Waterland in our New Ride

Three exciting things happened this past week.

On Monday, we bought a car! We had talked about how nice it would be to have a car for day trips and travel, but pushed the idea out of our heads since public transportation is so excellent and we are on a tight budget. Then I saw an advertisement from an ISA family that they were selling their 1998 Volvo station wagon as they are moving to California. It turned out that they lived across the street from us and the price was right so we bought it from them and got the keys Monday!

On Tuesday, my parents arrived for a 2 week visit. It was fun getting to pick them up on my own in our new ride! We took advantage of having the wheels and visited Waterland, an area North of Amsterdam. On our way to Edam and Volendam, our intended destinations, Jude fell asleep and I wanted to keep driving so we detoured to Marken, a quiet island in the Zuiderzee. That ended up being the highlight of the day trip. Lots of cute green houses, a pretty harbor and wooden bridges. We stopped in Edam for lunch, which was also really quaint. We missed the start of the cheese markets by a few weeks, so we'll have to go back. Our final stop was Volendam, a bigger, more touristy fishing harbor. A very successful first outing in the "auto."

Our Thursday, Pete had his last day of work for 2 months. Public service announcement: Marry a teacher. It is awesome!!

Our "new" ride! 

Outside the clog factory in Marken

Traditional green houses of Marken

Sea-centric church in Marken

Typically painted interior in Marken

Town square, Edam. 

Most adorable drawbridge (with cat) in Edam

Edam Carillon 

Our lunch spot was super scenic, canal-side, but Nana and Pops were distracted by something else super cute. 

Cool ship in Volendam

"The strip" in Volendam

View of Delft

On Monday, we traveled by bus and train to Delft, one of the most picturesque towns in the Netherlands. Pete, Jude and I had visited this past fall on a Saturday when, in addition to the bustling weekend market, a local carnival took over the main town square. This time around the town was very sleepy and more enjoyable in my view. 

Leaning tower of delft

We visited both the Old and New churches and decided to climb the tower of the New church. Pete and I had wanted to do this in the fall, but babies/children are not allowed. We took turns and it was easy to see why it is not safe for children. I'm not even sure it is safe for adults! 360 steps up a narrow, narrow spiral staircase. Ella waited until we reached the top to share that she had a teeny fear of heights! The views over town made the hike worthwhile and it was really cool to see the list of clock winders dating back to the 1500s! 

We stopped for lunch and had a back garden to ourselves where the kiddos could squawk and make a mess to their hearts' content!

Town hall

More Fun with Visiting Friends!

We are just off a fun-filled week with my college friend, Ella, her husband Jake and their 21 month old daughter, Cora. Having just missed our 10 year college reunion, it was so nice to see a friendly Polar Bear face and get the gossip from reunion, which she attended. Though, as it turns out, we have gotten too old for there to be any really good gossip! 

I didn't get the chance to meet Cora before we left for Europe and was so thrilled to be able to do so in Amsterdam. It was really fun to see her language skills and what we have to look forward to with Jude. She also rocks at baby signing and taught Jude, "please," which is the cutest thing ever! They were either really into each other, trying to hug and kiss one another, or really mad at each other, fighting over the same silly toy. 

As hard as it is to get a good picture with one active toddler, it was that much more difficult to get good shots of the two of them. The decent ones are below, highlighting their visit! The day after they left, Jude was in a noticeable funk. I think he was really missing his new pal :( 

A local friend was having a birthday BBQ that was very child friendly (aren't those the best events once you're a parent!?)

The BBQ fun wore these kids out!

On Sunday we walked through the canal rings and happened to walk into a cafe with Cora's namesake! The owner, Cora, was tickled that a little someone with her name was there. 

Lunch at baby friendly Mazzo (great recommendation, Amsterdam Mamas)

Getting high in Amsterdam

They had really gorgeous weather for their visit and the city was shining! 

Canal side drinks at Arendsnest. Once the babies woke up from their naps, we moved the party inside where there was a private back room we could all run around in. 

Bus rides are much more entertaining with company

A lot of side-by-side reading time back at home. 

Turns out Ella and I are very good at building castles. And the kids are really good at knocking them down!

On our outing to the science museum, NEMO, they spontaneously started walking holding hands. 

Jude and the scary electric orb. Totally thought it was safe until a museum worker demonstrated that you could light a light bulb with the current. Sorry, buddy!

Swing time fun at Melkhuis in Vondelpark

If Ella was on the floor, Jude was on her lap. He really loved her!

Semi-successful attempts at a Bowdoin pic

Inch by Inch, Row by Row...

