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....

The Toy Stash...

Little by little Atticus has been accumulating too many toys to fit in the small bin that we had been keeping them in. In an attempt to bring some order to our living room we headed to Ikea a few weeks ago to purchase a storage unit to put all the toys in. 

We made a little play area for Atticus and it was a big hit! He loves it, and we love that he puts his toys away.

Enjoy the photos.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

Atticus' cozy corner.

checking it out for the first time

He approves!

It was only a matter of time before he found a new purpose for the toy bins AND drooled all over his shirt. But check out that cheeky face!

Ready to go for a ride.

Saturday is a special day

After two consecutive weekends of being sick and stuck inside we were finally able to get out. We were all very excited.

In the morning we had a couple errands to run before we were off to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Antiquities Museum). It is one of our favorite museums and they have a temporary exhibit that we have been wanting to see for a while; Egyptian Magic.

Our first visit was to the children's section that was set up where Atticus colored a picture and tried his hand at building a pyramid out of Lego. He sure enjoyed that and it was one of those parental moments where we couldn't believe how much he has grown up.

(just a heads up that some of the pictures are a little blurry on account of no flash photography in the museum)

Coloring

Getting out some building supplies for the pyramid.

Then it was on to the exhibit which included a great variety of items and interesting information about the history and importance of Egyptian Magic. 

Laura and Atticus about to head into the exhibit

Jason next to a statue Prince Khaemweset who is often referred to as the 'first Egyptologist'

There were plenty of items that caught Atticus' eye.

There were even a couple mentions of the Mormon religion including a book by Hugh Nibley which explains why there are Egyptian papyri that contain a message that is of particular interest to Latter-day Saints. 

After a busy morning, we opted for a more relaxed afternoon and went for a family walk. It was so nice to have a whole day to spend together.

It may have only been a Saturday but it felt like a mini-holiday to us and it truly was special.

Love,

-The Clog Crew

"love is really spelled t-i-m-e..."---Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy 14th of February!

While we are all still battling various degrees of being sick we ventured out this morning to an appointment with our midwife. The baby is doing well and is growing very quickly. The midwife showed me how to feel for the baby and identify the head and the bottom. When we heard the heart beat Atticus gave us a huge grin. It was a really nice visit to make on Valentine's Day.

We are well over half way there. Here is the last 'Bump-Picture' I have taken; it was taken at 25 weeks. 

(And yes, there is a bump...)

Tonight we are focusing on time together as a family and celebrating that time with heart-shaped french toast topped with warm berries for dinner. Then it will be a movie night with an old classic, we just haven't decided which classic it will be. We all love those old, black and white movies (Atticus included).


Hope you all have a wonderful day and week.

Love,

-The Clog Crew


~ PS ~
If you would like to watch the talk from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf where he discusses why "love is really spelled t-i-m-e..." then you can click here. It is a wonderful talk about the importance of slowing down and enjoying the things that matter most.