My Pride and Joys

I used to be very good about having the kids pictures taken professionally. On the nose I did Katie's 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 12 month portraits. For Andrew, well, close to that...(second child~ sorry buddy).

It had been almost a year since I had them done together and was stressing over it. I can prepare as much as I like...pick their outfits, schedule a convenient time, pack snacks and drinks... But, it all comes down to whether they are either "on" or "off"...

At the start, Andrew was OFF. He had fallen asleep in the car and did not wake up happy. So, the very nice photgrapher at Clix suggested to come back in a little bit because she had a wide open afternoon. We ran over to Chuckee Cheese, ate some pretty bad pizza and played on some pretty grimey rides. Didn't matter to me... We went back to Clix with a fed and happy toddler.

Most of the time (as mentioned in my last posting) Katie does not like her picture taken. She simply looks down and says no. I have a lot of pictures of the top of her head! Today, the stars must have been aligned and she was ON. She posed, she smiled, she teased the photographer and had a great time. She did great!

Here are the final poses of the kids we picked. Top right family picture was also from this sitting.

Just Another Day at the Zoo

Grammy came for a visit last week. As always, the kids ate up the attention, and I very much enjoyed the company.

We headed to York's Wild Animal Kingdom for the morning. The kids both love animals and Katie is into the Lion King (still) and has now added Madagascar to the list of movies she likes to watch over and over...

Feeding the deer

Katie & Grammy in front of "Simba" & "Nala"
(look closely)

Andrew & Grammy looking at "Marty" & his friends

Andrew was a little afraid of the ducks.

They were pretty aggressive with the food!

Katie's good friend, Jillian, met us at the zoo.

(Disclaimer: Yes, it does appear that I have an uneven amount of pictures of my children. But, for the record, Katie will not let me take her picture. Andrew, thankfully, has not hit this "lovely" three-year old phase yet)

At the Farm with Grandma

Ned is in Holland for two weeks straight and me and the kids are enjoying what is left of summer in the US. For those of you with little ones, you know how taxing it is to be solo so I recruited some help.

My mom, known as Grandma, came up for an extended labor day weekend. Here are a few pictures from Butternut Farm where we picked blueberries, peaches and plums.

Katie, true to form, was careful and diligent in her picking. Making sure not to pick fruit too green, too firm, too mushy etc.

Andrew, true to form as well, was less precise. Picking green blueberries and eating handfuls, picking up mushy peaches and plums off the ground (!!!) and eating them.

Peach picking with Andrew

Peach picking with Katie

Blueberry picking

Note: Andrew's hand in the basket of blueberries!

It was a gorgeous New England day and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it.

Like Family

Throughout life, if you are lucky, you make friends that turn out to be family. I am lucky.

At the tail end of our family vacation in Ocean City, two of my dearest friends, Kate and Courtney, along with their families came for a visit. Although too brief (it always is), we had a great time. The kids had tons of fun on the beach and boardwalk. The adults, too shared lots of laughs and good times.

Left to Right: Anna (16 mo.)on big Sister Lily's (almost 5) lap, Andrew (19 mo.)
in front of Natalie (almost 8), Meredith (almost 4) and Katie (almost 4)

Katie, Lily and Natalie

Lily and Katie "trying" to drive

Katie on the tiniest ferris wheel

Anna

Ocean City

The second week in August we went to Ocean City, NJ. For those of you who don't know, I have been going to Ocean City since I was born. Literally. My mom, too, has been going there since she was born (a long, long time ago... ha ha, mom)

I have so many great memories of going to the beach with my cousins...building dribble castles, ball castles, castles with moats...burying children in piles of sand, making mermaids and race cars with my live heads...jumping the waves, body surfing, and boogie boarding...the amusement rides...And, of course, making "swimming pools" complete with walls that we truly believed would not be crushed by high tide..

It was almost nostalgic to be sharing the same good times with my own children.

We had wonderful time. The weather could not have been better, but what really made the trip so good was spending time with my family. Cheesy, I know, but true. Rich, Carolyn and Charlie, along with my parents and us stayed under one roof for the whole week. We went to the beach everyday and also hit the playground and boardwalk together. The kids got along very well. Of course they occasionally took toys from each other, pushed or tormented one another, but all in all they really enjoyed each other. The boys, Charlie and Andrew, are only 5 months apart. It was "monkey see-monkey" do all week. Katie assumed the role of "boss of everyone."

The next generation of Ocean City-ers

The Galka Family

The boys in their matching euro suits we bought in Maastricht

Pop and Katie playing with a boat

Aunt Carolyn and Katie

Uncle Rich and Charlie

Katie and Charlie

Sand slide?

Charlie, Andrew and Katie celebrating Charlie's 2nd birthday (a week early)

Train ride at Playland with Rich, Charlie, Me, Katie and Andrew

Grandma on the Hot Air Balloon ride with Katie and Charlie

Dragon Tilt-a-World with Daddy

Good Friends

Katie has a wonderful group of friends that she met when she was just a baby. The moms and I have watched them grow up and have provided each other with so many laughs and support over the last few years. The kid's friendships, as well as ours, have been invaluable.

Just a few days after landing (sorry this is SO late), we hosted a pool party in our back yard.

Baby pool, that is. Just a handful of our fav friends could make it but it was a great time nonetheless.

Andrew and Katie

A "newer" addition known always as Baby Alaina (Jillian's sister)

Three "girls" in a tub ~ Sylvia, Katie and Jillian

Adjusting

We are back on US soil and it feels good....

Our travels were quite uneventful. The taxi picked us up Satruday at 6:45am (we were up at 5:45am) to catch the 7:26am train from Maastricht to Eindhoven (about an hour). We switched trains, luckily our next train was on the same platform, and we reached the Amsteredam airport with plenty of time to get a snack and board our flight. Our only hiccup, so to speak, was that our flight was one hour late leaving/arriving.

Ned and I divided and conquered...

We had:

1 stroller
3 large roller duffle bags
1 diaper bag
1 carry on tote
2 Britax carseats
2 laptops
2 kids!

I managed the kids... didnt loose any! Ned managed the luggage on an off the trains...didnt loose any!

The kids were good on the flight. Andrew napped for about 2 hours at the start of the 7 hour flight. Katie did not, but enjoyed watching endless videos. Both were exhausted when we finally got to our shuttle service and fell asleep. Katie slept from 5pm-3:30am and was ready to start her day! Andrew, because he napped we think, slept from 9pm-6am. (awesome!). The next night was the reverse... Andrew slept from 7pm-3:30am and was ready to start his day! And, Katie slept from 7:30pm-6am. Oh well, they say it takes about a week to adjust.

We are tired, but happy and excited to see our friends, house, dog and all that is familiar.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well, actually it is more like --

Cab from our house to the train station
Train for 3 hours to the airport (or trains, not sure yet)
Plane to Boston
Shuttle service to our house

Total estimated travel time: 16 hours

Despite the stress and aggravation it will take to get there, we all can't wait to see our house, our dog, our family and friends. Not necessarily in that order...

I have also started dreaming about the little things I miss... coffee mate, diner pancakes, dunkin donuts drive through, Target, my bed, non-delayed cable, the radio in English...


See you Saturday USA!

Blueberries

Holland has a lot of farms. Right near our house, practically in our backyard, there are kilometers and kilometers of wheat, corn, lettuce, apples, pears, cherries, and so forth. It is quite beautiful. And, we live 5 minutes from the city!

This past weekend we went blueberry picking in Belgium, about a 45 minute drive. http://www.blauwebessen.be

Katie is a collector by nature and has been for about the last two years. She started with rocks the summer she was Andrew's age., Her collections since have included: acorns (that one lasted forever!), shells, and pine cones. It is no wonder why she loves picking fruit. She literally could stay for hours picking. She is contemplative, looking for the best ones, and really enjoys herself.

Andrew ran between the rows of blueberry bushes playing chase (as in you can't catch me) and peek a book. Unlike a few weeks ago, he actually was very interested in picking the fruit. His method -- Step 1. Pick green blueberries. Step 2. Eat blueberries. Step 3. When feeling lazy, eat blueberries straight from the bucket his sister was hard at work filling!

Funny story - At one point in our picking, a man who worked there came over and said something in Dutch or Flemish. I have no idea what he said, but based on his body language, he said something about Andrew eating blueberries. Snagged. I did what any mother would do, act surprised and sort of smile awkwardly. I told Andrew, no no. With that, he opened his mouth and out spilled at least 5 blueberries!

Getting a lesson from Dad on picking blueberries

Caught

Peek a Boo

Cute girl

Silly face.

The farm had a nice playground, bouncey house and riding toys.

Katie told me that she wants to drive a tractor when she grows up

Mom had fun too!

Hakuna Matata

Katie is in a major Lion King phase. She has loved it since early February when she first saw it at my parents house. We watch it every day while Andrew naps (since she has given up naps). Yes, every day. We both know the movie word for word, song by song.

Lyrics:

Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase

Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It's our problem-free philosophy

Hakuna Matata!

Hakuna Matata?

Yeah. It's our motto!

What's a motto?

Nothing. What's a-motto with you?

(ha ha ha)