It was a pretty "normal" month for the Higgins' family. Our big event for August was swimming lessons. We took the American Red Cross Parent/Tot classes every Tuesday/Thursday. Kai and Sierra love the water and did well in the class. We'll continue to work with them on the skills they learned and maybe repeat the class in the future. We want to keep them acclimated to the water so swimming becomes second nature at some point.

We were invited to Avery Nagel's 2nd birthday party towards the end of the month (Avery and Sierra were in the same group at Baby House #1 in Kazakhstan). Sierra had a tough time at the party - she is the same height as the tables and kept knocking her head every time she passed one. Once she sat on the floor to play with Avery and Kai, she was fine. Avery is fond of Kai (it's really cute listening to her say his name). They gave each other a hug (and Kai gave her a smooch) as they parted ways. Avery was nice enough to share her balloons so Kai and Sierra had a big time in the car on the way home.

Around the house, Kai and Sierra reak havoc where they can. We have to make sure we keep the bathroom doors shut to prevent the toilet paper parade or toilet paper heap on the floor. It's also a fun game to throw things in the toilet (as well as splash in it, so toilet locks are in our near future). Let's not forget the dog water/food bowls --- these could provide hours of enjoyment if we allowed them to continue throwing food all over the floor and splashing the water out of the bowl. Basically, if we hear the two of them laughing hysterically, they're into something. And "stop" to them means, hurry up and play/make a mess before we get to them. You can't help but to laugh because they're so darn cute. However, we're better at remembering to shut off the rooms they shouldn't be in before we cut them loose.

Here are a few other miscellaneous milestones:

• They both continue to talk a little more - Sierra more so than Kai. Also, Sierra has started making this noise which sounds like a guinea pig.
• They both can point out many body parts (ears, nose, mouth, hair). Sierra likes to show her belly button.
• Kai and Sierra both get up on the couches all by themselves and Kai has even figured out how to turn around backwards to lower himself down on his feet (Sierra still prefers to nose dive off the couch).
• Sierra's hair is getting a bit longer - we actually were able to get a small pony tail on top of her head.
• Kai seems to be developing the occasional aversion to vegetables - still sporadic at this point.
• Sierra can now roll her eyes at us (not in a negative way - but she has the mechanics down).
• Kai and Sierra "give love" to most anything. Kai gave the coffee table some love today and Sierra embraces most of the stuffed animals she comes in contact with.
• They both give the occasional unsolicited hug and kiss and most always give them when asked.

Below are some pics from the month: