Cuddly Girls

After feeding Audrey this morning I headed for the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. After a few minutes of heating up my oatmeal; I returned to the front room and found this: Rachel was cuddling so sweetly with Audrey. She even made sure that both of them had blankets to stay warm. :)

Double Stroller Advice Needed

I'm planning on purchasing a double stroller in March when we are back in the States. So, all those moms of 2 or more little ones, I would love some input! I really like the idea of the sit n' stand stroller. I think one of those would work out well. They seem smaller than a true double stroller. Who out there has a sit n' stand and which one did you purchase? I've discovered the joovy caboose and it seems to have good reviews. Anyone out there with a joovy and what do you think of it? I'll primarily use the stroller for trips to the shopping center. If we go on any trips by airplane I'll be able to take it with us as well. I'd also like input on how they fold up. We have a pretty small car out here - we have a hard enough time with luggage and our umbrella stroller. So, if a double stroller would even fit in our car it would probably be the only thing! Anyhow, any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Toddler Play

I love watching Rachel play. She has quite the imagination and it's so much fun to see what she'll come up with next. Her imagination definitely helps when I'm busy with Audrey. Rachel is really good about keeping herself busy and it helps since we are indoors so much in the winter. Last night she was playing at the beach. Rachel even had her dad join her in her imaginary play. It will be nice when June rolls around and we can go to the real beach!

We've Survived

We were quite spoiled having Andy around so much the first 3 weeks of Audrey's life. The past 3 weeks have been quite different. He's been working late hours and Saturdays. No fun, but it's all part of life. Luckily things should be more manageable the next 5 weeks and then the 4 weeks after that we'll have plenty of help as we visit family! :) The hardest part of Andy not being around was bath time and bedtime. Luckily I have two things that helped me survive. The Beco baby carrier and the baby swing. I can swaddle Audrey up, put her in the swing, and within 15 minutes she'll be snoozing away! Rachel has been such a trooper. She has been such a good helper. You can tell she's missing her daddy when she says, "I want it to get dark". What child wants it to get dark??? And then when he is home and we say prayers she says, "Thank you Daddy came home". Too precious! Rachel has also mastered the different tones of voice I use. I don't know how many times she's asked, "Mommy, are you frustrated?" It's never fun when Andy has busy times at work, but luckily they don't seem to come around as often as they did in Houston (or else I'm just getting more used to it). We are looking forward to the next 9 weeks and dreading the arrival of busy April. We'll have to make the most of the next two months and hopefully it won't go by too quickly! :)

All Dressed-Up

Audrey went to church for the first time yesterday. She received a lot of attention and was really good at church. After church she struggled. I think she was a bit overtired and out of her normal routine. She sure did look cute in her dress! :)

Sisters

Here's a video I took the other day of Rachel holding and singing to her little sister. Rachel sure does love Audrey and Audrey is already quite entertained by Rachel.

Say Cheese!

Yesterday I was able to catch a big smile from Audrey!

Cockerels & Trousers

The other day Rachel was helping me fold some laundry. She held up some pants and said, "These are trousers". The English cartoons that we have available here are all UK based. So, Rachel is learning some true English vocabulary. She often calls roosters cockerels as well. The first time she talked about a cockerel I had to look it up, because I had no idea a rooster was also a cockerel. What a smart, funny girl Rachel is!

One Month Old

As of Sunday, Audrey is one month old. She is definitely keeping us busy, but she's worth it! Last week she started to smile. We have yet to catch a really good smile on camera - eventually we will. She has also discovered her voice. When you talk and smile at her she'll coo. It's precious! Audrey loves attention from her big sister. It's fun to see them interact. She has also gotten really good at following you with her eyes and she's really strong. When laying on you she'll lift her head off your chest and look straight at you. In the past couple of days Audrey's become quite attached to her swing during the day. That's pretty much the only place she'll sleep during the day - that or the Beco. Luckily she'll sleep in her crib at night! :)

We went to her first doctor's appointment today. All is well. She's 4500 grams - almost 10 pounds. Two pounds in a month - pretty good! And she's 55 cm. tall, so she's grown 5 cm. since her birth. The doctor's visit was pretty basic. I still think it's so weird to visit a doctor and sit down at a desk with them like it's some business meeting. It's odd, but I guess that's what works here. The doctor had her computer on the desk and then a pad to lay Audrey on to check her out. Kind of interesting. The adventure to the doctor's office went well. We took the bus and both Audrey and Rachel did well. We had to bundle up and here's a picture of Audrey all bundled up. It seems really big on her, but really it's only one size up from what she's currently wearing so it should see us through the winter.

Precious Conversation

Rachel (pointing to her panties): These say princess.
Me: Yes, you're right. You know why?
Rachel: Why?
Me: Because you're a princess!
Rachel: No, I'm not a princess. I'm a child of God.

