The Geenens

Wings for Life

2009-03-29T14:28:00.003+02:00

Yesterday Mommy and Max tagged along with Papa to the airbase to go to the Wings for Life benefit day. Wings for Life is an organization that helps sick children and their families. Rob spent the afternoon talking to kids and parents about the apache while Mommy and Max enjoyed french fries and face paint!

Time for an Update!

2009-03-17T09:31:00.006+01:00

Sorry that we haven't updated since the year changed, but we have been super busy!
Rob arrived back from Afghanistan safe and sound on January 16th. Besides a trip to Germany, Italy, America, and (maybe) Kandahar he is home until his next deployment to Afghanistan in October.

Max is doing very well. He was extremely happy to see Papa again and the two have been inseparable since! He is beginning to greatly extend his vocabulary and put a couple of words together. We have introduced the potty, but have not seriously begun pottty training yet. However, he does like the potty and receives a sticker on his Elmo board when he goes to the potty. Unfortunately he tells us he pooped after the fact... oh well it's a learning process!

Rob is also doing well. It is so nice to have him home and to have an extra set of hands around the house! My job is going well, but I am sure looking forward to a break soon! When both parents work 4-5 days a week it seems like we are always busy!

Luckily Rob will be taking ouderschapsverlof, or a "Papa Day", starting in April. This means that he will get 1 day a week off for the next 2-3 years to spend with his child. He also gets 75% of his salary for that day! It will be really nice for Max to only have to go to daycare 3 days a week instead of the 4 that he currently attends.

It is finally beginning to turn into Spring in Holland. The crocusses and tulips are popping up and the sun is finally showing itself for (what seems like) the first time since last summer! We are looking forward to taking Max to the petting zoo, playground, and going on bike rides in the coming months!

I'll post new pics soon!

Our little boy is 2!!

2008-12-30T02:56:00.001+01:00

Last Saturday Max celebrated his 2nd birthday with his cousin, Owen, who turned 3 the day before. We went to the Lazy 5 Ranch and the kids had a great time! The weather even held out for us :-)

Now I'm just wondering how I am going to get all of his presents back to Holland...!!

Click the picture to view the album!

Max's 2nd Birthday

Max's Bag

2008-12-02T21:35:00.001+01:00

Max's bag for Sinterklaas at his school!

Sinterklaas op de basis!

2008-12-02T09:25:00.001+01:00

Saturday Sinterklaas came to Mommy and Papa's work with his Zwarte Pieten.
After waiting until all 140 children it was finally Max's turn to get a present. He got an animal piano. It was one of the options that I picked, but it is SO annoying! He loves it though! Click the link below to see more pictures!

Sinterklaas op de basis

Snow Day!

2008-11-23T15:40:00.002+01:00

Today mother nature is blanketing us with a beautiful white coat of snow. Since Max still has bronchitis he could only play outside for a couple minutes. He thought the snow was funny and liked catching it with his tounge. Luckily he didn't want to stay outside long anyway, he did not like getting snow in his eyes!

Our little man

2008-11-23T11:56:00.003+01:00

Max & his new haircut :-)

Sinterklaas has arrived!

2008-11-16T15:43:00.002+01:00

Today Sinterklaas made his appearance in Etten-Leur. We had a great time welcoming him with our good friends, Rebecca and Brian!

Go Vote!

2008-11-04T23:09:00.001+01:00

New School

2008-11-03T19:49:00.004+01:00

Today Max began his first day at his new school, Skoe-bi-doe (Scooby Doo). Despite waking up at 06:30 he was full of energy all day. He even skipped his nap! But by the time Mommy got him in the car his fun-filled day came to a crashing halt!

Morning

Evening

Bye Bye Papa

2008-10-30T14:43:00.003+01:00

Tuesday morning we said our goodbyes and Rob began his third tour in Afghanistan. He made it safely to his camp yesterday and is now preparing for the following 2,5 months. We miss him dearly, but we are so proud of him and can't wait to have him back home!

Before he left we had a wonderful week together as a family. Max & Papa shared a few good laughs before bedtime on Monday :-)

Rotterdam Zoo

2008-10-30T14:32:00.003+01:00

Last Saturday we visited the Rotterdam Zoo- Blijdorp. There are train tracks that run over the zoo and Max had more fun waving at the train and going "choo choo" than actually looking at the animals. Next time we plan a family outing I think we will just picnic at the train station. It would save a lot of money!

