Merry Christmas

We had a little bit of Christmas drama last night when the lights on our tree stopped working- on Christmas Eve!! Luckily our neighbors were kind enough to take the string of lights off off their outside tree so we could light up our inside tree! Never ever have I undecorated and redecorate do a tree on Christmas Eve!

Ready for Halloween

We are ready for Halloween!  Benjamin has his jack o lantern diaper, and Liz finished up the most awesomest costume EVER for Felix!  Let the good times roll!

Proud to be an American

Evie needs to bring a photo of herself to school that portrays something of which she is proud.  Ever the patriot, she chose the American flag.

WAHM Fluff

In the world of cloth diapering, there is a type of diaper referred to as WAHM.  That stands for work-at-home-mom, meaning a mother who works from and, in this case, creates diapers to sell.  Grandpa David ordered the fleece redsox cover.  The best part?  The inside is Yankees print.  It is called Red Sox poops on Yankees, created by Bear Monkey Bottoms.  The second one is a hand appliquéd  Nijntje created by Dutch Baby.  The workmanship is incredible!!  It's really amazing.  The WAHM behind Dutch Baby has become a friend in the past year, so it was extra special.  She is Dutch American, making it even more perfect.  The other things that came is a mini wet bag for wipes and a cloth diaper keychain.  

Ouwehands Dierenpark

Today we made a visit to Ouwehands Dierenpark.  Martijn, Danielle, and Isa joined us, as well as Opa Erno and Oma Els.  We got to be so close to a giraffe!!  It was AWESOME!

Father and Son

Back to School

School started back up today.  Evie is now in group 5 (third grade), and Felix is officially in group 1 (pre-k).  (Up until now he was also group 1, but it was actually more like group 0, even though that doesn't exist.)

Red Sox Nation

Go Red Sox!!!

And the award for the best husband/father goes to....

TOM SCHUTTE! What a site was this after work. Not only he is man enough to baby wear, but he's man enough to baby wear while making homemade pasta for dinner. Tom for the win!

Back to Work

Well folks, that's it. Maternity leave is officially over. It actually has been since May, but Liz took three months of parental leave plus three weeks of vacation. Now it's back to the grind! She was greeted with some lovely flowers from Lunette. How did the first day go? "It was like I never went away."

Duinrell

Today we had a family day at Duinrell with Opa Bas, Oma Wilma, Aunty Rachel, and our family. Benjamin got to go on his first real ride with Evie. It was soooo cute. We had such a fun time!

Beelden aan Zee

Today Benjamin had some practice hours at the Creche, so we took the older kids to a museum by the beach. "Beelden aan Zee" is a great little museum of sculptures. The kids we're bring might dorky pretending to be part of the art.

Big sleepover

Big sleepover last night! Evie, Felix, and Benjamin were joined in their room by Mirre and her big sister Lieve. Amazingly, everybody was asleep by 9:30 and slept through the night. Of course we had American pancakes for breakfast.

Tie-dye

Yesterday Evie, Felix, and Mirre made some tie dye tshirts and Liz tie dyed some of Benjamin's flat diapers. The results are pretty cool, despite the colors not completely setting properly. Next time we will do better! And in other words, Benjamin's first tooth broke through today!

Felix the jammies

Felix wore his papa's Felix the cat shirt to bed tonight. He thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Those eyes!!!

Summer Camp

Evie is off for a few days of summer camp! She is with a bunch if kids from her gymnastics group, including her best friend Mirre! I think it is a lot harder for us than for her.

Starting Solids

Benjamin had his first taste of solid food today when Tom gave him some banana. He has been so interested in our food for the past two months that he was really excited to finally have something actually on the spoon. And.... Check out the cute bibs Liz and Grandma made for him.

FaceTime with Papa

Tom and Benjamin are missing each other a lot this week, but they still get to see each other! Benjamin likes to have the iPad in the playpen and converse with his papa across the ocean.

Hot in Maine

Wowzers! The temperatures in Maine have been extraordinarily high! I'd to say we are outside every day going for walks, but it is just too hot. Instead, we've been enjoying the air conditioning inside, playing games, and sewing diapers. You can see our first completed diaper cover with rubber duckies below. Super cute! Benjamin has enjoyed seeing Aunt Bev, Aunt Kay, Grandpa David, and Grandma Nan!

Fluff mail!

Fluff mail!  Waiting for us in Maine was some new fluff!  Two "Flip" covers made by Bumgenius and five Velcro pocket diapers from Kawaii Baby.  These are meant to be the super easy diapers for babysitters and such.

On our way!

Benjamin and Liz are on their way to Maine for a short visit with Grandma and Grandpa!

From Pram to Stroller

This evening we made the big switch from bassinet to regular seat for Benjamin's stroller. It is a milestone I have not been so excited to reach, to be honest. Those first few months in his it little bed on wheels are so much fun. But it is time. He will beso happy to be seated when we go out tomorrow.