Fun Things*

Daddy was home all weekend for Memorial Day weekend and neither Daddy nor Mommy had any significant chores or projects. For three days we enjoyed a fun-filled and inexpensive @home vacation.  The

On Saturday, we went to the Decatur Arts Festival (excellent - we highly recommend) and strolled through the booths, spent a long while in the Kids' area, and ate the best fish tacos either of us has ever tasted. In the Kids' area, Claire made mini art projects and played in a sandbox while James danced to the music. For supper, we grilled on the deck and ate outside.

* The title "Fun Things" is what we told Claire we were going to do Saturday morning. We didn't thing saying "Arts Festival" was descriptive enough. For the rest of the week, Claire talked about "we do Fun Things!" which is especially adorable because of the way she pronounces it.

On Sunday, Claire and James played in their new mini kiddie pool on the deck for a good long while. We all took long naps and played a little while more in the pool that afternoon. It was a good day of rest.

On Monday, we joined the Perrys (Andrew, Carolyn, and their son Samuel) along with Andrew's family at the Dacula Memorial Day Parade. Claire was extremely excited to see the parade and kept asking about the marching bands; though there were only two, she was not disappointed and had a great time. James sat in our laps and was pretty wiggly but he enjoyed looking at everything and always enjoys being outside. It was a really good small town parade. The most moving part was a large group of volunteers, each carrying a poster with photos and names of Georgians who had died in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 11 years, and a man reading names aloud as they walked... there were so many...  .  After the parade, we joined the Perrys for a picnic at a nearby park. Claire swung in all 4 swings before we ate (she likes to try them all), and she played for a good long while in the gazebo as we finished our meal.  James and Claire napped on the way home and we had a quiet afternoon in the house.

It was a good weekend.

James gets into the new kiddie pool

They sat and played for a good long while. It's a lot like a bath, except with different toys.

James did really well sitting up...

...and Claire helped with her knee a little too

Not a lot of splashing going on... they're pretty mild mannered

Mommy says that James can play for 10-20 minutes with a box of Legos. Daddy is looking forward to many many many many many more Legos.

A good game to play together

Always time well spent

He looks so big!

Lots of cars at the parade. Claire has learned that "old cars" make a "ppppppttttttt"-sound, which is similar to a few other sounds she's learned but she doesn't seem confused

Tiny horses!

Everyone loves a picnic, especially when there's muffins

Handsome little guy. A lot of people stared and smiled at little James when they walked by.

Huysers in Costume

From Matt:

As part of a Holland (Michigan) Tulip Time tradition, I remember dressing in the homemade dutch costume that Bama made that spring and walking in the Thursday Children's parade. Aunt Dana dressed in her own homemade costume and danced in the street with her friends several times a day.  The few photos that we have of us together in these outfits (were there only 2?) are some of my favorites. So during our special trip to Michigan to see the Tulip(/stem) Festival in 2012, it was only natural that I would want to dress my family as a troop of 17th-century dutch millers.

Claire was extremely well-behaved as she donned the complicated dress and headgear. Amanda wisely pointed out that if we didn't make a big deal of it beforehand, she would be less likely to fuss.

Adorable!

(lesson learned: when taking mirror shots remember to focus on the reflection rather than the figure... whoops)

Claire was more interested in exploring the park than posing for photos.

She loves to wear her Klompen slippers.

The Huyser family spring 2012 portrait

(nevermind the pant leg and hat - it's AMAZING that they're both looking at the camera and neither one is upset)

Dabo gets a snack too.

It was a quiet morning in Centennial park and there was plenty of space to relax and wander without people staring.

James and Daddy - a matching set

A pretty cute picture. It looks like James is drowning in Daddy's lap. That's partially due to the baggy pants which can best be described as MC Hammer Parachute Pants cut into Capris

Mommy looks beautiful and James is doing very well

An adorable little girl

The fine for picking tulips in Holland is pretty severe. This one was given to us by City of Holland grounds maintenance employees who were removing dead flowers from a bed in the park. We were pretty surprised that they not only handed over a few (dead) flowers but they gave us a few bulbs too (apparently, the bulbs are bred to only be used once and then destroyed at the end of the season)

James probably would've eaten a petal but he had a mouthful of sleeves

Dancing in the Street

After watching the Dutch Dancers in Holland, Claire decided she'd give dancing in the street a try too!

