Back to normal...

After having Andy traveling quite a bit the past 3 weeks, he's home! Rachel was so excited to see her daddy yesterday. She was very giggly and wouldn't let him out of her sight. She even let Andy put her down when she napped and went to bed for the night. And of course, Andy loved being so loved. :) Unfortunately Rachel didn't get to see her daddy today. By the time she woke up, he was already at work. When I went to Rachel's room this morning she said, "hold you, Daddy" over and over and over again. Poor girl! She probably thinks he's taken off again, but luckily he hasn't. We are lucky because Andy hardly ever travels. But when he does, we miss him. The month of April will most likely bring some late hours, but Andy's told me it won't be as bad as it was in Houston. We shall see... At least he'll make it home each night, eventually.

We finally caught up with the U.S. and did Daylight Savings on Sunday. So now the sun comes up around 7:15 am and sets around 8:15 pm. In the middle of the summer, we'll have some long days (5 am - 10 pm), which should be interesting. :) A few weeks ago I got a little creative with the tin foil and did this to Rachel's bedroom window:I guess I am pretty spoiled. Once the sun was coming up around 6:30 am and Rachel was waking up earlier, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This was the cheap way out, but I didn't really want to invest in blackout curtains for a home I do not own. So, Rachel is sleeping much better and so far the tin foil has worked out well. However, I think Andy and I are just going to have to get used to the sunshine. We have too much window to cover and I doubt our neighbors would appreciate it (our windows are in the front, unlike Rachel's which face the back).

But hey, if you're tired enough, you can sleep through sunshine, right? Last, but not least, here's a picture of Rachel this morning. I was vacuuming and she was watching her favorite (babytvchannel). Doesn't it look comfortable? The couches are right there, but I guess the floor was where she wanted to be. She was busy playing with her belly button and watching TV.

To Clean or Not to Clean

On Tuesday or Wednesday this past week Rachel insisted on having the top off of her sippy cup. So, I took the top off and let her drink away. She's actually does pretty good drinking out of a regular cup. However, this time she didn't do so great. Before we both knew it the water was all over her and the floor. Curious what she might do, I told her to clean it up. So, Rachel walked to the bathroom, got a towel, and proceeded to mop up the water spill. It was priceless and of course I didn't think of taking any pictures. So, this morning when Rachel thought it would be fun to shake her sippy cup and make it mess, I pulled out the camera to video her cleaning it up. Of course she's more interested in the camera than cleaning up, but you get the idea. And Rachel did a pretty good job of just spreading around the stickiness, so of course I had to do a little of the cleaning up myself.

Here's another video taken about 30 minutes after the first one. At least this time it was water, but there was a lot more. And all she wanted to do was play in it. It reminded me of last year when she played in the water on the sidewalk after a summer rainstorm in Houston. :) Rachel had asked for the top off of her sippy cup, once again. So, I took the top off and she proceeded to try to put the top back on - that's how this spill occurred. And this time I ended up doing all the cleaning - I guess the cleaning bug wore off! :)

Chattering Away...

Okay, so this might not be the most exciting video you've ever seen... But I love it when Rachel chatters away after waking up. I know she's gotten a good nap when she is content to just chatter away. I don't exactly now when she started this chattering after napping business, but it was probably shortly after her first birthday. Recently she can go for a good 30 minutes before she sweetly calls, "mommy, mommy". I have definitely learned that it is best to let her chatter and not rush in to get her right away. She likes her alone time and I'm also able to have a few more minutes of alone time as well. Each day it varies what she talks about. Some of the things she was chattering about today were flowers, Papa, Lexie, Whitney, and her binky. Sometimes I can understand what she's saying and other times it's just gibberish. I love when she just breaks out laughing. It's absolutely precious! Sorry about the not so exciting video, but if I tried to go in the room to get video of it, the cute chattering would stop. :)

Spring or Winter?

The official first day of Spring was March 20th, but I think the Netherlands missed the memo! We drove home in snow yesterday. As soon as we hit the Netherlands border, we were greeted by snow. At least it wasn't snowing in Paris. :) This morning I decided to let Rachel play out in the snow. I think it was her first official time playing in the snow. She was being pretty silly. She wouldn't touch the snow, because she didn't want to get "dirty". She's quite the girl! Rachel was still in her pajamas and boy was it fun to get her back inside to eat breakfast! :) I'm glad I let her play though, because most of it has already melted. It was still lightly snowing when we headed outside, so the first thing Rachel did was look up at the snow falling down.

