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Beste België

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 18:16:00 +0000

Dear Belgium,

Today is our last day in the place we have called home for the last three and a half years. It's our last day walking through the beautiful streets of Gent. Our last day seeing dear friends and eating food that we have come to love. It's our last day in the town where our dear Zoe was born. It's our last day!

Thank you Belgium for accepting us with open arms, despite the fact that we still don't speak your language(s) as well as we should. Thank you for being patient and helping us as we adjusted to the way of life here. Thank you for sharing your vibrant city, your beautiful buildings, your history, the people who pass through each day. Thank you for pushing us out of our comfort zone and making us move forward thorough difficult or uncomfortable situations so we could grow and learn. Thank you for being uniquely you and as a result, the little idiosyncrasies that have become endearing (for the most part).

Thank you for amazing neighbors, both Belgian and non-Belgian, who welcomed us into our apartment and made us feel at home. Thank you for the wonderful bakery, pharmacy, and gelato shop just down the street and the people who worked there and became a part of our day to day life. Thank you to the incredible school that helped us all grow and learn so much, again, pushing us outside our comfort zone to meet and know people from other countries. Thank you to the dear expat friends who walked this journey with us, understanding the things that seemed crazy or difficult for us. Thank you to the many Belgians who welcomed us into the community and invested in our lives, even though we would certainly leave some day. Thank you for a wonderful church family that welcomed us and invested in our lives from the first week we were here. There are too many people to thank to name them all individually...our hearts have been filled by meeting so many wonderful people; people who will stay in our hearts forever.

These past weeks have been filled with many emotions. Our hearts have been full of thankfulness for all the things we have experienced, sadness because of what we are leaving, excitement for what's to come, anticipation of being back with our dear family and friends back home, regret, happiness, fear, and on and on.

At the end of the day, we hope that we made the most of this experience. Of course there are always things that we could have done better...we could have learned more Flemish, we could have traveled more, we could have explored our city and country more, we could have met more people in our community, etc...but we hope that, when we look back at this time, we will see that we did what we could and lived to fullest. We also hope that we were good ambassadors for the U.S. and that we made a difference in some way during our time here; that we left our mark on this place in some small way. We have loved our time here and there is very little that we will not miss!

Tomorrow, we will walk onto a plane, a little slower than normal, knowing that we won't be returning, at least not any time soon. The weight of that knowledge is real, but we thank God for this opportunity and experience. We thank God for what has happened and what is to come.

Hartelijk bedankt, België! Wij zullen u missen!

Transition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 18:39:00 +0000

A few months ago, we learned that Cole's assignment here is coming to an end and we will be returning home this summer. While we have always known that our assignment could end at any time, I was still surprised when we received the news. For the majority of our time here, we have been uncertain of when we would go home...sometimes we were told six months, other times, two more years. So, while I have always known this assignment would come to an end, it has still been difficult for me to process. We love it here. We love the people we have met here. We love our church here. We love the school here. At the same time, we love those things about home as well! When we are here, we are happy. When we are home, we are happy. While that's a very good problem to have, it's still a bit confusing for all of us.

We have spent the last few weeks trying to prepare ourselves for the move home. We've been looking for a place to live when we move home, trying to find a school for the kids, making arrangements for moving our things home, selling items we don't need or can't use at home, and trying to spend as much time as possible with our friends here in Belgium. There are so many emotions through all of this. When we left to come to Belgium, we were sad to leave our friends and family and we have missed them tremendously, but I always knew we would go back. These goodbyes are different. I don't know if and/or when I will see these people who have become dear friends. Again, this is a good problem to have, but it's still difficult.

As I said before, the goodbyes have already begun. Even though we have a few more weeks before we actually fly home, we've already seen some good friends for the last time. Our church family in Gent gave us a going away party, much like the one our church family back home gave us before we came to Belgium. These people have been such a blessing to us; they have welcomed us with open arms and have invested in our lives and the lives of our children. It was nice to spend a few hours with them talking, laughing, crying, reminiscing, and reading through a book of pictures and memories that they created for us.

Mariale, Inge, and Gislene

Looking through the book they prepared for us

Willem and Inge

Christine, Melissa, Naomi, Bianca, and Faith

Andrew and Jacob

Dear friends!

Gislene and Antonio

Grace and Kasun

Mariale and Pieter

Since we don't currently have a house (or anywhere to live) back home...

Gislene and Mariale - the party organizers

Now that this is very official (our tickets home have been purchased), time is flying by. We are trying to soak up every last minute we have here, but I can feel the time slipping away. As we say goodbye to friends, as we begin to sell our things and organize for packing, as we think about leaving this beautiful city, it doesn't feel real. I'm not sure it will completely sink in that we are not coming back after the summer until we actually don't come back. I am bracing myself for the crazy emotions and ups and downs that are sure to come with this move. I have read enough stories about repatriating to know that this transition won't be easy, but we are very lucky to be going back to supportive friends and family, a great church, and a secure job situation. Until then, we will try our best to enjoy these last moments in Gent!

Happy Birthday, Cole!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 May 2016 20:09:00 +0000

Today is Cole's 33rd birthday! This past year has been a pretty crazy one for Cole; lots of ups and downs, full of risks, successes, failures, frustrations, and excitement. This year I have watched Cole pursue dreams, I have seen doors close, I have seen doors open, then close again, and I have seen failure. He has been fearless, not spooked by challenges or other difficult things that have come his way. Through it all, I have seen a man of integrity, a man who loves and cares for his family, and a man who has held his head high, even when things have been emotionally tough. I am so thankful for Cole and the many, many years I have been able to spend with him.

We had a birthday dinner tonight for Cole. He chose what he wanted and we ate together, talked about our days, and celebrated. At the end of dinner, I asked the boys to each name something they were thankful for about daddy. Cameron said, "I am thankful that daddy brings home money, that he brings the bacon." Harrison said, I am thankful that daddy is like me." I loved their responses because, in their own ways, they were saying that they love daddy because daddy takes care of them and makes them feel loved, protected, and secure in who they are.

For his birthday, Cole fulfilled an almost three year old desire to visit Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren. I am not a beer connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, but this is apparently the beer to have in Belgium, possibly the best in the world (according to Cole). You can't buy this beer in any other stores, although you can occasionally find it in a bar for an outrageous price. Anyway, the monks brew the beer at the monastery and sell it to support and sustain themselves (no more, no less). To purchase the beer, you have to call on certain days, during certain hours to make an appointment. If you are even able to get through, you have to make an appointment during one of their rare opening times to pick up the beer. Additionally, you have to give your license plate number and you can only purchase two crates per license plate once you're there. Long story short(ish), Cole has been wanting to go for a really long time and hasn't been able to for one reason or another, so you can imagine how excited he was when he finally got through and was given an appointment the day before his birthday! He made the hour long journey to West Flanders yesterday to pick up his two crates. The monestary is in the middle of nowhere and you are not allowed to visit the brewery, so you literally pull into a drive thru where they check your license plate, then bring you your crates.

The drive thru

After Cole picked up his crates, he went to the visitors center to pick up the proper accompanying Westvleteren glasses to go along with his beer. He also found a bit of excess beer and grabbed that up while he was there. He was very excited when he got home! Needless to say, I think this was a good birthday!

Happy birthday to my love, my best friend, and the best life adventure partner I could ever imagine!

Mother's Day 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 May 2016 20:49:00 +0000

Today is Mother's Day. I like Mother's Day because it helps me remember and reflect on how much my own mother has done for me...how much she has taught me and how much I look up to her. She is a wonderful example of perseverance, patience, grace, and unconditional love for her children. She has been through so many things in her life, more than I can even imagine, but she still chooses joy. She is not perfect, but she has shown me how to be a better mom to my own children. I still ask her for advice all the time and am very thankful to have her in my life!

On this Mother's Day, I have three sweet babies here sleeping in their beds and one sweet little one in heaven that we never met. These children that God has given us are some of the greatest gifts I have ever received. I rarely feel worthy enough to have them in my life, even on my "good" mothering days. However, I love these precious ones and am extremely thankful for their love and grace as I try to figure out motherhood. I hope they know how much I love them. I hope they know that I am proud of them. I hope they know that God has a plan for their little lives. I hope they know that even on my not-so-good mothering days, I would still give up just about anything for them. I hope they know...

Today, I am specifically thinking about two friends who are missing their sweet children who were here with them one day, and gone the next. Both wonderful mothers, full of love and grace. Both mothers that I look up to. I pray for joy and peace as they navigate this day. I hope they know their sweet children are not forgotten and talked about often.

I felt very spoiled, and undeserving today as the kids (and Cole) took great care of me. They made me breakfast, gave me some thoughtful gifts, cleaned the whole terrace for me, and then went on a bike ride with me (one of my favorite things to do).

There is no way to describe how thankful I feel to have our kids in our life; to have the opportunity to be a mother to them. They make me smile, they make me laugh, they make me cry, and sometimes, they make me want to pull my hair out, but at the end of the day, they are one of life's greatest blessings. I hope they know!

Date Night in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 19:56:00 +0000

Last weekend, Cole was invited to Paris for the end of a project that he has been working on for a little over a year. All of the guys invited were also told they could bring their spouses/partners along to celebrate the close of the project. So, when Cole told me I was invited, of course I wanted to try to go along. We thought about how to make it work with the kiddos and decided to ask a few couples from church if they would be interested in helping us out. They said they would be happy to help, so we planned our trip!

We left around 12:30 on Saturday afternoon and headed down. We weren't sure what to expect on our way with all the recent drama, but we did not encounter any problems at any of the checkpoints along the way. When we arrived in Paris, we checked into our hotel and relaxed (in the quiet, in the stillness, with no one jumping on our bed) until it was time for dinner.

Our Hotel

We had dinner at a nice restaurant with Cole's colleagues and spouses/partners, then walked around the city for a while afterwards. The Christmas lights were up, the Christmas market was open, and there were people everywhere! It was nice to see that this beautiful city we both love so much has not been held hostage by recent events.

Meanwhile at home, the kids were having a blast! They built cable cars, they played games, they ate pizza, they built a lego/block/any other material they could find city, etc. While we missed the kids, we didn't worry about them once, which was so nice! We are very lucky to have such wonderful, generous friends!

Working on their cable cars

The next morning, Cole had to go to the final meeting for their project, so I took advantage of the peace and quiet and ordered breakfast in my room! When he was finished, we packed up and headed back to Gent.

Cole and I don't get the opportunity to go out very often, much less overnight, so this really was a special treat for us. Not to mention we were in Paris! I am never disappointed by Paris. It is a beautiful, lively city and I'm happy we could make some sweet memories there together, just the two of us!

