Kiefer, the preschool graduate

This past week, our big-boy Kiefer graduated from his preschool, the Little Red Schoolhouse! There was a ceremony held in front of the school on Wednesday, May 16. Just about when the ceremony was slated to start, it began to rain so we had to move the kids' chairs and our chairs under a tent. Finally, the ceremony could begin. The kids looked so cute emerging from the school and heading to the tent. During the ceremony, the children sang two songs with their music teacher Wendy. All of the children were given certificates. Kiefer's was for his "ever present thoughtfulness." Afterwards, there was a potluck and the opportunity for the kids to play one last time. I did fine throughout the ceremony, but when I was cleaning his cubby out, I could barely hold it together. Then, when we drove away from campus, I started crying. It's a good thing I had my sunglasses on. I don't think Kiefer noticed. There will be many more such milestones that remind us how big our boy is getting.

Saskia is growing and changing, too. Today, while we were on a bridge over the Green River, she pointed to the big tree that had fallen into the river during the huge storm last year and asked, "Why is that there?" It caught me completely off guard. She has said sentences here and there, but the context and structure were perfect. You can tell that she has learned much from her big brother (or "bro" as she calls him). If you ask her why she's doing something, she'll respond, "Cuz." If a toy breaks or something get knocked over and I say, "Uh oh! Who did that?" She'll automatically say, "Bro." or "Bro did it." Hilarious.

Happy Holidays

We had a wonderful Christmas! Kiefer was very excited for Santa and he helped me make cookies to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. We made sugar cookies, Christmas wreaths and peanut butter balls. This year, Kiefer was able to write a letter to Santa himself (with a little help from Mama). On Christmas morning, the kids were so good. They were definitely excited but didn't rip into everything like crazy. Kiefer gave Saskia's packages to her and helped her get them started. She's lucky to have such a great big brother (or "bro" as she calls him).

For New Year's, we celebrated like we did last year: with our Dutch friends and at Dutch New Year's time (6 pm here). The kids had so much fun. Marie-Jose was very creative and brought "fireworks," or bubble wrap for the kids to stop on. It did sound like fireworks and they were thrilled. They made their own pizzas for dinner. Saskia was right in the middle of everything!

Saskia is talking more and more. Almost everyday she amazes me with a new word or sentence. She doesn't seem to have yes and no quite straight because when you ask if she wants something, she'll say "No! No!" when she clearly means yes. Mr. Oliver tends to wake everyone up in the morning with his meowing and one morning, instead of calling, "Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!" she said, "Meow! Meow!" Yesterday morning she said, "Want out! Want out!" She combines "want" with a lot of things: wa wa (water), nummy (food), cookie, down, binky, cheese.

On Tuesday, Saskia had her 18 month well-child doctor's visit. She weighs 26 lbs (11.8 kg) and is 32 3/4 inches (83 cm) long. That puts her around the 70th percentile for weight and 90th for height. She got one immunization this visit and didn't cry until about a minute AFTER she got the shot. She recovered quickly, though.

Here's a great Kieferism that Kiefer came up with the other day. On the way to pre-school, Kiefer said, "Mama. I have to put my handsome on." To which I replied, "Your handsome on?" He said, "Yes. I have to put my handsome on so all the girls will want to marry me." Seriously. Where does he come up with this stuff?

And here is what I found outside his room one morning: