Great News and Bad News

The great news: We have a house! We have found a house in Elmhurst and will be closing on it this coming Monday.

The bad news: Unfortunately we will not be able to move in for some time as our shipment was "lost" for a 3 weeks. Not to worry, it has been "found" and is due to arrive sometime the week of Dec 10 (if customs doesn't pull it...if this happens, then possibly 1-2 more weeks on top of that).

We are excited by our house but disappointed we will not be able to move in b/f Bas starts his new job on the 10th.

STILL...NO...HOUSE

Don't even ask!

Still House Hunting

Just thought I would let everyone know that we are STILL house hunting. We hope to have things figured out by the end of this week. We have done a lot of driving around and visited many suburbs, but we keep coming back to Elmhurst as it makes the most sense. I'll try to keep this blog updated as many of you are curious.

Oh Yeah, we still don't have a car yet either...but we did find another one Bas fits in. This now brings our options to 3!

The Men Have Arrived!

Yes, I am sitting at the computer while 3 Dutchmen are busy around me packing all our worldly belongings. It is very strange to sit and futz on the computer while there are people working right next to me. But I have nothing to do. After a long weekend and some late nights, I have done all I can. Oh, they are calling me...I think I may have a task!

I'm back. Why does it make me feel better if I am working too? I think it must be the Calvinist in me, but I am very uncomfortable NOT working when those around me are. They are making real progress though. So many boxes already. It is a very good thing that Max isn't here. He would definitely be in the way and think he needed to be helping the men. But he would absolutely love it.

This condo is far from a "home" right now. I said to Bas as we were eating dinner last night (take away pizza and wine), that already this doesn't feel like our house anymore. Things are in such upheaval, lights are down, etc. I have loved living here but I am ready to move on.

Tomorrow more men will come and this time bring along the sea crate and a big outdoor elevator/conveyor belt contraption to get all our stuff from floor 5 to the ground. I'll have to take some pics so you Americans can see how the Dutch do it. Of course, it is supposed to rain.
I'll be interested to see how they keep everything dry.

Well, I think this is my last post from Javakade. I'll have access to a computer at Bas's parents house, but maybe not much time. We'll see...

Max's Laaste Dag op de Peuterspeelzaal

Today was Max's last day at peuterspeelzaal. We brought along treats for all the kids and special thank yous for his teachers. Miss Jane made a special hat for him and the kids all signed a card. Max has really grown to love going to "school". I remember when he started, he seemed so little compared to the other kids. Now he is the biggest one in the class (yes, no surprise). If we were staying on here in Holland, Max would start real school on his 4th birthday this coming April. I have really enjoyed having Max go to school. I think it has been very good for him to be around other kids and to learn to be away from me for a bit. Not to mention his Dutch really took off once he started.

I asked Max if he will miss it. He said no and then asked if Miss Jane will be the teacher at his new school. He is understanding some parts of the move but obviously not all. Tonight will be his last night sleeping here on the Javakade. He doesn't seem at all concerned about this. But he did tell me that his Tigger can't go on the boat with his other toys, but instead has to go on the airplane. He told me he would even let Tigger sit in the stroller and he would walk!

FINALLY

Arranged for movers- CHECK

Bas figured out his last day of work for ING Bank-CHECK

We booked a flight out of Amsterdam back to Chicago-CHECK

We are finally getting a few solid dates. We booked the movers yesterday and they will come next Monday the 29th to pack and will finish up packing and load the sea crate on the 30th. Bas will have his last day of work on Friday Nov 2 and the three of us will fly out of here on the 3rd. Nothing like booking an international flight a week before departure to get a great deal...NOT!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a planner. This last few weeks of having things hanging in the air was just about killing me.

Max will have a couple more days at the peuterspeelzaal and then on Friday he will go to Opa and Oma's house until we leave. It will be a bit too crazy around here for him I am afraid.

Bas and I will sleep here thru Monday night and then we will also stay at Bas's parents until we go.

The pic above is from the summer of 05 on Max's first flight back to the states. Too bad he still doesn't fit into the bassinet...it was a bit cheaper!

