Introducing...

Not something you see every day...

You may be wondering what Rachel is doing in a swimsuit when we are lucky for the temperature to reach 40 degrees? Well, this morning (like every morning) I asked Rachel to go pick out what she was going to wear today and this is what she came up with. I tried to convince her to only wear her swimsuit for a few minutes but it didn't work. I was able to get her to put some clothes on over her swimsuit while we went to the store, but once we got back home she was ready to just be in her swimsuit again. I found it quite hilarious to see her playing with the Christmas ornaments in a swimsuit. Rachel even insisted on taking a nap in her swimsuit. I was a bit concerned about how well she would nap, but after a 3-hour nap we can call it a success! Maybe I'll let her nap in her swimsuit every day! :) I wonder what her dad is going to think when he gets home from work...

O Christmas Tree

We had a busy day on Saturday! :) We went out to the local garden center to get a tree and then we spent the evening decorating it. Rachel was really cute at the garden center marching around behind her daddy to help find the perfect tree. Christmas is always fun with little ones as you get to see their excitement. Here are some pictures as we were decorating: This is a glimpse at what the final product looks like. After decorating Saturday night I told Andy we could rearrange the ornaments after Rachel went to bed. Well, we've decided that's pointless. She enjoys taking them off and putting them back on a million times a day. Most of the ornaments are in little clusters 2-3 feet above the ground. At least they are just cheap little ornaments that we don't really care about. :)

Christmas decorating here is a bit sparse. We basically have a tree and Rachel's Little People Nativity Set. We didn't bother shipping over Christmas stuff because of the lack of storage space. So, we definitely enjoy our tree. Rachel loves to come downstairs every morning and turn the Christmas tree lights on.

Saturday morning we also went to a little cheese farm/clog factory that is close by. It's a great place for souvenirs. We picked up some Dutch-looking ornaments that we will be able to enjoy in years to come. My favorites are the ones that we had especially made for Rachel and our baby girl:

Andy and I were talking about how Rachel hasn't even had the experience of a U.S. Christmas. Her first Christmas was in New Zealand and the last two have been here. So far Rachel's collection of ornaments include one from New Zealand, one from the German Christmas Markets, and one from Holland. I guess once we are back home her ornaments won't be nearly as exciting! :)

Sinterklaas

We are still learning how to do Sinterklaas here in Holland. To me it just seems like the Dutch double-dip. :) They make just as big of a deal over Santa Claus as they do Sinterklaas. We did a very scaled down version of Sinterklaas this year. We basically all received chocolate letters: And then Rachel received a few more gifts. She got some princess gloves, some stickers, and a notebook. I have discovered that we did it incorrectly. We were supposed to receive our gifts on the evening of December 5th. But since we are ignorant Americans, we received our gifts in the morning just like Christmas.
Here's a little bit of history about Sinterklaas taken from http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=92:

In mid-November Dutch television broadcasts the official arrival of St. Nicholas and his helper Zwarte Piet live to the nation. Coming by steamer from Spain, each year they dock in the harbor of a different city or village. Wearing traditional bishop's robes, Sinterklaas rides into town on a white horse to be greeted by the mayor. A motorcade and a brass band begin a great parade which leads Sinterklaas and his Piets through the town. Nearly every city and village has its own Sinterklaas parade.

In the following weeks before St. Nicholas Day, December 6, Sinterklaas goes about the country to determine if the children have been well-behaved. He and his Zwarte Piet helpers visit children in schools, hospitals, department stores, and even at home. The bakeries are busy making speculaas molded spice cookies of the saint. During this time children put out their shoes with wish-lists and a carrot or hay, or maybe a saucer of water, for the horse. When St. Nicholas happens by, the next morning children may find chocolate coins or initial letter, candy treats, pepernoten, and little gifts in their shoes. Everyone hopes for sweets, not coal or a little bag of salt.

The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th, St. Nicholas Eve, with festive family parties when gifts and surprises are exchanged. In the Netherlands, unlike other places, adults as well as children join in the fun. As the Dutch like an element of surprise, a small gift may be wrapped in a huge box, or it may be hidden and require following clues to discover where it is.

