Merry Christmas from Kansas City

So I didn’t get my act together and do Christmas letters so you will just have to have an end of the year Christmas blog.

"reindeer" shirts from G & G

Doctor sister's

This year was very busy for us. After leaving Saba we were in Phoenix for a few months and then we headed to Miami where we were there for 4 ½ months. We then packed up and headed to Kansas City where we are right now and hope to be for a while. I would like to stay put for a bit with the kids.

Eric is busy with his rotations at St. Luke’s hospital here in KC. Eric is very hard working and he shows it everyday.  He is out the door at 6am and home between 4 and 5pm if lucky. It is very long days for him and I know he would like a little more time to study and be at home but he manages his time as best as he can in order to still stay on top of his studies.

The girls are very busy. We spend the days playing toys, play dough, reading books, doing crafts. They are both growing up so fast. Cally loves to play basketball with her dad, learning to ride her bike that she got for her birthday, reading stories to all her special guys (and to G & G on skype) and dancing to music. Cally is very smart and loves to do new things and learn new things. She listens to instructions and follows them pretty well.

Sairalyn is growing very fast too. She is smart and catches on very quickly. She knows most of her colors and sings her ABC’s. She loves to play with play dough with her sister and read books. She likes to do lots of things by herself but sometimes doesn’t want any help from anyone. I can’t believe how fast the years are going with the kids.

Birthday books with Daddy

We started getting ready for Christmas in the beginning of December by setting up and decorating the tree. The girls enjoyed putting all of the different decorations on the tree and thought that it was very neat. We went to the zoo and saw Santa. Cally was very excited that Santa came to the zoo. I am not really sure what Sairalyn thought but she did sit on his lap. Cally asked for a “purple” present and Sairalyn was a little stunned and didn’t say anything. I think she will be happy with what she gets.

Decorating the Christmas tree

Visiting Santa at the zoo

Last week we did Christmas cookies .We made sugar cookies and pressed them out, baked and decorated. I think the girls pretty much just liked eating the icing that I made and not putting it on the cookies. It was fun by all and I know the kids liked making them. Cally said it was like play dough but we could eat it . They had fun making all of the different kind Christmas shapes. 

Cally concentrating on icing sugar cookies

Making sugar cookies

 
 



For Christmas it is just going to be the 4 of us. I think we will just hang out and play, do crafts and I will cook a turkey dinner with fixings. Here is hoping that it all turns out fine, and we will have a tasty family turkey dinner.  Eric will get to be home for the day so I know that the girls will be happy. 

After Christmas my parents will be traveling here to visit us and will be bringing along their dog Cooper. Cally has been asking everyday when Grandma and Grandpa will be coming. We keep telling her but I don't think she will get it until they are actually here. Cally is very excited for when they come. She tells me everyday that she want to read books, go to the zoo and go to the park with Grandma and Grandpa. I am sure the girls will keep busy and have a ton of when they come.

I try to keep the kids busy with activities and crafts. Cally very much likes to do crafts but her sister’s attention span isn’t quite there yet. I am sure that it will come soon. I sometimes find it hard to keep up with the kids during the day as Cally is up early and they just go , go , go.  I still make them have a nap or a quiet time or otherwise it is just to crazy for them the whole day without some down time. I take them to story time once a week at the library and usually outings to the store. But for some reason today they don’t want to go, and of course I need a few things.

Today Sairalyn turns 2. We are celebrated this morning by opening presents. Right now it is a little cold out so we probably won't be going outside. We will probably go out for supper tonight with the kids and then sing happy birthday and have special birthday cupcakes (made by me...so special). I think she was pretty happy with what she got. She definitely liked reading her new books with Daddy.

Stroller for her doll stroller

Opening more presents

"opening"

Sairalyn opening her birthday presents

Sending warm wishes to everyone this holiday season. We think of you all often and wanted to give you a Keil family update of 2013.

Loving Kansas City

So after a few months in Miami we are now enjoying living in Kansas City. I can’t say that I enjoyed Miami very much but I did enjoy the weather and going to the beach on the weekends as a family.  After out time in Miami we started to get prepared for the road trip from Miami to Kansas City. It took us three days to get from Miami to Kansas City and the girls were troopers. We decided that since we had 2 vehicles we would tow the car behind the van so that we could share the driving. Well Eric ended up doing all the driving as I was quite nervous to drive hauling the car behind the van. I spent the time making sure the kids had snacks, drinks, entertainment and making sure Eric stayed awake and rubbing bengay on his neck when it got sore…….got to love long road trips.

