Frietjes and Spaghetti

Cold

2012-01-31T12:07:00.000+01:00

So far, winter has been everything except cold. Last Saturday, however, temperatures dropped a lot and by the evening it finally started snowing. When we woke up Sunday morning, everything was covered with a thick white layer. Yesterday, the schools were closed because of the snow. This morning, Auro left with the schoolbus, but they have predicted new snowfall for this afternoon. Down in the city, all schools have been ordered to send the children home at 2 o'clock. We might get a call from the school here too, asking us to come pick up Auro before it starts snowing too heavily....

Year of the dragon

2012-01-28T23:19:00.003+01:00

I'm a little late with this, but: HAPPY NEW YEAR! May the year of the dragon bring you lots of once-in-a-lifetime chances, countless happy moments and an inexhaustable energy supply to face the less perfect days!

To start the new year freshly, here is a long overdue update on 'us' ....

December 2011

Auro started December by going to school happily, but soon he caught a nasty cold and had to stay home with fever. Still not feeling too well, but wanting to sing "zie ginds komt de stoomboot" to a live Saint Nicholas, we took him to Milan where the holy man was visiting all the Belgian and Dutch children living in the region. A little scared and slightly intimidated by the Saint and his enormously tall black helpers, Auro patiently waited his turn and totally lit up after Saint Nicholas shook his hand.Totally worth the long drive!!

The rest of the month, however, Auro spent mostly at home: caughing, sneezing, vomiting and looking pale. Many sleepless nights and an intestinal flu attack later, he recovered just in time to celebrate Christmas, which, despite the big plans to have a big Christmas dinner with my in-laws, we spent at home by ourselves. It was just perfect! Remo cooked, I baked a cake for the first time in my life and the children where healthy and happy!

My in-laws finally joined us after Christmas and we ended up having a very relaxed time then ast well, so we really enjoyed our holidays!

Auro doesn't look very happy in this picture, but I can assure you that he was.

After meeting Saint Nicholas, the children got some candies and a little present.

And then they tell me I am tall!! Even Tosca was impressed!

ready for Saint Nicholas

the next morning ;-)

Xmas Eve

the Xmas cake

January 2012

Right before the end of the year, Remo's parents took Auro to the mountains with them. The week he was there, he was outside inhaling the fresh mountain air every day while stuffing himself with chocolate and other goodies that he usually is not allowed to eat in large quantities. When he came back to us he looked slightly chubbier, but the healthy colour had returned to his little face!

Anyway, after the Befana's visit, Auro was ready to start kindergarten again. He lasted exactly 2 weeks, until, on the morning of my birthday, he woke up with a fever... again. Soon the coughing and vomiting followed, but, now, one week later he seems to be on the betterhand. Unless snow prevents us from leaving the house, Auro will give it another try on Monday ;-)

the money (=chocolate) and lumps of coal (=sugar) that Befana left for Auro

On my birthday... Auro enjoying the return of the sun on our house (after about one month without direct sunlight)

The bus

2011-10-07T21:23:00.000+02:00

A little before 8 in the morning: Auro waiting with the other children for the schoolbus

Getting on the bus with a smile!

The magic number

2011-10-05T21:27:00.001+02:00

Many friends have always told me that once your child turns 3, things become much easier. Auro has indeed changed a lot over the past couple of months and has become much more independent. On the 17th of September, we celebrated his 3rd birthday with a little party at home and some days later (on the 21st) he started school (a small kindergarten or asilo in a beautiful place, high on a mountain, with an amazing view) . In Italy, sending a child to school for the first time is taken very seriously. The first days or weeks (depending on the child) is called the inserimento period (or acclimation period). During this time a child is allowed to gradually get used to this new world that is opening up to him. So, the first 3 days he went from 10 o'clock until 11. The first day I stayed with him for an hour. The next day for half an hour. The 3rd day I was asked to wait outside. On the 4th day he took the schoolbus and we followed by car. The next day he took the bus by himself and I went to pick him up before lunch time. After that he was ready to be picked up after lunch. And, today, exactly 2 weeks since his first day, he will stay in school the whole day. A little before 8 this morning he got on the yellow schoolbus, and around 16:15 I will be waiting for him at the bust stop!! I don't know if this inserimento period exists in other countries, but I had never heard of anything like this. I must say: it seems to be a good thing. After all, it is a big change for a small kid and this way he can ease into his new situation without too many tears. Of course, Auro did cry a little bit the first days, but now he seems to be ok with the idea of being away from me and spending time with other children playing, drawing, listening to stories...

While Auro was busy turning 3, also Tosca went through a big change. Except for the fact that she caught her first cold (fever, stuffy nose and lots of crying and sleepless nights), she woke up one morning with a little tooth sticking through the gums on her lower jaw. Some days later, a second one showed itself. Tosca is no longer toothless! Her nights of undisturbed peaceful sleeping, unfortunately, have not returned yet. She still wakes up almost every night and cries, cries, cries...

Auro with his birthday crown (to my surprise he wore it practically the whole day!)


First day of school!

Tosca and her 2 first little teeth

A bit messy, but very tasty cookie!

News

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000+02:00

It`s been a while since the last post, so to bring you up to date speedily, here`s a list of some of the more important `news`.

*Me and the children spent most of the summer in Cesenatico while Remo stayed in Genoa to work (at the institute and in the house). For little Tosca the heat and humidity was a bit overwhelming (read: lots of crying and desperate thumb sucking), but Auro had the time of his life. Not just on the beach, but also in the garden, in the city park... basically in any other place where he could find `toys`.

On the beach: Tosca sucking her thumb because she is sleepy

Tosca and her cousin Ginevra

* While we were in Cesenatico, I took Auro to the hairdresser for the first time. Since the day his hair became long enough for a haircut, I have been the one who did the cutting, so I figured it was time for a professional to get a go at it. It wasn`t easy to convince Auro to have a stranger touch his hair, but 2 visits later (the first time he wouldn`t even sit down, so we had to go back home) he looked like this!

*It took some time and effort, but, while we were enjoying ourselves in Cesenatico, Remo built a wall! We have been trying to come up with a plan to re-organize the garden and after seeing this wall, we have decided to buit a lower version of this beauty and a fence on top all around the garden.

*Only the part where the garden stops abruptly and there is a small stream running 2 meters below, we decided to put a net fence and have climbing plants make a natural wall. The poles are already in place and soon we will put up the net and plant the plants.

Unfortunately, we had a little accident with one of the unused poles (it fell on Auro`s face and cut right through his upper lip-cheek area) and he needed to be rushed of to the emergency room where he got 6 stitches. After the inital swelling went down, Auro cheered up again and if he doesn`t touch the crust too much it shouldn`t leave too big of a scar!

*Since the accident, Auro has not slept by himself anymore. The first night I took him in bed with me (more to soothe my guilty conscience than anything else), and from the 2nd night on Tosca has been sleeping in the same room as Auro! (Auro now sleeps in a big bed, while Tosca sleeps in Auro`s old bed.)

*Tosca continues to grow and she does something new nearly every day. She has started rolling over (from back to stomach and the other way around) and has no difficulties anymore in grabbbing even the smallest toys and bringing them to her mouth for closer inspection.

Since she recently turned 6 (months), I have started to give her solids.The first day not much actually made it to her stomach, but from day 2 she devoured her new food and she is now eating three meals per day (and I still breastfeed her 4 times a day!). Today she successfully had a meal in her high chair (supported by cushions and towels), so from tomorrow she will join us at the table when we eat!

paediatrician visit

2011-07-23T14:40:00.000+02:00

On Wednesday, we took our children to see the new paediatrician (because we moved out of the city, we also had to change doctors!). She had a thorough look at Tosca and updated the info in Auro's file. Tosca has doubled her weight since birth and now weighs 6,2 kg. She has also grown quite a bit and is now 64 cm 'tall'. Auro wouldn't keep still on the scale and therefore weighed only 14 kg, but at home he weighs about 15 kg. Whereas his weight is within the norm, he is 98 cm tall and is still considered a bit tall for Italian standards.

In September, Auro will start going to the kindergarten and since they serve hot meals for lunch, we also needed to ask the paediatrician for a letter saying that we are vegetarians. Unfortunately, she said that she couldn't do that, so we will have to write our own letter to the school and hope that they will respect our wishes and not give meat to Auro. We will see how that goes...

I also had another try and asked whether she could help with my breastfeeding problem (the pain I had before disappeared for a while, but then it came back, though luckily not as strongly as before), but, even though she seemed very empathetic, she couldn't help me. I was, by the way, recommended to get an ultrasound of my right breast...

Forget-me-not

2011-07-15T22:52:00.000+02:00

Lately it seems that I'm always writing about Auro and I never have any news about Tosca, so here is a post entirely dedicated to my little flower.

