Blakes in Holland

Naomi's first ballet lesson

2011-08-29T12:03:00.001-07:00

Lets dance

2011-08-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Daily ritual after dinner, the girls love to dance. Really daddy's excuse to feel young!

Naomi's first day at school!

2011-08-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

ready to go and very proud of her princess rugsack

last cuddle and kiss

dad in hospital

2011-06-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

from happy times to sad one, life can suddenly take you by surprise.
Last friday Leonore's dad suffered a heart attack whilst cycling, he had to be resuscitated and shccked twice. He has been in coma on ICU over the weekend where he was still in critical condition. The cardiologist informed us that his heart will get through but it's waiting to see how his brain responds. Sunday he was taken out of his coma and whilst still being intubated he now has his eyes open and is recognising us! He is not responding to instructions yet and we are living day by day, having to be patient as this process in slow. We are grateful Pa is alive and are longing to have him back. It has been an incredible sad and shocking experience especially as Pa has always been a very healhty and active person. We are very strong and full of hope, trusting God and praying for a full recovery. As a family of eight children although it's a sad time it is also bringing us even closer together and it has been very special spending the weekend at the hospital and my sisters house nearby, laughing and crying together in the uncertain waiting hours.
We are very grateful for your thoughts and prayers which are a big help in this difficult time. I will keep you updated.

Esther walking and Naomi cycling!

2011-06-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

May wedding in UK

2011-06-02T12:33:00.001-07:00

Early May we had a trip to the Uk for the wedding of Chris' cousin. Naomi had the privilege of being flower girl and we had a lovely day! She was so gorgious and got quite used to all the attention after posing for so many photo's. It was a great to have a family reunion and catch up with everyone for a whole weekend. Of course we had to have a trip to the supermarket and we realised how we miss the massive stores with so much choice, large pack sizes and just everything you need! Crunchy nut cornflakes and baked beans were one of the things we stock up on!

Italy trip

2011-06-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Chris and I had the opportunity to spend 4 days in Tuscany together whilst my family looked after the girls. One of the advantages of having a big family and having them nearby! We had a fab time visiting Florence and Lucca, enjoying every minute and not missing the sounds of small people....well maybe a little!

Esther's first babywalker steps

2011-03-24T11:58:00.001-07:00

Ski holiday Switzerland

2011-02-28T05:28:00.000-08:00

three girls in the snow!

spending time together skiing

warm inside enjoying the views

breathtaking views from Hotel

P1040606

2011-02-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

P1040597

2011-02-28T02:52:00.000-08:00

unwrapping presents

2011-01-12T02:41:00.000-08:00

Esther's first birthday!

2011-01-12T02:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas and New year

2011-01-12T02:33:00.000-08:00

little girls getting bigger!

2010-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Esther is nearly one years old! She is crawling, standing, walking holding on to our fingers and generally doing everything an 11 month should be doing I think! Here a few pics to show you!

Happy Birthday!

2010-11-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed a very special birthday as we had a night away in our wedding Hotel! It brought back very happy memories and it made us realise how blessed we have been since that day 8 years ago! I must say it's doing our relationship good to have these moments and great to have family close by to enable it!

K3 fan

2010-11-24T04:09:00.000-08:00

Naomi has become a big fan of a girls band called K3. They are a all singing and dancing belgium/Dutch girl group. Chris got some free tickets to a live show so Naomi was in her element as you can imagine (Mama secretely loved it too!)

Autumm UK visit

2010-11-24T03:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great time visiting family and friends in October. We enjoyed some lovely sunshine and loved catching up with church friends during a daytrip to Manchester. It was strange popping into our house whilst there but must admit we didn't miss it but we do miss our friends of course!

Brussels break

2010-10-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

we had a lovely little break to Brussels last weekend. Chris had a factory visit nearby so we made the most of it with Naomi going to opa and oma (Leo's parents). The square was beautiful and we enjoyed some last bit of summer sunshine and great beer! Esther who is such an angel is quite happy to go without a nap all day but unlike her was subsequently very unsettled all evening! Definately getting the breast pump out next time!