Lunch break during the road trip

When we finally got here we were so relieved. There were a few issues when we arrived, such as not having and power so our first night was spent in a hotel until we could get everything settled. Once we got here we emptied the van and tried to organize as best as we could, went and got groceries and came home and organized. After a few days Eric flew back to Phoenix to pack up our belongings and drive them back to Kansas City. Thank goodness that he had some help. Brennan Dunbar was kind enough to fly down and help Eric pack and drive back to Kansas City with all our stuff. I was very great full for all his help as it would have been very difficult for just Eric and near impossible if I was to do it when the kids were there. Once the guys got here we unloaded the stuff the next morning, so glad we had Bren for the big stuff as I would have not been able to help Eric lift and move things around the house.
After everything was moved in it took about a week to get organized and figure out where things were going to go and how we would like things. We started un-packing and trying to get the house livable. Cally was very excited to see her toys and her other belongings that were in Phoenix. She even was very excited to see her big girl bed. So glad that the girls adjusted well and really started to make them selves at home.

We made it!!  in front of the new house

We are really enjoying Kansas City. It reminds me a lot of Saskatoon minus the friends and family. It is easy to get around and the people actually know how to drive unlike in Miami. We have been to the library to get books and go to story time, the zoo and we even have checked out some parks in the area. Walking around and seeing the leaves turn fall colors and going for bike rides. I think the girls like the extra room and space to play. I also like the more room except for the fact that it is more for me to clean but I don’t mind.

Rocking chair sisters

We celebrated Cally’s birthday by going to the zoo for the day. The girls very much enjoy the zoo and we will go back probably once a week since we got a pass for the year for very cheap! Nothing like walking around the zoo looking at animals to entertain us all.  Cally got a bike for her birthday and she was very proud it get it. She learned very quickly how to use it, she doesn’t fully understand how to do it yet but she gets better everyday. After the zoo we came home and had supper and then had a “monster” ice cream cake for desert. Cally asked for months to have an ice cream cake like daddy’s birthday cake.

opening presents

Cally blowing out the candles

opening presents

Cally's new bike!!

trying out her new bike with Dad's help

Daddy teaching Cally how to use the bike

 For Halloween we took the girls to Story time and then followed it buy going to the mall to go trick or treating. Cally thought it was great that she was getting candy in her bucket and caught on quickly that the more places you went the more candy you would get. The girls did pumpkins with dad and after the trick or treating was all done we did one carousel ride to finish of the night.

Picture with the pumpkins

Halloween craft at story time

Carousel ride at the mall after trick or treating

Eric is very busy with his rotations. He is doing long days so he is pretty tired when he gets home. But the girls make it better for him when they say “whoo hoo dad’s home”. The girls help dad get into his comfy clothes and then they play for a bit if supper is not ready. I try to have supper ready for right when Eric gets home otherwise the night just gets to late. Eric tries to do some studying in the evening once the girls go to bed so it makes for a long day. A few of his shifts were 12hrs so by the time everything was done for the night, supper, bath and bed, so was Eric. I don’t blame him as he is usually out the door before the kids are awake or before both kids are awake since Cally likes to wake up early.

I spend my days playing with  the girls and making sure things are kept up in the house. The girls and I play and help out with chores around the house. Cally and Sairalyn very much liked helping rake the leaves outside and then running through the piles. We usually go to the grocery store which the kids really like to do as long as I do it early enough in the morning or early afternoon. We go to the park which is about 5 minutes away where the girls like to run up and down the hills and get rid of there energy. Both girls are very good climbers and Sairalyn seems to have no fear when it comes to climbing the structures so she keeps us on our toes when we are there.

Sairalyn walking the stairs

teeter toter time

Big smiles on the other side of the teeter toter from Cally.

Miami Life

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Alright, so lots has happened since I last entered a blog.  Yes, I know this is a little late, I just haven’t had much time to do it.

