Liam's first (play)date . . .

So today Liam had his very first play date! But before I get to that, I must explain that I have been getting out and about by myself much more in the last couple weeks. On Friday Liam and I went to the IWCE (International Women's Club of Eindhoven) monthly potluck. There were about 30 women there and all kinds of delicious international foods to share. Liam did great, sleeping in his tricot slen sling for most of the afternoon, but then was awake for a while while some friends got to hold him. : )

What made this outing memorable is that I didn't have cell service when leaving, so I couldn't use the GPS on my phone to find my way. I was able to follow my friend Megan out of the neighborhood, but then I was a little lost from there. AMAZINGLY, I found the highway and figured out ON MY OWN how to get home. I never used the maps app, never called Keith, kept calm, and carried on. : )  I told Liam how proud I was of us for figuring it out! The reason I start with this story is because it gave me the confidence to hustle out the door today . . .


So this morning I got an email from a friend, Meredith, saying she was having some women and kids from the Mums & Tots group over.   This morning.   At 10:00 am.   It was 9:00 am. Should I do it? Could I do it? I could and I did. : ) And I'm so glad I did. There were 8 other moms with their toddlers in a sea of chaos -- toys, cookies, and little kids finding their voices -- it was so fun! And it also gave me an idea of what to expect as Liam gets a little older. : ) All the "mums" were so nice. One was from Boise, Idaho, but the rest were from all over the world, and it was so cool to chat about how things are raising kids in other countries. While there are a few small differences, it's obvious that being a mom is universal: same worries, same pressures, same funny stories . . . it was great to spend time with other moms!

So after the other moms had left, Meredith generously invited me to stay for lunch and it was great to hang out with her and her precious, adorable, so-much-fun daughter, Dina. Dina is two and a half and was just cracking me up with the way she talked and all her questions! And she was enthralled with Liam, which was so stinkin' cute. Here are a couple pictures from Liam's first (play)date with an older woman. And also a video of Dina playing "piggie" with Liam's toes -- uh-dorable! Meredith has two blogs as well, with lots of pics of their sweet, calm dog, Lacey, who looks and acts a lot like Murphy, and also a food blog where she writes all about her cooking, baking, and her adventures in the kitchen (which, as I've mentioned, is so difficult to do here!).

Big smile!

Liam & Dina : )

We can't wait for our next "date" in a few weeks! And Murphy is excited to have Lacey over as well! I promise to get pictures of the dogs together next time, too. : )

Blog soon,

~ Jessi