitchen, the entire living room, etc. Sometimes it is even dificult to hold her because she wants to get down to walk!
Of course, we have had a couple of occasions of Josefine being "accidentaly" tripped by her brother....

Grandma in town!

Grandma was in town for 10 days at the beginning of April! She made the trip down to Brazil - all by herself. The kids really got a chance to play and bond with her. We spend several mornings at home just playing with toys she brought or on the ground reading books and lots of painting/drawing. (Kaio loves the AcquaDoodles Grandma brought for him)
I think Grandma really enjoyed the time with the kids, but also was a bit overwhelmed with the hectic agenda we have. Kaio was great in saying english words to Grandma as he realized she did not speak portuguese and the words Josefine knows (in both English and Portuguese), Grandma picked up very quickly.
We went to Gramado - the Easter capital of Brazil - with Grandma. The kids (and everyone else had a blast!)

"An angel with a broken wing"

Kaio broke his arm this week! He is a easy going boy and is not a boy you expect to brake an arm. He had a bad fall at school and broke both bones of his arm, close to his pulse. He now has a temporary cast, until next week, when the swelling goes down they'll put a full cast on for 6 weeks.
I can say it was one of the worst days of my life. Kaio was in pain, a bit disoriented and I was not able to comfort him the first hours as he was in so much pain. All I could do was hold him close and give him as much comfort I could. Once we got home, Jason went to the store and got him lots of goodies (which he loved) and we spent the afternoon watching DVDs and spoilling him tons! At night I slept in his room and he had an uneasy night as he could not find a comfortable position and it was hurting. But from the second day onwards he sometimes forgets he has a cast on.
He does not like it when I say his arm is broken (to other people) as he believes something broken is really bad. He also calls his cast a big bandaid!
Overall he has been very brave and a trooper! It is hard seeing him with a big cast on his arm, but I am happy he is feeling much better and accepting it very well overall.

Baptism

A couple of weeks ago we Baptized both Kaio and Josefine.
I have always wanted to baptize them, but we had been delaying it for a while since we couldn´t decide on the godparents. While in Chile we finally had time to reflect and see who is important in our kids lifes and make a decision. And here they are:

Kaio:

Ward & Liesbet
Herman & Anita



Josefine:

Karolien & Peter
Stephen & Fanny


Unfortunately we were not able to have everyone present on this special day in their lives, but we certainly had a great day.
We had a nice barbeque (by Opa) after that we had a photo session (with a professional photographer) to take family and inidividual pics. Then we went to the church and had the baptism ceremony.
We finished this great day with a nice cake and champagne!
It was a great day and it was very good to have so many family members present. Unfortunately Grandma and Grandpa couldn´t make it.

Kidlets!

Kaio has been doing great! He really is a great kid, which (very normally) has his moments but overall is very sweet, funny, polite and amazing little guy. He loves his sister, loves his family and says very spontaneous and sweet things. Kaio also has developed a very creative imagination and makes up his own stories and sometimes his own language (as if 3 is not enough!). He has been spending at least 1 day a week at Oma and Opa´s house! He loves staying there since he gets really spoiled (like breakfast and TV in bed) but it is a good oportunity for us to spend some good time with Josefine and he gets to bond with his grandparents.
This week I think we got Kaio´s first lie. He had spend the evening at Oma´s house and the next time it was bath time and he said he had already taken a bath at Oma´s (which I knew he hadn´t) and so I said - "are you sure? Because I think I might call Oma to make sure..." he instantly said "não, não tomei banho... vamos tomar banho?"
Kaio has really cranked up his "por que?" phase and is constantly asking the explanation about things and most of the time our answer to his first por que is followed by many other por que´s. He is also asking a lot of other questions, like this morning he asked me how Josefine came out of my belly ;-)
Josefine saying hi to get my attention is adorable. She sometimes comes crawling toward me, saying "hi, hi, hi" and then she gets to my feet, looks up, with a big smile and says "hiiiiiiiiiii". It is very cute and impossible not the pick her up!
Josefine has adjusted really well at daycare and most days does not cry when I drop her off. She really likes her carers and her classmates!
She likes looking at books (following the example of her brother) and is in the phase of putting items in and out of boxes and containers.

