One More Tag

So I was also tagged by Meg. The tag is to post the 4th picture in your 4th picture folder. This picture was taken the night we said goodbye to the Higley cousins.

I tag my old Ward buddies...you know who you are!

A Closer Look

So my Aunt tagged me for this meme...oh, 3 months ago. I'm finally getting to it! The rules are to take pictures of everything as is...no prepping first.

1. My Kitchen Sink:

Pretty much the only time my sink has dishes in it for longer than 15 min is when the dishwasher is running. Proof...see the red lights on the dishwasher. Side note: one bad thing about the sinks here in Holland - no garbage disposals. I don't think you can put one in even if you want to. So sad.

2. Inside My (little) Fridge:

One of the reasons I now do grocery shopping 3 times a week. I'm still not used to going that often. One of the other reasons...how much can I possible carry home on the stroller when there are already two kiddos in it? :)

3. My Favorite Shoes:

Let's just say I really need some new shoes. I've been wearing these almost every day for the past...I believe 3 years. They were fine in the states but they don't cut it here when I do so much more walking. I'm looking into getting some tall black boots.

4. My Closet:

Notice the "scary" blue monster hiding in there?

5. The Laundry Pile:

Always a work in progress. Oh how I miss my dryer!

6. What My Kids Are Doing Right Now:

Well since they are both sleeping and I don't DARE risk waking them up, I'll post what they were doing just before naptime. We decided to take a little walk to the swings. I found out that somehow all of the pictures and videos of Glade's first birthday were mysteriously erased and the boys both have the sniffles so we ALL needed some cheering up and fresh air! Bobo (the bear) decided he wanted to come too.

7. My Favorite Room:

I just love the view I have when lying down in bed...and I love lying down in bed!

8. My Most Recent Purchase:

I've loved trying all the new candies (snoep), pastries, & juice here.

9. My Fantasy Vacation:

I know I am only 3 hours from Paris, but I don't care...I REALLY want to go home. I miss my family and friends. I got a few love letters from my family last week and it was so fun just to see everyone's (Mom's & Nae's) handwriting. Renae's letter made me lol while waiting for our metro. Emails are excellent but there's just something about holding a piece of paper in your hand that you know the person you love was holding just a few days before. I even smelled them to see if they still had traces of home...nope. Anyway, I miss all you guys. Terribly.

10. Self-Portrait:

I love swinging. It makes me feel like a kid.

Okay, so who do I tag...since it started in the family, let's keep it going with Amber & Kenna.

A Year of Glade

I know every parent seems to say this (I did approx 2 yrs ago) but I cannot believe my baby is ONE! I pulled this from my journal entry written a few days after he was born:

I was watching the birth video and I actually only pushed for 10 minutes. I knew it seemed short when it was happening but I was thinking it was longer than that. He was just an anxious little guy! He's so sweet and perfect and I can't stop holding him. Jarom said I'm going to spoil him but I can't stop, it's just too much fun to hold him!

Glade has been such a complete joy to have in our family. He is such a cuddly baby and in fact will cuddle up to anyone who wants to hold him. He's such a happy little guy and has become a Momma's Boy big time! Here are a few of his one year "stats":

-pulls up onto everything but not walking yet
-has two bottom teeth
-makes the best squishy nose faces
-thinks his big brother is the funniest thing
-wakes up at least twice each night (just two weeks ago it was 4-5 times...BIG improvement)
-loves to be held and cuddled
-says, "mamamama", "dadadada", & "ba"
-shakes head "no" & nods "yes"
-responds to his name
-eats everything he sees
-loves to bounce on the bed
-wiggles to music

I put together a slideshow with pictures from his first year. I currently only have 7 songs on my computer but I figured this song still fit...voice of an angel to go with the face of one. So get ready for lots of grins and absolute cuteness from my brown-eyed baby. I love you so much, Baby Glade. I cannot even think of words enough to express my love. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Enchanting

I was told this past weekend may have been our last nice one this year. I took advantage of the sunshine and walked to a huge park 15 minutes away from our apartment with the little boys. We fed the ducks and the swan pretzels (that's what we happened to have stashed in the crevices of the stroller pockets), jumped in puddles left over from the last rain, ran as fast as we could, gathered sticks and other "goodies" from the brick walkways, tried to climb the massive trees covered in moss, and just basked in the sunlight hoping we would get another day like this before the cold creeps in. It felt heavenly. I was humming Hymns in my head as I watched others ride by on their bicycles. Truly. Enchanting.

"Why hello there Mr Duck."

Glade reached out and took this picture all by himself ;)

Such a sweet baby

Glade hated the grass.

Breaking Sticks...this one was a little too thick!
Can you see his two new bottom teeth?

Every time Glade cries Jimmy says, "His toof is coming in!"

Notice the couple that rides by in the background. My favorite is seeing the babies on the bikes and I also saw a really old couple riding side by side holding hands! Oh, how precious. :)

Jimmy's Wheelies

This movie is dedicated to Grandpa Don (that's where Jimmy got his love of motorcycles) and to Uncle Glenn and Uncle Matt (I believe that's where Jimmy learned this trick). Oh and btw, this movie was taken in Toys 'R Us. I was so happy to find they have one here. Not as happy as Jimmy was though! It takes us about 20 minutes on the metro to get there.

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig...

The little boys and I went to the market last Tuesday. This particular one (in Blaak) is held every Tuesday and Saturday. You can find all sorts of things like fresh fruit, vegies, fish (ew, they stunk), clothes, shoes, watches, jewelry, tv's, couches, candy, cheese and of course flowers! I loved walking by the flower stands. They smelled heavenly. And can you believe that you can buy 20 gorgeous roses for only 6 euros 50 cents? Or large bouquets of flowers for only two fifty? They had 10 kiwis for 1 euro, shoes for 5 euros, shirts for 1 euro, etc.

I only spent 12 euros and got all the following:

Jacket, pants, sweatshirt, hoodie & shirt for Jimmy; watch (with extra battery) for me; two headbands, 12 cookie cutters, & 6 toys to play with in the dirt (although so far we’ve only used them in the tub).

I love the fresh produce (although it is a little annoying that they don't have much frozen or canned food). Check out my carrots I bought at the grocery store. They seriously took up half of my tiny fridge until I chopped the greens off. Oh, and my eggs look like they came straight from the chicken complete with feathers and poop...they may have still been warm! Okay, so they weren't warm but they do just store their eggs on the shelf (not refrigerated) at the store.

Opening up the egg cartons here brings me back to the good Mapleton farm days when my siblings and I would collect the chicken eggs each day (often warm, complete with feathers and poop) while dodging that pesky rooster that Matt eventually got the best of. After collecting eggs we'd be off to feed the horse, cats, dog and cows. My favorite was probably when we had the ducks and also the baby cows that we fed with a bottle. My least favorite were those mean pigs (Amos & Andy)...oh man they were mean! And I never enjoyed cleaning up any of their feces...but who would?

This inspired me today.