Four Years Later

She would have loved this day…I hope she is proud of us and this new adventure. My sweet Baby Brigade girls had flowers sent to let me know they were thinking of me on this anniversary. It was the first year I wasn’t home with family and able to visit my mom’s grave. Thankfully we had a spectacular day here in the Netherlands and I was able to take some quiet time to think about mom and reminise.

Pedicures and Date Night

Tea Time and pedicures with my girlfriend Georgie

Hired our first Dutch babysitter and hit the town for some steak! The boys didn’t like the sitter (said she was super boring) but it was so nice to get away for a little bit and have some adult time!

School Days

All smiles for the second day of school…that didn’t last long :(

Nolan is having a really tough time with the school drop off and basically breaks my heart every single day I have to leave him. He sobs uncontrollably and begs me not to leave. You can imagine what kind of torture that is. Carter is a star, and even though he is a little anxious, he goes to class every morning and tries his best. I am not sure how long this will go on with Nolan but hoping his teacher is doing every thing she can to help this sweet boy transition into the new school. He is the only student that does not speak Dutch so it has been beyond overwhelming for him.

Sent from Nolan’s teacher so I could see he doesn’t cry the entire day…

Soaking off the grime from a full week of school

First Day of Dutch School

The boys started Dutch school and even though we were all pretty nervous, the first day was a success! We had practiced biking the route to school many times this summer so I was confident I could get them there on time and without getting lost! This was going to be a HUGE change for Nolan going a full day of school and to say I was anxious was an understatement.

While the boys were at school I met up with Anna Carlin who was a friend of my neighbor Tania Carullo. She had been living in Amsterdam for over a year and has three boys! She invited me to the American Women’s Club of Amsterdam meeting where we spent the morning getting to know each other and playing a speed dating type game to meet all the new members. It certainly helped pass the time while the boys were at school and before I knew it, it was time to pick them up!

Natuurspeeltuin Het Woeste Westen

The Netherlands is famous for their nature playgrounds and the one in Westerpark is amazing! Kids can be as wild as their little hearts desire and with acres of fenced in land to explore, there are hours of adventures to be had! Dutch parents are very hands off but letting my guys out of sight is still quite tough for a former helicopter parent lol I don’t think they minded me watching their play time and I managed to capture some really special photos of our last day of summer vacation.