Fishing with Captain Papa

I am not sure how many vacation related posts we will be able to do while we are on Holiday back here in the US – but I have a few free moments so I thought I would share some good ones from today.

On Wednesday Morgan caught her first fish.  Captain Papa is a very good teacher and showed Morgan right where the Redfish were.

Morgan thought it was the greatest thing ever watching the shrimp fly through the air when Papa would cast her line..

Decorating the Tree

We had to get our tree setup so we had a few weeks to enjoy it before we head home. Morgan had fun looking through the box of ornaments and helped hang hers on the tree. No cat and dog to worry about this year, but we'll see how the toddler does leaving them be.

Cooking with Dad

Morgan’isms Part 2

No pictures just a stories today!

Morgan has been absolutely cracking us up with some of the things she has been saying lately.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Morgan likes to play peekaboo/hide and seek.  However – she doesn’t really hide as much as she closes her eyes and asks “Where’s Morgan?”.  She even plays hide and seek with herself this way.  Here is a recent one I got to hear earlier this evening – all Morgan

“Where’s Morgan?” (pause) “Is Morgan outside?” (pause) “Nooooo” (pause) “Is Morgan in the car?” (pause) “Nooooo” (pause) “Is Morgan in the trees?” (pause) “Nooooo” (pause) “Is Morgan on the couch?” “PEEK ABOO!!!!”

When driving in the car when taking her to her day care we go over a canal on a bridge.. as we get up to it she asks “You see a bridge around here?” and quickly answers herself “Not Yet”.  Once we are on the bridge she responds “I see a bridge around here!”

Last night when we were snuggling when she was trying not to go to sleep she was laying on my chest as we were reclining in the rocking chair and said “Daddy, I’m your honey”.

Watch out Grandparents – you don’t know what level of cuteness is coming your way in a few weeks!

Antwerp zoo with Stanley

Morgan and I took the Flat Stanley Beth's class sent us to the zoo last week to see the new baby elephant, Kai-Mook. She was the first elephant born in the Antwerp zoo back in May.






There were way too many crowds around Kai-Mook so we took a picture of the one playing outside all alone with no one stopping to say hello. Poor elephant.

Morgan's Daycare

Morgan started at her new daycare a few weeks ago now that Scott is back to working again. They have had such a great time with each other while Mommy is at work so it was a little tough on both of them at first. She did awesome the first day dropping her off and had lots of fun, but after we left her there the first day she knew what was up on day 2. She tried to convince Scott that he should stay there and play with her all day. By day 3 she was running to put her coat on to go play with her friends. It only took her three days to bring home a cold and pass it around, but we're all feeling much better now.

The director has told us she thinks Morgan is doing a great job understanding some Dutch already which is very exciting for us. Its the first chance she's had for regular exposure to the language and culture and we are very grateful for that. She likes to say "tot morgen" (see you tomorrow" when she leaves every night. Also she has been doing very well using the potty there. At home we've introduced her to it, but never once used it. I guess you just watch a few other kids get cheered for and that's all the motivation you need. And apparently she loves to push the flush button and only gets to use it when she fills it. Fun stuff.

I finally had to go out this weekend and find Morgan some new clothes that fit now that it is officially late fall, almost winter. And since I look completely ridiculous in skirts and high heeled boots I just had to take it out on Morgan and ended up with this cute sweater dress and tights. She was quite happy with it as well and let Scott takes some cute pictures today.








New sweater = extra snuggly day:)

Ardennes Trip

Hi All!  Sorry it has been so long since the last post.. we’ve been very busy over here!

This past weekend we hopping in the car and headed over to the Belgian Ardennes.  Unfortunately we were a week or two past the best fall colors but we still had fun. 

This first area we went to was a massive nature/wildlife preserve.  We noticed everyone with the binoculars and birding books – so as it always happens.. we left them both at home.. whoops!

 

On our drive back to Beerse we came across a dam and reservoir – with a massive Lion in the center.  The sun was really bright so we don’t have too many good pictures from the front (plus we couldn’t get directly in front of it)

to help gauge the size of the lion – if you squint you can see Amy and Morgan standing in front of it in the following picture

 

 

Super Amy!

    

‘My Bike!’

Morgan is getting very good at her training bike.  We go on rides around the neighborhood every day.  We have even been venturing further out to the nearby pasture to look at the pony, cows and Amy’s favorite horse.

Doing tricks…

 

striking a pose…

 

zoom zoom…

 

Talk about balance!  Morgan is getting much better with her balance.  At this rate by 3 she will be on a big girls bike with no training wheels!

and these two have nothing to do with a bike ride.. but who can say no to fresh baked pastries….

Thanks Wes!

Daddy gets a Kwak glass and Morgan gets.. well... click below!

Antwerp city park

Today we thought it would be fun to go to Antwerp on a buckeye hunt. Our buckeye jar is MIA at the moment and with the big game coming up lucky buckeyes were a high priority. We remembered there were some buckeye trees in Antwerp in the park outside the hotel where we stayed during our preassignment visit. There was also a nice playground there and lots of rabbits so we thought it might make for a nice afternoon adventure.

Morgan was very excited about the playground and had a great time playing. On the way back to the car we stopped to say hi to some of the bunnies.



Morgan trying to quietly sit next to the bunny and move closer and closer.






And of course our buckeye loot! Even the buckeyes are just a bit different here. Surely there is a lucky one in there somewhere.

Tire Swing!

Morgan and Brenna were happy Scott put the tire swing back up on the swingset. They just couldn't stop laughing the whole time they were swinging together.

Mommy Date

I just love taking random days off to spend with Morgan. We spent the morning riding her own bike around the neighborhood. We met a little 6 year old boy along the way riding his own bike. We said hello and he starting showing off for Morgan doing tricks and such. Morgan was trying to copy every move he made. They played together for about 30 min not caring a bit that they couldn't understand what each other was saying. Ever since Morgan has been asking about the "boy? boy?" No, Morgan, boys are bad.

After Morgan's nap we hopped on Mommy's bike and rode to the nearby park. We shared an ice cream (that didn't last long enough for a picture) and played on the playground all afternoon.


The blue mouth is from the cup of blueberries she ate before we left.