Esther first crawling attempt!

2010-09-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

Centre Parcs

2010-09-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had a midweek at Center Parcs which is big over here. I had always wanted to go again after many fun memories there when I was younger. It's the ideal place for kids and Naomi loved the fantastic pool. She is so adventurous going down all the big slides and wild water stream and has no fear of anything in the playgrounds either. We went to a big indoor fun park next to the park called Plopsa and she loved all the rides, but can become a little shy when meeting the famous characters!

family weekend away-Hoenderloo

2010-09-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with my family in the village where my dad grew up. We celebrated my parents 70th and enjoyed being together (37 of us spread over 5 holiday homes!), going for a walk down memory lane for my dad and having pancakes! Lots of fun all round.

Esther in the big chair!

2010-09-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Esther at 8 months now sitting up by herself so ready to sit at the grown up table! As we are in Holland we have joined with the very popular red Stokke chair! (goes well with our red theme too!)

Even weg (little break)

2010-09-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Chris and I enjoyed a lovely day together with Esther whilst Naomi stayed at her cousin and found the perfect spot lounging in the sun with a glass of wine and a view of the lovely Vecht (river).

Family visit Holland

2010-07-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

we had a lovely visit from Chris' parents recently. It was so nice to show our new house and life over here, they had a great time and Naomi was so excited! As always she got very spoiled and the girls enjoyed lots of cuddles. We didn't do any typicly dutch cycling but I don't think they minded! Shopping in Utrecht, not to be missed, was enjoyed instead.

Proud parents

Visit to a lovely castle nearby

Naomi's 3rd birthday!

2010-07-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

Bouncy castle at the back of the garden was big success!

nieces

Nieces Anna and Naomi love dancing and playing together posing in front of the new little house!

Trotse oranje Oma (proud grandma)

2010-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hup Holland Hup :(

2010-07-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a amazing entertaining month of football and we have certainly been in the best place! Obviously we are totally gutted we didn't win but its has been an big orange celebration anyway to be part of. Our social life will be very quiet suddenly although with my large family there is always a birthday to attend somewhere and I'll never tire of seeing my family (....yet...joke)
We have managed to leave our camera in chris' parents car so I will update the blog with some pictures as soon as it's arrived back. We had a great time with them here and it was lovely showing them where we live and our new life here. I think they left with a reassured feeling that we are ok here, apart from cycling without a helmet! We are looking forward to many more family and friends visits!
We have finally got a finished house since a few weeks, well no pavement yet at the front, and are really loving the open plan space and garden. Life is good and seems a lot more relaxing and going by the less need for early nights and naps for Chris I think he agrees!
Life's pace is a bit slower here now as people are on holiday, the builders even take a customary long summer break (unfortunately for our pavement) and the rest has a generally 3 week holiday abroad. We are getting to grips with the dutch organisation and efficiency here, Eshter has almost monthly weigh, measure and jabs here by skilled medical/nursing team. It's the small things I miss here from England like the supermarket trolleys for baby's and the cereal choices!
Anyway, we are integrating well altough I caught myself speaking English to someone and wondering why I wasn't getting a response, suppose that's what 15 years in England does to you.

Devon family holiday

2010-06-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Blake family holiday we have every two years. Lovely to see family again as we have missed them lots and Naomi loved spending time with her cousins and nana and grandad. England is so beautiful, I do miss the hills!
It was strange driving home to Holland and not Manchester. We stocked up on baked beans and crunchy nut although we don't seem to miss anything else food wise (yet!)