... happy and sad to see my baby grow...

I don't have the time to craft like I used to, but I prioritized a project that was very important to me. We don't know the extent of our nomadic lifestyle so it may be a while before we have a home to call our own. In the meantime, I don't want to miss out on marking Jude's growth so I made him a fabric growth chart that we can take with us wherever we happen to be living. The linen was purchased at our local Amstelveen Friday market a few weeks ago. Yes, there are fabric and notions stalls and it is awesome! I received a bundle of beautiful felt squares from my mother in law a few years ago and had been holding onto them waiting for the perfect project and this was it! Our local hardware store cut and drilled the dowel rod perfectly and I was so happy to hang it on the wall this evening!

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After bath time, we recorded Jude's first measurement! He was very curious about it and especially the tape measure that we used to hang it properly on the wall. 

The first measurement came in at 2 1/2 feet (though he is longer in centimeters according to his last GGD appointment). The chart ends at 6'1". A mother can dream :)

School's (Almost) Out for Summer!

Yesterday, we had a record 88 degree day. I took Jude to the shopping center in Amstelveen to splash in the outdoor fountains. He loved it and I was glad for the excuse to cool off myself! When the temperature is 23 C or above, the city fills all of the splash pools in the parks. We met Pete at our neighborhood pool after work and were not alone as dozens of families were enjoying the hot day. I love the idea of public splash pools for all to enjoy. At this age, that is all Jude needs. 

Making a Splash

Pete's school year is winding down with just 9 working days left until summer break!! His school had their end of year staff party Friday evening on a boat in the Ij river behind Central Station. Storms gave way to a beautiful sunset. Speaking of sunsets, we had no idea moving here how light it would be in the spring and summer. When we returned from France in early April, it was still light out at 9pm! Now it stays light until close to 11, which is pretty great. Of course, the winter days are short, but that seems like a distant memory now!

My heart will go on and on... 

Kan u nederlands spreken?

(Can you speak Dutch?)

Well, we have been in the Netherlands for over 10 months now and maybe you are wondering how our Dutch is coming along. It is true that the Dutch people speak pretty solid English. However, the Netherlands is not an English-speaking country. The distinction is important.

With the weather warming, we have been spending a lot of time at neighborhood playgrounds. As Jude still needs pretty constant supervision while playing, I often find myself on the ground/in the sandpit/on the climbing gym with him and any given number of Dutch children. English is not taught until the end of elementary school so I find myself face to face with children who I cannot communicate with. I can understand their "nees" (no), "niets" (not), some numbers and some basic nouns that they use that sound a lot like English, but other than that, I am lost.

Which is to say, that my Dutch is not really coming along. To be fair, it is largely due to a lack of effort on my part, but the language is also pretty ridiculous (apart from the words that sound or are identical to English). The people are happy to speak to me in English everywhere I go so it is far from a necessity to learn it. Not that I wouldn't like to be able to speak the language. I could potentially get a job in genetic counseling if I spoke Dutch. It would also help me to feel like I fit in culturally. I'd also love to know what the sweet old women are saying to Jude when they stop us on the street.

Here are some things that I can understand and say:

Hello- Hallo
Good morning/afternoon/evening- Goedemorgen/middag/avond
Have a nice day/evening/weekend- Fijn dag/avond/weekend
Thank you/Thanks- Dank je wel/Bedankt
Bye/See you later- Dag/Tot ziens

Anything with a G in it, watch out! You need to reach deep into your throat to produce the guttural noise present in many words! Jude himself has been walking around making the "g" sound and it is hilarious! Jude also has been saying something that sounds totally Dutch, but we can't quite make out. Our best guess is that he is saying "kom hier" (come here), which you also hear a lot around the playground!

To make matters worse, "v" is pronounced like "f." So Vondelpark, the big, main park of Amsterdam is "fondelpark." Say that one out loud. And "w" is pronounced like "v." So "have a nice weekend" is "fine veekend."

I must give Pete credit for he is really making an effort to learn the language. Post it notes are all over the wall in our living room where he's written down expressions he would like to learn. He has some coworkers who speak Dutch who he can chat with every day so I know that helps him. And even though Jude is not likely to go to Dutch school here, I imagine he is going to learn the language through osmosis at the playground.

One final thing that I find particularly amusing about the language- If you want to add emphasis to "yes" or "no" as in "yes, of course" or "no, of course not," you add "hoor" to the end. Pronounced whore. You hear it a lot! Nee hoor! Ja hoor! Amusing in a country where prostitution is legal!

Bedankt en Tot Ziens!