A day in Amsterdam with Leah

My Mom, Rob and I thought we would have a leisurly Dim Sum meal in Amserdam, and a calm stroll through the museum…Leah had other plans.



We had found at may other outings that if we gave her a bottle first, she happily slept in her stroller or maxi-cozi. At the Dim Sum restaurant, she decided “Hey enough is enough, you are not shoving me under another table while you enjoy a meal”. Even after another bottle, she wanted to be held and look aroud. You try holding a wiggling baby while try eating with chop-sticks one-handed. A real challenge!

Team work eating with Leah


One handed chop-stick eating


After the Dim Sum, we put Leah into our new sling-wrap for the antiquities museum visit. The wrap makers promised “fussy babies love the wrap, and calm down in it feeling close to Mom or Dad”. Sometimes maybe, but not today. Leah continued to fuss no matter what we did. I guess she is more of a modern-art kind of baby. I normally breast feed her at home, or in private places, but she was so unhappy I thought I’d try it with the wrap. I had carefully studied th wrap video on how to discretely do this.

Leah in the sling


I choose an very out-of-the way part of the museum where there were no other people. My moher jokingly said “watch out, here comes the tour group.” Well, no sooner had she said that then along came a tour group! And with impecable timing, Leah began to fuss and cry at just that moment. Here I was feeding Leah, and the new center attraction of the tour group. I tried to move to another part of the museum, but I had just sat down when along came another tour group!

We decided that Leah had the final word, and called it a day. Leah makes each day an adventure!

My first Mother’s day

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I’ve celebrated many wonderful of Mother’s Days, but this special as it was my first time on the receiving end. I awoke last Sunday to be pampered with a delicious breakfast in bed. Rob made french toast, fresh grapefruit and strawberries with sugar. In a few years I am sure Leah will cook me the same delicious meals I made for my Mom – burned toast, runny eggs and under-cooked french toast…and I will relish every bite!

Mother's Day sail


We spent the afternoon celebrating with all the Mommies Kaptein. We rented an electric boat and cruised the local canals and wild life preserve on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Leah enjoyed her first boat ride in her umbrella-shaded travel-basinnette. She is following in the footsteps of her intrepid Papa, who went on his first boat trip at 5 weeks old. After the boat trip, We ended the day with a barbeque at Femke and Tomas’s house.

BBQ with Oma and Opa


The day before, our little family enjoyed a Saturday stroll down the local outdoor market street. Rob bought beautiful yellow roses for me and his mother. To help with our grocery shopping, Leah generously loaned some space in her stroller to help with the carrying.

Shopping with Leah


It was an ideal first mother’s day weekend. Lets see if we can top it with Rob’s first Father’s Day!

The newest American Citizen

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Grandma and Grandpas visit from the US

The other title of this blog would be “Official Message From the Embassy: Call your mother”…but this will be explained later. Last week, Leah officially became a dual citizen of the Netherlands and the US. We learned very valuable tips and tricks – the best advice for speedy service at the US Embassy is bring a crying infant!

2 loyal servants carry Her Highness


The first task to getting Leah’s passport was passport photos. We had to get a 3-week old baby to look into the camera, hold her head up and have her eyes open. It took me kneeling behind her holding up her head, my Mom kneeling at her side holding Leah up and my Dad and the photographer waving madly and calling her name. We had some redoes since you could not see my fingers holding up her neck, but after about 1200 shots we got a good picture.

Mom and Baby ready for a day out in Amsterdam


The 4 loyal servants take a lunch break




Next step – make appointment and visit the US Consulate in Amsterdam. Leah’s 4 loyal servants ran around madly to get the car packed and us off to make the 9 am appointment. Bill and Naomi went off to see the Van Gogh museum, and Rob and I went to the Consulate with Leah. We got to skip to the front of the rather lengthy line because of Leah, and were escorted up to our window. The teller was very charmed by Leah and happily said all our documents were in order while cooing over the baby. We had to wait for another official to affirm that I had lived in the US for more than 5 years. After 5 minutes of waiting with the crying baby, I politely asked at the window if the official was ready, as the baby was crying. He came out right away, also cooed over the baby, and barely glanced at my documents before pronouncing the cute little baby a citizen.

3 of the loyal servants enjoy the fresh air


The only problem…her picture was European standard size, not US…Rob and I had to walk to a nearby photo shop to get a US size photo. After the same rigamoral, we got the picture and went back to the Consulate to drop it off. At the gate, the guard told me “Call your mother, she is worried about you”…It turns out that my parents were so worried about missing us, they did not go to the museum at all. They asked at the consulate after us then waited at the garage…and the guard recognized the daughter of the distresses Mom and did his patriotic duty to pass along the message…

So this tale has its happy ending. Mom was reassured, Leah got her passport and everyone went home happy…Well besides a little grumbling from Dad over not seeing Van Gogh.

To see Leahs first week, click here:
Leah’s first week