Update

2010-05-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

We are doing well and really settling in as you can see on the pictures I think. It certainly felt good to be cycling together today to a near lake with 'beach' enjoying the sunshine and realising this is our life now, having great parks, waters, playgrounds, sports facilities and others recreational and cultural activities right on our doorstep! Another benefit of living in a new build town is that it really makes life easier with a brand new building housing Gp's, dentists, health visitors, midwives, pharmacy, poli-clinic and many more helpful services under one roof and round the corner from us! Everything seems very efficient here and that is a very positive but also been a slightly frustrating thing here!
Chris is settling in well at work and making some new friends whilst I need to develop this still. The days of neighbours knocking on your door with a cake have gone I think and I am the one who will have to win people over with an apple cake replacement! No serious, we are all new in our street and with the garden not finished yet it enabled a nice chat today with my neighbour. I am very happy to get into the coffee culture here, offering hospitality with a good cup of dutch fresh coffee.
Naomi and Esther are doing great. Naomi is really happy and has never been to the play ground so much! She started pre-school and has settled in well. It's giving her some much needed stimulation and interaction and me some time for myself and Esther. Esther is finally sleeping better at night after a few nights and hours of lung sound practice, bless her. We are all looking forward very much to a holiday in Devon soon with the extended Blake family, we are ready for a little break from ongoing jobs to do and longing to meet with the family. Just hope Chris will want to come back...

New bikes!

2010-05-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we are a real dutch citizens now. Not just because we are officially registered at the town hall but also because we have joined the common and vital method of transportation, cycling! And we are not just owners of any bike, no we now have a bakfiets (bike with carrier) and a moederfiets (mother bike)!
Think the pictures speak for itself! In the bakfiets you can carry up to four children on these benches with straps or a carseat and child like we are with space for the pram base and bit of shopping too! Pretty cool we think and the only way to be able to cycle with Esther until she can sit in the front seat of the moederfiets. Everyone has these bikes, specially designed for mums carrying their children. We bought them of ebay and we had great fun cycling together. Naomi loves sitting in both bikes and the bakfiets sends Esther mainly off to sleep even though its quite a bumpy ride at times. It will be our exercise too as Chris is planning to cycle to work and I'll be taking Naomi to pre-school three times a week in the bakfiets. In case you are wondering where the helmets are it's just not done here! There are very safe cycle lanes everywhere. So grandparents don't worry!

Cuddles

2010-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

view of the kitchen too!

Esther with cousin Ester! Same name,age and both adorable!

Naomi loves having bedtime cuddles with Esther

Our house!

2010-05-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

Here some pictures of our house and street! As you can see we are living next to a building site which is getting a bit frustrating but they promised the scaffolding blocking our house will soon go. The inside however is all lovely!

Happy family!

2010-05-11T05:43:00.001-07:00

Holland here we are!

2010-05-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been so long but finally a sign of life from us! It shows how busy the last few months have been and what a journey it is!
After two and half months of notice and planning we arrived in Holland on the 19th April. It had all gone surprisingly well until the weekend before our big move! The van of the moving company turned out too small after an under estimation of our stuff and subsequently a quarter of our stuff is still in the UK. It is still a very frustrating situation but these things happen. We thankfully were able to get a ferry instead of our flight and were able to move in. We are renting a brand new house which is absolutely lovely but also has its teething problems. However all in all I am thrilled to be in my home country near family and Chris will get there too!
He is full on into his new role with Danone and is speaking much more dutch after an intensive week of dutch at a language institute. His colleagues talk mainly dutch to him so he is thrown in the deep! Its been great that he is only 5 min from the office and we are hoping to buy some bikes soon so he can cycle there too.
Naomi and Esther are adapting amazingly well. Esther is now sleeping in her own room and cot and I am praying she will start to sleep through now! Naomi can start at a pre-school soon for a few mornings so she is looking forward to that and ready for some more interaction. We have already enjoyed most of my family visiting and my parents have been a fantastic help and support too. They are now spending time with my brother Adriaan who just had a second daughter Lottie!
We will have internet and a landline installed monday so we can be in touch on a regular basis and put some photo's on of our new place here.
We will miss all our family and friends lots and hope you come a visit us soon!
Lots of love

Happy moment

2010-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

The journey begins..

