A week's worth

We've been here a week now. Don't bother looking at the weather reports as they are depressing. All we've had is rain, fog, lightning, and drizzle. The sun did poke through for a few hours. The pictures are deceiving as we did take advantage of the good weather.

The highlight of the trip for Evie thusfar has been riding in the golf cart. She calls it a race car and insists on wearing her pink helmet.




Here is Evie down by the shore when the sun was being social... if you're reading this, sun, please come back!!!



One day we were optimistic enough, and the sky was blue enough, that we went down to "the bicycle man" to borrow a bike with a trailer. We haven't used it since.


Most of the time we just sit around and hang out.



Grandma and Evie made peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies yesterday. Yummy.


In the morning it's all about sleeping in and waking up.

Drinks at the Inn

Last night Evie and Tom went up for drinks at the Inn with Grandpa David.  The trio had a wonderful time and Evie thoroughly enjoyed her (virgin) "Mojito."

Stateside

Just want to let you all know that we have arrived safely in Maine. We will be here for the next three weeks. Hopefully we'll still be able to blog about our adventures, but it probably won't be with the same frequency as usual.

Bert & Ernie Party

Today we celebrated Evie's birthday with a Bert and Ernie party. In the morning we opened presents. We gave her, together with Uncle Thijs, her first big girl bicycle. It's sooooo pretty! Felix gave her a suitcase back pack for her upcoming trip.


When we first started planning the party we asked Evie what she wanted to do and she replied that she wanted a Bert and Ernie party. Ask and she shall receive.
The Invitations
Evie with the snack table. There was banana cake, oatmeal butterscotch cookies, rice krispie treats, dip, veggies, and chips.
The Cake
Finn helped us by filming the singing of all the birthday songs. In Holland there are about four and we are lucky enough to have friends who know the extended versions. Always a treat!

As an activity for the kids we printed out faces of the Sesame Street characters to color and decorate.
Linde, Evie, and Finn at work.
Some of the finished products.
And of course there was just good old playing outside.
The girls in the sandbox...
...and on the bikes.

Summer Party at the Creche

Today was the annual summer party at the creche filled with many fun things to do!
Evie got her face painted like a princess.
This is a typical Dutch party activity quite similar to donut on a string, except it's done with something called "breakfast cookie."
Evie and her good friend Lucas sharing their popsicles.
Despite all the noise and loud music, Felix slept right on through.
And the best treat of all was of course when Evie got to ride on a real horse!!! Unbelievable!

Birthday at the Creche

Today Evie celebrated her birthday at the creche. The room was decorated when we got there this morning.
Evie got to stand on the table while the children sang all the birthday songs for her.
Evie passes out popsicles to all her classmates.
Lekker!
Evie also brought goody bags for all the kids. Here she is putting them in the cubbies.
....and this is what the children received. A card, a juice box, chocolate candies, a tooter, and two balloons.

Introducing... Evie's Photos

Today Oma Els visited with her sister Trudy. Evie received her first birthday presents, including a kids camera. She loves it of course. As promised, we have set up Evie's own blog to document her photographic progress.
Step 1. Open Camera
Step 2. Learn how to use it.
Step 3. Take a picture
Step 4. Start a blog
There is a new button to the right of the blog with a link to Evie's Photos. We will do our best to keep it updated with her latest photographic adventures.

All Smiles

First of, we would like to apologize for nearly a week of no posts. It's busy with two kids, though!!! So here are some happy pictures from the past week.
Evie still likes the baby.
She gets to hold him every day.
Every day he smiles more.
Such a cheerful fellow!
He is perfecting the art of the dorky-Schutte smile!
Cheeeese!

Felix is 1 month old

This weekend marked Felix's first month. Today he went for his one month check up. We were really excited to see how much he's grown and finally get a length measurement. My, oh my, how he has grown! He is now 4970 grams or 10 lbs 15 oz, putting him in the 81st percentile. (To jog your memory, he was 7 lbs 10 oz at birth, and in the 41st percentile) That is a major growth spurt. It's looking like mama's milk is full of the good stuff! Felix was measured to be 56 cm, putting him in the 68th percentile. For all you dorks out there, here are his growth charts.
Length ChartWeight Chart
The rest of the appointment also went really well. Felix is a healthy, happy little boy. He started smiling a few days ago which gives us much joy. After our vacation we have our next well-baby visit where he will have to have his first vaccination shot.

Chilling with Papa!

Felix and Carla

We finally have a picture of Felix and Carla together. Here they are in Carla's playpen at age 4 weeks and 6.5 weeks. Aren't they cute together?
Felix and Carla

Here, kitty- kitty

No, we don't have a new kitten, but our neighbors do. His name is Bik Mek (sounds like Big Mac...) and he is twelve weeks old. Already, he has found his way into our garden to play with us. He is soooo cute.
Bik Mek plays with a piece of string led by Evie.
The two sit together.