Shane Walking

Shane taking a few steps! He is getting more confident and trying to walk a lot more.

Beatrix Park

Here are some pictures from our day at Beatrix Park. It is a beautiful park not far from our house.

A pond with A LOT of birds. Daddy made sure Kaylin kept her fingers behind the fence. He was very worried that one would bit her finger.

Shane borrowing Kaylin's bear before his nap.

10 Months

Our boy is 10 months old! He is quite the active little boy and can now take 4 steps in a row! He loves playing peek a boo, catch and has quite the little arm on him. He bangs and throws everything! He has two teeth on the bottom and 4 on top with a few more moving around. Kaylin is his greatest source of entertainment. He just can't help himself when she is playing and wants to be right there next to her which usually makes her very upset! He knows when he is not supposed to do something because he will look at what ever it is , the plant for example, and will then look at me and smile and then look back at the plant which he will do a few times in a row and then he will finally grab it if I don't get to him first. He has a great appetite and often eats more than Kaylin. I love that he is so cuddly and often just wants to sit in my lap while he plays and while he is playing he'll lean back and look up at me and smile...melts my heart every time! He also loves to ride on our shoulders. He is growing so fast.

He LOVES this carrot that his Auntie Kate made. He was crawling around with it hanging out of his mouth but I didn't get the camera in time. He took it to bed with him one night and didn't even want to let it go when I was putting his jammies on.

This was after dinner tonight!

Kaylin and Shane wrestling.

Ajax UEFA Cup Match

On Wednesday a guy Matt works with had an extra ticket to the Ajax UEFA Cup Match (Amsterdam's Soccer Team). The UEFA Cup is a tournament that the Ajax qualified for. We are still learning how it works so I really can't explain all of it yet. Matt had a great time even though they lost in overtime. I watched the game on TV and I could feel the excitement. What is really neat about the games is that the crowd just feeds off of each other. This is very serious business here! Matt took some video of the crowd before the game.

Steps!!

Shane has taken his first steps! Yesterday morning he took a step from the table to the chair Matt was sitting on and today he took a step away from his wheel burro and one to me this afternoon! :)

Weekend

Yesterday we decided to go to Artis Zoo. It is a really nice zoo in the middle of the city. Unfortunately it was raining so we didn't spend too much time outside, but we bought a year long pass so I didn't feel too bad about not spending a lot of time there. I am sure it will pay off this summer.



This afternoon we are going to have dinner with Lucy and her family. Chelsea and Aaron will be there also and we are looking forward to it!


So, I am starting to get some pain in my right hand from crocheting, so I have decided to try knitting again, taking some inspiration from my grandma who has been knitting up a storm. Also, just checked out Kate's blog and saw she has been knitting like crazy too...wish I could come have some knitting lessons from both of them now! I am also glad gram gave me a bunch of knitting supplies before I left. She has also been raving about the continental style of knitting and even told me to check out Google for some videos! Yes, grandma told me to check out Google! LOVING that she is starting to become computer savvy! Calling on Skype has given her some computer confidence! I am starting on a dishcloth which is not exciting at all, but I am just wanting to practice so I can move on to some bigger and better projects. I have ripped it out at least 4 times!

I have NO idea how I knitted Kaylin a hat last year...I seem to be struggling a bit, but have been obsessed and am starting to go a little faster.



Here are some pics from yesterday. Kaylin trying to take a picture with Shane, but he is not wanting to.









Curtains...endless enjoyment

















Kaylin and I knitting this morning and Shane wanting in on the fun. See how I have been obsessed...12 pm and I'm still in jammies

Differences

I've been wanting to create a post of all of the things we have found different from what we are used to in the States before we really start to forget and think of our new surroundings as "normal."

