Can we make it? Yes we can.

We had a very long rainy trip to the grocery store this morning, but we came home and had a nice early lunch (10am- this is lunch time when you wake up at 530 and have breakfast at 545) of bologna and cheese sandwiches. While I was reading something on the computer, I looked down and saw that James had brought in his box of Duplos to dump them out next to me. The next time I looked he had built this extravegant design; I was surprised because these things used to frustrate him pretty quickly. I couldn't believe he had the patience to put it all together without help, and even balance some non-Lego objects in there- including a key chain!

Geknipt

201st post!
Its not that we haven't been inspired to add to the blog lately- we have just been pretty busy. Mike has his first translation job which takes up more time and effort than just language editing and Kat, though mostly over the first trimester blahs, is working hard on the thesis to have it done before the summer.
James is doing great, though a fever kept him from daycare on Friday; that really blows because it means no time for editing (i.e. income) that day.
Today Katharine and James got their hair cut. We have been sort of trimming his hair in the bath and whenever we can get him to sit still but he was sort of starting to look a little homeless. We didn't know what to expect when we went to the kapper. The young girl (we had never been to this one before- we tried it because it was close and cheap) was really good with James. He cried for a minute and turned his head away- she had him sit in Katharine's lap- but once she got going he enjoyed it actually. She chattered and distracted him and was amazingly fast with the scissors. When he was done he hada cookie and the default product for young Dutch hair: a big dollop of gel. We laughed because we had seen little kids with these crazy do's before and just said 'dat is typisch nederlands...' In some of the pictures you can see the remnants of the gel; it was cold and we had to put the hat on to bike around. We have had a little warm spurt in the last couple of days however; some of the crocuses have even started blooming at the local park.

Kat's updated look:



Flower power:




A new game- putting socks on everything we can fit them on:




Though still mostly limited to pointing and grunting, James enunciation makes surprising leaps and bounds. It is funny- he'll say 'uh-oh' if anything falls on the floor- even when intentionally thrown there...
Yesterday he busted out a perfect 'what' (Katharine was hiding and surprising him with her best rendition of Dave Chappell doing Little John- I know, convoluted and incomprehensible to most of our audience but trust me it's funny) and he just screwed up his mouth and did it. It surprised all of us, including him. I'm pretty sure he has no idea what 'what' means but its amazing to see language develop in real time.
I had hoped I had it in me to wax on the application of dog training techniques to toddler parenting but it will have to wait for another post; I am out of gas for the night. Instead please enjoy this massive physique-

Out and About

It is a big deal when the sun comes out here. Yesterday and today have been about 60F and sunny all day. It reminds me of Oregon in that you can really notice a difference in people's attitudes- much less dour and quicker to smile. You can also finally see how filthy your windows are after months of grey light.
James and I hit the kinderboerderij to see the animals and burn the morning till nap/editing time. James is getting bolder and really enjoys walking around the whole place now instead of being held most of the time. We stayed away from the donkeys this time.

There was a new goat born recently that was more James' speed.



Always somebody cuter and younger than you...



James especially likes the bird cages-

Baby Valentine

We went to get the first ultrasound of the new baby today. We are so busy lately; it has been such a different experience than with James and it was really great to see the beginnings of someone. We haven't established a nickname yet- its not quite that big yet...
She or he (we both think its a girl after seeing the scan) was very mellow, only making sudden movements for a few seconds before settling back down. It is always amazing to see the little heart beating and the fingers and toes and nose.

International Food Fair

James is a little more into trying different foods lately. He doesn't eat a lot- I know some kids do, but as a former picky eater with a relatively long memory, I can accept this- and I have learned to get used to him not always being ready to eat when we think it is lunchtime, or whatever. Its amazing how huge issues like eating become when you start to raise kids. First it was (for us) trouble getting him to breastfeed and then trouble making sure he ate enough (every two hours for the first six months; I think thats enough). Then you have to reach these milestones of branching out into a wide diversity of foods and self-feeding and the friggin sippy cup and days of eating five bananas and occassionally throwing food as far as you can across the room. Ok, so those aren't all exactly milestones. What we have found is that in addition to all the other relatively rapid changes in development that happen in these first two years, you also have to keep an eye out for changes in eating habits. Memories of my own eating issues (not really issues but some clear early memories of struggling hopelessly over liver, raw tomatoes and certain veggies like lima beans; albeit at an embarrasingly more advanced age than J) have given me this insane desire to make James a perfectly balanced and satisfied eater. Well that all faded pretty rapidly. He eats fine actually, for the stage he is in. There are the occassional all banana days where I worry he is going to have some strange potassium imbalance, but for the most part he is willing to try anything we are eating. Which really makes you take a second look at your own diet! Thats for another post I am still working on.
Recently, James has snubbed his normal yoghurt/fruit/peanut butter and jelly sandwich diet, and we have done our best to see what will fit into his new, matured, palate- this week he has tried burritos, quesadillas, and sushi; the first two with some measure of success.
Katharine loves sushi, and to make up for me going to get excellent sushi without her in Northampton recently, I decided to try my hand when I got back. We used smoked instead of raw fish- the results were decent; the hardest things were the inside out rolls:



James had a great time stabbing them with the fork; some actually got in his mouth:






James has also taken to dressing up in my clothes:



Almost through the 1st trimester, Katharine's preferences have also taken a more fickle tack, tonight she was only satisfied with- ramen noodles and cream soda.
If you are able, please send grits...

SNOW DAZE

It began snowing in Enschede this afternoon. The trains, my chosen transportation today, were running only infrequently by midday. Fortunately I caught a ride home with our former roomate David in his car. As a Canadian he is hands down the best driver out on the roads.
We made a family trek out ot the park to make a sneeuwpop that is snowman to you! James loved it, the dogs loved it, and we are all tired now.

