2 Years in Belgium

Today marks two years since we landed in Belgium and started life here. This past year has been very different from our first year here (in my opinion). We have adjusted much more to life in Belgium and though there are still challenges, we have come to appreciate much about life here. Of course we still struggle with missing things about home and friends and family, but I feel like we have eased into a way of life that works for us...and we are happy here. We have continued to choose to make Gent our home and not constantly compare or wish we were somewhere else. Although there are tough days from time to time, we are happy.

One of the biggest things I've observed over the past year is that Belgium really does feel like home, or more normal. You might recall a couple of posts I wrote a while ago about the differences between here and the U.S. With the exception of my Belgian birthing experience (which I still need to write about), I feel like I would have to think really hard about it to write another substantive post like the ones above. Instead, I am starting to feel like I could write those posts when we go back to the U.S. It's weird, but things sometimes feel strange when we go home...and it can be frustrating. This is not to put down where we are from in any way because we do love it there. But it's hard to go back and be so different. We have changed and grown a lot these past two years and are not the same people who stepped off that plane two years ago. Our outlook on life, our exposure to so many nationalities and personalities, our willingness to challenge ourselves and step out of our comfort zone...these things have changed us. At the same time, things have moved on back home. This is not the first time I have talked about this, but it's hard to go and try to fit back into our lives in the U.S. Life moves on and we can feel a drifting apart. It's more of a struggle to see how we fit into the life that we once had. This revelation is both exciting and sad; Exciting because I think we are becoming more open to the things in life that God may have for us, but sad because we also see the life we had and loved fading away.

Because we are feeling more at home here, the loneliness and some of the other struggles (hello grocery shopping) that I had the first year are also fading away. Instead, I can see the enormous ways that God has blessed us this year from the experiences we've had, to the people we've met, to the places we've traveled, to the opportunities we've had to grow and serve, to the beautiful addition to our family. I am in awe of the things that our children are getting to experience at such a young age! I still have moments of panic when trying to plan for the future, just as I did before we came and all throughout the first year, but I think those moments are more few and far between these days then a year ago.

I am extremely thankful for this opportunity to grow, see the world, and stretch ourselves as a family. It's been a great year full of many of blessings. We thank God for surrounding us with such a wonderful community who have supported us and walked with us on this journey. I have no doubt that they will continue to walk beside us as we move into year three in Belgium! We look forward to many more fun adventures in Gent and beyond!  

A post from me would not complete without some pictures...so here are some highlights from the year!

Our family at the beginning of 2014

Cologne, Germany

Tenerife, Spain

Our family now...

3 Months!

Zoe turned three months old yesterday! I feel like she has changed so much in the past month. Not only has she grown a lot, but she is also much more vocal and opinionated. She definitely knows what she likes and doesn't like.

One thing that has really become apparent over the past month is that Zoe is very relational. She loves to be where we are and engage with us. She's very responsive and expressive when we interact with her. We love talking to her and seeing her big smiles or seeing her kicking her legs when she sees us coming.

In addition to smiles and being part of the action, Zoe also likes to look around and observe what's going on around her, and she also loves grabbing my hair (with a death grip)! She's actually starting to grab things within her reach really well. She also really likes Cameron. She always smiles and engages with him when he is around. And he's more than happy to talk to her and tell her stories. It's very sweet. Also new this past month is the discovery of her hands, tongue, and voice. She is now starting to put her hands in her mouth and LOVES to stick her tongue out. She thinks it's so funny! Although I did not see it, Cole told me that Zoe rolled over from her back to her belly the other day. So I guess she's getting ready to be a bit more mobile!

One of my favorite developments this month is the discovery that she can make noises. I have said it before and it's still true that Zoe is a very quiet little one. Until a week ago, we pretty much only ever heard her if she was upset (hungry, tired, or wet). However, last week, after I was done feeding her, she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes and started cooing. I responded and she kept going, almost imitating what I was doing. We now have sweet conversations every day and I love it!! And she is expanding her range of noises all the time. Along with the cooing, she also squeals and makes gurgling noises. She thinks the gurgling noises are funny. Another fun development is Zoe's new found love of the bath tub. She now smiles and splashes during bath time. 

Zoe made the big move to her crib this past month and is doing great. Once I feed her at night, usually around 7:30, we swaddle her tightly, lay her down, and she normally sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00. She has started moving around her crib at night. Instead of just wiggling out of her diaper, she now almost always scoots down the crib from where we laid her at night. We have even found her with her head at the other end of the crib a few times! We're not really sure how she does all that while swaddled, but she's gotten good at it.

Like I said at the beginning, I feel like Zoe has grown so much this month. For the first time since having babies, I have experienced a growth spurt. Of course the boys went through growth spurts, but they never really wanted to eat more often or anything like that. About a week ago, Zoe was very hungry every hour and a half to two hours (rather than every three hours) and was not shy about letting me know! Her skinny little legs are all of a sudden chubby little legs, and she's got a rotund belly and chubby cheeks. At her last appointment, she weighed 11.6 lbs (5.270 kg, 32%) and was 27.4 in. long (57.50 cm, 27%). She's growing stronger all the time and holding her head up really well.

Although Zoe is generally a very well natured and happy baby, she is not shy about letting us know when she's unhappy! Thankfully, it's not that often. She really doesn't like to have a dirty diaper. Also on the top of the dislike list are shots and being hungry or tired. Other than that, she is a very happy little girl!

Her beautiful blue eyes keep getter brighter as the days go by and she's still a little baldy. If anything, she's loosing hair rather than growing it. She has some nice bald patches on the back of her head now.

She is still my little cuddle bug. Even though I feel like the baby snuggles are starting to give way to more alert and awake time, she still loves to snuggle and sleep with us when she has a chance. When she sleeps on me, she loves to really get close and almost burrow to make sure she is sufficiently snuggled in for the nap.

Below are some pictures from the last month. Zoe had her first bottle a couple weeks ago. Although she didn't seem to love it, she still drank the whole bottle. Of course the boys were thrilled to help out!

Nice bald patches

Photobombed by daddy!

How is this comfortable?!

Trying to roll over

Happy three months Zo bug!