mamaAyanna

Gold

Has it really been this long? Over a month since my last post?  "Oh, dear!" Ayanna would say.

It has been a hectic, busy month and yet a beautiful and most precious month.

Both my parents have stayed and helped us out tremendously. After my father left, my mom stayed another two weeks. She helped us transition more smoothly into life with now two children (A big blessing, a huge responsibility.)

My mom worked so hard to give us as much rest and energy as she could possibly give us by taking away daily duties. SWEET sweet mama.

 

 

Fall, my favorite season.

The time of the year that inspires me,

makes me long for creative days,

has almost passed by without me noticing much of it.

My eyes were on my newborn mainly or closed trying to catch up on sleep.

But now my mom has left and I am some days on my own with both children.

I saw the golden leaves outside and realized my mom was GOLD for us as well.

 

 

 

Today my GOLDEN mama (our kids GOLDEN oma) turns 65! We are not there with her to celebrate, but will think of her throughout the day.

Mama, this fall inspired post is for you. You love flowers and outdoors, you love gold and photography.

Happy happy happy birthday filled with love and loved ones....

miss you

Gabe Joel

Gabe (Gah-béh) Joel was born september 21 at 1.45 am! 

We are in love...

with him,

with our little family.

 

with our two children...

 

 
(On the left Ayanna two days old on the right Gabe almost two days old...)

they look alike! don't they?

It was hard labor, but such a precious moment when he was born.

We are at home, resting with much help of my parents and all trying to adjust to this new situation.

With thankful feelings in my heart!

 

 

last prego pictures

Quick make some last belly pictures... labor started and will hopefully continue too!

 

 

 
 

waiting can be fun

 

Waiting for my parents at the airport was fun.

Ayanna called for twenty minutes "opa and oma" out very loud by the window. Then they arrived and she jumped and screamed and I have the cutest video of this...

And now we have fun waiting for the baby brother.

 

 Swimming, playing, walking, celebrating birthdays that have past when we were not together, reading, singing, snuggling and lots of cups pretend tea.

Her belated birthday gift is the doll house that opa handmade last time he was here and had been hidden in the basement.

She loves it.

It is beautiful.

A day away, a day at home

 

 

 

 

 

Our day away.

One of Ayanna's birthday gifts (Thanks tia and tio!) was tickets to a fun park.

So we took her an afternoon and evening out and she was overwhelmed,

 but then got brave and loved every minute...

It was so exciting and yet sad to see my little baby standing in line with all the other children. Like a big girl.

She is becoming a big girl!

After this adventure I needed a day at home...

 

 

 

... to listen to piano play,

finish birth announcement cards together with Josiah,

watch a modern ballet performance AND...

REST!

 

 

 

days of "waiting"

 

Mama can't grow much bigger sweet baby boy!

come flying like a bird

A plane passes by ...

"Ooohh zoooeeeeefff, opa zoef, oma zoef, Ja? to Ayanna? ja?"  and then she has a big smile on her face. Soon opa and oma will come "zoef" with a plane from Europe to Ayanna and she is very excited.

But today is not the day. So we talked about the plane flying like a bird and I folded her a bird from a paper.

 

When I was young someone gave me an origami book and I tried everything, loved it, but the bird (crane) I made out of every little paper I could find. Even when I was older, drinking cups of tea in little cafes around the world, I made many teabag covers into these birds. It became a habbit, something to keep me creative even while talking.

I am pretty sure I could fold one with my eyes closed.

So the plane is like a big bird. That made me think of a fun project for a special occassion.

Today opa (my father) has his birthday!!

Opa, I think, would like to fly like a bird and opa always arrives here with the plane.

So we made opa a special bird mobile. Ayanna's painted square papers were folded into birds and we hang them all together.

 
Happy happy birthday lieve lieve lieve papa/opa! You are SOOOO special!

This mobile will be waiting here for you (to come flying to us like a bird.) We can hardly wait and will be eating cake on arrival.

While making one, we made another special one for our friend's birthday today as well... lots of birds!

 

xox

little artist

 
 
 
 

 

Little artist big mess...

 

party queen

She had a fabulous second birthday.