The continuing story...

No, not of a quack that has gone to the dogs- but just an update on what we have been up to. Its amazing the differences even a week make in James. He seems taller- he can now reach the higher cabinet knobs, the countertop and the table top though he can't see what he is pulling off- he has new favorite books- he likes eating egg from a fork if you stick it on there for him- he can do puzzles that frustrated him a week ago. Yesterday, I rolled a tennis ball to him and it went between his legs and he did a somersault trying to get it-pretty funny. He also hid from me for the first time- we have played that game for ages but yesterday I was writing an email in the 'office' (our house is really just one big room) and actually couldn't find him when I turned around- I thought I had left a gate open or something and he jumped out from behind the couch and scared the crap out of me.
Here are some pictures for anyone who forgot what he looks like-






Like I started to say, my trip went really well and we are certainly sold on western Mass as top of the 2007/8 potential destination list.

It is always interesting flying out of Amsterdam. The crew are usually a mix of Dutch and American; if you can figure out who is who and speak Dutch at the appropriate times you find that the level of service goes up just that tiny little bit (finding a Grolsch for you as opposed to Miller Lite, bringing back some newspapers from 1st class, smiles etc.). I sat in front of an American expat who has lived in Amsterdam for 12 years. He had been a lawyer and a lobbyist in NY and Washington and had a really interesting perspective on how people explain the differences between the two cultures. He said Holland was like a big family business (implying, I think, that you had to be connected to be truly accepted); there is a social contract where people have agreed that everyone will be taken care of and guaranteed a comfortable job and lifestyle- not extravagant but egalitarian. A long history of negotiated agreements on a continent whose past includes hundreds of years of protracted and bloody warfare has led to a society that can look, to people raised on 'can-do' American optimism, stifling and unmotivated. America, on the other hand, was set up as a for-profit colony by its European conqueror/founders and independent, motivated (and often disgruntled) citizens were encouraged to move there and this attitude persists. Europeans see the economic inequality in America as the perpetuation of the myth that anyone can strike it rich if you only work hard enough. An interesting conversation for what was really just two tall guys negotiating seating in the exit row. We compromised, I took the exit row with the seat that doesn't recline, he had two seats to himself. Actually I was lucky; neither long flight was full.
Airports are always odd places to me; people being shuttled far and near, rushing around in various states of distress. Are there any airports that are finished? I have been through JFK a couple times now and am always amazed at the degree of chaos. Parts of it truly resemble the third world. My new found friend also had a couple hours layover and he offered to take me to the 'Business Class Elite Fancypants Lounge' or whatever it is. I was always curious so I joined him- I imagine it is different in other places but in JFK there was literally a bag of garbage sitting in the dingy hall leading to the VIP elevator. Inside, though they had courtesy phones and a bar and even showers, it was pretty much like a Holiday Inn lobby. I guess I expected people would be wearing top hats, drinking whiskey and smoking big cigars...
It was nice to be 'home' at any rate. I have to concentrate on listening to Dutch conversation (making it easy to tune out when you want) and it was actually bizarre to be around so many people speaking comprehensibly; it got to where I couldn't stop listening and I was afraid people would think I was (more of) a weirdo. Houses and cars in America: still enormous.
The morning of my interview there was six inches of snow; I guess they have been waiting for it because people were out enthusiastically shoveling and snowblowing first thing. I made my way up to Washington, one of the tiny 'hill towns' in the Berkshires- not even a stop light, sometimes a town hall and a church and a few houses. Twice people saw me looking confused with a map and offered help. We walked around the old farm where the school is and talked about the facility and the summer program and what the position entailed and my experience and the history of the area. We ended up at Will's house nearby. Every building was timberframed and so well designed- efficient, beautiful, big enough for its purpose. It was about 10F outside and inside his house was about 70F with no heat on- all passive solar and the remnants of woodstove heat from the previous day.
I think I was enchanted just coming from so far away and I had looked forward to taking this step for so long- but it was a really beautiful spot and everything I had hoped it would be- which is pretty rare. I should know in about a month what our summer plans will shape up to be.

Return of the King

Well I, Mike, am just back from a 5 day trip to the states. In the interest of showing my level of commitment to the summer apprenticeship program at the Heartwood school in Massachusetts, I spent 18 hours traveling last thursday ultimately ending up at my cousin Clare's place in Northampton. When I began planning this trip I found out that I was lucky enough to have some family in the area; Clare and her husband were most gracious and accomodating hosts- its actually strange how much she and I have in common- it must be the liberal youngest in a huge family...
As the first trip away from Katharine (and now especially James) in 5 years, I had an amazing amount of time to myself, though my time in and around Northampton was full of almost 'seamless activity'. My interview was great- it was really like we were interviewing each other. The school facility, the area, the instructors that I met and the schedule all are absolutely ideal for what I am looking for. Northampton is the absolute coolest of the many college towns I have seen or lived in. Sonic Youth lives there! Umass- the Pixies! 7 sushi restaurants, great coffee shops, delis, local farms, skiing, little rural towns, five major schools and tons of little ones (though the best thing is there is more than just academics and college types around); timber framers and craftspeople galore- all less than 2 hours from Boston and New York City. I would have preferred moving Kat and James here than going back but we still have to be patient. I am literally falling asleep as I write this but I promise to fill in the gaps tommorrow.


The main school building at Heartwood containing classrooms, shop, library, and the staff kitchen-



The main building and one of the small 'sleeping cabins' where the apprentices stay in the summer-


Views hiking in the Pioneer Valley region-