Piece of Cake

Another year for Jason. Hip, hip HOORAY!!!

The weekend before his birthday we went out to the restaurant of his choice, which was an Asian-fusion buffet. The day of his birthday it was a birthday breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is it any surprise that he loves food?

In the afternoon Atticus eagerly helped put up some decorations.

Trying to blow up a balloon.

birthday banner

The birthday boy's pick for dinner was homemade pizza, with extra olives, and carrot cake with cream cheese icing for dessert. 

The cake ready for some birthday singing.

The birthday boy was pretty excited to bite into all that sugary icing and cake!

Blowing out the candles

Atticus was pretty excited when he realized that he got a piece of cake too. He also couldn't wait to show Jason the card that he helped Mommy make for Daddy, he even "helped" sign his name on the card!

A day full of sweets and treats. The evening wrapped up with Jason opting for more cake and an old Jimmy Stewart movie. Jason enjoyed receiving so many thoughtful birthday wishes from family and friends. Thanks for the love!

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Painting...

It took a lot of courage but we finally did it, we let Atticus try out painting. 

And wouldn't you know it - he loves it. The colors, the textures, the messes, he loves it all. He is pretty serious about it too; he wants to turn page after page into a masterpiece. And we learned very quickly that paint time needs to be scheduled right before bath time.

Atticus hard at work

The artwork for the day

The artist's hands

Atticus will definitely be getting more time to paint, we just need to work on coming up with some creative and fun ways for him to experiment.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

St Patrick's Day

Our St. Patrick's Day was pretty low key. The day before, Atticus and I did a color-sorting activity that involved putting together a special treat for Daddy. It was the first "official" color-sorting that we have really tried to have Atticus do and we couldn't believe how much he enjoyed it.

We started with Skittles; one bag of fun packs. Yes, skittles. And no, Atticus did not eat any. Pretty sure he had no idea that they were even edible (although, them being edible is slightly subjective). Atticus helped me open up all the packages and pour them into one container.

I put out five small paper plates on the table (one for each Skittle color) and placed a few Skittles of the same color on each plate. Then, I showed Atticus how to pick one Skittle out of the container and place it on the plate with the corresponding color. Then away he went. He was focused and very determined.

Atticus went through the whole container of Skittles and then wanted to start over again! 

sorting away

Then Atticus layered each color into a little jar. We closed it up and tied on a little rainbow card with a message for Daddy about how lucky we are to have him as our "pot of gold". Yes, it was cheesy but we like cheese. Not to mention, we are pretty lucky.

All ready for Daddy! It was layered by color, but a couple quick shakes from Atticus remedied that.

Atticus surprised Daddy on St. Patrick's Day after breakfast by giving him a jar of rainbow candy for him to keep on his desk at work. And Daddy loved it. Although, Daddy would love anything that came from Mommy and Atticus - especially when it's edible.

The boys looking pretty good for 6am. Daddy reading the card.

Of course we did have some Irish Colcannon for dinner, to get our fill of green food. 

A delicious day.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Under the Sea

We made a trip to the North Sea last weekend. While it may not have been very far away and exotic, it was definitely a fun morning road trip for us. And with the sun shining and only a light breeze, it was the perfect day for a walk along the promenade.

We began by going to Sea-Life in Scheveningen. We were unsure how much Atticus would enjoy it, but figured it was worth a shot. Well, he loved it. It was so exciting to see his face light up every time he saw a new fish. He would eagerly point out his discoveries to us to make sure that we didn't miss seeing it as well. When we went through the sea-tunnel, his jaw dropped as he watched a turtle swim over his head. The facilities are not quite as large as some similar places we have been, but with a small child it was the perfect length of time and we all enjoyed the outing. The only downside to our visit was Atticus' wipeout that resulted in a carpet burn on the right side of his face - poor Little Man. It was nothing some hugs, kisses and banana couldn't fix though (not to mention the new book and ball that he came home with).

