All Work And Some Play!

To kick off 2013, Kirk traveled to Barcelona for some work meetings. Everything was great until Kirk got ill a couple of days in. He even had to skip the FC Barcelona game! No more jamon for him for a while.

Teia is now officially 8 months old!  She is getting stronger and bigger everyday all with a permanant smile on her face. We keep busy with walks around the city, attending Bouncy Bunch classes (little baby music/play group) and once a week Teia goes to Kindergarden (here they call it 'crèche') - a nice way to get exposure to the language, other babies, adults and all the fun viruses. She also has some fun with her pals during weekly playdates! This winter has been brutal for the Johnsen household - cold after flu after cold we hope the spring will bring strong immune systems and less illness.

Indy Girl is doing well also. We were just informed that as of now she is considered cancer free and we are to remove her off of all medications.  For the past year Indy has been taking steroids to help her gain weight, keep a healthy appetite and to help with any pain resulting from her cancer. Happy to hear Indy is holding up just fine!

In my spare time I've been attending weekly photography classes mainly to learn the ins and outs of our camera.  My plan is to put these new skills to use with my new freelance gig. Starting soon I will be a Tour Contributor for Apartment Therapy. Apartment Therapy is great website that gives people resources, guidance, and inspiration for decorating and creating a beautiful, healthy and happy home! As Tour Contributor I will take pictures of Amsterdam apartments, nurseries and offices and share my tours on the site. I am really excited for the opportunity - keep a look out for future posts!

Kirk is one lucky guy making his third appearance in Chamonix back in March - this time for a guys weekend! Our dear friend Scott and his wife Jo are moving back to the States at the end of April, so Scott, Kirk, Michael and Matt made one last trip to Cham - dubbed Cham Slam '13 (though I'm not sure how much of the 'Slam' they lived up to). They had some amazing skiing/boarding adventures. One day the group hired a guide to take them down the Vallee Blanche - a 13 mile, 9,000ft drop, off-piste run that starts at almost 13,000 feet up at the Aiguille du Midi ('Needle of the South'). They had a beautifully sunny day, allowing them to see mountains for miles, and all the various (and dangerous) crevasses and seracs. Everyone made it home safe and sound.

Our buddy Matt made it out for his 4th visit - a nice long weekend. We are incredibly spoiled that Matt can pull off visiting us as often as he does. Hopefully someday we can return our appreciation by visiting he and Emily in Singapore!!!

Kirk's logged a few frequent flier miles this year with trips to San Francisco, Vancouver, Atlanta, Zurich, London and Seattle. Apparently they were good and productive trips, but we'll all be happy to have him home a little more often!

For Easter we drove to Paris to visit our friends Kristi and Adam before they move back to the States in April. We arrived Friday and made a stroll around the neighborhood - some window shopping and a quick stop for tasty beer!  Kirk and Adam got tickets to the Paris Saint Germain football game and us gals stayed in for the night!

The next day's plans of spending hours at the Marche Aux Puces de Cligancourt (biggest flea market in Paris) came to a screeching halt when Teia woke up with a stomachache and fever.  Our day was split up now with some light shopping and touring around.  Kirk and Adam walked by the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre along with their exploration of the old Marais neighborhood.

Early the next day Kristi and myself made it out to the flea market before making the long drive home.  Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Yet another work trip for Kirk - this time Portland. He even managed to see a few friends for a few hours upon his arrival. He then spent the rest of the week in Sunriver at an offsite doing who knows what - probably golf and sunbathing :)

Once Kirk got back from the States the three of us flew to Barcelona for his latest EA Sports FIFA shoot. Teia and I were feeling a bit left out these days - so we were so happy to tag along for this adventure! We stayed at the Majestic hotel right in the city center and enjoyed long walks along the promenade, mojitos on the hotel rooftop, and room service!  It was splendid!

Home for the Holidays

It's crazy to think a year ago we discovered on Christmas day that we were pregnant and now we are making our first trip home to the states with little Miss Teia!  Three weeks of family, friends, cabin, farm, good food and shopping - this will be wonderful!

