Sunday, February 8, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
It's your Birthday!
Happy Birthday Evan! It's already been a year. And happy birthday to mamma too! You both did it...We all did it, we made it a year.
We tried to explain the "blowing out the candle" thing, but he didn't quite get it. Instead, my one year old tried to catch the fire....
This one is called "Baby's first sugar." He thought it was pretty good. The real fun is in cake sculpture. The boy is an artist!
Okay mamma, you try some
Monday, January 12, 2009
Christmas and out and about
Evan celebrated his first Christmas and wasn't so sure what to think of it...
Evan vierde zijn eerste kerst en wist niet goed wat hij ervan moest denken...
Who are you??
Wie ben jij??
Wie ben jij??
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We went for a walk yesterday and since Evan took his first 10 steps in the morning we thought he should be able to stand on a stomp by himself as well. At first he wasn't so sure...
We gingen gisteren even wandelen en omdat Evan zijn eerste 10 stapjes had gezet dachten we dat hij ook wel alleen op een boomstronk kon staan. Eerst was hij er niet zo zeker van...
We went for a walk yesterday and since Evan took his first 10 steps in the morning we thought he should be able to stand on a stomp by himself as well. At first he wasn't so sure...
We gingen gisteren even wandelen en omdat Evan zijn eerste 10 stapjes had gezet dachten we dat hij ook wel alleen op een boomstronk kon staan. Eerst was hij er niet zo zeker van...
But then....
Maar toen.....
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Ik ben een Hollander
We are Dutch! At least when it comes to our favorite mode of conveyance. We found a company online that manufactures Euro style baby seats for the bike. Most parents cycle with their little ones in a little trailer fixed to the rear of the bike at street level. According to the guy at the bike shop these are quite safe but it always seemed a little odd to us.So, in the tradition of the Netherlands, we've attached the Weeride to Daddy's bike and awaaaaay we goooo!
As you might expect it is a cute situation....Especially with Evan's helmet!
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Wij zijn nederlands! In ieder geval tijdens onze favorite form van transportatie. We hebben een bedrijf gevonden die Euro style baby sitjes maakt voor op de fiets. De meeste ouders fietsen met hun kinderen in een klein wagonnetje die door de fiets wordt getrokken, ter hoogte van de straat. De fiets verkoper zei dat deze veilig zijn maar voor ons leek het altijd een beetje raar.
Dus, op zijn nederlands hebben we nu de "weeride" op papa's fiets en daaaaaar gaaaaan weee!!
Zoals je kunt verwachten is het een schattige situatie.....vooral met Evans helm op zijn hoofd (zonder helm is illegaal).
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Recent Adventures
Last week, we packed up the car and took a drive north, above San Francisco into Marin County. Evan likes to ride in the back of the car when he can (which is only when the car is parked...) He does fuss a bit when we lock him down in the car seat, but he does love to travel (not sure where he gets that from!)Vorige week namen we de auto voor een ritje naar het noorden, boven San Francisco naar Marin County. Evan houdt ervan achterin de auto te rijden wanneer hij maar kan (natuurlijk alleen als de auto is geparkeerd...). Hij wordt wat onrustig als we hem in zijn auto stoeltje doen maar hij houdt erg van reizen (we weten niet zeker waar hij dat van krijgt!)
We drove quite a way up the coast, but Heleen and I both got car sick from the windey roads. I was even feeling woozy and I was driving. Luckily, we had some nice stops along the way. Above, Evan enjoys the tall grass as we hike out to Muir beach. We reden een goed stuk langs de kust maar Heleen en ik werden allebei misselijk van de kronkelige weg. Zelfs ik had het en ik zat achter het stuur. Gelukkig hadden we een paar leuke plekjes om te stoppen. Boven zie je hoe Evan van het hoge gras geniet als we naar het Muir strand lopen.
On our way home, we stopped at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the City. They are always so friendly at Minh's Garden. The tofu was especially good this evening. 
On our way home, we stopped at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the City. They are always so friendly at Minh's Garden. The tofu was especially good this evening.
Op weg naar huis stopten we bij onze favoriete vietnamese restaurant in de stad. Ze zijn altijd zo vriendelijk in Minh's Garden. De tofu was erg goed die avond.
After a big day out, it's so nice to get home for a warm bath before bed.
Na een lange dag uit is het heerlijk om thuis te komen en voor het slapen gaan een warm bad nemen.
Good night!
Slaap lekker!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Big Teef
Recently, we packed up the family and moved house. Heleen, Evan, Kitty and I relocated about 7 miles north of our former residence to the town of Palo Alto. Of course, moving is never easy, but we were very lucky to have a strong baby for some heavy lifting. Below, Evan inspects the box:
Oh, and have we mentioned that the E-man is growing some teeth. He must take after his dad in the dental department because the teeth are big and gnarly looking. So far, two on top and two on bottom. Gone is the cute nickname "Gummy" that we once called him by. Now something along the lines of "Jaws" or "Chopper" is more appropriate.
He's making good use of those mighty incisors, below gnawing off his first taste of watermelon. Again, he takes after his dad as he loves the juicy red melon! Catch the new 'Watermelon" slide show to the left! Bon Appetite!
Oh, and have we mentioned that the E-man is growing some teeth. He must take after his dad in the dental department because the teeth are big and gnarly looking. So far, two on top and two on bottom. Gone is the cute nickname "Gummy" that we once called him by. Now something along the lines of "Jaws" or "Chopper" is more appropriate.