A Good Report in the Midst of Mayhem

Yesterday Max had his 3 1/2 year developmental check. After having Max complete a series of tests and asking Bas and I numerous questions, the Dr informed us that Max was right on track. The 2 areas where he is a bit behind are articulation in his words and ...coloring! Yes, I said coloring. The Dr was most impressed with the fact that Max can ride a normal bike without any training wheels. Of course we credit his starting out on a loopfiets (see entry from Jan 2007) for this.

Bas and I are so thankful and STILL amazed by how well Max is doing. We are so thankful to all the Drs and nurses at Northwestern's NICU that took such wonderful care of him. And of course we are thankful to God for giving us this little miracle.

This is a pic of Max on his first birthday. He cheeks were about twice the size of now and his hair would still be another year before it made it's appearance.

Crazy Busy

This past week has been unbelievably busy around our house. I won't go into all the details...they would probably be boring (like the fact that Bas and I didn't eat breakfast or lunch yesterday and I forgot to change Max...the whole day). But here are a few highlights of the past week just to keep some of you up-to-date as to what is going on here in Amsterdam.

Bas, after 2 family afternoons of hanging out at the American consulate, has been approved for his green card and will receive it in the mail next week.

We had the pre-closing on our house. This means that after this weekend, the buyer can't back out and it is a done deal even thought the real closing is Nov 22 (no we won't be here for it).

Various doctor appointments and tests for Bas and I with no firm results yet given.

Interviewing numerous moving companies trying to get a grip on when and how we will move. We will need to pick movers quite quickly as we may need to begin moving in 2 WEEKS!

And the best...we have yet to begin packing!!!

The way things are looking, I think the mover will begin packing 2 weeks from Monday. They think it will take about 3 days by the time they are done packing and loading the 20ft sea crate will will need. It could be pretty cool for Max to watch if they do what they are talking about which is fairly standard here in Amsterdam...putting a little elevator out front up to our 5th story balcony. I can't imagine our 81/2 ft bed going over the balcony..we'll see.

As for our departure, I think Max and I will leave by Nov 3. We aren't sure about Bas yet, he may not be flying out until the 10th.

And then the fun starts...looking for a house, choosing a house, closing on a house and hopefully moving in all within a month before Bas starts work Dec 10.

But I'm not complaining. This is such an exciting time for us, crazy, but exciting. So I apologize to the 5 or 6 of you who I have yet to return your phone calls. I feel bad about this but I hope you understand that free time is at a premium right now.

*Thanks for the pics Uncle Joel, we really liked it that you came to visit us 1 more time even if we were a stop in between Italy and Slovenia! FYI, those are kruidnotjes Max is eating. They are a chocolate covered cookie that is only available this time of year..he eats about 1 bag every day.

Mama I'm Coming Home!

Actually, it's not just me, it's Bastiaan and Max too. Yes, it is official, we are moving to America! Things are happening quite fast. Last week Bas finalized an offer with First American Bank to be their new Vice President of International Banking/Trade Finance. He will begin Dec 10. As the headquarters are near O'Hare, we will be moving to the western suburbs of Chicago. A while back I remember saying that when we moved back to America it would be to downtown Chicago b/c living in the 'burbs after living in Amsterdam would just about kill me. Well, it seems I am going to be tested. FYI Amsterdam was just deemed the most international city in the world...NYC was #3.

So our plan was to put our house on the market and hopefully close and move the first week in November as we have a bit of house and car hunting to do in the States. We put our house on the market last Wednesday, had 7 viewings on Saturday and an offer came in this morning for MORE than what we were asking (yes the housing market it a little different here than America). So as I'm writing this I think Bas is giving notice at his job and we may be closing and leaving sooner than November.

There is a glitch in all of this...Bas hasn't been approved for his green card yet. He has an interview next week at the American Consulate here in Amsterdam. We are banking on this being just a formality and hoping he receives his card by the end of next week.

So thanks to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers over the past months. We appreciate it and we'll keep you updated on the move.

We are looking forward to our next adventure with the fun and challenges of changing cultures once again after 5 years of living in Europe.