2010-02-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

We have just got back from Holland, Chris' paternity weeks, and the big move is really happening. We have looked round the area we want to live which is 10 minute bike ride from Chris' office near Utrecht and we can't wait to start cycling and join in this easy and healthy way of transporation in Holland! We are slowly getting our heads round all the stuff we need to do and we are determined not to get stressed about it! It looks like we'll be moving around the end of April when Chris will start by attending a 5 day intensive Dutch course. It's an exciting but also sad time as we are going to be saying goodbye to our friends and life in Manchester. After 15 years in England it's going to be a huge change being back in Holland. I have of course taken on the English politeness over the years with a touch of dutch directness. However Chris being an English gentleman likes to think he can show the dutch how it's done will be in for a bit of a shock as he gets told off for saying thank you too much!

Smiles!

2010-02-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here's some gorgious pictures of Esther. She has been smiling now for a couple of weeks and just started to 'talk' back which is so cute. It's so amazing how such a little person can respond and react back and those smiles just make my day!

Going Dutch!

2010-02-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

We have got some BIG news....we are moving to Holland! Chris got offered a job as Category manager at Danone dairy. They are based in Maarssen near Utrecht. He will stay within the company which is what we wanted. Chris had some really nice recommendations from Danone UK and has also impressed the dutch team so they have been really helpful and keen to get Chris on board. We will probably move around April/May time so we are really excited it's all happening now! We have been praying and trusting God over the last year as we have planned and waited for this opportunity and as always Gods timing is perfect. We are going to be in Holland for the next 10 days to show off our gorgious new addition Esther and this means we can start looking for a house to rent near Chris' office and get our head round it all. We'll be meeting up with some friends who made this move 2 years ago so that will help as well. As with a lot of choices in life there is usually some loss involved and although we are so excited about life in NL and being near family after 15 years we will miss our friends and life here in the UK.
Well, we will keep you updated on our adventure! Hup Holland Hup!

Esther playing

2010-02-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Family time

2010-02-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

a little hello!

2010-01-27T13:55:00.001-08:00

updates

2010-01-27T13:08:00.001-08:00

Another week gone by already and I have been keen to update the blog but delayed by a trip to Chris' parents. We had a nice few days there where I was able to have naps and some time with just Esther while my in-laws took Naomi out for few hours...bliss! The only downside was that I gave everyone my sore throat and Naomi woke at a ridiculous early time every morning. We are back into a better sleep routine thankfully, apart from Esther who is relentless with her 3 to 3.5 hourly feeds at night. I was expecting to be exhausted but it must be just new mums who get this incredible amount strength and ability to get through these times on very little sleep as Chris is more tired than me bless him, although he has been a bit poorly! We spend our evenings generally with Esther on our lap, trying to settle her with a finger or dummy in her mouth whilst playing a game of sequence! Naomi is a really sweet big sister saying 'hello little girl!' all the time. She has been doing her own bit of mothering when she was pretending to breastfeed her dolly and when I overheard her talking to her dolls saying 'you are not listening to me' and 'stop messing around!' She makes us giggle but better watch what we say!

Family visits

2010-01-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

Well another week has gone by, our beautiful little girl is now 2 weeks old, and we are slowly thinking about getting into to normal life and routine again. We had a wonderful time with my parents here for a week and also my brother Adriaan, Rebecca and Anna came to stay for a few days so it was a lovely house full! Chris is back at work so I have had my first few days on my own which went better than I expected. I even managed to get to a toddler group! Esther has been a happy contented girl. She feeds 3 hourly which I hope might stretch a bit more at night as I am feeling quite tired. Naomi's naptime have been a life saver to catch up with some sleep! We are looking forward to some trips to Chris' parents and my parents over the next few weeks. And then the real life of a mother of two begins!

Mama moment

2010-01-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

First bath

2010-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

Happy family!

2010-01-08T12:32:00.001-08:00

Snow fun!

