Fun with Dutch Friends

While we were in the city of Leiden, we had so much fun visiting with our friends. Even though we don't get to see each other very often, it seems like we just pick right back up where we left off without missing a beat!

These are my two best dutch girlfriends - Janneke and Annelies! We have known each other for over 13 years! It was so fun to get together with them after so long... Annelies and Martijn are expecting their second baby in January and Annelies sure looks great! It was so fun to see her with the little baby bump. :) Here we are, sitting on the couch at her house after eating a delightful dutch spaghetti dinner!

Martijn carries both girls up to the house.

Martijn helping Annelies out by stirring the pot.

Here, Annelies' little girl Serra and Rachel are looking out the window at the busy city below. At one point, Serra put her arm around Rachel as they looked for a birdie! Sweet, huh? Here Annelies and I pose for a shot with our little girls! Annelies is such a great mother and you can tell she and Martijn are doing such a great job with little Serra because she is such a lovely child. I wish we lived closer and could get our girls together more often!

We visited with the Desars, long time friends of the family. Rachel walked with her Opa and Mrs. Desar through their beautiful garden.
Here I am with my good friend Aad Otgaar!
This is a shot from the city of Leiden with Serge, my father, me and Rachel.
Rachel and I after shopping in the city in front of the pond!
Corry, Jose, Serge and Rachel.
Corry and Leen reading a book with Rachel in their living room.

Having fun in the Netherlands

We made it here safe and sound and without too much trouble. Although Rachel did surprise us and didn't sleep until the last hour of our long flight! Needless to say, we walked up and down the isles a LOT!!! It was good practice for her and it kept her happy. She really enjoyed the airplane and did not cry when we took off or landed. She also loved seeing all the other passengers as walked by them! All in all, it was a success and we were happy to arrive in the Netherlands!!!

Here's Rachel eating her first meal at our friend's house - the den Os family. Isn't it a cute high chair? Our friend Serge used to eat in it as a little boy and his mom saved it for herself when she has grandchildren!

Here my friend Annelies and her daughter Serra are playing on the playground with Rachel. They call this the "wip" and Rachel really liked it! Annelies is 17 weeks pregnant and Serra is two and a half years old!

Here our friend Jose is feeding Rachel some vla. It is something really dutch - we don't have anything like it in the US. It is like a pudding, but creamier and not so thick. It is delicious and comes in many flavors. Rachel loved it and here she is eating the chocolate variety!

Corry den Os took us to a children's farm and she brought bread for Rachel to feed to the animals. Rachel really liked the goats, ducks, chickens and pigs. It was so cute to watch her and she kept saying "duck" when she saw anything resembling a bird!!!

You could tell she was truly enjoying herself!!!

First Steps!!!

Oh my gosh... Rachel took her first steps today! And once she did, she enjoyed it so much, that she kept on practicing. Thank goodness for those practice runs because I wasn't able to catch the first time on video - I had no idea it was coming. The following video clip is short and she only took two steps, but it shows you her progress! She was so cute and we were very proud of her. The best part is that Rich and I were both watching her as she took those very first steps which made it extra special. She waited for Daddy to come home from China - guess she didn't want him to miss it!!!

Our Trip to the Detroit Zoo

Once again we embarked on a fun day trip with the Bridget and the Bontomasi kids. Rachel and I have been trying to keep very busy while Rich is in China and this was a perfect trip to take! Despite the heat, we had an awesome time at the zoo. We saw lots of cool animals and Rachel really seemed to enjoy herself... not once did she complain about being in the stroller all day!

Here is a beautiful tiger who came up for a drink of water.

Check out the zebra!

Rachel and Alessandra finally sacked out after a long afternoon.

What a sweet angel!

Here's my favorite animal in the world - the polar bear!

Seal swimming and diving.

Rachel really enjoyed that seal. She kept pointing and laughing at him.

Touching the cold ice wall - felt really good cause we were HOT!

Dinner time at the California Pizza Kitchen. Rachel liked the avocados that came on top of the specialty pizza. It was really Yummy!

Introducing... Rachel's 1st Babysitter!

Yes, that's right! I actually hired a babysitter for the first time ever on Tuesday night! This is Morgan. She came highly recommended and I knew I could trust her with my sweet little Rachel. I honestly was not as nervous as I thought I might be. (I only checked in on them once!) With Rich in China, I decided to treat myself to a well-deserved break - a night out with Bridget for dinner and a movie. We went to see Harry Potter and had a nice dinner at the near-by Mexican restaurant, On the Border. We enjoyed some nice conversation and good food. Meanwhile at home, Rachel and Morgan were having a blast together! Morgan told me that they played quite a bit, read stories and had lots of fun. Apparently Rachel was perfectly well-behaved and went to bed without a fuss. What a good girl! Morgan was wonderful and I will certainly ask her to watch Rachel again! Here's a pic. Can't you tell that they are about to have an evening of fun?

