A Surprise Visit From the "Cousins"

Last Thursday we got the best kind of email, an announcement from Pete's Irish relatives that they were coming to Amsterdam the very next day on a last minute trip! They proposed a Sunday afternoon meet-up and we were free. We last saw Nigel, Eabha and Daire a year and a half ago, just before Jude turned two and while I was ~7 months pregnant with Maeve. Ever since that visit, Jude still refers to the kids as his "cousins in Ireland" and we wondered when we would figure out a way to see each other again. Wonder no more! 

We met up at the Grote Melkhuis in Vondelpark. It was a truly perfect fall day and I was so glad for the excuse to spend the day in the park. Jude resorted right back to his hand holding with his cousins and later, Maeve joined in on the love fest. The kids had fun swinging, jumping and riding the horse merry-go-round. When we tired of the playground, we walked through the park to a cool climbing structure Pete had discovered. The cousins took Jude all the way up and over the walk through the trees, helping him along the way. They could not have been more sweet with him. It was a late night, but well worth it! We hope to see them all again soon! 

Maeve was really disappointed that she couldn't jump with the big kids

Safe to back up? 

Nature exploration

Olmenhorst Apple Picking 2017

On Saturday afternoon, after a classmate's birthday party at Monkey Town, we made our annual pilgrimage to Olmenhorst, the apple picking farm. Brings back fond memories of our first two trips there (2015, 2016). We met Matt, Jill and Malin there again and chased the kids around for a few hours in the glorious, warm sunshine! Maeve was into her first apple picking experience and especially eating apples! 

Who needs a ladder?!

"Have you see all of these apples?!!"

 

Most days after school, Jude visits Pete's coworker Irene and asks for an apple from her big bag of apples. We told him we needed to replenish her supply and he picked her a bunch! 

Musings on a Dutch vs ISA Education

With recent friend departures, I have been thinking a lot about the best schooling option for Jude. Children start school here at the age of 4. In fact, on their actual 4th birthday they show up to school no matter when that is in the school year (holidays aside). This date is fast approaching for all of the kiddos in my mom's group. At the international school, he is going to be saying goodbye to friends constantly and it breaks my heart to think about. Studies show that kids in that environment become very good at making new friends, but don't have a lot of experience with the challenges of having long time friends (working through conflicts, ect.). Jude and Maeve will also miss out on the experience of having neighborhood friends to bum around with as the kids in the houses around us go to the local Dutch school on the corner. He'll miss the grand experience of biking alone to elementary school that so many Dutch children have. And he'll miss out on becoming fluent in Dutch by default.

On the other hand, ISA is an amazing place and I don't doubt the quality of education or resources available there. It reminds me of school in the US and being a proud product of that, it gives me comfort. Not to mention the convenience of Pete taking Jude to and from school. And the logistics of having all of the school holidays the same as Pete (which would not be the case at the local Dutch school). I hope that this is the right decision and that our kids understand why we made it. My dream is that both kids will become fluent in Dutch so that they can integrate with their peers no matter the hang out. Just need to figure out a way to make that happen! Jude's Saturday morning soccer classes are in Dutch and he seems to follow along quite well, but we are a long way from any sort of fluency.

No matter what, I don't think we'll ever quite feel like we belong. We were at an ISA teacher's party this weekend and I was having a nice conversation with a new teacher from Madrid when I realized that she is Jude's music teacher. That's not to say that I can't be friends with Jude's teachers, but it definitely makes things a bit awkward (less so because Jude is a good kid!). And then I show up to the ISA American Parents welcome coffee and don't feel like I belong there either. With only a few men in attendance, the room was almost completely comprised of female partners of men with corporate jobs. The ones with generous housing allowances, relocation packages, free tuition at ISA, etc. That world will also never be ours either. Not to mention the awkwardness of meeting the parent's of Pete's students (the not so good ones). I don't think I can convince him to join me for any of their social events...

When we moved here and knew our kids could go for free to ISA, I figured our education decisions would be quite easy, but they never are, are they!?

Rainbow over ISA

Tot Ziens Keatings!