Greece - Part 2 (Santorini)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 20:49:00 +0000

As I said at the end of Greece - Part 1, we had a great time in Athens. There is so much incredible history and we tried to see as much as possible while we were there. However, the second part of our trip was to Santorini and we were equally excited to get to our next destination when it was time. We got up bright and early in Athens to take a quick one hour plane ride to Santorini. After picking up our rental car, we were on our way to the little town of Oia. Although it seemed like there were many nice places to stay in Santorini, we chose Oia because I read several places that Oia has some of the best sunsets in the world. We were not disappointed by the sunsets we saw (and there are lots of pictures of sunrises and sunsets in this post). We also found what we thought would be an amazing apartment on the side of a hill to stay in, so we were really excited to see it in person.

After driving about 30 minutes from the airport, we arrived at a bus and taxi station where we were to meet a porter. I was very confused because he told us to park our car and we would walk the rest of the way...only a 10 minute walk he said. I had no idea we would have to walk so far, or even why we couldn't drive any closer, but we did what he said and parked. Thankfully we had his help because we had six suitcases and a stroller as well as the kiddos, and it was not an easy walk to our apartment. There were a ton of stairs and tiny roads to get where we needed to go. However, when we arrived at the apartment and saw the view, it was clear to us that all the precarious stairs were totally worth it!

Santorini was formed through many volcanic eruptions over the years dating back to 1500 B.C. The first volcanic eruption occurred in the center of the island and caused a large portion in the center to sink and be filled with water. This created the caldera, the largest of it's kind in the world, and segments of the perimeter, which are now separate islands around the caldera. Our apartment looked out over the caldera.

Our two apartments

View from our apartment

Sitting on our porch

Oia is a little town on the north side of the island. It was pretty much deserted as it was off season, but I loved the quiet. Most of the stores and restaurants were closed for the season and we didn't encounter many other people. There were a few grocery stores and restaurants within walking distance, but other than that, it was just quiet. The area where we were staying was also very simple (aside from the view which was spectacular). Simple, as in, you can't throw toilet paper in the toilet, donkeys coming in and out of the area to help the workers, no cars anywhere nearby. It was amazing and just what we needed after all the activity in Athens. The apartments there were literally built into the side of the hill. Our bathroom even had a big rock in it.

My parents bathroom

Our bathroom

See the rock??

Can you see the donkeys?

All throughout the tiny streets were dogs and cats, who were clearly fed, but didn't seem to belong to anyone in particular. We often came back with a friend when we went to the store.

The "main street" in town

We were so enamored by the view and our surroundings that we spent most of the first day just sitting on the porch relaxing. In the evening, we walked over to an old, crumbling castle to watch the sunset. It was beautiful!

From the castle looking back toward our apartment

Waiting for the sunset

After the sunset, we found a little restaurant overlooking the water.

Not only did we get to experience the amazing sunsets, but Cole and I also had a great view from our bed in the morning, so were also able to enjoy several beautiful, quiet sunrises as well.

Playing while mommy watched the sunrise

Our second day was also very mellow in the morning. My dad needed to visit a doctor in the morning, so Cole, the boys, and my dad went there in the morning while my mom, Zoe and I enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Playing on the porch

When the boys returned from the doctor, we had lunch and rested for a bit before heading out again.

In the evening, we had planned to go to the Monastery of Profits Illias in another town (the highest spot on the island), but I got us lost and we ended up at the bottom of the hill with no path to get to the top. We made the best of it and visited a black sand beach nearby which made the boys very happy. We also caught another beautiful sunset along the way!

That's where we were supposed to be!

Can you see that little building?

None of us could figure out how anyone could get there?!

Black sand beach

The next day, we enjoyed another beautiful sunrise, then checked out of our apartment and went out to do some more exploring before flying back to Athens.

View from our bedroom window

Our faithful breakfast chef

Stairs up to the main road

We stopped at the top to admire the view and the little town one last time!

The first stop on the agenda was the cable cars. It's become tradition for us to ride cable cars anywhere we go if at all possible, so this was non-negotiable for Cameron. We drove to the capital of Santorini, a town called Fira and took the cable cars down to the port, then hopped on a boat to ride over to Nea Kameni, an active volcano within the Santorini caldera.

Our boat

Clear, blue water

Oia

There was a small eruption on Nea Kameni in 1950, but there haven't been any since and scientists monitor the changes closely. Once we arrived, it took us between 30 and 40 minutes to walk to the top. It was a pretty tough walk for all of us, but it was fun to be at the top and see the smoke coming up from the lava rock. The boys thought it was really cool (I did too). It was hot if you put your hand near the smoke.

The water was very green by Nea Kameni

Heading up the volcano

See the smoke?

The crater

View from the top

"Dad, let me take a selfie of myself!"

It took us so long to get to the top that we didn't have much time to explore before we needed to head back to the boat.

The next stop was to the nearby hot springs. We didn't have bathing suits, but I thought we would dock and then be able to put our feet in. They failed to mention, before we bought the tickets, that we would dock 15 meters (50 feet) from the hot springs meaning, we would have to jump from the boat and swim if we wanted to get to the hot springs. I very seriously considered jumping in in my clothes to have a once in a lifetime experience, but I couldn't convince anyone else to come with me, so we sat on the boat, with many other confused patrons, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.

Random, inhabited house by the hot springs

Heading to the hot springs

Cable cars back to the top

Once we arrived back at the port, we ate a quick (and terrible) lunch before making a second attempt to get to the Monastery. We, once again, saw some spectacular sites along the way. The drive to the top of the hill was a bit scary as it was basically a one lane road with a super steep drop off on one side. Thankfully, we didn't encounter any cars coming down on our way up!

When we reached the top, there were three guys getting ready to paraglide. It was awesome, and a little scary, to watch them basically jump off the hill and go flying out in the wind.

The Monastery was closed for visitors, so we just walked around the outside.

Garden inside the Monastery

The last stop of the day before the airport was Red Beach. I had read so much about it and really wanted to see it, so I was happy that we had just a little time before we had to leave. The sun was setting as we were driving along, so we caught more beautiful views.

Just outside Red Beach

The rocks were red and the water an emerald green. It was beautiful!

After the quick stop at Red Beach, we headed to the airport to fly back to Athens. We spent the night in Athens and flew back to Brussels the next morning.

Sunrise from the plane

We have been very lucky to have been able to travel to many wonderful places in our lives, but I think that Santorini now tops my list of favorite places I have ever traveled. I don't think I would want to visit when it's full of tourists, but it was almost perfect during our visit. The simplicity of the island combined with the God's spectacular creation was just amazing. I hope to go back again one day!

Greece - Part 1 (Athens)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 20:36:00 +0000

We just returned from an amazing trip to Greece with my parents. They came to visit us in Belgium, but thought it would also be fun to travel somewhere else while they're here, so we decided to head to warm, sunny Greece. We battled coughs, sniffles, fevers, teeth, and shingles, but we still had a great time!

My parents arrived on Friday morning, and we turned around and left for Athens on Saturday morning.

After arriving in Athens, we settled into our apartment, got some groceries, and headed to bed.

Sunday was Zoe's first birthday! We celebrated with a cake at the end of the day, but we had a mellow morning enjoying her before we set off for the day.

Such a special, precious gift to our family!

Waiting for a taxi to take us to town

We started with a hop on and off bus tour of Athens.

Our first stop was Acropolis. Before we went to the actual site, we took a short waking tour around Acropolis to see some of the lesser known and visited areas.

Acropolis!

The boys had fun running around, climbing, and pretending to be statues while we waited for the tour to begin.

Birthplace of democracy (508 B.C.)

Ancient pottery found on the ground amount the ruins

It was super windy!

Pnyx - meeting place of the people of Athens (508 B.C.)

Pnyx

More ruins

Diaper change at the base of Acropolis

Heading up to Acropolis

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus - theatre right outside Acropolis

Mars Hill - Apostle Paul delivered a sermon here

Propylaia - entrance to Acropolis

Parthenon - former temple dedicated to the goddess Athena (Construction began in 447 B.C, opened in 432 B.C.)

Athens!

Erechtheum - temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon

After exploring Acropolis, we headed over to Mars Hill to climb to the top. Apostle Paul delivered a sermon here written in Acts 17: 22-31.

More Acropolis

After spending time around Acropolis, we took a taxi back to our apartment for some rest before heading to Lykavittos Hill for sunset and dinner. We took a funicular to the top of the hill.

St. George Chapel at the top of the hill

Acropolis

Eating dinner overlooking Acropolis (can you see it in the background?)

Singing "happy birthday" to Zoe

We decided to walk back down the hill, which proved to be precarious at times, but we made it to the bottom and took a taxi back to our apartment to celebrate Zoe's birthday with cake.

Lykavittos Hill

Party Time!

Delicious chocolate cake!

Zoe LOVED the cake. We gave her a small piece to eat, but when she was finished, she crawled around the table to other plates to try and score some more.

Stealing from grandma

On to Cameron...

We had a great first day in Athens and lots of fun celebrating sweet Zoe. Unfortunately, she did a little too much partying (and maybe ate too much cake) because she spent most of the night awake crying.

The next day, we continued with our bus tour through the city. Our first stop for the day was Acropolis Museum. Inside the museum, we saw archaeological finds from Acropolis. There were ruins under the floor of the building (seen through a glass floor) and lots of other amazing artifacts.

View of Acropolis from the museum

After the museum, we hopped back on the bus and headed to Hadrian's Arch and Temple of Zeus, Olympia.

Orange trees everywhere!

Hadrian's Arch

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was built to be one of the biggest temples in the ancient world and was for a short time. It was attacked in the 3rd century AD and never repaired. Since then, it has been extensively quarried for other projects in the city, but there are still substantial remains there.

Temple of Olympian Zeus - built between 472 and 456 B.C.

Ruins everywhere!

From the Temple of Zeus, we walked to the Panathenaic Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896.

After the stadium, we walked to a cute area of town called Plaka for a late lunch. We really enjoyed some refreshing Greek salads and other yummy greek food.

We didn't have time to visit much more after eating, so we decided to just ride the bus around Athens and get a good overview of the city before heading back to the apartment to pack.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Parliament building

Monastiraki - Flea market area in Athens

We stayed very busy in Athens and saw a lot of amazing things. As always, we probably could have used a bit more time to explore, but we had a flight to Santorini the next day. So we went back to the apartment, packed, and prepared for the next part of our trip.

Zoe is One!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 19:19:00 +0000

This past year has been one of the busiest and most wonderful years of my life. There are no words that can adequately describe how Zoe has changed our lives for the better. Just like each of her siblings before her, she is a perfect addition to our family and we can't imagine life without her. She brings so much light and joy to our family...and she is one!

Some new developments this month include clapping, dancing, some cruising, taking steps while holding our hands, making a brrrrrrrrrr sound while pushing cars around, starting to climb, and more babbling. I have also noticed that she has started trying to use items around house as they are meant to be used. For example, she tries to comb her hair when she's holding a comb, or holds a phone to her ear, or rubs the floor when she's holding a towel or rag, or pushes cars around on the floor, or tries to put food on a spoon or shoes on her feet.