Easter 2008

The Easter Bunny dropped off some surprises for Rachel, so once we got home yesterday Rachel was one happy girl! She even did pretty good at finding her Easter eggs. The grocery store here had dyed Easter eggs that you could buy, so we took the easy way out this year. Maybe next year Rachel will dye her first Easter egg. Here she is enjoying Easter:

Paris, France

We went to Paris this past weekend. Andy had a 4-day weekend and we had to take advantage of it! The trip started off a bit rocky, but we ended up having a great time. We drove down Friday and pretty much spent the whole day traveling. It's normally a 5-hour drive, but it ended up taking us 8 hours. Andy was flying in from Dublin that morning as well and of course his plane was delayed because of weather. So, we finally took off around 11:30 and arrived at our hotel around 8 PM Friday night. We certainly have learned a few things from this past weekend. :) Once we got to Paris we parked the car and used their metro system to get around. Paris has a great metro system! On Saturday morning we headed out on the metro system to get to the Louvre Museum. Instead of making a transfer, we decided to get out and walk the rest of the way to the Louvre. It was only about a 15-minute walk and luckily it wasn't raining yet. Here we are taking some pictures along our way to the Louvre:

So, the first stop we made in Paris was the Louvre Museum. Of course you could spend a whole week there, but after a couple hours we had seen enough. It was super-crowded; however, we did get to take a peak at the Mona Lisa over the crowds! :) Here are some pictures of us in the Louvre: I took this picture from a window in the Louvre. And up above you can see Rachel checking out the painted ceiling in the Louvre. After the Louvre we headed over to Notre-Dame. There was a horrendous line to go inside, so we just took a picture from the outside. I'm sure we'll get back to Paris some day and get a chance to see the inside.

After Notre-Dame we hopped on the metro system and headed over to the Eiffel Tower. I don't think I have ever waited in more lines. We were probably at the Eiffel Tower for about 3 hours and we spent about 5 minutes at the top. We had to wait in line for the tickets, for the first elevator to take us up, for the second elevator to take us up, for the first elevator to take us down, and for the last elevator to take us down. It was crazy, but it was quite the experience. Rachel had no fear! :) It was freezing cold once we got all the way up, but at least it wasn't raining. And you can see all the pictures of Rachel being so patient as we waited in line after line after line...

On Sunday we headed to the Chateau de Versailles. We had to check in Rachel's stroller, so she had free reign. She did pretty good though! Rachel loved climbing up and down the stairs. As you can tell, we were pretty lenient with Rachel's binky this past weekend. But considering the lack of sleep and going places she wasn't really interested in, you couldn't blame us too much! :) Down below is a picture of Andy and Rachel in the Hall of Mirrors, which is where the Treaty of Versailles was ratified at the end of WW I. Rachel's favorite part of the Chateau was playing outside in the gardens. We should have headed there first!

Rachel loved riding the metro system. She always wanted to get "up" on the "train". Although once we would get on the train, she'd want to get off at the next stop. She made plenty of friends on the metro. After spending most of the day in Versailles we headed over to the Arc de Triomphe. It was cold and rainy, so we didn't stay long. Here we are in front of the Arc:
We enjoyed our little getaway to Paris. I'm hoping the next time we make the trip it will be a little less crowded (if that's possible) and a bit warmer! :)

Just Singing Away...

In the past couple of weeks Rachel has been really good at filling in the blanks while we sing songs to her. Whenever we pause she'll simply sing the next word or two. Rachel has had quite the obsession with the alphabet. The "ABC's" have to be sung to her every night before she goes to bed. So, it's only fitting that the alphabet was her first song to sing on her own. Last night Andy simply asked Rachel to sing him a song and away she went. :) Soon after singing the alphabet she also sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". I was able to get her on video during lunch today - it's easiest when she's stuck in her high chair. So, here she is singing her "ABC's" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". I love how it really sounds like "tinkle". She's not quite sure when the song actually ends, but it's still so cute! :)

Way to go, E&Y

Ernst & Young (E&Y), my husband's employer, never ceases to amaze me. He came home from work yesterday and told me he had received an email about vacation. Good news, I thought, they changed their minds... Okay, so not really. But some guy back in New Jersey who helps coordinate the international assignments emailed Andy back to tell him that he gets the Dutch minimum of 20 days vacation! Wahoo, right? Well, it's only 2 more days than what he would have in the U.S. Let me back track a little bit so you can maybe understand why I was so irritated about this whole situation. How far back do I have to go...

