fourteen months old

Dear Micha,

I just realized that having a birthday on the 31st, like you do, makes it hard to count your months exactly.

But give or take a day or two you are now fourteen months old.

I like fourteen months old.

You are learning so many new words lately, your favorite words are 'p' or 'b' words, like 'papa' or 'bat' for water. 

When we go the playground ('speeltuin' in dutch) you say 'pee- ta' and you know quite a few animal sounds. 

You wave and say 'da-da' (bye-bye in dutch is 'dag-dag'), our elderly neighbors can't get enough!

It's so much fun to see you learn and understand different words.

You're walking like a pro, and you love to climb. You've climbed the stairs a few times before we smartened up and installed a baby gate. 

Luckily for us you are a great climber and no accidents happened. 

Your favorite thing to do is playing at the playground. 

Especially when there are other kids, you just love interacting and playing with them. 

It doesn't upset or faze you at all if you're pushed down or bumped into by older kids. 

You love going down the slide, backwards, on your belly or the right way, you're a fearless little dude.

You've been sick for the first time in ages a little while ago and while I hated that you weren't feeling well, I loved all extra cuddles, since you're usually not very cuddly.

But ever since you've been sick, you're also not sleeping like we would like.

You have the habit of waking up crying and upset just an hour after we go to bed and it's not as easy to calm you down as it used to be. Hopefully it's just a phase.

You still love to eat and you're even learning how to eat with a spoon and a fork. 

I'm so proud of you. 

Your papa and I are so glad we chose to go with the baby led weaning method, eating has never been an issue.

You still love your broccoli and any pasta dish. 

You're kind of on the fence with tomatoes and you don't like avocados anymore.

You're still crazy about cars and buses and trucks, such a typical boy, I love it!

You love 'reading' books and being read to. Quite the little bookworm. 

Your personality is my favorite part about you. 

You're such a happy little boy and you have a smile ready for anyone that gives you attention. 

You love chatting with people and bring so much cheer with your loud little voice. 

You're a little bit cheeky and you never sit still.

You're adventurous and curious and always trying to grab things you're not allowed to. 

You know what you want and if you don't get it, you'll let me know. 

I love that you feel and show your emotions well. It reminds me of myself. 

You and me are like that little girl with the little curl.

'There was a little girl, 

who had a little curl, 

right in the middle of her forehead, 

and when she was good, 

she was very, very good, 

and when she was bad, she was horrid.'

Except for the fact that I never find you 'horrid', just maybe a handful sometimes. :) 

Micha, I think you are the smartest, most handsome and most adorable little boy this world has ever known.(No, not biased at all ;) )

You are an answer to so many prayers.

Love you so much, little buddy!

Love, Mama

happy weekend!

B. is home early from work, my brother and his family are coming over, 

so I'm just popping in to wish you all a great weekend!

But not before I leave you with a photo of this little stinker, I am in love with his eyes!

Don't mind the boogers... haha!

Love, Maria

coffee shops and such

Today's blogtember assignment was to go to a coffee shop, order a favorite drink and write about what makes me happy and what makes me sad.

source

Well, that didn't happen... 

First of all, I have a child sleeping upstairs, and I don't think it would be a great idea to leave him alone. 

Secondly, I work at an espresso bar and will be heading there this evening for a shift, 

that's enough coffee for one day me thinks.

But I can tell you this:

Did you know that in Holland a coffee shop is something totally different than a coffee shop in the USA or Canada? I bet you could get coffee at these places if you really wanted to, but the main product at the dutch coffee shops is cannabis and other 'soft' drugs. Yeah.

I have no idea why they're called coffee shops, but if you're ever travelling to Holland now you know that a 'coffee shop' is not a place to get coffee.

Instead look for an espresso bar or a café, that's where you want to be if you're looking for a cup of joe.

You're welcome.

Love, Maria

like a three-year-old with scissors

Only three more days left of Blogtember, wow I can't believe I've made it so far!