You will be hard pressed to get Zoe away from me if I am in the room. She will pretty easily go to daddy, but if I am around, she still usually wants to be with me. However, it is very sweet to see how much she loves her daddy. She loves to snuggle with him, be silly with him, and she definitely has him wrapped around her tiny little fingers. I said last month that she has become more independent and that continues to be the case. She now explores all over the loft on her own and we often find her in our closet...it seems to be her favorite place to explore on her own at the moment.

We have weaned down to nursing twice a day and eating three meals with us during the day. She also usually has a little snack in the afternoon. She still loves to eat! She's trying more and more food all the time and she is getting closer to being able to just eat what we're eating for meals. And she is still a food thief. She will take food right out of your hands and shove it in her mouth if she is close enough. Zoe still only has one little tooth on the bottom, but she has been extremely fussy, so we think more are on the way.

Zoe loves to play. Whether she's on the floor playing alone, with her brothers or us, or with a big group of kids, she loves to play. She can sit on the floor and entertain herself, but she also like to interact with people...to show people what she's doing or to play with them (peek-a-boo for example). She loves to smile and laugh and be silly. She also loves her brothers. She laughs at them all the time which is very sweet. We love to watch them interact with each other. She's recently started sticking out her tongue all the time. I have a theory that she is doing this because of the teeth coming in.

At one year, Zoe weighs 18 lbs (8.2 kg, 20%) and is 29 inches (74 cm, 36%) long. She's still babbling a lot, but still not really any new discernible words other than mama and dada. She still has a temper and reacts very strongly to things. We have been working more on sign language, but she has only just recently started to sort of use them. Otherwise, she yells when she wants things or is unhappy. Zoe goes by many different names in our house. All of us, including the boys, call her something different all the time. The most commonly used names other than Zoe are Zobug, Zo, Bug, Bug-a-rug, Buggy, and Bugsy. She now responds to all those names!

Zoe is still sleeping great. The only real change is that she seems to be transitioning to one nap per day with an occasional cat nap to supplement. She prefers to be left alone when she's tired rather than being held, although she can sometimes become pretty snuggly when she's sleepy. She still loves her fuzzy pink blanket and likes to rub it very lightly on her lips when she is tired. She also sucks on her tongue when she's tired.

Although she isn't walking yet, Zoe did take a few independent steps the other day. Cole was out of town for work, so we decided to FaceTime with him before bed. When Zoe heard his voice, she turned to the phone, threw her hands up, squealed, and took two steps toward the phone before falling down. It was very sweet to see her excitement for Cole and I know it made him feel good. Other than those few steps, she doesn't seem to have much interest in walking. She's pretty steady on her feet and can stand up without assistance, but she's happy to just scoot from place to place.

Here are some pictures from the last month.

Crazy hair!

Grease from daddy's bike

Happy birthday to one very special little girl! We love you so much!!

Prague, Czech Republic

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 21:47:00 +0000

One of the places I have always wanted to visit, even back when we lived in England years ago, is Prague. A few weekends ago, the boys had a Friday off of school, so we took advantage of the long weekend and headed east. Prague did not disappoint! It is beautiful! Even with cold and rainy weather, it's still beautiful! There were times when we were walking around that I felt like I was looking at something from a stage production. Cole and I both agreed that we have never been to a city like Prague!

We arrived in Prague on Thursday evening, so we settled into our apartment, grabbed a quick dinner, and headed to bed.

We decided to take a walking tour on Friday morning to get an overview of the city, so after eating breakfast, we walked towards Old Town to meet up with the group. We walked past the entrance to Petrin Hill, through Lesser Town, across Charles Bridge, and through Old Town before meeting up with the tour guide.

Memorial to the victims of communism at the base of Petrin Hill

Lesser Town is called Lesser Town because historically, it was the smaller and typically less busy half of Prague. One thing we noticed walking around is that the buildings are so colorful and beautiful.

St. Nicholas Church in Lesser Town

St. Nicholas Church

Entrance to Charles Bridge from Lesser Town

This was Harrison's favorite statue - he still talks about it

He thought the jail was interesting

Looking down toward Kampa Island or, "The Venice of Prague"

View from the bridge of Lesser Town towards the Castle

St John of Nepomuk

The place where St. John of Nepomuk was thrown into the water. Legend says that, if you touch the brassy cross, you will get whatever you wish.

Looking toward Old Town

Love these boys

The other side of Charles Bridge looking back toward Lesser Town

After we crossed Charles Bridge, we stopped for a traditional Slovak cake called Trdelník. It was both delicious and very messy!

Waiting for Trdelník

Success

After our snack, we headed to Old Town. From the 9th century on, merchants from around the world would meet here, the crossroads of major trade routes.

Old Town Square

Not so sure about the hat

St. Nicholas Church in Old Town

St. Nicholas Church

Old Town Square with a view of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Old Town Hall with the astronomical clock

We walked through some other streets in Old Town (we missed some of the details and pictures because of the kiddos) before coming to the Old Jewish Quarter. The Jewish people in the city were forced to live in this one area known as the "Jewish Ghetto" during WWII. Despite occupation by the Nazi's during WWII, the synagogues, buildings, and sites survived the war because Hitler decided to preserve the Jewish Quarter as a "Museum of an Extinct Race." Many Jewish artifacts from other occupied countries were transported to Prague by the Nazis to become part of the "Museum." I really wish we would have had more time to explore this area, but alas, we were only able to walk through briefly.

Statue of Franz Kafka

Spanish Synagogue

Old-New Synagogue - The oldest Synagogue in Europe

Old Jewish Cemetery in the background

We took a lunch break after the Jewish Quarter and then headed back over Charles Bridge to Kampa Island.

Checking out the map

Kampa Island

Lennon Wall - Symbol of freedom and rebellion against the communist regime

We skipped out of the tour a bit early to rest back at the hotel and then headed to a fun train-themed restaurant, Vytopna, for dinner. They had tracks all over the restaurant as well as draw bridges and tunnels. They even had tracks that delivered drinks right to the table. The boys were in train heaven! Thankfully, there were so many shrieking kids in the restaurant that ours just blended right in.

Waiting for the metro train to go to dinner

Eating in a train car

The next morning, we decided to tackle Petrin Hill so we could see Prague from the top of the city. We had planned to take a funicular to the top as it is 327 meters (1073 ft) high and pretty steep, but it was closed for repairs, so we ended up walking to the top. It was a beautiful walk through the trees, but also pretty tiring for everyone except Cameron, who pretty much ran the whole way. Even though it was tiring, it was worth every step for the magnificent view from the top.

About halfway up

Checking out the funicular repairs

At the top of the hill is a lookout tower which resembles the Eiffel Tower, although it's not nearly as big. Cameron and I climbed the 299 steps to the top while Cole, Harrison, and Zoe took the elevator. The view from the top of the lookout tower was also worth every stair climbed!

The red roofs of Prague

After the observation tower, we took a fun break and went to the Hall of Mirrors, also located at the top of the hill. They boys thought it was so funny!

We then decided to take the scenic walk from Petrin Hill toward Strahov Monastery. We were unaware of the fact that a good portion of the walk included stairs, so we ended up carrying the stroller up and down a ton of stairs. But once again, it was worth all the work for the views!

We had just carried the stroller (with Zoe in it) down these stairs

More stairs!

Stahov Monastary

We didn't visit the Monastery, so once we took in the sights, we continued on to the Castle. The walk the Castle was also very interesting and beautiful.

We were just over there!

Beautiful colors!

The Prague Castle is basically a village in itself with churches, museums, gardens, and lots of other buildings within the complex. It is actually the largest castle complex in the world covering 18 acres. It doesn't look at all like a castle like I imagine, but it was still beautiful. We didn't take time to walk through all the buildings, but we did walk through the complex and watch the changing of the guard.

Entrance to the castle

Saint Vitus Cathedral - The largest and most important church in the country

Changing of the guard

Zoe took a tumble in the castle (can you see the big red spot on her head?!), but was still all smiles!

We also explored the streets around the castle before moving on to our next activity.

Schwarzenberg Palace

After visiting the castle complex, we decided to let the boys have some fun at the Prague Zoo. The zoo has been ranked the fourth best zoo in the world, so we thought it would be a good places to visit. The zoo is built on a hill, so there was, once again, a ton of walking and climbing, but once again, every step was worth it for the view from the top. Unfortunately, due to the cooler weather, there were many animals inside, but we still had fun! There were also playgrounds and fun stops to help with all the walking.

Waiting for a tram to the zoo

Now waiting for the bus - Thank goodness for Cole's navigation skills!

Beautiful location for the elephants (they were inside)

Making wishes

Speckily buns as the boys like to say

View from the top of the hill - the city is in the distance

Chair lift ride

Playground at the zoo

We decided to take a tram back to Old Town and walk back over Charles Bridge to get a view of the city at night. It was beautiful!

Model??

On Sunday, we walked back to Old Town for a bit, then to New Town before having to leave for the airport.

Charles Bridge

Jan Hus Monument

Dancing

New Town is now the commercial and administrative area of the city. There are lots of shops, restaurants, and more modern architecture. We didn't spend much time here, but we made sure to stop for the bubbles in Wenceslas Square!

National Museum on the Northern end of the square

Last tram ride of the trip

We took a different route back to Lesser Town so we could see some other parts of the city before we had to leave.

The Dancing House - Office building

Vltava River

It was hard to leave Prague because it felt like there was so much more to see, but after a quick lunch, we headed to the airport. Side note, the Prague airport is really nice for kids. There was a giant chess board and airplane game as well as a huge LEGO airport for the kids to play with. We spent quite a while playing before going through security.

Sweet snuggles on the plane ride home

This was probably one of the more difficult trips we have taken as a family of five. First of all, there are supposedly seven big hills in Prague and lots to see, so there was a lot of walking...up hill. Second, Zoe is at an age where she is mobile enough to want to be on the move, but not mobile enough to really be out of the stroller for too long. She's also not ready to just eat at restaurants or what we're eating, so there was a lot more to lug around with us than other trips we've taken. Traveling with kids means that you probably won't get to see everything you want to see or do everything you want to do, but how can we complain?! It was an awesome trip.

We were all exhausted and sore when we got home (Zoe slept until noon the next day), but as I look back at these pictures, I am so thankful! I am thankful for a family that's open to adventure and new things. I'm thankful for a husband that helps me see the possibilities when the things I have planned don't happen exactly how I've planned them. I'm thankful for the opportunity to see new places and new things with the people I love. And I'm thankful for the memories made in each of these places.

11 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 08:50:00 +0000

Zoe turned 11 months a couple days ago and we celebrated in Prague. There were some big developments again this month. At one point a few weeks ago, I looked at Zoe and realized that she's not a baby anymore. That was an emotional feeling!

Some new developments this month include one tooth on the bottom, getting from sitting to standing without assistance, saying "dada" more clearly, giving big, open mouth kisses, and recognizing her name and the name of her family members.