Halloween surprises

2008-10-14T14:00:00.002+02:00

Thanks Mimi for my halloween box! xoxo, Max

The Efteling

2008-10-14T12:15:00.003+02:00

Saturday Rob and I took Max to the Efteling. It was his second time and he absolutely loved it! It is a theme park somewhat similar to the Magic Kindgom. They have a fairy tale forest with mushrooms that play music, a few rollercosters, and several children's rides. It was a great way to spend with the family before Rob leaves :-)
Click photo to see the album!

Efteling

New Stroller!

2008-10-09T13:55:00.002+02:00

I would especially like to thank KLM airlines & Liz for my new stroller! It will arrive just in time to go to the Efteling on Saturday!

Fien!

2008-10-07T13:29:00.003+02:00

Sunday we finally got to meet our new niece, Fien! She was born 5 weeks to early (on our wedding anniversary!) and she is now 6 weeks old. She is an absolute doll, but so tiny! Fien was too young for Max to play with, but he had a great time playing with his other cousins!

Chocolate Cake!

2008-10-07T13:18:00.006+02:00

Everyone knows that the best part of making chocolate cake is licking the spoon!

Feeding the ducks

2008-09-29T18:20:00.005+02:00

Last week we had some old bread in the house so I took Max to a pond in our neighborhood to feed the ducks. It was his first time feeding ducks and since he loves animals I thought he would enjoy it.

While he did enjoy seeing the ducks he didn't seem to want to share the bread with them!

A walk in the forest

2008-09-14T20:58:00.004+02:00

After an extremely long trip back to NL we made it!! The lost 3 of our 5 suitcases and destroyed our nice stroller. Luckily we got our bags the next day and they will pay for our stroller. *sigh*

We are still dealing with jetlag. Max is having quite a hard time getting used to his normal schedule again *read, mommy and papa are getting no sleep* but it is finally going better!

Yesterday our friends Bob & Irene came to visit. Despite the chilly Fall weather we went for a walk in the forest. When it was time to stop for hot chocolate at a cafe, Max took full advantage of the playground!

And for the fun... a few pics of Lola!

Boating

2008-09-01T05:03:00.003+02:00

What a better way to kick off Labor Day weekend than by relaxing on a boat? Yesterday we headed out to a local recreational area and went boating with a few of Rob's collegues and the weather couldn't have been better!

Max had a great time watching all of the boats go by and swimming in the lake. Rob and I took turns going tubing behind the speed boat and the rest of the day was spent fishing, swimming, and sharing a few laughs.

One Year!!!

2008-09-01T04:56:00.002+02:00

We Made it!! :-)

San Antonio!

2008-08-29T22:13:00.003+02:00

Last weekend we ventured down to San Antonio for a weekend of fun! Despite the torrential downpours Saturday we went tubing on the Guadalupe River. The weather quickly cleared up and we had a great day relaxing down the river.

That evening it was time for good food with good friends on the Riverwalk. After becoming accustomed to European style food our dinner at an Italian restuarant was slightly disappointing. Luckily we had nice wine!

Sunday our weekend adventure continued at Sea World. Thanks to the program, Here's to the Hero's, all active military and their family can visit the park for free. Though we have visited Sea World quite frequently over the past few years this time Max made our visit very special. He spent the whole day waving and pointing to all types of different animals. The dolfin petting was his favorite, but he was disappointed to learn that he couldn't swim with them!

5pm this evening marks the start to a long weekend! We will begin the Labor Day Weekend with a BBQ at Boudewijn's hosue and most likely spending the rest of the weekend relaxing at the pool and celebrating our first year of marriage!

Alabama!

2008-08-19T21:55:00.003+02:00

Last week we made the 6,000 mile journey to Alabama to visit Mimi, Opa, Olivia, and Zachary. Luckily we were able to travel with Papa to Houston for the long stretch of the trip! Max had not been feeling well for a couple of days prior to our trip and after a trip to the doctor in Alabama we discovered he had bronchitis and an ear infection. Our little man has been a trooper through the respitory treatments he has had to endure. Now, a week later we are seeing dramatic improvements and our monkey is almost back to normal!

Last Friday we hopped over to Ft.Hood, Texas to join Papa for the next 3 weeks. This weekend we will go to San Antonio to go tubing, visit the Riverwalk, and see the animals at Sea World!

That's it for now folks... stay tuned for updates!

