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 :)

success!!

Mat and I are laying in the hotel room in Germany right now...KayLeigh is in the hallway, fast asleep..she's not just laying in the hallway, lol, she's in a crib :) we just put her around the corner so she can't see us and would fall asleep. Hoping she sleeps through the night, since we only have one room tonight... But the great news is that......we got our new car! hooray! The process actually went pretty smoothly, even though we had to pay 140euro for temporary plates and insurance that are only good for 5 days..we have the car, we have plates and we're headed home with elmo playing on our dvd player tomorrow! :) We can't leave until after we get Mat's old car towed though..and that will be a pain, we have to pay 30euro to get it registered in germany, because otherwise the junkyard wont take it...and then, we have to pay 60euro for them to tow it and take it to the junkyard. and they don't pay you for your car in Europe apparentley, you pay them to take it... so poor Mat is losing the car he liked a bit, and will have to drive the suzuki to and from work, but he'll be ok. we have the ford for longer trips now, and thats good! I'll take some pictures of the new car tomorrow and put them up when we get home.
              I'm also happy because we got Taco bell, whichwe dont have in belgium, and ate at chili's at dinner, it's nice to feel american everyonce in a while. and tomorrow get some tasty german food. so hopefully this trip continues to be much better than our last trip here :) Have a great week everyone!! 

Rain....

                     I would just like to say that I used to like rain. But Belgium has ruined it for me...an occasional thunderstorm, a nice sprinkle after a warm day, the way it smells outside after a good rain, I loved all those things...but thunderstorms are never occasional here, they are constant, there is no such thing as a "sprinkle" in Belgium when it rains, it RAINS, and it just doesn't have that wonderful clean smell after it rains...probably because its not Colorado :) 
                  That's my complaint for the day...and now on to brighter news. we're going to Germany to pick up our new car tomorrow, hooray!! We're renting a car, so we don't have to drive our little suzuki up there, and so we only have one car to drive back, our new one! woo hoo! oh, and I went to the dentist today, and it wasnt nearly as bad as I thought. He said I should think about getting a couple preventative fillings in the next few months, so I'll start working on finding a Belgian dentist and figuring all that out... that will give me something to write about! lol. Kay is doing much better today cold-wise, so we didn't have to take her in, which is good because she didnt take an early nap, and she doesnt like her doctor very much as it is.. she would have been screaming her head off in there. 
                    So, I"m going to go watch a movie with Mat, then go to bed, so we can get up early and get our new car!!! I'll take pics of it and put them up tomorrow. Not sure if we're going to end up having to stay the night there ]or not...hopefully not, I'm done with Ramstein after being stuck there last time!! 


                  Love you all!

A whole year of KayLeigh!

           It rains way too much in Belgium. We had a rainy Christmas, a Rainy new years...Rain every day! When will it end?? It wouldn't be so bad, if we had a decent summer, but we didn't...we had like 2 weeks worth of nice weather, that we could be outside with the girls, and now all we've had is rain! I wish it would just snow already, then I could take KayLeigh out and let her play in the snow for a while, but we cant really go out in the rain, and get all soggy and miserable. I'm ready for winter to be over, and it has just begun :( 
             Just like the weather, nothing has changed with us. We're still going to go get the car in a few days, yay! and all that happened was work (for mat) and cleaning (for me) and lots of playing for kayleigh and the four legged members of the family. I am slowly starting to get the house organized, we need to buy some shelves for the living room I've decided..so I see a trip to IKEA in our near future :) I'm going to go through Kay's clothes and get rid of old things that dont fit, because she is finally outgrowing all of her 9month clothes...and get rid of stuff Mat and I dont ever wear much too... We're going to organize this house like never before! 
              Kay is getting over her cold, she is still congested, but no fever for a few days, but I'm afraid she's getting pink eye, so we may take her in tomorrow, I have to go to the clinic anyways for my dentist appointment, dun dun dun... I hate the dentist. I don't want to go. But I will. *sigh* And that's it for today, I'll let you know how the dentist goes tomorrow! hopefully nothing dramatic happens lol. but you never know with me :)




So no new pictures, but I went through my pictures and found a picture of KayLeigh for every month of last year...enjoy :)

January- modeling her new glasses

February- yum, carrots!

March- being a cutie

April- at daddy's softball practice

May- goin back to the states!

June- swings with big sis in Ohio

July- hanging out in the hotel before disney paris

August- birthday girl!

September- elmo USO show

October- cutest kitty!

November- playing in the leaves

December- at the Christmas party

2012!!

       I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New year's eve! Mat and I are still paying for the fun that we had last night, lol. We had a very good time with our friends, it was a good start for 2012, even if we're feeling it today. :) We played some board games to pass the time until midnight, toasted at midnight, then had a game of Champagne pong, to ring in the new year lol. The kids were upstairs sleeping peacefully while we had fun downstairs, until Mat and I went to go to bed, and KayLeigh decided she was done sleeping...So I did not get much sleep until nap time today. Mat and I made Sauerkraut,pork, and kielbasa for dinner in the slowcooker, amazing!! Even Kay was impressed :) We relaxed all day today, and tomorrow I've got laundry and starting to organize the house.  
        We are really determined to make 2012 a better year for us, we are starting the year off right by getting a car I think we will love. I cant believe another year is already over, seems like they get shorter every year!! This is what I'm looking forward to this year...
*Getting our fancy new car!
*Finally getting the house organized the way I want!
*Starting Kay potty training sometime this year
*Getting Breanna this summer :)
*Going to the states in November
*Having family visit this fall!
This year WILL be a good year!!!

toasting the new year

playing beer pong

Champagne (red sparkling wine) pong

Happy new years!!

Kay and Brody the next day

Sparkling red wine

where's Becky....lol

Happy new years!!

Oh and the blog has a new look, because....I am going to try my very hardest to post a blog every day..at the very least a few pics, or just what we did that day :) It felt good to accomplish my goal of posting every day in December...now I'm going for a bigger goal!!! so keep reading, and I'll keep posting! 

Day 31. happy new years!

Holding her seahorse, and all dressed up for new years :)

                This is the last day of 2011! Mat and I are ready for 2012, and we are determined to make it a better year! We are going over to Kelly and Matt's house tonight to ring in the new year, and hopefully the kids sleep through it :) The blog will be getting a new look tomorrow, so look for that! One of my resolutions this year is to finally get the house clean and organized the way I want it.. I've gotten a start on it already, and I will follow through!! I also am making a resolution to be happier, this year has had some rough patches, and Belgium has a way of getting me down sometimes, and in 2012, I'm putting a stop to that...hopefully :) lol. This is a short blog, because we're getting ready to go for the night, and we wont be back til' tomorrow. but check the blog, because as long as I'm not too hungover lol, there will be one tomorrow!    I love you all, and have a happy and safe new years eve!!!