Waiting...

It seems like we have been doing a lot of waiting lately.  I was waiting for Kay to turn 2.5 so she could start school, waiting for Raigan's passport and social securtiy card to come in the mail so we could get the paperwork started to get space-A back to the states in May, waiting for Kay to be day time potty trained...Now we've got all those things! NOW we 're just waiting for nice weather, our trip to the states, and for everyone to get over this horrible cold/flu virus. 
Poor KayLeigh has only been able to go to school 3 times since she started, between Mat working and taking the car, snow days, and now us being sick, she has hardly gone at all! She seemed to enjoy her first day, she didn't cry at all when I dropped her off, and when I picked her up, she just wanted to go play on the playground :) Her teacher "madame Sophie" seems very nice, and speaks enough english so her and I can communicate a bit. It's really odd not having her here when she does go to school, the house is much quieter, haha. 
She is potty trained for the most part when she is home, and we can even go grocery shopping without any accidents (so far)!! She has started to hate diapers, and doesnt even like putting them on for naps, the only setback we've had is this bug we've all got, and I've been furiously disinfecting the house in hopes of stopping it from coming back!! 
Raigan is growing quickly too, she is almost 4 months, and rolled over yesterday! She seemed quite pleased with herself, and happy that she was off her tummy and could look at all her toys again lol. She's been sleeping better during the night, but still sleeps with me. I've decided to not worry about "sleep training" and all that for a while. She's just not ready, and I'm not ready to have the whole house up all night because I'm putting her in her crib for bed. 

I am so looking forward to May!! It cannot come quickly enough! I'm going to be catching a Space-A flight somewhere back to the states, then flying/driving to Colorado :) I'll be there until mid June. so, a long trip. I decided if I"m going to make the trip by myself with Kay and Raigan, it's going to be a long one! Mat doesn't have enough leave to go to colorado and have time to pick up and drop off Breanna for her summer visit, so I"ll be going alone. We're going to meet up in Florida in June for a family vacation with Breanna, on the beach, it should be wonderful!!! 

I'm also excited about summer, because it is our last one in Belgium!! We have no idea where we will end up after this, but we're really hoping for somewhere close to Breanna. And at this point I will be happy as long as we're back in the USA. I like Europe, but I have had enough of Belgium. I'm ready to be closer to family!  We've got less than a year left, and we are looking forward to finding out where we are going next. 
I would write more, but really, not much going on here. We're all sick, Kay goes to school sometimes, and Raigan...is cranky. lol :) 

Here is a video of Kay loving on Raigan :)

Love you all!!!!

Big girl!

It seems like KayLeigh is growing up so quickly lately. Her vocabulary is growing so much everyday, and she is learning new things all the time. She is going to be 2 and a half next month, and it really does seem like she was just as tiny as Raigan. I know everyone says that, but it really is true! I can't believe how quickly time is going by. 
Tonight is her first night in her big girl bed! Well, it's still her crib... but we took the side off. I was planning on keeping her locked away in the crib for as long as possible, and up until this morning she hadn't tried to climb out. But I guess she got tired of waiting for us to wake up because she climbed right out , and was yelling for me in the hallway this morning! Just about gave me a heart attack, because the gate wasn't up on the stairs! So I took the side off her crib, since she's going to get out anyways, might as well make it so she can get back in, and not hurt herself when she tries to fling herself over the side lol. We skipped nap today, but she was very excited talking about her big girl bed, and kept asking to go night night. when I finally read her a book and tucked her in, she seemed a little bit nervous, and I was too honestly. I love to see her grow up, and I know that this is just a small taste of the growing she is going to do, but it made me a little sad. My baby is getting so big! 
I found myself wishing that Raigan would hurry up and get big the other night, when she was screaming and wouldn't sleep in her crib... but tonight I was reminded of how quickly it is going to go by, and I'm going to try harder to enjoy my little bitty Raigan, because she'll be as big as KayLeigh before I know it!!!

Kay is also making really good progress towards being potty trained, finally lol. I've tried several times before, but I guess she just wasn't ready, because this time it is sticking. She spends most of the day in undies, except when we leave the house, and for naps and bedtime. She doesn't have very many accidents, which is awesome, and our next step is going to be venturing out of the house in underwear... which I am not ready for, haha! My goal is to have her at least 100% potty trained for day time by May, when we go visit my parents, it would be awesome to only have to pack a few diapers for night time for her! 

