St. Nicolas

Last weekend all the children in Belgium celebrated St. Nicolas. He's not quite the same as Santa Claus, although the similarities are abundant. If you're interested in what this event is about, read all about it on the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

Or even better, read David Sedaris hilarious short piece on it: http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1202-DEC_SEDARIS

Anyway, like all good little children in Belgium, Luke got several gifts in his shoe. His included a little tricycle, which was actually a gift from Alex's cousin John when Luke was born. Thanks John!



For St. Nicolas, my work also organized an afternoon at the circus for all employees with children. We hesitated taking Luke, thinking it might be a bit much for him, but in the end we took him and he loved it. His favorite act was the elephant, followed by the horses, followed by the cows (yes, this circus had a cow act!). Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures, except for one of Alex and Luke walking towards the circus.

More birthday pictures

These are from a birthday party we had with other friends (whose babies also turned 1 recently)

Sporting the latest Belgian fashionable hats:


The cake is ready!



Yummy!


Sugar high!

Milestones

Luke's been trying to walk for some time now, but tonight he took his first series of steps (5 in a row). We were so excited and Alex grabbed the camcorder just in time to record most of his efforts. Shortly thereafter, we also got him to brush his teeth for the first time without making a fuss. We've been working on that for some time!

Fall Update

Alex and I just returned from a lovely 4-day getaway to Valencia, Spain...without Luke in tow! This is the the longest stretch that we left him alone (well, with papy and mamy). Everyone survived, and Alex and I did manage to talk about something other than Luke...some of the time. We both feel reinvigorated by this much needed break, and by the beautiful weather that we had. On our last night there, we even dined al fresco, under the stars (and a heat lamp). Anyway, I feel so refreshed that instead of the usual cripling tiredness that hits me after I put Luke to sleep, tonight I have enough energy to update the blog!! Here are some of our favorite pictures from October - November.

Luke (re)discovering the sweet flesh of a mango:

Here are some pictures of us celebrating Halloween with a brunch and friends at our place. Luke was dressed as a devil-child while we the parents were dressed as angels. The other kids loved following Luke's tail around and pulling it.


Luke got his first haircut in November. He sat relatively still - this is post lunch and he's watching his favorite video. And yes, we saved little locks of hair...


And of course, we celebrated Luke's first birthday! Here's a series of pictures of Luke with the great new toy he received from his dad, posing for a picture with mom, going for a bday walk, and having some cake.






More bday pictures will follow, as well as pictures from our trip to Spain!

Move over Eddy Merckx!!

Move over Eddy Merckx, there's a new cyclist in town. And I'm way cuter than you! Like my cow helmet? We're calling it the "moo" helmet.

I still need a little help getting around town.

On our way to the park:


In the park:

Taking a brake from all that heavy pedaling:

On the way home:

This is exhausting work!

Next time I'll try to make it through the whole bike trip awake.

Where did the time go?

Dear friends and family,

I'm long over due for a blog posting!! Where did the time go? I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden the summer is gone, I'm back at work full time, Alex is traveling all over the world trying to maintain world peace, and Luke is crawling his way into mischief every chance he gets. I feel like I'm truly experiencing that frantic part of life called parenthood.

To recap - the summer was great! We took one final long trip back to the states to see friends and family in August, and soaked up the warm sticky humid DC summer days. We loved every minute of it, especially Alex who reveled in his home culture. We've posted all of our pictures here. (for those interested in getting real prints (Ron, I'm especially thinking of you), you can order the pictures that you like by clicking on "prints" and following the directions. They will be mailed to you wherever you live in the world!)

We returned to Brussels in late august and I promptly started my new job at the Brussels Department of the Environment. The work environment is good, and I enjoy hanging out with my interesting and fun colleagues. But the work is very slow, a very different pace than what I'm used to. A little too slow to my liking actually.

That's about all I have time for tonight. I have a feeling that these blog postings will be a bit more sporadic than in the past, but I will do my best to keep up.

xoxo, Anouk

Family Portrait Video

We recently received from Alex's dad an ultra cool video camcorder (the iFlip - I highly recommend it!).

Here's a short "family portrait" shoot.


Here's a longer one of Luke, doing his post-breakfast morning workout. We're trying to get a shot of his teeth, but he doesn't understand the concept of "say aaaaaah" yet.

Independence Day Fireworks

We hosted a 4th of july, (US) independence day barbeque last weekend, and we even had fireworks over the NY skyline!

almost mobile...

Give him a couple more weeks and he'll be crawling around the house!!

Pushing up on all fours (are you watching mommy?)

Boom! All limbs gave out! Hey that was kinda fun!


Back to square one...

Finland

Last week we went on vacation to Finland, partly to see my brother & family one last time before they move to France, and partly to get our fill of the wide open nature that Finland has to offer. The weather wasn't quite what I expected (cold and sometimes rainy), but it was beautiful nevertheless and we all enjoyed spending quality family time together.

I'm including some of my favorite pictures below, but if you want to see the whole trip, click here

Family picture with the Baltic Sea in the background:

Hiking in the woods with Luke in the backpack:

I have a job! (kinda)

Well, after 3 interviews spread out over 4 months (can you believe I sent my CV back in February?), I finally, sorta, have a job offer with the Brussels Department of the Environment. I'm missing a few "official" documents without which they can't offer me the job. But it's just a question of assembling those documents, which should only take a few weeks. If all goes well, I may be back at work on July 1st. Just in time to work for a few weeks before I take a 3-week vacation at the end of July! :-) We'll see how things play out. In the meantime, I'm pleased to have a job offer (sorta).

