Doctors Appt. and recent pics

Today I had my ultrasound appointment and everything looked great for me and the little guy! The report is over on my pregnancy blog.

Here are a few photos from this past week of the kids...The last photo is of Erik with his first ever 'Ratus' book. It is the series that they are using for their textbook at school and they also have short story books for sale. This year there is a system of tickets that the teacher uses for the children in the class. When they do excellent work they receive a ticket. Once they have 10 tickets they "win" a small picture card to collect. After TEN picture cards they get a book from the teacher. Erik is leading the class in picture cards!! He already has 2 cards (20 tickets) plus 2 extra tickets. I'm so proud of him! He is doing SOOOOOO well in school and is off to an excellent start. I never thought he could rival Krista's success in school but it looks like Krista has some competition on her hands. He told me the teacher commented that he is "just like his sister" on several occasions! The last picture is of Erik looking very proud with his 1st Ratus book that I bought him for winning his first picture card.

Kaitlyn the performer!!

Kaitlyn is JUST like Krista at this age..SO full of character and expression. Kaitlyn just loves to be the center of attention and is always full of ideas on how to get that attention. She loves to dance and sing and be on stage. Her latest performance is "Me and My Teddy"... She tries to sing and dance along....and she even takes a bow at the end. SO cute! Enjoy the show :)

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Kaitlyn's Update

I just thought I'd share a few recent photos of Kaitlyn...She's growing into a little young lady these days! It is amazing to see her transform from a "baby girl" to a "little girl" now. She is a little CHARACTER, that's for sure! She can be such a little fun goofball. We all get laughing when she does silly things and she LOVES to perform and make us laugh with her funny costumes, dances or songs. Right now she is into wearing funny hats, glasses and LONG dresses. She has had her own word for Disney Princesses for about 1 year now and they are called "Bennies"...WHO KNOWS how she got that word, but she is such a goof that even now that she can SAY princess...she still says "Benny" for princess and when she dresses up with jewels or a gown she calls herself a "Benny". So lately her nickname has been "Benny!" It is so great to see her little personality blossom and all of us are having so much fun with her lately.

We've made some recent progress on the potty training end of things. She really can do it, but it is a matter of ME putting my mind to being consistent. I had SUCH an easier time with Erik than with Krista by simply waiting it out. With Krista she wasn't even 2 yet and she was day-trained (it took over a YEAR before she ws night trained though and with occaisional daytime accidents). With Erik I waited until he was almost 3 and we did it in a WEEKEND!!! It was the easiest thing I've ever done. He was day AND night trained in that one weekend and with NO accidents thereafter. I remember accidents with Krista from 22 months until 36 months and that is a LONG amount of time to deal with messes and laundry. Sure I could 'say' she was trained before she was 2, but it came at a high cost to me---a lot of cleaning up jobs and a lot of nighttime diapers!! With Kaitlyn she pushed for the potty herself (at 2 years 3 months). I am not sure if I will wait a bit with the full fledged training program or try now. I'm honestly thinking she will do a much quicker job of learning for good if we wait. We'll see!!! So for now, here are a few photos of the little beauty on the swing in the backyard. PEOPLE, she CAN swing all by herself. She pumps her little legs and gets that swing going! It is so funny to see a little 2 year old swing! She loves the motion and has seen Krista and Erik do it all summer so I guess she is ready! BYE BYE baby swing :)

Back to School!

It is finally here....the FIRST day back to school! It is always such an exciting time. The end of summer vacation and the long awaited "rentree". It was a wonderful morning. The kids woke up chipper and ready to roll. They had their backpacks loaded, snacks ready and their clothes out for the big morning. Krista is entering 4th grade this year and Erik is entering CP (essentially French Kindergarten, but US 1st grade). They are FINALLY at the same school together! Krista had to be at school at 8 a.m. today (the usual starting time), but Erik's class didn't meet until 8:30. Since this is his entry into the elementary school the parents get to accompany the children into the class and help them set up their desks. Next year we will just leave him at the gate. I took the opportunity for photos since this will be the last time I get to take him inside the school on the first day. The reason the first year children meet at 8:30 is so that they aren't intimidated by the hustle and bustle of the big kids on the first morning back. Erik did WONDERFULLY! He was really excited to start working and to show the teacher his reading and writing skills. He wasn't nervous at all---a big bonus being the 2nd child and already seeing Krista go through this. I spent my morning in peace with Kaitlyn. We went to buy Erik a rain jacket and a few pairs of pants for Kaitlyn. She deserved a little spoiling on a difficult day---she will really miss Krista and Erik's company all day long. We picked the kids up at 11:45 for lunch, and per Toomas' suggestion took them to McDonalds. They were both so happy. It was great to see them so excited about school! I hope this attitude contines for many, many years! Krista loved her teacher and Erik said his teacher already knew his name (since she had Krista a few years ago). All in all it was a great day!!! Lets hope this is a wonderful school year for them both. Here is a little montage of the morning and a few more photos.

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