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.

Siblings

Beddy Bye

Pretty soon we will be saying goodbye to the cosleeper Benjamin has been sleeping in up until now.  It's been so much fun having him sleeping nearby us.  We will miss him when he moves to his crib in the kids' room next month, but it is time.  I had to make a few last pictures of how gezellig it is with him.  These were taken when we went to bed near midnight.  He had no problem going back to sleep after charming us a little bit with his smile.  As you can see, he still likes being swaddled, but he now has a more roomier one than the ones we've been using.  He makes us so happy!

It's been a long time.

It has been a long time since I have out anything on the blog. Way too long, actually. I had grandiose plans of catching up on everything. Who knows if that will ever happen. I hope so. But you have to start somewhere. So today I am starting with introducing our new baby boy, Benjamin Matthijs Schutte, born February 1 of this year. He is a cheerful little boy, and we are totally in love.

Felix starts school

Felix started his school career today!  He is going to the same school as Evie and is even joining the very classroom she left a short year ago.  Obviously, he was very excited to start school.  No nervous boy here!