This month Zoe has started to favor Cole over anyone else in the house. I can't lie...it's a little sad for me, but I love that she loves her daddy. Even though she likes to be with Cole, when she is hurt, scared, or tired, she still wants mommy. She loves to be where we are, but she has become a little more independent, exploring more on her own. I often leave her to play with some toys only to find her in another room playing with something she found along the way. She still often shrieks when we pick her up.

We're still on a four hour schedule, but we have begun the process of weaning from nursing. This is both emotional and freeing for me, but Zoe seems to fine with it. She now eats three solid meals a day and usually a snack. We have dropped one nursing so far, so she is now nursing three times a day. One thing is very clear: this girl loves to eat! She will eat almost anything I give her at any time. She really likes to be able to hold and chew on food, so I am trying to find more things I can give her that are not pureed. If she sees me eating something, even from across the room, she will immediately start chatting (putting it mildly), and come to me to have a taste of whatever I'm having. She'll also try to pry my mouth open if I'm holding her while I'm eating. Like I said before, she has one little tooth in the bottom. She hasn't been too fussy with this tooth, so I'm hoping the rest come in as easily.

Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are play peek-a-boo, shake her head back and forth while squealing, watch and laugh at her brothers, read "Bear on a Bike," play this little piggy, and listen to us singing to her. She loves to be around her brothers and play with their toys, which has started to cause some problems when she tries to take what they're playing with. She also still likes to be bounced, hang upside down, sit on our shoulders, look in the mirror, and wave. This is the first month that she has enjoyed reading books without moving around or grabbing them from me and opening and closing them. I love to see her smile when I ask if she wants to read "Bear on a Bike." She does not like when we take things from her that she wants (she screams), wipe her nose, waiting for food, and being confined by her brothers when she wants to move.

At 11 months, Zoe weighs 17.4 lbs (7.9 kg, 19 %) and is 28.5 inches (72.4 cm, 40%) long. She's still babbling a lot, but not any new discernible words other than mama and dada. She still has a temper and reacts very strongly to things. I mentioned last month that I often found her tantrums funny, but that has changed this month. We have started working on teaching her that she can't throw a fit to get what she wants. She has a lot of personality and, for the most part, is very pleasant to be around. I should have mentioned this last month, but she has started to really respond to her name, or names (she has a lot of nicknames around here).

There haven't been any changes to Zoe's sleep schedule. She still sleeps 12-13 hours at night and takes one or two naps per day. We had to lower her crib this month because she actually fell out of the crib one day at nap time. She is the first one of our children to ever fall or crawl out of the crib. I'm really surprised, considering how wild the boys are, that she was the one to fall out of the crib. Thankfully, I don't think she landed on her head because she didn't have any red marks or bruises on her head, or anywhere that I could see. She goes to bed really well, but has to have her pink, fuzzy blanket. She still loves to snuggle with Cole or me when we hold her with the blanket. I have noticed over the past month that she likes to gently rub the palm of her hand over her blanket when she's tired or nursing. She also likes to have the palm of her and softly rubbed.

Zoe is still strong willed and decisive. For example, when she wants to go somewhere, she will fling her outstretched hand in that direction. If she wants to go to someone specific, she will climb, push, try to jump out of your arms, etc. until she has reached the desired person. She will also push your hand away from her or out of the way if she doesn't want it around. Just today, I was rubbing her head before nap time and she reached up, grabbed by hand, and put it down (completely off her body). I am completely convinced that, even though she doesn't cruise yet, she is just going to start walking one day.

Zoe still does her little scoot/crawl all over the house. She has gotten really fast and good at finding me wherever I might go during the day. I have started calling her meerkat because, once she gets to me, she sits on one leg and extends the other with her arms outstretched. It reminds me of a meerkat. Although I have seen her cruise (a few steps) once or twice, she really doesn't move once she's standing...even if we try to hold her hands and help her walk.

Here are some pictures from the last month.

She took her dress off during nap time

Facetiming with cousin, Graham!

First little tooth

After lowering her mattress

Pizza and a movie night...it only lasted about five minutes before she was bored.

First time riding in the big girl seat in the trailer. She fell asleep on Harrison.

Meerkat!

Happy 11 months Zobug!

10 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:20:00 +0000

Zoe turned 10 months old yesterday. This month has been marked by some big developments and has been dubbed the month of bumps and bruises.

Some developments this month include more waving, more babbling and "talking" including "dada," scooting/crawling across the floor, pulling herself to standing, and getting up on her feet with her hands on the floor and buns in the air. She has become pretty proficient at getting from belly to back to sitting to crawling to standing and back. She can pretty much get herself into any position she wants these days.

Zoe still wants to be with me more than anyone else, especially when she's tired, hungry, or unsure of the situation, but she happily goes to Cole now as well. She also goes to other people, but if Cole or I are around, she wants to be with us. She plays nicely on her own, especially when the boys are playing around her, but when she's done playing by herself, she lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that she is ready to be picked up. On the plus side, she almost always shrieks with joy when we do pick her up.

Our schedule is pretty flexible around here, but, in general, we are on a four hour schedule. She nurses four times a day and then eats three solid meals a day, usually with us. She has started to be pretty dissatisfied with pureed food, so I have been giving her a lot more of the food we're eating, just cut up into small pieces. She's happy to eat strawberries, grapes, apples, mango, melon, waffles, pancakes, toast, and most anything else we will let her try. She still doesn't have any teeth.

Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are wave in a mirror, hang upside down, scoot/crawl around, eat ice cream, bounce with her brothers, drinking or pretending to drink from cups, banging on the piano, and chewing on my keys. She dislikes having her nose wiped, being told "no," being tired or hungry, and being left alone for too long (by her standards).

At 10 months, Zoe weighs 17.4 lbs (7.9 kg, 28%) and is 28 inches long (71.1 cm, 43 %). There has been a lot more babbling this month. I'm starting to feel like she's trying to talk to us or sing along with songs. She's got a little personality and we love to see it develop. One thing that has definitely developed this month is a temper, with a dramatic flair. If you tell her "no" to her, take something away from her that she wants, or don't give her what she wants, she will now start to, very pathetically, sob. If she doesn't sob, she scrunches up her face, sticks out her little lip, and gives us the most pathetic look. Right now, I find it to be pretty funny, but I'm quite certain that will change as we navigate more serious issues in the future.

Although Zoe is still a great sleeper at night (12-13 hours), we have been struggling with naps the last couple weeks. She normally takes a great nap in the morning, but has really been fighting me with her afternoon nap. That translates into an extremely grumpy, wiggly, and tired baby in the evening. She still loves her fuzzy pink blanket and even reaches for it when she's tired or upset. She loves to snuggle with Cole or me when we are holding her and the blanket.

One thing that has surprised me this month is how decisive Zoe can be. For example, I had been trying to put her in a crawling position for a while, but she didn't want anything to do with it...she didn't even act interested. Then, one day, she just did it. Then, she just decided that she was going to stand. I had never seen her try pull up before, she just decided to do it one day. It's amazing to watch her grow and see how strong willed she is already!

Because Zoe is on the move so much now, she has gotten herself in some difficult situations and gotten pretty banged up. She has banged her head trying to get back down from standing, banged her head on the floor while trying to do her strange scoot/crawl (half scooting, half crawling), gotten stuck under things, and she's even gotten stuck, clinging for her life, trying to stand in her crib. I do love going in to get her in the morning and seeing her standing, bouncing up and down, with a big smile on her face. It's a very nice welcome! As a side note, the first thing Zoe does almost every time I pick her up out of her crib is to turn around to the mirror in her room and wave at me. It's very sweet.

Zoe likes bath time, especially when she can be with her brothers. She likes to splash, pretend to drink from a cup, and play with her other bath toys. She still doesn't have very much hair, but she finally has enough to have some crazy nap time hair.

Cameron still loves to feed Zoe when he gets the chance and sings her the sweetest songs. He's also very proud that he can pick her up off the ground, carry her around, then set her back down all by himself. Harrison isn't as interested as Cameron, but he does like to hold her, try to carry her (with supervision), and to try to make her laugh.

We had the opportunity to have a baby dedication at our church in Gent this month. We fully believe that Zoe is an amazing and wonderful gift from God, so we were happy that we could dedicate her to God in the presence of those who have surrounded us during her short life. Though we missed our families very much, we were still thankful to have the dedication in the city where Zoe was born, surrounded by those who have walked with us on this journey in Belgium. Our prayer for her comes from Ephesians 1: 17-19:

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength.

Here are some pictures from the last month.

A little black eye

Not fast enough...

Crazy hair!

Baby dedication

First Day of School (2015-2016)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 14:49:00 +0000

Today was the official first day of school for Cameron and Harrison! While most Belgian schools started yesterday, the boys were able to go to the school for a few hours yesterday to meet their teachers, see their rooms, and meet the other children in their classes. Cameron was very excited to start another school year, especially after seeing his good friends yesterday. Harrison wasn't quite as sure when we left this morning, but he seemed to be fine when we dropped him off.

Cameron will be in the equivalent of a kindergarten class (upper pre-primary) this year.

Harrison will be in the equivalent of a preschool class (lower pre-primary) this year.

The boys wanted to ride their bikes to school this morning.

There are seven kids in Cameron's class right now, mostly five year olds, and he has a new teacher this year, Miss Mia (from Ireland). This year he will start to read, count and recognize numbers 1-100 (although he can already do that for the most part), learn more about addition and subtraction (he can also do this pretty well), and follow IPC theme units.

Harrison will be in a class with 13 children, two and a half to four years old. He will have the same teacher as he had at the end of last year, Miss Inbal (from Israel). He will have IPC theme units and continue to work on literacy and numeracy, more specifically, recognizing the sounds of each letter and working on numbers 1-20. There will also be plenty of playing and fun in his classroom! Harrison will be one of the oldest kids in his class and one of two returning kids this year, so I think he will have a different role at school than he did last year. Last year he was one of the younger kids and more of a follower. We are interested to see if he takes more of a leadership role this year or not. He was not too sure about being in class without Cameron, but I think being on his own will help him develop and grow!

It's usually difficult to get a rundown of the day from the boys, but from what I could gather, they both had a good first day. They had big smiles when I picked them up and are looking forward to going again tomorrow. We are looking forward to a great year!

Summer (2015) - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 20:14:00 +0000

We spent the majority of the summer this year with family and friends in the U.S...and it was fantastic! Most of the time when we go home, we are only there for two weeks or so, and they are a very busy two weeks trying to see everyone. However, this trip was devoted to spending quality time with my parents and Cole's parents rather than running around the whole time. Of course we saw friends, but we really tried to make sure that the trip was not stressful. The boys, especially Cameron, often ask when they will get a chance to spend time with their family, so it was very exciting for the boys to be able to have so much time with their grandparents. The boys did so many everyday things with Grandma and Grandpa, and Nana and Papa - like taking care of the animals, going to the park, picking up the mail, swimming, camping in the back yard, roasting marshmallows, going for bike rides, taking walks, having breakfast, etc. We took a short trip to see and snuggle my new nephew, but other than that, we just relaxed.