Simple, sweet, EARLY, homemade breakfast in a decorated kitchen.

A birthday shirt, singing and candles.

We went swimming and the senior swimming class  in other pool all sang " Happy Birthday " to her.

We watched a movie with Shirley Temple, while baking cake and baked beans.

She wore a handmade (by oma) dress with matching dresses for her babies. (Gorgeous, will have to make some more photos soon!)

Then we also had some friends over and painted faces, ran around, played, ate and sang!

At night she wanted to wear her birthday pyama's again as if she was thinking

 "let's do this all again tomorrow."

She is a real party queen, this big girl.

two years worth of sweet memories in little boxes

She makes us smile many times a day.

She is mama's meissie and papa's girl. 

She is funny, caring, sweet, loving, smart, interesting, pretty, special.

She loves her babies, books, dogs, cats, monkeys, dancing, singing, drawing, skyping, family, friends, parties, shopping and "pretties".

She is always in for snuggling, giggling, walking, reading, tea parties, sushi, avocado, ice cream and tickling.

She is our baby girl, but she is turning two years old today....

And soon she will be the big sister.

We talked about how we wish we could put every face, stage, memory in a little box and keep it forever.

So here are some of them "boxed up".

Ayanna, we love you!

We are so proud of you and so thankful to be your parents.

You made us become a family, you give us joy daily.

We pray you stay your joyful funny self and will continue to love and care around you....

Happy birthday, Ayanna Ella. Let's party today!

xox

 

three friends

When Josiah and I went on a date Ayanna was with her friends. Last night their parents went on a date and the girls stayed with us.

It was a rainy night, so we spend it inside.

We giggled our way through dinner... girls... 

Then we did some fun art and I loved seeing their character shine through in that. One was done in 5 minutes, the other fully concentrated for an hour or more. I wish I had made a photo of each of their mobiles, as they were both so artistic and unique.  

and Ayanna? Well, she just decorated one heart and then needed papa's help for another heart, while she ran off to play. 

I soon found two jumping on the bed.

Bathtime; more water outside the bath than in, but fun.

I loved seeing all the happy faces and observing their play, communication and imagination. Isn't it just wonderful to be a child?!

 
 

The summer of nesting

As I mentioned before I have been spending much time in the house...

NESTING:-)

Getting the kid's room ready for two children.

Washing, folding and sorting those teeny tiny baby clothes!

Tackling all other little projects one at a time.

I would like to see every little drawer and corner de-cluttered.

I would like to see everything practical and organized.

I would like to see all things done.

I keep on moving things around.

Pregnancy hormones are not that bad, I sure will be grateful afterwards.

At the same time I have many moments that I realize this is not the most important.

Baby and us will be very okay in a less organized home.

So we work and meet up with many friends, see many playgrounds with swings and try to just enjoy summer.

On my fun wishlist is;

-fruit picking with family

-Lake beach day

-another date with Josiah

-visiting some flea markets (to find things to clutter my home again;-)

-some more art days for me

Still somehow I can't help it...

Crossing out things on my list to do seems most awarding and freeing.

Only about 5 weeks until due date! CRAZY.....

 

Love date

We went on date night, just Josiah and me. We had not done this, despite various offers by friends and family to watch Ayanna, in months (many).

It was lovely!

We did not find the sunflower fields we were looking for,

We did see many deer driving through the country.

One jumped right in front of the car and we thankfully missed hitting her by a second.

We picked up some nice useful things on the side of the road (love America!),

strolled along the canal , which always reminds me of the Netherlands with the boats and life along the water.

We ate outside at one of our favourites Alladin's natural eatery  overlooking the water

and talked and talked without any child interruption! (Although the table right next to us included a little girl, just like Ayanna, with curls, same silliness and same "no ... mine." So we were reminded.)

It was just so lovely, so fun and relaxing.

And Ayanna...was missed by us, but she had wonderful time away as well with friends.

Maybe we should take all those offers for watching her after all!!

just another beautiful day

It was just another beautiful day!

Starting off good with our weekly trip to the public market.

Buying lots of fresh peaches, plumps, apricots, tomatoes, vegetables, meat, bread and more!

