If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!

We spent the first afternoon in Edinburgh taking advantage of Lois' excitement to see Jaya...leaving him with her for a couple precious hours on our own.

On our way up the Royal Mile we took in the ridiculous amount of touristy tartan trash and the equally ridiculously beautiful stretches of seriously old style...and then just happened to bump into the Tarbottons on the corner and had tea. Of course.


The next day, we headed to the island of Lismore for a couple of nights of slow and cosy farm living. We joined Archie, his daugher Ann, her husband John, and her sons. Archie's other daughter Sarah was there as well, with her sons, for lunch, and the moment we walked in we felt like part of the family. Bread, cheese and tea on the table, sheep and furry cows wandering around outside the window. Absolutely perfect. It felt like more than just a day and a half, but we managed to cover a good part of the island...having a tour of Sarah's lovely studio on the sea (during which I happily adopted one Lavinia), taking in the one general store and the one cafe on our travels (of course), along with most of the sights (which are surprisingly plentiful for such a small island, I might add).






Despite hearing that the airports might close again (go volcano go!), we did have to head back on Tuesday, but we took a meandering route to allow for a tour of the Oban distillery, a scenic drive through the highland moors, lunch and a charity shop in Callender, a drive-by wave at two of the castles that appear in the Monty Python movies, and a self-guided tour of the Falkirk Wheel. Jaya was a road-tripping star, which was really what made it all possible.



That night was one of the much-anticipated highlights. An evening out. Even though we didn't get out of the house until 9pm and only managed dinner, it was still everything I had hoped and dreamed. We went to the recommended David Bann (thanks Zoe!) and were suitably thrilled by everything. Super yummy flavours, awesome combinations, gorgeous looking plates. We had wine, we talked, we canoodled. It was like a real date. With a curfew and guaranteed middle-of-the-night wakings by small screaming child, but still.

On our last day in Edinburgh, we managed to combine quite a number of city highlights with a leisurely pace, which was just right for a last day. We headed up Arthur's Seat with Lois and Archie, romped on the grass in the gorgeous sun (our first really warm day the entire trip), had lunch at the Sheep's Heed (just the oldest pub in Scotland, don'cha know), took a tour of Edinburgh's secret garden (I'd tell you where it is, but then I'd have to, you know, kill you), went downtown to one of the national galleries, wandered through Princess Gardens, took a double decker bus home, ate dinner, packed our bags, and crashed.

Last Days in Holland

In which we covered the northern part of our Netherlands trip, returned to Amsterdam for one last hurrah, headed over to Edinburgh, spent time on the Island of Lismore, headed back to Edinburgh and then jumped a plane.

Our time with Harriet and her family in Zeijen (tiny tiny town in the mid-north of Holland, pronounced kindof like Zion) was wonderful. They are such welcoming people! After "Venice", we visited the biggest zoo in Europe (seriously huge and pretty impressive...my mixed feelings about zoos aside), and Jaya saw his first baby moose - just born and taking it's first steps. Very cool.

Then it was back to Amsterdam for one night at Henk's (Kelsey's uncle). Henk's place is gorgeous...right on a dyke, and including two extra lots that he leases from the city as an extended garden. Fantastic. Henk's pretty great too.

And then it was time to go. Sad to say goodbye, knowing we're not likely to be back for five or six years...but I really felt like I got to know the people who populate that part of Kelsey's life, and I know Kelsey felt renewed. His Dutch is pretty incredible for someone who spent just six months learning it when he was 14. People constantly commented that he sounds like a native speaker. And I really notice now how must more fluent he is with Jaya, with just that little bit of practice. I think Kels misses the linguistic company though (Jaya's conversational skills are fantastic, of course, but perhaps a little less nuanced than Kels is looking for), so any of you Dutch speakers (Marijke?) are welcome for dinner any time!

Happy Moeder's Daag!

Okay, so a bit belatedly, but still, it was my first, so I'm pretty excited about it. Hope all of you who are, or who have, mother's, enjoyed the day! Jaya started out the tradition in good form - playing nicely downstairs while Kelsey brought me breakfast in bed, and then handing me a lovely card his new friends helped him make. I look forward to years of macaroni cards and bad coffee in bed!

As for our dutch travels, they are progressing quite nicely. We spent a few days in Utrecht with Kelsey's dad's cousin and her family.

Utrecht is a beautiful city - more laid back than Amsterdam and in some ways, more historic. Gorgeous canals that just sing out to be sat beside in the sunshine with coffee. Unfortunately, it was raining, and Jaya doesn't drink coffee, but still, very pretty.

Kelsey also got to see his 97 year old great-aunt, who was thrilled to see him.

Oh, and there was a parking lot for bikes. With space for 40,000. And that's just one of several. Did I mention they like their bikes here?

Then it was on to Zeijen, a village of about 800 - a pretty big change from the big cities. Our hosts are the family that Kelsey stayed with when he came to the Netherlands at age 13. They are super happy to see him and it's been lots of fun getting to know them all.

Yesterday, we went to the "dutch venice" and today went for a cycle through the countryside. Jaya whined through most of it, but I know he's secretly having a great time.

So, we will explore the country some more over the next few days, and let you know how it goes. Hope all's well where you are.

A bicycle built for two, or three, or four....

So, we're really starting to get into this whole holiday-ing thing! We spent the first five days at Kelsey's cousin Reuben's house, and now we're at his cousin Iris's place. The street they live on (a dijke) is too narrow for two cars to pass, but bikes ride past at a rate of about 1 every 30 seconds, at least. I suppose it goes without saying, but the bicyling culture here is simply fantastic! There are a million different kinds of kids seats for the back and even the kids bikes have seats for dolls...