Kitchen-No garbage disposals - something to do with the sewer system,
Smaller fridge, freezer and dishwasher. Not a big deal though because we go to the grocery store more than we did in the States
Separate toilet and shower
Only cold water in the toilet room
Smaller washer and drier which I am having a huge problem getting used to. I hate doing laundry and having to do it everyday irritates me!
No shower curtain, but a glass panel that folds back when you want to have a bath
No smoke detectors in the homes
No screens on windows or doors
Mice are common- not a welcome addition to the move!
Separate bike lanes, I have seen very few helmets
Streets are not paved, all brick
garbage day is two days a week, ours is Wednesday and Saturday. We take our garbage to the designated spot on the street
There is a doctor per neighborhood and he practices out of his house.
The majority of babies are born in their homes, pain meds are very uncommon. ( Actually I have found that the US is one of a few countries that regularly gives pain medication during labor.)
They also don't give tylanol and motrin as often if at all.
Cribs, highchairs etc are much smaller
They have some awesome strollers, but are VERY expensive. I am interested to see how long our stroller lasts here because of the uneven roads and how much banging it takes getting on and off the tram and dragging it up and down stairs
I can't find celery and sweet potatoes and squash are more expensive
I saw one pick up truck and it looked SO out of place!
Flowers are very inexpensive. I can get a dozen or so tulips for 4 euros which is about $5.50
The dutch speak their mind...no guessing what they are thinking which can be refreshing.
Babies laydown in the buggies for what seems like forever. I was yelled at by a Dutch lady for sitting Shane up in the stroller right when we came here. He was able to support his head and sit by himself. She explained that they are told to lay the kids flat. Shane would have been SO upset if he had to laydown.
Stores don't open before 9 except for the grocery store and people don't get moving until about that time at the earliest!
I haven't seen a school bus yet.
I can't remember all of the details, but kids are seperated early on as to who is going to a trade school and who is going to university
Everyone is fluent in AT LEAST 2 languages...makes me feel very selfconcious that I only know English
No mixed drinks, no ice and beer is a much higher alcohol percentage
Bread is made daily and when it is gone they don't make more, some stores don't refrigerate they eggs, and some milk is not refrigerated either because it is pasturized at a higher temperature
I am sure there is more, but that is all I can think of right now.

Last Week

A lot going on the past week....playgroup, colds, new babysitter, beach, swimming! Feels good to be busy!

Kaylin and Shane have been having a great time with their new friends. We had playgroup at our house and it was a lot of fun. We had 4 moms and 7 kids. It was loud! Kaylin is starting to get the sharing thing down. If someone has a toy that she wants she will bring over a different toy to the kid and then expect to get the toy she wants; still has to learn that she has to wait until they are done playing with it. It is a start though! It took a bit for Shane to get comfortable with all of the people, but by the end he was following them all around.

Come Thursday night Kaylin had a bad cold and spent the rest of the weekend cuddling and coughing. Shane was next and unfortunately he has two teeth that are about to come through. A cold and teething are not a good combination and is just starting to smile and play again. He spent two days tucked into the sling which did not make Kaylin happy because I couldn't put him down with out him crying ( he went straight to the red face no sound cry!) so she didn't get as much one on one time.

We had our first babysitter on Saturday and everything went well. Kaylin had a hard time going to bed so Laura said she ran into our bed and fell asleep there. As long as she went to bed we didn't care where she slept! We look forward to having her back. Matt and I had a going away party to go to that night and I felt extremely "Dutch" when we hopped onto our bikes for our date night! The ride there was so nice...the ride home after a few ( or in someone's case a few too many) drinks made for an interesting ride home. Lets just leave it at that!

Yesterday we along with our friends Chelsea, Aaron and their two kids went to Den Haag to check out the beach and board walk. It was so much fun. The beach is huge and the kids enjoyed finding sea shells. There were a ton of them and they were really pretty too. We ate at a pancake house and walked around. The weather was nice, cloudy but no rain!

Today we took the kids to the indoor pool here in Amsterdam. It is awesome! The whole top floor is for kids. The only downside is that it was like a sauna in there. It was Shane's first time in a pool and I didn't get that many pictures of him because the camera lens kept fogging up. He really liked it though and Kaylin loved going down the slide.

On Tuesday we are getting Shane's 9 month pictures taken and hope to get a few of Kaylin as well. In May we plan on getting his 1 yr, Kaylin's 2 1/2 year and a family picture.

Shane is giving kisses now and loves to play catch. It is so cute when he throw the ball. I will have to post a video sometime.

Kaylin made a necklace this week.

We are hopefully going to Scotland right before Easter and I have booked a vacation to celebrate Matt's 30th birthday. He knows we are going somewhere he won't find out where until we get to the airport. I am so excited!

I really feel like we are settling in and it feels good!