Weddings - Dutch Style

This weekend we had a wedding reception for one of Bas's old interns from Chicago. First, I say only reception as in Holland that is usually all you are invited to unless you are very close to the bride and groom, in which case you are invited to the ceremony and a dinner afterward before the reception.

To begin, the invitation to the reception was "Scarface" themed. Not your typical wedding invite. Then a couple weeks before the wedding we received another letter in the mail. This one asking all the attendees to wear Mafia garb.

So Bas and I picked up a couple items and hoped we would fit in with the rest of the group.

Well, I wish I had brought my camera. When you walked into the reception room (the upstairs of a bar) everyone was decked out and it really looked like ...a mafia themed wedding reception.

Needless to say the boa was itchy and it was soon way to warm to be wearing something around your neck, so off it came and hung on my purse the rest of the night, the same with Bas's hat.

I also learned from this reception that I am getting old. It began at 9pm and ended at 2am. Bas and I left around 1:30am and since it was in Den Haag we weren't home until 2:30am. It is 2 days later and I still don't fully have my voice back and I needed to nap today when Max went down. I can't keep up with these Dutch people...but I did have fun dancing.

A Sobering Visit

The last couple days we have spent quite a bit of time at the hospital for doctor appointments. Yesterday we had a follow-up visit for Max's motility issues. It started off with an x-ray which once again involved both Bas and I having to physically restrain Max. After the x-ray we saw the doc. The good news is that all Max's blood work came back normal and that there doesn't look to be any major medical issues with his intestines. The bad news is that almost all the 60 rings he swallowed are still in him. We'll be giving him extremely high doses of a medicine to "clean him out" and he once again has to swallow the rings everyone morning. We'll go back next week for a follow up x-ray and hopefully see not as many rings inside him.
I asked the doc if Max's prematurity had anything to do with these issues. This brought up the discussion of The Netherlands practice on saving micro preemies like Max was. The good news is that in the past 3 years since Max was born, Holland has changed it's views and now has certain criteria for saving babies from 24 weeks on instead of the earlier 26 weeks.
This was when the sobering part of the visit occurred. I asked the doc if this means that Max would be saved if he was born in Holland now. The doc said that because Max's Apgar was 2 when he was born, he wouldn't have met the criteria to be saved.
Needless to say, I couldn't give Max enough kisses yesterday. I was so clearly reminded what a miracle he is. Not only is he doing better than we ever had hoped, but he is speaking 2 languages, riding his bike faster than Bas and I can keep up with and not to forget, giving the best hugs we can imagine. We are so thankful....to put it mildly.

Today we had Max's eye appointment. For those of you who don't remember, Max had laser surgery on his eyes when he was 4 months old to save him from the possibility of going blind. Because of this, for the rest of his life, Max is at high risk for retinal detachment. He goes every 6 months to be monitored and have his vision checked. We had great news today. His retina looks healthy and his vision seems to be IMPROVING. So no glasses for now! Yeah!

"Ik wil Grandma zien"

"I want to see Grandma."

This is what Max has been saying for weeks now. And since we are the kind of parents who give their child anything he wants (joke..sort of) we booked tickets last night. Max and I will fly next week Thursday the 28th to Chicago. Bas will follow a couple weeks later. And then on July 22, Bas and I will hop on an airplane for LA. We plan on renting a car and driving along the coast and flying back out of San Diego. My mom gives each of us kids a week of babysitting a year. We decided to use our week. After our trip we will be in Chicago another week and then we will all fly back to Amsterdam on the 4th of August.

I'm so psyched that I get to spend over 5 weeks in Chicago this summer. I'm craving the warm weather I've been hearing about. I can't wait to get Max to the beach and into the water. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and family too. I'll also be doing some not so fun things like taking continuing ed classes for my license. So, anyone who would like to see me, let me know and we can make plans!

Father's Day Weekend

Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner. Joel and Nina are from Vermont and living in Holland while Joel is doing a PhD. They have 2 little girls, Addison and Sadie. Max and Addie are the same age and love to play together. We enjoyed a very American meal of hamburgers on the grill with potato salad, fruit salad and chips. You'll have to trust me when I tell you that you could only serve this meal to fellow Americans. I have found this out the hard way. Watching Dutch people eat a hamburger with a fork and knife, and being told chips are only for parties, not meals.