It was really nice to be back in our hometown. It's been a while since we have been there for a substantial amount of time and it felt good to be "home." It was especially fun to show the boys places where we used to hang out, go to school and church, eat, and old houses. The boys also loved all the space. They have lived in the city for a long time now, so to be able to walk out the door and be in a huge yard was a treat for them. By the end of our time there, Cameron had moved from his typical creative play (airplanes, trains, trams, traveling), to pretending to bale hay!

I went into this trip with the intention of being present. I didn't want to try to do too many things, take too many pictures, or try to force memories. I can be that way sometimes, so I really had to make a conscious effort, but it was good for me. We really didn't make too many plans, so there was plenty of time to just be. I myself was successful at not taking many pictures, but lots of other people took pictures (which I requested), so I can still look back on the good memories.

We arrived at the Brussels airport to head to the U.S. with seven bags to check, two strollers (one to sell, one to use), five carry on bags, and three children...we met one person on the way to the airport who asked us if we were immigrating!

The kids did great on the flights, but it was more difficult to keep Zoe entertained now that she's more awake and mobile. She alternated between sitting in her seat and dropping toys on the floor for me to pick up, crawling all over me, sleeping, and hanging upside down (one of her new favorite things to do).

So happy to be off the plane and running around with grandpa!

The next few day were spent recovering from the flight and enjoying family.

Cousins!

Showing off his newly acquired swimming skills

Golf cart ride with my sister...right before the torrential downpour

One of the main reason we went home when we did was so Cole could ride in Velosano - a fundraiser for cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic. Cole's dad spent six months going through treatment at the Cleveland Clinic in 2013 - 2014. Though it was really hot and humid both days that they rode, the three of them rode 180 miles and crossed the finish line together, 16 months after Cole's dad completed his chemotherapy. It was a really special time and I'm so glad Cole could be there to join them.

Modeling their jerseys

Ready for day 1...at the start

Finish line on day 1

Dehydrated!

Day Two

180 miles, done!

We had planned to head to see my sister (and baby) a couple days later, but her sweet little one decided to come early. So Zoe and I hopped on a plane as soon as we could to go meet the little man. The boys came a few days later.

Proud auntie!

While Zoe and I were with my sister, the boys had fun with Nana and Papa. They especially enjoyed a fun night in the town where Cole and I grew up!

Running to get bags of candy

We spent most of our time down south with my sister, but we managed to visit sweet friends as well!

Cameron was so happy to meet and hold Graham

Graham's first walk

Ryker, Walker and Zoe (shepherding group babies)

Zoe and Walker are holding hands already

The baseball gang

Cameron and Lydia

Harrison and Annabelle

Cameron and Lydia

Zoe and Walker (who was not impressed)

Love these kiddos!

Sleepover with the cousins!

It was tough to say goodbye to our friends and especially to my sister, brother-in-law and Graham. However, it was also good to be back with our parents.

My mom and me

Having a chat with grandma

Camping with Nana...Harrison made it about 10 minutes!

Pure joy riding in the back of the truck!

We celebrated the boys' birthdays

Not sure what kind of serious conversation is happening here...

We ran into a demonstration near my parents house one night with firetrucks, helicopters, and all sorts of other fun things for the boys to enjoy.

There were some absolutely gorgeous days to enjoy while we were home. The sky, clouds, and farmland...I miss it!

Going for a walk

Cannonball

Music in the park

Visiting a high school friend...our kiddos got along great!

We took the kids to an event that Cole and I used to go to when we were kids and they had a blast!

This is supposed to be for taking people to their cars...the boys rode it over and over just for fun

The night before we left, we had a picnic dinner with both families.

Corn hole!

The next morning, my parents took the boys out to breakfast to keep them occupied while Cole and I packed and made sure we were ready to go. It was productive for us and the boys had a great time as well. However after they had breakfast, they went to throw rocks in a lake (something Cameron loves to do) and, because Harrison is Harrison, he fell into the water and got completely soaked. He was already wearing his "going home outfit" and his brand new tennis shoes, so we were a bit surprised when they arrived home and Harrison was not wearing any pants, socks, or shoes. Despite that little incident, we got to the airport in plenty of time.

Our first flight was short and sweet, but Zoe was a good flyer and listened to the flight attendants when they said to follow along during their safety demonstration.

We had a four hour layover in Atlanta, so we had some lunch, rode the plane train for a while, watched planes, then found a quiet spot in the international terminal to get some rest.

It was difficult to leave after spending so much quality time with our families. The boys had so much fun and made some awesome memories and we sort of got back into our way of life in the U.S. We love Belgium and are happy to be back, but we are also extremely grateful for the time we were able to spend with family this summer.

Summer (2015) - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 19:29:00 +0000

We have had a fantastic summer, some spent in Belgium, but most spent in the U.S. with our friends and family. While we were really looking forward to spending some quality time at home, we made sure to have a lot of fun before heading to the U.S. Although some of these things technically happened before school was out, they were in late May and after so I still consider it to be summer fun!

Cole, the boys, and some new friends of ours visited the Antwerp Zoo at the end of May.

A little over a month after Harrison's birthday, we finally got around to having a party for him (hello middle child :/)! He requested a train party with Gordon (from Thomas and Friends) cupcakes. Since it was a bit of a last minute affair, I didn't think I would be able to perfect Gordon cupcakes, so we ended up buying some from a local bakery. Despite a slightly frazzled mommy, Harrison enjoyed the party!

Our good friend, Mitch, was visiting from Australia and stopped in to make Harrison's day more of a party!

We were very happy to welcome Cole's aunt, uncle, and cousin as well as some of their friends to Gent for a few days in June. It was a very typical couple of days in Gent with lots of rain. Thankfully, they all have fun and adventurous personalities, so a little rain, ok a lot of rain, didn't get in the way of their fun! They even walked the boys to school for me a couple of days! My favorite picture from their visit (I wasn't there), is from their boat tour through Gent. It had been raining alllll day, but the sun came out for a few minutes, so they decided to take advantage and take a tour. However, they didn't realize how crazy the weather is in Gent and it started pouring again as soon as they left for the tour. The picture below if of them on the boat trying, unsuccessfully I think, to stay dry. I'm pretty sure they didn't get any information about Gent on the tour, but instead, lots of crazy looks.

Saying goodbye

Trying to get the pretty ceiling at the train station in the picture

On the last day of school, we went with some friends to an air show in a town nearby. There were lots of helicopters and planes flying over as well as other fun activities for the kids. It was super hot, but lots of fun!

There was an army style obstacle course for the kids.

After the air show, we went to a restaurant nearby for dinner and more playtime (there was a playground at the restaurant). The kids had a great time and played until they couldn't play anymore.

Fries anyone?

Wonderful friends!

For Cameron's birthday, he requested a soccer themed party, specifically Barcelona. I, with the help of my good friend, Yasmin, made a Barcelona jersey cake for Cameron's party at school...naturally, he requested another jersey cake for this party, so I made this one on my own.

We had a friendly little match on the table with our LEGO men.

It was soooooo hot!

Serious business!

Because we didn't have enough parties at our house over the summer, a friend and I decided to have a baby shower for two ladies from church who were pregnant. Neither of them have ever had an American style baby shower as they are Belgian and Venezuelan, so we decided it would be fun to show them how we do it! Despite it being very different than what they're used to, I think they had a nice time!

Mariale and Nele

Measuring bellies

Feeding baby food blindfolded

Sweet friends!

A few days later, we had the opportunity, along with many other students, to meet up with Cameron's old teacher, Miss Corine. We met at the park for a picnic and played until she was able to arrive. The kids all love her and were so happy to see her again!

So happy to see Miss Corine again!

Miss Corine played and played with them! They had a blast!

When we arrived home from the park, we discovered that Cole had broken down and purchased a portable air conditioner. The boys were very happy (and mommy too) as it was 95°F (35°C) on this particular day.

Some other random moments from the few weeks before we headed to the U.S.

Birthday party for a new friend

Playing with school friends one last time before they left for Israel

Trying to stay cool

Visiting the construction site right outside our apartment on open day.

Ladies evening out

Cooperation

One of the last things we did before heading home was to attend a birthday party for Sebastian, a good friend of Cameron's.

We were very busy, but had a ton of fun the first few weeks of summer. Thankfully, as you'll see in part 2, we had lots of opportunity to rest and relax once in the U.S.

9 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 20:17:00 +0000

Zoe turned 9 months old today! There have been some really fun developments this month. For one thing, she is on the move! It was much more difficult to get pictures of her for this month!

Some developments this month include waving, flicking her fingers over her lips while making noise (we call it blubbering), reaching for people other than mommy, getting up on her hands and knees (only a few times), getting into a seated position from her belly (only once), and my personal favorite, saying "mama."

Zoe definitely still prefers to be with me, but she is starting to warm up to people she sees regularly. This has made Cole very happy. However, when anyone comes near that she doesn't know, she burrows into my chest and stays until said person is no longer a threat. She continues to play pretty well on her own, but still wants to be where the action is. I love that she wants to be with me, but her ability to be with others as well has made life a bit easier. I can get a break from time to time, spend time with the boys, and get things done around the house.

We're still on a four hour schedule around here, although Zoe seems to be pretty flexible when we go longer or shorter than the schedule. She still nurses four times a day and eats solid food three times a day, mostly along with our meal times. She desperately wants to be able to eat food food, but she still doesn't have any teeth...and there are no signs of any coming in yet. She doesn't seem to be too picky about any food that we will give her. Along with all the fruits and veggies that she likes, she also really likes to eat puffs or rice rusks.

Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are peek-a-boo, hang upside down, fling her arms, huff, "dance" and "sing" when she hears music, play with cups, crawl over people, "clean" things with rags, and eat. Her only apparent dislikes remain being hungry and tired.

At 9 months, Zoe weighs 16.5 lbs (7.5 kg, 20%) and is 27.5 inches long (69.8 cm, 40 %). Zoe remains a quiet little thing, but we are starting to hear more babbling when she's sitting and playing on her own. She's also starting to be more vocal when interacting with other people. I love to hear her little voice when she's talking and laughing! She's also becoming more expressive and interactive and we can see her starting to play with and mimic us. We love to see her personality continue to come out.

Zoe is still an extremely wiggly baby. She likes to be on the move and able to see in all directions. However, as I mentioned before, her clinginess has gotten better which makes life easier for me. I have noticed over the past month that her level of wiggling is associated with how tired she is...the more tired, the more restless and wiggly. When she gets that way, I know it's time for bed!

Zoe is a great sleeper. Nothing has really changed in this area in the last month. She normally takes two naps (2 hours or so) and then sleeps for 12-13 hours at night. We has a few rough nights when we returned back from the U.S., but she's back on track and doing great! She loves her fuzzy pink blanket and really wants it when she's tired. If you pick her up when she's tired and give her the blank, she will immediately burrow into you and get snuggled.

