Jay & Wim's Blog

This morning Luke walked up Wim and said "Papa, jij bent mijn held" which translates to "Papa, you're my hero."

Aaaahh, very cute! 

Today is Luke's third birthday! 

He was lucky to have a birthday on the same day that he goes to daycare.

Luke and I made cupcakes last night for him to take to school.  He had a lot of fun mixing the batter and putting the paper cups into the pan and watching them bake in the oven.  He got to lick the spoon and beaters.  Then it was a real struggle to keep him away from the finished cup cakes because he wanted to eat them.

We also made little gift bags to give to his classmates.  In each paper bag was a container of Play Doh and some Tootsie Rolls which we brought from the US this summer. 

Luke already got his birthday present.  On Sunday, he got to pick out his first bike!  He rode it all around the store and was so excited when we told him we would buy it for him!

When we got home, he was so proud of his bike that he had to immediately show it to the neighbors! 

It took a little bit of coaxing before he was willing to share it with his best friend, Sepp.  But he soon discovered that it was fun to ride it together. 

 

This morning, he wanted to go for a ride before we walked to school.

Today is Wednesday and that means that it is Luke's school day.  He has been looking forward to going back to school for about a week now. 

Today is also the start of him spending the whole day at school rather than just the afternoon.  The teachers recommended that we send him for the full day so that he can get into the full routines and also get to know the other children better. 

He must have been excited to go to school again because this morning I woke up to the sound of breaking glass!  I ran downstairs to find out what was going on.

I found Luke in the midst of a mess.  He had pushed a chair into the kitchen and climbed up on the countertop.  He had eaten half a box of dry cereal and was trying to get a box of crackers out of the cupboard when he knocked over a glass of water which fell to the floor and had shattered. 

Luke had climbed out of his bed, opened the child gate on the stairs all by himself, and went downstairs!  Usually he wakes up and comes into our room to say good morning. 

We had to both be very angry with him for going downstairs all alone.  He knows he is not allowed to climb up on the counter.  He understood that he was naughty and, while crying, said he was sorry. 

He went to school with a very full tummy.  During the day, Wim removed the door handle from his bedroom so that he can't open the door by himself from the inside. 

Now that Luke is speaking in full sentences, he comes up with some interesting and funny comments.  I have written down some of the more memorable comments from our vacation in Portugal:

 

Fruit Loops

We discovered a generic brand of Fruit Loops at a grocery store in Portugal.  Luke had never had this kind of cereal before so we bought it for him to try.  He loved them!  Each morning when he awoke, I went into his room and he said to me, “Good morning, sweetie.  Should we go for Fruit Loops?”

 

Ice cream

This vacation was heaven for Luke since almost each day, he got to have ice cream of various sorts.  We had ice cream cones, Mc Donald’s sundaes with strawberry sauce, freeze pops, Italian gelato and ice cream bars. 

 

Strawberry gelato was his favorite, but he also liked the freeze pops because you had to squeeze them out of the tube. 

 

He was constantly in the freezer trying to get ice cream.  At 7:30 AM he was already digging in the freezer.  We would respond with “No, Luke.  First a nap, then a snack, then ice cream.”  Luke would try to negotiate by saying, “Ok.  First ice cream, then a snack, then a nap.”   

 

Once after eating an ice cream bar, I took the stick and told him to stick out his tongue.  Then I told him to say “aaaahhh” just like the doctor does it.  He thought it was funny and wanted to do it to me.  Now he calls them “ice cream with aaaahhh.”

 

Traffic

Every time we need to cross the street, we say to Luke, “First look left, then look right.  If there is a car coming, wait until it passes before crossing.” 

 

One night we were in the house and Luke walked over to the screen door and opened it.  He stuck his head out and said, “Look left, look right.  If there is a mosquito coming, close the door.”

We just got back from our summer vacation in the Algarve in southern Portugal.  We were there from 14 to 31 August.   We had warm, sunny weather every day and were able to rest and relax.

 

On the flight from Amsterdam to Faro, there were only 5 passengers in the Boeing 737!  That was a strange feeling being on such a large airplane with our family and two other passengers.  The airplane was flying empty and returning full with returning vacationers. 

 

Luke loved going to the swimming pool and to the beach.  He has made so much progress since last year and each day he gets better and better. 

 

He can now splash around in the pool all by himself if we put floats on his arms.  He is able to float on his stomach and back and is learning to kick his legs and move his arms to propel himself.  Here is a video of him dumping water on his head. 

 

He still has difficulty remembering to keep his mouth closed in the water and often swallows mouths full of water. 

 

We also noticed that he is much more interested in playing with other kids.  On the beach, he runs up to other kids and plays ball with them or helps them build (or should I saw demolish?) sand castles. 

 

He also found the waves both scary and intriguing.  He loved to splash in them and have his whole body covered by water, but we had to hold on to him tightly to keep the water from pulling him out to the ocean.  

