Inspired...

OK, so I was inspired by my friends' blogs (Aimee & Misty) to post comparison pics of Kaeli & Avery.  We've really never had any doubts that they look alike, so here' s the proof.  Oh, and by the way, Avery took her first two steps on her own tonight.  We didn't get it on video or camera, but all four of us were in the bathroom and saw it.  We celebrated!!

Kaeli (top) & Avery (bottom) at 2 months:

Kaeli & Avery (11 months)

Backyard has Pretty Flowers

Our new backyard is tiny at ~10'x15', but most homes lack even what we have. However, beautiful purple, white and yellow flowers are growing through the grass... Kaeli loves to pick the purple ones for us.

Kaeli Always Looks Good No Matter the Weather

It's pretty cold over here in the Netherlands.  The highest temperature we've felt is 46 F.  We always wear our heavy coats, scarves and something to cover our ears.  The sun doesn't shine often but Kaeli thinks she only looks pretty in this outfit when wearing sunglasses!

Kaeli and Avery were princesses today in our new living room.

Home Sweet Home

Yes, we are finally in our new home.  It is so nice to finally know we are not going to move again in a couple of days or weeks.  

New blogging goals:

1. Post something once a week.

2. Don't feel guilty when I don't post pictures.

3. Post pictures once a month.

We'll see how that goes!!  More to come...  I have to go be the unpacking fairy... AGAIN!

No, still no pictures...

Sorry, still no pictures yet.  I've got several pics on our camera, but now I can't find the cord to connect to the computer and upload them.  I know there are two or three of them around here somewhere, I just can't seem to find them right now.  We are moving to our new house this week, so hopefully I will find one soon.  

So, I started this list about the Top 5 things I hate and love about the Netherlands.  Unfortunately, I had problems posting it last time, so I copied and pasted into WORD, with the full expectation of copying and pasting back into this blog.  BUT, it doesn't work, so if anyone can tell me the trick to pasting into this text editor, I'd greatly appreciate it (NOTE: I'm on a MAC, I wonder if that has anything to do with it?)  I'm too lazy to retype everything, so you'll just have to wait patiently for me to figure it out!  Besides, I now have a Top 10 list, so I promise it should be worth the wait.

Things are going well here.  It will be much better once we are in the house and Bryan and I can sleep in the same bed again.  For those of you wanting us to have 3 kids, keep dreaming!  I thought of several of my friends in TX this week (not that I don't think about and pray for all of you on a regular basis, but there were some specific incidents this week that made me think of a few of you more distinctly).

First, Sterling, I thought of you...  You no longer have to worry about us staying in the Netherlands because all of our allergies miraculously disappeared.  In fact, I would say they have gotten a little worse!  My eyes are still watering ALL the time.  I go to a specialist this week.  Hopefully, they can find a cure.  I think I'm losing my good eyesight (not to mention the headaches and fatigue caused by the constant struggle to see).

Next, Misty, I thought of you...  When (yes, when!) you come to visit us, I know just the place I'm going to take you.  I found a scrapbook store!  Yes, that's right, a scrapbook store in the middle of downtown Den Haag!!  It really made me miss "scrapbook night".

Finally, I thought of Luis & Alexis and how incredibly difficult it would be to get around this town with twin babies.  Bryan and I try to use public transportation (the tram) when possible.  If it's just one of us with the girls, Kaeli walks and Avery gets carried.  If there are two of us, like this weekend, we like to take the stroller so that we don't have back pains the next day.  We need two people to get the stroller on and off the tram.  BUT, if we had twins, it would be nearly impossible to take the tram by ourself with the babies!!  I must admit that I have seen double strollers with twins walking around, but never on the tram.  I guess they all just get the little buggy for the back of their bikes that doubles as a stroller.  This would make the most sense.

OH, almost forgot... I was very Dutch this week.  We got our Odyssey last week (which almost made me cry.  Seriously, I almost cried!), but had to take it in this week to get some things done on it to make it European (turn signals on the side, fog light in the rear, and orange headlines instead of white).  So, I was stuck one day (my day off with lots of errands to run) with only my new bike.  After dropping off the girls at day care, I took the van into the shop and rode the tram back to the Hague (took almost an hour!).  Then, I hopped on my bike and went to the bike shop where they installed my new saddle bag on the back.  While they were doing this, I walked to the department store (got Kaeli a new scarf) and the grocery store (we were out of salad and I needed a Coke).  Went back to the bike shop and put my purchases in my new bags and installed my Garmin on the bike (yes, they make a gadget that holds the Garmin and you can put Garmin in Bicycle mode!).  Then I ran the rest of my errands by bike!  I don't know how many miles I rode, but by the time I was done, my bottom was sore!!  Then, I picked the girls up from daycare.... on the bike.  I'll have to post a picture of my new wheels soon... if I can ever find that stupid cord!