Other exciting news, she can start preschool next month. I have a bunch of paperwork to fill out, then she can go! I want her to go, so she can make friends and learn new things, but I am going to miss her! 

We have to go to Brussels next week, to apply for Raigan's passport and US birth certificate. We used to be able to do it on base here, but they changed everything around, so that is probably going to be a loooooong day. 

Raigan is two months old, and is mastering tummy time. She can lift her chest off the ground and likes to watch kay run around, or look at pictures in a book while she's hanging out. I think she has some sort of milk intolerance, she does not do well when I eat cheese, or drink milk. She was a VERY grumpy baby for the first month, but she has gotten much happier lately :) coos, and smiles are always nice, it makes the morning much better when her and Kay start it WAY too early!! 

I guess this post is a little bit scattered, but I've been writing it and trying to get it posted for a few days, haha. so FINALLY....here is an update :) love you all!!

2012

              2012 is almost over here in Belgium. In fact, we've only got about 4 hours left! It has been a pretty crazy year, and it seems like it has just flown by. I can't believe KayLeigh turned two this year, she is such a big girl! Raigan is already 5 weeks old, which is hard to believe, and Breanna turned 8!!!. My parents always told me, the older you get, the faster the years go by, and it really is true! This new years marks the beginning of our last year in Belgium, and hopefully our last year overseas for a while. It has been an interesting experience living in Europe, but we just don't want to be this far away from family, especially Breanna any longer. 

              KayLeigh has grown a lot this year, she had her second birthday, and became a big sister. She has taken on the role well so far. she doesn't really pay much attention to Raigan yet. She does seem concerned when she cries, and will come and tell us if she feels like we're not attending to her fast enough. Sometimes when Kay starts to cry about something she will stop herself and tell us that she's not a baby, and only Raigan cries, she is such a big girl! I couldn't ask for a better two year old , she is normally very well behaved, and rarely had meltdowns. Even when she does, they really aren't that bad, she listens pretty well for a two year old, and is pretty helpful with small tasks. She can start Belgian pre-school in February and I am excited for her, I think she will really enjoy playing with the other kids and learning new things. 

         

              Breanna turned 8 this December which is really crazy. It seems like just the other day I was meeting a little 3 year old for the first time, and now she's telling us that before we know it she's going to be a teenager! We asked her what she wanted for Christmas this year, and if she still liked princesses.. she told us  that she's "not that into princesses anymore" haha. She had a pretty big year, after coming to visit us for the summer, and traveling to Germany with us and papa rusty and Pam, she got 2 new little sisters and moved to a new house.  Her mom had a baby girl about 6 months before we had Raigan and they moved from Barksdale to a town about 40 mins away in Texas. She told us she has her own room, that she got to decorate, and she seems to like her new school a lot, so we are very happy for her :)

           Raigan is only 5 weeks old, so there's not much to say about her yet. I had a much better experience at this new hospital than I did at the hospital that Kay was born at. The nurses and midwives were all much nicer and more helpful, and my labor was very quick, so I was happy! When we brought Raigan home she was really grumpy all the time, and seemed to be having tummy troubles, we've figured out that me drinking milk upsets her stomach a lot, and since I've stopped she's become a considerably happier baby :) We're still adjusting to having a toddler and newborn in the house, and we've lost a lot of sleep over the last month. but thankfully Mat got a lot of time off, and that helped the transition a lot.  

I want to wish everyone a happy and wonderful New year, from all of us, we love you all, and hope this coming year is even better than 2012!

           I uploaded some pictures of things that happened over the past year :)

Kay watching Mat play at make a wish

rock star princess!!

Raigan right after she came out

First time holding her little sister :)

Family picture in Germany

Family pictures summer 2012

Raigan and I :) halloween

crazy kayleigh

Blowing out the candles!

Happy birthday big girl

spider for halloween

the last few weeks of pregnancy with Raigan

cutie patootie!!!