On Sunday, Bas and Max constructed a beach tent in the kitchen (this is what you need to do in the summer in this country due to it being 57 degrees and raining). Max loved it and wanted to take his nap in it. Unfortunately, I had to be the party pooper on this.

In the afternoon we headed to Bas's parents to celebrate with them.

And no, I didn't get Bas anything from Max for Father's Day. Max is going to buy him a new video camera in America later this summer.

In the Name of Science

Those of you who talk to me on a somewhat regular basis know that Max has certain, shall we say, ahem, digestive issues. Well, on Tuesday we went to a special clinic for Max for this issue. It was very interesting to say the least. Bas and I both have hope that these Docs will get to the "bottom" of the problem. However, that isn't going to be easy.

It started off with Max having to have multiple vials of blood drawn. When we sat down for this the nurse asked if Max had ever had blood taken. The she looked and saw his hands and arms with all the little white dots on them (little pin like scars) and realized that yes, Max had blood taken a gazillion times. However, we soon realized that although we should be somewhat immune to this, Bas and I , it has been a long time (well, maybe not that long, Dubai) since Max had blood taken. It is awful to have to physically restrain your child while they are screaming in pain...something most parents know.

Next, but certainly not the easiest in the process is the research project. We decided that Max would enroll. This means that Max has to swallow 10 little rings (as seen on the pic) every morning for 6 mornings. Then on the 7th morning we go back and they x-ray Max (should be fun) and see where the rings are in his digestive track. This would be no problem except for the fact that Max is a texture freak when it comes to things in his mouth. As all the rings have to be swallowed around the same time everyday that coincide with the time for the x-ray next Tuesday, I give them at breakfast. The first morning, in my many failing attempts to get him to swallow these rings, breakfast consisted of cookie dough ice cream, yogurt, juice and finally pretzels. I won't go into detail, but as every ring has to be accounted for, I found myself picking through regurgitated yogurt.

So, three days down and three to go...wish me luck!

Sprookjeswonderland

Yesterday, Max had a field trip for peuterspeelzaal to Sprookjeswonderland. This is a sort of amusement park for kids ages 3 to 9-ish. Max had a great time even though it was in the 60's and raining. He played on a lot of the toys and really enjoyed going down a super high slide (much to my surprise) and riding the little train. The point of the park is little house about fairy tales...he wasn't much interested in these. After 5 hours of running around in the rain, it was time to gt back on the bus to head home to Amsterdam. Max and I were both asleep on the bus within minutes.

Not to make this e-mail about me, but sometimes you look at your life and can't believe it is what it is. Yesterday, as I was sitting in a double-decker bus with about 50 Dutch parent and their kids, riding through North Holland on the way to my 3 year-old's first field trip, I had one of those moments. Who would have ever thought I would be doing what I'm doing.

Bicker's Island

Since we were too embarrassed to show our faces in church with Max after last week, we decided to do a little city touring by bike. Sunday mornings in Amsterdam are very quiet to put it mildly. I think no one goes out of their house before noon. So it is a good time to see some parts of the city where the streets are really narrow, like Bicker's Island.

It is only a 10 minute bike ride from our house, but it does feel like it's own little world. It's said that some Amsterdamer's don't even know it's there. It's full of bricked streets, old shuttered houses, and grachts (canals) lined with houseboats. We had a nice ride for about an hour and then Max was telling us that he really needed to go to a park. So we stopped at a park in the Jordan and had a little snack of chocolate croissants and appletaart before heading back on our bikes to home.

A Busy Saturday

Saturday was a busy day. While I was out running, Max decided to "help" daddy and opened up the whole puncher so all the little white paper dots fell out onto the floor. Max was very interested in how the vacuum cleaner picked them up.

In the afternoon, we went to a party at Uncle Michiel's house and played with Thijs. After that we stopped at the toy store across the street because Bas is like a magnet to toy stores these days. He bought Max a little playmobile garbage truck which Max has played with at least 6 of the last 24 hours.

