It's June! And around here that means not only nice weather and a general feeling of joy that summer has started, it's also the start of birthday season. Now I don't know what it is about September, but people sure seem to enjoy making babies in that month! ;)

We kicked off the June birthdays fest with my brother-in-law Marvin, who turned 31 on June 2nd. Sadly we couldn't make it to his little party because my baby overslept that afternoon (I know, when does that ever happen?!). And then there was the BIG party we'd I'd been planning since April: our little baby boy Tijl turned one on June 5th. All these thoughts flooding my mind that morning: I can't believe my failed attempt at a VBAC was already a year ago! It feels like him being a newborn lasted for all of one week. Was I really that big right before giving birth? Was I really that big after giving birth?! Happily these thoughts faded to the background as people started coming in to celebrate and our little one year old so enjoyed all the attention. Here are some pics of that fun day:

I made a birthday photo garland with pics from each month of his first year.

Big guy for a one year old, huh? Oh wait, that's big brother Abe trying on Tijl's party hat!

I Everybody loved these! So much fun to look at and they were delicious, too!  The idea is from Stacey at Elle Belle Creative

Here's what was left of those lovely cupcakes after Tijl dug into them! He devoured that thing in five minutes by the way!

I thought this looked so cheerful! I sprinkled photofetti on the table for additional festivity

Here's a closer look at the photofetti. Loved it.

And here's the birthday boy showing off his moves and his favorite present.

Coincidentally, he took his very first step (minus help from walker, that is!) on his birthday, surrounded by family. I thought that was the coolest. Only sad part is nobody had a camera on hand to capture the moment... Oh well, I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities to capture first (well, second) steps on camera and film in the weeks to come.

Moving right along to June 9th (yep that was yesterday), which is my and my dad's birthday (true story!). I am now officially 31, and that means I'll have to post my list of things to accomplish in my thirties pretty soon. Since yesterday was a weekday, we didn't celebrate much yet (aside from breakfast in bed, a gift from my boys, and going for ice cream after dinner...wait that sounds like a celebration doesn't it?), so hubby is taking me out tonight. Think dinner, drinks and a hotel. Whoop whoop! (do people still say that or is the fact that I just said it testimony to me getting being old??)
And on Sunday the festivities continue with a backyard gathering at my dad's house. After all, it was his birthday, too!

The 29th is my mother-in-law's birthday, and then we have one spill-over in early July, when our little man Abe turns four! We suck at planning because his due date was June 24th but the little party pooper stayed put till July 8th. I'm thinking he didn't want to share a birth date :)

And that's all the birthday goodness for a while for us. November is another crazy birthday month, but luckily that's still a couple months away. So for now here's a big Happy Birthday to all you June-ers (not really a word, I know..)!!!

This weekend, I enjoyed a rare luxury: I was home alone. And by alone I mean really ALONE. My husband took our two kids on a yearly father-son weekend along with ten other dads and their kids. I love that they do this. It really benefits everyone: the fathers get to enjoy a weekend with their kids without us moms commenting on how we'd like to see certain things done (guilty as charged...), the kids get a fun-filled weekend with lots of friends to play with. The dads choose a different location for the weekend each year, but it's always a big country estate with lots of space for running around and a trampoline and such.

Here's dad with the little ones back in October

And for the moms...well, it's almost like a retreat at home haha. Seriously though, I had been thinking and planning on what to do with so much me-time all at once for weeks. Of course I had crammed my weekend so full that I didn't get around to doing everything (hey, what else is new?), but here's the rundown of my blissful weekend.
On Saturday, I called a shopping day. How awesome to spend the entire morning and afternoon in downtown Amsterdam without a single worry about grocery shopping, cooking etc. I shopped for a wedding that we'll be attending next Saturday, and got myself some new make up as well. At seven I met up with my (single and free-as-a-bird) friend for an excellent dinner followed by a movie and some drinks in a bar. The next morning I slept in till noon! I'll admit I felt a little like a teenager then, but hey, enjoy it while you can. Sunday afternoon was spent working on some of my projects I'd like to have finished in the coming weeks. And then my wonderful husband and kids returned home, exhausted but having had a great time together. And I had missed them :)
And now the week has begun again and everything is back to normal, with the small (but oh so important) exception that my battery is fully (re)charged. Thank you dads!

It's the beginning of summer (well almost) and my mind wanders to travels near and far. In reality, we haven't made any travel plans yet; thinking of a spur of the moment getaway later this summer. I'm hoping we'll do a city trip, if for no other reason than having an excuse to buy one of these:

image from palomarweb.com

I found them a few weeks ago when browsing around one of my favorite Amsterdam stores. They are crumpled city maps from palomarweb.com, and they are meant to be crumpled up and thrown into your bag without the hassle of folding and re-folding. Isn't that awesome? They are available for such cool places as Sydney, Tokyo, London, New york and Amsterdam. Also they are super durable, lightweight and 100% water proof!
This is definitely on my wish list, because I'm famously terrible at re-folding paper maps... I just wish they made road maps of these as well. Would you like one of these or do you prefer the classic paper kind?

Wanderings of the mind

Doesn't it seem that when you've just kinda settled in a certain way that change is bound to be right around the corner? Sometimes it's lurking, waiting to surprise you, other times it's change you've been expecting. Well, we are gearing up for some changes (of the expected type) around here in the coming months. Obviously our world was rocked by the arrival of our second little baby boy last June, and now that we're preparing to celebrate his first birthday, we've settled back into a nice rhythm. The change we are expecting now, is our older son Abe starting pre-school in September. Can I just say here that I am utterly amazed at how fast one grows from nursing baby to ready-for-pre-school. Really knocks-my-socks-off amazed.

Abe will turn four in July, thereby ending his days in daycare. Feels like yesterday when I first dropped him off there and left all teary-eyed; in reality, though, that was three-and-a-half years ago... I'm so curious to know how he'll do in pre-school. Will he be overwhelmed by going there every day instead of his two-day-a-week daycare? Will he like all the other kids? And his teachers? I'm also curious to know how his new schedule will affect our family rhythm. Daycare is super flexible compared to pre-school here when it comes to drop-off and pick-up times.
I will embrace the change (even though sometimes I wish I could stop time) because it it exciting, and it means we are moving forward and my little baby big boy Abe is growing. So bring it on change, we are ready for you!

in love with those socks!

All images from bobochoses.com

I just found this Amsterdam based label and I'm in love with their clothes and motto: "Organic apparel for the little minimalist." Too cute! Here's a couple items from their collection that I'm coveting.

Photos from Gray Label