Amsterdam Week

With Josh gone for the first time since we had kids (well, actually it's just that my parents always flew us down to TX and that doesn't work now), you may be wondering what we have been doing. Glad you asked. Having a blast!! Don't get me wrong- can't wait for Josh to return, but we have footloose and fancy free. Not putting meals on the table at certain times and having open evenings have allowed me to squeeze in a lot of friend and outdoor time. Yesterday, we hit the HUB as usual and then went to Kate's for lunch and dinner! We even bathed the kids together, but evidently you can't post that sort of thing online... :)

Today, I met a new friend this morning and realized as I was woke up Luke from a sound sleep at 8am to go, maybe I was pushing too hard to fit in too many things. R has been desperate for my attention and has been textbook bratty to get it. So, I promised her we would spend time together when we returned for Luke's nap. The second we were back she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I just want to spend time with you." Whoa. Drop what you're doing and sit down and do some stamps with the girl! That's just what we did. Then, it was amazingly gorgeous outside, so we had a picnic lunch with Kate, Rachel, Sandra (from church play group but not pictured), and their kids. See below.

(The field they're playing on is adjacent to King's College, which is Josh's part of campus. Just wanted to show you how amazing it is).

After my kids' afternoon naps, I decided to take Rebekah's cues and lay low if we needed to, even tho I was desperate to get outside (and preferably to the beach) again. We all 3 leisurely had snacks and played on the rug for an hour together and, low and behold, she said "Let's go to the beach!" And that's just what we did!

Kate loaned me this great hip sling that allows me to carry Luke on my hip but isn't that cumbersome to put on. This was my sweet view at the beach. :)

Then, as was my plan, we hit Burger King and got whatever we wanted! I was sooooo excited- Luke fed himself french fried, burger, and chicken!! He also ate broccoli cheese soup and chicken casserole I brought him. He isn't a huge fan of feeding himself, but, for some reason I LOVE making my baby food and watching my babies happily eat it (and junk food, I guess!). Just look at those fat cheeks and little fingers. LOVE this kid.

Love how serious he is while choosing which tasty morsel he'd like.

Luke was KILLING me! He had this lady's attention and was doing all his tricks- without being asked (little show off)! He clapped, did "so big," and even blinked at her which is our game (we blink back and forth at each other and giggle)- she was smitten!! How could she not be?- see below for clapping and so big.

I have also been trying to catch up around the house, as well as relax- not much relaxing, I guess. Oh well. That's never been my strong suit.

p.s. Tonight I told Rebekah it was almost bed time, to which she replied, "Just let me know..."

I'll tell you about tomorrow and Thursday in the next post. ;)

I love you, Josh

Today Josh left for a few days to read a paper at a conference in Amsterdam. It is times like these where I realize again how much I love my husband.

Josh and I got married almost 8 years ago- that makes us sound so old!! Anyway, after several rejections ;), he wore me down and as he says, he "won." Once we dated for real, he did win my heart very quickly. I loved how smart he was, how funny, how much he truly loved the Lord. Of course, he was very handsome, too. ;)

Not much has changed, except that he is even better-looking somehow and I respect him even more. That's what I love the most, I think. He deserves every bit of respect I have for him. He is so honest, so loving, so giving, so godly.

I do have to say that partnering with him in parenting has been an added dynamic to our relationship. Watching him unconditionally love our children when I am ready to pretend they're not mine has awed me. The way he gives of himself to make my life easier as their mother beautifully serves me. Since we had Luke and I was malfunctioning :), Josh made sure to rise with early-rising Rebekah and rock baby Luke as long as possible to allow me extra sleep after mid-night feeds- he did this every morning! He also came home to work during naps so he could monitor naps and re-paci while I crashed EVERY afternoon. When I quit nursing, we split the nights for bottle feeds. Josh still gets up with the kids EVERY morning. I secretly call him their "first-responder"- he is the one to get up early to take care of them and get them started- to the point that I think Rebekah will be disoriented and bit disappointed that it's me tomorrow morning. Josh also hangs with them as much as possible while I make dinner- as Josh says, "Luke has a massive mama crush," so it's not exactly quality time with the boy. Regardless, Josh is there for all of us in the crunch times. He even encourages my alone time outings, naps, and girl times and is quite brave about my absence most of the time. :)

So, beyond missing my husband, I miss my helper, my partner in crime. I miss our silly giggles over silly things and how you love to have contact with me as much as possible. I know the kids miss your "Gemma" and "Cookie Monster" voices, as well as the songs you make up for them to eat their vegetables. Luke may not miss your gentle nudgings toward crawling, but I am stepping in for you there.

