Birthday Boyness

Alexander's birthday is coming up this Wednesday, and he got his first gift early from his Uncle Eric and Auntie Jo Jo because they won't be around for his birthday. It's a remote control car, his first.

Of course it was a huge hit. He has this new laugh, a deep giggle of pure delight, and for the first 10 minutes he played with it he couldn't stop laughing every time he made it move. So fun to watch!

I feel like this ushers in a new era of boyness. His first remote control car! What's next? Video games? Real tools to replace the plastic ones? We'll see what his birthday brings...

I hope that doesn't sound too ominous. :)

Little Walker

She's walking more and more each day, and it's amazing to see. I find myself missing the crawling already. Pretty soon she'll only crawl when she's pretending to be a horse or a dog. That little butt-twitching crawl is on its way out. She has this funny little gallop to her walk where she leads with one foot while the other sort of brings up the rear. I'm sure that, too, will only last until she masters the whole balance thing.

Our Husband

The other day, when we were still trying to get back into the groove of our work/school schedule after vacation, Alexander asked me, "When is our husband coming home?"

I think I'm going to miss this stuff when he gets all his grammar kinks worked out. I love it when he tells me he used "both of his feets," or when he suddenly starts calling me Lisa rather than Mama. Although, I hope that one doesn't fade away. I like being called by my name, even when it's my surly son looking for a new way to boss me around.

Here's a picture of Alexander painting the build-it-yourself birdfeeder he got for Sinterklaas:

Saying Grandpa

I don't really know how you determine what a child's first word is. Annabel is always chattering, saying, "Ma ma ma ma," or, "Ba ba ba ba," or, "Da da da da," or, "Glinfdjkalie."

Michiel and I still differ on what Alexander's first word was. He says it was "truck." I say, "ball." We agree that "mama" came later.
Annabel says, "ma ma ma ma," in a sort of whiny drone when she wants me, and I guess that means she's said "mama." But the other day she said something much more clearly.

We were over at my parent's house, and Annabel was standing at the coffee table, like she does.

Dad said, "What do you have to say for yourself, little girl?"

I said, "Say grandpa."

She swung her head around to look at him and said, "Gam-pa," just as if she'd been practicing in secret. It was so clear.

I don't know if it qualifies as her first word, but it was the first time I have been positive that she meant exactly what she said.

She's Walking!

For real, this time. Although, this was a couple of days ago, and since then she seems to prefer to crawl. It's faster.

Good Night's Sleep

Finally! We bought a new mattress! I'm so excited! I'm hoping this will put an end to my back pain. I didn't realize how bad our current mattress was for my back until we spent two weeks in the Netherlands sleeping on a nice, firm, foam or latex mattress. Voila! No back pain.

So, when we returned from vacation, I wasted no time. On Tuesday, Dad and I went out and bought a new latex mattress. I feel like such a grown-up! Michiel and I have moved around so much that it was never a realistic option to buy a new mattress; we just made do with hand-me-downs.

But now, with two early-rising kiddos, it's extra-important that I'm not cranky and bedsore when I wake up in the morning. So, I'm choosing an Englander latex mattress for the best night of sleep around. Ooops...slipped into advertisement mode!

But really, I am excited. I almost fell asleep when I was trying out the mattress in the store. Of course, I was still jetlagged. Unfortunately, our new mattress arrives in 10-15 days. I hope I can wait that long...

And just so there's a picture on this post:

And just so there's a picture on this post:

That Boy Has Good Eyesight

We are back from our trip to the Netherlands (with a side trip to Germany). I have many stories to share, but I'll start with a simple one from the plane ride home:

We were circling the Portland airport, getting ready to land, and Alexander was peering out the window, naming things he recognized.

"I see the ocean!"

"I think that's a river."

"Oh, yeah, a river. I see a boat. And a bridge." And then he shouted, "Mama, I see Germany!"

The whole front of the plane laughed.