And, in case the millions of bike paths weren't enough for you, you can even bike vertically -

So, we've toured Amsterdam by bike (of course), on foot, and by boat.

It's a city worth seeing as many ways as possible. Especially the red light district...

A few days ago, we did our touristy duty and checked out a recreation of a traditional Dutch village - complete with working windmills. Japanese tour groups aside, it was very cool.

I'm not sure we could fill the shoes of those old time dutchers, though...

And finally, today, we went to a festival in Haarlem that Kelsey's cousin Anneke helped organize - a pop festival for peace...or so we think! It was mega crazy with people and Jaya enjoyed the sightseeing...

So, that's us caught up to today. Tomorrow we head to Utrecht for more visits with family and a whole new city to shop in...I mean, explore...

A Happy Queens Day to All!

So, today was Queens Day - a big deal here. It's basically an annual opportunity to wear lots of orange and drink lots of beer. The streets (and canals) of central Amsterdam are packed for a party that goes on all day and all night. Nothing can quite describe it like photos, so here are a few...

Where there's beer, there's men peeing, so why not be prepared? (And yes, we did see plenty of people using them...and for the girls you ask? Just 2 Euro to pee inside...so much for the enlightened europeans...!)

So, of course, we had to join in the fun!

(yeah, okay, so the beer is Belgian, but the boys are all Dutch!)

(our little angel)

Also, because we have some catching up to do, here's what else we've been up to...

Jaya's first ever airplane ride. Completely oblivious.

Jaya meets Rosie. Chews her seat, pulls her hair, pokes her in the eye. It must be love.

Jaya and Kelsey take in the sights of London town.

Stay tuned for more fun and adventure to come!

Daag!

Well, we're here, we're happy. We're hoping to sleep better tonight. More to come, with photos, but that's the low down on the adventures so far.

And now, off to bed!

Off like a turd of hurtles

Well, tomorrow's the big day.

We're all packed and off on our European adventure - a 10 month-old and lots of snacks in tow. I'll be posting the occasional pictures and video here, so stay tuned for the three-ring adventures of the Govenkoop clan on the move.

Silly Bird

I forgot to tell you about my most recent creation (the most recent Little Grass at Sunrise post reminded me!). So here he is.

Introducing...Silly Bird...

And, just in case you didn't get the full effect of the hair, here's one more shot...(can you tell I'm pleased with myself?)
Amazingly, Jaya actually seems to like it too! Phew!

Letting it go

The cherry tree is blooming, Jaya is climbing, the wind is howling, the days are getting longer, and we're all sleeping better. Spring is upon us.

With only a few weeks to go before our big Europe trip (UK and Holland), we've got lots of organizing, shopping, and planning to do. We're putting a lot of faith into our various gadgets - white noise machine, hook-on high chair, baby sleeping tent, etc. etc.... - to get us through the upheaval, but I'm really not sure what to expect from a vacation with baby.

Besides the buying of new shoes, the much belated dentist appointments, the hair cuts, etc. I think what we really need to be doing in preparation is letting go. Letting go of trying to do as much as possible every day, letting go of late nights in the pub, letting go of long sightseeing drives, but most of all, and somewhat ironically, letting go of going with the flow. Well, at least any flow that isn't Jaya's. So, while we can't plan for what will be, we'll also have to be careful not to plan against it. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, here's to finding the flow and letting it go...!

Oh the sleep we would sleep!

So, we're sleep training.

Phew, that's a loaded sentence. There is so much wrapped up in this, our first intentional parenting experience. Up until now, our parenting has had everything to do with responding to the moment - changing a dirty diaper, now; feeding a hungry baby, now; putting a hat on a cold head, now; taking a hat off a hot head, now...And so far, our approach to sleep has been pretty much the same. As in, the baby is not sleeping, so what do we do now? And as it turns out, that's not actually working.

Well, let me clarify working. We are not getting sleep, any of us. We are tired, all of us. We are cranky, all of us. We need things to change.

So, we've hired a sleep consultant, Dawn Whittaker, who has made us a sleep plan and sent us out to tame the wild beast (sleep, not Jaya, although, sometimes I wonder...)

Aside from the details of the plan - which I'll spare you - I have found the process a revealing and challenging one, both personally and socially (for lack of a better word). There is such a range of opinions on the matter, and since most people don't see it as a matter of opinion, it's tricky water to tread. On the one hand, we know one couple who went with the Ferber method...which meant they let their child cry in his crib for three hours the first night, two hours the second, one the third and then that was that. When they say "it worked", I wonder what their measure of success was. On the other hand, someone else we know still sleeps in the same room as her 12 year old son. How's that for a range?

And how do we decide where we want to be? How much is the crying "natural"? How much does it mean we're breaking our child's heart? Are we teaching him a necessary skill or is the lesson really that he can't trust us to meet his needs?

No one I know has the same experience with sleep as anyone else I know. And the stories keep changing, because that's what kids do. We are the only ones I know personally who have paid someone else to help them and that's hard in itself. In a way, I feel like I've failed. And in another way, it just makes sense to use the expertise of someone who's seen it all before.

And so, here we are, night six of a 21 day plan. We're sleeping separately and out of the room we all share until we've shaken the sleeping-squished-in-one-bed habit. I do nap times, and Kelsey bears the brunt of the nights until we've shaken the nursing-all-night habit. And the strain is starting to show for Papa. Fortunately, I'm getting more sleep than I have in about a year (six - only slightly broken - hours last night!), so I can be the calm one for a change. At least until nap time...