Weekend

We were planning on taking the kids Trick or Treating, but the windchill was 38 degrees and we don't have the kids winter coats or mittens, so we stayed in. At least they went to the Halloween Party the week before.

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for the wife of a guy Matt works with. It was at Bakkerswinkel, a great restaurant! It was very nice and I was able to meet quite a few people that I have a feeling we are going to spend a lot of time with! I was a little hesitant going at first because I had never met her before so I felt really strange going to her baby shower, but I am really glad I went. It is different here in that everyone has been in our position before so I feel like people are going above and beyond to make us feel welcome. It is much appreciated!!

After the shower I came back and we got the kids ready for Andrew's 1st birthday party at Sara and Aaron's. It was a great farm themed party and the kids had a great time!

Sunday was my birthday. Happy B-day to me! :) Matt bought me the movie Sex in the City and the kids gave me the Other Boleyn Sister. I had been wanting to see both!! So, I watched those and Matt cooked a great dinner...steaks, potatoes, mushrooms, onions...fantastic! I also was able to shower without any kids in the room. It was wonderful! :)

Today I took Kaylin and Shane to Tun Fun. It is an indoor playground built in a former traffic underpass. There is quite a bit to keep the kids occupied. I really liked that they have it divided so the little kids are not in with the bigger kids and vice versa. Kaylin spend the first half playing in the age 1-4 area and then because she thinks she is 10 years old she thought she belonged with the bigger kids. So, I spent the last half trying to persuade her back to the toddler area! It was about a 20 minute walk there and I had no problems finding it. I definitely am not feeling

as scared to take the kids out. Taking them on the tram intimidates me a bit still, but I am sure it will be second nature soon and I don't enjoy grocery shopping with them, but I didn't back home either! :)

Yeah!!!

Your sea shipment have just arrived in The Netherlands and we have brought the goods to our warehouse until we have the import permit and can clear your goods. We hope to have the import permit this week. We will keep you posted on the status. When we have the import permit we can already plan a delivery date.

You air shipment will be sent when we have the import permit.

What a relief!!

Happy Birthday Kaylin!!

Kaylin turnes 2 years old today! I can not believe how fast the past 2 years have gone. It is hard to believe that she isn't a baby any more and is now a little girl. I guess the saying time flies when you are having fun is true!

She is so entertaining. Everyday she says or does something new that makes us laugh. It is fun because now we can do little projects with her and take her to the zoo and park and know that she is really enjoying herself. She says so much now and definently lets us know when she is unhappy and gets very determined if she wants something or if something isn't how she thinks it should be. One of my favorite things to do with her now is sing songs. She loves it and her little voice is so cute. It is so sweet when she sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We truley are so lucky!

Before we moved we bought her a kitchen set and some food with the hopes that it would be here in time for her birthday, but that unfortunantly is not the case. So, we picked up the Little People Fun Park and had it set up for her when she woke up along with a bunch of balloons. Once we get into the house her kitchen set will have to be Birthday Part 2....she deserves it with all that has gone on for her in the past 5 months!

She spent the morning playing with the fun park and balloons and talking with her Papas and Grandmas (Manas). She ate lunch and napped and then we made some party hats, talked with Auntie Lauren and Uncle Sean, had pizza and cake! She had been waiting for that cake since we picked it up.

Halloween Party

This morning we went to a Halloween Party at the Melkhause in the Vondelpark. We had such a good time! Two of the women in the group borrowed us costumes. Kaylin is a duck and Shane is a pumpkin.

Here is what we were able to do:

10:00 party starts
10:30 until 12:30 face painting
10:30 until 12:00 pumpkin painting, cookie/cupcake decorating and necklace making
12:00 until 12:30 story time
12:30 parade of costume, costume contest and group picture.
13:00 party ends, please collect your goodie bags.

This week we were also given two chairs, a floor mat and a exersauser/bouncer for Shane to borrow until our stuff is delivered. Everyone has been so helpful. It really helps to have people around who have been through all of this before!! He is loving all of the new toys!

Funny

I keep forgetting to post this so now the story gets its own space...some of you my know that I enjoy taking extremely hot showers. Apparently I have the water so hot that the steam triggered the fire alarm! Yep, that is right my shower set the fire alarm off! It is an alarm that calls the apartment manager to let him know that an alarm has been triggered. So, about 20 min after my shower we get a knock on the door from the manager making sure everything is okay! OOPS! :)

Matt's First Day

Matt started work today and said he had a good but boring day getting his computer set up with all of the files he needs. He is expected into work between 8-9 AM which is really nice and then today he got home around 6:15. I keep asking if there is anything else that went on to add to the blog, but he insists that is about it!

Kaylin, Shane and I went to our first playgroup. I missed our stop and had a little bit of trouble finding the apartment, but overall it was pretty smooth. I had Kaylin walk down the stairs and I put Shane in the carrier and then took the stroller up the stairs to the sidewalk. I had to do a little pursuing to get Kaylin into the stroller, but once she was in she was fine. There were about 15 kids there and Kaylin had a good time playing with them. It seems like a good group and I look forward to getting to know everyone better.

5 Months Already!

Shane is 5 months old today. He can sit by himself for a few seconds and today he started straitening his back and getting a bit more steady. He loves to touch our faces especially when eating or falling asleep. Last week he definitely found his voice and seems to love to hear himself talk. Tickle him on his sides and you'll get some good belly laughs! Overall just a sweet cuddly boy!