Today's topic is to write about a mistake I've made.

Okay, this is going to be embarrassing...

Like a three-year-old with scissors I recently attempted to cut my own bangs. 

I. did.

And the result was probably worse than a three-year-old's attempt. 

Seriously.

Call it a moment of post-baby (why, yes, a year later) craziness or just plain stupidity, I don't know.

I was just sick and tired of the the post-baby hair regrowth and thought to myself :

'It can't possibly look worse than it looks now'.

So I stood in front of the mirror, grabbed a pair of scissors, 

told B. to stop me, which of course he did (oh, why didn't I listen), and just snipped away.

The moment I made that point of no return cut I knew I had made theee biggest mistake.

It was way to short, words I should not repeat on this blog were uttered and maybe a tear or two were shed.

So the last few weeks I've been wearing those hideous bangs pulled back with bobby pins or a headband and praying that my hair will grow back with miraculous speed. 

And thank goodness they're almost long enough for me to finally dare to show my face at my hairdressers so that she can work some wonders and make me look good again.

I'm thinking something like this:

source

That could work, no?

Please tell me I'm not the only one to make such an epic mistake?

Love, Maria

apples and eggs - our weekend

This weekend we were lucky enough to spend some time with my parents before they leave for Africa one last time. 

They'll be back in November for good. Yay!

high five!

gorgeous, delicious apples

they say we look alike, I agree!

chickie, chickie!

my little family

We picked apples from their apple trees, 

said hello to the chickens, 

swung on the swings, 

ate good food, 

drank wine in front of the fire place, 

had a glorious bath (just me, not all of us together, ha!) 

and just enjoyed each others company.

I'm so glad they'll be living in Holland again soon, 

I'm so grateful Micha will grow up with his Opa and Oma close by.

This is my favorite kind of weekend.

How was yours?

Love, Maria

comfort

Today's Blogtember prompt: React to this term: comfort

If you were to see the things I've been pinning lately, you'd know I am on a search for all things comforting.

Whether it's homemade bread, comfort food or a comfy sweater for me and my boy, you name it, I'll pin it.

1,2,3,4,5,6

Fall is really coming around the corner in this part of the world. 

The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are getting colder and I find myself craving hot tea and all things cinnamon.

But fall is a funny one though, one moment it feels like it's practically winter and then all of a sudden you're in the middle of an Indian summer like we'll be having this weekend. 

Oh well, I guess the warm sweaters will have to wait.

Happy weekend!

Love, Maria

a sick baby and the best donuts (ever)

Warning, whining up ahead.

This week has been such a doozy and it's not even over yet. 

Micha is sick and miserable, and nobody is getting enough z's.

It started over the weekend with a cold and a very sad and quiet baby, 

then he had a fever and on Tuesday we were up almost all night with wheezing, 

coughing and scared little boy. 

Turns out he has a mild case of croup.

That is some scary stuff if you don't know what your dealing with.

I'm usually the calm one when it comes to Micha's health, but that night I was really worried.

The wheezing and coughing was pretty scary and I really had to do my best at keeping calm.

We called the hospital and they were able to reassure us and gave us some tips how to handle croup. Apparently croup (the non-severe kind) is very common and looks scarier than it is.

The most important thing is to stay calm for the sake of your child, panic only worsens the problem. 

Another helpful tip was to sit in the bathroom with the hot shower running to create a steamy environment which opens up the air ways.

Last night was a lot better, but still with quite a lot of waking up and midnight cuddles. 

Hopefully the little guy will feel better soon, it's no fun at all to see him so miserable and not himself. 

And I wouldn't mind to get some more sleep thank you very much.

//

In the meantime I'll be eating these:

recipe found here



Mmm... pumpkin-y, spicy, sugary goodness...

They are so good, they make this doozy of a week a little less doozy-ish.


How has your week been so far? Hopefully a bit better then ours!

Love, Maria