Bakker Madness!!!

Today marked the end of a whirlwind holiday with the whole Bakker family together for the first time in Seattle.  The two and a half weeks passed by in the blink of an eye but here is a recap of all our escapades.

Ma and Pa Bakker, AKA "the Dutch Elders", arrived on the 15th.  We had some quiet days at home and everyone enjoyed hanging out with Camden...  Oma and Opa were naturally excited to see her and discover how much she had changed since September and Helen soaked up every moment with her baby during the last few days of her maternity leave.

During all this relaxing the view out the window was a bit more hectic. We had a couple trees removed around the house, including the tree that had been blocking our view (and annoyed the crap out of us... note the stump location)

Frank and Niels were then of course really busy stacking firewood!  Mush Frank, Mush!  But look at that View now!

We headed into the city for a night to check out the christmas decorations and have a bite to eat at the Icon Grill (yummy!) and hung out at the Pacific Place Mall to watch it snow inside (take our word for it even if you cannot see it in the picture :-))

Anja and Frank then got to attend Oranjeschool (Camden's Dutch Saturday School) with her!  While Niels ran the video camera Oma sat with Camden in the ring and sang songs and Opa clearly enjoyed craft time with his granddaughter...

Immediately following Oranjeschool it was off to the airport to pickup Josh.  He was VERY excited to meet his Nichtje (little niece) for the first time and Camden took an immediate liking to her Uncle. 

Sadly on the 21st Helen had to return to work.  After 18 weeks of babytalk and diaper changes it was a harsh reality but Mama 's gotta go earn the big $$$s.  The first day was really rough but it was made easier when Auntie Dre drove Camden by Expedia as a surprise so Helen could have some much needed cuddle time.  It was also great that Camden didn't have to go straight to daycare and she got to spend her days with Oma while Helen was away.  Here is a pic of Camden knuddling with Oma in the early morning...

On the 23rd Helen turned 33!  Still in her "early" thirties as she likes to frequently point out.  To celebrate, the Bakkers, joined by the Kolaczs, headed into Seattle and chowed down at Eastlake bar and grill and then watched the Christmas ships for their grande finale show!  It was a tid bit chilly outside!

And then it was time for...

 Camden's First Christmas

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First it was pictures with Santa, see the blog below. 

We also used the mall decorations and took this photo on the go!

The stockings were hung by the fireplace with care.  There were so many of us, there was no space to spare.

The tree was decorated pretty and was all aglow and on the TV was a fake fireplace show...

Little Camden, dressed like Reindeer, hanging out under the tree... presents everwhere that the eye could see

Clearly Camden had more than her fair share! Oma opening Camden's first ornament with great care

To Helen's parents to continue the celebration, played a new White Elephant gift exchange that was followed with much fascination.

It was incredible to have everyone together, so Morgan took some photos to commemorate the moment forever

A tradition we started the following day, breakfast with the Gannons and time for the kids to play

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Ok, enough with the rhyming.  After the holiday celebrations had come and gone, the boys got into sports mode.

First the men folk went shooting at the skeet range...   

Then Josh and Niels Skied 3 days in a row for their second, third, and fourth time (they went once before Christmas too).  First off with Frank at Stevens and then a double-header overnight at Crystal.  They had some incredible views of Mount Ranier and spent most of their time skiing the back country and black diamonds.  Snow was pretty great, especially on the last day when there was a good dumping of fresh powder.

We rang in 2010 at a house party at our friends Jana's house. It was a cozy evening as we drank and were merry and watched the spaceneedle fireworks on TV.

On top of all this, the best and most important thing that happened over these past few weeks is Oma, Opa, and Om Josh really got to spend a lot of quality time with Camden.

Frank reading a bedtime story...  Josh having a cuddle on the couch... and feeding time with Oma.

Ok, One more rhyme :-)

It was so wonderful having everyone here. 

Camden was showered with so much love to last the year.

Ma, Pa, and Broertje will be very sorely missed

until we see you next, consider yourself internet kissed