At home
With a proud dad and her big brother
Soooo cute. The eyes appear darker then with Rick.
Kaat's timing was much appreciated, because she was born early Janko & Rebecca (and Jannes and Ana Louise) got to meet her before moving to Brunei tomorrow.
Doesn't she look like her dad?
Day 2
Kaat is already showing that you do not need to be big to 'claim your space'.
Isn't she pretty!
And we are going home! The stupid rules say I have to be in a wheelchair......
Kaat does not care much what she is seated in.
She is here!
Our Baby Girl made an appearance on January 24th, 20:39hrs Houston time. Despite being 'officially' 2.5 weeks early she is a healthy 3170 grammes and 48 cm (7 lbs, 19 Inch). Her name is Kaat Wikke and she appears to be in top shape.
We are very happy and very proud and the delivery was pretty smooth and she did not give me too hard a time.
What a miracle!
We thinks she very obvious Rick's sibling
although after her 1st bath this morning we also started to see some clear differences.....the hair fortunately for her!
Thanks the delivery I feel pretty good as you can tell
Rick got to meet his sister this afternoon. He ran into the room, called out 'Baby!' and proceeded to give her a big welcome kiss on the cheek. He can say Kaat or Kaatje very well already.
No major fit of jealousy (yet), just some genuine interest (not too long of course -;)
And wanting to share his sandwich with Kaat, getting a little annoyed when dad insisted she did not need any bread.
Welcome Kaat - we are all so happy you are here.
For those of you into the details, she is already feeding very well (within the hour she did a first 20 min session), we likely get to go home Wednesday am or noon, yes we are fine with people calling her Kate and Rick was in the care of our Dutch friends Joost & Marlouke the night Kaat was born (and in day care during the day). I had a natural delivery and Eelco did a stellar job supporting me throughout. I have some discomfort but can get by on normal ibuprofin so nothing to complain about.
More projects
Awaiting the arrival of a baby is.....well I guess in our case by now pretty annoying. I feel like a walking time bomb and am still not sure what symptoms to look for (As I never noticed being in labor last time around.....) so we are trying our best to find more projects around the house. Fortunately we had one still to finish. Rick's play house....
As you can see it takes quite an Apron to cover that belly.
Fortunately the temperatures are good enough to do this outside and not be bothered by pain fumes.
Rick found some brushes too and found it hugely entertaining to see us at work
60% through the paint job the new mom was out of breath so Eelco had to finish the job
Starts to look very good right!?
Rick's bigger boy room
As we moved out the changing table Rick's room is officially no longer a baby room. In return for the changing table Rick got some Toy storage chests or boxes made by his dad and a cosy 'crash' corner to hang out in and be read to. Herewith some pictures of the result.
The Baby room
Upon request - finally some pictures of the room for our little girl.
We are kind off 90% done so practically we are ready enough. Not sure about the mental state
The room has a light orange base color and a bird theme as you can see.
Cute birds everywhere, and of course Eelco's changing table has a central location again.
We think it looks pretty cozy and are very happy with the result. Rick has tested each and every pillow in the room and loves those too.
Big Brother Prep
Rick appears to be sensing something is about to happen. He has grown again and is getting more independent by the day. Although not always verbal Rick is perfectly capable to make clear what he wants and is pretty persistent till he gets it. Today it meant 2 toddler pasta meals as soon as he came home from school (ravioli w spinach & cheese and one with carrot and chicken) followed by an apple.
Less and less does Rick let us feed him or cut things up for him. He wants to do it all himself.
Good thing is he does not complain about the seeds in the apple etc and just eats the lot! Mjummie!
PS Yes I know the hair is really getting pretty long but I cannot cut those lovely curls. I just can't! And yes Rick is wearing shorts as I forgot to replenish the spare clothes at school and Rick had a little accident. Fortunately he is pretty warm blooded and it was nice today in Houston so he was just fine.
MLK Day
Today it is Martin Luther King Day in the US. It is a Federal Holiday (i.e. observed nationally) on the 3rd Monday in January. The proposers of the Holiday (the labor unions) had a hard time originally getting the proposed Holiday through congress etc when it was first proposed in 1979. Stevie Wonder apparently wrote his hit single 'Happy Birthday' especially for the lobbying efforts (I bet Eelco did not even know that useful pub-quiz fact -;). Since 1983 the National Holiday has been effected into the Federal law and only since 1986 has it been observed.
Here in Texas the schools are closed and I assume the day is observed by federal institutions, employees and services but we notice very little as the day care is not closed on days like these and Texas of course is not 'very federal oriented'. We as non federal employees here in Texas get One what is called 'personal' day. This Personal day we can use for whatever relevant Holiday fits us personally but is not a by the state regulated day off for all. i.e. we can use our personal day for MLK day, for Cinco de Mayo (Mexican), for Columbus day, for Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras for those from Louisiana) or for the Dutch Sinterklaas.
My personal Holiday in 2010 was spend on 'Maartje day' - pampering at the day spa & shopping!
The ways your life changes with kids....
Change # 157 - You do not get to open your own presents anymore
Change # 158 - Someone else gets to play with your new presents before you do
Starting the new year
We kind of had the 'morning after effect' the first few days of the new year. Fleur was over to visit and on a very well deserved study break so we excelled in doing......well not much at all really.
We had a very laid back New Years eve at Wouter & Cindy's. Rick loved the dogs although he maintained a 5cm cm 'safe limit' - no touching!
Fleur was happy to entertain Rick outside enjoying the difference in temperature compared to Toronto
As usual we had endless debates about all sorts of things for which there was no need to leave the house -;)
Rick tried to eat his own pasta whilst wearing his xmas hat - he ate most of the pasta and meat. You can tell where the sauce went....
and unpacked all his toys for us spending the day wondering from one to the next with a book or a toy or giving us each an instrument to form a 'house band'.
Yes there is bolognese sauce on his diaper and yes it was his choice to wear the clogs but no pants and not to be wiped clean.
We occasionally left the house for some food if we where too lazy to cook.
Unfortunately we had to get into gear after that. We had to go back to work, Eelco hurt his back and could not do much although he made it to LA and New Orleans 2nd half of the week, and Fleur had to go home. There are baby rooms to prep, dr's to be seen and the xmas decoration has to come down to make space for this weekends Birthday.
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