Dutch Roots

It's been quite the busy few weeks!  At the end of April, we flew to Amsterdam for a long weekend.  This we just before Queen's Day - the national holiday in celebration of the Queen's birthday (actually her mom's).  This year was extra special due to the the abdication of the Queen and crowning of the Prince.  The city was a buzz with activity and preparation for the big event.  Buildings were decorated with orange, in honor of the Dutch Royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau.  We all found Amsterdam to be a beautiful, friendly town.  We were amazed by the number of bikes, enjoyed all the canals and boats, and were pleasantly surprised to find a city where everyone spoke English!  Unlike here in Geneva, nearly everyone started by speaking English to us.  Even restaurant menus were in English.  It was such an obvious difference from Geneva, even though most people here can also speak English.

Beckham turned 9 months, just before we left for our trip.  He is now a fast little crawler and pulls himself up with ease (and adult nervousness).  Occasionally, he will stand without really holding onto anything and he *thinks* he can just turn around and stay standing.

Standing with ease, 'helping' Grandma

Then, May rushed in new jobs for BOTH Marty and I!  May 1st, Marty started in his new role in Fem Care and this week, I returned back to work in Hair Care.  So far, my transition back to work has gone well.  The boys seem to be doing well with the nanny and I have had two good days at work.  There are a few familiar faces in the office and it's nice to come back with some knowledge of the business, rather than being entirely new to the category, job and country.  It is really amazing how international the team is - Swiss, Greek, German, Dutch, French, Swedish, etc.  I am constantly hearing various languages spoken in the office and even sat in on one meeting carried on in German!  

Evenings have gone well, but it's going to be an adjustment.  We have only two hours with the boys before we put them to bed, so it is really short and Marty and I have to be really coordinated to manage it.  The good news is that this is our second go-around and the boys have been very cooperative!  

Whew!