Crazy KayLeigh

We haven't done much since my last post, just been hanging out, going to doctors appointments, and a couple trips to the zoo, to enjoy the last days of nice weather :) We've been trying to work with Kay on potty training a little bit more, since she's actually showing interest. She used the potty 3 times yesterday, which is a record for her! It's going to take a while still, and I'm not ready to take the side of her crib, so I know we'll have to wait before she can potty train at night, but that's ok, we're making slow and steady progress :)

She has just been completely hilarious lately though. So I thought I would write down some of the silly things she has been saying, that way you all can laugh along with us :)

We were sitting in the living room watching a movie, and the dogs starting barking outside..Kay looked at me and said "you kidding me Fifi?!"  haha, fifi is what she calls wolfie, and apparently she wasn't too happy with him barking during her movie...

Kay was trying to get out of the living room into our entryway, she got the door open and when I asked her what she was doing she replied " I go peepee real quick"  lol, when I leave the room, I tell her I"m going to the potty real quick, and I"ll be right back, apparently she thought it would work for her too!

I told Kay to give Daddy some love before I put her to bed last night, and she looked at him, then bit his foot... interesting idea of love...

She also keeps insisting that she has a "baby ringin" (how she says Raigan) in her belly too.. the other day she finally pointed to her belly and said "baby ringin?? nooo...just mommy has baby, just mommy" lol
then she proceeded to give my belly a kiss and say "it's big momma!!" haha, thanks kay

She was chewing on one of Wolfie's dog toys.. and I told her not to chew on it, she's not a dog. KayLeigh replied "no, Kiwi's a kitty, no doggy, just a kitty" lol.
(she calls herself Kiwi, and she has been very into pretending she's a kitty lately. she even puts a belt around her waist and says it's her tail :)
She's been pretty entertaining lately, and it seems like she has something new and silly to say every day. I really can't believe that we're about to have another one in 4 or 5 weeks!! At our last appointment my doctor said Raigan is still head down (yay) and seems pretty comfortable in there, he said he wouldn't be surprised if  I went over 40 weeks this time like I did with KayLeigh, so we'll see what happens!! I'm looking forward to seeing what she looks like, and I"m excited for Kay to meet her little sister :)

wow. 8 months.

Well apparently I am horrible at keeping up with this blog. But after seeing my sister's, I felt like a total slacker, so I had to start up again :)
I'll try to give you a brief update on our lives over the past few months!!
    Over the summer we had our visit with Breanna, we had a great time, and got to do some traveling with her. Mat's Dad, and Pam came to visit us for a few days while Breanna was here, so we all got to go see some sights in Germany together. We went to Neuschweinstein castle, the Linderhoff, and stayed at Edelweiss resort. It was a really nice trip. KayLeigh is old enough now that she loved having her older sister here, and they played really well together all summer, it was sad as always to see her go, and even more so now that Kay misses her too :( But we've only got about a year and a half left here, and hopefully we'll be moving back to the states after this so we will be closer to family! 
Mat and I found out we were expecting again in March, and we've been busy getting ready for another baby girl! We've decided to name her Raigan DeLois, or as KayLeigh calls her "baby ringin" lol. she seems to understand what's going on a little bit, she gives my belly hugs, and tries to share her snacks with "ringin" I think she'll adjust to her fairly quickly, she loves helping mommy out, and playing with her baby dolls, so hopefully things will go smoothly!! Our due date is creeping up on us very quickly this time, it seems like I was waiting forever for KayLeigh, and this pregnancy is just flying by! 
         I'm delivering at a different hospital this time, and I couldn't be happier with the decision. My doctor speaks wonderful english and makes Mat and I feel very comfortable. The hospital staff are all very nice so far, and I'm looking forward to delivering there. 

We had Kay's second birthday party in August with her friend Brody, I think they had a blast! We had a bouncy house for the kids, an elmo cake for KayLeigh, and they both got lots of presents and attention. I can't believe how fast she is growing up!  It seems like she learns something new everyday! at two KayLeigh is now...