I love you and miss you, Josh.

Good or bad hair day...

you decide! My kids' hair was quite the topic of conversation this morning at church. Seriously, I think everyone we knew commented on the awesomeness of Luke's hair. The Scottish contingent described it as "brilliant."

I'm gonna say good hair day for little missy. She has definite preferences these days- I am amused at how much variety there is. Most kids get locked in on one or two things. She wears different clothes every day, takes a different toy to bed, chooses different books every night to read, and now has preferences about her hair! Today, she wanted a braid!

Onto Luke...maybe bad????

We were very much in the sun (not something you complain about in the UK!) so his hair is glowing...keep scrolling for its full greatness. What's more, it was sticking straight out in the back, too.

(p.s.) Altho Luke for sure has cankles, his feet bring me much delight. He is just as limber as his sister and can also do the splits effortlessly. (this definitely has hindered his motivation to crawl b/c he can contort himself to reach things) He talks with his hands and his feet- if he gets really excited, his hands and feet turn circles, which is one of my favorite things to watch. I digress- check out those fat feet and sweet little hands playing with them This makes me soooo happy! Looking in the rearview mirror and seeing these little pumpkins is more than I can describe.

(p.p.s.) He did start with socks and that naughty little boy pulls them off every time! This also tickles me.

Wow, I love my kids.

I have the best friends

Seriously! I have been blessed with some amazing friends in my life and I often wonder how or why they genuinely love me so. Regardless, I am the last to complain about such a great blessing. While I have some fabulous friends all over the world, I am going to focus on one specific group today.

After some funny circumstances, a package from Iowa arrived at my door this morning!! I eagerly tore into it and quickly found myself in tears- not even sweet, running down my face tears, but my shoulders are shaking because I'm flat-out crying tears....to the point that Rebekah asked what was wrong and when I answered in a wavery voice, she wanted to know why I was "talking sad?" My sweet, sweet friends from Iowa City put together a care package of goodies, toys for the kids, and sweet notes and pictures. Andrea spear-headed it, as she obviously went to a LOT of trouble to gather the items and she and Derricca spent a small fortune mailing it!! I got notes and gifts that mean a lot to me from numerous friends and I simply cannot say how deeply touched I am. THANK YOU. Y'all are awesome. I miss you so, so much.

Thank you, Andrea, for all your work organizing, sending, and trarcking it down after a missed delivery!

HUB friend and hand-me-downs

Yesterday, Rachel, Ethan, and baby Benjamin met us at the HUB. The two older kids loved running around together and holding hands! Afterwards, I was brave and Rachel was kind enough to let me nap Luke at their house- he was a bit disoriented going down and waking up, but he fussed for less than 3 seconds and slept a normal nap! I even checked a monitor- this is HUGE for me. (Sadly, today's sleep is not going so well- you win some, you lose some, right?)

The Lord provides again!! My downstairs neighbor brought up 3 armfuls of clothes for Luke! I am not great at staging them for pic, but here are several shots so you can see how much it was- for FREE!! I zoomed in on some of my faves....most are 18-24 months, tho here they say 1 1/2-2 yrs or 18-23 months! A few are for now.

Yea for hand-me-downs!
p.s. The blue thing is swimming "trunks"! (indoors, of course!)

I have to add that I just went thru R's drawer to find a toy for someone else- her response:

That's mine! You don't just go through my stuff and give it away, Mama!

Oh my gosh- really!!!!!!! Could she really be 2 1/2??????