Gay Pride Parade 2008

2008-08-18T22:06:00.003+02:00

This year we went to the Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam. We had a great time sitting on Jan & Steve's boat watching the canal parade. Many famous people made appearances including Gordon & Gerald Joling (famous Dutch singers/tv personalities), members of the parliament, even the mayor had his own boat in the parade!

Despite all of the beautiful costumes, great music, and fun atomosphere, the best part of the weekend was how accepted the gay community is in Holland. Afterall, love should be celebrated no matter what!

Summer Days!

2008-07-29T11:02:00.002+02:00

Summer has finally shown itself in the past week and the Geenen Family has taken full advantage of this beautiful weather! Instead of heading to the waterpark or public swimming pool with the rest of the city, we decided to set up our family sized swimming pool. Max has enjoyed spending his days as a water rat and eating yummy food from the grill. Hey, who wouldn't?!

In less than two weeks we are headed back to the States! Max and mommy are ready to enjoy sunshine and relaxation for a month while Papa will be busy flying flying flying!

Green Thumb

2008-07-22T14:05:00.004+02:00

I've never been handy with the garden, so when something I plant actually grows I get quite excited! Unfortunately Max thinks my flowers are quite lovely too. Lovely enough to be plowed over by his tractor. Although this one didn't survive the summer, I still have one more! For now that is...

The Victim
The culprit
The last one standing

Bedtime Stories

2008-07-22T13:57:00.002+02:00

Last Sunday Tante Esther and Ome Victor visited us from Eindhoven. Along with them they brought (what is quickly becoming the size of a soccer team!) their boys. Thijs & Casper (2.5 yrs) and Joost (6mos). The adults had a great time eating dinner & catching up while the boys were busy being boys!

When it was time for bed I read Max's favorite book- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr.Seuss. Even though the twins didn't understand, there were funny pictures to look at and it was a great foto op!

Clean Windows

2008-07-22T13:45:00.003+02:00

Over the past year and a half I have come to learn that babies and toddlers don't appreciate cleanliness. Max prefers to poop in a *clean* diaper, no clothes are good for him unless they have half of his lunch smeared all over them, and it always amazes me where I find snot, pieces of cookies, and other various objects. But ok, a house needs to be kept clean and I do my best! As for the windows, I only clean them a couple of times a year. Especially with the rain, sand, and Max there doesn't seem to be much point. Earlier that week I picked a nice, sunny day to clean outside. Just a few days later...

But no matter how many things he makes dirty, he is still my sweet sweet boy :-)

Dancing Baby

2008-07-11T11:25:00.002+02:00

At the playground

2008-07-08T21:27:00.005+02:00

Time for an update! Not too many exciting things have been going on lately, but here is a little video taken at the playground behind our house. Enjoy!

Air Force Open Days

2008-06-22T16:12:00.000+02:00

Every year the air force hosts an open day at a different air base. This year it was in Leeuwarden which is about 3 hours north from our house. Rob had to fly and work the static display and I got to hang out with my American friend, Breezy. It was a fun weekend filled with free food, lots of air shows, friends, and of course... lots of noise!

Rob flying in the air show. They were "shooting" at the bad guys

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T20:05:00.002+02:00

Today has been a crazy Father's Day! Yesterday we took Lola, my orange beetle, to the garage and found out some terrible news.... she is a rust bucket! The (surprisingly honest) man at the oldtimer garage advised us to sell it as soon as possible and buy a new one. So yesterday we put her up for sale and this morning she was sold. I was a little upset, but I know that this week we will be buying a better Beetle!

Luckily I don't have to "officially" part with her until mid-week so today we took Lola to "Beautiful Budel" . It was massive gathering of Beetles with lots of cool "nic-nacs" to buy, but unfortunately the skies opened up and made walking through the mud and rain not so enjoyable!

Herbie even showed up!

Just a few of the Bugs on the highway!

Ending the day with a bedtime story from Papa :-)

**UPDATE** We found a new "Lola!" and will be going to look tomorrow :-)

Papa Day

2008-06-09T21:32:00.004+02:00

In Holland parents are allowed to take one day off per week to spend time with their child(ren). Today was Max's first "Papa Day" while Mommy was at work. They had so much fun swimming, biking, playing in the sandbox, and enjoying a beautiful hot summer day. ...(Mommy was a bit jealous!)