In short: she is doing great. She is growing and becoming more beautiful every day. Since she started sleeping through the night (more than 2 months ago), she has not woken up again during the night. That is until last night... She woke up around 2 this morning and wanted to be fed. Actually, she seems to be going through a bit of a difficult period recently, because she also cries more often than usual. Also new are the ear-piercing shrieks of frustration she lets out when she doesn't succeed in grabbing the toy she wants. I wonder if that is typical for girls? Auro certainly didn't do that.

Tosca is nearly 20 weeks old, but I have no idea how much she weighs, nor how 'tall' she is. On Wednesday we have an appointment with the pediatrician, so I will have more numbers by then. Today she did skip her 3rd nap (the one towards the evening) for the first time, so I'm hoping that is what she needed to return to her uninterrupted night's sleep.

Success story

2011-07-15T16:20:00.000+02:00

Potty-break during dinner

It's official: Auro is finally potty trained! It took some time and all the positive reinforcement techniques I could think of (from encouraging and complimenting to awarding every effort and result with little stickers, candies and presents), but it seems that the final step, and I'm not proud of this, was taken with an old-fashioned punishment technique. After he had 'soiled himself' for the 3rd time in one day, I lost it and slapped him on the hand (in my defense: I had warned him after the 2nd time). I then left him crying outside while I went inside to fight off the urge to hug him and apologize (no matter how angry I am, it's always heartbreaking for me to see him in tears). Anyway, more than 1 week has passed since this episode and I have not had to change his trousers even once! I'm going to relish this new-found happiness for another bit (and regain my powers) and then... that diaper he still wears during the night is coming off too!

I had wrapped all these Duplo blocks separately and every time Auro sat down on his potty and 'produced' something he was rewarded with a present (small present for number 1 and a big one for number 2).

Genovese

2011-07-11T15:06:00.000+02:00

I like our new neighbors. Let me tell you why. They own a piece of land up in the mountains where they grow vegetables. Apparently, we have entered the zucchine season and, yesterday, we were presented with a bag full of fresh zucchine (with the flowers still attached). Not only that, they also gave us a big bunch of basil leaves. As soon as I get some eggs from the store, I am planning to make zucchine ripiene (zucchine stuffed with ricotta cheese), but in the mean while, like a real Genovese, I processed all the basil into pesto. Since it was the first time for me to try this, I wasn't sure if it would come out OK, but seeing Auro eat 3 plates of pasta, it couldn't have been too bad ;-)

Wet

2011-07-04T22:58:00.000+02:00

Who needs to go to the beach if there is enough sand in the garden and a big bucket with fresh spring water to play with? And now that we are on the subject of 'getting wet', Auro has been 'dry' and without a diaper for 3 days already! It took a while and I was about to give up, but it seems he has got it under control now...

60

2011-06-30T16:01:00.000+02:00

On the 19th of June, Remo's mother turned 60. A special birthday requires a special gift, but what do you get for someone who seems to have everything already? Luckily, Lara (Remo's sister) remembered that one of the things her mother once mentioned as something she wanted to do before dying is to ride in a sidecar. So, all we had to do was find a motorbike with sidecar (preferably with driver). Easier said than done. It actually took some weeks (and some visits to a local biker's bar) before we (read: Lara) found a guy owning a sidecar, willing to come down to Cesenatico and drive my mother-in-law around for a couple of hours... and all for a reasonable price! But it was so worth it.Tears of commotion upon seeing a bike with an empty sidecar pull up in front of the house.

Dream fulfilled!

Mission accomplished!

Dance

2011-06-28T22:22:00.002+02:00

During the latest auditions of So You Think You Can Dance, a young dancer of unparalleled talent was discovered. Some of you might remember the little happy dance Auro so proudly performed in a Chinese shopping mall a little over a year ago? Well, he had rhythm then and he still has it!

Fever

2011-06-13T21:29:00.000+02:00

On Saturday and Sunday, Cesenatico hosted the Biker Bikini Benefit, an (at least I think) annual biker's event organized by a local bar. Over the weekend, Cesenatico changed from a rather quiet port town mostly visited by families looking to spend some relax time on the beach, into a noisy bikers nest when heavily tattooed men dressed in leather came flooding in from all over the country on their shiny motorbikes. The ideal opportunity to show Auro some real choppers, cruisers and Harley Davidson's! It was absolutely wonderful to see how his jaw dropped open in awe when one bike after the other drove past us. He was also more than happy to pose with the bikes he liked most ;-)

Last night, unfortunately, Auro developed a high fever. 2 paracetamol suppositories and a sleepless night later, luckily, the fever disappeared and he is feeling much better now. Let's hope that tonight will bring him lots of sleep and 'peaceful' dreams about beautiful motorcycles.