After Christmas in Phoenix, we spent time hanging out and waiting to hear where we would be going next.  Eric spent the first few months studying for his big Step 1 exam that he needed to write before we would find out where we would be going for clinical rotations.  We waited and found out we would be going to Miami for June - September.  After that, we will be moving again to Kansas City from November for about a year.  We started getting ready and figured out what we needed to pack and how we would get there.  Eric packed up the van with whatever we thought we would need and made his way by himself to Miami.  About a week before, my dad drove from Christopher Lake to Miami with our second vehicle and some belongings to Miami, which helped us out greatly.  After that, my mom came to Phoenix to help me get the girls to Miami.  We flew there since the drive would be pretty long with the kids.  It was great to have the extra hands, I am not sure if I would have been able to do it without her help.

Eric had the house organized and set up for when we got here.  The place we have is close to where Eric is doing his rotations so it has been good.  We are close to a grocery store and a few shops.  We are about 15 mins away from the ocean and we have taken the kids there a few times to have a beach day.  The kids very much enjoy playing in the water and running in the sand.  Sairalyn and Cally also love going for walks to the pond that is just down the street.  There they can see the weird-looking Florida ducks that reside in the little pond. Sometime we even see the ducks in the parking lot of the condo complex and they love to watch them.

The weather is very hot and humid and it rains pretty much every day.  It is so humid and moist here that I even found mushrooms growing from the carpet inside the condo.  We take the kids to the park almost every day but find that we can’t stay out to long as it is very hot, and we can’t last very long with out getting over heated or it starts to rain.  It is nice to have such warm weather so that we can get outside and enjoy it everyday, but it really is so humid here that being outside for a long period can seem unbearable.  The other day we took the kids to the zoo and they enjoyed seeing the animals.  It was nice to see the kids running around and seeing all animals.

Trotro at the zoo (donkeys)

Gorilla Cally

The girls are growing fast.  We started potty training the beginning of June and Cally really got it quickly this time.  The first couple of days were crazy but then Cally caught on quickly and it just got better from there.  We have been successfully going out with no accident (or very minimal ones).  We are very proud of Cally at how well she has done.  Sairalyn sometimes even sits on the potty because she wants to be like her big sister.  Not sure I am ready for Sairalyn to be starting so I am not going to push it but I won’t deny her the chance to try if she wants to go.

Sairalyn is talking lots and is a very busy girl.  She loves to do everything Cally does which sometimes Cally does not like.  The girls love to sit and color or do stickers together.  We also have been going to the library and getting books for the kids to enjoy.  The girls love going to see all the different books at the library.  Hopefully in the fall there will be some story time programming.  Right now, because it is summer there isn’t really anything going on for the kids to do.

Sister best friends

Touching the water buffalo

The girls also love to help me do chores.  Their favorite thing to do is go grocery shopping and drive the airplane cart while we get groceries.  The last grocery run we did Cally got very excited because there were baby bananas like on Saba.  Another thing they like to help with is the vacuuming in the house after they get over the initial fear of the machine.   Another favorite is helping with laundry which sometimes I don’t exactly appreciate because it usually means un-folding it after I have already done it.

Eric is busy doing his rotations and making sure that he keeps up with his studying.  He is out the door early and then comes home for lunch to see his girls and help me put Cally to bed.  Then he gets ready to go and study for the rest of the afternoon so that he can come home and play with his girls and have supper as a family.  Then it is usually followed by going for a walk after supper or to the park depending on how the girls are doing. 

I haven’t really been doing too much.  Taking care of the kids and making sure all the chores are done or somewhat done.  I haven’t started a new sewing project other than sewing some new diaper inserts, how exciting.  I am thinking of starting something in the next little bit but haven’t found any fabric yet so I will wait and see what I want to do.  Hopefully something will come to my mind soon that I would like to start on.  I may try making a few more inserts with a different fabric but other than that nothing too big. 

Well maybe that is it for now, like I always say I will try and keep this up for people to see how we are doing. Just finding the time is sometimes hard to do!

Puddle splashing!!

"Daddy time"

Sharing soother with Baby

Looking at fish in the water @ the beach

Walk with the girls

Smiley Sairalyn

Cally riding the water buffalo

Helping mom with her birthday cake

Checking out the elephants

Home for the holidays!

 
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Well, we have been back for almost 2 months now and  I probably should update everyone on what has been going on.