•  Singing the abc's (and you can almost understand all of it!)
• Singing the itsy bitsy spider, with hand motions
• counting to 5 (sometimes higher, with the help of sesame street songs)
• Identifying a ton of animals and their noises, Mat taught her what a wolf says not too long ago :)
• understanding the concept of doing something at a later time (after nap, in the morning)
• has a very strong opinion on what she wants to wear everyday (usually involves a tutu)
• she is learning her colors
• telling us what she wants to do that day 
• she loves going "sopping" (shopping)
• seems to have an even better memory than mat and I lol
• Has a sense of humor, she thinks it's hilarious to tell us that cows say "baaaa"

She is doing so much everyday, it's hard to keep up! she can start belgian preschool in February and will be going for half days, where she will hopefully make lots of little friends :)
 We're  planning on doing the trunk or treat on base again this year, and have ordered lots of spooky decorations for the car! Kay is going to be a spider, she picked it out!  
We usually have more pictures, but our camera that Mat bought me last year decided to break :( so we've only had our phones for a while now. we're going to try and get a nice one before Raigan is born, so we can have some real pictures of her, not just phone pics lol. 

The past few months have really flown by, and I expect the next to do the same, especially after Raigan arrives! I'll try to post a blog at least once a month to keep everyone a little more up to date :) Love you all! 

Brussels, Brugge, and first ride on the train!

             It seems like when we have one thing to do, everything else just piles up in that same week...This past week was completely empty until I scheduled Kay's 18 month check up for Friday, then BAM, there was something else for every day of the week! lol. I'm not complaining, I like when we have things to do, it's just funny how it always seems to work out that way.

KayLeigh all warm and snug in her plastic bubble

              The week started out with a visit from my friend Dawn. She was in the Visual Ensemble with me at CSU. She's still going to CSU, and is studying abroad in France this semester, so she hopped on a train and came to visit! It was nice seeing someone from home, and weird at the same time, the last time we really got together was at Mat and I's wedding lol. We spent her first day here in Brussels with my Belgian friend, Blandine, and her little boy Max. It was my first time taking the train here, so I was very glad she came along to help, and show us some sites in Brussels. We went into a church, and finally saw the Manekin Pis (the little boy peeing) and that guy was NOT that impressive, I was expecting some huge statue in the middle of a plaza or something...no, it was about the size of KayLeigh, and it was just on some random street corner! We did some shopping too, and ate some awesome food, and of course waffles :) It was a really good day, and I"m glad I didnt have to drive into brussels, because, it's scary there...lol.  Kay liked the train, I think because it's like being in the car, but she didnt have to sit in her carseat, and she got to walk around with her buddy Max, and look out the giant windows. We almost missed our stop on the way home, but luckily jumped off just in time! The best part of the trip was Starbucks though, there's only 3 in Belgium, so we don't get it a lot, and I have missed it!! 
                After getting a good nights sleep and defrosting from being out in the cold in Brussels all day, we headed out to Brugge. Mat had the day off so he drove, and we all got to hang out. It was the first time Mat and I have been to Brugge too, and we loved it! It's such a pretty city, and they have canals everywhere, we plan to go back when it's warmer so we can take a boat tour of the city. It was fun to look around the city, but it was so cold!! We got a tasty pastry and some delicious chocolate from a cute little shop before heading to Ghent, which isn't too far from Brugge. It was already pretty late, and dark, so we just walked around the castle in the center of town and headed home afterwards. Dawn left early Thursday morning and Mat headed off to the airport to pick up the new kid that he is sponsoring.. I got a bit of a break to clean and relax with KayLeigh, which was nice, because all the walking in the cold gave me a bit of a cold! It was great to see Dawn, and she got Mat and I out of the house, and finally went to see Brugge, and rode the train! Hopefully we can meet up with her again before she heads back to the states when her school is over. 
                   Thursday was Mat's birthday! He was gone most of the day because a new guy came from the states, and Mat is sponsoring him, so he had to pick him up, take him around base, all the boring stuff you have to do when you first get here. Not the best way to spend his birthday, but he came home, got a nap, and we went out for our first date night in Belgium! Our friends Matt and Kelly watched Kay for us, so she got to hang out with their son Brody for the night, and she did really well! She didnt cry at all until I came back to get her, I guess she suddenly realized I hadn't been there all night lol. Mat and I went to a restaurant called "La Cervoise" and people talk about it all the time here. You can get a steak, or an assortment of meat, and they give you a piping hot stone to cook it to your liking. It was a fun experience, and it was nice to have a night with just Mat and I. Dinner was delicious and the beer selection was good, and Mat found a new tasty beer he enjoys. 
                    Friday Mat had to do more with the new kid, so I cleaned the house up a bit, and took Kay to her 18 month check up. She's right on track developmentally, and it seems like her vocabulary is taking off! She says "meow" so clearly now, its unmistakable what she is saying. She knows what ducks, cows, cars, dogs, cats, sheep, elmo, birds, and blue (from blue's clues) say...blue says "bow bow bow!" in a really high pitched crazy voice, according to KayLeigh, and Elmo says "lalala" lol. She's started to tell me when she goes potty in her diaper, and tries to say potty, although it sounds more like "pie" lol. So I'm thinking potty training may not be too far off...we'll see. Binky bear is still her favorite Baby, but she adds a new toy everyonce in a while, and she likes to make whoever the new baby is to kiss binky bear. Her hair makes cute little pig tails now, and even a little bitty ponytail, so I torture her every once in a while to do her hair. She knows a lot more things, like where her shoes are, and she tries to put them on, she likes to go "bye bye" She's got 10 teeth and is working on her second pair of molars, she also loves brushing her teeth, and requests to do so by saying "teef" and rubbing her finger on her tongue. She's a wild woman in the bathtub, and has discovered splashing, which can get messy, but is hilarious! She still loves her kitty to death and calls him "nin nin" or most recently "ninya" he tolerates her well, and lets her drag him around and love on him, such a good kitty :) KayLeigh is an independent little girl, but she'll let you know when she needs love, and she gives the BEST hugs now, wraps her little arms around your nech, andpats you on the back. she's a sweetie :) Her new favorite cartoon to watch is Blues clues, and it's competing pretty strongly with Elmo, she still loves Elmo, but she's requesting Blue almost as much, so I think we may have a Blue's clues bday for her this summer, we'll see... Shes growing up fast, and is perfectly healthy, skinny and tall!