Teia was such a little trooper.  She did really well on the 11 hour flight and enjoyed some little naps in her special bassinet!  Passengers nearby commented on her being a good little lady!

Touchdown in Seattle we headed straight for Treasure Island (also known as Reach Island) where my family has a cabin.  I stayed there for the week with Teia. Kirk could only stay a couple days then had to head off to Portland for a few days for work.

So many wonderful and special memories happened at the cabin throughout my life so we are especially happy to create more with the McCoy family.  Tyler, Erin and my father met Teia for the first time and they were naturals!   Grandma Di Di stayed with us for 3 weeks in Amsterdam when Teia was born - so she was happier than ever to see Teia getting bigger and chattier!  Ryan and Nicole also came out for the night - anxiously awaiting their turn with baby Teia.

Kirk's time in Portland was mostly spent working, but he did manage to get out a little. One night he caught a Blazers game, another he went bowling, and he was even lucky enough to have dinner at Ryan Bukstein's new house with his lovely wife, Sarahbeth and the Knodles!  On his way back Kirk stopped by Voodoo Donut's and picked up a particular donut I've been talking about for years now - my favorite type of donut - maple bar and this donut has a a tasty addition - bacon.  Thanks for finally bringing such a tasty treat home and into my belly!

Next stop, Seattle!  There was not one second we didn't spend with out our lovely friends and family.  We made our way to Ryan and Nicole's for an evening and then spent the remainder of the week with   Emily and Kai - THANK YOU! And they threw a nice gathering - a lovely Christmas party and also wine with the girls!  Our friends Bryce and Brooke also thru a big reunion gathering - tis the season!!!  We always feel the love when we come home - making it harder to leave every time!

Meanwhile Indiana stuck around in chilly Amsterdam with her new friend Sammie.  Thanks for taking care of our furry friend, Janna!

My cousin Joseph and his wife Maria met us for yummy bites at Oaxaca in Ballard.  I think they fell in love with Miss T - she behaved pretty well for a jet-lagged baby!  Hope to see you out in Amsterdam soon!!!

I am realizing more and more this post is all about Teia - but we have a lot of special first's for her during this trip including sitting on Santa's lap for Christmas pics!

She also met the Snyders for dinner - not the best night for her - jet lag finally caught up, but at least we captured this picture with Hunter and her sweet smile!

Back at Emily and Kai's we were entertained by all the new additions - baby Finley, Nile, and Vincent!

It's been years, but we finally managed to get some old school girls together - my best friends from childhood - Amy, Alyssa, Kelly, Candace and Lisa!  It's been far too long!

Next stop - Thorp for Christmas with Kirk's family!  Teia is officially the first great grandchild for the Harrel family; she met many of Kirk's (great) aunts, (great) uncles, great grandparents and cousins, and made sure to spend quality time with her Grandma Sharon!  Sharon also spent some time with us in Amsterdam - she too couldn't wait to give kisses and hugs to her grandchild!

The Slothower's hosted Christmas and managed to feed 25 of us - I don't know how they handled it, but dinner was a success and the evening was filled with fun and new memories!  We sure are lucky to have such a wonderful, fun, loving and supportive family!

It wouldn't be Christmas without a showing of Christmas Vacation. I think Teia really enjoyed herself - definitely her favorite Christmas movie!

This year  was especially wonderful with our family and friends.  Home never seemed so different, but in a good way!  Looking forward to the next trip home.  

For New Year's we had a low key night with our friends Erin and Chad Rohrer.  The night included a nice dinner, lovely rose champagne, and lots of laughs and good chats!  Teia woke up in time for the fireworks craziness outside.  Amsterdam sure knows how to throw a good New Year's - not necessarily a safe one, but a bright one!

Amsterdam still seems to amaze us - always something unique and wonderful around the corner - we are thrilled to bring up our little one in this fantastic city.  More to come......finally finding some normalcy and routine in our life which hopefully means more posts!