Our dear friends the Keatings left Amsterdam last week after 7 years abroad and it definitely hasn't sunk in yet. They were the rare find where Courtney and I were good friends, Pete and Karl were good friends and Jude and Coen were best buds. Given time, I'm sure Maeve and Cy would have hit it off as well! Every time I pass through Roelof Hartplein I'm going to want to stop by their ground floor apartment. I met Courtney as the friend of a co-worker of a friend of a friend from college. Got that?! They are off to the Best coast and will be sorely missed!

The guys got together for drinks and Courtney gathered her friends for a heartfelt going away dinner. And then last Sunday, we had a final family playdate. Jude wore his t-shirt with a heart, "So Coen knows I love him." Balls of energy those two! And a goodbye hug for the ages.

Final goodbyes at the Nellie Wilson show

At Fink

And then they spun each other round and round and round!! 

And how could I have forgotten to include the cutest little bud video of all time. This was taken on King's Day when we tried to get the boys to nap together in Coen's room. You can guess how that turned out :) We could hear them giggling and talking on the monitor so we video taped it!

https://youtu.be/TUeBqVhllo0

Sunday Funday with the Nellie Wilsons

A big day yesterday!

Pete's new band played their first show together and I couldn't have been more proud of or happy for Pete. A great turn out of mostly ISA peeps, but some other friends as well. Laid back venue and a fun way to spend the afternoon. I thought they sounded great and loved all of the covers and original music (especially the one written by Pete for me of course). :)

Made possible by our first time leaving the kids with a sitter to do dinner and bed time with both. Heck, I only just started feeling comfortable doing this on my own! It went really well though and it is a huge relief to know there is someone we can trust to do this. When the sitter arrived, Jude was telling her all of the things Maeve would need and what to do to help her go to sleep. It was really sweet.

A big day saying goodbye to our dear friends the Keatings (post to follow) at the end of Pete's show so it was emotional as well.

And thus ended an exhausting week with our social calendars packed to the max. Book club, going away dinners, dinners with friends, 4th birthday party, brunch out and rain, so much rain. Babysitters doing double time! So grateful that we have all of these people to share our lives with here. This is the dream!

Checkpoint Charlie's

The band formerly known as the Lo-Fi Experience :) "Gezellig" roughly means cozy, lovely feeling.

Waiting to start 

Pete Pursuing his Passions!

During our first two years here, all of Pete's time and energy went into his teaching, Jude and our family. Always a selfless guy, he gave us all his all, but didn't take much time to pursue his other hobbies. I feel like he's finally back in his groove. He is brewing beer on the reg, has made himself a new kegerator in our shed and met a bunch of fellow home brewers who go out for beers and share tips and ingredients. And the first thing he did when we moved into our new house was order and plant some hops. The first batch produced a decent harvest, which Jude helped him pick.

Hop picking with daddy

Look at those beauts! 

His music had also taken a back seat when we moved here. He was only able to bring over his acoustic guitar and some harmonicas. Some guys he knows from ISA formed a band and this summer they found themselves needing a new bassist and asked Pete to step in. He was thrilled and brought his bass over after our summer trip. They have named themselves the Nellie Wilsons and have a blue grass vibe. They'll be playing their first show this Sunday from 5-7 at Cafe Checkpoint Charlie in West! That was the random thing I invited my whole Amsterdam facebook friend list to :) Hope to see some familiar faces there! 

Festival Sunday

As in any city, there is always so much going on during the weekends. We had our pick of activities this weekend. Jude started back with his voetjebal soccer class and Little Gym. We spent Saturday afternoon at Jude's kiwi classmate's house. Pete was at the mall trying out a baby music class with Maeve and it was a glimpse into our hopeful future of the older kids playing together and the adults sitting around drinking wine! 

While Jude was at gym class Sunday, I took Maeve to Amstel Park for their monthly Pure Markt. Glad to have finally made it as I hope this becomes a new ritual. A crisp fall morning, beautiful gardens, delicious smells from the vendors, live music, animals to visit and a playground. 

Farm animals along the Amstel

After nap time, we went to the Amstelveen Jazz Fest in Oude Dorp. We spent the afternoon around the children's attractions with Sarah, James and kiddos. The sounds of the jazz came wafting through though, thankfully over powering the sounds of the disco bouncy house :)

The kid's ticket included the bouncy house, cotton candy, juice, popcorn and a face painting. Later that evening, Jude complained of his tummy hurting and stated, "I think it was from all of the goodies I had at the festival." Very astute boy!