The Home Stretch

Girls in their St.Maarten dresses

Learning time for Sairalyn

Cally and her stylish do!

Cally sorting diapers 

Well despite how tired I am some days; looking after the girls and taking care of things around the house, I am enjoying this last semester.  I have been trying not to complain too much about things and just go with how the girls are feeling. We have good days and some not so good days, but the good out weigh the bad.

Sairalyn wide awake for snuggles with Daddy

Our day usually starts at about 6-6:30 where Sairalyn will stare at us from her crib and make some small noise until I get my lazy butt out of bed.  She is a very happy baby in the morning, especially when we get her and bring her in to our bed after being changed.  After a few minutes of this, big sister Cally usually wakes up and we go in and greet her and then we all get up and come out and play.  Cally likes to go and find her dad in the bed and finds it very funny to get into bed and lay where I should be. This also usually means she wants her sister to lie beside her also in the bed. We then get up, and usually get a drink, followed by putting on some kids show....lately it has been Dora.  We relax for a bit and Cally helps Dad get ready for the day by helping pick out his clothes and making sure Eric is all ready for school.  Eric then sits with Cally and they have their morning cereal together while I give Sairalyn a bottle and make coffees and Eric’s mid morning snack for school.  Eric will putter around getting ready and then when it is time to leave ask Cally for a good-bye hug and kiss after he gives both Sairalyn and I a kiss of course.  Cally thinks it s hilarious to run away from Daddy when he has to go and waits to see if he will come chase her for a kiss.  It is pretty cute and it usually ends with Cally running and giving Eric a kiss in the door way and saying “bye”.
Then the girls get ready for a mid morning walk, which usually means going to the look out by the ocean and running around for a bit.  This is Cally’s favorite place to get rid of some energy and laugh and run around.  We walk home and have a snack and a drink.  Then hopefully it is time for them both to have a morning nap.  Sometimes only one has a morning nap and that is when I find it most tiring.  Around 1:00pm, Eric comes home for a quick lunch and a cuddle/play with his girls before he heads back for a few more hours of school. After school, Eric will come home and hopefully supper is ready (sometimes I just don’t get that far but have something in mind).  If supper isn’t ready Eric will play with the girls until it is and then we all sit and eat dinner.
After dinner we usually go on our nightly walk before bath and bed and say “hi” to the people in the neighborhood but mostly to the chickens and cow that we see along our route.  We then come home and get the girls ready for a bath; Cally and Sairalyn have a lot of fun having a bath together.  I can’t wait to be in Phoenix with a big bathtub because right now they are bathing in a big red plastic tub together.  After bath we get jammies on, and Eric gets ready once again to head to school to study for the evening.  I get the kids ready for bed and do our routine and hopefully I can get the kids asleep by 8:00.

Every Friday for 4^th and 5^th semester I have been going to the SOS sewing group.  Who knew that I would enjoy sewing and making things……mostly for the girls.  I would have to thanks Alicia and Amy for helping me out on my projects.  My first project was Cally’s Winnie the Pooh blanket and I am now making Sairalyn a rag quilt.  The girls come with me on Fridays to the school where sewing is held.  Cally loves to go up to sewing and seeing the other ladies that are sewing.  There is a box of toys so the girls usually just play on the floor and make a mess.  Sairalyn usually scoots along the floor to get the things she wants, although today I saw her take her first few crawling steps on the floor.  It won’t be long till she is crawling and chasing her sister!
I think Cally will very much like it when her sister can play with her a little better.  Lately she hasn’t liked her sister getting into the toys that she is playing with, and will find he something else to play with, that Sairalyn doesn’t find very interesting.  The one thing that Sairalyn will scoot for very fast is the container of Cally’s crayons!  She is very proud if she can get to them and get some in her mouth before Cally gets upset.

Cooling off in the pool

Sairalyn rolling with the ipad

Honors Society Night

Well I think that is all for now, our time on Saba is coming close to an end, it was three more months on September 15^th. It is hard to believe that we have already been here for 17 months.  A lot has happened on this journey and I wouldn’t change it for the world.  We are looking forward to the next chapter to come after we leave the Caribbean.  We miss everyone and think about our friends and family often.  We are looking forward to the days when we are a little closer.

Final Semester Break

Cally leading her daddy through the jungle

Well this last break has gone by fast and we have been enjoying the time having Eric home.  We have been enjoying going on daily walks, playing with and singing with the girls.  We enjoyed having family eggy breakfast every morning, going for long walks, having family nap time, coloring many pictures and cuddling our girls when they get tired.  Our main objective during the break was to just relax and go with what we were feeling like doing for the day.  It has been a very nice quiet break but it always seems to go by very fast.

Cally has become quite the funny character.  She loves to make funny faces in the mirror, dance to Elmo, sing songs and try to help her sister do things that she is doing.  Cally also enjoys going for walks in the double stroller with Sairalyn and, of course, having her Elmo at her side.  Cally is very much in love with Elmo…have you guessed?  She loves her movies too.  Her favourite movie right now is Sesame Street: ‘Follow That Bird’.  Cally loves to be outside. It will be nice to, hopefully one day, have a back yard without rusty, jagged garbage or an overgrown jungle, for the girls to run around and play in.

Sairalyn is growing very fast…much faster than we would like her too!!  She has outgrown her vast size 2 diaper supply.  She is beginning to eat some finger foods.  She is sitting up all by herself now, and is almost about to crawl. She rocks on her hands and knees but hasn’t got much further than that.  She has mastered rolling so that is how she gets around the room.  It is hard to believe how fast these two little girls are growing.  We will soon have a 2yr old and a 1 yr old….crazy.

Eric is about to start 5^th semester.  So that means our time on Saba is almost done.  We are hoping this semester won’t be too hard and that Eric will finish his Saba journey with top marks.  It has gone by very fast, but I guess that is what happens when you are busy with kids everyday.  We are looking forward to the next journey after we leave here and where it will lead us.  It should be a great new family adventure come the new year.

We will be going to Phoenix after we leave Saba.  Eric will have about 4 months to study for the USMLE Step 1 board exam and also write a research paper before he can move onto clinicals.   We will have to spend a few weeks in Canada prior to Eric beginning clinicals, because of visa issues.  We don’t know where we will be going after we leave there.  It will be nice to have some more fun in the sun in Phoenix and get prepared for the next big move wherever that may take us.

Well that is it from the Keil’s for now.  We will try to keep you all informed as things happen.  We will just be enjoying our last bit of time on Saba until we know where we will be afterwards.

Enjoy some pictures!

Cally blowing out the candle on Eric's birthday cake

Sairalyn likes her Jolly-Jumper

Sairalyn getting some Vitamin D on the porch

Cally being a helpful big sister

Sairalyn in her UofS onesie

Sairalyn getting exposed to her parents favourite sport

Cally in her Scottie Pippen dress

Sairalyn in one of her Michael Jordan onesies

Cally admiring her new Winnie the Pooh quilt that Julia made

Cally rocking out in daddy's headphones

Late night with Sairalyn

The family on the way down The Ladder

Cally and daddy down by the ocean

Julia and Sairalyn on the way back up The Ladder

Pool time on the porch

Cally is very proud of her Elmo

Elmo finally arrived on Saba

Another late night photo opportunity for Sairalyn and her dad