2010-01-05T13:35:00.001-08:00

little update

2010-01-05T12:31:00.001-08:00

We are doing very well here in the Blake family. Can't believe Esther only arrived 2 days ago as she feels so much part of us now and she hasn't really made her presence known that much as she is only really cries when she has her nappy changed. Chris' parents have visited and been a great help for all of us and I am looking forward to my parents arriving soon! Naomi keeps us on our toes as we have to keep a close eye on her with Esther. She loves touching her head, giving her cuddles by lying next to her and sharing her toys. Really adorable but this settling in time is quite a challenge for sure! It was amazing waking up this morning in a winter wonderland of snow. Really cosy when you are at home although Chris and Naomi had some fun outside. We were just glad that Esther arrived sunday as we might not have had a midwife arriving at all!

first video of Esther

2010-01-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

welcome baby Esther!

2010-01-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

After a three hour labour Esther came into the world today! She was a week early but not completely unexpected as I had been having quite uncomfortable evenings in the last week. Labour started like it did with Naomi when my waters broke at 0300 and labour started straight away really. Me being me hung on for a bit too long with calling the midwives as she only just arrived in time to catch her! Unfortunately I didn't make it in the pool as she was determined to make quick entrance but that was ok as Naomi and I had a swim afterwards! We have had a relaxed day settling into being a family of four apart from keeping Naomi off rocking Esther out of her basket! She has been a lovely big sister though and we are over the moon with our two beautiful girls!

Mat leave, potty training and lots of nesting!

2009-12-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have been on Maternity leave now for a few weeks and absolutely loving it! Although I have had another very good pregnancy I was ready to finish. It is all a bit more tiring balancing the work, home and childcare and I am really enjoying spending all my time with Naomi now. The first thing we did was getting her potty trained as soon as I finished and she just did it from day one, hooray! We are so pleased and proud of her as I was dreading it a bit but she was ready and not had one accident since! She has been getting more interested in the new baby and loves reading books about it, looking at her baby photo's and playing with all the baby equipment I have been washing and getting ready. She will be a great sister that's for sure. So yes I have been big into the nesting again although I have to admit it hasn't really made me spring clean the house (yet?). I have had a lot more time to get excited about christmas especially as Naomi is able to enjoy it more now. We have had the house all christmassy for a while now and hereby a picture by the tree with growing bump! Just 4 weeks to go! By the way this one is expected to be bigger so we'll see! It just feels and looks like a football!

November Holland trip

2009-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

Hello there! I know it has been so long! As it is nearing christmas and the birth of our second baby I thought I'd better catch up! We have been very well. We enjoyed a trip to Holland beginning of November as we won't be able to go at christmas. We had fun with family get togethers, trip to our favourite beach and just chilling out. Everyone was curious to see the growing bump of course! Here our some snaps of it all.

Mallorca holiday

2009-09-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

Here's some photo's of our holiday. They speak for themselves I think. Oh and for my mum and sisters who have been asking there are some bikini ones I am afraid so they can see my growing bump!

20 week scan!

2009-09-05T06:05:00.000-07:00

This is baby blake 2 growing well! The resemblance with Naomi's 20 week scan was incredible so we are very curious wat is going to come out! The pregnancy is going great and baby is quite active already. It's lovely being able to show off my bump now and Naomi cuddles and kisses bump when we mention 'baby in mama's buik(tummy)'!

Evian trip

2009-09-05T05:55:00.003-07:00

Our little treat for the summer was a fab weekend in an amazing Hotel in Evian. It was a business trip with Chris' customer and her family. The views on Lake Evian were just one of the best and we just got soaked up in this luxury ambience.

Summertime

2009-09-05T04:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Leonore's sister Sophie and her family visiting us for a few days. A trip to Lyme park, a curry house and Starbucks were not to be missed!

Here we are finally with a bit of news from our summer. It has been a nice time with Naomi's birthday, a trip to Evian, France, family visit from Holland and of course our developing baby and a recent scan! So I aim to update you with some pictures and details from all these exciting events!

Baby Blake 2!

2009-07-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

We are very pleased to announce baby number two in the making! Our last post showed our trip to Prague and it was made extra special when we found out we were expecting again! Baby is due on the 11th January 2010 so I am about 13 weeks pregant now.
All is going well. I am feeling tired but generally well and have had only very mild pregnancy symptoms. Naomi is excited about the whole 'baby in mama's tummy' idea and we know she will be a great sister as she loves other babies! So here we go on the journey of Baby Blake 2. We will keep you updated!

