Kaitlyn's First Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!!!!

Oh my goodness how time flies. When I think about all that has gone on in the last year it makes my head spin. This time last year we were in our rental house and not even sure when we'd move into our new home. Now I sit here at the computer in our brand new home with a precious baby that will be turning ONE YEAR old today!!! I would never have been able to imagine all that would take place this year. It was a fantastic year, that's for sure. Kaitlyn has gone from newborn to baby to "toddler" very quickly and seems to amaze me daily with her progress. She seems to understand so much of what I say and what goes on around her. It is really incredible to witness her grow and develop.

The last few months have been big ones for Kaitlyn. There was one point at about 9 months old when I wondered "WHEN is she going to crawl???!!!!" Well it happened quickly thereafter and then within a week or two she not only was an expert at crawling but an expert at pulling to stand, cruising and even free-standing! With Kaitlyn she goes from not doing something at all, to doing it perfectly. It was the same with sitting--one day she just suddenly knew how to do it. I'm sure it will be the same with walking. Just up and go!

Kaitlyn is a joy. A really fun, perky little performer. She loves attention and people. She loves to make us all laugh and does such a good job at it too! She is SUCH a loving and cuddly little baby. She gives kisses, hugs and cuddles all the time. It is just so precious and I hope it will last forever! She loves having her hair and cheek stroked. She loves drifting off to sleep like that and it just melts my heart!

We've all really enjoyed Kaitlyn so much this year....I still can't believe it has been a YEAR. In some ways it seems like she has always been with us and in some ways it seems like just yesterday that we were all in the hospital room adoring our precious new bundle.

I put together two little montages. The first is of Kaitlyn's Birth. I really wanted to go back and remember that day. It is all from her actual birthday (since she was born early we had a full day with her). The second is a month by month segment piece. I'll be sure to post a little update on her 12 month development in the very near future!!! :)

HAPPY 1st Birthday my sweet little angel. You are a ray of sunshine and love!!! I'm so blessed to have you as my daugher!!! I love you!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Almost One Year Old

TOMORROW is the big birthday! So exciting! Yesterday we went to get Kaitlyn her first pair of shoes. She wears an 18, but we opted for size 19 because she was a bit TOO perfect in the 18's and considering she isn't walking on her own yet we still have some time. I got them mostly for when we are out at the park or in the countryside, so she can stand without getting hurt by rocks, sticks or the like....also she needs to look pretty in her dress tomorrow and shoes are a girl's best friend!

Today we took her 12 month portraits. She has grown up SO much in the last month it is amazing. It is so exciting to see her developments.

Today I will bake her cake and get organized for our family party tomorrow. Toomas took the day off so we could have a fun family day. We'll take her on her first bike ride tomorrow, open gifts and have cake. Tuesday is a holiday in France so it has been a long and BEAUTIFUL weekend for Kaitlyn's first birthday. The weather is like summer here! It is wonderful! We have a big group party planned for Kaitlyn, which is on Saturday. We'll have all of the Estonians here and their children--about 20 + people so we've orderd catered snacks for the day.

Can't wait for tomorrow. My little Kaitlyn Brielle will be ONE year old!!!

Krista's Oral Surgery

Today Krista had oral surgery, a proceedure called an upper labial frenectomy. Basically they had to cut the membrane of skin that holds the upper lip to the gums. In her case this membrane was very thick and low, and as a result was impeding the desent of her lateral incisor due to a large gap between her front two teeth caused by this piece of skin. If the proceedure had not been done, there would always be a space between her two front teeth. The orthodonist said that by simply cutting the skin, that it might even be possible her teeth will pull together on their own without braces, otherwise braces for the uppers are in her future. By the way, if you are wondering what this membrane is, most likely you will feel yours by running your tongue above your teeth where your lip connects inside the mouth (this is the case on both upper and lower lip, but Krista only needed the upper one clipped). The dentist said that in most people it is high and doesn't bother tooth spacing, but in some it is low and interferes.

