Restaurant play

We purchased a new home and while we are remodeling we got the kids a toy kitchen with tons of fake foods, plates, utensils and serving trays. They have been enjoying it and after spending a while 'cooking' they come to ale our orders and then serve us. The other day Josefine came with a full tray and announced that she was the 'bringer' (waitress) and Kaio was the 'cooker' (chef/cook). She was also very adamant that we finished our food before getting dessert....

 

Kungfu fighting...

The kids heard the song at school and saw the videoclipe... And now they Love it... Josefine keeps repeating "Kungfu fighting as fast as lightning.." Her rythm is a bit off but it is adorable and she said she loves the song because she knows it! She also said she will know how to whistle when she gets older (part of the song is a whistle solo). Kaio is fascinated by the video where the show kungfu!

They have really started taking and interest in adult songs... They have really enjoyed Dave Matthews as we play it all the time!

Another doc check up

We went for a regular doctor check up today. We had not visited a pediatrician since we arrived... Almost 6 months ago! Kids were all in good health. Both kids are in the 50-75% for their height. For weight, Kaio is in the 25-50% and Josefine at 50%. 

They are getting all ready for their new schools. Kaio will start kindergarten at Aspen Creek and Josefine will go to Primrose (where Kaio will have kindergarten enrichment after school). They are both very excited!

Our athlete

This week they held mini Olympics at the school! Kaio was eager and was ready with his running shoes! The first say they had 3 categories (long jumps, running and frisbee (?)). He came home with 3 medals! Gold in the first two categories and bronze in frisbee (which is not really a sport) we were so proud and he was very happy! The following day the had a multi sport event and again he came in first! He truly is very good as sports (he beats me when we race...)

A woooolf

The kids have been very impressed with the coyotes we have been seeing (I saw 4 the other day) and as I described them as being a type of wolf, the call them that! Actually, Josefine has merged (unintentionally) the word wolf and woof (dog bark) and calls them woooolfs. It drives Kaio crazy as he tries to correct her and she keeps on calling them woooolfs!

Personalities...

I am always amazed in how diferente my kiddos are! As I am working full time now and want to fit in a workout without compromising time with the kids, I wake up at 5am to run. At that time it is still dark/dusk and I enjoy the freshness of the greenbelt and lakes around. I also enjoy the dozens of bunnies and birds I come across... This week, however, I came across 2 coyotes. It is well known they are in our neighborhood, but we had not seen them so far. When I arrived home the kids were awake and I told the story about the coyotes... Both of them were hooked and wanted as many details as possible. At the end Kaio, being very considerate and careful said "mommy, don't go running in that area again" and within a second Josefine says "mommy, can I go running with you?"

Developing artists

We often talk about what the kids would like to be when they are older (as they ask questions about where we work, what we do... Part of their daily long list of questions about life :-) and Kaio has gone from being a bob the builder (building things) to being pilot, a truck driver and a painter! We always talk about what sort if works he can do and the options he had within each choice. His latest goal is to be a bob the builder (to build houses and buildings) and in his spare time be a painter (he loves to draw) Josefine is still a bit young to understand it all, but she had gone from wanting to be TinkerBell to being Miney when she grows up! I can't wait to see what they will do when they decide on a career but I am sure they will do great and we will stand behind any decision they make!

Mommy's get together

Last weekend I went to San Diego for the weekend to meet with some dear friends from the time we lived in LA. We all have kids (some 2 and some 3) and got together, no kids and no husbands! We had a blast! It was reassuring that we share similar doubts, guilt feelings, joys, worries, challenges, etc

I always thought that the personality depended on being 1st or 2nd child, a boy or girl... But talking to my friends, not so much! Some of them have their eldest son with similar personality trends as Josefine or their youngest daughter being similar to Kaio. Which just reinforces that there is no standard rules about raising kids and you just need to do the best you possibly can at the circumstances you are in! 

We all love our kids dearly and are trying, to our full potential, make them great human beings, but it does not always go perfect and there are lots of challenges, but what is important is ensuring their happiness, building strong ethics and values but certainly, also have fun while making them these awesome people they'll become!

Little lier...

We recently have noticed that Josefine has been telling some minor lies... It's a bit funny but also worrying! It is cute because she is not good at it and it is unexpected to see a 3 1/2year-old making up lies. Last week, when I picked her up at school, I noticed she had shorts on that were not hers. I asked her... She smiled and said she bought them!!! And a big smile! After talking to her a bit more, she revealed she had an accident and they used another's girl spare cloths! She did loose her tv that night for lying! She has lied about having washed her hands before dinner, having finished her lunch (while she had a half full plate), having finished cleaning her room, etc

On the other hand Kaio is very honest. I honestly don't remember the last time he told a lie....

So different......

Sports

Jason has always understood about the rules of sports but has never been the kind if person knowing all the players, playoffs, etc. he never interrupted his day to watch a game...

Last month Kaio and Jason went to a baseball game and we have been making Kaio aware of the different sports in all the countries he had been to. He has really expressed interest in baseball! And had been very aware of the score and really comprehends it! It is cute to see!  We ha e also been practicing baseball with him, watching local teams play, etc and he really enjoys it!