The boys are such good big brothers to Zoe. They look out for her and like to play with her. Cameron loves to give her a bottle and sing to her. Harrison like to hold her, but she rarely has the patience to sit with him for very long. She loves to watch them and likes when they interact with her. When she gets upset in the car, they are very quick to talk or sing to her to help her calm down.

Here are some pictures from the last month.

8 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 03:04:00 +0000

Zoe turned eight months old a couple weeks ago. This month has brought some fun developments, but it has definitely been the most difficult month with this sweet girl so far!

Some developments this month include picking up small food items with her fingers and putting them in her mouth, reaching out for people (mostly mommy), getting from a seated position to her belly, and scooting and turning around. She puts anything and everything in her mouth and loves to be holding something at all times.

Zoe has gotten better at playing on her own, especially when the boys are also playing around her, but she still prefers to be where I am. Her desire to be with me has gotten a lot stronger this past month...it's to the point where she doesn't really like to be with anyone but me, not even Cole. Of course I love that she wants me, but it makes it difficult to get things done. Zoe is the most wiggly baby we have had. She loves to be on the move. When I am holding her, she wants to be looking or have her body facing in every way except for the way I am holding her. That makes it very difficult to hold her for extended periods of time. She's also on the move when she's on the floor. She's never in the same spot or orientation as when I sat her down anymore. She's either scooted across the floor or gotten onto her belly and rolled to her desired location or toy.

One other development this month is that Zoe has moved from a three hour schedule to a four hour schedule. Not only does this make my life a bit easier, but it also helps with a more stable schedule for her. She nurses four times during the day and eats solid food two or three times per day. She's doing great with her pureed solid food and loves to "gum" peppers, carrots, apples, pickles, waffles, pancakes, and really anything else people will give her. She still doesn't have any teeth.

Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are watch her brothers, sit on daddy's shoulders, swat and flail her arms, hang out with mommy, pull hair, play peek-a-boo, carefully inspect things she's holding, move constantly, and huff (quickly blowing air in and out of her nose while furrowing her brow...she likes if there are other participants as well). Her dislikes remain the same: being sleepy or hungry, having a dirty diaper, being in the car seat too long, having her nose wiped, and going too long without interaction.

At eight months, Zoe weighs 16 lbs (7.3 kg, 21.8%) and is 26.5 inches (67.3 cm, 25.4%) long. She's a petite little thing, but she can definitely get our attention when she needs to. She's still super quiet almost all the time, but she has started babbling a little more. The only times we really hear her are when she hungry (she gets really mad) and tired (she gets really loud and mouthy). In either scenario, she will not be quiet until that specific need is addressed!

Although Zoe is still one of the sweetest little girls ever, she has been a bit of a challenge this month. She's been much more clingy, whiny, and difficult to please. As I mentioned earlier, she really only like to be with me at the moment and she has no problem making that known. There were a couple weeks this past month where, if I put her down or gave her to someone else, she would just scream until I came back to get her. And even when I came to get her, she was so wiggly that it was difficult to hold her. She would climb all over me, turn around and around, fuss, and pull my hair! It was very difficult to get anything done and the whining was very frustrating. We have been working on her ability to be on her own for short periods of time and she is getting better now. Other than that small problem, she is still a sweet, smily baby with a little personality coming out. I love to see what makes her happy, smile and laugh.

Sleeping is still going well. Because of the four hour schedule, Zoe now usually take two one and a half to two hour naps and then another cat nap before bed. She then normally sleeps for twelve to thirteen hours at night. She's been going down for her naps much better and doesn't really fight it anymore. She loves to snuggle with her fuzzy pink blanket, but she no longer uses a bink. Instead, she has started sucking (pretty ferociously) on her bottom lip when she gets sleepy.

Here are some pictures from the past month.

Utrecht, Netherlands and....Barcelona, Spain (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 20:37:00 +0000

As I mentioned in part 1, after our trip to Utrecht, we spent the night in Gent and then hopped on a plane for Barcelona the next day. We have never really been on a vacation like this with friends, much less friends with no children, so we were a little nervous about whether or not it was a good idea to go. However, we had a great time and our friends were very gracious about the slower pace, change of plans due to naps and/or inevitable meltdowns, and they were also helpful corralling kiddos. While we consider ourselves to be quite experienced at traveling with kids, it was nice to be able to let our guard down a bit with extra eyes on them at all times!

Barcelona is such a beautiful and kid friendly place! The buildings, the people, the weather, the food, the beach...it's all amazing! Cole and I visited Barcelona about eight years ago and, while I remember enjoying our time, this trip left a much better impression. We have so many pictures from the trip, so get ready to see lots of them! :)

We arrived very late on Thursday night (it was actually Friday morning I think) due to a flight delay and immediately got the kids in bed so we would be ready for our Gaudi bus tour on Friday morning. We stayed on a cute little street in the Gothic quarter in an apartment large enough for all of us. Other than the extremely squeaky floors, it was a perfect spot for us!

The street where we stayed

Friday morning proved to be a bit stressful as we were all sleepy, but we managed to get out the door on time. After a quick breakfast, we walked to the tour starting point, hopped on a bus, and were on our way. On the tour we saw the Passeig de Gràcia, Casa Batlló, and ended at the Sagrada Familia.

Waiting for the bus

The tour began on the Passeig de Gràcia. It was a beautiful area with very intricate buildings.

This broad elegant avenue was built for and by the wealthy Barcelonians and they have never left; luxury and design shops line the street along with major banks and the stock exchange. Architectural details include modernist lampposts and Gaudí’s tiles for the pavement and a myriad of grand buildings including two of Gaudí’s houses: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà also known as La Pedrera. (http://www.barcelonaguidebureau.com/guided-tours-the-gaudi-tour)

The second stop was Casa Batlló. The detail and design of this house was extraordinary. Of particular interest was the fact that there is still a resident living in the building. Because of rental laws, she can live there until she either dies or wants to leave for the same rent she paid 30 or 40 years ago!

Casa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí’s masterpieces, is not just a building but an artistic legend; hidden behind an exceptional façade which reflects a tranquil sea is a world of surprises and refined architectural details. (http://www.barcelonaguidebureau.com/guided-tours-the-gaudi-tour)

The last stop on the tour was the Sagrada Familia. We toured the Sagrada Familia when we visited eight years ago, but it does look different today. It was so beautiful!

The jewel in the crown of Gaudí’s works, the temple is a synthesis of his overall conception of architecture. The richness of detail and its significance need explaining in order to appreciate this fascinating and extraordinary building in full. Gaudí wanted the temple to be financed voluntarily by the people, not by taxes or funding (building started in 1882). (http://www.barcelonaguidebureau.com/guided-tours-the-gaudi-tour)

2006

2015

Ceiling

After the tour, we headed back to the apartment for naps while Geoffrey, Kseniya, and Jamie visited the Park Güell to see more of Gaudi's works.

After nap time, we walked around and explored a bit before heading to dinner. Perhaps one of the best experiences of the whole trip for the boys was running into a man who was making giant bubbles. They ran around chasing bubbles with huge smiles on their faces for as long as we would let them!

We ate dinner on Friday night at a tapas bar called Cerveceria Catalana. I have had tapas before, but this meal was extraordinary. We ordered a bunch of tapas, ate them all, then ordered a bunch more. We finished the meal off with some delicious desserts and coffee before heading to the Font màgica de Montjuïc (magic fountain) to watch the light show.

We had to have all the ladies in the picture!

Some of the goodies

On the way to the fountains

After a full day, we headed back to the apartment and put the kiddos to bed.

Loving the metro

Sleepy Zoe

On Saturday morning, we went separate ways to explore on our own. Cameron has taken a particular interest in the Barcelona soccer team, so we decided to take the boys to Camp Nou to take a tour of the stadium while Geoffrey, Kseniya, and Jamie walked around they city.

The tunnel from the locker rooms to the field

When we were finished at the stadium, we went back to the apartment to have lunch with everyone and then nap time. While the kids napped, we helped ourselves to some Spanish churros with chocolate sauce!

Once everyone was awake, we went to take cable cars to Montjuïc to see Barcelona from above and visit the castle. We first rode a funicular (still don't know how to say that word properly?!) up to the cable cars, then the cable cars to the top of the mountain.

Funicular ride

Of course the boys needed to play with the cannon before we went into the castle.

When we entered the castle, we discovered that there was a food truck festival inside.

Since we stumbled upon a fun event, we decided that we would definitely take part. But we first walked through the castle and took in the views.

Watching the planes take off and land

Taking a little rest

After enjoying the castle and sights, we went back to the festival for dinner and music.

Chicken mole taco and nachos

Potatoes with a fried egg

We also enjoyed music and dancing before heading down the mountain.

Beautiful sunset

The cable cars were closed when we were ready to leave, so we decided to walk back down the mountain to the funiculars.

We put the kids to bed once we got back to the apartment and then Cole and I took advantage of free babysitters and went out for a late night date walking around Barcelona. We enjoyed some gelato and walked around reminiscing about our trip eight years ago and talking about how life has changed so much since then. It was a nice moment to ourselves.

Eight years ago

Now

Sunday morning, we walked around the city exploring with Jamie (and Rick Stevens) as our tour guide. We ended up at the El Born Cultural Center and then the Parc de la Ciutadella.

Catedral de Barcelona

Santa Maria Del Mar

Fossar de les Moreres - a curved sculpture with an enternal flame. The memorial is for the Catalans buried in a mass grave in 1714 resisting Felipe V's conquering troops. The depression represents the sinking of the ground as the bodies decomposed.

El Born Cultural Center:

Under the structure of an emblematic market with iron casting architecture of the 19th century, the archaeological site of 1700 Barcelona is found, which is unique in Europe, along with the old market, the memory of the events of 1714 and exhibitions, all located at El Born Centre Cultural, a new and exceptional historic venue that links three centuries of history.

An exhibition to recall Barcelona society of the 18th century, that was a dynamic and modern society, but also marked by the wars suffered between 1691 and 1714.

The exhibition includes around 1,800 objects that have provided valuable new information to portray everyday life and how the people of Barcelona lived three centuries ago. Linked to the permanent exhibition at the foot of the site, there will also be three exhibition areas displaying various objects. The most remarkable is the Sala de la Guerra (War Room), where a selection of over three hundred bombs are exhibited, of different sizes, types and materials which were discovered during the excavation. (http://www.barcelonaturisme.com)

Arc de Triomf, Barcelona style

Parc de la Ciutadella: The boys spent most of their time playing at the playground in the park while the girls walked around a bit. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful park.

Cascada Monumental

After the park, we went back to the apartment, making a pit stops at the fountain at Plaça de Catalunya, to listen to some street music, and buy the boys their promised Messi jerseys. When we got back to the apartment, we had lunch together before heading to the beach.

After lunch, it was time for the beach! As this was Zoe's first trip to the beach, I obviously have lots of adorable pictures of her...bear with me!

Walking to the beach!

Despite the warm weather, the water was freezing. That didn't stop the boys from spending hours in the water!