Max's bandana says "Mijn eerste EK," or my first European Chamionship. The Dutch play their first game in the championship tonight! Hup HOLLAND hup!

Everything changes...

2008-06-04T21:44:00.004+02:00

There have been a lot of changes in the Geenen family household lately. I started work this week at Amgen, an American pharmaceutical company, and Max went to his first day of "school."
My first week of work went well, but it is quite exhausting getting used to a 9-5.30 schedule! And when I come home and want to plop down on the couch... there is still dinner to be made, clothes to be washed, and a toddler to be played with. Luckily I have an amazing husband who helps out wherever he can & that has made my transition to work much easier!

Max loves his daycare. His teachers say that he is adapting very nicely to the rest of the group. His class's name is called "boomkevertjes," or tree beetles in English. He is really enjoying playing with the other children at school, and doesn't want to leave when we pick him up!

Max @ Daycare

A long day at school can be exhausting!

Nothing better than relaxing with the Teletubbies after a hard day @ school!

Father-Son time

2008-05-16T19:43:00.002+02:00

I love my boys :-)

Springtime fun!

2008-05-13T20:55:00.002+02:00

Life can be hard when you're 16 months old. Playing in the sandbox, swimming in the pool, driving a tractor, and sleeping in the sun with papa. Nobody ever said being a toddler was easy!

Bosbad Hoeven

2008-05-13T20:39:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we went to the waterpark with our friends and their 3yr old son. Since we have been having beautiful summer weather we weren't the only ones with the idea to go to the park. It was packed with people, but by taking turns babysitting the adults managed to get a couple of water slides in & the kids had fun playing in the baby pools.

Man of mischief

2008-05-11T20:23:00.000+02:00

Our sweet little Max is sometimes a little naughty. But since he doesn't quite understand that some things aren't allowed these moments are still funny. :-) Max thought our white doors needed some colourful artwork...
I just changed his diaper and clothes (it was quite an explosion!) and while I was putting his dirty clothes in the wash I turn around to see this... That would be mascara in his hand and all over his brand new clothes. Not to mention he is wearing my necklace... Oh what a mess!

Koninginnedag 2008!

2008-05-07T11:08:00.003+02:00

For Queen's Day this year we went to Amsterdam. My aunt & uncle have recently bought a house boat on the Prinsengracht which is the place to be for Q-Day. The whole city turned orange and despite the poor weather forecast, the conditions were great! At the end of the day we went to Museumplein to see Radio 538's concert. They had all of the top artists there and the best part... it was free! We can't wait to head back up to Amsterdam for The World Championship soccer games this summer!

Keukenhof

2008-05-05T18:37:00.009+02:00

Yesterday we visited the Keukenhof. It is the world's largest spring park and it claims to be the most photographed place in the world. There are around 7 million flowers, but I have to agree with our friend- I think there were more people than flowers! We weren't the only ones who wanted to enjoy a beautiful spring day!

When you give a kid a pancake...

2008-04-23T14:01:00.003+02:00

Be prepared to put him in the bathtub afterwards!

Mama, Ik ben klaar!!
Vieze handjes
stroop hoofd
Boefje!

Our little boy is growing up!

2008-04-21T20:07:00.003+02:00

This blog is a little overdue, but Max has a new bed! After the little critter climbed out of his crib on several occasions we decided it was time for him to sleep in a big boy bed before he hurt himself. We were a little weary about buying the new bed since he was only 14 months, but we didn't see much of an option. Luckily for us, he loves it!

Vacation! (and major picture spam!)

2008-04-14T14:53:00.008+02:00

After 2 1/2 wonderful weeks of vacation in America (and two very long flights!) we are back! We had a great vacation, but it is also nice to be home to start a routine again. Though Rob might disagree with me since he had to get up for work at 7.30 this morning!

Our vacation was non stop go go go. We went on a roadtrip to West Virginia to visit my brother, Cole, sister, Presley, and dad. It was the first time Rob had ever met this part of my (very large) family and we all had a great weekend together. Unfortunately it was too short! Here are some pics from that trip:

Me & my sis

Our new TomTom leads the way

Max going crazy from so much traveling!

Marvin (my dad) surprised Rob with a flight trip. And look who got to be the pilot!

Mi familia

After our trip to WV we had a couple days to hang out with my parents in NC and catch up with some old friends.

Max enjoying a nap on the porch. Hey, being on vacation can be hard!