Holiday in Holland

2009-07-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

Prague!

2009-05-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

You must be thinking you have not had so many updates on the blog since Naomi was a baby. Yes we are having a season of trips away and it's great! Chris and I had our long longed for romantic weekend in Prague. Chris' parents had kindly offered to look after Naomi and we could leave knowing she'd have a great time too! Prague was just wonderful in every way. It's one of the most beautiful cities I have been too and for us the best combination of relaxation, romance and culture! And of course we couldn't wait to see our little girl again!

Church weekend away

2009-05-12T13:53:00.001-07:00

We had our yearly weekend away with a bunch of 18-30 year olds from church and it was great! We were in the beautiful peak district in one of those old characterfull mansions for large groups amidst the hills and lambs. It's amazing how good it is to get out of the city and enjoy a weekend of walking, fun, games and encouragement. It was nice hanging out with our friends with children but also good to spend time with students. They in turn enjoyed playing with the kids so it all worked really well.

Easter holiday

2009-04-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

Another trip to let you know about, yes we have been busy and will be for a while with trips to the peak district, Prague and Holland still to come in May and June.
Our Easter holiday was our long awaited Blake family holiday in the Cotswolds. We had a wonderful time with the 13 of us so for Leonore a bit of a change to the v/d Hoeven gatherings of 35! we spend the week enjoying the indoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna, playing tennis and games. One of those weeks I really appreciated the beautiful english countryside with its country shops and lovely houses. The photo's give a bit of an idea of our activities and the house with the lovely views. Naomi had a great time with her bigger cousins who were sooo sweet with her. She is such an easy going child that just loves other children that I am slowly getting broody again!

Lake district

2009-04-27T08:58:00.001-07:00

Already a month ago and as usual I am always running behind...sorry! Our fab weekend to the lake district, back to the lovely house we stayed in last year with a group of friends from church. As you can see on the photo's we enjoyed going for a walk and a tea room as that's a must on a trip to the country!

Naomi loves dancing!

2009-03-18T07:47:00.001-07:00

Still here!

2009-03-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

Don't know what it is with blogs at the moment but it certainly has been long time no see! I think its due to not having taken many photo's and I had just found a video we took a few weeks ago which I hadn't got round to blogging so here we are.
Of course we have every reason to photograph our beautiful little girl especially as she is sooo gorgious! I think the changing and growing is definately more on the language front rather than the physical and that's hard to capture on photo or film!
It is great fun observing and encouraging Naomi as she gets to grips with the Dutch and English language. Its getting fifty fifty I think with that. We are amazed how quickly she learns new words and just copies what we say. The highlight of this all was when we got rapidly introduced to Mr No! Yes he has arrived loud and clear and the battle has begun!

Snowtime!

2009-02-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Holland had ice, we had snow! Well for the day that it lasted. Just thought we had to capture this quite special moment.

Clever girl!

2009-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Naomi is now 18 months old and she is becoming such a little girl! She is learning new things all the time and although still a lot of babble she can say so many words now. We are obviously very proud and excited when she has learned something new, thinking she is the most clever girl in the world! Anyway as the video shows she was suddenly building this tower and just thought it was amazing!

Ice skating in Holland!

2009-01-18T14:38:00.001-08:00

Since Christmas it has got very cold in the UK and in Holland and we just missed the canals freezing over as you can see! My brother Adriaan has also been proud to show off these pictures on his blog that my dad took from behind their house. They can just hop on from the garden how cool is that! Yes I am slightly jealous as I would have loved to bring back some childhood memories with Naomi! Anyway our time will come one day although I doubt it will be in England!

good hair days

2009-01-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Naomi has lovely blond hair that gets slightly out of control sometimes. However when she sees mama wearing her hairband whilst putting make up on she is very keen to wear it too and as you can see will keep it on even at breakfast! As it's not just her hair that grows we decided it was time for some proper girly mini pony tails. Don't they look adorable!

little cook

2009-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Naomi's christmas present. Starting young.

