Since the kids in out playgroup all have birthday's at the same time, we decided to have a big birthday party for all of them!
The kids played with claymate (you put these styrofoam like pellets in water then stick them together), toys, play dough and had lunch and cake. Each of us brought a different dish to share for lunch. We did a big present exchange (each brought a present then the kids drew out of a big bag).
Potty training is going as well as I could have hoped for. Kherington doesn't do very well when she is wearing pants, but if she isn't she goes to sit on the potty by herself and then shows me what she has done.
Today is day #4. This morning we changed her into her undies when she woke up (around 8am) and by noon she had gone pee twice by herself, wet her pants once and gone poo once by herself.
I think the problem with the pants is that she needs my help to get them down and she does not like help with anything so help with the pants is not an option.
Today is the first day at home with just the two kids and the first day of potty training. Half way through the day here's how it has gone:
As the year comes to a close, I needed to end the delay of my procrastination and update everyone what happened back in April (the visit of my family). It worked out perfectly for the visit of my Dad, Mom, and brother (Cory) as Kevin was born on Saturday, April 9th, we picked up our new mini-van on Tuesday, April 12th, and the family arrived Thursday, April 14th. They got to see the new grandson and enjoy the experience of me driving a manual for the first time (not too many stall outs).
As I have been such a procrastinator on this post, the pictures will have to come early next year as we are currently in the United States (away from our pictures on the computer in Belgium). We had so much fun visiting numerous sites throughout many areas of Europe. Please see below a brief recap of some of the sites we were able to see.
Netherlands
The season was the perfect time to visit a place my mother had on her "Bucket List", Keukenhof. The place of gorgeous flowers in Holland that is only available to see throughout the month of April and early May. The flowers were gorgeous. We left Brussels really early to make sure to beat the crowds (and traffic which can get extremely bad). See the upcoming pictures of many sites we saw at the flower gardens. Unfortunately, the animal petting zoo was closed due to some sick animals (a highlight of Kheringtons a year before). We didn't make it to Amsterdam with the time, but seeing the flowers, a few windmills, and hearing some Dutch made it for a great day.
Germany
The major travels we took while the family visited was in Germany. We had the chance to take an overnight trip through Germany. The first stop was an old medieval town called Rothenburg ob Tabor. I have been to this city numerous times due to how neat the quaint town is. The city has an old city wall surrounding the town that you can walk on. We also had a chance to visit the some of the fun Christmas stores found throughout the city. Our dinner in this town was exceptional and was followed by a great tour ("Nightwatchmen Tour"). The tour took you throughout the city by a very humorous tour guide who taught us a little more about the history of the city during the many different time periods. See the future pictures below.
To avoid the long drive back the next day, we drove up to Frankfurt to spend the night. The next day we traveled to a castle in a small town. This was a must for Cory to see. We walked down a winding road to get to the castle to see that the castle was under construction. Not the most picturesque with a crane on the side of the castle, but fun to see something so ancient. After the castle, we traveled to the nearby city of Cologne to see the gigantic cathedral. We didn't climb the stairs but marveled in awe the magnitude of its size. Of course, we had a few treats in each city, especially stopping at the infamous kebab shop we found. Germany was very fun to see with the family.
Belgium
In Belgium, we covered three out of the five famous food groups (fries, waffles, and chocolate). We took them to Stockel Market to try to the best waffles in Belgium. We also got to visit the chocolate outlet in Brussels (Neuhaus). A place of heaven for chocolate lovers as you get to sample all these good chocolates (which in a typical store range up to 50 euros a kilo, substantially less at the outlet). The fries were from Place Jourdan and as always, the line was extremely long. Everyone loved the treats of Belgium. We also had a chance to see some sites of the city (Grand Place, Atomium, and even made it out to Brugge). In Brugge, we took a fun canal ride.
I almost forgot...in each place we visited Kherington was treated by Grandpa to some delicious ice cream. As our ice cream connesseiur, we made sure to try a little of everything.
France
We took a day trip to Paris which was really fun especially during the time of season. We used the metro system to avoid the crazy traffic of Paris and were able to see the outside of numerous sites, i.e., Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc. Paris has been a fun city for us to visit as we have taken numerous people there and see something new each time. If the family makes it out again, we would have to return to show them some more amazing sites. See below in the future of pictures from Paris.
It was so fun having the family to visit. Europe is full of so much history and many places to visit. My dad and Cory were able to see these things within a week and then my mom stayed an extra week to help take care of the kiddos. It was a great help to have everyone there and to visit and travel with them. We look forward to future visits (maybe once Adam gets home from his mission.)
Reminder...pictures will come in the future once we return to our home in Belgium.
Today Kevin is now 2 weeks old! He's still an awesome baby. He stays awake more during the day and sleeps awesome at night (I wake up to feed either just around 3am or at midnight and 5am). He takes a binki but we haven't tried a bottle yet. I chopped off his mullet and trimmed the rest of it (he had tons of hair). Here he is:
Kherington hasn't had a set nap this last week since she's been busy traveling with Ryan and his family (recap post to come). Today was the first day she has been home around naptime for a long time, so we gave it a go.
She talk and talk, pounded on the door, talked some more and pounded some more. Finally after about an hour I went in to see what was going on. I open the door and find this:
