Gymnastics

We are pleased to announce that Lilly and Sadie are officially signed up for gymnastics! Lilly has been asking since we got here if she could go to a gymnastics class again. Unfortunately they didn't have a teacher so they class was unavailable. After months of asking the had finally found a teacher suitable, but her contract hadn't been finalized. After another 2 they finally had everything settled and in place. Finally after all the waiting both Lilly and Sadie will be starting gymnastics next Saturday! They are so excited. Sadie has even talked about finding a little leotard like the ones the girls on Make It Or Break It wear! She is thrilled that she will be allowed to participate after watching Lilly for months and months. We may even be able to find them some little
leotards :) They will be in seperate classes because of their ages so it will be mighty interesting to see how Sadie will fair. I'm hoping her shyness won't be an issue. I will be sure to keep you posted and I'll take tons of photos!

-K

For Memaw...

Steven loves the fact that Ruby's hair makes a little duck tail in the back. For weeks and weeks and weeks he has talked about taking a photo and showing Memaw because he had one when his was little. I finally just took the photo for him and am posting it so Memaw can see. Otherwise Memaw, yo probably would have waited a long time to see it. Gotta love him for noticing it and thinking you would enjoy it. So here you go Memaw!

WE LOVE YOU!

  

-K

What's New

The past week has been really nice. And thankfully Steven should start day shift next week so this is our last week of nights :) We are really excited especially since weekends will be a full 3 days off instead of 2.5. And he'll be getting better sleep! Poor guy was really feeling the sleep changes. I am just grateful that he is such a great daddy/hubby for sacrificing his sleep schedule everyday so that we can spend time with him. I think the girls are super excited for him to be home at bedtime, he already promised more bedtime stories! Lately we have been getting the house exactly like we want it so we can truly enjoy it while we are here. The BX randomly had 2 recliners one day so we jumped and bought one. The only issue we have with it is the coffee table. Since the table is so big it is hard to maneuver around it to get to the couch or the play area. We are hoping to find a smaller one to replace it. Right now it gets moved all over the room. We had to buy that gripper fabric that is supposed to be used for kitchen cabinets and tool shelves so they don't fall out. We cut it in squares and put it under the legs of the couches and coffee table (and soon the recliner) because the girls can move the furniture around the room. We also bought a futon (in Texas Tech red and black) for the playroom. It will be good for Steven to sleep on if he has to work nights. We also bought so that we could watch movies together comfortably and not need baby monitors to watch Ruby. Whenever we get a table to replace the one downstairs the other will come upstairs. We have already spent a couple of nights watching movies together in there. We are all really enjoying it.

Ruby is now 7.5 months old. Still not very mobile because of the head she inherited from her father (Love ya Steven :P ). She is babbling away though. Her first word was "mumma" about a month ago. Then she said "papa" because we often call Steven "Papa Bear". Now she is saying "num nums" and "nigh night". She was also trying to say YiaYia. We have been saying all of out family's names to her so she can learn. Lilly likes to tell her about "all of her grandmas and grandpas". Ruby just adores the girls even when they through a fit. She has also gained a love for stuffed monkeys. She has two of her own and the girls will let her play with theirs. Yesterday she was chewing on a teether and then she picked up the monkey and tried to put it in the monkeys mouth to share. Then we told that was nice and to give him loves, so she gave him some kisses. She is getting so big and she is just happy and full of smiles all day.

Sadie is doing well. Her only issue is when she is tired. When she gets tired she is just SO grouchy. And she makes sure everyone else is miserable too. She just doesn't know how to calm down when she gets like that. She is so stubborn that she insists she is not tired and forces her self to stay awake. Other than that she says it is too hot and too sunny here. And she gets very mad when our mailbox is empty and there is no mail. She will look in all the other ones and try to open one that does. She has said that the post office here is "the worst ever" because we don't get mail enough. She is so silly. She is also super excited because she is going to start gymnastics soon. She also like to play the Disney Princess dolls and watch all the movies with them. She recently watched "Beauty and the Beast" and "Sleeping Beauty" and she is in love with the right now. It so cute, she even calls Aurora, "Paurora". She is doing that crazy thing that Lilly did, adding 'P' to her words. "Pmobies"(movies), "Pcited"(excited).