chit chatters

Josefine is almost 1 year and 4 months. She still is not walking although she only needs one finger to run around and she has taken 5 steps along. But as the saying goes - "late walker, early talker!"
She sure is talking - she imitates a lot of words we say. The latest ones:
- up (to come up the sofa or arms)
- Milll (milk, she also does the sign language for this)
- YoYo (yogurt)
- Bano (banho - bath)
- Daio (Kaio, which she also calls mano)
- Boo (book, with the sign language)
- Hi (she says that when she gets close to me and wants my attention)
- Ta ta (Tchau tchau, waving goodbye)
- Daddy (says it in english)
- Mommy (also in english)
- Beli (belly, and she points at it!)
- Pider (Spider)
- and then the other ones she was already saying nicely - Oma, Opa, titio, titia, agua, etc

Kaio´s vocabulary has also increased significantly, although we are still working on the correct pronunciation of some words. Sometimes he doesn´t say the 's' or pronounces the 'd' or 'c', etc. However, we have been told that it is normal until they are about 4 years.

Family pics

We finally got around in taking some professional pictures of our family! (the last time we had taken professional pics, Josefine was a small little fetus in my belly)
With such a beautiful kids, the pics turned out great!!!!
Here is a selection of a couple:

It has been a while..

Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog! We have been busy!
Our trip to Chile went well! We had a great time and really enjoyed exploring a new country and speding time together, as a couple, just the two of us! However, we REALLY missed the kids! We constantly talked about them, remembered moments, looked at pictures online and called twice a day to check on them. The kids and Oma and Opa had a great time and everything went perfectly! We couldn't have been happier it all went so smoothly during the 9 days we were away. Josefine had settled nicely into daycare and both kids are now going there every afternoon.
Now, after 3 weeks we are finally into a nice routine: we spend the morning together (some days we have swimming, other days we stay home or go to Oma's house or find somehting to do), after lunch I take the kids to school, come home and start workting until 6:30 (since we got back from Chile, I've started working with Jason). At 6:45 we pick up the kids, together. It has become a fun habit and the kids are always so happy to see us. When we get home we start our evening routine with some play time, a snack, bathing, watching some tv or reading a book, bottle for Josefine and bed.
We have full days but they are so much fun!

fun quotes from Kaio!

As I have mentioned a couple of times, Kaio's vocabulary has expanded beyond believe and sometimes he goes on and on about things, telling (really or fictional) stories, asking us "por que" about everything, etc It is very entertaining see him chat away like that! In the past, I used to see other people's kids say or ask embarrassing/funny things and was curious when our kids would start doing that... well, with Kaio, it is in full swing! Below are a couple of "stories" from the last couple of weeks:
- "Mamae dormiu peladona" - when the summer started we had to make a big effort to convince Kaio to sleep in his underwear (he was used with his PJs) and we pointed out how daddy and I sleep with underwear and Josefine in nappies, so he agreed to sleep in underwear and often he would wake up and ask in what we had slept... a couple of weeks ago, Josefine was sick and in the middle of the night threw up all over me, I took of my PJs (and the rest) as it was covered in vomit! Since it was 3am I just went bad to bed naked. In the morning Kaio saw me without cloths (but did not say much). When our cleaning lady arrived, one of the first things he said was "Eu dormi de cueca, o papai dormiu de cueca, a Josefine dormiu de fralda e a mamae dormiu PELADONA!" (I slept in underwear, Daddy slept in underwear, Josefine slept in nappies and mommy slept naked!) It was hilarious!
- "Oma nao 'e burra" - the other day my mom was cooking (with assistent cook Kaio next to her!) and she put the wrong spice in the meal and said out loud "A Oma 'e burra" (Oma is dumb), at which Kaio, instantly and very spontaneously said " Tu nao 'e burra Oma, tu 'e a linda do meu coracao!" (you are not dumb Oma, you are the love of my heart!) You can imagine how happy Oma was!
- "Cuidado 'pilha'" - when Josefine is trying to walk or ready to fall over, I say "cuidado filha" (be careful daughter). The other day, Kaio was playing with her and they were rolling around, she almost bumped her head against the chair, at which Kaio said "Cuidado 'pilha'" (he pronounces the p instead of the f) (be careful 'battery')
Josefine is also increasing her vocabulary and says - daddy, mama, mano, Opa, belly, ball, aviao (airplane), baby, vrmmvrmm (car) and yummie yummie (food). When we say new words, she attentively looks at our mouth and tries to imitate the sounds. The other day, Kaio was screaming at her (because she had grabbed his toy) and she looked seriously and then yelled back in the same tone! (also very instantly and spontaneously)