Well, let's start with orientation day in October in New Jersey. E&Y flew us out there to attend a pretty pathetic 2-hour meeting. In the meeting we were told lots of info about stuff like insurance, vacation, policies, etc.... We were told that Andy would get the traditional U.S. vacation, which is 18 days and then the Dutch holidays. Okay, no big deal. But we were also told that we could purchase additional vacation (just like everyone else back in the U.S. can). So, that would potentially help with days needed to travel around and for home leave.

Fast forward to December. We are having dinner with some friends here who are also on assignment with an accounting firm here (not E&Y). Anyhow, we find out that they get the 30 days that are given to the Dutch employees over here. So, we got shafted. No worries though, right? We can purchase additional vacation. We do have to look at the "whole package", as E&Y would say.

On to January, Andy emails somebody about purchasing additional vacation. They say you can't yet, probably in February. So, February rolls around and Andy doesn't hear anything from them, so he sends another email. And the response was pretty much, "Oops, the policy says you can't purchase additional vacation." So, let me get this straight. We get Dutch holidays (6 vs. 10 in the U.S.), but U.S. vacation time (18 vs. 30 for the Dutch). So, they shafted us both ways. It's not like we need the 4th of July off over here, but still it bugs me. And if he has the 18 days that everyone (at his level) back in the U.S. has, then why isn't he illegible to buy additional vacation like everyone back in the U.S. can? I don't get it!

And then it just bugs me that they make it sound like they're doing us a HUGE favor with sending us over. I don't think so.... I mean, he was asked to take this assignment. We didn't apply for an international assignment, which is usually what is done. Granted, the decision was ours, but he was still asked. Secondly, we've had to make a lot of sacrifices moving over here. We only have one car, we're trusting our home to renters, my family and friends are so far away, we're living in a home half the size of our home back in Texas, we don't have a lot of the comforts and conveniences that we had back in the U.S., everything is more expensive, etc., etc., etc... I could go on and on and on.... I don't want to sound miserable here, because I'm not. I'm just peeved about this whole vacation thing.

I do realize and understand that this is a neat opportunity. While we are over here we're going to be able to see parts of the world that I never would have seen otherwise. But it still bothers me that E&Y feels like they are doing us a HUGE favor. I wish they could say "thank you" or "we appreciate all you are sacrificing and what can we do to make it a bit easier?". Have they ever said that? No, not that I've heard.

Okay, that felt good to vent! :) I am grateful for the additional 2 days that Andy gets. Things will work out, they always do. And one day I'll look back at this and think, why was I so bugged? :)

Book Tag

"TAG FIVE"
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 5 people

"Callie rushed with her to the trauma room." From: Balance of Power by: Richard North Patterson

I tag: Robyn, Kimberly, Claire, Sarah, & Melissa (welcome to blogging!).

"Mean Mommy"

Yesterday we were driving home from church and here's a conversation we all had in the car:

Rachel: Hold you, Mommy. (really meaning hold me)

Me: Rachel, I can't hold you.

Rachel: Hold you!!!!

Me: You have to stay in your car seat and be safe.

Rachel: Hold you!!!

Me: I would love to hold you Rachel, but I just can't.

The conversation went on for quite awhile like this and then:

Rachel: Mean Mommy!

Me: What???

Rachel: Mean Mommy!

Me(turning to Andy): Did she just say what I thought she did?

Andy(as he pats my leg and smiles): Yep, and you better get used to it.

I couldn't believe my little girl was calling me a mean mommy! Granted we were driving home right smack at her naptime and it's a 30 minute drive, but it still surprised me. She just wanted to be held. I'm sure there will be many more times when she'll say I'm mean and probably not as nicely as it was said yesterday. But I'm not really a good mom if I'm not called a mean mom, right?