After the toy store we wanted to try a new restaurant. We didn't have reservations but we were there at 5pm. The place was, as we expected, empty. What we couldn't believe, was that they turned us away! They said they were fully booked. We walked out of the empty restaurant a bit stunned and went onto a Thai restaurant that we like. We didn't have much better luck there (see previous blog).

Only in Amsterdam...

Only in Amsterdam would a waitress spill steaming hot Pad Thai down your legs, leaving blisters no less( I was wearing capris), and you're still charged for the meal. Welcome to the country of customer service...NOT!

Trix

Trix is Max's speech therapist. Every Monday since February, Max has been meeting with Trix for a half hour. And boy, have we seen results! After the first 3 appointments, Trix gave us her assessment of Max's verbal skills. He was developing quite normally but was having great difficulty with articulation. It has been very interesting for Bas and I to learn about Max and what his delays are because of his prematurity.

Max has less strength in his mouth due to being tube fed for his first 4 months. He also has trouble closing his mouth due to being on a ventilator for his first 6 weeks. These are things that Trix is working on with Max. She gives Max homework every week. For the past couple weeks we have been working on various forms of "lippen dicht" or closed lips. Now, Max even makes his stuffed Tigger do "lippen dicht". We have also been working on the Dutch "v" which is pronounced like the English "f". Needless to say, Max's appointments are in Dutch and even I am learning too. Just today, Max said a word in answer to Trix, that I had no clue about. It won't be long until Dutch is this secret language between Bas and Max!

Vondelpark

Last night, Bas, Max and I hopped on our bikes and biked to Vondelpark. It was a beautiful day and we thought we would take advantage of it. We took along a bottle of wine and some bottles of H2O and picked up a pizza and some pasta along the way. We enjoyed a nice picnic in the park and Max loved to eat and run around at the same time.
For those of you not familiar with the Vondelpark, it is Amsterdam's Central Park. It is a big green space in the middle of the city with lots of little ponds, trees, a couple restaurants and lots of people to watch. However, I think there is probably a bit less pot and booze in Central Park.
As we sat and watched the people I was thankful Max is too young to fully understand what was happening around us. I observed a father putting a straw into a drink box one-handed because the other hand held a smoking joint in it. His little 2 year old did seem thankful for the drink. I also smiled as the lady wearing a tight little Scottish kilt and high heels with socks walked by us selling little pills out of her bike bags. The sweet smell of pot was everywhere and there was quite a contingent of African men selling cans of beer to one and all.
Needless to say, no one bats an eye and the kids run around next to the drug dealers and walking bartenders...just another day in Vondelpark.

"Klaar for Grandma Condo"

There is no other way to put it except that Max is currently obsessed with going to Grandma's condo. At least 10 time a day for the past week he talks about "Grandma condo". He is constantly referring to airplanes, big suitcases and grandma's auto (Grandma lets him drive). Yesterday he pulled my little suitcase in the kitchen, opened it up, sat inside and then said, "Klaar for Grandma condo". Klaar, in dutch, means ready. The day before he found a big Ziploc freezer bag and after putting all his Matchbox cars in it, put it outside in the hallway for Grandma condo.
We don't have tickets booked yet, but good thing we are planning on making a trip to Chicago at the end of the month. Admittedly, the trip isn't just for Max...I'm looking for some weather that is warmer than 65 degrees!

Roman Holiday

Well, actually maybe it was more like a long weekend than a holiday. My friend Heidi and I left early Friday morning and returned late Sunday night. It was a perfect weekend. We saw the major sights, did some shopping, enjoyed the food and each other's company. Having never been in Rome before I was surprised at how everything looks like it could come right off the pages of a history book. Everything is REALLY old and looks like it too. From the buildings to the streets to the ruins, all of it is so different from Holland. I enjoyed being in a different culture and weather of course.
My boys did just fine without me around. In fact, on Monday morning Bas and I were talking and Max was upset I was taking his papa's attention away from him so he told me "Mama weg". This means "Mama go away." I don't think Max even noticed I was gone until I got back, he had so much fun with his daddy. And after being away from Max for 3 days, he doesn't look bigger, like most parents would think. Instead I think he just looks and acts more like Bas! The drawback for me is that Max is speaking only Dutch right now, even to me. I guess it will take a couple days to get him back into speaking English again...I hope.