Gifts are prettily wrapped in special Sinterklaas paper or they may be hidden, for example, in a potato or an old sock. Each gift, anonymously signed "from Sinterklaas," comes with a clever rhyme that may point out a person's shortcomings in a humorous way. (For the less creative, there are books with suggestions for making rhymes and packaging disguises.) Originality, not value of the gift, is what counts.

Children sing traditional Sinterklaas songs while waiting for the saint to appear. A knock comes on the door and a black gloved hand appears to toss candies and pepernoten inside. Children scramble to gather up the treats. A large burlap bag, "de zak van Sinterklaas," also appears filled with gifts. At the table, decorated with speculaas and other sweets, guests may find their initial in a chocolate letter at their places. Food is apt to include hot chocolate, Bishop's wine, and letter banket.

The Dutch feast of Saint Nicholas is about giving, for "it is in giving that we receive." The fun is in trying to surprise people, to tease in a well-meaning way, to make a good joke, to produce a rollicking rhyme. The gift itself is just a bonus, as the fun is in the doing.

Ready to go...

In an effort to encourage this baby girl to come, Rachel and I have been taking walks every morning to some place or another. This morning we were planning on going to the shopping center. I was upstairs getting ready and Rachel was downstairs playing, just like usual. I called for Rachel to come upstairs to brush her teeth and this is what appeared at the bottom of the stairs:She was all ready to go and looked so cute! :) Even though it was 36 degrees this morning and felt like 26 degrees (according to weather.com), we braved the cold and walked 10 minutes to the shopping center. Thank heavens we have an indoor shopping center!

40 weeks

Here I am at 40 weeks. Our baby girl is quite comfortable and taking her time arriving. You really can't blame her. It's nice and warm in there and all her needs are being met. We are just playing the waiting game. I had an appointment yesterday and there's nothing too exciting to report. My blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat are great. They don't really induce here until 42 weeks. So some time in the next 12 days you can expect an announcement! :)

'Tis the Season

So, it's December 1st and what does that mean? It's time to start eating the yummy chocolates from the advent calendars. This is one tradition that I definitely remember growing up. Who knows if we got them every year, but it seems like we did. I remember how hard it was to only take one a day, but I think I did okay... So, a few months ago (yes, it was literally a few months ago) I was so excited when I saw an advent calendar in a store. It was only 1 euro, so I splurged and got one for Rachel. Well, several weeks after that I saw the Dora one and couldn't pass it up. So, I ended up getting 2 more so we could all have one. Andy doesn't really care, but I figured it wasn't fair if he didn't get one. Plus, if he doesn't want his chocolate I'm sure something can be arranged. :) We'll see how Rachel does once she discovers there's chocolate. It may be difficult to limit her to one a day. We shall see...

A Singing Angel

In the past couple weeks Rachel has been singing a lot. Whenever she's playing or just wandering around the house she'll just be singing away. It's really cute to listen to her and the songs she makes up. Of course as soon as we pay any attention to her she usually clams up. So, getting a video of her singing is nearly impossible. Here's a few of the highlights of the past few weeks.

• Last week she was swaying and patting her baby doll's back as she sang: "Rock-a-bye, don't you cry, we'll go home to grandpa, I love you, yes I do, little baby Baby (that's her baby's name)".
• She loves to sing "Wind the Bobbin Up" and do the hand motions. This is a new song that we've learned from playgroup.
• Rachel has a play dog that sings "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and she loves to do the motions as the dog sings to her.
• She has many versions of "I Am a Child of God" that she'll sing as she wanders around the house. She gets the verses all mixed up, but it's still absolutely precious. This morning she was putting her baby to sleep and singing "I Am a Child of God".
• And then my favorite. We were sitting on the couch this morning and she randomly started singing: "I'm trying to be like Daddy, I'm following in Daddy's ways, I'm trying to love as he does...". And then she noticed I was paying attention to her. :)