Watching TV

This week it was extremely hot and so we decided to stay inside, with ac on, and watch a movie. The kids picked the movie: The last unicorn. As you can expect, it was a intense cartoon with several 'evil' people trying to catch the last unicorn. Kaio has always gotten very into movies and laughs, cries, jumps around, closes his eyes and gets very emotional with TV. Josefine has never been very much into tv and only in the last 2 - 3 months that she has gotten some interest in TV. She now watches for more then 2 mins, but still does not get much emotional about it. S, going back to the 'last unicorn', as expected it caused Kaio to be very upset and he started crying (which I heard from the kitchen) when I went to comfort him, I caught Josefine with her arm around him and she was saying "don't be afraid , I am here to protect you!" It was very cute and funny! She often acts like the "mom" towards Kaio!

The pic above illustrates how Kaio gets so into the cartoon (he is just laughing out loud) while Josefine just sits and stares at it!

Sensitivities

Our kids are so different in many ways..... (As I mentioned in several previous posts) but one interesting one is josefine's sensitivity to cold and Kaio's to heat. Josefine loves sweets and adores the 'concept' of ice cream but hates the cold feeling in her mouth. She also does not like ice in her drinks.

Kaio on the other side is sensitive to heat. When I fill their bath with warm water (not hot warm), Josefine jumps right in and Kaio often complains it is too hot and will not sit down in it. Kaio is also known, since baby, to prefer cold food and milk. (Which was great since I did not have to warm his bottle when he was a baby!) Josefine is not keen on cold food and prefers it warm....

Books

Kids are true bookworms! They can sit and 'read' them for hours and are constantly asking for us to read to them... Although they can't actually read, they Love looking at the images and then imagen the story, so when I read the book to them they ask lots of questions as the might have imagined it diferently. We now live less then a mile away from a great library where we go weekly and the kids choose 10 - 15 books. They can't wait to get Home to 'devour' them!!! 

Kindergarten

We moved to the US at the end of february, towards the end of the schoolyear. Since his birthday is at the end of september, he was right at the cut off to start kindergarten. He was the youngest. He adjusted really well and learned so much in 3 months, made friends and got fluent in english. By the 'norms' he could start first grade in the fall, however, after taking into consideration his size, his background (moving countries for the third time and 2 languages) we decided to retain him and he will start kindergarten in the fall. It will be great for his self esteem, knowing the teacher (who he really likes and she also really enjoys having him in her room as he is very focussed and eager to learn) and being the older kid.

Feeling a bit guilty

On monday I start work. I am very happy since it is a great opportunity and an interesting challenge for my career. However I have had very mixed feelings since I accepted the role. Kids will go back to full time daycare and it males me feel guilty. Here in the US it is very common mom to leave their career on hold while raising their children (in Brazil, this is not always financially possible). We have also spend some much time together in the last year and specially since we moved to the US! I will miss spending so much time with them! But I am also aware I will be 100% present on our time together once I start working. Both kids will be at the same daycare until Kaio starts kindergarten in august. I am sure they will have lots of fun and be happy as it is a great daycare, it's just this mom's guilt (i would also feel very guilty if I would not have a career!) Since this is our 'last' week together, we had a full fun active week! We went to the zoo, the pool, museum, circus, library, indoor jumping arena, playdatea and ate tons of junk food, ice creams and sweets!

"Popoly"

It is fun and sometimes a bit scary to see how both kids copy US with things we say, our tone of voice, our way of sayin things! Josefine, since she was little was always bossy, well now she repeats the things I say to Kaio. "Kaiooooo, bathroom lights" (when he leaves them on, eventhough she also often lets them on) "kaioooo, come toda a tua comida" or "tidy up" (although she likely has much more on her plate or she also needs to help tidy up.) The other funny word she has been saying is "popoly" (properly) "I popoly put my toys away" 

New job...

We've moved here little over 3 months and finally are getting our employment figured out. Initially Jason took a temporary job in Los Angeles, which was a great opportunity but required him to be away more then 70% per month. After 2 months we decided that it was not going to work! (Josefine, on a week day, asked what he was doing home and why he was not in LA...). We even considered moving to LA, but then I got a great job offer which was also going to allow is to stay here in Colorado. At the same time Jason also got a job offer here in boulder! So, we decided to stay here in Colorado. A much better place to raise out kidlets!

We are celebrating!!!

'Punishments'

When Kaio or Josefine misbehave, they get a warning, and if that does not make them stop, we give them a punishment. For Kaio, taking away his tv is very impactful. We allow the kids to watch tv 30mins before bed (it is rare we allow them any other tv time during the day). Kaio loves tv, so he really does everything he can to avoid loosing his tv! Josefine, on the other hand is not that much into tv and often she just watches it because she wants to be with her brother, hence, loosing her tv is not that impactful. That is why we recently started taking her dessert away! She loves sweets and it is definitely something she wants. We keep the score of 'lost tv or sweets' on the refrigerator. They get the opportunity to get them back is they behave the remainder of the day.... It works pretty well, most of the time ;-)

Vacation time!

Kaio finished school 10 days ago and since I am not working yet, we are spending a lot of quality time together. Josefine goes to daycare 2 full days and on those days we are a bit more flexible in finding activities.... Earlier this week we went to the museum and saw a 3D movies (Josefine would probably be bored after 30 mins) but we were there for 3 hrs and only left as it was 1pm and we were hungry! Today we went to the pool and we spent 2 hrs playing and swimming! I love this one on one with the kids! ( when Kaio was in school I also did lots of fun stuff tailored to Josefine's age...)

Brother Love

So the kids have been bickering more lately .... Sometimes silly things like which lego person will be the daddy of their family. However the days that one of them stays Home and the other one goes to school, the one that stays with me keeps asking when we are going to pick the other one up. They miss each other!