The Newest Mrs. Donovan

One of the main reasons to come back in October, was that one of my best friends from college was getting married. I had the opportunity to be in her wedding, which was a lot of fun. It was so great to get all of us back together, and we had a lot of fun. Another terrific part of the wedding weekend for me was that Mom and Dad Huisman took care of Carsten, and I spent ~14 hours away from him (I saw him briefly, but I did not care for him really), which for me, was a luxury. It's amazing how relaxed I could be when I did not have to split my focus in 15 different directions when I'm caring for Carsten. Carsten had good reports from Mom and Dad, so hopefully that means he was a perfect angel :). Thanks Mom and Dad for watching him!  Here are some photos from the wedding weekend!

Kim, my rehearsal dinner date. Oh, and Jeffrey.

Roomies!

Sooooo fun!

Pretty flowers :).

Our dresses had pockets!

Corrie and I

My fav

Corrie's fav

First dance!

The wedding itself was fun, but I think the best part was the amazing dance. I've never been to a dance where the dance floor was full all night and typically there were more men than women dancing. Corrie and Ross also danced pretty much the entire time, which was amazing :). And man oh man, Ross and Corrie's respective fathers were both tearing up the dance floor. So fun!

Michigan - Week 1

Carsten had stayed awake for the majority of our traveling, so we got on the Eastern Time Zone schedule pretty quickly. He did a good job taking naps, and I usually had to wake him up from his afternoon nap because he was sleeping too long (I think he was in his night-time sleep mode).

As expected, we had a wonderful time with Andy's family in Michigan our first week in Michigan. It was a joy to see Carsten interact with his cousins, especially the twins who are only a couple of months older than Carsten. I think one of my favorite memories was when Carsten chased Vivienne across the kitchen where they both stopped at the step down to the family room. They stood there for a moment until Carsten very casually pushed Vivienne down the step. Don't worry, she was just fine. I think it sticks in my mind because it seemed to be a 'what will this do?' moment for Carsten. Another similar moment was when his 4 month old cousin was in the jumperoo, and Carsten enthusiastically started bouncing her (see photo below). We won't encourage this behavior, but I think it goes to show that kids will come up with stuff like that on their own without prompting.

Carsten helping Julia jump.

Carsten also loved watching and chasing after his older cousins and really seemed to enjoy the new environment. He did not have too much stranger anxiety, and I think it really helped that Mom and Dad Huisman had come with us from Switzerland directly, so he knew them really well before we traveled to Michigan. Mom and Dad have a wonderful yard which was fenced in and since the weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time we were there, we had a ton of fun playing in the yard. Here are quite a few photos of cousin play time:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord :)

 My brother took a job in Holland this summer, so we were able to see him while we were there. Thanks for hanging out with us so much Luke! Carsten enjoyed it very much :).

Uncle Luke and Carsten!

 Feeding 3 toddlers is a challenge, but at Bonnie's B&B, we managed just fine :). So amazing to watch!

Carsten got to play with Andy's old trucks.

Love this :).

Great photo of 4/6 of the cousins!

All 6 grandchildren! Quite a challenge to get this photo...

Uncle Jeff with the boys!

We had so much fun, and it was fun to see Carsten enjoy playing with his cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Thanks everyone for taking time out of your schedules to see us! :)

I should also add that Mom and Dad Huisman were amazingly helpful with Carsten, especially when I wanted to get a few things done like some shopping and a haircut. What an amazing treat for me to have babysitters! :)

Planes, trains, and automobiles

September 29 marked our 2nd international trip with Carsten. This time, Carsten could walk and I was pretty nervous about the flight. Mom and Dad Huisman were brave enough to fly next to us on the way home. And surprisingly, Carsten did amazingly well. He slept for the first 30 min (he had missed his morning nap because we were traveling to the airport and going through security), and then pretty much played happily. He was a bit wiggly, so we walked up and down the aisles a few times and waved at other passengers as we walked by. Most people were very nice except for the older man directly in front of our seat. Anytime his seat was touched he turned around and glared at me. I think Carsten inadvertently touched his seat about once every 30 minutes, which for the record is pretty good because economy seating is super close together, so we were actually doing a pretty good job of keeping his legs and arms in check. Anyway, the guy made the trip a little more stressful for me, but I can honestly say the more he glared and was a jerk the less inclined I was to try to keep Carsten from touching his seat (although I did so anyway). So, for the future when you fly, it pays to be nice to people, especially those who have children because most likely, they are already doing their best with a difficult situation.

