Road Trip!

After driving 1628 miles (2620 km) in our station wagon I am proud to say that: 

1. I am still happily married, and 

2. we still have two children (each in one piece!) 

Last Friday morning we drug ourselves out of our cozy beds at 3am to begin on our 10 hour journey to visit GiGi and Papa Randy in North Carolina.

We hit Atlanta at 9 o'clock and although we missed rush-hour, there were still some lunatics rather unskilled drivers to deal with!

Max enjoyed hanging out in the backseat while he was sleeping

And Lucas was full of smiles!

After a surprisingly peaceful trip we arrived in NC just in time to celebrate cousin Owen's 5th birthday!

The last time we saw Miley (Owen's sister) she was only 2 days old!

Owen's party was held at Bounce U. It was a great place full of inflatables for the kids to play on!

GiGi entertained Lucas so Mommy could get some pictures!

Lucas showing off how strong he is :)

The birthday boy! 

And his parents, Kristi & Mikey

Even though we were tired, there was no time to rest! Saturday we headed into Winston-Salem to take the kids to the new Children's Museum. Max enjoyed climbing the beanstalk (from Jack & the Beanstalk/Sjaak en de bonestaak)

Lucas was just like Goldilocks and couldn't find a chair to fit him

Until we journeyed upstairs to the magical forest and he found one that was just right!

My green-eyed love

Yee-Haw! Max sure did make a cute cowboy!

And this little cow-dude was getting lots of attention from the ladies!

Apparently the kerchief wasn't a huge success in Frontierland!

Max loved fishing

But I think he enjoyed making donuts at the donut factory more!

GiGi also had some fun in the kitchen!

In fact, he enjoyed making donuts so much that we went to the real Krispy Kreme (read, best donuts in the world!) to enjoy a little sugary piece of heaven!

We really wanted to see our long-lost cousin Leroy while we were in NC, but unfortunately due to weather he was unable to make the drive from West Virginia. After Rob heard this news he yelled, "ROADTRIP!" and there we were, in the car to Bluefield, WV! After a lovely visit with Leroy we surprised Max by taking him sledding.

While the other kids were bundled up in their snowsuits, snow boots, and waterproof gloves. Our little Alabamian was rockin his peacoat, skinny jeans, soccer socks, and sketchers! Needless to say his little bum didn't stay warm for too long!

1, 2, 3

Whee!

And even though he had a few tumbles

He always popped back up with a smile!

Papa also enjoyed showing off his moves (or trying not to run into a tree!)

After we made it back to NC it was time to open Christmas and Birthday presents from GiGi and Papa Randy.

Lucas loves cruisin' around on his new Cars car

And Max was enthralled with his race track!

Of course the Christmas season isn't complete without a visit to Santa. And why aren't my kids looking at me and smiling you might ask? That's because their mom is too cheap to pay $25 for a picture and just brings her own camera ;)

Santa even gave me a dirty look for doing it! Looks like somebody is going to be on the naughty list this year! 

After Santa GiGi and Max went on the carousel. Apparently GiGi was too short to read the big red signs that said "NO ADULTS ON HORSES!"  

After a very busy trip we took a couple of hours to hang out by the lake and try out Max's new fishing pole.

There was a lot of waiting

But finally the boys got a bite! After reeling it in (almost) all by himself Max had caught his first fish!

Max, one very proud Papa, and one very unhappy fish*

High fives!

And fishy kisses were a great way to end a great trip!

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog!

The Birthday Boy!

Saturday we celebrated our one year old's first year of life

There were balloons

And of course lots of presents!

It's Dutch tradition to decorate the birthday boy's chair,

And while I was at it I decided to decorate the whole living room!

Opa and Lucas had lots of fun playing

And Lucas had lots of fun eating wrapping paper unwrapping his gifts

What could it be?! Horray! It's a 3 in 1 zebra from MiMi and Opa! (Coincidentally the same one that Mommy bought for him for Christmas!)

Why play with presents when there are bows to play with?!

Shake shake shake, shakin' his groove thang!

Can you guess what we had for dinner? Apparently he likes his mashed, not shaken or stirred!

He's a carrot top! Get it?! haha :)

My beautifully messy boy and his big innocent eyes!

Lucas's cake made by moi!

These candles were too cute to pass up!

Happy birthday to you! 

Mommy had to help blow out the candles!

Testing it out...

And the guest of honor gives approval!

Sinterklaas video!

Here's a play by play of how crazy fun our Sinterklaas evening was.

Just a few disclaimers before you watch:
1. This video is mostly in Dutch
2. It's 19 minutes, and was not edited because we thought our family in Holland would enjoy the whole "show"
3. Filmography is not my thing, so excuse the moments where I forgot that I was videoing and not taking pictures!

And last but not least, I will give you Americanos a background on what happens in the beginning of the movie. On pakjesavond (presents evening) a "zwarte piet" will knock on your door and throw cookies and candy inside and leave a bag full of presents by the door. I guess the Dutch thought it was more practical to drive around leaving presents at the door instead of making reindeer fly and having Santa get covered in soot from the chimney!

Finally... the feature presentation for your viewing pleasure!


Sinterklaas 2010 from Whitney Geenen on Vimeo.

Our 1 year old

My sweet Lucas,

This day last year I finally got to meet you. 

We had been trying for a little brother or sister for Max for quite a while, and were thrilled when we knew that we were going to be your parents. Besides some back pain, I had a great pregnancy, and before you were even born you had been to 5 different countries! The last couple months of my pregnancy Papa had to go on a deployment which made life a little more challenging for me! Two weeks before he came home you gave us quite a scare. I wasn't feeling you move that often and ended up spending a day in the hospital. Luckily you decided to perk up a bit which gave us all a sigh of relief!

Papa made it home 15 days before your birth and we were able to bring you into this world together. I immediately fell in love the first time I saw you. You were so beautiful and perfect, and I was so thankful to be the mommy to not one, but two little gingers!

Your big brother was also thrilled that you were finally here. He loves you so much and takes good care of you. (Most of the time anyway!) 

The first few months were challenging to say the least. You didn't want to drink much, and most everything you did drink you spit up. Let's just say I did a lot of laundry those days! Aside from not drinking you screamed almost every minute that you weren't sleeping or being held. But alas, you were still my beautiful son that I loved and we just went with your flow!

By 4 months you were starting to get the hang of things. We switched your formula and it was like night and day, you were finally a happy little baby!

As soon as it started getting warm we spent as much time as possible outside. You loved rolling around on the ground and eating grass. In fact, you are now 1 and still love eating grass! 

You've always had a strong character to say the least! 

And I probably have more cross-eyed pictures of you than you would like!

You've always loved the water, and sometimes when you are really upset I just put you in the bathtub to calm you down. It's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!

Even though you don't always smile, you are still the sweetest baby in the world

and I will always cherish every moment I have with my rosy-cheeked little cherub! 

Happy first birthday sweet boy! I will love you forever and always! 

xxx

Mommy