 

This year, he started getting interested in looking for seashells.  He also liked throwing shells and sand.  One day he started pouring sand on me, so I buried him in the sand which he thought was really fun!

 

We went out for pizza on the beach one night.  Luke got a children’s menu with a small pizza and French fries.  I think this was the first time that he has eaten French fries.   We showed him how to dip them in ketchup which he found really exciting! 

 

They also have live music every night on the beach so after dinner, we went to listen to the entertainment.  There were all sorts of kids and teens dancing in front of the stage.  Luke was all excited and started dancing to the music. 

 

Then he saw a group of girls from about age 10 to 15 dancing together.  He ran right into the middle of their circle and started dancing with them.  He soon became their little mascot and he had the time of his life dancing and clapping to the music.  See the video here.

 

We took the opportunity while we were there (and while we had ceramic tile flooring) to work on potty training.  He learned to pee standing up and prefers it now to sitting.  However, he enjoys peeing outside against the tree more than peeing in the toilet. 

 

He managed to tell us a few times that he needed to go potty, but there were also plenty of accidents that needed to be cleaned up.  I think one morning, I had to change his underwear 5 times.  He has underwear with Cars figures on them.  I tried to remind him to "keep Lightning McQueen clean" but it didn't seem to work very well.  :-)

 

 

 

We were invited to the first birthday party of Christian, the son of our friends, Mark and Charles. 

 

Luke was very impressed by the pretty cupcakes! 

 

Luke and Christian played nicely together – well, actually Luke played nicely with Christian’s new toys and Christian watched intently trying learn from Luke just how they should be played with. 

 

On 11 June, we flew from Amsterdam to Washington, DC and then took a connecting flight to Phoenix.  It was a very long day after 13 hours of flying.  

 

The portable DVD player we purchased before the trip was a good investment because it kept Luke occupied on the long flights and during the airport layovers.  

 

We stayed one night in Phoenix and then drove down to Sierra Vista.  We stop along the way in Tucson to meet some friends, Ladd and Robert, and their son, Liam.   

 

We met up with Luke’s Mom and sister in the evening.  Luke and Alexandrea played telephone and had a tea party with the tea set and pots and pans that we brought for her from Holland.  Andraya liked the clothes that Luke and I bought for his sister on Queen's Day.

 

We spent the next couple of days hanging out and doing some sightseeing around the area.   We went on a tour of the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee.  It was really hot outside and really dark and cold inside the mountain!   

 

Alexandrea and Luke played nicely together.  Luke was really acting like an older brother by touching her gently and watching out for her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wim took a very cute video of Luke sitting on the potty and saying "zo moet het....this is the way to do it." 

 

On 15 June, we drove from Sierra Vista to Las Vegas.  It was about a 9 hour trip and Luke handled the long drive really well.  He played and sang, took some naps and watched some videos.  

 

We stopped halfway at a little tourist area in Wikieup, AZ to use the restroom and let Luke run around to burn off energy. 

 

We spent a couple of days at the Trump International Towers in Las Vegas.  We just walked around the strip and swam at the hotel pool. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a couple of hours at Circus Circus so that Luke could go on some of the rides.  He was too small for most of the rides, but he liked a couple of them he was allowed to go on.  Luke loves to watch this video of him on the roller coaster over and over again. 

 

There was also a game where you had to try to catapult chickens into a pot.  Here is a hilarious video of Luke getting all excited by the flying chickens and then impatiently taking matters into his own hands. 

  

 

On 18 June, we flew from Las Vegas to Fargo.  We got in about 1 AM and the rental car booth was already closed so luckily Mom was still awake and came to pick us up at the airport.  We spent the night at Mom’s and then drove to Marion in the evening.  When we got to Dad’s, they had ice cream and fresh strawberries waiting for us! 

 

On the 20^th, we started the day by helping Grandpa and Grandma mow the lawn.  I had forgotten how big the yard is and how long it takes to mow it.  I appreciate even more our little back yard in Hoofddorp that only takes 10 minutes to mow! 

 

Luke had fun pulling the wagon full of cut grass and he helped me spread it out in the garden to prevent the weeds of growing.  In the afternoon, Jacey and Trisha came over and Grandpa gave rides on his fourwheeler.  Luke was a bit scared by it, but somehow liked it at the same time.  It was funny because Luke kept referring to Dad as “scary Grandpa.” 

 

In the evening, the rest of the family came for a barbecue.  We had corn-on-the-cob which was very sweet and juicy.  Then I picked some a piece of rhubarb from the garden and gave it to Wim and Luke to try.  Wim thought it was really sour and stopped after one bite.  Luke called it celery and keep eating it (after puckering up a few times)! 

 

Uncle Jim drove his old Chevelle that he restored.  Luke thought it was cool to pretend to drive it. 

 

In the evening, we drove back to Fargo and stayed with Mom.  We put Luke in the sofa bed and he slept there peacefully all night.  He was really excited to sleep in a big boy bed. 