Painting

Here is a video of Claire painting and singing her made-up song about it.

And here is another video.  Not much painting, but includes a second verse to her song--"My hands are dirty!"

To Michigan for Mother's Day and Tulip Time

We went to visit Bama and Dabo in Holland, Michigan for Mother's Day weekend, to catch a few Tulip Time activities, and to celebrate Brittany's bridal shower. Claire did very well on the drive, mostly because of her television in the car (she doesn't watch TV anywhere else), but also because we made a few stops at playgrounds along the way (we tagged at least one playground in Indiana for a definite return visit).  James had a difficult time in the car much of the way, but he was able to sleep and play too. Good thing there are two screens to the DVD player because it seems that James is getting interested in watching it.

We arrived on Thursday and spent the evenening with GG, Grandpa Huyser, Jeremy, and his daughter Madelynn.  Friday morning we took family pictures in dutch costumes at the park, that afternoon we visited the Dutch Market, and that evening ate fairway food downtown and watched Dutch Dancing with Jodi, Elliot, and their daughter Sadie.  On Saturday Amanda and Claire went to Brittany's bridal shower while Matt and James spent time with Grandpa Huyser. We all then went to the big saturday Tulip Time parade and afterwards had supper with GG. On Sunday we went to GG's church, went to coffee afterwards, took some naps, then ate supper for a Mother's Day celebration with the Weller family. We left Sunday night and made it to MM and Pop's house in Cleveland, Tennesse in time for breakfast (and another nap!)

James and Grandpa Huyser. James liked being played with by so many new faces!

Maddie is just a little older than Claire; this is already the third time they've met. It was really fun to watch them giggle and play.

I wonder if they remember one another; they're a cute combination.

Grandpa Huyser plays with Claire in her PJs.

Even though Claire was read for bed on time, she got to stay up late playing with Grandpa and GG.

Dabo and Claire watch an accordion player at the Dutch Market. It was interesting to hear Dabo try to explain what an accordion is.

Claire and Sadie enjoyed watching the Dutch Dancing... but they probably enjoyed playing in the street more.

Claire became very skilled at pointing out everyone she saw who was wearing "klompen slippers" (since she's been so accustomed to the word "klompen slippers" it didn't seem necessary to call them "wooden shoes" because the former is still correct). Also, I think it's unfortunate that the dancer in this photo is no longer wearing wooden shoes; the group we were watching broke 3 pairs in one show.

Even after the dancing was over, Claire and Sadie enjoyed playing in the street. Claire is just a little older than Sadie but at this age the gap isn't so noticeable and they're both highly skilled. 

Claire and Sadie continued playing in the park. At this age, playing "together" means that they're doing the same thing but somewhat independently and only within a 50 foot radius of one another.

Sadie plays with a stick in the dirt. This appears to be a popular game because Claire was doing the exact same thing just behind her.

GG got along very well with James. I had a lot of cute pictures of these two but since I'm still getting used to my new camera lens the photos are all blurry. Bummer.  Now that I think about it, James looks blurry anyway on account of his fuzzy hair.

 Bama fed Claire her first corn on the cob. Claire already liked corn, but she apparently LOVES it on the cob. It didn't take her long to learn how and she loved it so much that she gnawed the cob like a dog with a bone until we gave her a new supply.

Bama loves cuddling and tickling James. He giggles pretty well and it gets her into stitches.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Kim came all the way from Howell (2+ hrs) with their children Brevin, Alex, and Ian for Mother's Day. It was a real treat to see them and play with the kids.

Aunt Goober #1 and Little Goober #2 (for those who don't know, James the little Goober)

Claire tried and tried to dribble the basketball. She loved playing the big open space. There were a lot of kids running around (Brevin, Alex, Ian, Jared, Sadie, and Claire) which was fun to watch.

Aunt Goober just loves babies; James gave her a pretty good time....

...and they get along so well that he even convinced her to hold him through an entire nap.

Sadie plays with her dolly a lot like Claire does; she wouldn't go down the slide but she was happy to help give the dolly a ride. There were a lot of great toys at the nursery which was open while we met at GG's church for supper. It was incredibly convenient.

Claire and Bama give each other adorable goodbyes.

On our way home. As Claire approaches the car, we hear 1000 times: "May I watch my TV? I go on a long trip!"