Noordwijk by Bike, Part I, Section B

A mermaid for Naomi...

 

...the beach...

 ...intersection of Schoolstraat and Hoofdstraat, both streets lined with shops.

Noordwijk by Bike, Part II

Pickeplein...

...Koningin Astrid Blvd (named for Queen Astrid)...

...back to the hotel, Huis ter Duin.

Den Haag

On Tuesday I spent a chunk of time in Delft (think Vermeer and Delft blue china/tiles) while Matt was off conferencing. We met in late afternoon at Den Haag, and here are a few pictures! (Phone pictures = low quality. Sorry!)

Pictures of Paris

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Paris. After awhile our feet protested, but we pushed on and saw incredible buildings, fascinating historical sites, bridges, statues and gardens!

The pictures on this post weren't necessarily our favorites, just ones we took with my phone camera instead of the big camera. More pictures to come!

Some of these were taken specifically to entertain our kids, who seem to be loving Grandma and Grandpa time a lot! One is us enjoying sorbet, one was to impress the kids with Daddy's strength. And the Hotel Beaubourg was home base.

Paris!

Today was our first day in Paris! We covered a lot of ground and are now planning out tomorrow's agenda. Some great moments:

The Parthenon

Dessert: soft white cheese with honey for me, apple tart and ice cream for Matt

Focault's pendulum

Parisians know how to do libraries! Look at the size of it! We got some pictures inside with the other camera, so those pictures will be posted when we are back home.

Prep Time!

Last night was finally time to pack for our upcoming trip. The last thing we did before going to bed was put on my motion sickness patch. Each one lasts 72 hours, and I have a nice little stock to see me through the entire vacation. I fully expect this will make the overseas flights MUCH more pleasant!!

Gabe's nighttime habits

Gabe often wakes around 4:00 AM and joins us in bed. Since my parents will be there for the next two weeks, we installed them in the master bedroom first thing. I thought that might cure Gabriel of playing musical beds, but apparently not!

The Grandparents Have Arrived!

Grandma and Grandpa Jones arrived yesterday! Naomi was almost in tears several times the day before because time wouldn't move more quickly.

The kids will all get plenty of fun attention since Grandma and Grandpa will be here for 2 weeks while Matt and I head out for a vacation!

Oh, coconuts!

Gabe has long been fascinated with coconuts, courtesy of "Jake and the Neverland Pirates". We stopped by the international farmer's market on Monday, and Matt grabbed a coconut so the kids could check it out.

Coconut milk was a bust, but they loved the rest of it!

On Jun 4, 2012 10:50 PM, "Matthew Merrell" <matthew.merrell@gmail.com> wrote:

Speedy & Mischievious!

I turned my back for less than a minute (literally!) after our oatmeal breakfast. When I came back for the dishes, Andrew Frederick had served himself up some brown sugar and raisins. Then he opted to bypass the makeshift plate and transfer the sugar directly from container to mouth!

Dad's away...

So it's time to play!

Matt headed out to camp with the scouts, so the rest of us hopped over to Krispy Kreme for National Free Donut Day. We munched our donuts on the lawn and then piled sleeping bags on the living room floor for movie-and-living-room-sleepout night. Summer fun!!

Fun weekend!

Yesterday we started out with softball at the park, headed to the neighborhood swimming pool for a few hours, and finished up at a bbq with lots of great friends. Here are some pictures from after the bbq, where our kids were running on adrenaline and silliness!

Messy Boy!

Gabe loves to tousle Andy's hair and say, "What a messy boy! ", and it's usually true! Normal-sized bibs don't provide anywhere near adequate coverage, so we've opted for dish towels and a clothespin. He sure is a HAPPY messy fella!

Wedding singer

Going mobile!

I've decided to rid myself of the guilt that accompanies long stretches of not posting pictures or updates on the family blog! My fabulous friend Becky started posting a picture a day taken from her phone and posted directly on her blog and inspired me. Taking time to upload pictures constantly, sort them, and create a blog post is not a quick thing for me. Pressing a few buttons on my phone?? I can do that!! So now:

1. You'll get to see little tidbits of our life, and
2. The grandparents will be happy to see more pictures, and
3. My guilt level will have decreased dramatically.

Phew! Happy summer to me!

First Day of Summer... Swimming pool and then a train ride at Stone Mountain!