Krista was a VERY brave girl! I am so proud of her. She marched right in when they called her name, and after the proceedure they said she was "adorable" and "brave". We had an appointment last week and they explained the whole thing so she knew that she would be getting a shot on the gums, be getting the skin cut and also be getting stitches. In all she needed 3 stitches which will be removed in one week. She is taking tylenol now for the pain, and immediately when we got home we iced it for 30 minutes. Now that the tylenol has kicked in she is feeling much better. She was really in a lot of pain there for awhile though.

As a reward for her being so brave I ordered her a few books from Amazon. She knew about this upcoming gift and so she spent ALL DAY yesterday finishing up the book she was reading so she could start on a new one today. She read for about 4 hours yesterday and finished "Little House on the Prairie (vol 3) which is 335 pages! I think she must have read 200 + pages yesterday!!! So now she has ice, icecream, tylenol and a stack of new books to read for her recooperation!

Dancing Queen

Kaitlyn LOVES music. I think she will be a lot like Krista. Lately I've been hearing more and more people comment on how she and Krista look so much alike. I think the differences don't end there. As Kaitlyn is developing I'm seeing her behave more and more like her older sister. First off she LOVES music and dancing, and secondly she is developing that "persistent personality" as I like to call it. Anyone remember that "Yu-Gi-Oh" card episode when she was 4 months old and wouldn't give in to letting that card be taken away? Well she is MUCH more vocal now about things going her way. I guess you have to be when you have 2 older siblings, but it is a trait that reminds me a lot of Krista.

So here is Kaitlyn playing and dancing in her playpen this morning. Since my friend Erin recently posted a dancing blog, I figured I'd keep with the spirt. Oh and Kaitlyn does this little dance move that is SOOO cute. It is sort of a "what's up" hand wave that I just adore.

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Tubi-Tuba Fun

Since the kids are on vacation I took them to their favorite indoor play arena called Tubi-Tuba. It seems a shame to have them playing INSIDE when the weather here has been so nice, but in all honesty I did it mostly for Kaitlyn so she could get down on her hands and knees and crawl wherever she wanted without me ever having to say the word "No". Crawling outside is NOT an option here, so Tubi-Tuba seemed like a good idea for a change. It really is a wonderful place for a toddler or crawler to explore, since it is so safe and padded. She had a BLAST but was so tired at the end (as were the big kids who ran around like crazy too).

Kaitlyn is really doing a lot of free-standing now. She will pull up to standing and then practice with her balance as she balances to stand without support. She loves doing this and has stood alone for nearly one minute at times. She has really developed by leaps and bounds physically in the last month. It is hard to believe that our last visit to Tubi-Tuba she wasn't even crawling yet and now she is already free-standing!! (See Tubi-Tuba visit at 10 Months).

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Grades, Dentists, Orthodontists...

Once again the kids are on vacation....a whopper this time too--- TWO and a half weeks long! It is great having them home, but 2 weeks is long when they are used to being at schol all day! Luckily the weather has been just gorgeous lately and we've been having fun on the patio! Yesterday our patio table arrived and we were able to have our first meal ever on our patio. It was heavenly---the forest view, the weather, the barbeque...just wonderful!

The good news is that Krista got her report card on Friday and guess what? She did SUCH a great job this semester!!!! She got nearly all A's. When I say nearly all A's I mean 36 A's and 6 B's!!! YES there are a lot of categories and subcategories that are graded (but 36 A's is wonderful I think!!!). I'm very very proud of her.

Today she went to the dentist to see about having the skin that is under the lip cut. Right now her 2 front teeth can't come together because it extends too far down. The proceedure involves numbing the area and then making several cuts (freinectomy in French). He set up an appointment for next week. I'm nervous about it. It will only require 2 stitches though. He said it NEEDS to be done because the two front teeth will never come together without this proceedure. Also her lateral incisor that hasn't yet decended, has no chance of coming down because the central incisor is in its place! We've been waiting on that lateral incisor since November and it still hasn't emerged. Our orthodontist thinks that this proceedure alone might be all that is required for the teeth to come together. She said she would need to see Krista in the fall to make an assesment on braces. OH THE JOYS of childhood! ;)

So that is our update for the moment. Tonight I'll take a picture of us dining on our patio. We had breakfast there today too---it has become a new room in the house with the great new table! I just love our tiles too. They are a special stone that feels so soft and doesn't stain. It is called "Softstone" and it feels just great with bare feet! It is so exciting getting the outside of the house ready. I said last night to Toomas that it almost feels like we are moving again...but this time moving "out" not moving in! We have lights to put up, plants to plant, furniture to buy and so much to conceptualize. It is very fun!