Carsten started looking a litlte sleepy, so we gave him benadryl because we had heard that it helps kids sleep. Total mistake. He pretty much just woke up and got a bit crazy. So, we walked the aisles and tried to watch a TV show. He finally fell asleep with about 45 minutes left of the flight and slept for 30 minutes. The last 15 minutes he cried mostly because I think he wanted to sleep, but couldn't. And it was super late in our original time zone, so he was tired. We finally got off the plane in Chicago, made it through customs, and back in through security to our gate. Our flight was slightly delayed, so I took the opportunity to put Carsten in the Moby wrap and he fell asleep in about 5 min. It was SUPER windy (Windy City huh?), and we had to walk outside to get to our small plane to Grand Rapids, but he still managed to stay sleeping. Carsten slept the whole plane ride, which helped me out because I was feeling pretty tired. We arrived and all our bags made it, which is always a relief. Friends of Mom and Dad picked us up at the airport and brought us home, which was amazing. Carsten woke up during the transfer to the car seat, but fell asleep shortly afterwards and continued. At the house I put him to bed and he still went back to sleep, which was wonderful. What a kid :).

In one long day, we traveled by plane, train, and automobile. :)

Last week of Mom and Dad Huisman in Switzerland

I've had quite the hiatus from blogging since we have been having so much seeing family and friends. I need to write an update of our last week in Switzerland with Mom and Dad Huisman. Andy and I went on a 'date' to church while Mom and Dad watched Carsten so he would not pick up a cold in church nursery. Here's a photo of us all dressed up...

There was also a carnival going on for Octoberfest in Egg, so we spent some time riding the rides with Cartsen and Andy and I also got to go on a date where we rode bumper cars! Here's some photos:

Carsten and I riding the car ride. 

Bumper cars!

Mom, Dad, Carsten, and I went to the Rhein Falls during the week and were a bit dissapointed because it was completely foggy. However, Stein am Rhein was simply beautiful and we had a lot of fun spending the day together. Here are some photos of our fun day:

Foggy Falls

Sleepy baby

Stein am Rhein

Last morning in Switzerland! We've missed you Andy!

First night of bachelorhood

This morning I dropped Natalie, Carsten, Mom, and Dad off at the Zurich airport. After a little confusion about where to go, and once again a trip to the special check in desk as the kiosks wouldn't let us check in, we got them where they needed to be. Right now they are still in the air but I suppose now that Natalie is gone and will be busy I have to do a little blogging.

I hadn't realized how much our daily life is regulated by Carsten - wake up, eat, play, nap, eat, play, read, eat, sing, dance, bath, put to bed (not always in that order). So dropping Natalie et al. at the airport wasn't the hardest part of my day - it was coming home to a house which was mysteriously clean and quiet. It was not hearing Natalie say "Who's home for you?" and seeing Carsten crane his neck from the high chair to see me coming in the front door. It was not caring how much noise the kids on the playground were making, or how loud my computer speakers are playing. The quiet that we cultivate while Carsten is sleeping is somehow different than the silence here now.

Still, I'm going to try to use my free time well. Tonight I studied German for the first time in a few months, and tomorrow night I am going to an organ concert at the French Church in downtown Zurich that starts at 7 -- this would be only the third time I've stayed in Zurich in the evening. I took a day off Wednesday that I am going to make up for by working on Saturday, and I am hoping to get a ton done at work. Cooking could be a problem, as I have done virtually no shopping or cooking since we got to Zurich - but Natalie and my Mom have left me a lot of homemade food in the freezer to help get me started. Maybe I'll even finish editing a video - I think I am about 6 months behind on my monthly video series.

