Weekend in Zoetermeer

Liz hosted a ladies night on Saturday, so Tom and the kids arranged refuge in Zoetermeer with Opa Bas and Oma Wilma.
He's very ticklish!
Cheesy Felix taking a picture.
Oma & Evie enjoying a quiet game.
Opa on the floor with the kids.
Pancakes for breakfast!
Old Schutte, Young Schutte
Felix on a bike.
Evie on a bike.
Tom on a bike!

Teddy Bear Swimming

Today Felix attended his first Teddy Bear swim lessons. It is a fun swimming class for babies six months to four years. The children splash and sing songs and get used to being in the water. Evie started before her first birthday up until Felix came around, and then it got a little too difficult with a newborn in tow. We weren't able to start with Felix until now for a similar reason. But now that Evie goes to school every day, Felix can go swimming on Thursdays with Liz.

The first day was pretty exciting for him. Besides a few minutes in a pool in Florida, this was his first time in the swimming pool. He had huge eyes and a very serious expression on his face as he explored the water. After about a half hour he cracked his first smile while playing with a ball. We are excited to be going back every week!

Felixilla

We only turned our backs for a few minutes, but it was long enough for Felix to climb up on the table, remove the cake cover, grab the knife, and destroy the cake! He had the biggest smile on his face when we caught him!

Felix at the Playground

This kid has no fear. He is all about climbing up and over everything and doing everything the other children do.

Grandma's iPad

Grandma brought her new iPad with her. The kids love playing with it, especially Felix. Each of them figured out how to unlock it within a minute. We had to put a numeric code on it so they couldn't do too much trouble,

Grandma Nan in the Park

Grandma Nan is here again!! She is here for a little over a week and, as always, we love having her around! Saturday she and Tom took the kids to the playground for a picnic.

First Day of School

Today was Evie's first day of primary school!!! Children can officially start school starting on their fourth birthday. But seeing as Evie's birthday was just two weeks before the summer holiday, we decided to wait until the new school year. So today she starts going fulltime to a nearby school.

She has been very excited to start school. We thought she wasn't nervous, but she did tell us a story that her "sister in Amsterdam" told her that if she is nervous she just has to say, "kada kada kada kada" and then you won't be nervous anymore. And sure enough, while walking to the school, without saying anything else, Evie said, "kada kada kada kada." That was it.

We got to her classroom where we met Juf Annette. Evie found the chair with her name on it and joined the other classmates in the circle. Evie knows two of the girls in the class already from gymnastics, and one boy who was also at the creche with her. After three hours of morning classes, Evie came home for a little over an hour for lunch before returning for another two hours of school. There is also the possibility of staying at school for lunch, which Evie will do sometimes as well.

When asked about her first day and what she did, Evie gives the typical "nothing" answer sometimes, but we have been able to get a few stories out. They read books, sang songs, did puzzles, colored, and played outside. At the dinner table she also demonstrated that she now knows how to raise her hand (actually her finger in Holland) to be called on to say something. It was so incredibly adorable!

Ready to go inside and start her school career!
Okay, Mama, you can go now.

Blijdorp Zoo

Today the kids went to the zoo in Rotterdam, Blijdorp, with Papa and Opa Bas.



There is a new baby elephant there! So cute!


There were also two monkeys! So cute!



As to be expected, they loved seeing all the animals and weren't scared at all for the statues.



And no zoo visit is complete without an ice cream.


Evie's favorite part, though, was the amazing playground. She loved going all the way to the top to take the biggest slide down!




Did I say we brought two monkeys to the zoo? Make that three!


Although he spent most of the time in the stroller, Felix also enjoyed the zoo very much.

Bosjes van Pex

Yesterday Papa took the kids to a nearby park called Bosjes van Pex (Pex's Woods).

Felix enjoys a snack.
In the park is a horse ranch. The kids, Evie especially, loved seeing the horses from closeby. When she is older she be able to perhaps ride one sometime!

iPhone 4

Liz has had her new phone for two weeks now and is completely in love with it. So is Evie. She now asks to play on it every time we are in the tram. She enjoys playing tic-tac-toe with one of us or memory with herself.

Last Day at the Creche

Today was Evie's last day at the creche. They celebrate in a similar way they do with birthdays. Once at the creche we saw a sign on the door reading, "Oh what a pity, Evie is leaving! Have fun at school."

And also, similar to birthday celebrations, Evie gave all her friends at the creche a little present. This time she gave a styrofoam airplane in an envelope reading, "I'm flying outta here!"


We left the camera at the creche so the teachers could take some pictures of her celebrating and playing at the creche. Here they are all outside playing.


Once inside again Evie got to stand on the table while everybody sang for her. Evie says they sang all the birthday songs. We don't know if that's actually true or not.

She then got to pass out an extra treat for the kids. It was her idea to decorate an eierkoek for each of her friends. (Eierkoek, literally translated egg cookies, are a Dutch cakelike cookie.) So yesterday we got and decorated them with frosting and coated popped rice candy.



Before leaving she made sure each of her friends received her good-bye present.