In Chile

At the moment, Jason and I are in Chile. We have taken 10 days, without the kids, to explore a bit of the country! It has been great to spend some time just the two of us, but we constantly "catch" ourselves talking about the kids or looking at pictures.
Oma has been taking care of them and has had her hands full - I call twice a day and for two days I have not been able to talk to her, because she was either putting Josefine for her morning nap, giving her a bottle or putting Kaio to bed! Opa said it all yesterday evening - "you know how it is, you have your hands full with two little ones!". Luckily Josefine it all settled at nursery and they both go there from 1 until 6:30, giving Oma some time to breath.
I spoke on the phone with Kaio the other day and when Opa said that I could stay away as long as I wanted since the kids did not miss us (jokingly), Kaio jumped in and said "nao mamae, volta!" (no mommy, come back!) It also warms me all up inside when he says - "I love you" when he says goodbye.

First days of school!

We started Josefine at the same school as Kaio. I need to admit I have been apprehensive about it as I have a slight feeling this is the 'end' of a very amazing phase in our life’s - me being a full time mommy! But, on the other hand I also feel I need to start being productive and working on my career! I am very blessed that I will be staying with the kids in the morning and they will go to school in the afternoon, while I work (with Jason)
The first day, Josefine only stayed for 30min and was not particularly trilled by the new environment. She settled once they took her to play with Kaio. Kaio was very proud of having his little sister at his school and kept saying to his colleagues and teachers – “esta e’ minha mana!” (this is my sister). She ate an afternoon snack and then I took her home. The second day I dropped her off and after 5 mins they called me saying she had a 39C fever! She had been feeling hot, but I did not think it was anything to worry.. so instead of settling in at school I took her to the Dr., who couldn't find anything wrong with her!!! (I hope she is not so smart at this age and had a psychological fever... ;-) On wednesday she stayed an hour and it went relatively well as they kept her entertained outside with buckets of water and toys. On thursday she stayed an hour and pretty much cried the entire time. Finally, on friday we attempted 2 hours and she also cried the majority of the time! It breaks my heart, but we need to go through this. There is no reason to postpone it or delay it. I had always been warned that settling kids into nursery after 8 months is more difficult, which is very true as Kaio's adaptation was much smoother (he was 7 months at the time).
Next week we will try again!

"Por que, mamae?"

It started suddenly, and I was very happy when he first said the "por que, mamae?" (why, mommy?) Thinking it is good for being curious and to want to know 'the world'.... well, now he asks "por que, mamae?" at the end of any phrase I say! Sometimes I have a perfect answer (why is there thunder? why can't Josefine walk yet?) but sometimes he leaves me speechless (why does Oma not live with us? why is the moon 'in half' today? why does 'our building' not grow, like us? why does the truck use gasoline but my bike doesn't?) It must be in the genes - both Jason and I were very curious when we are young... I just hope I can keep up with all his questioning!

Same parents.... but so diferent

I am often amazed to see the diference between my kidlets! Although they have the same parents and are only 26 months apart, there are many diference - both physically as their personality.
Kaio has always had a very atheltic body - slim and muscular! On the other hand, Josefine is a bit more chubby. Of course, she is still a baby and has the normal 'baby fat' but she has a more 'rounded' body. Josefine is also very white. Kaio is white also but he will probably tan nicer and Josefine will be as red as a tomato with a little bit of sun! Josefine has fine blond her and Kaio has thicker and darker hair (this can of course change a lot throughout their lives...).
Both kids are fairly easy going, however Kaio is much more cautious when he meets someone new (it takes him a while to 'warm up' and be comfortable with stranger) and Josefine throws herself and smiles at anyone! Kaio is also more cautious in new situations (new toys, sports or challenges) and Josefine is much more adventurous. (she has had many more bumps on her head then Kaio as a baby!)
Of course, there are several similarities - Both kids are just absolutely beautiful and amazing! Both have a happy personality and are, generally, very happy and easy going kids!
Kaio when he was around 13 months!