LOVE it!

followed by lunch,

a very active baby in the belly,

a nap

and

lady playtime... 

Ayanna was serving me tea and cookies wearing a very english hat.

She is such a girly girl!

Some playtime with her cousin,

a swing in the park.

Some singing and dancing,

cleaning and sorting,

Just another simple, yet beautiful day.

 

morning at the lake beach

We started the day early this morning and drove to the lake beach for breakfast and family time...

 Together with Josiah's brother and his family... and we made many many photos!

and some good summer memories.

Ending with a big banana split icecream for lunch.

A beautiful lake beach so close by home, we should spend way more time here!

caring child

I sat down for a rest, belly hard, outside it is too warm.

"u okay mama?"

"Yes mama is okay, just need a rest"

"baby u okay?"

"Do you hear the baby Ayanna?"

"hear baby JA (YES)"

..little hands on my belly made the little boy kick

more and more...

"u okay mama, luv u"

Ooooohhhhhh how I love this girl! so caring, so loving, so peaceful. Mama's meissie!
 
 

love for growing life

We went on a very short walk this morning.

And Josiah made some quick photos...

To capture some of this beautiful life growing fast inside me...

and how much we love him already...

32 weeks!

I can hardly believe it

Our little boy is very loved by us and his big sister with kisses, hugs, songs and stories.

The walk was short, but sweet...

the quick snapshots turned out to be wonderful photos to cherish.

 

LOVELY lovely birthday

My birthday was so lovely, I felt so incredibly loved!

Sun shining in the room when waking up, thoughtful gifts, flowers, cards, emails, my blog "hacked" by my non-blogging husband (!), hugs and kisses.

 

Whe I peaked out of our bedroom window I saw them setting up breakfast on our patio...

Breakfast with famliy...

my parents singing via skype...

followed by a celebration at our friend's home...

a nap...

some relaxing...

sushi and dumplings for dinner...

We did not see the 4th of july fireworks, as we had to pack. The two days after my birthday were spend out of town on a family trip. It was special!

I did not mind getting older this year, I feel right with the age that I became.

Thanks for all your comments and emails, it means a lot!

 
 

 

aFRIca FRIday 3

 
~These are all East African baskets/ dishes that are hanging on our kitchen wall~(except for the little one found at a local thrift shop)

Finally I scheduled some time for Africa friday again.

I love LOVE african baskets of any sort. They weave amazing baskets there that are very inspirational.

We have brought many back with us already. Most have been given away, but some stayed and are hanging on walls or are brightening up cupboards. Ayanna plays with them and some hold her toys.

Recently I found this website all about African Baskets. Looking through their website I decided I would not mind buying a few more!! My favorite there are the Ghana Bolga Market baskets,

they are cheerful and just seem super handy. It would take me forever to choose out of all these beauties.

What makes all these baskets so special is the fact that they are unique, handmade. They re-use old rice bags, packaging material, grass, plastic bags and more.

They RECYCLE! 

It shows the creativity of the people, the love color and shape.

(the above four pictures found in a Happinez magazine)  

(above photo found at create for a cause)  

My very personal favorite in our home is the Iringa basket. We bought it on the market in Kigoma, where one lady (Monica) now started a small store with handmade things. A very smart woman, as the town of Kigoma Tanzania has many expats coming in and out who like to buy some kind of souvenir.

The Iringa basket seems very durable and are almost foldable. Made out of milulu grass and natural dye. Iringa is a city about 300 miles from Dar es Salaam, home to the hehe people and near Ruaha national Park. To be honest I was very shocked to see for how much their baskets sell in shops online and in stores. They were ones featured in american vogue magazine and I guess became a "wanted item." I for sure would try and buy these fair trade  if not local, so that the money will go back to the artist/community. 

I could go on and on about the beauty of the baskets...

 

Ole

We are in love... little Ole is born. My brother and his wife had their first born on father's day. there is no better gift, I would say...

 
I wish I could be with them to celebrate. I have been homesick since his birth, but the pictures we receive make us SMILE.

Congratulations Dirk-Jan and Wendy, he is precious, what a beautiful gift!

Still working around the home...

Ayanna makes sure we keep hydrated, very nescessary as temperatures have been tropical!