Wednesday: Wednesday was Nigel's first birthday. Not much celebrating occured on the actual day, because he is so young, but he did get to open a TON of presents. He was also the king of the house and took his very FIRST steps. He is such a wobbly but adorable walker. Then, after the Dad got home, we took him and his older sister Kaitlyn to her school for their end of the year celebration. There was a pot luck and an adorable puppet show. It was really great. Here is a picture of Nigel enjoying being king for a day, and playing with his sister's hat:
He also got lots of present,s even though his sisters open and proceeded to play with most of them. I guess that is what siblings are for--lol. Here he is opening his totally cool new water bottle.
The puppet show was a huge hit and Kaitlyn just ate it up. She was SCREAMING to tell the puppets where the mouse was hiding and having a grand old time. Here she is, with her adorable smile, enjoying every little bit.
It was a great day and I just hung out at home at night.
Then, on Thursday, it was HOT HOT HOT outside. After a long day of trying to stay cool, we finally gave into the sprinkler. Nigel had the time of his life and would almost fall over in excitement each time the stream of water passed by him. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Here he is, having the time of his life.
Then, that night, I went to a super cool craft night called Katie's Cozy Craft Corner. It was in this adorable cafe that had all antique, mismatching furniture and a great creative, cute vibe. There was homemade delicious cup cakes, cheap beer and make your own cocktails. There were also some great people. Although most of them were much older than me they were all very sweet and great to chat with. It was a really great experience and I am excited for when they start up again after the summer.
Friday was a beautiful and my day off. I decided to laze around for a little bit then go to the lake about a 10 minute bike ride away from the house and explore. It was absolutely beautiful and a great way to relax and spend a day off. I read, had a delicious ice cream and thoroughly enjoyed my day off. Here is a picture of the lake and the island in the middle. It really is a terrific park!
Then, that night I thought about going out and exploring some more, but after my late night on Thursday I decided to stay in, have a few beers and chat with Jane (my host mom). It was a lot of fun and a good relaxing night in.
Saturday my camera was dead and I was unable to take any pictures, which stinks because it was an eventful day. I woke up on the early side and traveled about an hour to the Haag, a city in the east of the Netherlands, to have lunch with a group of Smith Alumnae. There were seven of us; Me--the most recent graduate, a graduate of the 1 year American studies program who graduated in 2002 and a researcher for the unemployment offices of the Netherlands, a 1996 grad who is now a lawyer in the Haag and is the main prosecutor on the international peace tribunal for the Bosnian genocide, a 2000 grad who is a consultant for NGOs on efficiency and things to that affect and an architect who graduated in the 80s and two retirees who seemed like very powerful women, one who traveled for a living now, it seemed lol. It was terrific and I really enjoyed myself. The lawyer and I have kept in touch--he is due to have a baby girl in 2 weeks and we are already planning to meet in Amsterdam for playground time. She is also more than happy to help me with my law school idea and give me advice about applications the like. The researcher and I have also kept in touch and i am going to go to Rotterdam to see her next weekend to see her and see the city. Then, at night, I went into town to see the 3rd and 4th place game for the World Cup. I met a group of 5 guys from Eastern Holland who were very drunk and we had a great time together. Then, I came home and had a terrific night sleep. All in all, and eventful and fun day.
Sunday started with a birthday party for Kaitlyn, Nigel and Lorens, the dad. There was snacks, cakes, a kiddie pool and tons of fun. It was great and really fun to play with the kids and have a great time. The kids were adorable. Here is Kaitlyn opening up the present I gave her--a princess purse!
And, here, in her brand new Auora bikini marveling at her tummy. She is so cute!
It was also Nigel's 1st birthday and he had his first bite of cake. Here he is, being adorable and enjoying it!
As you can see, a fun and eventful day and THEN I went down town to watch the world cup game. Although we lost, it was a lot of fun and I don't think I have ever seen that much orange in my LIFE! I met up with another Au Pair, Alexa, and we met up with her friends. At first we went to Museumplien, where they were playing the game on jumbo trons, but we did not stay because it was SO hot and RIDICULOUSLY crowded. This was my view of the jumbo tron--all that orange got in the way!
Monday, the first real day of summer vacation--I had all three kids and we stayed at home. The oldest girl hardly slept the night before and we needed to stay close tot he house in order to make sure no major meltdowns would occur. We had a lot of fun playing pretend, dancing, and making cards and gifts for their Au Pair Sarah who was leaving the next day. This day will also go down in history as the day I discovered Nigel's love for Alphabeat. Here he is dancing his heart out to the song Fantastic 6.
Tuesday we went to the airport to say goodbye to their previous Au Pair. All of the public transportation was free because it was the day of the celebration parade--2nd place is still awesome, right? It was very sad to see the parents and children upset to see Sarah leave. She was great and they loved her. Hopefully i will have a heartfelt goodbye with them in a year, as well! The airport here is terrific and actually a fun place to play. There is a McDonalds style play park inside, an observation deck to watch the airplanes take off and land, lots of fun stores and one of the only inside malls in Amsterdam. After saying goodbye to Sarah, we hung out (me, the kids and the Mom) at the airport shopping, eating, playing and watching for a while. The kids had fun and it was a great day, in all. Here is Nigel, in his Darth Vader shirt he got for his birthday, playing with his new bike!
Today was Wednesday and I had Marisa and two of her friends--plus Nigel. It was a beautiful day outside, so we went to the park and played in the pool in the back yard. It as fun and a very eventful bike ride to he playground. It is about a 5 minute adult bike ride but imagine doing it with a baby on the front baby seat and three 5 year old girls on their own bikes two of which there is a serious language barrier between you and them. yes, interesting is a great way to describe the experience. It went well though, no one got hit and everyone got to and from the playground. I have no picture and no excuse, but the multiple picture days should make up for it! Love you all! Keep reading!
From your pictures, those kids seem like the happiest, most smiley, enthusiastic kids on the planet! It seems like you are working with such a great family.
ReplyDeleteI am also so excited to hear about your day with the Smith alums! It's really wonderful that the lawyer is going to help you with your law school plan - keep us updated as to how it all goes, the application process and all that!