Willems 1st Day at Preschool

Willem was very excited about his 1st day of school. We had gone into the classroom the week prior for a tour and he had met Teacher Roseanne and Teacher Sara. He quickly found a train set and was right at home. I on the other hand was really nervous and a bit sad that he would be gone all morning.

Willem's 1st, 1st day of school picture

Proudly carrying his lunchbox and wheeling his backpack

After school Willem took a long nap and then cuddled with Ellie. He had missed her a lot! When I asked him what he did at school that day he told me "play trains"

August 2010

August was filled with fun times with friends and family, lots of 1sts for Ellie and was marked by a major milestone for Willem with the start of preschool.

Thanks to a few of our great friends along with generous Grandmas, Ellie has quite the wardrobe!! In general she is in whatever onesie happens to be within arms reach, but a few days we had fun playing dressup. Here is a picture of Ellie in her 1st pair of shoes.

Ellie hanging out with her friend. She's fascinated by stuffed animals.

This month Bandaids became a cure all for Willem's ailments. Bandaids can make any boo boo better immediately. We try and talk him out of putting them in his hair but after bumping his head on the counter, this is where he felt the bandaid was needed. (Fast forward 2 months, we now have a new bandaid rule... Bandaids are only for ouchies where blood is flowing. If not enacted, we would have needed to buy stocks in the Bandaid corporation. So far this month, no bandaids were handed out:)



We were able to spend quality time with Tia Julie this month which was great!! Tia Julie quickly realized that napping with Ellie was not possible as it has been with Willem as her best buddy Willem was ready to entertain as soon as little sister fell asleep. Visiting us is more like taking a vacation to a communal farm. Early wake up calls and physical labor:)

Ellie's 1st bath. She was pretty tired during this bath but she put up with it. After this go around we timed the baths better and they are a huge hit. Ellie lays back and relaxes and enjoys the pampering.

Ellie and Willem's 1st bath together. Sounds great in theory as it exponentially increases the chances of our children being bathed, however, decided we will hold off on tring this again for a few months. The water was quite relaxing for Ellie and soon we saw yellow bubbles rising in the tub. Willem was not too impressed with the 3 minute bath.

With the temperature falling to below 110 degrees this month,Jason and Willem ventured out on a bike ride.

Ellie sleeping peacefully with her Daddy and OomRik. This month Ellie has been our night owl. Back in the day a bedtime of 11pm or midnight would have been great, however with Jason getting up between 4 and 5 for work and Willem rising around 7, sleep is a much desired commodity around here. Once Ellie gets to sleep though, she sleeps like a champ. She's nowgoing 5-6 hours before feeding and likes to rise around 10 if we don't wake her prematurely for a family outing.

Gigi and Willem trying out the new swing.

Dad takes Willem on a train ride during our trip to the train park with Opa, Lita, Opi and Oom Rik. How could this have been Oom Rik's 1st trip there?? What awful city guides we have been.

4 Generations of Weiss'

Willem putting up with all this picture taking!!

Ellie loves being held while she sleeps so we found a creative way for her to sleep comfortably in her co-sleeper for times when we don't have multiple adults here anxiously awaiting their turn to hold her. Some may worry about this method, but it has worked great and gives her the pressure she needs on her belly to feel secure.

Smiles:)

Ellie's 1st time swimming. Those of you not in Phoenix may laugh, but it was a bit chilly that day with the temperature dropping to about 95 and it being around 4pm. (note the shade) Ellie and I didn't last too long but she did seem to enjoy being in the water.

Visitors from Afar & Waiting for Ellie

The Zitter and Weiss families came to visit us in Phoenix in hopes of getting a glimpse of little Ellie. They arrived on our due date (the 19th) and departed the morning of the 23rd. They did what they could to encourage her to come out, we walked a lot and ate some spicy food but at last, she did not appear until the 24th:)

Here are a few pics from their visit:

(Willem's new best friend Lisa, she played trains and watched oogles of train videos on youtube with him, we hope she returns soon:)

Just had to throw this one in because it was too cute! We think Willem is trying to imitate Oom Rik, for a few days he insisted on having his sunglasses, boy shoes and backpack with him in order to leave the house. He made a gift sack he'd received into his backpack and was happy as a clam. This is a picture of what he wore to the grocery store one day.

The day before Ellie was born, Willem woke up and asked to make a Birthday Cake. Our doula had suggested making a birthday cake during early labor as a way to celebrate the new addition to our family and prepare for her arrival. So it seems as though Willem had a strong intuition about what was going on... So the morning before Ellie was born, Grandma, Willem and I set out to make a birthday cake.

And of course we had to taste it after all that hard work...