KOEN: 27 months
-He can play on his own for 1-2 hours no problem. Just give him a bin of cars and trucks, that's all he needs. Anyone would say he's the easiest kid to babysit.
-He can count to 10 (so cute!)
-He knows all his colours and anytime we are in the car or on a walk, it's `Two white vans! Big red truck! Where green car going?' etc. My favourite is when he sees a silbeder (silver) car. Kai was the exact same, I remember being pregnant with Koen and hearing Kai go through the same routine.
-His sentences have gone from: `Look. car' to `Look at that car'.
-He is so close to saying the alphabet and often we hear him singing his own version.
-He does not nap although we give him one about twice a week. On those days, he is up until about 9pm and then we find him asleep at the top of the stairs. He doesn't complain, he just lays out in the hall and will sometimes ask what we are watching on tv.
-Even when he doesn't nap, he is such an easy going kid. We have yet to experience a full on melt down and crying is very unusual. The only time I've seen him `lose it' is about 3 times in the church nursery which was months ago. He does so well on little sleep, better than anyone in this family! I do try to keep him very well rested because he has been sick for so much of his life (not trying to sound dramatic, it's always just a cold but it lingers and lingers and lingers).
-He likes to do things on his own. There's a whole lot of `Koen do it!'.
-Kai and Koen are closer than ever. When I get Koen in the morning, his first question is `Where's Kai Bear?'. They are so silly together and for 90% of the time, there are non stop giggles between them...running around with boxes on their head, trying to push Gary off the couch, building wooden ramps, making recipes using dirt, water and sticks. It's awesome. The other 10% of the time, there are minor squabbles fighting over a toy or Koen may have hit Kai with something.
KAI: 4.5 years old
-loves school. A lot. If he misses a day, he needs to find out exactly what the kids learned about and if there's something he needs to catch up on.
-he is confident and loves in depth conversations.
-he is so excited that he can be whatever he wants when he's older and we aren't going to be the ones to tell him what to do. These days, he wants to be a builder, famous painter, teacher and photographer.
-he will now confidently write letters and is on the verge of reading. I think I could spend some time to seriously work on this but I am so hesitant to push him on it because I want it to happen as naturally as possible. Does that make sense?
-he can count to 100 (but usually forgets `20')
-extroverted. Loves playing with other kids, especially older ones. On holidays, this is how a conversation would go with him: `I'm four, how old are you?'. No name or anything, just interested in how old kids are. He made friends with a seven year old girl on the ferry and at one point when she was jumping off of something, he turned to me and said, `This is what seven year olds act like!'.
-he is in swimming lessons. He's a giant in the beginner class:)
-Kai is up before 7am each day and goes hard all day long. He falls asleep soundly within 5 minutes of going to bed (sometime between 7-8pm). He is an amazing sleeper.
-Kai loves Transformers and has recently discovered computer games. He loves treasure hunting (geocaching) and eating. Oh man, can that kid eat. Both of them can.
-He loves talking about the day when he will be taller than me.
When we talked about having kids, I had no idea how all encompassing it was. Like, your entire life and your whole heart. It has been such an amazing experience and I'm so thankful that I have been able to be a mom. These boys have changed me and made me experience so much joy. Not that I didn't have joy before, they've just allowed me to find joy in new places and in a new way. Losing my mom changed my life forever and I wasn't sure that I would ever be this happy again. I thought I could never reach that 10/10. I'm getting there. I still miss my mom all the time, but I'm happy and content. I am so thankful for the gifts that God has given me. For bringing Gary and I together, he is such a loving and supportive husband. For blessing us with two goofy and adorable kids. For providing a way for me to stay home with the kids and maintain a lower stress lifestyle. For restoring my health. For bringing us on an adoption journey. For peace.
Thank you Kai and Koen for making momma smile. Koen with your kisses to make mommy feel better. Kai for making me laugh with your eagerness.
Thank you Gary for really trying to understand me and support me. I know I am loved no matter what.
Not sure how this got so cheesy, I was just trying to update a little on the kids:)
Love, Louise