Just for you, Hanneke

Okay I had a bit to do with him doing it this time, but still hilarious!

Changing Everyday

Our little man has become so much fun! These are some pixs of his latest outings and adventures- He turned 8 months a couple of weeks ago and he is trying everything- Crawling all over the house, Eating the "big people's food" with his own fingers at the table, and scootin around the coffeetable (practicing that impossible feat of walking on his own). I feel so lucky to have two great kids and an older daughter who is such a great help!

Jungle Gym Fever

Mama's Little Helper

Morning

4 Months and Counting

As some of you know Marielle is obsessed with princesses right now! Not just one princess, all princesses and now Caleb is getting the joy of that. Here is one of her "princess hats" that her brother Caleb had to try on. I have a feeling this is not going to be the end...We will have boas on him, pink dresses and god forbid, her princess rhinestone shoes.

Luckily, the little guy is such a good sport. He had his four month check up today and he is doing great. 95% for both the weight and height. Tom says he has his Dutch genes and he's going to be tall like his opa. We're grateful he's healthy and just such a great blessing in our life!!

Peace

The other day I was in the sauna at the gym with two guys about 21. One of the guys was telling his buddy how he was super psyched for Valentines Day. He was going to drape rose petals all the way up the staircase to their bed, and have his buddy light 50 candles for her while they were out at dinner (one of the most expensive ones in town, he had to emphasize). As he went on about how beautiful the 2 page love letter was he wrote his girlfriend, I felt happy inside. It is so nice to not need everything to be over the top anymore. I don't need Tom to drape rose petals all over the bed to feel loved. (Although I still want him to come running down the steps like Colin Firth did in Bridget Jones Diary and tell me he loves me just the way I am). I don't miss the days when I thought rose petals, and love letters equated "real love". Don't get me wrong...I thought it was incredibly sweet that he was going to such an effort for his girlfriend, but I realize life is full of stages. I'm past that...I'm not past other things, but I am past over the top romantic gestures that don't really fill me up inside. I love the way Tom dances with Marielle to Queen, I love the way he stays up late to pick up some toys when I'm totally exhausted from watching Caleb and Marielle all day and most of all I love the way I am at peace with my own self.

Graffiti Artist

She may be no van Gogh, but she is my little artist. Marielle's fascination with color is at an all time high. She is so happy to color and leave her mark everywhere she goes that she even felt our dining room walls needed a little shake-up. I think the boring light beige must've been getting to her because this week she decided to add a bit of red crayon just for the oh so hip and cool "2 year old graffiti effect".

Spa time

Marielle's latest obsession is her hair! Every time we eat she thinks the table is an oasis for her own little mini-spa. Of course, her papa doesn't find this new found love of rubbing yogurt or ketchup in her hair half as fascinating as she does. Needless to say, bathtime is up in our house!!

Innocence

“An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.”

Andy Warhol quote


Picture taken after viewing the Warhol exhibit

Prepostions

Learning to read can be very exciting. And like most two year olds, Marielle constantly wants to learn. So many nights as we're sitting around the t.v. she'll pull out her kids enclyclopedia and ask Tom and I "What's that?"

Glancing down at the book one of us will usually explain to her she's looking at a spider or a sea lion as she examines the picture with total amazment.

However, it never dawned on me Marielle was forming her idea of prepositions until the other day when we were standing in a checkout line at Walgreens and she looked up at a big, burly man with a long beard and screamed, "What's that?"

Quietly (as I tried distracting her) I told her that was a man. But she didn't seem to believe me because very loudly, she said again, "What's that?"

This time I had to laugh and luckily the big, burly man in front of her was a good sport and smiled, but that's when I realized just maybe I need to explain the difference between what and who to my two year old daughter.