Daphne Turns Two!

The littlest of the Baker crew has officially moved in toddlerhood. Oct 6th, Daphne turned 2 and we did a little celebrating at home since Daddy was away at a team retreat...more celebrating to be had as a family this weekend. Evelynn has been asking almost every morning for the past week "is today was Daphne's birthday" and she was so excited when I finally was able to say yes. She ran to their playroom where she had hidden some drawings she made to give to Daphne. She also had saved an extra Doc McStuffins Duplo character to share with her sister. She was very proud to present her gifts.

After our morning walk to school, I asked Daphne what she'd like to have for breakfast...to which she immediately yelled "BACON!" We made breakfast together (Daph likes to be in charge of scrambling our eggs) and played around the house. Before nap time we whipped up some homemade chocolate sauce to go on some birthday ice cream once Evelynn returned from school. Daphne was a very willing taste tester as you can see in the photo below. Nap time commenced (these days that means "reading books" and singing to herself at the top of her lungs).

Her official "I am 2" birthday smile

Exploring the creek

Breakfast time. Can't handle her sweet eyes in the pic.

Post breakfast mommy snuggles and tickles

Sending kisses to Mimi and Papa over text

Chocolate sauce taste tester

We picked up Evelynn at school and the girls went straight for the birthday treat. Daphne opened a couple more gifts she had gotten in the mail with the help of her very excited sister. She played with her new toys and colored with Ev. They eventually requested popcorn and Doc McStuffins. Perfect timing for mommy to get dinner going (homemade mac and cheese for the cheese lover in the house). 

Singing Happy Birthday

She wasn't so sure about holding the burning candles. We've been working on her understanding the fire is hot since we have an open fireplace in the living room.

Enjoying the birthday treat.

It got very quiet...

New Duplo from Daddy and Mommy

Best reaction while opening presents from Grandpa and Grandma (cut digging/gardening set and crayons!)

Using her new crayons

As you can tell, D is very excited to have her own crayons...her big sis, not so much (although after a few minutes D happily shared and smiles were back) 

Birthday Dinner

All in all a good, simple day to celebrate a very special little girl. We missed Daddy and are looking forward to celebrating with him this weekend. Hopefully the weather will be nice so we can walk over to Legoland or go on a forest walking adventure.

As a mommy, today I sighed a little relief that we have made it to 2...although the road ahead will be interesting with our strong-willed, spunky adventure seeking explorer. It has been so special to watch her grow from a tiny 8lb 10oz baby to a beautiful curly haired little girl who's ready to tackle just about anything (including her sister).

Here's to my first 29th bday

Well it's official, I'm in my last year before my 30s and what a whirlwind it has already been. An international move obviously being the biggest adventure which has pushed me WAAAAYYY beyond my comfort zone. Grateful to have a loving and patient hubby along with 2 little ladies ready for adventure to help me embrace this new life. Hoping this next year will bring a better sense of myself and where I want to to invest my time and energy while also pursuing new friendships with fellow expats and Danes.

Poor Joel woke up sick on the morning of my birthday, so I took over on the birthday plans he had hoped to take care of. First up, birthday pancake making session with the girls. Evelynn insisted I needed a birthday candle to start out my day. After breakfast we bundled up for a little exploring in the forest behind our house. It was a chilly but sunny morning, so we took advantage while the weather is still nice. The walk reminded me of the many summers we spent on the Oregon coast camping. My eyes are still adjusting to so much green after 5 years in San Diego. The girls found lots of little treasures....walking sticks, mini pinecones, mushrooms, feathers, etc. After lunch, we decided to eat my birthday cake so we didn't sugar up the girls before bedtime later on. We made a delicious/rich flourless chocolate cake and topped it with homemade whip cream and sprinkles. Present opening followed (thank you to family and friends for all the mailbox deliveries this week) and then I watched Mary Poppins with the girls while Joel took a nap. Joel and I finished out the night with a steak dinner for two...and the best gift of all...he did all the dishes so I could lay on the couch by the fire and watch a tv show.

Birthday pancakes

Forest adventure with my three favorites - this is the area behind our house.

Poor hubby was not feeling well, but joined us for a little fresh oxygen :)

Love her smile.

Daphne saying "mama c'mon" Apparently I wasn't supposed to take photos

Flourless chocolate birthday cake!

Gifts from E

My assortment of rainbow themed drawings from E

Can't believe how her writing has changed since starting kindergarten

Birthday steak dinner with homemade baguette turned garlic bread.