A recent pic of Josefine after she fell and got a big bump on her forehead!

2011 will be another great year!

Both kdis are doing great. They are really having fun together! Most of the time they play nicely and share well, although Josefine has started 'complaining' (very loudly) when Kaio takes a toy she has been playing with. In the past he could easily grab her toys or replace it with another toy, but now she knows what she wants and does not take 'no' for an answer. Something tells me she will be a stuborn, determined and strong willed little girl! Most of the times, Kaio gives in! (although I have been monitoring it closely to ensure he does not get to 'bullied' by her ;-)
Josefine started saying 'baby' and 'hello' this week. Her Hello is in portuguese - "Alo" and sounds like AOOO. She says it when she hears the phone ringing or she puts a phone to her cheek. She also does 'no-no-no' with her index finger when I say it to her! (it is hard to stay serious).
Kaio has started the 'why' phase and is constantly asking explanations of things he sees around him.. such as 'why is that house being build there?' (what can I say?!) to 'why does the apple have pits' (that one is fairly easy) or 'why does it make loud noises when it rains?' (that was very easy). I guess I'll have to refresh my 'general knowledge' about things to be able to have answers for him!

Another year goes by....

I am still amazed how fast this year has gone by. I still remember at the end of last year, 2009, we were adjusting to being a family of 4 and also organizing our move to Brazil. It was very hectic but I do remember looking at my 2 kidlets (Kaio was 2 and Josefine a couple of weeks old) and thinking how great it will be taking a year off with them. I confess that there were moments I thought of going back to work (because I felt a bit insecure not having a income, which was unfound and Jason helped me through it) and there were days I felt all I did was run after Kaio, change Josefine’s nappies and fed them both, days that I wasn’t able to take a shower or even get out of my PJs due to being so busy with them, there were some long nights when both kids were sick and there was the ‘dealing’ with Kaio’s terrible twos! But then there were the days that I spend all day with a smile on my face in seeing my kidlets play together, there were the great moments where we would spend hours playing together, exploring the city, taking baths, going to swimming classes, reading books, picking up Kaio at school, going together to the store or mall, going spend the weekend at Oma’s, ah… so many moments… amazing moments. I have absolutely no regret in taking this year off with them and enjoying them fully.
We have such a great kids and they bring so much joy in our life. Every moment with them is just absolutely priceless!


We had a great Christmas. The kids got several toys, including 2 sets of Lego’s. (one for each) and now they spend hours playing with the 4 sets they have. It is amazing how Josefine plays with the Legos by looking at Kaio. Kaio can spend hours playing by himself, creating his own stories but often he asks – “vem brincar comigo” (come and play with me). Kaio has been so loving and polite. He often, very spontaneously, says – “voce ‘e o amor maior do mundo” (you are the biggest love of the world) to me, Josefine, Jason or Oma! He often grabs Josefine for a big kiss or to give her ‘carinho’ (she mostly is happy with it, but recently she has ;learned' to "complain" and pushes him away - although this is only 20% of the time!). He also tries to stop her from crying by giving her some of his food (when she is impatiently waiting to get her food) or a toy for her to play.
Josefine has mastered sign language (she says food, water, more, all done, bird and milk). Today we were in the store (more precisely in the tool department, away from food) and Josefine looked at me and did the food sign. I then realized I had forgotten to give her a snack and she was hungry! Kaio was as well and did the food sign to see if it worked for him too, clever boy! She is saying some words, like ‘agua’ (water), ‘mano’ (brother, referring to Kaio), ‘dada’ (daddy), ‘mama’ (mommy), and Oma. Last week she started ‘dancing’! (obviously this is beyond cute) and starts shaking her shoulders when she hears music or we say ‘dance’. She continues eating well and now we have to be careful what we eat in front of her, otherwise she does not want to eat her own food. This week she stopped eating her food and gesticulated (very eagerly) she wanted some french fries and corn on the following day!