Already fishing with Papa @ 15mos

Rob took full advantage of my parent's lake

KiSSyKiSSy

I learned to fish too!

That's all for today folks. Check back for regular updates!

Swimming!

2008-03-19T20:28:00.005+01:00

Here are some pics from our last swimming trip. Max loves the water so much that I think we will have to follow his friend Evie and start swimming lessons!

Giving the ball to mommy

Father to Son talk

Splish splash!

Cheesin' it up :)

Weer met z'n 3tjes!

2008-03-16T12:37:00.000+01:00

Papa is finally home! Friday evening all of the girlfriends/wives met for dinner in Gilze-Rijen then we went to Eindhoven Airport to bring our boys home! The airport is very small and all of the familes were crammed in the arrival hall with their signs, balloons, and very annoying air horns. After waiting an hour Max and I finally got to jump into Rob's arms. Rob was afraid that Max wouldn't recognize him, but as you can see in the picture that was definitely not the case!

We've had a wonderful long weekend doing absolutely nothing and now we have to start thinking about packing for our trip to America! We leave Tuesday to go to NC and during our trip we will take a road trip up to WV to see my brother & sister, then down to PCB for a little romantic getaway! Spannend!

Papa is almost home!

2008-03-11T09:52:00.004+01:00

The biggest news: Rob is almost home! Only 3 more days! He was originally supposed to come home on Sunday, but luckily he gets to come home 2 days earlier! The last days are dragging along and I feel like Friday will never get here! Of course I have enough cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping to get done before Friday, but none of that is too exciting. I would love to take Max to the park or go shopping in the center, but the cold, windy, and wet weather isn't too inviting. Though I think today we will tough it out and go shopping. Afterall, I need a cute new outfit to greet Rob in! (I think it's a good excuse to buy new clothes..!)

Max is continuing to walk more and more everyday. Though crawling is still the quickest way from point A to B. i keep trying to teach him to say "papa" but it's always "mama mama MAMA." Oh well! He continues to climb out of his bed & I think that we might have to get a toddler bed with guard rails when we come back from the US. I know it's early... but tsja, what do you do when your 14 month old won't stay in his crib?

Max can walk!!

2008-02-29T18:57:00.003+01:00

Ok, so we are still in the beginning stages, but hey- it's a start! Who knows, maybe he will be running into Rob's arms in a couple of weeks! Only 2 more weeks!

Country Roads

2008-02-27T18:31:00.003+01:00

Not too much has been going on here lately (hence the lack of entries!) The last entry I said that Max was into climbing... well now he has figured out how to climb out of his crib! What am I supposed to do? Put chicken wire over his crib? haha, suggestions are always welcome! Enjoy this week's video!

Max's latest mischief!

2008-02-23T14:49:00.003+01:00

Every week or so I try to make a little movie to send to Rob. He misses our little man so much and it's nice for him to see Max's latest "tricks" This weekend his latest thing is to climb. He can now crawl up on the couch (which is a whole new worry for me!) and he likes to climb in boxes. And he still loves to make messes by throwing everything everywhere!! Enjoy the video!

Recovered!!

2008-02-19T17:05:00.002+01:00

After having the stomach flu for 4 very long days I am finally better! It was a very challenging weekend and I am so glad it's over! Thankfully Max was very sweet and let mommy lay on the couch for most of the day. Today I was able to start cleaning up my house (it turned into a disaster area this weekend!) And I even stepped outside for a few minutes to plant a couple of plants :-)

I have something very exciting to blog about, but I am going to have to try and keep my mouth shut for a few more days...!

To be continued...

Germs

2008-02-16T11:48:00.005+01:00

These:have officially taken over the Geenen house! Max was sick earlier this week, and last night mommy was attacked! Most of my night was spent laying in the bathroom floor wishing I had the energy to crawl back into my bed :-/ As sick as I was last night, I somehow feel about 90% better which is good enough to have a girls night this evening!

In remembrance

In need of a break. . .

2008-02-15T20:17:00.000+01:00

Having a sick baby who is getting 4 (or 5) teeth at once is never fun. Especially not when your husband is in Afghanistan. The past few days have been a haze of diapers, sleepless nights, and relentless screaming. I don't mean the normal "baby cry" I mean the full out, blood boiling, spine shivering screaming. Not what anyone wants to wake up to in the middle of the night!

Just when I'm feeling that I can't take it anymore, I see a sweet foto op like this:

Poor little man! Hang in there!