He's making good use of those mighty incisors, below gnawing off his first taste of watermelon. Again, he takes after his dad as he loves the juicy red melon! Catch the new 'Watermelon" slide show to the left! Bon Appetite!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
practice of a yogi mam
This morning at 4am when Adarsh got up for his practice and I was wide awake after comforting Evan back to sleep, I decided to get up too to get my own practice in.
My sweet little man Evan is 7 months old now and since his arrival my yoga practice has seen quite a shift. There were challenges during my pregnancy and I heard stories of Yogi mams being frustrated not to get a practice in anymore, mams who gave up on yoga altogether or ones whose bodies had completely changed and no asana practice was the same anymore. Quite scary to look forward to. Well....I haven't been frustrated and I haven't given up but yes, my body (and a whole lot more) has changed quite a bit. If there was ever any ambition of getting anywhere with this Ashtanga Yoga, doing whatever series I desired, that ambition is completely out of the window. In a good way.
Instead of being tempted to focus on the physical bit I have learned to just be present with what is going on. Be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. In fact, my lack of physical ambition during all the years of yoga now finally makes sense. This is not why I practice yoga. I always felt like a bit of an oddball out within the Ashtanga practice because I truly never felt the urge to move on to the next thing. I wasn't pushing or working awfully hard. I would just rather practice every day rather than be too knackered one day to do anything. That wasn't always a good or bad thing but it did constantly make me question my goals of practicing Ashtanga Yoga. Now that it's more challenging to find the time and energy to get a practice in I have gotten closer to the answer to that question.
Evan his presence in my life has made my body more sore and tight but my mind so much more flexible. That has been such a blessing because now it all makes sense. I practice around 4 times a week now depending on sleeping patterns, Evans changes and my need for that one hour more rest or not. The length of my practice is never certain so when I do step on my mat I am fully present with every move I make. That sounds so easy but believe me it's never been more clear to me how important that "being fully present" is and also what it truly means. One of my main promises to myself in being a mam is to be fully present with my child at every possible moment. Quite the promise ha?! Yes it is. Especially for this girl whose mind is a master at living in either the past or the future. Now that I have given birth and gained a stiffer and tighter body, the physicality of Ashtanga Yoga makes me be more present in the moment. If I get to do some of second, wow! If I get to do the full primary series, great! Doing half primary, quite something! But doing the standing sequence and some of the closing sequence, now that is dessert! And if I get a savasana in as well I'm really on top of the world. Whatever the sequence I end up doing it's completely unimportant. Important is how I do the practice and with what intention. This helps me to be completely present with Evan during the rest of the day which is what is really important to me. One could ask; hasn't that taken away from your yoga practice? A full and complete No is the answer. I feel stronger and more flexible than ever in my life and that is quite and extraordinary feat for this rather uptight girl. The Yoga practice of being a mam has opened my heart and mind to a whole new dimension. It's been the most liberating experience for me and I am so grateful for every moment of it. The body is just the body but what lives in it is the key to a true yoga experience. I feel so lucky to have been given the practice of a yogi mam :-)
Heleen
My sweet little man Evan is 7 months old now and since his arrival my yoga practice has seen quite a shift. There were challenges during my pregnancy and I heard stories of Yogi mams being frustrated not to get a practice in anymore, mams who gave up on yoga altogether or ones whose bodies had completely changed and no asana practice was the same anymore. Quite scary to look forward to. Well....I haven't been frustrated and I haven't given up but yes, my body (and a whole lot more) has changed quite a bit. If there was ever any ambition of getting anywhere with this Ashtanga Yoga, doing whatever series I desired, that ambition is completely out of the window. In a good way.
Instead of being tempted to focus on the physical bit I have learned to just be present with what is going on. Be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. In fact, my lack of physical ambition during all the years of yoga now finally makes sense. This is not why I practice yoga. I always felt like a bit of an oddball out within the Ashtanga practice because I truly never felt the urge to move on to the next thing. I wasn't pushing or working awfully hard. I would just rather practice every day rather than be too knackered one day to do anything. That wasn't always a good or bad thing but it did constantly make me question my goals of practicing Ashtanga Yoga. Now that it's more challenging to find the time and energy to get a practice in I have gotten closer to the answer to that question.
Evan his presence in my life has made my body more sore and tight but my mind so much more flexible. That has been such a blessing because now it all makes sense. I practice around 4 times a week now depending on sleeping patterns, Evans changes and my need for that one hour more rest or not. The length of my practice is never certain so when I do step on my mat I am fully present with every move I make. That sounds so easy but believe me it's never been more clear to me how important that "being fully present" is and also what it truly means. One of my main promises to myself in being a mam is to be fully present with my child at every possible moment. Quite the promise ha?! Yes it is. Especially for this girl whose mind is a master at living in either the past or the future. Now that I have given birth and gained a stiffer and tighter body, the physicality of Ashtanga Yoga makes me be more present in the moment. If I get to do some of second, wow! If I get to do the full primary series, great! Doing half primary, quite something! But doing the standing sequence and some of the closing sequence, now that is dessert! And if I get a savasana in as well I'm really on top of the world. Whatever the sequence I end up doing it's completely unimportant. Important is how I do the practice and with what intention. This helps me to be completely present with Evan during the rest of the day which is what is really important to me. One could ask; hasn't that taken away from your yoga practice? A full and complete No is the answer. I feel stronger and more flexible than ever in my life and that is quite and extraordinary feat for this rather uptight girl. The Yoga practice of being a mam has opened my heart and mind to a whole new dimension. It's been the most liberating experience for me and I am so grateful for every moment of it. The body is just the body but what lives in it is the key to a true yoga experience. I feel so lucky to have been given the practice of a yogi mam :-)
Heleen
Monday, August 4, 2008
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