Who knew talking about underwear could bring tears to your eyes. :)

Out on the Ice

After church on Sunday Andy decided to take Rachel out on the ice. It's a good thing he did, because come Monday morning the ice started to melt. Rachel wasn't too sure of walking on the ice. Luckily she didn't fall, but she didn't like slipping around. She stayed close to her daddy and wanted him to hold her. They only lasted about 5 minutes, but Andy got some cute pictures of their little walk out on the canal! Rachel has enjoyed watching the ice skaters for the past two weeks. She keeps on saying, "The ice melted like the snowman melts". :)

Practice Run

Audrey will be one month old tomorrow and we (meaning Audrey, Rachel, and I) have not ventured out in public yet. We've gone a few places with Andy - the passport photo place and the U.S. Consulate. But I haven't ventured out alone with the girls. This morning I decided today was as good a day as any. I'm going to have to venture out again on Tuesday for Audrey's first check-up, so I figured we do a practice run today. Andy was at work - I know, no fun having to work on a Saturday - so we didn't have the car. I bundled the girls up (it was 26 degrees outside but felt like 19 degrees - according to weather.com) and we headed out. Audrey fell right asleep in the Beco baby carrier and stayed asleep the whole time. We walked quickly to the store, picked up a few items, and then walked home. Rachel was an angel and all went well. It was only a 45-minute outing, but it was successful. Hopefully on Tuesday things will go just as smoothly! :)

Audrey Banana

On Tuesday morning Rachel kept on saying "Audrey Banana". I didn't exactly know why she was putting banana and Audrey together, but she was. Andy overheard her and corrected her by saying, "Audrey Rianne". When Andy and Rachel were driving home from church on Sunday Andy was going through every one's full name with Rachel. So, she was just trying to saying Audrey Rianne. Rianne is a Dutch name that we chose for Audrey so that she has something unique for being born in the Netherlands. Banana rhymes with Rianne, so I can see why Rachel would make the mix-up. :)

Rachel has adjusted so well to be being a big sister. She's really cute and sweet with Audrey. Rachel loves to help me burp her. She's really good about getting everything ready for Audrey's diaper change. It's cute to watch Rachel mimic me with her teddy bear. She'll swaddle her teddy bear, walk around the house, and sing songs. Rachel loves to sing to Audrey as well. The other day Rachel was doing pat-a-cake with Audrey. I ran downstairs to get the video camera, but by the time I returned she wasn't interested anymore. Oh well, I'll catch it another time! :) I am so grateful for Rachel and how well she has adjusted to being a big sister. It will be fun to watch them as they grow up together! :)

R is for Rachel

Rachel surprised me yesterday when she brought this book over to me and told me that "R is for Rachel". I was quite impressed. I asked Andy if he had told Rachel that the book had an R on it for Rachel. He told me no and that Rachel had been pointing out Rs to him for awhile now. I guess I've been out of the loop the past couple of weeks! :)

Cold Turkey

Andy and I aren't that big on New Year's resolutions, but this year Andy, Rachel, and I are all participating in one. Andy decided last night that Rachel didn't need her binky anymore. She only gets it at naptime and bedtime, but we decided it was time for the binky usage to end. So, Andy explained to her that she can't take her binky on the airplane. Technically we aren't going on an airplane until the end of February, but we need to get her prepped. So, after some talking to she was convinced. Rachel simply stated last night, "I don't need my binky ever again". I was a bit nervous going to bed last night. I was prepared for Rachel to be up a couple of times crying for her binky. But she did great! Rachel slept through the night and she's even taking a great nap now. So, the first 24 hours have gone well. Hopefully the next couple of weeks continue to go well. Rachel thinks the mailman has come and taken her binkies. Right now they are simply hidden, but we better get them in the trash can. It's better for the temptation not to be there, more for us than probably her! :)

Happy New Year!

We celebrated New Year's Dutch-style once again. The Dutch love their fireworks. Pretty much anything that's illegal in the U.S. is legal here. So, everyone shoots off their own fireworks and you get quite a show. We celebrated by watching everyone else set off their fireworks works from our bedroom window. We weren't going to be able to sleep through it, so we figured we might as well get up. Audrey and Rachel were more than happy to sleep through all the fireworks. Although at midnight we decided to wake Rachel up and let her watch the show. She enjoyed it and went back to sleep after 30 minutes of watching the fireworks. Things seemed to quiet down around 1 AM. Fireworks were actually going off all day yesterday. The girls both took a 2-hour nap at the same time, but could I get any shut eye? No, it was too noisy. Kind of frustrating in the middle of the day. I understand once it gets dark, but it's not really worth it during the day. Fireworks are much more spectacular when it's pitch black. You can see the remnants of last night's fun all through the streets and on top of the frozen canals. Here's a video we took as we watched the fireworks from our bedroom window: