A glimpse into our European life

Pictures and words do a great job at telling most of our family stories.  But sometimes, a video is the perfect way to capstone life's events.  This year is no exception.  I invite you to watch our family video and catch just a glimpse of what the past 9 months has been like for us.  (It is over 11 minutes long, so you've been warned!) Enjoy!

Two-wheeler Dutch girl

When we moved to the "land of bike riding," we were blessed and each given a bike, including the kids, to use during our time in Kampen.  Maddie's bike is purple, has a pink basket on the front and a pink seat = perfection, right?  Almost.  She desires to ride that bike whenever we give her an opportunity (and when the weather is decent), because she has been determined to "ride something like the other kids in Kampen do."  The problem is the bike is too big for her.  We thought adding the training wheels would help with the issue, but they didn't stay in place for very long before slipping and changing positions; never a good thing when one is relying on them to balance!  We also hoped that maybe once she figured out the balancing act a bit more, the training wheels could just come off and we would be set.  (She did have a "balance bike" last summer which she loved, and clearly it helped her confidence.)

This last month, she has become even more determined (and sometimes stubborn) about getting on her bike (that is too big), and riding it as much as possible, in hopes that she will be able to learn how to ride on her own.  We have felt sort of helpless because our time is winding down here, and we didn't necessarily want to drop money on a bike for such a short period.  But, we also have heard the longing in her voice, watched her determination grow each day, and would love to help foster her desire to ride a bike!

A few days ago, after school, we were playing at the park just next to Maddie's school.  The weather was in the upper 60's - beautiful - and so many kids/parents were out enjoying the afternoon together.  Maddie expressed deep concern, once again, that she wanted to "ride something like all the other kids," and didn't understand why she couldn't.  One of her friends graciously handed over his 1-day-old bike to let her ride it.  His bike did not have training wheels, but that did not stop Maddie from getting on.  What I saw was something awesome.  She hopped on that bike, she wobbled around a bit, and then she just started to go.  And I mean, go!  She was biking circles around the park, by herself.  She was weaving in and out of so many kids playing, by herself.  It was so fun to see!!  Maddie was incredibly reluctant to give up the bike after a solid 20 minutes of riding.

Another friend's dad, who knows how short our time is left in Kampen, came over and asked if we would like to borrow a bike for Maddie, and that he could get it to us by Monday.  Yes!  There was no hesitation coming from Maddie's or my mouth!  (She actually had a difficult time grasping the idea that she would have to wait for a few more days to get the bike.)  Skipping over to Saturday morning, there was a knock on our door, and the bike had made an early appearance.  Maddie furiously put her shoes on and raced outside, and we've hardly seen her since! :)

With the exception of meal times, rest times and a few other indoor play times, we have been outside riding bikes!  Maddie has even made a successful trip to the grocery store with Brant, on bike paths next to the canals, over bridges, and up and around her school and back, no problem.  

These pictures were taken on our first bike outing yesterday.  And, no.  She does not have a helmet, yet.

Someone better hurry up and catch up with her - she's fast!

Truly, the smile will not wipe away from her face.  She is so proud of herself!  And she should be!!

Geoffrey is behind her, practicing his biking skills, too. :)

We are SO proud of you, Maddie Mae!!!

Ever was so proud of Maddie, too. :)

I guess we have ourselves a true Dutch girl: she speaks the language, she goes to Dutch school, she rides a two-wheeler all around town like the other kids, she owns wooden shoes, and she even has 1/8 Dutch blood in her!  

And as a treat for reading through my entire post, here is a bonus video of our little bike rider, taken over progression of a few days.  If anything, it's kind of fun to show you what riding a bike in Kampen looks like!

Time goes too fast!

A few days ago, I started watching some old video clips with the kids that were taken over the past 4 years.  Many of these video clips were later edited into short movies, which many of you might recall seeing on this blog a few years ago.  Unfortunately, and I really do not have too many good excuses, I have neglected to edit any of the video clips taken from when Geoffrey was born through now.

Things are going to change, starting today.  I am physically and emotionally incapable of skipping over any period of time without having it documented, so because I have video footage, even from the past, it must be edited.  In an effort to reduce an overwhelmingly long movie post on the blog, I have managed to edit over two years worth of family video clips into one 5 minute movie.  The major bummer about this, however, is that we switched the device in which we took videos with halfway through, and we did not upload all of the footage from the first camera to the computer before we moved to The Netherlands.  This means there is quite a large time gap evident in the movie, and in a few months, when we unpack our boxes and find the old camera, I will have to make another video to cover that "lost year in time." :)

Enjoy our latest family flick (albeit a bit dated), and get excited to see more videos coming soon - with more updated footage!!   

Little Miss Personality

Wow! You are very fortunate this morning, as I have yet another video for you. Two in one week!

This video footage is taken from where we left off in the last video (early August), up through January. Enjoy! :)

Summertime Sunshine

Okay! You've patiently waited for nearly 10 months since our last video post. The day has finally arrived - a new video for your viewing pleasure! I fully intend on adding more very soon, but no promises as to when. :)

This video marks the beginning of our time here, in Southern California. In fact, it primarily is taken during the first 1 1/2 months of us officially living in the sunshine. (This is why I say there will be more videos on the way, because I couldn't possibly edit it all into one 3 minute video. We've been having too much fun!)

Our own little sunshine is growing up way too fast. Enjoy!

Maddie's new trick!

This entry is a bit delayed in being posted...

MADDIE STARTED WALKING!!! She woke up from her nap on Friday afternoon and decided, "Today is the day!" She is an absolute pro. Like I've been saying for months now, she really has been walking this whole time, but she has depended heavily on her walker, even though she hasn't really needed it for that long. Sunday, we made another trip to Disneyland! We decided to purchase one of those cute little backpacks that have an adorable strap that hangs out the backside...okay, okay...some people call it a "leash", but I refuse to refer to it that way. The backpack was the perfect thing for Maddie. She no longer wants to hold our hands when walking and really, really wants to explore her independence with this new found skill of hers. The best part about the backpack is that it is a little Minnie Mouse! :) Enjoy this video clip we took using our cell phone.

Watch me go!!

This is what Maddie was up to today...

A MUST-See...

Ice is Funny!

Tonight, we went to Taco Bell for dinner. As we were finishing our meal, I pulled Maddie out of her seat to join me on my lap. I took the last sip of my root beer, which drew her attention over to my cup full of ice. She started grabbing at the cup, feeling the cold sides and trying to put it in her mouth. For no reason at all, I decided to start shaking the cup. The result of this shaking was an immediate, contagious and hilariously adorable giggle from our 8-month old. The entire restaurant took turns looking in the direction of the baby laughter, and I couldn't resist encouraging the behavior to continue! After about 2 minutes of this, we finally got the novel idea to pull out Brant's cell phone and take a mini-video of the scene. By this point, the laughter had died down a bit from what it was to begin with, but it was still awesome. Enjoy!!

Blizzard Video

Here is our latest video for your viewing pleasure. This particular video is definitely more for our own archive sake, to document the crazy winter weather we've been having. It is not one filled with all kinds of events - only the two big storms we had last week. The weatherman is predicting another snow system to move in town tomorrow night, but I don't think it is supposed to amount to much...we'll see. At this rate, who knows?!

Enjoy!

Maddie's Latest Flick!

Here is our latest edition to our video collection of our sweet little girl. I'm pretty proud of this one, and am particularly fond of the piece of music I chose. Thanks to my father, who instilled his love of excellent music in me, I chose "Children's March" for this video. I played this piece of music in
my dad's band, which makes it extra special. Enjoy!!

Another Video, Starring Miss Madelyn Mae!

You have been so very patient. The day has finally arrived where we have another video ready for your enjoyment! Brant showed me how to edit our video clips into a "mini-movie", music and all! Now that I know how to do this, you can anticipate more showing up on a semi-regular basis. I had a lot of fun with this one. Since it has been awhile since we've done this, the footage on this video dates back to the end of September, up until 2 weeks ago. Enjoy!!

Tasty Toes, with a bonus video!!

Maddie has officially found her toes to be quite desirable and tasty! It is really cute to watch her grab her feet, bring them up to her mouth, and wait to see if her toes will land in her mouth or her fist. :) Aww, to be this flexible again - geez, I sound old!

This video was taken using my regular camera in a dim room, so I apologize for the lack of quality (and full-born soundtrack like previous videos)...but you still get the idea!

Whoa! I rolled!

We have fun when mommy's not around!

Maddie Mae Moves to Princeton

Maddie Mae's Many Summer Adventures

Madelyn Mae's First Week...

In case you can't tell, being a new daddy is pretty cool...