                    After Kay's appointment and once Mat got home, we had Kelly and Matt over to thank them for watching Kay. I made Mat a birthday dinner (he's so spoiled :)) He got Frito pie, Home-made stuffed Jalapenos and made from scratch Chocolate- Bacon cupcakes.. I was a little worried about the cupcakes since I've never made anything from scratch, but they turned out really well!! Mat loved them, and I think I succeeded in making his 29th birthday a good one :)
                     And that was our week, busy!! So here are some pictures, and I hope you enjoyed the blog! love you all!!

Bacon Chocolate cupcake!

Random tunnel in Ghent, black lights, and music...

Delicious pastry in Brugge..if you look closely in the knife you can see a creepy reflection that Dawn and I decided is definitely a pastry ghost!!

Kay and Max looking out the window at the waffle restaurant

my new fave..Crouqe Madame

Manekin Pis, in Brussels. so small!!

Dawn and I in Brugge

Best waffles ever!!!

Belltower in Brugge, it rings every 15 minutes!

cute little chocolatier in Brugge!

         

Hair show!

My friend amanda who came to watch the show, and me!

Me and kay, she was soooo afraid of those crazy eyelashes lol

all the girls

all of us again

you cant see her, but kay is in all these pics too, because she didnt let me put her down lol

             All I have been doing the past week is getting ready for my hair show, while my wonderful hubby held down the fort at home! The ladies that work at the salon on Shape wanted to put together a hair show to show off their talents and what they could do, so I tried out and got picked! I was originally going to represent the Netherlands but switched to Germany a week or so ago. The theme of the show was salute to the nato nations. So I got dressed up, and got my makeup and hair done.. I love my new hairstyle, my make up for the show was...uh..a little over the top lol, but it was a hair show so what do you expect. It took a lot of time out of the last week, and it was a pain to try and get it all done, but I"m glad I did it, It was fun and I met some nice girls. And I'm thankful to Mat, for being home with kay and putting her to bed all week, and helping me out, so I could do something just for me :) I was going to upload videos to the blog, but it wont work of course, so I'll put some pics up , and you can check Facebook for the videos eventually lol.  I was pretty nervous for the show, once I saw that people actually showed up lol. We had to do like a model runway walk on stage, and show off our hair. It was really fun! after the first time I walked, I could hear Kay yelling for me, and she started to cry after I went backstage lol. She wouldnt let go of me for the rest of the night once i was done! I'm glad I had the guts to go up there and do it, because I wanted to chicken out at the last minute lol. It was an experience I am glad I had :)