Giving Thanks

This is my first Thanksgiving away from family. I've always spent it with my family or Andy's. So, it's a bit different but it's okay. We get to double-dip this year. We're getting together with some of Andy's co-workers this evening for a Thanksgiving meal. Then on Saturday we are meeting at the church for another Thanksgiving meal. So, not too bad. I'm looking forward to my favorite item - the stuffing! This Thanksgiving, for some reason, I've been thinking a lot about how blessed I am. I have so many things to be grateful for. Here's my attempt to write them out:

• ANDY - When I met Andy almost 9 years ago, there's no way I could have known how lucky I was going to be. He takes such good care of our family. He truly amazes me and I'm thankful for all that he does.
• RACHEL - She brings so much joy and happiness to my life. Each day is an adventure with her and I'm so grateful to be her mom.
• BABY GIRL - I'm excited to be expecting another little girl. She's so active and doing so well. I can't wait to officially meet her.
• MY PARENTS - Their love, support, guidance, and example are priceless. A day rarely goes by that one of them doesn't call me and that means the world to me. I'm so grateful for all that they've done, all that they do, and all that I know they'll continue to do for me.
• MY IN-LAWS - I'm grateful for the son they raised. I definitely feel their love and am grateful for the relationship we have.
• MY BROTHERS - I'm so impressed at the men they have all become. I'm so grateful for many sweet memories of growing up with them. I know they'd do anything to protect me.
• FAMILY - All my sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, nieces, and nephews. I'm grateful to have such an extended family with so many fun, unique individuals. It definitely keeps life exciting!
• THE GOSPEL - I'm thankful to have the knowledge of my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I know I am a child of God and that He wants me to return to him some day. I'm so grateful for the knowledge and testimony I have.
• MY FRIENDS - The old and the new. I love all those that keep in touch and let me know what's going on with their lives. I'm grateful for all the new friends I've made here in Holland - for their support and love.
• MY HEALTH - I have been extremely blessed with great health. I'm amazed at my body and what it's capable of doing each and every day. It's such a blessing to feel good and to be able to enjoy each day.
• MY COMFORTS - I have a home, food, clothes, etc... So many things that are taken for granted every day. I'm so fortunate to have never gone without. I've never truly had to want for a need.

I could probably go on for quite awhile now that I've got the wheels turning. I am truly blessed. And as I think of all the wonderful people and things in my life, I realize how fragile they all are. Tomorrow is a new day and who knows what it will bring. But this very second I have so much to be grateful for. And no matter what tomorrow brings there are many things on this list that will never change.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with those they love!

The Dutch Way

As this pregnancy has progressed it's been interesting to find out more and more how the Dutch handle births. They pretty much send you home from the hospital ASAP. As long as all goes well with the labor and delivery, you are usually headed home within hours of giving birth. Because of this you receive some help at home the first week after your baby is born. A kraamzorg, basically a nurse, comes in and her prime responsibility is to take care of the mother and baby. The kraamzorg comes to your home for 4-6 hours a day for about a week after the birth of your baby. They help you, give you advice, and will do some light housework for you. So, when in Holland do as the Dutch, right? So, we've arranged for a kraamzorg to come into our home after our baby girl arrives. Two weeks ago I spoke to one of the coordinators for the kraamzorg to see what I can expect. I was told to go purchase this:It's called a kraam pakket. Since we don't have Dutch insurance it wasn't automatically sent to us. Inside the box there are different items to be used after or even during the birth of the baby. There's a clamp for the umbilical cord and alcohol to be used on the umbilical stump. There are several mattress protectors - just in case we end up with a home birth! :) Exciting stuff. I was also informed on the phone to go pick up a bunch of these: What is it? Well, we have 4 of them and they are used to raise our bed. You see, we want to make sure that it's comfortable and convenient for the kraamzorg to take care of me while I'm resting in bed. So, they call these blocks (I was envisioning cinder blocks from my college days when we'd hike up our beds) to raise the bed to 70 cm high. Kind of interesting. Never mind I'm recovering from delivering a baby and will have to hike myself in and out of the 70 cm high bed. It should be interesting.... So, the Dutch way has some definite differences from the American way of having a baby. I've heard many positive experiences and a few not so positive experiences. Hopefully ours will turn out to be a positive experience. Either way, it is definitely going to be a once in a lifetime experience! :)