We had a very busy rest of December and most of January.  Before we moved back from Saba, Jon, Liz , Nicola and Taryn came for a visit to mostly help us move.  I was beginning to worry how we were going to leave the rock with all our stuff and two small children.  It was sure nice to have the extra hands.  Before we left I made sure to climb Mount Scenery and did this with the Chaney’s. The Chaney’s also ended up staying a week in Phoenix to help us get settled and ready for Christmas.  It was sure nice to have the extra hands and help preparing for our first Christmas back from Saba.

Christmas girls

December we had Eric’s family come to Phoenix to visit and have Christmas.  We had a full house with Eric’s Mom Peggy, Leah, Belle, Nate, Rebecca and Sophie all coming for the holidays.  We spent time playing at the park, going shopping, visiting the zoo and the Children’s museum.  Lets just say it was really fun having family come and visit, after not seeing them for so long.  Cally and Sairalyn very much had fun playing with their cousins.

checking out the animals

Javelino

Girls by the tree for a picture

December also brought Sairalyn’s 1^st Birthday.  We celebrated with family by having cake and playing.  It is hard to believe that a year has come and gone with this little girl and so much has happened.  She grew so fast and it was hard to believe twelve months was here already.  We love watching her grow and learn new things each day.  It was nice to have everyone around and celebrate after nearly two memorable years on Saba with our little family.  I’m looking forward too more years watching these little girls grow.

Sairalyn's 1st Birthday

After the holidays, my parents Lynn and Kerry, came for a visit.  It was great to see them after not seeing them since going back to Saskatoon last December to have Sairalyn.  We went for many walks, my parents cooked supper most nights, going to the store and just hanging out and playing with the girls.  It was nice to have the extra hands with the girls.  I also found it very cute when Cally would want to call grandma and grandpa she would go “Pa” &“Ma”.  It was very cute to hear her say it. Before we left Saba I was a little worried since Cally didn’t have very many words but now I am not concerned at all.  Cally is getting more and more words everyday and it is great to see her language grow.

Grandma's Birthday

At the park with Grandma and Grandpa

walk on Grandpa's back

Sairalyn walking in the back yard

Sairalyn is a very busy little girl.  Early in January she had a little accident and broke her leg while playing at the park.  It was a tiny, non-displaced fracture that did not require a cast.  This set her back a little bit in the walking department but lately she is just a moving machine.  Crawling very fast, standing and using the walls to walk or her walker.  She will walk while holding our hands but hasn’t taken to many free steps on her own.  She has started to notice the stairs and starting to climb on the first 2.  I think she is just trying to follow her sister when she goes upstairs to play.  I personally don’t think I am ready for her to be doing stairs just yet!!

Story time at the library

The girls keep me very busy.  I try to do some outing with them everyday, whether it is to the store, park or story time at the library.  Cally loves to read and look at books and play with her little people.  Sairalyn likes to bother her sister by grabbing the toys and sitting right on her sister while she plays.  Lets just say I am pretty tired after the day is done but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

going to story time

Eric has been very busy also.  He goes every day to the library to study for his big exam.  He is out of the house by 8am with coffee in hand and isn’t back until supper time.  Eric spends most of his day at Grand Canyon University studying and preparing himself to write his big USMLE Step 1 exam.  I can’t even imagine all the information he needs to go through and I am very proud of him for studying.  I know it can be hard when the girls are here and wanting to play.  I think Cally misses that Daddy is gone so much after having him home for most of December.

I keep busy by taking care of the children and the house.  When I have the time (which is usually when the children are napping or have gone to bed) I like to sew. This was a hobby that I learned how to do while on Saba.  Now I am working on my 4^th quilt, I am not sure that it is going to turn out as well as the third but I am still proud of it.  I had lots of help and guidance while on Saba to do the first 3.  This latest one I am working on will be my first solo quilt and so far I am pretty proud of it.   I didn’t think sewing could be so enjoyable but I am having a ton of fun making things.  Thanks to my husband for buying me the sewing machine for Christmas when we got back to Phoenix.

Well that is pretty much all that has happened since we moved back.  It has been great being back where there are some luxuries that we missed.  Having a washer and dryer, more variety and selection at the stores, and more things at our fingertips.  Ending the day with a hot bath or shower has pretty much been my favorite.  Also watching the girls have their bath at the end of the day is one of my favorite things too...they enjoy it so much!!!