Happy Halloween!

M and his cousin L are best friends.  They dream of experiencing the trivialities of childhood together:  riding in a wagon at the grocery store, traveling in the same car, etc.  So, we planned several months ago that M and I would travel to Boston for some cousin-bonding-cum-trick-or-treating this year.

The kids all had a great time.  L and A gave M an Imaginext Robot Police Headquarters and Deep Sea Robot for his birthday, which was a huge hit with all the kids.  In fact, it was at the heart of our first gender discrimination play (A and M played, L got a little bored and felt left out) which was an interesting dynamic to watch.

Our plans were somewhat disrupted by a freak snowstorm and resultant power failure.   

Grandma tortured the kids to get a photo for her Christmas cards. 

A is crazy for Papa, and at a mere 20 months of age clearly expressed that he wanted Papa to be his grown up at gymnastics.

M joined L at gymnastics and did a great job following directions.The class had a Halloween theme and he's still practicing his Frankenstein walk (his "favorite monster").

A with his favorite grown up.

M and L having fun in the snow.  It's amazing how much they hug each other.

M messing around when the snow began to fall.

L messing around when the snow began to fall.

A also loved the snow.

It was pretty chilly when we woke up to no power.  S, L and A are pretending to be asleep.

And the snow just kept on falling!

Sledding before Halloween!

After 24 hours, record low temps and no heat we gave up and headed to Grandma & Papa's, who had power.

Trick or treating in L's neighborhood would have had more kids (uh, any other kids) but they still made the best of it!

Papa very kindly drove us to the airport.  We were there in plenty of time (no lines or waiting anywhere)  and we conveniently forgot the sandwiches I made, so we had dinner at Legal Seafood and found a new airport playground.

Legoland

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to Billund, Denmark, home of the original Legoland.  I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Denmark seemed incredibly expensive.  At one of our very overpriced dinners Grandma and M planned our Legoland visit.

 

One of the highlights of Legoland was the Bob the Builder 4D movie.  The 4th D was basically weather--it snowed and rained in the theater.  We all enjoyed the fill so much I don't think we noticed that it was in Danish.

When the movie started, M asked, "Why do things keep sticking out of the screen?"

The Duplo playground was the only Legoland attraction M asked to go back to. 

I can see the appeal of visiting Legoland in the summer; there are a lot of water-park type attractions.  M and Daddy had fun pretending the giant dryer was a space ship.

M and Daddy (AKA the Unabomber) on the Lego safari ride.  All the adults spent a lot of time cramming their bodies into kid-size vehicles.  Apparently, the Danish put their preschoolers on these rides unattended.

Legoland had a really cool aquarium.

A tired M (who held up remarkably well) trying on a crown at the end of the day.

 

I still can't decide if I loved or hated our resort.  It had a Las Vegas style fake outdoor "square."

We stayed at a Danish "campsite" which was a little 3 bedroom house.  The resort included a massive indoor water park and indoor play space for kids.

M playing at the indoor play space.  He loved this as much as Legoland.

Not sure how much P loved the play space...

Grandma and Papa watched us in the playspace from afar...

M and P enjoyed playing on the motor scooters.

When we returned, M saw his first rainbow.

London

One of the reasons we moved to Amsterdam was to live closer to P's family, and we recently spent a great long weekend with them in London. M enjoyed the birthday celebration they organized for him, complete with a Toy Story cake!

M loved his presents and Uncle Stephen also had fun playing with them.  Mairtin loved having his Grandma read him the new books Uncle Brian gave him.

One of the best things about staying in London is the great playground across the street from Uncle David's house.

The playground has a lot of new equipment since the last time we were there.
Mommy even got a few minutes in on the elliptical.

Daddy and Uncle David had fun at the playground, too, while a perplexed M looked on.

I'm not exactly sure how M got the idea to make a peace sign in every photo.

M also loved his trips on a double decker bus, going to and from Ealing Broadway.  On Sunday we spent the day in the country with some friends of Uncle David's who have a son about M's age.  M had a great time, "thanks to Uncle David," as he said.  

Hip Grandma

Finally, I have a bike.  It's what's known as an Omafeits, or granny bike.  Just a basic three speed like everyone here had in the 50s, although a little more sturdy.  And mine happens to be asparagus green with pink tulips painted on it, which means the maker describes it at a "Hippe Omafeits," or hip granny bike.  It's actually rather hideous, but it was very difficult to find a bike my size.  And it will actually be good to have a distinctive looking bike, even if I don't particularly love how it looks.

My new bike, with Peter's behind it.

After several attempts, I bought my bike at BVD tweeweilers.  Actually, both Peter and I did.  I made several visits to learn about new and used bikes as well as child seats and not only were they knowledgeable, but every person I spoke to was incredibly nice and helpful.  At one point I brought M in and they advised me that my original choice of bike seat, the Bobike, was actually too small and that he would be better in a Yepp, which we can easily switch between our bikes.  My main concern was that I wanted to be able to touch the ground from the seat.  They were happy to MacGiver the bike seat to its lowest possible position, sometimes changing out a seat, but cautioned me to move it up slightly when I'm move comfortable to avoid stress on my knees.  I finally located a small framed bike at their location a few neighborhoods away.

A bakfiets:
the Amsterdam equivalent of the mini van

Riding with a 40 pound kid behind me has been a bit more difficult to get used to than I thought.  It's a lot like learning how to ride a bike for the first time:  I'm wobbly, super wobbly when I try to make a turn, and my wobbliness improves a whole lot when my confidence is up.  I also have someone behind me telling me I'm doing a good job, although it's not my dad but my son.  Every day M and I have some bicycle practice.  Truth be told I was never the most confident cyclist and preferred to stick to roads without traffic and bike trails.  So, I am also practicing alone to get used to cycling with traffic, but with Mairtin I have yet to move on from the sidewalk on my block.  Every day I'm a little better.

The Nihola family bike,
a well-styled take on the traditional bakfiets,
but is it worth the price?

However, I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable to do the things I want to do, like ride to the zoo or Amsterdam Bos.  My only other choice is a bakfeits, kind of the minivan of the bicycle options.  Having only one kid this seems like overkill, as they are slow, hard to park and way more expensive than a regular bike.  I've noticed a new type of bakfeits in my neighborhood; a super sleek, compact model, the Nihola.  I initially dismissed this option because it costs what we sold our Corolla for last Spring (but wait, maybe that's a sign?).  I have also discussed bike options with some of the moms from M's school and I understand bakfeits have their own riding challenges.  But, I'm going to test ride the Nihola this week.

We will be seeing some other hip grandmas soon.  This weekend we are visiting Peter's family and next week my parents arrive for a visit.