Here's Rachel after church yesterday. We all love to get in comfy clothes after church. :) And Rachel was especially proud of her hood and pockets yesterday.

Scared Silly

Rachel has decided that she's scared of bugs. I think bugs scare her more than anything else. (Although she wasn't a big fan of the cat that was following us down the sidewalk this afternoon.) In the past month we have had several instances where she's been frightened of bugs. Here are some I remember:

• One afternoon Rachel woke up from her nap and was chatting away. I usually listen to her chatter for awhile (it's so cute) and then go get her once she starts calling my name ever so sweetly (and it really is sweet). Well, all of sudden over the monitor all I can hear is her screaming. So, of course, I run up the stairs thinking the worst. As soon as I get into her room I can see that her right arm is shaking like crazy. So, I'm thinking she's broken her arm. She must have stuck it through her crib and done something weird with it. I get closer and she's saying "bug, bug, bug". I try to figure out where the bug is and soon discover that she did just had a hair in between her fingers, but she was convinced it was a bug. I don't know where that came from...
• One Sunday we are waiting for church to start and I notice a ladybug on the ground. So, I scoop the ladybug up with a piece of paper and show it to Rachel. She was pretty fascinated at the cute, little bug that was walking on the piece of paper. Well, pretty soon the ladybug reached the end of the paper and spread her wings to fly. So, what does the ladybug fly to? Well, Rachel, who is only inches away. The ladybug landed on the front of Rachel's dress and she freaked out. So, I shooed it off of her dress. But then Rachel saw it again on the floor. I tried to shoo it away some more and eventually it was out of her line of sight. I guess I won't be showing her any bugs while we're waiting for church to start...
• This morning I was taking a shower and as usual Rachel is roaming around upstairs. She loves to walk around in my high heels and put on Andy's hats. Silly girl! Well, all of sudden she's running into the bathroom screaming "BUG". I couldn't exactly get out and save her from the bug (which was no where in my line of sight), so I just told her to stay in the bathroom with mommy. I don't know where the bug was. By the time I got out of the shower it was long forgotten. Chances are it was a piece of lint on the floor.

Sometimes you just have to wonder where kids get their fears from. It's not like Andy or I freak out when there's bugs. I'm sure I had my moments when I was younger though, but nothing that Rachel has been around to witness. This past summer she used to love to walk around and find ants to smash. So, why all of a sudden a fear? Who knows, but I guess one day she'll get over it. :)

Cute Chick

It was really easy to get Rachel ready yesterday. And what was the trick? Well, she had a new outfit to wear and she was so excited. Too bad she can't have a new outfit every day! :) I pulled out an Easter shirt that I purchased on clearance last Spring. I didn't know at the time we would be moving to freezing cold Amsterdam, so I thought it was a great idea. I think the shirt cost me $1. Well, we had to improvise and do some layering. But Rachel was pretty excited about the shirt with baby chicks on it. Here's a picture of her enjoying her new shirt (it's amazing what can please little ones):

Carless

I can still remember the reaction I would get from friends when they found out I wouldn't have a car over here. How could I survive??? I'm sure I had moments as well when I wondered if I would be able to handle it. Well, today I realized that not having access to a car is a blessing in disguise. Andy is currently out of town, so I have the car at my disposal. Andy has also offered numerous times to take the bus to work so that I could have the car. And my response has always been, "No, I don't need it, I mean where would I go???".

Well, today I figured I should run some errands since I had the car. I wanted to do big grocery run (meaning more than two bags of groceries) and some other errands. Great idea, right? Well, sure it sounded like a great idea. But as I drove around today I realized what an impatient driver I am. My frustrations today had nothing to do with the car being stick shift. I actually learned how to drive stick shift in high school, so it hasn't been a big deal to transition back to a stick shift. I definitely prefer automatic, but stick shift is definitely doable. My frustrations had nothing to do with all the bikers that you have to look out for, either...

I just wanted to be the only one on the road. I wanted all the traffic lights to cooperate. I wanted to be able to turn right on a red light. I didn't want to deal with construction. I wanted the parking spots to be larger. Blah, blah, blah...