After sitting in the sun for a while, I convinced the girls that we needed to make some memories and jump in the water! It took a little persuading, but in the end, we agreed that we definitely needed to take advantage of being at the Mediterranean Sea and go for a little swim.

Planning...

My understanding was that we were going to just jump in (Jamie dove all the way under), but as you can see from the following pictures, I was definitely the wimp when it came to getting wet. It was COLD!

Great memory with great friends!

Building a fortress

Jamie had to leave early from the beach to catch her flight home, but we stayed until the sun started to set and it began to cool down. We went back to apartment, ordered some tapas for delivery, and packed up for our trip back to Belgium in the morning.

We got up bright and early on Monday head to the airport. Unfortunately, we discovered that Harrison had a bad ear infection when we got him up and found blood in his ear and on his sheets. He was not a happy camper and we found out once we were home that he had ruptured his ear drum! Anyway, I mentioned earlier that Barcelona is a kid friendly city and the airport was no exception. There was a special security area for people with strollers and small children. It was nice to be able to go through at a relaxed pace, but it was also pretty intense. I had to put Zoe in a pack n play while going through security and Cameron and I both got the pat down after walking through the metal detector. I can understand me, but Cameron? Other than the pat down, it was a pretty uneventful trip home. We enjoyed beautiful views of Barcelona and the Swiss Alps on the flight and I got to snuggle with Zo bug.

Adéu Barcelona

As I said before, I wasn't sure how this trip would go, being with friends with no kids. While I'm sure there were times for all of us that were a bit frustrating for one reason or another, looking back, we had an amazing time and made memories that will last a lifetime! So thankful for wonderful friends and the opportunity to travel!

Happy 5th Birthday, Cameron!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 18:25:00 +0000

Cameron turned five this year!

Cameron has grown into such an energetic, enthusiastic, lovable, kind, outgoing, sensitive and smart little guy. It's been great to watch him grow and learn over the past year and to see him face life, some of it scary, with a generally positive and courageous attitude. He's a very social boy and makes friends wherever he goes. Being more of an introvert myself, I'm always amazed at how he finds people to connect with, even if there is a language barrier. Whenever we go to the park or other places to play, he usually ends up running around with someone he's connected with along the way.

Cameron with his crush, Gislene

One thing that I have really noticed over this past year is that Cameron really feels things. When he's happy, he's super happy, when he's sad, he's super sad, and when he's mad, he's super mad. He really feels his emotions and wears them on his sleeve. We're very rarely wondering what he's feeling which sometimes gets him in trouble, but it also makes him so fun to be around. His bright blue eyes and laugh are just contagious when he's excited or happy about something. He loves life and lives it at full speed! He's very active and still jumps out of bed ready for the day every morning. He's passionate and opinionated, likes to be first at everything, and loves to make noise of every kind (he does not discriminate). He likes to tell us stories and sing songs for us. He asks lots of questions and likes to understand things. He also loves airplanes, trams, trains, and anything else travel related, sports of all kinds but specifically soccer and baseball, helping in the kitchen, music, riding his bike, reading, and playing with us. He still really needs quality time with us each day. Now that he can safely ride his bike on the road, he and I take bike rides at night to spend time together. I usually let him choose the route, which he loves, and I enjoy his smiles and laughter while he decides where we go. One other thing I've noticed this year is that Cameron has become much more independent. He does most things by himself these days...getting dressed, taking a shower, putting his shoes and coat on, getting buckled in the car, putting his clothes away, and even cooking some easy dishes (scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, etc.). It's an interesting feeling to see him so independent. Many days it's nice because I have my hands full elsewhere, but there are times when I feel a twinge of sadness because of how fast he's growing up. There are days when I just sit and watch him and wonder how he has grown so fast.

Cameron is a fiercely loyal person. He loves his friends and family and is always looking out for them. For example, if Harrison or Zoe are struggling or upset, Cameron almost always tries to help them out. For example, one night, Harrison fell out of his bed and cut his chin pretty badly. I was sleeping, but Cameron jumped out of his bed and ran to our room, making a siren (ambulance) sound, to tell me that Harrison was hurt. He then helped me calm Harrison down and clean up the mess. Additionally, if he feels like we are being too tough on Harrison, he will tell us. If Cole or I get upset or frustrated, he will often remind us to not be frustrated. And it's not at all uncommon for him to try to take care of us if we're sick. It's hard for him to see people suffering and often asks to help even complete strangers. He's a very sweet boy and we love to see him want to care for people.

Cameron's extra cheesey grilled cheese!

Because Cameron's birthday is over the summer, he celebrated early at school with one of his best buddies, Matin, who also has a summer birthday. They both requested soccer jersey cakes, so Matin's mom taught me how to make a Barcelona jersey cake for his school celebration. We had his actual birthday party over the summer with friends from school.

On his birthday, we celebrated with birthday pancakes, which he helped make.

This boy is a very special little boy and we love him to the moon and back! Happy birthday Cameron man!

10 Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:45:00 +0000

Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary! 10 years?! It's a big anniversary! Today, I am filled with happiness and thankfulness. It has been a wild ride with ups and downs, good times and not so good times, lots of adventure, lots of normal and mundane, and lots of learning and growth.

Here is a little synopsis of the last 10 years:

*We've moved ten times and lived in six different towns/cities.
*We've lived overseas two times
*We've had two pets
*We've owned one house and two cars
*We've been able to travel many places including Maui and other places in the U.S., England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
*We've lost one baby to a miscarriage at twelve weeks
*We now have three healthy and beautiful children

16 year old sweethearts

Cole and I have been a couple for almost half our lives now and I don't think I have ever appreciated him more than I do now. We were babies when we got married...just 21 years old. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, what we were doing, how to love each other, how to compromise, how to listen, or how to be a team. But we have done a lot of learning over the past ten years, sometimes the hard way, and I don't think we have have ever been a better team. We are not the same people we were when we got married all those years ago, but by God's grace, we continue to move forward together.

Of course there are rough moments or days because marriage can be difficult, but I am thankful for a man who is dedicated to me and has determination to make our relationship last for a lifetime. He is a man of integrity, he provides for us, and he loves us. And we love him!

Happy Anniversary Cole! Come What May...

Utrecht, Netherlands and....Barcelona, Spain (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 19:09:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago the boys had several days off of school for the ascension holidays. Cole and I had decided that we would take another trip to the Netherlands to try and finish up some of the towns that we missed on our last visit. So we made plans to spend five days visiting Utrecht and Amsterdam. Thankfully, I'm a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to actually booking things and hadn't really nailed much of anything down because our plans changed pretty dramatically at the last minute. However, I had already booked tickets for a Thomas the Train exhibition at the railway museum in Utrecht that were non-refundable for the first day of vacation.

Our plans for the Netherlands changed because a good friend and former expat here in Gent, Jamie, decided to come for a visit and also planned a trip to Barcelona while she was here. I'm still not exactly sure whether we were invited or invited ourselves, but we ended up with plane tickets to Barcelona along with Jamie and our other friends, Geoffrey and Kseniya.

On Wednesday, we packed up the car and drove two hours to the railway museum in Utrecht. The boys enjoyed all the trains, shows, and activities!

Sir Topham Hatt (left), aka, the fat controller as they call him over here

Trains, trains, and more trains!

Thomas musical

Ride #1 on the Thomas Express

Ride #2

Eating popcorn and watching a Thomas movie

Ride #3

Saying "goodbye" to Thomas

After spending the day in Utrecht, we drove home to spend the night in Gent before hopping on a plane for Barcelona on Thursday. More to come...

7 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 19:08:00 +0000

Zoe turned 7 months old yesterday. She is becoming a such little person with every passing day with a personality and quite an opinion!

Some developments this month include passing toys from one hand to the other, rolling around all over to get where she wants to go, putting her feet in her mouth (all the time), sitting unassisted and not falling over, and eating more solid food. She also has a new reaction when she gets excited...we like to call it her star jumps (shooting her arms and legs out at the same time). She normally does this when she's on her back, but she also tries when she's on her belly which makes her look like an airplane.

Another change this month is that Zoe is starting to prefer me over anyone else. She likes to be with me and will usually try to get to me if someone else is holding her. If I am holding her and someone else comes up to her, she has started leaning into me and snuggling in close to show that she wants to stay. It's very sweet!

As I mentioned before, Zoe is doing great with sitting unassisted. I won't say that she doesn't topple over at all, but it's not very common anymore. It usually happens when she wants to move toward something and thinks she can do it on her own. Rolling is also no longer an issue as she can roll from back to belly or belly to back on either side. This girl can get around really well for not being able to crawl. She still shows no desire to even try to crawl. She can push herself up really well with her arms, but if I even try to put her knees under her, she flops back down.

Zoe has turned into a super wiggly baby. She's always liked to move around, but she has taken it to a new level. She is constantly busy these days. It is especially difficult when we are trying to hold her because she tries to climb over our shoulders, turn around for a different view, or lean down. She's almost jumped out of our arms a couple times.

At 7 months, Zoe weighs 14.8 lbs (6.7 kg, 14.2%) and is 26.4 in long (67 cm, 46.2%). She still nurses every three hours during the day and now eats solid food once or twice a day. She has tried and enjoys carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, peers, apples and a teeny bit of ice cream...which she loved! :) She has also tried bananas, but she doesn't seem to like those at the moment.

Considering that Zoe is pretty petite, she LOVES food. If she is with us while we're eating, she will stare at our food so intently that you feel like she will rip it right out of your hands. She has actually done just that with me a few times. The first time it happened, I was holding her while eating a piece of pizza and she grabbed it right out of my hand. I was very surprised! The second time, we were eating waffles for breakfast and she grabbed a waffle off my plate and shoved it in her mouth! Unfortunately, she still doesn't have any teeth, so more substantial food is not in her near future.

Zoe still sleeps really well at night, but naps are another story. I have not been very strict with nap time for her and it's starting to cause some problems. She used to be able to fall asleep wherever we were, whenever she was tired, but now there are days when she hardly naps at all. That leads to a very tired, grumpy baby. She does not like it when we lay her down period. Even at night, she will cry for a little bit now when we lay her down, but it's even worse at nap time. If we walk into her room and she even sniffs that it's nap time, she starts whimpering and carrying on. We are currently dealing with a battle of the wills. I won't say she's winning, but I will say that she's very smart and spoiled rotten! She has a new favorite sleeping position this month. She loves to cuddle up to the bumper in her crib and put a hand over the side. She now sleeps this way pretty much every night.

I would still characterize Zoe as an easy going baby. She goes with the flow and continues to be a super quiet and happy (for the most part) baby. However, I am starting to see some interesting characteristics coming out. For example, she does have a bit if a temper. She was sitting in her high chair the other day playing with some toys while I made dinner. She was happily playing, but then became agitated for some reason. I could tell that she wanted me to pick her up, but I needed to finish dinner, so I left her there a bit longer than she would have preferred. She was very clear that she was not happy with my decision and showed me by banging her toy on the tray and then throwing it on the ground. This girl definitely knows what she wants and isn't shy about letting us know! Thankfully, these spells only happen every once in a while and she is still a happy, smiley girl for the most part. I love her smile!!

