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!
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| Max's 2nd Birthday |
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!
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| Sinterklaas op de basis |
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!
Today Sinterklaas made his appearance in Etten-Leur. We had a great time welcoming him with our good friends, Rebecca and Brian! 
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
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 :-) 
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! 
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!
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| Efteling |
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
