Bright sunny days

Our happy guy chillin' in his diaper

Mom and James sharing a kiss in the yet unfinished bathroom

Showing our fake smiles while enjoying some sidewalk chalk. This is my newest pregnancy shirt-- definitely has a "Mrs. Roper" flavor to it, but it works.
The newest addition to the kinderboerderij


It has gotten downright hot in Enschede these past few days. We filled up the baby pool in the back garden yesterday to cool down a bit. James enjoys it much more this year. Today we got caught in the rain at the city market. James thought it was hilarious to be running around from stall to stall getting rained on. It was warm enough that it was not uncomfortable to be a little wet. We visited the neighborhood children's farm this morning, just in time to see the newest arrival, a baby goat. Then we spent the afternoon visiting with friends in their garden. It was delightful.

Both Mike and I have been busily working over the past weeks to prepare for our visit stateside. A few of the major deadlines were met this week. Mike finished editing a big thesis, and is tying up the loose ends on his remaining work. The house is still a work in progress... and we have decided to do what we can before we go, but keep a calm perspective about what has not yet been accomplished. We have listed it on a "house for sale" website, but have not gone overboard with the description or photos. We expect to have a full "try to sell it" blitz at the end of the summer when we get back. Until then we are just going to relax (see earlier post).

I turned in five of my dissertation chapters to the big bosses over the last few weeks. They included the methodology and statistics chapters, and (my least favorite) theory work. This really represents the meat of my final research output. I certainly expect to get a lot of comments back that need to be implemented, but am really satisfied with the progress made so far. The timing has been just right, as the onslaught of the third trimester coupled with the hotter days has started to slow me down. I will be taking holiday leave to visit the states, and then my pregnancy leave of four months begins. I think it is time--- I have napped for two days in a row and enjoyed it thoroughly.

As for James... his energy level seems to increase daily, if that is possible. Now that running and jumping are in the repertoire he only wants to run, jump and play. We enjoy the quiet moments when they occur.