On Sunday Ettie, Gerben and the kids came to Middenmeer. It was so special to see them! Jasper and Evelien met their aunt Sasha and it was great to be able to hug them. Not seeing them often enough is the hardest part about living far away.
When we arrived in Holland, Nora immediately learned that people in the Netherlands speak Dutch.
Nora likes to describe the things that she sees around her, especially people. When we arrived at the luggage claim she said -- "die meneer maakt de trap schoon" and I concurred "ja, die meneer maakt de trap schoon". Then he actually answered her! "Yes, I am. Do you want to give me a hand?" Nora was quite surprised that someone understood her.
It was great to see my parents, and it was very special to see them and Nora reunited. Nora wasn't shy at all, and kept talking on the way to Middenmeer.
Once there we slept two hours -- just enough to take the edge off from the skipped night -- and before dinner we made a nice walk. There was the Havenfeest, an annual event, and we had a good time. Nora got a slice of cheese, amazingly delicious, from a kaasboer and later a balloon. We bought some diapers and drop from the drugstore. I saw Vincent, an schoolmate from my elementary school. We were very tempted by beautiful tulip bulbs but bringing them home might be impossible.
If I put a run in on Tuesday evening, I am well on track with the week. Then push myself on Thursday evening and I'm all set. This week that will be tricky since Irena and the kids will be here, but at least the Tuesday part is done! Feels great. Weather was amazing, nice and fresh.
A nice Monday evening. Nadya had made dinner and we ate early. Nora wanted to be read to over dinner so I read her de Grote Rode Schuur, an alphabet book, a few pages from the kabouterboek and two short stories: Ik will lekker stout and Het Fluitketeltje.
Later we read Dick Bruna's Bloemenboek and Nijntje in het ziekenhuis, the latter per Nora's request. I don't always manage to read to her every day, but we try.
Then we went for a walk to see the new sidewalk -- it was completed a few weeks ago and looks great.
On Sunday Ettie, Gerben and the kids came to Middenmeer. It was so special to see them! Jasper and Evelien met their aunt Sasha and it was great to be able to hug them. Not seeing them often enough is the hardest part about living far away.
When we arrived in Holland, Nora immediately learned that people in the Netherlands speak Dutch.
Today Dyado and Baba left. It was sad saying goodbye -- we've had a great time together.
Yesterday evening we visited the Jefferson Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial and had a great dinner at Cafe Asia in Rosslyn.