christmas time

2009-01-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

Holland trip

2008-12-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

Naomi playing

2008-10-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Updates

2008-10-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no news for ages and now you are getting double portions!
I just thought I better do a video for those who want to see our girl in action. It pretty much describes what stage she is in at the moment which is a lot of walking around between the kitchen and lounge playing with her doll, toys and particularly books! She loves reading books to herself or will bring them to us to read and she is getting very good at pointing at the right things. We take regular trips to the park and playground where she loves climbing, swinging, sliding etc. Her vocabularly is limited to daddy, mama(sometimes) ball, teddy,ta (dank/thank you), bah (dirty)and daar(there) whilst pointing her finger. All very cute. She has no problems understanding us though, particularly when she shakes or nods her head in response! She is still such a happy easy going little girl who makes us very proud.
Daddy and Mama are doing well too! Chris is getting into his promotion at work looking after Morrisons now and I still love my work-home life balance. We are doing the Alpha Marriage course which has been very good! It is so relevant to every marriage and we are finding it really helpful because it forces us to communicate more and better! Would recommend it if you can get to one!
We are looking forward to a trip to Holland soon as we were last there in June. Naomi will love playing with her cousins!

Sure Start

2008-10-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Now Naomi is getting bigger I need to stimulate her a lot more and what better than making use of the excellent services of my local Sure Start centre! In case you never heard of them, its a government led initiative to have children's centres in local communities that have integrated services available from antenatal and baby clinics, stay and play sessions, cookery classes, parent classes and family support. Today I went to a keep fit class while Naomi went into the creche all for free! Fantastic, I can now get fit every week while she is having a great time in this brand new playroom with very excitng toys! Do check it out if there is one near you, all you have to do is register.
www.surestartgov.uk

Zelf eten! (I want to do it myself!)

2008-10-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

Family visits and Holiday!

2008-09-30T07:16:00.001-07:00

well it has been a busy few weeks. We first had my parents from Holland staying here as well as my cousin and his wife from Canada so it was a 'gezellig' full house. We had a great time together and had nice long catch ups and coffee's. They also visited Adriaan and Rebecca before they came here and its great to see how they enjoy spending time with their half-english granddaughters. I noticed we were not the only one who forgot to take some pictures! Anna and Naomi are very different especially as Anna is a year older and speaking english and dutch very well unlike Naomi who at the moment is using her loud voice and finger pointing to say what she wants. She is a keen walker now and it has made life a bit easier for both of us.
We have just been to Mallorca for our first proper summer holiday and it was great! Unfortunately we were not so organised again with the camera as it ran out of batteries so we didn't get many photo's. You can see Naomi enjoyed the pool although it was freezing, but she didn't mind. We bought a little boat that everyone had for their kids and it was great for her and for us to be able to have a swim and ball game in the bigger pool. Naomi was very considerate is letting us have a sleep in till 9.30 every day....amazing! I must say we do recommend Mallorca as its only just over 2 hours flight which was just enough for Naomi and she is pretty good. The weather is generally good (we had 3 days rain typically!) and its very child friendly! So now back to normal life and looking forward to our trip to Holland in November!

2008-09-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Naomi is almost walking!

2008-09-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

and a very excited mama!

In the sea

2008-08-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

Day on the beach

2008-08-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

Big teeth!

2008-08-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give you a picture of the bigger teeth as it looks so funny and cute! It is amazing how she is changing into a little girl with all her expressions, determination and tantrums too!

Special guests

2008-08-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have become host family for foreign students who come to Manchester to learn English. We now have two delightful eighteen year old girls from Poland and France. They go to school 5 days a week and in their free time we get to know eachother, Manchester, English culture and some Dutch thrown in as well! It has brought back some memories of being an eighteen year old coming to Manchester! The girls are just lovely and we have some good giggles. Chris is being quite cheeky with them and certainly teaching them some of the typical English words. Naomi is a great hit and loving all the extra attention. We are all going to miss them lots when they go on sunday but maybe we meet again in their home town one day!

