Summer fun

Saskia is just about 3 months old and weighs in at over 14 pounds! She's a very sweet baby and we consider ourselves incredibly lucky because she sleeps very well; she has from the beginning. I am almost afraid to write about it because I do not want to jinx our good fortune. She usually goes down for the night at 9:30 and we wake her up at 6:45 so we can get the day started. I believe the reason she sleeps so well at night because she doesn't usually sleep very much during the day. Sometimes she won't take a real nap... only a few 5-10 minute cat naps. I don't know how she does it!

Transitioning from a family of 3 to 4 went pretty smoothly. Now we can't even imagine life without Saskia. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Janice and Uncle Geoff came to visit in July and helped us out with cooking and cleaning. They also kept big brother Kiefer occupied. It was great to see them and Kiefer had so much fun. Kiefer was very impressed with Uncle Geoff and mimicked whatever Uncle Geoff did. If Uncle Geoff took his shirt off while in the garden, Kiefer did, too! A visit to the Creamee in Turner's Falls was a must. Grandpa ordered a large cone of softserv knowing full well that a large at the Creamee is LARGE. They could barely get it out the window to give to him, but he was able to eat it without making a mess!

In August, Oma and Opa came to visit. They, too, were a huge help and did all sorts of fun things with Kiefer, especially during the week when Holly was closed for vacation. They took him to the Great Falls Discovery Center and Look Park where he had great fun playing in the water spray park. We spent a lot of time in the back yard watching Kiefer swim, play with our new neighbor's 2-year old son, Brandon, and drive around in his Jeep. Shortly before Saskia was born, I scored a two-seater PowerWheels Jeep on Craigslist. It took him a little while to figure out how to steer it, but he is quite good at it now. He loves to drive around and he often has us laughing out loud when we see him throw it in reverse and put his arm over the seat while he backs up. He looks like he's been driving for years!

Saskia went through a few weeks of throwing up everything in her stomach all over herself, me and the couch. Although she never seemed to be too bothered by this, it did create quite a laundry problem. I have stopped eating dairy, chocolate and tomatoes and she seems to be better. She is also on a dose of Prilosec each day.  Just another month of that and we'll see how she does without it.

Saskia's first trip outside of Massachusetts was to Pennsylvania for my 15-year high school reunion on September 5. She was amazing. She didn't make a peep during the 3.5 hour car ride there or back. It was just the two of us as Kiefer and Papa stayed at home. I don't think Roel was too keen on going. Plus, Oma and Opa were flying back to the Netherlands that weekend, so he and Kiefer stayed at home.  We left early Saturday morning and returned Sunday evening.

I went back to work full-time after labor day. This meant that Saskia started at daycare full-time. She is at the same home daycare that Kiefer has been at since he was 3 months old. I love Holly and I love that they are together in a home. She is doing very well there and likes to be where the action is--watching the older kids play. We think she might be just as nosy as Kiefer, who refuses to nap there because he's afraid he might miss something.

We took Kiefer and Saskia to the Franklin County Fair. It's pretty great because it is only a 5 minute walk up the road from our house. We thought Kiefer would be thrilled about the rides now that he is big enough to ride many of them. He enjoyed them very much and rode them with his friend, Maeve, who we happened to run into there with her parents. However, Kiefer was just as happy sitting on all the tractors and heavy equipment on display.

We've been keeping busy on the weekends. Last weekend we went apple picking at Clarkdale with our friend, Marie José, and her two daughters. We picked Cortlands and had never picked in that particular field before. When our bag was about halfway full, Marie José noticed some suspicious 3 leafed plants beneath the apple trees. It was poison ivy! Needless to say, we weren't too pleased that they didn't post any signs or warn us about it and the kids were under the trees, of course! We washed our feet and shoes in cold water as soon as we got back to the house and luckily, none of us had any sign of rash.

We also visited my college friends (Bonnie, Cindy and Laura) and their families in eastern Massachusetts. That is quite fun now that each of us has two children. There we were--8 adults trying to keep up with 8 children ranging in age from 4 down to 10 weeks. Gone are the days of sitting around and leisurely enjoying food, drink and conversation!

We also visited the Big E. We hadn't planned on going this year, but my friend from high school, Carisa and her husband, Ed, were going and we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them. They live in Boston and although it isn't far, we don't get together often enough. Kiefer had the best time. He loved the parade complete with Mardi Gras floats which tossed beads. He enjoyed the rides and when he was too tired at the end of the day, he rode on Papa's shoulders. Saskia was quite content in the stroller and didn't seem fazed by the marching bands and noisy crowd.

Some recent Kieferisms:

‎"I have a good play with my friend today." June 19, 2010 after a play-date with his buddy, Liam

For some bizarre reason, Kiefer calls Diego from the show Go, Diego, Go! "Two-eggo!"

Kiefer got a special toddler alarm clock in hopes we could get him waking up at a more reasonable hour than 5:30 am. We set it to glows green when it is OK for him to get up. The first morning he had it, Kiefer woke up before it was set to glow and said, "Hey! My clock doesn't work! It's not green!"

What Kiefer says when I am listening intently to a story on NPR in the car and he can't get my attention: "Mama! Speak to me!"

Roel explained that the toilet at the restaurant flushed automatically. Kiefer said, "The restaurant guy flushes the toilet." - August 30, 2010

Kiefer: "Mama! Mama! Mama!" Me: "What, Kiefer?" "Um. I have to think of a question." - August 30, 2010

Kiefer informed me that when he gets bigger he's going to marry Suzanne and they're going two have two baby boys named "Sizewise" and "Hippityhop." Random. And funny. - September 21, 2010