A Day at the Park with the Dames

Yesterday, we spent the day with the Kooijmans, Hans, Heidi, Marith and Kirsten. We went to a huge outdoor park for kids. I don't think we have anything like it in America to compare it to. Needless to say the kids had a great time and the adults has some time to sit and chat in the sun. After the park, we came back to our house and enjoyed a nice dinner and evening with Hans and Heidi while the kids played and then slept. The cutest part of the day was right before bed when Max and the girls kept giving each other really tight hugs. It made my heart melt. Thanks for the pics Heidi- I look forward to next weekend. It will be similar to yesterday except, no husbands, no kids and we'll be in Rome!

Thijs & Max

Yesterday, for Mother's Day, we were at Oma and Opa's house, so Max and Thijs had a chance to play together. Thijs is Max's cousin and 1 year older. They have so much fun together and really get along great with each other. It is actually fun to watch them interact. What is also interesting to observe are the personalities. The boy's mimic those of their father's. Thijs is quieter and more reserved while Max is the naughty loudmouth. I think it must also be interesting for Bas's parents to see history repeating itself.

"Hoppy Birfday"

Hearing this makes me cringe...because it is coming out of my child's mouth. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of hearing a Dutch person sing "Happy Birthday", that is how they pronounce it with their Dutch accents. Max seems to have picked this up from Peuterspeelzaal (preschool), when they sang, among other songs, "Happy Birthday" in English. He now goes around the house singing it "Hoppy Birfday".

I love to hear Max speak Dutch, it quite frankly amazes me. But I can't bear to hear him mispronounce things as the Dutch do when they speak English. I can't have my little boy speaking English with a Dutch accent, it makes me feel that in some way I am failing. Bas of course thinks this situation is hilarious and rightly believes Max will grow out of it. He isn't laughing as hard when I remind him of how he pronounces that stuff we use to brush our teeth with as "thoothpathe".

Acting Like Tourists

Yesterday, mom and Max and I had the car (thanks Bas), and it was a beautiful day. So we decided to do a little sightseeing. We first drove to Hoorn, an old fishing village. Mom and max posed for the first pic here in the old harbor. It was really quite quaint. We sat and had a cup of coffee here and then hopped back in the car and drove over the Aufsluitdijk to a little, little town called Makkum (the pic of the cute little house) which is known for it's pottery. We thought we would pick up a nice piece for each of us. However after seeing the prices ( a coffee cup was about 300 euros), we decided it wasn't that pretty. We had lunch here, outside, and then Max enjoyed and ice cream cone. It was a lovely way to spend Grandma's last day with us. She left this morning and we are, needless to say, sad.

You've Come A Long Way Baby!

Max turned 3 yesterday! We can't believe that it was 3 years ago that our lives were turned upside down, when my 2 week trip to Chicago turned into 5 months. We look back and don't know how we survived, by the grace of God I'm sure. But most importantly Max survived and today he is a strong and happy little boy. We couldn't have hoped or prayed for more than he is today. He is our constant reminder that miracles can and do happen. By the way, yes, that is Bas's hand in the first photo.

Max's Verjaardag op de Peuterspeelzaal

Today was Max's birthday celebration at Pre/Play school. He actually turns 3 on Sunday. The pics are taken while the class was singing songs to him. It is very educational experience for me, culturally speaking, to watch how birthdays are celebrated in Holland. I think birthdays, no matter the age, are a bigger deal here than in the states. It is hard for me to find a medium between the Dutch and American ways. Like for school, for birthdays, kids bring an edible snack and a goody bag for each of the classmates. I made some cookies but decided goody bags for 3/4 year olds was a bit much.

Another tradition they did in school today, besides the songs (an English "Happy Birthday" was sung among the other Dutch songs), is the birthday hat. I must say he teacher did a bang up job on the hat. It was very cool and Max seemed to like it. I think Max enjoyed the celebration this morning because the rest of today he was singing the birthday songs...to himself...mostly in Dutch!