Birthday girl

2008-07-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Birthday girl Naomi is one!

2008-07-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is one! We celebrated her birthday as a family on friday and had a garden birthday party on saturday. The photo's show Naomi opening some presents with mama's help! The swing was mama and daddy's present and you can see why! She had lots of fun with 6 little friends whilst the adults enjoyed pimms, scones and strawberries on a perfect hot summer day! She had a first proper piece of chocolate birthday cake too which you can see she loved! It was a really lovely time and hereby thank you for all the great presents she got! I think we got more excited than Naomi just opening them!

Learning to walk

2008-07-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Back to work!

2008-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week we are celebrating Naomi's first birthday and Leonore ending a year of maternity leave!! It has been an amazing year being home with Naomi and I seriously have total respect and understanding for stay at home mums! Its a very fulfilling place to be and I have loved every minute....seriously! I can particularly recommend the many coffee's at Starbucks, lunches at the local deli with my friends, walks in the park, shopping trips and visiting family...and some girlie nights out! It really has felt like a long holiday but lets not underestimate the full-time care for a baby! I think Chris has come to appreciate that over time. At the centre of all my social activities this year has been other mums I got to know and love hanging out with. Being bonded together by motherhood, sharing its ups and downs (though mainly ups for me) Life never being the same again, but even better!
And now back in the midwife role, leaving the care of Naomi in the very capable hands of Petra, our dutch friend. A new chapter and looking forward to it!

First teeth!

2008-07-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

more happy holidays

2008-07-05T07:10:00.001-07:00

We also spend some time at my parents little blue holiday home which was adorable. Especially Naomi in the kitchen sink was all part off the holiday fun. We ate pancakes in a pancake house, went cycling and enjoyed those kind of relaxing dutch things.

Happy Holidays

2008-07-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our first long holiday to Holland in June going by ferry. The photo's show a very happy opa and oma (grandparents) with some exciting play time in the garden and on the bike! We particulary looked forward to taking Naomi cycling as its such a dutch thing to do. We even bought a little front seat to cycle over here! As you can see we got Naomi's support for the dutch football! Was already planning on an orange decorated house on return but sadly not happening.

Dorset family holiday

2008-06-05T09:03:00.001-07:00

Naomi is crawling!

2008-05-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Naomi at Nana's

2008-05-10T04:09:00.000-07:00

Having a good time in a box at Nana and Grandad!

on a ride!

2008-04-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

New pictures

2008-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

2008-04-18T07:35:00.001-07:00

clapping, swinging and tired!

2008-04-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has happened to Naomi the last few weeks! She can clap and swing! How exciting! As you have noticed by now, this blog is mainly about Naomi's development which makes our life sound quite uninteresting but that's the joy of parenthood. Suddenly there is someone in your life who is more important than anything else(apart from God!) and everything they do is amazing (except crying in the middle of the night then!) So here's some pictures of our proud little girl!

On the move!

2008-03-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Naomi is just so keen to get going at the moment. She loves sitting up in her playpen (box) or on a rug on the floor and before I know it she has thrown herself on her tummy, rolling on her back or moving herself in reverse kind of crawling. its fascinating to watch. As you can see on the video she just loves standing on her feet and we think we have a child who will probably walk by the age of 10-12 months at this rate! (sorry its another mummy gone crazy action!)

Happy Holidays

2008-03-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a nice easter! We had a great time in Holland as always. Opa and Oma (leo's parents) loved spending time with Naomi especially now that she has changed and grown so much. I must say although every baby stage is amazing we do particulary enjoy this 8 months fase as she is just learning so many new things. We have been singing a dutch clapping song to her and now she can clap, things like that. Naomi is lots of fun and she is a very content happy little girl. She does have a reputation of being a bit serious or stoical as my dad calls her but as we are a bit crazy now and again we don't have trouble making her smile!
The photo's kind of speak for themselves, 1) with opa and oma at easter 2)Naomi loving a ride on a old fashion rocking horse at opa and oma's house 3) doing very well drinking from a cup.

2008-03-17T16:18:00.001-07:00