So, today I have learned that my life is a lot less stressful without a car. I guess I'm just not a very patient person when I'm driving. It will be interesting to see how I adjust to having a car once we head back home... :) I remember when Andy was out of town back in January and I had to run to the grocery store. Did we hop in the car and take off? No, we simply walked to the shopping center that's a 10-minute walk away. I guess I should have done that today. Oh well, we live and learn! So, I guess I'm pretty well-adjusted to not having access to a car very often. Since it's just Rachel and me running errands, it's easier and much less stressful to walk to the shopping center. I may eat these words one day when I really want to have a car, but then I can just tell Andy to take the bus to work that day! :)

Miss Independent

In the past few weeks Rachel has become quite a challenger. She fights getting dressed most mornings. On days that we aren't planning on going anywhere I'll let her pick out what she wants to wear and usually that goes a little smoother. I have discovered though that it's time to do a clean out of her drawers. She's been sporting the midriff look recently. She must be growing! :) For about a week or longer it was practically impossible to get her in her stroller. She would scream, arch her back, put her feet behind the foot rest, and push away. Now she's pretty compliant though, because I simply tell her that I don't want the cars to hit her. So, she's constantly saying "cars hit you", "bus hit you". Hopefully she doesn't start having nightmares. I wouldn't mind her walking to the store, because she's gotten really good at holding my hand. However, when it's freezing cold outside I just want to get there as quickly as possible and we all know that a toddler can only walk so fast... About 2 weeks ago Rachel just started to refuse to sit in her high chair. Now, you must be thinking, just let her know who's boss and make her sit there. Well, sure, that might work, but then she is going to be so upset and screaming so loudly that forget about trying to get her to eat! :) I think my poor Dutch neighbor thinks that Americans must abuse their children. After trying several different solutions, we finally came up with one that's been working the past couple of days. Hopefully it will last. We just lowered her high chair and we pull it up to the table without the high chair tray on. She seems to like sitting at the table with us and is then able to reach her food. This also solves the issue of buying a booster seat that she would probably not like. We went to a baby store on Saturday and experienced sticker shock. We saw a stroller for 999,00 euros(they use commas where we use periods), that roughly exchanges to about $1,500. Craziness! Obviously there were some more reasonably priced strollers for less than 100 euros, but I just couldn't believe the first one I spotted. Rachel also hates having her hair done, so most days I don't fight her on it. You have to choose your battles, right? So, she looks like a ragamuffin quite often, but she's happy so I guess that is all that matters. Even though some of these moments can be quite frustrating, I am grateful to have a girl with such a strong will. It will serve her well in years to come. We just need her going in the right direction and she'll be fine... Here's some pictures of our dining solutions:

I WAS TAGGED (3 TIMES)

TAG #1

What is his name?
Andrew David (better known as Andy or Drew)

How long have you been married?
Almost 7 years.

How long did you date?
14 months

How old is he?
30

Who eats more?
It's probably a tie...

Who said "I love you" first?
Andy

Who is taller?
Andy

Who sings better?
We both try our best! :)

Who is smarter?
It depends on what we're talking about...

Whose temper is worse?
Probably me.

Who does the laundry?
That would be me.

Who does the dishes?
Usually me, but just last night Andy did the dinner dishes.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Me

Who pays the bills?
Me and I love it! :)

Who cooks the dinner?
That would be me. I don't think Andy knows how to use our oven! :)

Who drives when you are together?
Andy

Who is more stubborn?
Probably me - it's the Kunz in me???

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Who's ever wrong? :)

Whose parents do you see the most?
It use to be mine since we were both in Texas, but now that we live in a different country it's a different story.

Who proposed?
Andy

Who has more friends?
Me

Who has more siblings?
We both have 4.

Who wears the pants in the family?
We both do!