Lilly is Lilly, lol. She is one of a kind. She likes trying to stay up as long as she can so that she can have alone time with either me or both of us. She also has a good amount of patience dealing with Sadie. Sadie can really be mean and stubborn and not want even be around Lilly, but Lilly still tries to comfort her and calm her down. She is so excited about going back to school, but we haven't even heard from the school yet. Hopefully, fingers crossed, she has a spot in the class this fall. She is really big about reading books so we try to attend Story Time but sometimes we just go to the library and relax and read some of the books there. If she could she would bring them all home. Both she and Sadie will make up their own stories by looking at illustrations in the book. They are pretty creative. When she and Sadie play together they are really just playing side by side most of the time, but they sing songs together. It's pretty cute, especially when it's "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey! They have also coined they're favorite part of Sleeping Beauty. They will point to each other and say, "Make it pink!" and "Make it blue!".

They also LOVE going to the movie theater. Last weekend we went and saw Disney's Oceans. We made up 5 of the 6 people that actually came to watch the movie, ha! We seriously thought that we were the only people there until another lady showed up just after the movie started. Any who, the girls loved it. Lilly and Sadie repeated the names of the animals and quietly discussed the different creatures to each other. They were too funny sitting there with their snacks and big ole' Dr. Pepper that they requested. That made their daddy really proud. I think we may have some of the only preschoolers in the world that will sit, behave, and enjoy movie. Ruby on the other hand was pretty well behaved considering we weren't home and it was her bedtime. She played with straws, ate a bottle, and went back and forth between mumma and dada. She did get really excited when she saw some baby sea turtles. She squealed and waved at them. To some it all up, we all really enjoyed it. This weekend we are going to see Toy Story 3 and they cannot wait! Sadie keeps saying she is going to see "Slinky Dawwwwg!" And she says it that way every time.

We are all doing well and are just waiting for passports and residency permits to come back. We seriously cannot wait to go back home and visit. Steven and I keep talking about all the things that we want to do. Number 1 on our list though is for everyone to meet the girls in person. They tell us everyday that after Halloween they are going to visit all of their grandmas and grandpas. Lilly and Sadie can't wait to play with Uncle Shelby and cousin Sophia. We are so excited! Hopefully my passport comes in very soon and we can get it out for a new residency permit. Once it comes in it shouldn't be too long for the permit. I can't wait to live some place that doesn't require passports/residency permits/visas! Life would be so much easier, lol! We'll keep everyone posted :)

That's it for us right now. Hope you enjoy your Thursday :)
-K

Wordless Wednesday

Princess Craft

While we were at the BX the other day, Steven and I were looking for small stickers for the girls' sticker charts. We didn't see any one small enough in the sticker section, so we went to the book section. Sometimes they will have sticker books there so we were hoping they'd have some. Unfortunately no stickers could be found, but we did find some Disney and American Girl magazines. They are pretty good so far. They have lots of craft ideas and in the Disney ones they even have learning activities and stories. In the Disney Princess magazine they had an idea for a necklace and it was pretty simple so I figured I would let the girls make one when Daddy was sleeping to distract them from trying to wake him up. All you have to do to make them is cut out two crown shapes out of construction paper or card stock. Then glue the two shapes together to make them thicker, punch out a whole for the string, and decorate. After the decorating is down, thread a piece of string or yarn through the whole, and voila!  The girls had fun and I am thinking that I could get some scrapbook paper and embellishments for next time. Maybe even try different shapes. I am trying to find more craft ideas so that we can hang the girls artwork and crafts all over the living room. They are pretty creative and they love displaying their creations for everyone (especially Daddy) to see.
And Ruby just played happily on the floor :)

 

 

-K

Why do we love the weekends?

There is lots of this:

And some of this:

Some movie watching and ice cream sharing:

 

 

Some singing:

 

And some relaxation:

 

That's why we love the weekends :)

-K

What do the girls do when we aren't looking?

Mommy and Daddy were taking pictures of this:

 

Lilly and Sadie were doing this:

 

And yes, they are stabbing Dora with their forks. Quite contently I might add.

-K

Baby Girl got her Ears Pierced!