(Side Note:::For those who live nearby and have thought of checking out Sea-life, our advice is to leave the stroller in the car. Yes, the facilities are stroller accessible, but the strollers are just a pain to maneuver around the narrow hallways and the other strollers. Use a carrier if your child is still very young, or just let the child walk on their own. Our visit took about one hour in length, but could have taken longer if we opted to catch some of the hourly feedings. It is also currently under renovation, but all the exhibits were still open.)

About to head in.

Helping Atticus get a better view.

Jason trying to keep up with Atticus.

Atticus off to the next fish tank. (Good thing those mittens have strings...)

Then we ate a healthy snack on the beach before we indulged in deliciously sweet treats on the promenade (churros and gelato - yum!). We were able to walk the promenade and the pier at our leisure and enjoy the sunshine. The morning was a real pleasure!

Walking along the promenade.

Blue skies, light breeze. Beautiful.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Shopping...

When the day has been rather hectic and dinner is running behind schedule it is an oddly satisfying feeling to turn around and see that Atticus is anxiously engaged in an activity that interests him. And what is it that he does?

He goes shopping in our pantry with his activity walker, of course.

This particular day, he decided to buy five jars of pasta sauce (he paid Mommy in hugs and kisses). But, what does a 20-month-old do with five jars of pasta sauce?

He organizes them...

...in a line on his puzzle mat that was also placed in a line. (You can even see the big, proud smile on his face in this photo.)

When he returned the pasta sauce to the "store", he was repaid ten-fold with hugs and kisses.

Tender moments like these more than make up for the days when Atticus isn't so content with Mommy needing to make dinner. We love him on every day though.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Saturday Afternoon Birthday Fun

Last Saturday afternoon it was off to a double-birthday celebration for brothers, Noah (4) and Lukas (1). Suzanne and Brian put together a wonderful party. There were games, food and plenty of fun. Atticus was pretty excited about the game 'Pin the Tail on Bullseye' (the horse from Toy Story). The kids (and parents) even went on a musical parade to the nearest playground to get their wiggles out before dinner; what a brilliant idea!

We all had a lot of fun and enjoyed the company.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

Love,
-The Clog Crew

Getting ready to march and play

Atticus doing his best to keep up. He would not let us carry him...

Atticus loved this bridge!

Saturday Morning Birthday Fun

Yesterday morning we enjoyed an outing to the Naturalis Museum (Natural History Museum) with Leah, Jan and Evia, who recently turned 2. It is such a joy to see Atticus and Evia play so well together.

Atticus and Evia simulating an earthquake

close-up of Atticus and the display

Atticus found and pushed all the buttons in the museum that he could...

this display was a particular favorite for Atticus

trying to match up the animals

And of course, there was snack time; for Atticus, Evia and for the giant ladybug.

Snacking on some raisins

Atticus feeding an aphid to the ladybug

And while the ladybug ate, Jason sneakily took a family photo of the Prins family. The girls were on to him though...

Then it was time for the adults to eat. Jason got quite the laugh out of our bicycle convoy to get to the cafe for lunch, particularly since we had two bakfiets in the line-up.

here we are waiting at a red light. Jan, Leah and Evia in the front. Laura and Atticus coming up the rear. Jason is taking the photo (obviously...)

It was definitely a fun and enjoyable morning with great friends.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Climbing to new heights

Atticus is a climber.

We have known that a while, but we did not realize just how well he could climb until this week.

We were waiting for Jason to get home for dinner and he was running a little later than we planned so Atticus was getting very hungry. After many failed attempts to try and divert Atticus' attention from food it was time to start him on dinner early. In the time that it took to get his bib from the kitchen, Atticus had already climbed into his highchair by himself and was looking pretty proud of himself.

Unfortunately we did not have a camera to document that first attempt. However, he happily showed off his new skill after dinner for Daddy's benefit and was more than happy to smile for the camera then.

He definitely keeps us on our toes. Enjoy the photos.

Love

-The Clog Crew

"Daddy, are you watching?"

"Mommy, do you have the camera ready?"

"Here I go!" ....it was about here that we got a little nervous about the stability of the high chair and the camera was put down....