Making a Sandwich & Setting the Table

Cairo is a big help around the house. She is very independent and wants to do everything that we do... by herself. She does pretty well with the limits we set into place, but on occasion, she pitches a fit when she doesn't get her way. One of her favorite things to do is help out in the kitchen. If you are at the counter making anything or even doing dishes, Cairo pushes one of the kitchen chairs to the counter, climbs up, and is ready to help. I am getting good at cutting up vegetables with a butter knife, that way little fingers don't come in contact with sharp blades. Here are a few pictures of Cairo making herself a sandwich for breakfast (she insisted on the sandwich):


Step 1: Push the chair to the counter


Step 2: Lightly spread the mayo and add the meat


Step 3: Add the cheese (look closely and you will see cute little bitsy nibbles off the side of the cheese... one must always taste test what they are putting together)


Step 4: As Cairo said when doing this,"put the lid on" (aka put the top piece of bread on)


Not only does Cairo help fix meals, but she also helps set the table. When dinner time comes and we all sit down and hope that we sit in the proper seat. Each night Cairo seems to have it all figured out. Sometimes Mommy has to sit on the left, but sometimes it's the right. If you try and sit in the wrong seat, she may say something like, "no, dat's gammy's chair, sit dere." Sometimes we humor her, but as much as Cairo may want to be the ruler of the world, she isn't and she has to deal with it (although she doesn't hesitate to throw out the crocodile tears).

Here are some pictures of Cairo setting down napkins, spoons, and forks. As she set each item down she would say out loud whose it was. "Mommy's 'poon", "Tairo's 'poon", "Gammy's 'poon", "Bapa's napkin", etc. (At this time she is still calling forks spoons about 50% of the time.)





All Done!


Xander also likes to help whip up a few meals from his highchair-

Cairo says some pretty funny things...

Cairo is always saying funny unexpected things. Today we asked her what monkeys eat, expecting her to say "bananas," which are one of her favorite foods. Instead she said "dinner."

-e

Baby #2

I went to the doctor yesterday and checked up on the progress with Baby #2. Good side- he healthy, big, and fit (beats me up with his never ending kicks and punches). Downside- I gained 9 pounds in 5 weeks! That is a bit too much and I was quite surprised. So, I am laying off the sweets for the remainder of my "confinement" (sob, sob, tear). Right now, I am the same size as I was the day I had Cairo. I still have 10 more weeks to go with this one!

My doctor said she would schedule my c-section for May 29th. I get the details when I go back in two weeks. Hopefully, she isn't already booked that morning or I'll have to wait until Monday, June 1st. May 29th is a great day- my baby(less than a year younger) cousin Katie has the same birthday... maybe her little girl will make an appearance on the same day (her due date is June 4th)or better, yet, maybe she will have her baby on MY birthday- June 10th. Fingers crossed.

Name. Naming a baby, for lack of a better word, sucks! Not that we would share the name before the baby is here anyway, but we haven't found anything yet. Erik and I were discussing it yesterday and we will probably come in with a list of names and make our decision before we leave the hospital with him. That way, we get to know him a little and see what name fits. So, if you are expecting a call with his stats and his name after he is born, don't be disappointed with the name #2... because that's what I'm calling him for now. If you ask Cairo what we should name him, she would say "Brother" or "Baby."

A nice warm afternoon

The weather this afternoon was perfect. So, Cairo, Erik, Xander, and I headed out to the backyard. Erik and Cairo have been slowly working on putting a garden together. Cairo and Erik finished working the soil so that they could plant the strawberries and giant sunflower seeds we picked up this weekend.

Cairo watering her new plants-




While they were working on the garden, Xander and I enjoyed sitting on the blanket playing with Sienna.



When Grammy got home from work she came outside to join us and enjoy the warm evening.

Big Girl Bed

Cairo is starting to make her transition from the crib to a big girl bed. With her brother making his appearance in 10 weeks and a few days (who's counting, though) Cairo needs to move out of the crib so that her brother can move in. We decided that it probably wouldn't be the best timing to wait for #2 to get here to start training her on using a big girl bed. So, on Monday, the front of of the crib came off and put up a bed guard to keep Cairo from falling out. There is a small space for her to get on and off of the bed (which she is pretty good at doing). So far, she loves getting into bed herself... and when it's time to get up she still calls out for us to get her. This is only the third night in her modified bed, but I am hoping that she doesn't figure out the fact that she can get up and out of bed whenever she wants to. Time will tell...

Here are some photos of Cairo helping her daddy set up the crib.


I shall call this video- "Mommy, the spoil-sport"


Xander and Cairo snuggling together...





Cairo waking up from today's nap... we don't wake up with a smile everyday.

Tea Party

Xander and Cairo had a tea party this week. Xander loves playing with Cairo's tea set. His favorite part seems to be putting everything in his mouth and banging the cups and plates together.



Want some Auntie Kimmie?

I Hold It

If you have it, Cairo wants it. "I hold it." If you are doing something, Cairo wants to do it, too. "Cairo do it." Erik was trying to capture Cairo singing a song that she has been singing to herself lately. Instead of singing her song, though, Cairo saw the camera and had to hold it... and take pictures with it. Here is a self portrait and an up-and-close picture of daddy.