Yeah!...that's an understatement

Great news everyone...Bas's syrinx has shrunk! We were both beyond thrilled when the neurosurgeon showed us the images and we could see with our untrained eye that the pocket of fluid was smaller. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. The syrinx is still there but has shrunk from 9mm to 7mm. That is actually a big jump. Even if the syrinx never gets any smaller this is good.

We have waited 2 years (3 if you count from the onset of his symptoms) for this and now can finally think about moving on with life. Yeah!

A Beautiful Sunday

It is sunny and about 75 degrees and Bas is out biking and Max is NOT taking a nap.

We biked into church this morning and after had coffee with some members of my old church, Peace CRC in South Holland. They are here touring around. Of course on the way home Max fell asleep on the back of the bike for the 10 minute ride from church to our house. And that means no real nap for today. Oh well, it is very rare that he doesn't get his nap in. And anyway, I hate to say it but Bas is on his own tonight with Max as I have movie night with some American women.

Tomorrow is a big day for us. We go for Bas's 6 month(post surgery) MRI. I'll let you know the outcome.

Here is one more pic from Chicago. This was taken on Easter Sunday at a park by my mom's house on Lakeshore Drive. As you can tell, it was cold, about 35 degrees. The kids from left to right Kate Buikema, Grant Wiarda, Max, Gabrielle Wiarda and Seth Buikema...all of Grandma's babies!

We're Back

After 2 weeks of freezing in Chicago, we are back in Amsterdam. And when I say freezing, I mean it. And to make matters more painful, while it was snowing in Chicago, it was 80 degrees and sunny in A'dam. I've decided I have bad luck when it comes to the weather.
But we did have a wonderful time in Chicago, seeing family and friends. I was able to celebrate my first Easter at home in 5 years which was really nice. Of course Max was spoiled by Grandma and all his aunts, uncles and cousins.
We even ended the trip on a high note with Grandma flying back to A'dam with us. Having her help with Max on the 8 hour flight in priceless. She was here with us until today when she flew to London to visit with the Essenburgs and attend a cooking class with Deb. Grandma will come back next week Thursday, just in time for Max's 3rd birthday!

P.S. Thanks again for the Thomas hat for Max Kristin!

P.S.S. Thanks to my brother Joel for all the pics.

Tijd vor Tulpen

It's tulip time in Holland! Since it was a sunny day, we hopped in the car and drove the 30 minutes toward the sea to the tulip fields. Although this is my 5th spring in Holland, I am still caught a bit breathless by the beautiful colors, they are so vibrant. Unfortunately, Max didn't seem to feel the same way. After discovering the tulips didn't give off a scent, he wasn't very interested.

SPRING!

Max has had a busy couple days as the weather here in Amsterdam has been sunny and in the 60's. We've visited a couple parks and done lots of bike riding with his little friend Addie. Max really loves to be outside and play with Addie so it was the perfect combination. Not to mention it is nice for me to sit and talk with Addie's mom, Nina, while we watch the kids run around. After dinner tonight, Max sat in his swing on the balcony while Bas and I sat and drank wine. Yes, I do love the warm weather in Amsterdam and all that comes with it!

Oue Weekend: Etiquette and Trains

Last night Bas and I went out for dinner with Bas's family. This was a dinner that was included in the prize his parents won last June from Princess appliances. Since the prize was about hospitality, the dinner was an etiquette dinner. The restaurant was a very nice one in the town where Bas grew up, Vijfhuizen. There was an etiquette expert we instructed us throughout the 5 course meal which was also accompanied by a wine with each course (yes, I was on my ... by the end of the evening). Being the American that I am, I of course ask"Are you ever allowed to ask the people smoking at the table next to you to stop?" I knew the answer but still had to ask as I think 90% of Amsterdammers smoke in restaurants.

As for Saturday, it was all about trains. Bas and Max played with Max's Thomas train for about 3 1/2 hours. I am amazed by Bas and also thankful since there is no way I could have done this. Bas loves to play with Max. Once again, the thought crosses my mind that God knew what he was doing when he gave us a boy.