TAG #2

Here's all you never wanted to know:

10 years ago:
1. I was in my senior year of high school
2. I had been accepted to BYU.
3. I lived in Fresno, CA.
4. I loved playing games with my family - good memories! :)
5. I still babysat and loved it! :)

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry
2. Ironing
3. Unload the dishwasher.
4. Play with Rachel.
5. Continue reading Nineteen Minutes while Rachel naps.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. chips & salsa
2. anything chocolate
3. apples & peanut butter
4. cheese (American cheese)
5. granola bars

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Go home to the states quarterly to visit family! :)
2. Travel
3. Do lots of home improvements on my house when I return to Texas.
4. Invest (oh that sounds like Andy!)
5. Help family that might need a few extra bucks! :)

3 of my bad habits:
1. Back-seat driver
2. Indecisive
3. Talking loud

Places I have lived:
1. Utah
2. California
3. Texas
4. The Netherlands
5. Don't have a fifth...Some day probably...

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Babysitter (12-18 years old)
2. Microfilmer (every summer, 14-17 years old)
3. Various temp jobs: Insurance CSR, Payroll Clerk, etc...(every summer, 18-21 years old)
4. Teacher-3rd, 4th, & 5th grades(21-26 years old)
5. Stay-at-home Mommy(right now!)

5 Things people don't know about me: (maybe some people don't know)
1. My ears aren't pierced.
2. My hair has gone somewhat curly/wavy since Rachel was born.
3. I hate raisins and pickles (food should stay in it's original form)
4. I was on a Care Bear float when I was little in Utah (Pioneer Day).
5. I don't really enjoy shopping.

TAG #3

What is the best thing you cooked last weekend?
Tacos

If time, money, and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
Right now I'd really like to take a trip to Egypt with Andy.

When was the last time you cried?
This morning as I was reading Cristy's blog.

List five things you were doing 10 years ago, 1998:
SEE TAG #2

List 5 things you were doing 5 years ago, 2003:
-teaching school
-moving to Houston, TX
-enjoying married life with Andy
-living in an apartment
-house-hunting

List 5 things you were doing 1 year ago, 2007:
-loving being a stay-at-home mom
-took a trip to Branson, MO with just Andy
-went to California to be with family
-made several trips to Utah
-moved to Amsterdam

List 7 of your favorite hobbies:
-reading
-blogging
-playing games
-playing with Rachel
-talking to my mom on the phone
-chatting away with Andy
-baking (not as often as I used to)

Name 5 of your favorite foods:
SEE TAG #2

Name 5 places you've been:(I'm going to do since Rachel's been born)
-New York
-Palm Springs
-New Zealand
-Utah/California
-Europe - Netherlands, Germany, & Belgium

List 5 of your favorite memories:
-Family vacations growing up & beyond...
-Andy's proposal
-Wedding day
-Rachel being born
-Trips up to Hughes Springs! :)

Precious Moments

We all have precious moments that we don't want to forget. Here's one of my mine... A few weeks ago Andy had just gotten home from work. He was holding Rachel and kissing me at the same time. Well, Rachel had to be in on the action as well, so she gave me kisses on my cheek as Andy was kissing me. It was absolutely precious! :) She did that a few nights in a row, but hasn't done it recently. It was so much fun to get kisses at the same time from both of them. Rachel is so funny about kisses. She always has to get her fair share! :)

I still remember when I was pregnant talking to Andy about who should be greeted first when he comes home from work. And of course I told him that I needed to be greeted first, and then the baby. Well, he was pretty good about that for the first year or so. But once Rachel started recognizing the noisy garage door opening or now Andy unlocking the front door, she makes a run for the door. So, Rachel is greeted first now when he comes home. You can't blame him though! I guess if I would beat Rachel to the door, he'd greet me first! :) As many of you know, it's so much fun when Daddy comes home...

Pucker Up!

Spring?

For those of you that will be enjoying Spring weather shortly, if not already, we're jealous. We probably won't have decent Spring weather until June. Yesterday afternoon our weather really went south. It started out a beautiful day (still only 42 degrees, but at least the sun was out). Rachel and I even walked over to the mall yesterday morning. Well, by 4 pm it was dark and windy. Shortly after that we had a random hailstorm, nothing too crazy, but it was still random. And then it started snowing and there were huge flakes. Rachel loved watching the snow fall. This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. Most of it is has already melted, but I still thought it quite odd for March. We haven't really had any snow since we've moved here and then it decides to snow in March? I am anxiously waiting for the temperature to reach 60 degrees, but I don't think that will happen until at least May. Here are some photos. One is of Rachel last night and the others are of this morning. :)