Thursday we leave for Finland for a 10-day vacation. We're doing a driving loop on the southern tip of Finland, going from Helsinki to Turku (where my brother&family live), then on to the "archipelago" in the Baltic sea. We're looking forward to being out in nature again, doing a bit of hiking, boating, fishing, etc and just plainly being out of the city!

I don't have many pictures to share this time, except for a few fun ones of Luke playing with the comforter on our bed. He looks like an angel in a cloud...

Food, Frisbee, and More

Luke started solids this month, and he's been a champion eater so far. We've tried carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, banana, and apples. Most of it goes down easily, though not necessarily in his mouth (see pictures). I've now also completely stopped breastfeeding, which is both a joyous occasion (I have my freedom back...sorta), and a very sad occasion (nothing quite replaces the intimacy of breastfeeding).

Daddy likes to feed me when he's home:

But why won't he let me put my hands in the carrots?

What do you mean the food is supposed to go inside my mouth? What are you looking at anyway?

Earlier this month I also participated in my first Ultimate Frisbee tournament since the pregnancy. And I promptly hurt myself! Ugh, this time my left knee. I've got a bad bone contusion and possible ligament damage. I think it's time to quit this sport! For real. I don't think my body can take it anymore. However, Luke is getting better and better at handling the frisbee! If only he could run...

Daddy teaching me to catch with two hands:

But I prefer the three-prong hold:

About to spike the disc!


In other news, I have a third interview tomorrow with the Brussels Department of the Environment. I think (hope!) it will be the last one. I believe they've narrowed it down to two candidates. This last interview is with the director of the organisation, and he ultimately has to sign off on the candidate. Wish me luck!

One last picture, taken in a friend's backyard. I love it when Luke falls asleep against me.

Le Soleil de la Belgique

Today is the 7th day in the row where it has been incredibly nice here in Belgium. Sunny blue skies, warm temperatures (20+C, 70+F), easy breeze... just wonderful. All the vegetation is blooming, growing, and flowering, and all the Belgians are outdoors, turning lobster red at the park, the beach, the corner cafe. Belgium comes alive when the sun shines!

This weekend is a long weekend - monday is the pentecost or whit monday. For a country that claims to have a separation of church and state, we sure get a lot of religious holidays!! But I'm not complaining! Alex's family came for a visit this (long) weekend: his mom, sister, nephew and niece all hopped on a train to see us. We had a lot of fun with them - we went to the animal park on Thursday and the seashore (knokke) on Friday and Saturday. Below are some of my favorite pictures.

Today is also mother's day in Belgium. My first mother's day! Alex went to the bakery this morning and got me my favorite "pain au chocolat", let me take a nap in the afternoon, and made me dinner. All that plus lots of hugs, gurgles, and smiles from Luke. It's been a great day. It feels good to be a mom! Happy mother's day to all the moms out there!

All the cousins (Tities, Iris, Luke) and Nonna playing together at home:

At the animal park. Luke got to sit on Titien's shoulders, which he loved. He especially like to grab Titien's hair. Titien didn't like it so much...

With Tata 'Nessa and cousin Iris at the park. It's about 6pm in this picture but the sun is still high in the sky. The days are getting very long now - sunrise is around 5:30pm, sundown at 9:30pm.

Big cousin love! Titien, who's 4 years old, is a great older cousin. Luke loved it when Titien would play with him, make funny faces, or tickle him.

With Nonna at the seashore in Knokke. It was almost too hot to be outside - thank god for the parasol and the shade. Luke was fascinated by the sand! He loved to put his hands and feet in it, and tried to eat it a couple of times.

Going crabbing in the morning. Notice the big star fish that Alex is holding (but that Titien found).

And yes, we did find some crabs. This one was HUGE - a female with lots of eggs. We put her back where we found her.

Alex, Titien, and Luke sharing a quiet moment in the evening reading books before bed time.

Le soleil de Provence

Last week I went to the South of France to visit Alex's grandmother (Nonna). The weather wasn't quite as good as I had hoped, but it was a bit better than here in Brussels. Luke had a great time with his Nonna, and got to re-acquaint himself with his cousins and his aunt and uncle. I think the pictures speak for themselves...

La semaine dernière je suis allé à St. Remy de Provence rendre visite à « Nonna » pendant qu’Alex était en voyage d’affaire. J’espérais trouver le grand soleil, mais les nuages de pluie de Bruxelles m’ont suivi jusque la bas ! Luke s’est beaucoup amuse avec sa Nonna, et il a refait connaissance avec les cousins.

Iris & Luke:


Nonna with the babies:

Nothing but love for Luke:

Tata Vanessa et Tonton Didier:

Having a laughing fit with MiBlu et Nonna:

Eating lunch outside on our last day:



Upon my return to Brussels, I had a second interview with the Brussels Dept of the Environment. I think it went pretty well and they will contact me within the next two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed.

J'ai eu un deuxième entretien avec Bruxelles Environnement et je trouve que ça c’est plutôt bien passé. J’attends une réponse dans les deux semaines.

More posts to come soon!