Paddington Bear

Not the best photo, but it was stinkin' cold and rainy and windy- I just was amused at the sight. Rebekah is grinning and Luke is unwittingly waving. :) I thought he looked like Paddington Bear. Actually, in all honesty, I can't watch Curious George without thinking of Luke. Those big, round cheeks and that innocent look even when being very naughty is classic Luke Malone.

Rebekah's brain at work:

I’m gonna put this phone in my pocket just in case I need to make a phone call cuz somebody might need me to call them. I'm gonna call Miss Kate and see if she's had that baby yet. Hey! Miss Kate- have you had your baby yet?

Where are Elmo’s grandparents? Does he miss them?

I miss my grandparents….I hope they come see me. Mamama is coming to celebrate Luke…won’t that be fun?! Are you sooo excited?! And then Nana AND Papa are coming for my birthday! And we get a new house! Will we get Bill (context: referring to Bill on Curious George- she got to watch CG on tv and there was a character named Bill and she associates this with having a house- she also knows we’re getting a new “house” (aka moving flats) while Nana and Papa are here this summer…)

(I said something to Luke/Buddy)- Rebekah asked me, "Were you talking to Buddy (Luke) or Bunny (me)?"

(Do you need to tee tee?) No, I'm good.

(in the cart as seen above, next to Luke, who was trying to grab her toy) "Can you pick him up? (me, no) "Then, can you give him something to play with?"

What's this called? A glue stick, you said?

I said I wanted tea when you were making it, but I don't want it now. I want Coke.

I'm carrying 2 bowls, one for me and one for Mickie, but could you be my helper, Mommy, and help me carry this one in?

And, today, she pronounced her l's!!! (instead of them sounding like w's) that just leaves th's...

Lily, Luke, Mothercare, friends, the beach, & NCT

I mentioned we had Lily last week for one morning. Here are the girls playing at our flat. Thank goodness we have 2 of many things!

You may not know we have a dog- his name is Max. This was his first outing.

Just loved her expression.

We went to visit our budding photographer friend, Rachel O.

Rachel, hard at work!

I love Mothercare- if Rebekah had a twin-sized bed, this would be her duvet cover!

If we could spend what we're spending on Josh's 3rd and 4th degrees all on clothes, these would be hers, too! ;)

They even have cute boy clothes...

Becky- I thought of you the whole time! This is a line called Baby K and it screams your (and Riley's) name!

At Rachel's for dinner the night she took the pics.

All jammied-up.

At the beach

After we play at the beach, Josh and Rebes go to the playground. Luke and I are much more content to stroll! I LOVE how much he's like me! We could be outside 24/7 except for sleeping... ;) It is so fun to enjoy walks with him and not have him fussing like his sister did at his age. This is the path that is beachside.

This is mid-negotiation for something. I was taking it to show you what happens when a 2 1/2 yr old chooses her own clothes. Yes, that's 3 shirts, all of which she managed to get dirty. When your washing machine is the size of a thimble, that can be frustrating.

I am speechless. I wasn't that surprised that an oceanside town would have prawn (shrimp) cocktail-flavoured crisps (chips), but Cajun squirrel...?!

On our way to the NCT sale- it's basically a huge garage sale of clean, almost-new clothes and baby gear. We went last November and have been counting down until this one. You have to go early, queue (stand in line), get Starbucks' (an essential), and rush in when the doors open to try to grab what's most important to you. I mostly got clothes for the kiddos and a few toys (see post below this one!). I love the whole experience.

This is Kate and Callum (2 weeks old). Since Kate delivered Callum at home, this was his first car ride. (Kate is Lily's mama)

Kate and Allison. Allison had Abigail in February and she got to stay at home with Daddy.

Rachel G with 4-week or so old Benjamin. Rachel is Ethan's mama. Just to review, Rebekah is 2 yrs 8 months, Ethan is 2 1/2, and Lily is just over 2. They all have little brothers :)- Luke is 11 months, Benjamin is 5 weeks, and Callum is 2 weeks.