Vanaema and Vanaisa's Visit to France

On Thursday Vanaema and Vanaisa arrived from Estonia. This is their first visit to our new house and it was really fun giving them the tour and showing them around. They haven't seen Kaitlyn since she was only 3 months old either, so we've had a lot to catch up on!

The weather has been EXCELLENT and sunny, although the first few days they were VERY, VERY hot. Yesterday Toomas took them on a 3 day trip to Switzerland. I talked to Toomas last night and they had a blast in Geneva. He said the weather cooperated so they were able to see everything they wanted to see and of course the mountains were very impressive.

The kids have had a great time with their grandparents. They have enjoyed showing them their new rooms, their schools and have been doing very well speaking Estonian. Krista has been reading every day in Estonian with Vanaema and is doing wonderfully!! On Saturday they all went to the Arlette-Gruss circus. Erik LOVES circuses so it was a very special day for him and Krista.

On a walking update---Kaitlyn continues to learn to walk. She can now take a few steps, stop and stand, and then start up again. She is still "goal-walking" but has been taking more and more steps at a time. She can walk the length of her bedroom carpet now.....although she does so only when SHE feels like practicing!!!! If she doesn't want to practice then she just refuses to stand up and arches her back. I have taken a few videos of her walking, but can't upload them until Toomas gets back from Switzerland with the videocamera.

So, here are a few more pictures from the trip with Vanaema and Vanaisa....

Kaitlyn took her first steps!!!

I'm not going to say that Kaitlyn is walking yet, but she sure is taking steps on her own!!! On Thursday night my friend Sharon came over to put up the security gates she lent us (THANKS SHARON), and that very night we let Kaitlyn cruise at will in the upstairs loft area. SHE LOVED IT! She was cruising around holding onto the banister (with one hand) and just loving the freedom. THEN, all of a sudden she released her one hand and she was just walking. I'd say she took 6-8 steps and then bent over to get down to a crawling position. She was very controlled, it was so wild to see her walk! Toomas, Erik and I were there and our jaws just dropped. It was so funny because she didn't even know she was walking! It wasn't a fluke either because by the end of the day Friday she could take as many as 10 steps at a time to a goal. She is doing this "goal" walking still, but she is taking steps. I'm a little worried about her falling so I'm not giving her the opportunities as much as I should. I'm thinking we should go to Tubi-Tuba one of these days so she can really practice-up where it is nice and padded. Some days I would just LOVE to have wall to wall carpet in at least ONE room of my home. So anyway, that is the big update!

In other news, we have visitors coming on Thursday! The kids are really getting excited to see their Vanaema and Vanaisa, all the way from Estonia. It will be the first trip Toomas' parents have made to stay at our new house. They will also be taking a trip to Switzerland with Toomas while they are here also. It will be a fun week for all.

More yard shots!

The grass is always greener (on our side!)!!! It is amazing to look out there and see such a green spread! I'm so happy that we have a yard now. Here are a few more shots (and of the table and the plantation area with the mulching).

Group Party and Landscaping...

Well, the last two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye. We've been keeping very, very busy around here with Kaitlyn's group party a week ago and lots and lots of yard work in between. Her party was a week and a half ago and was a hit for all. We invited 20 plus of our local Estonian friends and their families. Kaitlyn had a wonderful time! She had so much fun with her cake again and presents, but this time she made a bigger mess with her cake and even had an audience to perform for. She loved it! She received lots of cute clothes which were really welcome. Krista has lots of baby clothes at are in very good shape so Kaitlyn is mostly re-using those, but it sure is fun to have a few NEW additions for the wardrobe! Thanks to our friends for all the great gifts, but mostly for sharing a fun evening with us and Kaitlyn on her 1st birthday.

The other big news is that we HAVE GRASS!!! The landscapers planted grass seed on wednesday, April 25th...so we are now on day 20 after plantation. It has been an amazing process to watch and I have learned a lot about grass. They seeded with a combo of perennial rye-grass, red fescue and kentucky bluegrass. The perennial rye grass was already visible after only 6 days. I took a photo on Mother's Day (Sunday) which was day 18, and by that point we already had about 3 inches plus! Up until today there had been no rain since we planted, so I've been working every day for at least 1 hour watering our dirt! You feel silly out there watering your dirt, but it sure paid off!!!! I had to re-seed a few patches last week where it didn't take very well and am already seeing the sprouts! I also put up an edging around the side section of the yard where we have the gravel down. I like the idea of a clear separation between the rocks and the grass and it looks really nice now. It is SOOO wonderful to have a yard at long last. Not too much longer and we'll be mowing and running around on it too! So first off is a picture of our yard, followed by some photos from the group party.

Kaitlyn's First Birthday Recap

Kaitlyn had a wonderful fun-filled first birthday yesterday! We started off the day by singing to her in her crib. She knew something was up and really enjoyed all the attention (she even tried to sing along)! After breakfast she got to open a few presents and had a lot of fun ripping the paper. Toomas got her a wooden puzzle that has these really big pieces with handles on them. She also got a bath toy and a push cart and car to ride on/and or push. She is really wanting to walk or push things around now, so a few pushing toys were the perfect gifts. She just loves them!!!

The day was GORGEOUS! It reminded me so much of the weather that we had this time last year on her actual birth day. We took advantage of the day to the fullest. She had a stroller ride in the morning and her first ever real bike ride (with helmet) in the afternoon. She really loved it! It was fun for all 5 of us to bike together as a family. The big kids loved it too. For a break we stopped off at the park by our old house and let Kaitlyn walk/crawl around. She is trying to take a few steps on her own now. If she is in the mood then I can just stand her up and she will walk to my hands (if I am close). She is really steady on her feet and can stand for a pretty long time now before she sits back down. I'm not sure she really gets the idea that she is supposed to try to walk on her own though. She sure looked cute in the little bike helmet and again today went out for another bike ride. She absolutely detests putting the helmet on, but once she forgets about it she has a blast.

I baked 2 cakes for her bithday (one chocolate chip and one plain chocolate). SHE LOVED HER CAKES! It was like she was expecting them too! After we sang to her she dug right in and really enjoyed trying cake for the first time. It was so fun to see her make such a mess.

All in all it was a fantastic and memorable day. I can't believe she is ONE. We will celebrate with the Estonians on Saturday (over 20 people coming). I don't think she will really care much for the group party (mostly for us), but at least she had a WONDERFUL and special birthday with us yesterday!