Gaining independence :)

Mom and Dad Huisman have been helping out more and more with Carsten as their time progresses here. Carsten has gotten used to them and enjoys finding both Grandma and Grandpa around the house. They have let us go on a date, and are starting to get into Carsten's routine.

Friday night Andy and I went to a movie in Zurich after Carsten had an early bedtime thanks to a no afternoon nap day. This felt very weird to us because we have not left Egg in the evenings except for 1 dinner at Andy's boss' house, and we especially have not left without Carsten. We also have not been in Zurich in the evening when it's dark, so it definitely gives the city a different feeling. The movie was funny, and the Swiss leave most movies in their original language and then add subtitles as needed. So, we got to watch a movie in English with German and French subtitles, which was actually pretty fun :). And, get this: they have an intermission. Every movie theatre here has an intermission somewhere in the middle of the movie. It just stops all of a sudden and then you can go get more beer and popcorn :). Also, by they way, most theaters are quite small with maybe ~50 seats each and you reserve your seat when you buy your ticket! We sat in the second row, which we thought was a horrible place to sit, but the screen is so much smaller, that it really was not an issue :).

Mom put Carsten down for a nap this morning, which is a significant step forward for us. I have done all naps and bedtime for Carsten for the last three months because of our nursing schedule, so having other people get into the nap and bedtime routine is an great thing for all of us. Andy did a nap this weekend with Carsten (and I should point out that Andy always does the bedtime routine for Carsten with me, but I have ALWAYS done bedtime), which went well, and then the nap this morning went great too. So, it's nice that we have people to help out and it's nice that Carsten is cooperating and being flexible with his schedule. Also, we're hoping to achieve even more independence as we wean a bit more and as Mom and Dad will be taking care of Carsten in Zeeland while I'm in Corrie's wedding in a couple of weeks.

So, hooray for Carsten and I because we're gaining some independence from one another :). And I just want to impress upon you that this is a big deal. So huge. Especially for me. Carsten and I have basically been together for every minute of every day for the entirety of his life. When we lived in the states he was too little to be cared for by long periods of time by others, although we did get to go on some dates (so thanks family for babysitting). And when we've lived here, we don't have babysitters or friends who are close enough to watch him, so we do everything together. So, I repeat, this is big deal. And I'm excited about it :).

Here's a photo of Grandma Bonnie feeding Carsten or is it Carsten feeding Grandma Bonnie?? :)

He actually has a spoon too and is trying to feed Grandma.

So fun!

Carsten has lately really, really, really wanted his own spoon. And he seems to know that it's helps with getting food into his mouth. Which when we help, he doesn't mind feeding himself. Otherwise, he enjoying moving food around on the table while we shovel food in. We're trying to encourage coordination with the spoon because someday, maybe soon, he'll be feeding himself! :) I will say that for now, things are getting much, much, much messier though... ;)

Love.

Grandpa and Grandma Huisman in Switzerland!

On September 14, which is Andy's birthday, Mom and Dad Huisman arrived in Switzerland to help us celebrate Andy's birthday. Hooray! We have really enjoyed spending time with them, and have spent time cooking good food, playing with Carsten, going to the zoo, going to church, trying to catch up on sleep, and playing cards. Here are some photos of the last few fun days:

Grandma Bonnie showing Carsten his cousin Julia on her new ipad!

Go Hope! Go Michigan!

Grandpa, Grandma, and Carsten in Egg with the lovely flowers :).

Birthday gifts from the Claystone Court Huismans and the Koops. Thanks so much!

Riding the train into Zurich.

Sitting with Grandma!

Going to the Zurich Zoo!

Carsten LOVES the aquarium and thinks the penguins are pretty neat, which of course, they are :).

Grandma, Grandpa, and Carsten in Zurich!

Going home on the train!

Fun with Daddy :).

We're all having fun!

Carsten is very interested in learning how to use a spoon, so this results in a bit of a mess (see next photo).

He did eat some of this.

Love this kid. :)

We're having so much fun having Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Tom here. It took Carsten a few days to get used to having other people around, but now he's all smiles and enjoys playing with his grandparents :). We're planning a trip to Lucerne this week, which should be a lot of fun!