Miss Mandy

In late October 2011, Gabriel started going to Naomi's elementary school twice a week to meet with a pre-K speech therapist. He can say most words correctly when they are isolated, but he drops off the last syllables when stringing words together into phrases or sentences. And he changes some of the beginning sounds for easier sounds.

Gabe LOVES going to speech! He has a friend, Micah, who attends one of his weekly sessions as they have similar goals. The other session was a private one up until a couple weeks ago, when MISS MANDY (the fabulous speech therapist) moved to New Zealand for a year! We love her and are excited to see her back when her husband's 1 year transfer is done. We are also excited to hear about lots of fun adventures and live vicariously through her!

Miss Mandy has really been a miracle worker. I didn't realize how much progress Gabe had made with her until the last week of Christmas break, when I couldn't understand a single thing he said. As a mom, that's hard and kind scary! NOT being able to understand him again clued me into how much better his speech HAD been during November and December. Happily, after a couple sessions back with Miss Mandy, his speech cleared up again drastically. Phew!

During Gabe's 30 minute sessions, Andrew and I would often hang out in the entryway to the elementary school. Occasionally we'd get a glimpse of Naomi's class as they marched by on their way to the computer lab or library. Andrew flirted with the many women who walked past. And he often looked like this, because walking around with food hanging out his mouth is just how he rolls!

In case you are curious, during Mandy's leave of absence, we're just hopping over to another elementary school to meet with Miss Meredith. Gabe seems to do almost as well with her as he did with Miss Mandy - hooray!

Naomi's teeth...

Naomi has lost several baby teeth, but this one was the peskiest. This was a few days after Christmas.

We didn't actually end up pulling it out with the thread, and it stayed crooked for a few more days before finally coming out. Talk about a mom with OCD having problems looking at a crooked tooth!

Naomi Gets Her Ears Pierced!

Naomi will soon be six years old (this Friday! and believe me, the countdown has been going for quite some time!). She started asking a couple months ago to get her ears pierced, so we did that last week as an early birthday present. 

This picture was taken about 20 minutes afterward, enough time for the splotchiness from the hollering and crying to fade away. And the fuss wasn't about the pain! I went to a store after verifying there would be TWO people there, so both ears could get pierced at the same time. After filling out the paperwork (surprisingly extensive!), I realized the second employee had left. ARGH!

Naomi wanted to go ahead with it, but she changed her mind between the first ear and second. It took the bribery of suckers (FOUR! the ear piercer was really feeling the heat from me since she had let the other employee leave!) with one securely in her mouth, her beloved elephant clutched in her arms, and the distraction of playing Angry Birds on my phone to get that second ear pierced. But we walked out with two ears pierced, and she was absolutely thrilled. She still is!

Holiday cheer!

 Yet another post reminding you that we exist. And we are having a terrific holiday season!

 





We started off the season with some fun under the mistletoe!

We've been doing a book advent...24 Christmas books wrapped up, and the kids get to open one each day. We usually accidentally skip a day, so the following day is even better: opening TWO!

 

Naomi and Gabe coloring in their wooden Christmas tree puzzles. This was one of the first activities they found in the gingerbread house Advent calendar (shown later in this post).

And our trusty elf, making her way around the house. When she finds a spot she absolutely loves, she hangs out there for a day or two. (Or Mom and Dad forget to move her!)

 Candy trains! (Our version is based on graham crackers...think gingerbread houses, but trains instead.) Terrible pictures, but lots of fun!

The gingerbread house - this is a super fun new tradition for us this year! Each day the kids open the door for the day. Inside is a slip of paper listing an activity for the day, and occasionally a treat. Sometimes it's a craft or going to an event, but more often it's "Dance to Christmas music" or "Have candles at dinner". The kids (and I) love it!

Today's activity from the gingerbread house...decorating paper Christmas trees.

 Heart stickers, glitter paint, little fuzzballs...the kids came back to the table all throughout the day to add to their trees.

We exist!

Yeah, we're still around! Halloween was terrific (or should I say INCREDIBLE...ha!). This was a super fun year with the kids. And we brought in the Best Group Costume award at the party we attended. Boo-yah! (in Gabe's own words!)

We've done fun things in the past couple months, but I need to get pictures from other people because I neglected to document those events. And I've let that stop me from posting. No more!