Stop following me!

Wyatt is very...needy. I love him more than anything, but sometimes I need to put him down and have him entertain himself for a few minutes, without getting into trouble--and rarely does that happen. Usually if I put him down he'll cry once I leave the room, or find something he's not supposed to play with (even though I've scattered his own toys around him). The other thing he does, now that he's mobile, is to follow me around while I'm doing whatever needs to get done. Today, after we came home from the store, I went to the stairs and climbed up the first 3 steps to look in a mirror across the stairway (I had just bought a shirt and wanted to make sure it looked okay...). I was just about done, when I looked down and there was Wyatt...trying to climb the stairs. He's never given our stairs a sideways glance, and I'm pretty sure he never knew they existed for his entertainment. Thankfully the camera was close by so I could catch him in the act, without having him repeat it...I don't want him to think he's allowed to do this.

And on a side note, when Wyatt gives me kisses, like this one, he likes to pretty much eat my face...which leaves me all gummed up and slobbery :) But I love them nonetheless and will take all the kisses he gives me!

One little monkey, jumping on the bead...

...he fell off and broke his head!!

No, not really. But he did bonk his head on the side of the bed...It's a fact: the day hasn't TRULY started until Wyatt hits his head on something. As you'll notice in this picture, he's got some fine bruises and bumps going on. *sigh*

It's so sad to see them go...

This last week we had family from Holland visit and stay at my parents house. We only get to see them when they come on vacation to the states, which only happens RARELY. The last time I saw them was over 3 years ago before Jeff and I were married and before that it was in 2004, and then before that I think it was when we went to visit them when I was 10. Yeah. So it's a pretty huge occasion when they're here and we like to spend most every moment enjoying each others' company. Thankfully I was able to get off work this last week and see them the WHOLE time! It was wonderful! Especially since their visit coinsided with Tim's return!

(*side note: my dad has 8 other brothers and sisters, but we only see this family most of the time because they are the only ones who really come to the US to visit...which means that I haven't seen or met half of my cousins in the Netherlands because they have been born since I went back in 1998...it's depressing.)

Anyway, they left today, and it was a very teary event. It always pulls at my heartstrings when I have to see them go...the next time I'll see them, they'll each be much older and will have changed AGAIN. I always envy other families who have relatives close by and get to participate in family events and grow up as friends. Haha, it always makes me laugh when we have to 'reunite' and become reaquainted with each other--it's very awkward and almost tense. But thankfully that never lasts and by the end it's like we'd always been together. I love them SO MUCH.

Until next time, we love you!!

Crazy Dutch.

He's HOME!!

After 2 whole years, that went by both quick and slow, Tim is FINALLY home!! He arrived Thursday night at 6:40pm, and we were all super excited and happy to see him! When asked, I said I wasn't going to cry, but when the moment came I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't stop myself...everyone else was crying too, so I guess we're all just big babies :)

These are some pictures while we were waiting for Tim's flight to arrive....

A group shot of all the cousins and Amy (from left to right):

Saskia, Jeff & Wyatt, Sanne, Marloes, Tom, Grace, Emma, Ben, Me, Amy, and my dad

This is Amy, the "girlfriend," whom we all adore ;)
We made a sign, and if you can't read it, it says "Welcome Home Tim"

This is the best movie ever made...be prepared with some Kleenex.

Tim's Arrival

And these are just a few of my other favorite pictures...




Tim's best friends were there to greet him too
Tim's first meeting with Wyatt...

Wyatt wasn't too sure what to think about this new face, haha

And what was Tim's one request for when he came home? A hamburger and strawberry shake from In 'N Out :)

Graduated from the carseat...

Wyatt has been able to sit up since he was 4 months. I, however, have always kept him in his carseat whenever we go out places like the grocery store...or any store, really. I always thought it was better that way because he only had one option: STRAPPED IN. And that way, I would always be in control of every situation.

But lately (because he's been so much more interactive) I figured he might like a little freedom...maybe some room to move around and actually look at stuff? I just hoped he wouldn't freak out for one reason or another...and once again, I underestimated my little Wyatt. He was perfect. He was completely mesmerized by the whole ordeal and loved all the attention from other Costco shoppers...

Biggest SCARE of our lives.

*deep sigh*

I'm still getting over the adrenaline and anxious feelings I was having...

Alright, let me start off by saying EVERYTHING IS OKAY. We had the biggest scare of our lives, but it turned out OKAY. No one was hurt.

So. Let me set the scene: I was upstairs folding laundry, Wyatt was asleep in bed, and Jeff had just come upstairs to change his clothes to go running. We said our goodbyes, and as he's walking down the hallway to the stairs, he whispers, 'Rachael, come here! Do you smell that??' and as I rush over to him I smell the distinct scent of something burning. I can't tell you how instantly terrified I became...in seconds all I was thinking about was how our house was on fire and we NEEDED to find it SOON. We immediately started sniffing around trying to discover the source of the smell. We both quickly turned to Wyatt's room because just last night Jeff had installed a ceiling fan. We opened his door, but it smelled fine...and besides that, his fan was off. We then thought that maybe it was something in the attic. Wyatt's room has an attic access, and Jeff had been investigating the storage space up there that afternoon...maybe he had accidentally disrupted a wire or something?? We were going CRAZY. I was going up and down the stairs sniffing everywhere, but the problem was that where ever I smelled it the worst, there was no cause for a burn, i.e. no outlets nearby, no burnt out lightbulbs, nothing. None of the bedrooms smelled like it, but the hallway and stairs did. We even went outside to see if it was something out there...but no. We were really worried that it was something inside the walls because we couldn't see any smoke and the alarms weren't going off, but it smelled SO STRONG. Just as we were about to call the fire department, we FINALLY found the source...

...and with a HUGE sigh of relief, we realized it was...

...our dishwasher.

Apparently one of the plastic spoons fell from the top rack onto the heating ring on the bottom and completely melted it.

We figured that since all the bedroom/bathroom doors were closed the smell was concentrated in the hallways...the kitchen, weirdly enough, didn't smell as bad?? Well, that was until Jeff opened the dishwasher door...

So, moral of the story: Plastic sucks.

I looked out the window and what did I see...?

So we cleaned out the spare bedroom and reorganized it a bit...

...we moved the twin bed under the window and it's now Wyatt's FAVORITE spot in the whole house...

He gets to crawl around on the bed, play with toys, AND look out the window!! (Yes, I sing that song to him constantly now, haha...)

This is his newest toy:

He hasn't quite mastered how to keep control of it...or himself while he's holding it...

We all have a good time playing on the bed...like a bunch of monkeys...

...but anyway...

The REAL reason of the re-organization of the room was for THIS!!

We got a computer!! FINALLY!! We're so happy to have our own little office space now where Jeff can do his homework and I can do my blogging :)