Sledding!

What good is a little snow if you can't have fun it!  Today Tom took the kids sledding.  Felix requested to be picked up shortly after leaving, so Liz obliged.  Turns out poor little dude is not feeling so well, so we can't blame him for not wanting to enjoy the snow.  In the meanwhile, however, Evie had a blast going down the hillside!

Grandma and Fluff Mail

Two packages in the mail today!!!  The first is nine newborn diapers from Alva Baby.  They are so small in comparison to the Sunbaby diapers.  It's hard to believe our baby will be so small to fit them!  The second package was from Grandma Nan.  Enclosed was a wet bag (for carrying around dirty diapers on-the-go), reusable breast pads, about 70 cloth wipes, and a gorgeous new quilt for the baby!  Thank you, Grandma!

Lots of snow!

Winter is in full force in the Netherlands these days.  We've got a nice thick blanket of the snow covering the roads, bike paths, and sidewalks.  The sled is almost the only reasonable form of transportation for getting the kids to and from school.  Just look at Evie this afternoon!  Okay, this may or may not have been taken after having a snowball fight with Tom....

First Fluff Mail

Today we received our first "fluff" mail.  That is the term used in the cloth diapering world for mail that contains diapers.  We never really considered using cloth with Evie and Felix.  After seeing Mandy successfully using cloth on her daughters, we decided to look into it and quickly determined it was too expensive.  Then a few weeks ago we purchased the first few packs of pampers for the new baby and had some serious sticker shock.  Diapers are expensive!!!  Again we (read: Liz) took a deeper look into the world of cloth diapers and discovered there is more than just the top brands.  Enter Sunbaby.  These diapers are so cheap that they "pay for themselves" in as little as a month, depending on how many you buy compared to how much you normally spend on disposables.  We purchased 24, which is enough to cloth diaper fulltime doing laundry every other day or so.  They are "one-size" diapers that grow with your child.  They may not fit the very first few weeks, so we are busy collecting some newborn diapers to fill the gaps.  Here they are!  Aren't they beautiful!  We have two of each print.  Not only will cloth diapering save us money, it is also better for the environment, and so gosh-darn cute! 

Baby Quilt

Now that Liz has maternity leave, she finally has found the time to work with Evie on a blanket for the baby.  Tom was busy installing a new drain in the bathroom for a washing machine, and before he knew it- BAM! that's a quilt!  Liz made a matching kruikzak with the scraps.

Happy New Year!

To avoid the hustle and bustle of The Hague this New Year's, we have invaded Bas and Wilma's house in Zoetermeer (while they are still on vacation in Florida).  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Play

Here we see Evie singing at the Christmas play this evening for school.  She is adjusting well to her new classroom in Group 4.

Sleeping boy

Sometimes when we go look in on the kids, we can't help but take a photo of how sweet they are sleeping.  Here Felix is cuddling with his moose stuffed animal.

5 December

Today was the long awaited presents night of Sinterklaas!  First, the Sint came to the school by helicopter!!!  It was soooo exciting!  The Pieten scaled the side of the school to get down.  It was a site to be seen!  The kids also sang "Zwarte Pieten Style."  It wasn't long after we got home from school that we were visited by some Pieten, bearing gifts.  Thank you, Sinterklaas!

Sinterklaas parade

The weather was less than ideal, but that didn't stop the kids from getting dressed up to watch Sinterklaas and the Pieten parade into the country today!

Election Day Rainbow

Today America votes in a presidential election.  There is also an important vote going on in Maine regarding marriage equality.  Seen this morning was a beautiful double rainbow.  Could it mean a double victory?  Go Obama!  Go marriage equality!

Volendam

Grandma Nan will be going back to America tomorrow, but before she leaves we wanted to do one more fun thing - visit the seaside village of Volendam and get our photo taken as a traditional Dutch family.  The result was perfect!  This may have to turn into a tradition for years to come.

Halloween 2012

This evening we celebrated Halloween in the neighborhood with trick-or-treating.  Evie and Felix both made their own costumes, with the exception of the monster mask.  Evie is a pumpkin and Felix is a monster.  Adorable?  I think so!  Tom and Liz also had the opportunity to dress up this year as Menno and Maegene hosted a Halloween party.  There are so many great costume ideas for pregnant women, but we went with the trailer trash couple, complete with beer bottle, cigarette, tattoos, wife beater...  It was classy!  The party was lots of fun, and everybody loved our costumes!

Flip the Bear

A few years ago Evie got to bring home Flip the bear..  Now it was Felix's turn.  Flip got to do everything Felix did this weekend, including playing ball outside, going for a bike ride, visiting the city center, and sleeping!  The camera captured all the fun moments for a report that goes in Flip's journal.

Bennekom

This weekend was spent in Bennekom with Oma Els and Opa Erno.  Yesterday we got to see hundred and hundreds of parachutes fall to the sky as part of a WWII memorial.  There were many different types of parachutes and planes used.  It was absolutely spectacular!  Felix and Evie enjoyed seeing it, but mostly they enjoyed riding the skelter to the nearby field where we watched it.

Boy or Girl?

With our last pregnancy we decided to keep the sex unknown until the delivery.  After all, we already have a boy and a girl, so there is no extra planning to be had.  Plus, it would add an extra bit of surprise for the delivery, which is otherwise a scheduled cesarean.  Unfortunately, our little baby didn't want to keep the secret that long.  During our 20 week ultrasound today, HE flaunted his stuff!  There is no denying that this is a boy!  We decided to let the big brother and sister know with a "gender reveal cake."  Watch their reaction in the video below.

Dirty Hands!

I don't even know how Felix managed to get his hands this dirty.  But even covered it mud and dirt, he is still just about as cute as can be!

Back to School

School is back in session!  Evie started group 3 today, the equivalent of first grade.  She got to sit next to her best friend Mirre, so the day couldn't have started any better!

Nemo Science Center

Today we visited the Nemo Science Center in Amsterdam with Opa Bas and Oma Wilma.  The kids got to do a whole bunch of cool science experiments.  It was such a fun museum that we are sure to come back again in the future.

#3 on its way!

Coming in February!

Perfect Beach Day

What more is there to say?  It could have been the very best beach day EVER!

Baby Roel

Today we got to meet baby Roel, who was born to friends Tom & Marieke last week.  Max is ever the proud big brother.  Below is a photo of the quilt Evie and Liz made for the baby.

Family Portrait

by Evie Schutte