A Tribute to "The Piparmobile"

Yes, you read it right "The Piparmobile". WHAT in the world is a Piparmobile you ask? Well it is our family's term for the Exersaucer/Entertainer/whatever-you-call it UFO thing that so happily resides my kitchen. In our family we call it "The Piparmobile" or simply "The Pipar" for short. A long, long time ago when Krista was only a few months old we called her our "Gingerbread baby" in Estonian---The word for gingerbread is Piparkook....so somehow, since it was her's, and she was "Pipar"... we nicknamed it the Piparmobile. It stuck.

I found the Pipar here in France---TOTALLY by chance. This particular baby store only had ONE. It was a trial run with this product. It was their first and their only... and WE were there to claim it as our own!! Believe it or not, but it was way back in of 1999!! It has served this family for 3 children and 7 1/2 years! I am thankful for "The Pipar". It has made my days easier and Krista, Erik and Kaitlyn's days happier. Kaitlyn is STILL using The Pipar, but the days are numbered. I feel sad to think that instead of its noble and prime spot in the kitchen, it will be relocated to the dark, dusty basement in the upcoming months. Poor, poor, Pipar!!!!

They've come a long way since 1999. Our pipar is a basic model. No lights, no music, no bouncing...just a colorful seat which spins 360 and a few token toys. Take a look at a "modern-day" piparmobile. They even call it the "Mega" model! A bit too much if you ask me, but I'm sure Kaitlyn would say otherwise. I don't know when we will bid farewell to our beloved Pipar. Kaitlyn is still is very, very happy in it. She is safe and content, and I get a lot accomplished in the kitchen as a result! I'll leave you with one last photo of our happy little blue-eyed baby in her very own Piparmobile!

Easter 2007

We had a fun Easter this year. Kaitlyn didn't exactly get the concept, but she sure did have fun eating the plastic eggs. We also found out she isn't a fan of chocolate for the moment (but I'm sure it won't be too long before she converts).

Erik and Krista woke up early as usual, put on their clothes for church and then came in to wake us up. They were 100% dressed and ready from head to toe when they woke me. I told them not to go downstairs and to come get us up first. They followed their instructions to the tee, and at 7:45 they were ready, baskets in hand and dressed head to toe. We got ready and all headed downstairs to see if the Easter bunny found our house. Indeed he had! The kids had fun running around the house finding the little nests, but since there isn't a grass yard this year the Easter bunny only could put eggs on the patio. After the hunt we had a quick breakfast and then I woke Kaitlyn up and we headed off by foot (and stroller) to church. There are 2 churches in our village and the 11:00 mass was at the one that is about 400 meters from our house. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the walk felt wonderful! We have a lot to be thankful for this Easter!

Erik's 5th Birthday Recap

Hope you all had a very happy and blessed Easter! We had a very fun weekend with weather sent down from heaven!!! Good Friday was Erik's 5th birthday and we had a wonderful day with sunshine, bike riding, a 1/2 day at the park, gifts, cake, and then ended the day by going out to dinner at Erik's favorite restaurant. Kaitlyn was very well behaved and so we all had a very nice time. This restaurant is called "The Hippo" and is the kids favorite. It isn't at all a "French-style" restuarant, more the American TGI Friday's sort. They have a kids activity corner, Disney movies playing and always give out giant helium balloons to the kids upon leaving. This year since it was Easter, they even had a real bunny in a cage for the kids to admire. Erik LOVED the bunny and spent a good deal of time running back and forth between his cage and our table so he could talk to him. It sure was fun!! After dinner we headed home and had a feast of delicious French praline birthday cake. It was our first day of day real summer weather too! The kids ran around in short sleeved shirts all day. All in all it was a fun-filled magical day for my little 5 year old boy. I have a lot of photos from Easter to post also, but won't get to those until later on in the week ;)

Erik's Birthday History

Happy Birthday Erik!