Rachel's Friend Mason

Today Rachel and I went to visit our friends Mindy and Mason Ray in Kalamazoo. We couldn't wait to see Mindy again because she is about to give birth in less than five weeks! And Mason was fun to see again because he just continues to grow so much and do fun new things. He is really a sweet boy. Rachel likes playing with him and watching him do things that she can't yet do. It's really cute to watch the two of them together. We always have such a great time with them - we only wish they lived closer!

Mason and Rachel on the couch. Aren't they cute?

Rachel liked Mason's tickle me Elmo

She laughed at him as he flailed his arms and legs and laughed out loud. No wonder these are so popular and sell out each Christmas. What a toy - such great fun!

Rachel was really interested in what Mason was eating and thankfully he was sharing.

Mindy opening a baby gift from us. Isn't she a beautiful pregnant woman?!?! We can't wait to meet baby girl Ray in August!

More Broccoli, Please!

It's amazing, but Rachel actually loves her broccoli! I first gave it to her last week and she ate it all up. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she loves this new green veggie - it's always nice to find something new that I can feed her, since she can be picky! And this is both good for her and one of her new favorites. So much of a favorite, I might add, that when she was eating her dinner and saw the broccoli that I brought out to the table to cool, she decidedly pushed her remaining dinner aside and refused to eat any more of it. All she wanted was that broccoli! And she cried until I gave it to her. Thankfully it cools quickly! And once it was on her tray, she ate it up like it was candy. This made Mommy very happy. I am always glad to provide her with something she likes so much because it makes me smile.

Rich and I both love broccoli, too. So I will be sure to make this for her more often from now on. I thought it was really cute to see her gobbling up these pieces so quickly. The cutest thing is the sound effects - she kinda makes this low, laughing/growling noise when I give her more! Hee, hee. It's just so sweet. Isn't it amazing how the littlest things can make a baby's day?!?!

Go ahead and eat up, sweet little Rachel Roo!!!

Ice Cream with Alessandra

Rachel and Alessandra with their very own ice cream cones... how cute are they!?!?

Rachel had her very first ice cream cone when we were at the beach last. This ice cream shop has its own truly baby-sized ice cream cone. It is itty bitty and adorable - a miniture cone and dollup of ice cream on top. Just the right size for our little girls!!!

It was so cute because she got it everywhere and boy o' boy was it messy! She has had ice cream before but usually Rich and I let her take controlled bites from ours. This time she was given her very own cone to hold and eat herself...

After a while Rachel cried because the ice cream fell off her cone. It was so hot and the cone was melting fast. So, I wiped her up and shared some of my cone with her since she didn't seem to get much of her own. It was a fun and refreshing way to end the day at the beach!

More Fun in the Sun with Friends

Rachel and I went to the beach a few weeks ago with our friends Bridget, Nicholas, Francesca and Alessandra Bontomasi. It was lots of fun for all of us and we all enjoyed a fun day in the sun and water! We feel so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful friends like these. The Bontomasi family lives right behind us and they are great neighbors turned fabulous friends! And with Alessandra being only 5 weeks older than Rachel, it makes for an instant friendship. We just know that the two of them will be inseperable when they're older. Which is no problem for us, since Bridget and I have sorta become that way ourselves!

Francesca comes back to play after rinsing off her shovel and dirty hands.

Nicholas dug this great hole in the sand and Rachel was really interested in it. So, I decided to go ahead and put her in it. She really seemed to enjoy it. Funny thing is, so did I! It kept her busy and also in one place, as she couldn't crawl out of it! Yep, Mommy got a bit of a breather!

Here's Alessandra and a shot of her Mommy Bridget. Alessandra is always so sweet and smiley!

Fun in the Sun

Rachel had so much fun at the beach with us a couple weeks ago. We took her to Lake Michigan for the first time and she proved to us that she is definitely going to be a beach kinda girl!

Playing with beach toys was lots of fun. Rachel seemed quite content to sit and play.

Taking time for a quick kiss from Daddy and to rest a little bit

Mommy and Rachel getting ready to go in the water...

Rachel wanted to make sure her Daddy was staying hydrated... drink up, Dad!

Playing in the sand was lots of fun. Rachel tried to eat the sand a few times and found out that it really isn't very tasty! It was a wonderful day at the beach and we really enjoyed spending family time together!

Group Photo Shoot!

We went to JC Penny's and had Rachel's pictures taken with her playgroup friends. Since all the kids just turned one, we wanted to do something special and memorable. First off were the normal shots of the kids wearing cute outfits...


Left to Right: Caimon, Aidan, Carolyn & our little Rachel. Aren't they precious?

Then it was time to celebrate fully with none other than chocolate cake! Yum...

What a mess it was!!! All the moms had a crazy hectic time trying to wipe the kids down and clean them up. But in the end, these shots were worth it!