We have always tried to get the girls' ears pierced as young as we could. I remember getting mine pierced and I didn't want them to. And the big girls love having their ears pierced and have been asking when Ruby could get hers done. Sadie is so excited for Ruby to get bigger so they can play together that having Ruby's ears done was one step closer to them all getting to play together.
I saw a woman with her baby girl at the hospital one day and her daughters' ears were pierced so I had to ask if it was done here in Turkey. Steven and I were afraid we would have to wait until we took our COT (continuous overseas tour) leave to get them done. But this woman told us her daughter's were done here at a place just outside of the gate. She told us they had to be six months old and we had to bring her birth certificate with us. Well as soon as we got her passport back we got her birth certificate back we attempted to get them done. No such luck, they were closed. So we went home to try again another day.
We got a phone call from the passport office here and they needed her birth certificate in order to get her new social security card. They spelled our last name wrong on the card. Yes, I know it is ridiculously hard to spell TODD. My gate pass was expired and we had to get her ears done before we turned in her birth certificate again, so Steven took her by himself. He said it was a very clean place and only one guy was there so one ear was done at a time. She did pretty well. He said she was only mad at him for about 15 minutes and then she was fine. She looks so cute and the big girls were super thrilled! Ruby hasn't been playing with, at least not until we clean them, and they have been healing very nicely.
-K

YiaYia's Chalk

So since the Lilly was a baby, YiaYia has been sending us boxes of goodies. When Lilly was able to talk she started calling them YiaYia boxes and goes nuts when we get them. Sadie has become fanatical about them even saying that, "This is the worst post office ever." In the last box she sent the girls some 3-D chalk. They have been dying to get outside and play with it and they even call "YiaYia's chalk". It has been pretty warm here so we haven't been letting them play outside much because they were getting sick being in the sun with the heat. A couple of days ago Steven took them out for a little bit to play with it. They loved it, but they started getting too hot to be out there. They had a blast coloring with Daddy and then putting the glasses on. Ruby had fun watching them too! If you look at the very first picture of Sadie, you can see how fast that they get hot outside. I don't think they were out there for more than 15  minutes and she is all red and sweaty.

 

-K

4th of July videos

More videos of my little monsters dancing in the park on the 4th. The password is July. ENJOY!!!


Untitled from kristen todd on Vimeo.



Untitled from kristen todd on Vimeo.

-K

Happy 4th of July!

We had a pretty good 4th of July over here. We sure did miss celebrating in England though with the carnival on Feltwell and good friends. The girls especially were hoping they would do the whole carnival/rides thing here but all the were really hoping for was the fireworks. We went to Arkadas Park on base here and they had food, some games for the kiddos, face painting, and a bouncy castle. The girls desperately wanted to jump in the bouncy castle but there were some bigger kids in there and they know all to well that big kids in the bouncy castle make them go flying all over the place! They got their face painted and Sadie actually enjoyed it so much that she asked the girl paint another heart on her other cheek. That girl is usually skiddish when it comes to face painting but she liked it this time. They enjoyed some games and then we got some dinner.

 

 

After we ate, the girls enjoyed music from the band Rantings of Eva. They were dancing and wiggling all over the place. Ruby even enjoyed dancing around even though it was past her bedtime. We hung around for a while and then headed out at 8pm. The girls were so upset that we were leaving and we hadn't seen the fireworks yet, but Steven was a little bored and a lot tired. The poor guy gets like no sleep because of working nights and then being up on his days off with us. Instead of going home we went to the Shoppette and got some ice cream, out air in the tires, and headed back to the park for fireworks at 9. We parked, sat on the tailgate and ate some ice cream. 

 

 

They all loved the fireworks, even Ruby. Sadie was so tired but didn't want to miss anything. We had a lot of fun and were pooped when we got home! I have some videos of the girls dancing that I will put them in a separate post! We hope you all enjoyed for Independence Day too :)

♥K

Baby's First Peach

 

Ruby had her first real peach and she LOVED it! She has had baby food peaches before and tolerated them, but nothing compares to the real thing! She was reaching and reaching for food on the table so I peeled the skin off and she went to town. She didn't eat as much as she sucked the juices out. She has been wanting more and more table-like foods. She always gets excited if someone is eating and she hasn't yet. We usually try to feed her before we eat and then give her Gerber Puffs/Wagon Wheels while we eat.

She is also saying "mumma" now. It so cute, except at 4am. Ha! She is growing WAY too fast!

These to crazy girls dressed as princesses while they watched Snow White. Now they want to watch EVERY Disney princess movie that we own, and probably some that we don't! They even wore these outfits when we ran some errands to the post office, BX, and commissary! They kept telling Steven that he could hold his princesses' hands when they were walking. They're nuts :)