Something To Celebrate!

I think we've finally done it. I think you can call us officially potty trained. Kaia has been wearing underwear for a week now, and has only had ONE accident. YAY!! It's about time, we've only been working on it for a year. Kidding, we've been so casual about it, she pretty much trained herself. But wow, I can't believe how much I think about potty breaks...when did she go last, when will she need to go next, where's the nearest toilet, did you flush, did you wash your hands, which pants will be easiest to pull up and down? Like I need more to think about! Regardless, I'm so excited!

Doras

Even though she's never seen the cartoon, Kaia is obsessed with Dora. I found these slippers in a box of hand me downs from Katrina. When Kaia saw them she exclaimed, "Oh, that's my Doras!" and immediately put them on. As you can tell, she was in a really crazy mood that day. I asked her to smile for these pictures, and this is what came out. What a goof!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Last time I checked, Halle was the baby...but the other day, Kaia climbed into her lap to read a book. Halle didn't seem to mind, in fact, she giggled and started playing with Kaia's hair. I watched closely to make sure Halle wasn't being squished, but she's a tough little cookie. She just likes having Kaia around, even if she's right on top of her.

Pigtails!

Kaia finally let me put pigtails in her hair. Isn't she cute!? I just want to squeeze her. She actually wore them all morning. Girls are so much fun!

Cousin Weekend

This past weekend, all the Vandevoorde cousins came to town. (Well...almost all of them...Jason and Kim missed out big time...) There are 10 cousins total. With significant others there were 13 of us this weekend. We watched basketball and hockey, shopped in Uptown, ate way too much, and played lots of board games. It's becoming tradition now to play Apples to Apples, and as always, we laugh a lot! Carrie's dog, Cooper, got to visit too. He's so cute, especially when he lays on his tummy like this. After the weekend was over I realized there's one major plus to getting together with the entire family instead of just the cousins...our parents do all the cooking and cleaning! (Thanks for all those years of taking care of us!)

Rice!!

A few weeks ago we had a speaker at our MOPS meeting who talked about kids crafts. She inspired me to do more creative things with Kaia. She loves doing projects so, why not? One of my first major undertaking...rice! I bought a 5 lb bag at the grocery store. I colored about half of it. (Put 1c. rice in a ziplock bag, add 2T. rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food coloring, smush it around, spread onto wax paper and let dry) Day 1: Kaia helped me smush the rice. Day 2: Kaia and Alex made rice mosaics, but really just liked pouring glue and playing with rice. Day 3: I poured all 5 lbs of rice into a bin, put it on the floor and let them go to town. It kept them entertained for at least an hour. A little messy, but nothing a vacuum can't take care of. Great fun!

Hi Honey...the Piano's Home

My piano was delivered a few weeks ago. Finally, it has a place to belong! Sure beats being crammed in our little living room. It fits perfectly into the space and looks beautiful. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. Makes us look like we're classy or something! It'll be tuned and ready to go in a few weeks.

Check Up Stats

Halle had a check up on Monday. She's eight months old, but it was her six month check up, we're a little behind schedule. Here's her stats:

Weight 17 lbs 10 oz...50-75th percentile

Height 27 inches...75th percentile

While we were there, I weighed and measured Kaia too.

Weight 27 lbs

Height 34 inches

I'm always comparing the two girls. I looked up Kaia's measurements and at 9 months she was only 15lbs and 26.5 inches. I don't have her 1 year statistics, but I'm willing to bet Halle is about the size Kaia was at 1 year. I just can't get over how different they are!

In the last two pictures, we were getting ready to go to the grocery store today. We were finally able to ditch the old snowsuit and winter gear. Kaia was excited to wear her "best" (aka "vest") and Halle looks so cute in her pointy hood sweater.

Watch-Em-Grow

My cousin, Carrie, got us this "Watch Em Grow" basket as a housewarming gift. It is awesome! It started as a pot of dirt with a few sprouts, I put it in the sun, and it grew - fast. I swear I could watch it bloom before my eyes. It smells good too! The flowers are so cool, I take pictures of it almost daily. The instructions say I should be able to save the bulbs and plant them next fall. Watch out people, I may start giving these as gifts to everyone I know!

Giddyup!

Marty and Alex taught Mike and Kaia how to play Horsey. (The girls are so small, it looks more like they're playing Elephant, but whatever) Kaia thought it was the greatest. She giggled the entire ride. At first she was laughing so hard she couldn't stay on. She'd fall and say "Should we do it again?" Cute!