Being the family historian/photographer and sentimentalist that I am, I thought I'd put together a special "Five Years of Erik" video. It was really fun (and bittersweet) looking back in time. In some ways it seems like just yesterday that I saw and held Erik for the first time after he was born. When I look at his birth photos they seem so familiar--as if only a few months have passed since I took them. The births of all 3 children are days that seem so fresh and vivid in my mind. If I close my eyes I can actually take myself back in time and re-experience the feelings and thoughts I had the morning before going off to the hospital to deliver Erik. If I close my eyes I really am RIGHT THERE. It is amazing to be able to take oneself back like that, and it requires no effort. Perhaps it has somethifng to do with this time of year. I have had all 3 children in spring months so spring to me means babies!

These 5 years have been so wonderful. Words cannot express how thankful we are to have Erik as a member of our family. He brings such joy to all of us and we are very proud of the boy he has grown to become.

Tonight I took Erik to the toy store so he could pick out one special gift for his birthday. I was afraid that the gifts I'd bought weren't really what he was really dreaming of and it turns out I was right!! All the little guy really wanted were 2 stuffed animal puppies!!! It was really fun shopping with him. It gave us some together time which was really nice. Tommorow will be fun with gift opening in the afternoon and a night on the town at Erik's favorite restaurant "The Hippo". We can't wait!

So here they are---FIVE years of Birthdays with Erik!!! It is easy to recall all of them because there has been a theme for each year. Physically he hasn't changed a whole lot since age 3. His first year theme was "The Big One" with 1's all over everything, his second birthday was a "Jungle" theme, and the third was "Farm Animals." Next after age 4 come the BOYISH years--with "Batman" for his 4th and "Star Wars" this year for his 5th.

Enjoy the video. It is 6 minutes long. I was shooting for 1 minute per year and came pretty close!

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Erik's Group Party

Fifth Birthday Fun!

Tommorow my little Erik Andres will be FIVE years old! My how the years have flown! We had Erik's group birthday party yesterday and it was a big sucess!!! Erik is currently a huge Star Wars fan, so we ordered the Star Wars Birthday kit from America. I also gave him his birthday present a few days early (a Darth Vador costume which he immediately put on and wore for his party). He had SUCH a fun time with all of his friends (MERCI a tous d'avoir fete' avec Erik et pour touts les beaux cadeaux!). All in all there were 7 children who came to the party: Antoine, Maxime, Sam, Quentin, Sophie, Manon and Morgane (4 boys and 3 girls), but then of course there was also Erik and Krista, so that made 9 kids! It sure was a hectic afternoon! We played musical chairs (Erik won--see photo below), a fun game of pin a star on the light sabor, we opened presents, and of course we had cake and sang songs at the table. Afterwards the kids enjoyed playing in Erik's room with the swords, light sabors and pirate hooks!

Today he took 2 cakes to school to share with his class and then tomorrow is his real birthday. We'll order pizza tomorrow night and I will buy a cake for his real birthday. So far I've made 5 cakes in the last 2 days so I'm ready to see what the French baker has to offer now! Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day-- I hope so, because the day that Erik was born in 2002 was also a gorgeous and sunny day. I'm so excited for him to turn 5!

Annual AIA Easter Party

Yesterday was the annual AIA (American club) Easter party at the ambassador's house. The kids had a lot of fun as usual. This year they broke the hunt up into age groups so that all kids had a chance to find eggs. There were also craft projects for the kids and lots of goodies to eat. Kaitlyn stayed bundled up in her stroller for most of the event and was content to look around at all of the activity. It was fun to see familiar faces and speak English for a few hours in a row!

This last photo is Erik dressed up as the Easter bunny. Last week it was Star Wars and Darth Vador, and this week he's 100% obsessed with the Easter bunny. I'm sure he will not be happy I took this photo in a few years!!!!

This week will be a fun one for Erik. He has his group birthday party on Wednesday (with 7 children invited from his class), and then his real 5 year old birthday is on Good Friday. My little boy will be FIVE years old! Then of course there is Easter to look forward to on Sunday. We're hoping for some nice, sunny and warm weather for these events!!!