Birthday Party!

We had another birthday party today, but this time it was MINE!!! I am going to be 2 tomorrow, so we took some time (and cake!) to celebrate with all of my friends today!

Several of them made me cards!

They read them all to me and showed me the cute pictures they drew (many with my cute pigtails drawn on!).

They even made me a birthday crown with a 2 on it!

Then everyone started singing. I didn't know they were singing to me until I heard my name. Boy was I surprised! 

And then they gave me my own little cake with a giant candle!

I loved when everyone clapped for me!

Then I got to blow out my candle, but I won't tell you what I wished for, so don't even ask!

Look at all of my friends celebrating with me!

Mmmmm...

Oh yes, this is delicious!

Jackson really liked his too! Oh, and don't you love the Minnie Mouse plates? Mommy brought those from home just for me!

Did I mention that the candle tasted good? Well, not when I bit into the wax, but when I was liking the icing off...

Here are a few of my friends enjoying the party:

We are going to do some fun things to celebrate again tomorrow, but I must say that this was a good beginning to a birthday weekend!

Mommy Time

It has been hard to move across the ocean, let me tell you. While there are so many things that are super fun about where we are, I also really miss my family and friends back home! I was feeling pretty down today, so Mommy stayed out of class for a bit and hung out with just me. It was such a special time! We read lots of books and snuggled some. A good snuggle can go a long way!

Then she got out these crazy cards with holes in them. Of course they were Cars characters, which made them awesome. Then she told me I had to put the strings through them.

This is hard work, people.

I had fun with that for a bit and then decided that I should hook a few of them together.

And then I decided that they all needed to be hooked together!

Mommy and I had a great time playing!

A Typical Day

We don't actually spend all of our time exploring Brussels and eating waffles. We have lots of things to do during our days here in Belgium!

After breakfast each morning we head up to our cool hang out place. There are four of us who are around the same age, and we spend lots of time together.

We have lots of toys to play with! 

Sometimes Riley Cates gets a little shy about posing for pictures, but she really does love playing in here with us. Mr. Zak didn't make it into the pictures, but he takes good care of us in the mornings!

While we're hanging out, Mommy and Daddy are in class. I think we got the better end of that deal! They work hard all morning! And then they even have homework sometimes. They are learning all about what we are going to be doing in England!

And we hear some pretty singing through the door sometimes too!

We eat a big lunch together, and then, of course, we are worn out! Naps all around!

Yes, my bed is pretty dark. It's because I have this awesome cave to help me sleep (and not distract Riley Cates). Everyone should have a cave like this! And everyone should also have Lightning McQueen slippers. Because they are amazing.

After naps we usually take time to go on an adventure somewhere outside. That is different everyday, usually depending on the weather. My favorite days are the days we take the train! (Especially because I know where to find the waffle truck if we do that!)

Oh, and we try to take time to keep up with our emails and blog! :) Riley Cates loves to play on any phone she can get her hands on! Some things never change!

So that's a little glimpse into our life here in Belgium! Always an adventure!

Out and About in Brussels

(This post could also be named "The Day We Remembered to Take Lots of Pictures." Don't say you weren't warned!)

We headed out on the train this morning to go back into Brussels. We love riding the train, by the way! It is the best!

We went with some of our new friends. I love hanging out with "the girls."

One of the girls kept asking where "Riley Cake" was. I think that's a great new nickname!

We got off the train to head out into the city. We were quite a crew!

Did I mention that I love these girls?

We decided to have a picnic lunch in the park. Unfortunately we did not bring a picnic basket, so we used the next best thing: my empty stroller. 

Riley Cake carried the oranges. Because she always has an orange in her hand these days. She is obsessed!

We found some benches,

And ate our yummy lunch!

I can only sit so long, so I went and checked out the park (again, no toys here!). 

We stopped for a minute for a family picture. Aren't we cute?

Ah yes, the girls!

We headed to a museum for a bit of fun. 

While we were waiting to get in, Riley Cake posed for a few pictures. And she is just too cute not to include all of them!

Not surprisingly, Riley Cake and I did not last too long in the museum. So we said goodbye to the girls and headed to "the biggest church I've never seen."

It was beautiful inside (although we had to be quiet in there, which is no fun), but I really liked the view from the stairs. Waffle truck!

Those are now my favorite kind of truck! Delicious!

Pure happiness!

Oh, and on the way back to the train, I noticed Starbucks. I'm so glad we still have those!

We had a fun day with fun friends in a fun city!

How Old?!

Riley Cates sure is a big girl!

When we woke up this morning, I hugged her and said, "I love you, Sissy! You are my best friend!" 

Missing you!

We are thinking about and missing our friends and family today! (Not just the ones in South Carolina!)