 

The next morning, Luke helped Grandma Lenssen make waffles and coffee for breakfast. 

My cousin, Janet, and Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dean came over for dinner in the evening. 

 

On Tuesday morning, 23 June, we flew back to Las Vegas.  Our flight from Denver to Las Vegas was cancelled and we had to sit around the Denver airport for several hours.  We were supposed to arrive in Las Vegas at noon, but actually arrived around 5 PM. 

 

We were planning to stop at the Hoover Dam, but the delay prevented that.  We finally got to the hotel in Flagstaff around midnight.  We were pleasantly surprised by Flagstaff.  It does not have a desert climate and the pine forests reminded us of Oregon. 

 

Wednesday, 24 June, we drove to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was really a spectacular sight – the expanse of the canyon and the colors and shades! 

 

Wim expected to see mountains and valleys and was surprised to see that it was pretty flat and then all of a sudden there was a huge canyon in the ground going very deep.  Luke was more interested in climbing on the rocks than looking at the canyon. 

 

On Thursday, 25 June,  we drove through Sedona on the way to Phoenix.  It was a beautiful drive seeing all of the red rock formations of the Sedona area.  Then we arrived in Phoenix and found our hotel in Scottsdale.  We had a really nice hotel with a kitchen, living room and separate bedroom. 

 

We spent the evening relaxing at the pool which was necessary because at 11 PM it was still 101 degrees outside.  At 7:30 the next morning, it was still 95 degrees and I don’t think it cooled off much more than that during the night.  We spent all day Friday relaxing and swimming. 

 

In the evening, we went for dinner at a Chinese buffet.  Luke likes Chinese food and we gave him some chopsticks so that he could eat like Daddy and Papa.  You can see on this video how he managed to pick up some food with them and eat it! 

 

On Saturday, 26 June, we headed to the Phoenix airport.  After we dropped off the rental car at the offsite rental car facility, we had to take a bus to the terminal.  Luke was all excited to be able to ride on the bus.  He kept saying, “Nice bus, eh?”  Then we started singing the “Wheels on the bus go round and round” and he did all of the actions while sitting on the bus.  See the video here.

 

We then had a delay of several hours at the Phoenix airport due to technical problems with the plane.  We were worried that we would miss our connecting flight in Chicago.  We were anxious to go home and were not looking forward to spending another night either in Phoenix or Chicago.  Finally, the plane was ready to go and we boarded.  We arrived in Chicago at 5:55 PM and our flight to Amsterdam was on time to depart at 6:05 PM! 

 

Luckily they parked the plane right next to the plane to Amsterdam.  We ran off the plane and went right next door.  They shut the doors behind us and our luggage even made it to Amsterdam with us!  The flight home went very smoothly.  What a difference from last year when Luke got sick and kept vomiting during the flight. 

We just had another long weekend with gorgeous weather.  We also had Annie (my brother Jim's partner) and her friend, Laine, here for a visit.

I picked up Annie and Laine at the airport on Friday afternoon.  We enjoyed some drinks and ice cream in the garden before going for a bike ride to the center of Hoofddorp. 

Luke really enjoyed having two ladies in the house to give him attention.  Luke spoke a few Dutch words to them, so Annie and Laine taught him a few Spanish words like "hola."

On Saturday, we went sightseeing in Amsterdam.  On the way to the Hoofddorp train station, we stopped to visit the windmill here in Hoofddorp. 

Both Annie and Laine bought two kilograms of whole wheat flour to take home with them. 

Within a few minutes of carrying their bags filled with the flour, they decided it was a bit too heavy to lug around Amsterdam so when we changed trains at the airport, they rented a locker to store the flour. 

When we got to Amsterdam, we had lunch and then went to the Anne Frank House and to the flower market.  In the evening, we went to our favorite Italian restaurant in Badhoevedorp. 

On Sunday, when Annie came downstairs for breakfast, she said "Hello" and Luke responded with "Good Morning, hola."  It was really cute. 

Annie and Laine then took the train to Amsterdam by themselves to do more sightseeing. 

In the evening we had dinner and then drove to the beach in Zandvoort.  Luke had a blast running in the water and throwing sand. 

Then we enjoyed some Italian ice cream and watched the sunset as we walked back to the car. 

This morning, I took them to the airport at 5:30 AM which is not my idea of fun.  Later when Luke woke up, he ran into the guest room to say "hi" to Annie and Laine and was disappointed to see that no one was there. 

Here is a nice family photo that we took on the balcony of the Zandvoort city hall. 

Last weekend we went to the fair here in Hoofddorp. 

It was not very busy so there were not any waiting lines and Luke was the only kid on some of the rides.

The first ride Luke went on was the airplane ride.  He hung on for dear life when it started spinning around and going higher and higher.  He loved driving the fire truck and the Jeep. 

The swing was also fun, but the bumper cars were kind of scary. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the video of Luke at the fair by clicking on the link.