Dutch Village

So it is a bit strange living in Holland, MI. I have been coming here for two weeks almost every summer of my life. We would always rent a cottage on Lake Michigan here for the extended family to get together when I was little. And then now as an adult, my family has continued to do that.

I finally took my kids to one of the places from my childhood memory - Dutch Village. Yes, I am close to being 100% Dutch (my mom's side seems to hem and haw about some other nationality being in there somewhere, but nobody seems able to nail anything down). So that makes my kids about 47% Dutch or something. But after living through tulip time here in Holland I see that you can really just become Dutch by living in Holland, MI.

Anyway, back to the trip. The place was exactly like I had remembered. We wandered around some, watched the Dutch dancers, including one kicking off her wooden shoe, and Michael even went on the ride. We had lots of fun, although by the end it got cold and windy and the kids were so ready to go. Here are some shots, and for those who have been there, yes, I got a picture of the kids sitting in the stork pouch. :)

Old videos

I have been diligently taking videos of my kiddos to share. I see a great moment grab the camera and then record. Then the videos sit on the camera for a bit. When the card gets full, Tim dumps them to a folder on the computer and we all forget about them. Somehow in the busyness of life I can't seem to get this process running smoothly... But we came across the folder the other day and Tim got some of the videos uploaded and I can't wait to show them to you finally!

First up is Michael who decided that this would be the spring to take the training wheels off his bike! I shared a few pictures with you already, but at that point he could only go for a couple of feet and only with us holding on. After a couple of weeks of trying and trying, something finally clicked and he is riding like a pro - even steadier now than in this old video:

Next is Jonathan who is simply adoring that he can go outside and run around. It is hard to believe but last summer he was still in the toddling stage and really couldn't get around as easily as he wanted to. Now he can run, hit, and even keep up with Michael in some things. Here is his interpretation of hitting a baseball - I love the running approach. (You will have to forgive our T that is falling apart. We have since then bought a new one for our budding baseball players.)

And Finally, little Becca. She seemed so slow to walk at first but is now almost running. She seems to get remarkably steadier on her feet every day. This video was from when she first started to walk daily on her own initiative (without us trying to force it). We would always set her on her feet and then walk back and hold out our hands, asking her to walk to us. So when she started walking she would always let go and then hold her hands out mimicking us. It was just so adorable!