Some of Zoe's favorite things include eating, sitting on daddy's shoulders, interacting with people, bath time, sitting up, holding things, and putting things in her mouth. One of her favorite things to hold at the moment are pens...she loves them, but I have no idea why! She does not really like to be held when she's tired or take naps or be in her car seat, and hates when you try to wipe or clean her nose.

The boys absolutely adore Zoe and ask to hold her all the time. They sing to her, sometimes original masterpieces by Cameron and Harrison, play with her, and love to be near her. She is starting to take an interest in their toys, which causes some issues from time to time, but otherwise, the boys love having her around.

Here are some pictures from the last month.

First wagon ride

Zoe and her friend, Ayaka

New favorite sleeping position

The helmet is just a bit too big!

First bike ride!

6 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2015 21:01:00 +0000

This post is a bit late as Zoe celebrated her six month birthday in Barcelona! She's done a lot of traveling in her six short months of life.

New developments this month include sitting unassisted for a short time, rolling from belly to back, grabbing her feet, sleeping on her belly, and rice cereal.

Zoe likes to sit because she can better see what's going on around her. I had been working on sitting with her and she didn't seem to have much interest in it, but one day, she just did it! Now she really enjoys having a better vantage point. She discovered her feet last month, but she would just stare and them. This month she has really taken an interest in the feet. She holds onto them almost every time we lay her down.

Because Zoe can now roll from belly to back and back to belly, she is all over the place! She moves around like crazy without much stopping her. There are times I will leave the room for a bit and when I return, she will be somewhere completely different than where I left her! I have no idea how she does it, but she is on the move. Also because of the rolling, she now sleeps on her belly or side. She's pretty good at rolling both ways, but she occasionally still gets an arm caught under her when she tries to roll from belly to back.

We decided to start feeding Zoe some rice cereal a few weeks ago because she was getting a bit fussy in the evening and she was starting to wake up pretty early in the morning. She also started to really take an interest in any and all food that I was eating (staring and grabbing)! She was not a fan at first and is still a little resistant to eating, but since we started, the fussiness and early rising has gone away! She does have some work to do in the eating department. At the moment, she only eats probably half of what I make and spits the rest out or tries to make bubbles shooting food in every direction!

Some of Zoe's favorite things include snuggling, interacting with people, smiling, being held in the air, watching her brothers, playing with her toys, sleeping with a blanket, holding onto anything within reach, and putting everything in her mouth. She really likes to get attention. As I said before, she loves when people interact with her and usually has a smile for anyone who will say hello. But even when I'm feeding her, if I look away, talk to someone else, or get distracted, she will often stop and look at me with her big blue eyes until I pay attention to her again. It's very sweet! Some of her dislikes include being in her carseat and people wiping her nose.

Although Zoe is rolling, moving like crazy and also doing great with tummy time, she is not showing any signs of or interest in crawling. At the moment, she is content with rolling.

At six months, Zoe weighs 15.8 lbs (7.2 kg, 42.9%) and is 26 inches long (66 cm, 53 %). She's still on a three hour eating schedule during the day. We will probably start adding more solids in the next couple weeks.

I feel a little bit like a broken record when I talk about Zoe's demeanor. She is still so easy going and happy. She talks or giggles occasionally, but otherwise, is still really happy and quiet. The only times she gets upset and cries are when she's either tired or hungry or we have gone too long without talking to her. Otherwise, she is so happy and sweet as can be.

I thought she might be getting some teeth because she's been drooling and biting, but there are still no teeth poking through. She still has pretty much no hair, but it's starting to come in a tiny bit. I can't really tell the color yet...Cole thinks it will be blonde, but I think it looks a little more brown. We'll see...hopefully soon! :)

Although we had a short period where Zoe was waking earlier than normal, she has since gone back to her normal schedule usually sleeping from 7:00 or 7:30pm until 7:30 or 8:00am the next day. She usually takes one long nap during the day and then a couple other shorter naps. I mentioned earlier that Zoe likes to sleep with a blanket. Just like mommy, she really likes to hold a blanket right at her chest to sleep. If I give her a blanket when she's fussy and having a hard time falling asleep, it almost immediately calms her down and she is able to fall asleep.

I mentioned last month that Harrison had started to take quite an interest in Zoe. That is still true. He has really started interacting with her, asking to hold her, and giving her hugs and kisses. I love to see him talking with her and snuggling. He can be a little rough with her sometimes, but it's really sweet to see him love on her. Cameron is still a big help. He also loves to talk to Zoe, sit with her, sing to her and tells her stories.

Here are some pictures from the last month

What are you looking at?

First time trying rice cereal

Zoe met a friend this month who was born on the same day in the same hospital as her. He makes her look tiny!

Another try

A rare upset moment

Snuggling with a blanket

Mother'sFireBirthStation (Cole's Title)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 May 2015 20:05:00 +0000

This past Sunday was a big day for us...of course it was Mother's Day, but it was also Cole's birthday! The kids must have felt the excitement in the air because they gave us the extra special gift of being up and ready to go super early. Zoe woke up first around 4:30 with a stuffy nose and was having a difficult time sleeping. After saline and suction, we did something we almost never do which is pulled her into bed with us to try to help her sleep. She was very happy to snuggle with daddy and eventually went back to sleep. However, the wild men then woke up sometime before 7:00 and came running over to our room to wish daddy "happy birthday" and mommy "happy mothers day." Of course they decided to join the three of us in bed for some morning snuggles rather than go back to their lonely beds.

It was hard to be irritated with them while they were being so sweet and snuggly.

Once we decided to get out of bed, the boys said they wanted to get some special pastries for the special day and some flowers for me! Cameron and Harrison both picked out flowers for me at the flower market and also gave me gifts that they made at school for Mother's Day.

After enjoying our breakfast, we went to the open house at the Gent Fire Station with some new friends.

Waiting for the tram!

The boys had so much fun looking at all the fire trucks, playing in the bounce houses, taking a ride in a fire truck, and playing on the playground. It was a beautiful and fun day!

Riding in the fire truck...don't mind Zoe's crazy eyes!

After a busy and stressful week, it was just the kind of day we needed. I felt special and loved by my family and, even though we did pretty much nothing for Cole's birthday (oops!!), I think he enjoyed the day as well. I feel very thankful for the wonderful children and husband God has given me!

Happy 3rd Birthday Harrison!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 May 2015 20:50:00 +0000

Today our sweet Harrison turned three. THREE!!! I could go on about how it goes by so quickly (because it does), but that's been said a million times. Instead, I am choosing to celebrate this little man and be thankful for what a wonderful part of our family he is. Random side note, Harrison has celebrated all of his birthdays in Belgium!

As I sit here and think about Harrison, it's hard for me to feel like I can accurately describe who he is. For those of you who know him, you know that he is quite a character. He loves to laugh and play, be chased and tickled, play with trains, watch cement trucks, jump on anyone who will let him (without mercy or warning), talk in funny voices, ride his scooter, sing and play instruments, help us cook and bake, read books, ride the tram, run around with Cameron, hold Zoe, ride his bike, and be silly. He also loves his blue blanket (he always refers to it as his blue blankey). Additionally, Harrison LOVES to eat! He eats with much gusto, which is a nice way of saying that his food gets everywhere! And he even out eats us sometimes...I'm pretty sure we should start saving now for when he becomes a teenager! He is also the king of funny faces. Whether he's being silly, or checking out a stranger, or just not enjoying what you're doing or saying, you will surely be able to see what he's thinking written all over his face.

Harrison is a pretty agreeable little guy, most of the time. He's happy to play by himself or with others. He has a great imagination and loves to play. However, he does have a bit of a temper, which really showed itself over this past year. The terrible twos were in fact terrible twos for Harrison...not all the time, but the whining, tantrums, and stubbornness really introduced themselves this year. We've had some different/new issues to try to understand with Harrison than we did with Cameron, so it's been challenging and frustrating at times, but we wouldn't trade those times for anything.

We still refer to Harrison as bunga bear. Why, we still don't know! We also very lovingly refer to Harrison as our wild child. He says and does the craziest things all the time...so much so that we sometimes send our family pictures or videos with the hashtag #HBC (Harrison be crazy). For example, he has a knack for falling into bodies of water. Whether it's a fountain, pool, lake, you name it, he's fallen in! He's also a wild man when he sleeps. Case in point - he fell out of bed head first one night and got a big gash on his chin. When I took him to the doctor, she put strips on the gash and told me to keep them clean and dry for four days. I left wondering how any two year old, much less Harrison could keep something near his mouth dry for four days?! Well, he proved my point pretty much immediately as we left the doctor's office and he fell in a puddle face first and got the strips both dirty and wet (see above point about falling in bodies of water).

Although Harrison is our wild and crazy child, he also has such a big heart. If he sees one of us sad or hurt, he is very quick to come check on us and make sure we're ok. He likes to offer his blanket to anyone who seems to need comfort.

Harrison has changed and grown so much this past year. He was still very much a toddler last year, learning to do many things on his own. However, he's become a very independent boy. He's lost most of his baby fat and he even got a big boy haircut this year. Additionally, he is now potty trained, can put his shoes on, and has very quickly mastered his loop fiets (balance bike)...which he calls his "new old bike" because it was Cameron's before it was his.

Even though Harrison has grown and changed so much, I can still see tiny glimpses of our little boy every now and then. Like when he gets tired and snuggles with his blanket and sucks on his tongue. I will hold on to those little moments for as long as I can.

For his birthday, we started the day with our birthday tradition...pancakes!

Who wears sunglasses inside...for breakfast...??

They also had a nice celebration at school for Harrison this afternoon. I made cupcakes for the celebration and the children in his class sang to him and made pictures for him!

Birthday crown and cupcake all over his face!

Tonight we went to a restaurant of Harrison's choice to end our day of celebrating. Although we try to appreciate our kids every day, there are days when we are busy, or frustrated, or tired, or whatever and don't always appreciate them like we should. I'm always thankful for the opportunity to really think over the past years and reflect on what a joy it is to have been given our children. Harrison keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh all the time. I love his wild blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, cute dimples, wonderful smile, and his infectious laugh. I am so thankful for this silly, loving, feisty, full of life, healthy child!

Here are some pictures of the last year!

He did want to eat his carrots!

Happy Birthday Bunga Bear!! We love you to the moon and back!

Hallerbos

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 May 2015 09:19:00 +0000

Last weekend, we visited Hallerbos (Halle Forest) to hike with some friends to see the bluebell flowers. The bluebells are only in bloom for a very short time, so you have to get there at the right time to really see them. Luckily, we went at a great time and were able to see the beautiful purple flowers surrounded by the bright green beech leaves. The day started off cold and rainy, but quickly turned into a beautiful afternoon. We had a great time and really enjoyed the experience!