Life in Billund

Well, we are officially in month 3 of living in Denmark and just over 2 weeks in our rental house in Billund. We are so so happy to officially be in Billund, approximately a 7 minute walk to Joel's office and a 5 minute (probably less) bike ride to Evelynn's school. I think we are officially down to 2 boxes and a few suitcases left to unpack and feeling much more settled in our new location.  Here are a few photos from the past couple weeks. Once we get the house cleaned up from the move, I'll give you the official tour.

Hide and Seek with an almost 2 year old

Evelynn's latest selfie

Flowers from our next door neighbor welcoming us to Skovparken

Coloring sisters

Saturday morning at the park

Sweet four year old

We found a pond

More coloring 

Joel getting his man/bat cave set up

Final order of business...getting ready for winter with firewood!

Ev is earning money by stacking wood so she can buy herself Hallie Hippo (a character from her favorite show)

Giant ice cream cone in Vejle

Sister snuggles

Another gift from a neighbor. We have felt quite welcomed here

Friday Baking Day

As many of you know, I love spending time in the kitchen cooking and baking. I found as I was adjusting to this new life in Denmark I resorted to a lot of baking since that is my happy place and working in the kitchen is my comfort zone. Realizing we probably shouldn't have baked treats and homemade desserts every night, I've decided to curb myself to baking once a week. So welcome to our first official baked treat Friday.

This week I made a nectarine blueberry crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream on the side. I'm trying to take advantage of our last few weeks with delicious nectarines (my favorite fruit!) and Joel LOVES cobbler. For the filling, I mixed fresh nectarines and blueberries with a little vanilla bean, flour, brown and white sugar, and a touch of salt. For the topping, I halved the crisp topping recipe from Ina Garten and added in a handful of almonds and cinnamon. It was delicious and gone in 24 hours 😬. Wish you all could be here to share!

My little helper - thank you to our friend Lana for make these sweet aprons for the girls and I!

Blueberries and nectarines going in, while the ice cream churns and topping waits in the food processer.

Finished product!

Let the chore charts begin...!

Evelynn decided she wanted to earn some money so she could buy herself a Hallie Hippo stuffed animal (character from her favorite show, Doc McStuffins)...so her chart loving daddy helped her make a poster to log her earnings. She also wanted one for herself in her "doctor diagnosis" notebook so she could keep her own graph. So far she's earned 5 Kroner (about $1) for helping do dishes and clean up the kitchen. Here's to the beginning of rewarding hard work and learning about finances :)

Moving TOMORROW!

Well as of this morning, we officially hired a moving company and they'll be arriving tomorrow morning to load up the truck. The company is delivering boxes this afternoon for us to pack...aka we need to pack the entire apartment in less than 24 hours. Yikes! Fortunately we have only been here for 3 months, so between Daphne's nap and Evelynn being at school all day I hope I can get a good chunk of it done and finish off tonight with Joel's help. Photos of the chaos will come...mid sentence the boxes were delivered 3 hours earlier than expected and I had to answer the door in the bathrobe. Oops...

In the mean time here are some photos of what has been going on in the Baker house lately.

They hug each other goodbye every morning.

Then D runs to the window to wave goodbye

When we visit the bakery and buy a loaf of bread, they give you a free bun for your kiddo. Daphne was quite excited for her warm bun. 

Morning LEGO building.

Daddy took the girls for a bike ride to the Dragon park so mommy could get a much needed break.

Delicious plums...which always remind her of Grandpa's garden where she tasted her first plum

Daphne "helping" mommy pack.

Visiting the cows on the way home from the bus station

Daphne waiting for the bus. We ride the blue bus behind Daphne every afternoon. 

Evelynn washing her hands at school. The students have their own mini-size bathrooom.

Bus ride home...these two like the "chat" along the way

Daddy and Evelynn teaching Daphne some LEGO building skills

Happy girls playing in the rain on our way from Ev's school to the bus stop

Ev telling me about her school day while D does some tricks in the background.

Not sure what was so funny...but I laughed out loud at this photo and had to share.

Pillow Fight!

Sorry to end on a sad note. Early Saturday morning a woman was found in the canal right outside our apartment. The girls and I played in the back of the apartment while emergency crews got her body out of the water. The police think she fell in and had been in the water for several hours and were eventually able to identify her a day later. So so sad. Not a great way to end our time in Vejle but after this experience we are more than ready.