Abigail Jumps...

...forward in her development that is. This week she learned how to pull herself up onto things and assume the standing position. She also experienced the fact that this means her head is a greater distance away from the floor, and the forces of gravity acting on such a large head can cause pain. Even if the landing is padded. As I write this she is climbing over the back of her sister just like a Sherman Tank and Amélie is less than thrilled.

Abigail's creeping has been shifting to full-on crawling. Her wounded soldier movements have become much smoother, faster, and she can even get her belly off the floor now for short bursts. Uh-oh. Yesterday her speech changed too. She went from one syllable sounds to combining two syllables (something Amélie mastered quite some time ago). Maybe just a coincidence, but at dinner, she was looking at me and saying "ba ba ba ba..." for awhile and Naomi stuck her head in front of her and Abigail instantly switched to "ma ma ma ma..."

On the job front, it looks like I won't be able to get one next year because of my immigration status. We basically fall through all of the bureaucratic cracks. This means that Naomi will likely accept her position and we will move anyway - I get to be a stay-at-home Dad for awhile! Taking a year to fix this immigration mess and perhaps take some classes to keep my teaching certification alive will also keep me busy.

Maybe I can find time to work on finishing the novel too...I am done writing the first part which is about 250 pages (250 words per page) and have switched to editing it. Strange to read what I wrote so long ago. It is like someone else wrote it and I like their writing...

A Job Offer!

Naomi had an interview this past week at a school in Apeldoorn. It was the only opening for Social Studies in the whole country, and in spite of all the competition, they offered it to her! Hard to know until things are in black and white and my immigration status is worked out, but it looks like we will be moving out of Rotterdam in a few months.

I also had an interview, but as I am the only one who has applied for the position, it is just a matter of trying to get the paperwork in order so that I am legally allowed to work. They make it quite difficult here.

Abigail is getting a bit too mobile for the stroller, so we may need to convert it from the bed to the seats. We went for a nice two hour walk on Wednesday morning, and she was nearly climbing out the front. She even climbs right over Amélie sometimes reminding me of a Sherman Tank. Got lots of comments about how cute they were though...

Abigail hiding in her cave.

Out for a walk...

...in the park near our house.

Feeding time at the zoo.

Babies watching the baby elephant.

Abigail's adventures in Amazonica.

Amélie staring in wonder at sharks and sea turtles.

The coolest playground ever.

Abigail's food coma.

A Taste of Summer

Yesterday was the first warm day of the year. Even when I first stepped outside and it was still cold, I caught a whiff of summer in the air. The timing worked out perfectly as it was the day we had scheduled to launch some soda bottle rockets at school. No jackets needed - the kids had a lot of fun outside. The launcher I put together out of some spare parts from the garage didn't work so well though. It got the job done, eventually, most of them time, but was rather leaky.

Next week we both have a second interview at the school in Apeldoorn, so we are rather anxious about that. Not sure what the chances are as a lot of details need to be worked out and we don't even know what the job options or the competition is like. The immigration rules could really be a problem. If the school isn't able to work things out for me, than in able to move to the East Naomi needs to find a job and I might need to take a year off to apply for Dutch citizenship. Or we might just end up in Rotterdam for another year.

Both babies have a bit of a cold right now. Abigail has started to lift herself upright onto things though, so we need to get the cribs lowered. Amélie really starts to combine different syllables to make sounds. She will be quite the talker before too long. Abigail won't have much to say - actions speak louder than words as far as she is concerned.

Amélie in her chair.

Abigail asleep in the sun stretching her pinky.

Abigail climbing over her sister like a tank.

Easter pictures.

Happy Amélie.

A broken leg doesn't mean babies are too difficult.

Sleepy Easter

Claire made it in one piece...barely. Train delays messed up her itinerary and Naomi ended up having to drive for half an hour and one in the morning to pick her up as the smaller train to our village was no longer running. She is getting around pretty well, went on a couple shopping trips with Naomi, and can even walk short distances without crutches.

Abigail is a bit like Claire reincarnate, so they have been having lots of fun together. Nice for the Auntie...big problems for Mom and Dad. Last night she was up for half the night (which was quite strange) and Amélie was keeping us awake too. We don't know why, maybe something they ate? Or teething? We have started feeding them regular food in the last few days so they have had egg, ham, fish, potatoes, and other things for the first time. That has been fun - and messy!

We are going to be really tired today, but the sun is shining, and it is Easter, so we will head over to the family gathering with Naomi's grandma. Bath time first.

In about a week we should have our second interviews at the school although we figured that wouldn't happen since they didn't contact us as promised. We don't know if they have more candidates or not but hope to learn more in a week or so. For now, we are enjoying a nice weekend together.