What a personality!

It has been so much fun spending this last week with just Natalia and I. She is just a hilarious little person with a huge amount of personality. Today we went outside and played in the yard. She goes crazy everytime she hears a noise. She loves to hear airplanes fly over and dogs barking. It's really cool to see just how aware of her surroundings she is. I love watching her constantly changing facial expressions.
It's been a week now since Emma and Gerben have been gone and I am really starting to miss them. I love having the extra help around the house and it's really nice when Natalia has someone else to play with besides me. They should be home around midnight on Monday and I can't wait!

Weekend in Arthur

Natalia and I have arrived back home after our weekend in Arthur. On Saturday we ventured up to down to Guelph the visit Auntie Rie. Natalia was so good there. She didn't get into anything. She loved the fact that Auntie Rie had arrowroot cookies in her drawer and kept asking for me. Auntie Rie has the fabulous massage chair and I decided to put Natalia in it. I didn't know whether she would freak out for enjoy it. Well, she LOVED it. I think she sat in that chair for atleast a half an hour. Every once and a while she would get a huge grin on her face as the massage moved over her body.

On Sunday, Ava came for a visit. It is so much fun to see these two girls interact. They were so good together. I really notice that the 3 month age difference is beginning to show less and less. Pretty soon you won't know there is any age difference.

I can't get over how good Natalia is about sleeping at other peoples houses. Emma would never sleep anywhere but home. Natalia doesn't seem to care where she is. As long as she has a bed she will sleep. This is a child the loves her sleep.

Natalia and I had a great weekend but we cannot help but count down the days until Daddy and Emma are home.

They made it to Australia!

Well, they made it safe and sound all the way to Australia. It sounds like Emma is really enjoying herself. She could hardly stop herself from giggling as she told me that they drive on the wrong side of the road there. She is so excited to be with Oma and Opa and has already convinced them to take her to a park. I am sure she will have a great time.

Natalia and I are currently in Arthur at Mom and Dads. Today Ava came for a visit. It is so cute to see them interact with each other. While they are here Ava tends to be the quieter one, she doesn't say much vocally but she loves to climb and get into things. Natalia is more of a animated talker who loves the watch the action. They are a funny little pair. As they get older and older I am sure it's going to be lots of fun watching their personalities bloom and change. You never know...the two might have completely clashing personalities in the future. I will try to post pictures tomorrow when I get home.

And they're off....

Gerben and Emma left the house at 9:45 this morning. They caught their plane on time and are heading first to San Francisco. I am sure everything will go well with that flight. They then have a 6 hour lay-over before they board the plane again for a 13 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. I believe they leave San Francisco around midnight our time so Emma should be very tired and hopefully sleep for a good portion of the next leg of the journey. I hope they have a fantastic visit in Australia. I miss them already! It sure seems weird with only 1 child to drag around. So far she doesn't seem to have noticed that Emma isn't here. I am sure that will come.

1 more sleep!

Gerben and Emma leave tomorrow and are trying to get everything organized. Passports are ready, lawyers documents are ready. It now time to finish the laundry and pack all the goodies for the trip. My biggest concern at the moment is that the carseat makes it from Canada to Australia. I think I would completely freak out if it didn't. We bought this cool bag for it that will store the seat plus it can be a back pack or a tug along bag because it has wheels. It's really, really cool and should make Gerben's job much easier seeing as carseats are so bulky. I am not going with them to the airport because I refuse to drive there so they will be doing park and fly.

2 more days!

Just 2 more days and Emma takes off on a flight half way across the world to a place where they drive on the wrong side of the road, where it's winter and where your toilet flushes in the opposite direction. In some ways I wish I was going so that I could experience these things with her. I think she is going to get quite a kick out of the cars. Just the other day she told me that because it's winter in Australia she is going to make a snowman with Oma. I promptly had to explain to her that it's 15 degrees C. and there is no snow. She was a little disappointed.

I'm not sure what Natalia and I will do while Gerben and Emma are away. I am sure we will spend a night or two in Arthur and catch up with some people. I can't wait to see Jen and Jas in person. I am so excited about the twins. What a cool thing to have happening in my family.

Recent Photos of the Girls

To get this blog started I wanted to share a few recent photos that I took of the girls. They are not very cooperative when it comes to having their photos taken so I am always thrilled when I get some truly beautiful photos. Life is quite busy around our house lately. Emma and Gerben are heading to Australia to visit Oma and Opa on Friday. Emma is very, very excited. She has it all planned out that her and Oma will be going to a park together and she is counting down the days. We have packed tons of things for her to do on the airplane and in the airport seeing as she will be travelling for about 30 hours. I am sure they will make out just fine.

Emma will be starting school soon after she returns from Australia as well. She keeps talking about her "Kindergarten School" and what she will do at it. I think she is looking forward to it but I also know that she doesn't adapt to change very well so I am certain that we will have a few meltdowns to deal with in the beginning.

Natalia is just Natalia these days. Still an avid cuddler and thumbsucker! She is a very crazy little critter, just full of personality. She loves to come up to you and pretend to give you a kiss. When she gets really close she turns around and runs away laughing! It's so cute!

Welcome to our blog!

With family and friends on 3 continents and in many countries throughout the world I have decided that it is time to start a Vahl Family Blog! The girls are growing up way too fast and I want everyone to be able to watch them grow up with us. I hope you enjoy reading our blog and feel free to check back regularly.