Time off

2011-06-11T22:09:00.000+02:00

After my family had left Genoa, Remo's parents came to visit. Because Remo had to go to China for a week,we had decided that the children and I would travel back with them to Cesenatico.

So far we have been enjoying our little holiday. Having all that extra time to spend with my children, I decided to get serious about Auro's potty training. In the morning, we put on his swim-shorts, that are easy to rinse, and we make him sit on his potty at regular intervals. So far, it's not too bad. It is clear that he is physically able to do what he is supposed to do, but he doesn't really want to. It reminds me very much of the time when he was learning to eat with a spoon. He could do it, but he preferred me to feed him. After 2 or 3 days of crying and not eating (because I refused to feed him), he got over it and picked up the spoon. We have not quite yet reached the final stage yet, but I am very hopeful ;-)

In the car, all safely buckled up

Tosca's first time on the beach

...no comment ;-)

Déjeuner sur l'herbe

2011-06-04T11:02:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday, at around 6:30 in the morning, my family from Belgium arrived at the house! During the next 5 days I forgot I was in Italy: the main language spoken in the house was Dutch, and while the mayonnaise was always on the table, the empty beer bottles piled up in the kitchen ;-).

Auro had a great time talking to/playing with/climbing on his new victims. Zita needed some days to appreciate her cousin's 'entertaining qualities', but at the end decided to reward his efforts with 15 minutes of uninterrupted laughter! Tosca was her happy self and smiled at anyone who would give her some attention. She even kept smiling after she got a nasty sunburn in her face (pieces of her skin came off and she looked horrible, but it's nearly gone by now).

Picnicking in the mountains, or our own déjeuner sur l'herbe as my brother so wittingly compared it to

Zita reading a bedtime story to her father

Vaccinated

2011-05-27T21:29:00.001+02:00

Today, Tosca is exactly 3 months old and this morning we had an appointment for her first vaccinations (7 vaccinations in 2 shots, one in each thigh). For the next set we have to go back on the 25th of July.

Tosca is growing well. In 3 months time, she gained a little more than 2 kilos (from 3,130kg at birth to 5,240kg today) and grew 11cm (50cm at birth, 61cm today!). And all of that with my milk ;-)

The pain

2011-05-25T23:25:00.001+02:00

I am convinced that breastfeeding is one of the best gifts you can give to your child. This gift, however, sometimes comes at a high price for the mother. Because, whereas breastfeeding is thought to be something very instinctive and natural, more often than not it it something that one needs to learn. Not only can it be very painful in the beginning, I find that there is a lack of supportive doctors for those who want to overcome those pains and continue breastfeeding. Switching to bottle-feeding is very often seen as the only solution to breastfeeding pains. I agree that sometimes it is better to quit. If the pain is so strong that feeding becomes pure torture and you literally become afraid of your own baby, then it is maybe better to stop. However, I also think that with the proper support and advice you can get rid of the pains. Breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt.

Anyway, because I suffered a lot in the beginning with Auro, I was prepared to go through it again with Tosca. And indeed, after about 6 weeks of sore and cracked nipples (toe-curling pain!), it finally seemed to get better. Around Easter, however, I again started to have a burning pain during the feedings (only on one side) and shots of pain in my breast in between the feedings. It hurt so much that I had to take paracetamol to find some relief and I decided to seek 'professional' help. We first went to the consultorio (a place where you can go with all your child-raising questions, on given days they also provide free consults with pediatricians, obstetricians or gynecologists ) where an obstetrician looked at my breast and told me I did not have mastitis (inflammation of the breast). She told me to leave my breast uncovered as often as possible. This did help with the cracked nipples, but the deep breast pains after the feedings remained.

I then looked for a La Leche League group in Genoa. By this time we suspected thrush (a yeast infection) to be the culprit of my pains and the La Leche League people agreed. They told me to have a doctor prescribe me some medicine.

We then went to see a friend of a friend, who is a gynecologist at the hospital where I gave birth. Grateful as I am for her seeing us during her lunch break, she could not help me much and could not give me any medicine. She told us to have it looked at by a pediatrician.

In the meanwhile we had found out that doctors used to prescribe gentian violet for thrush and that very often solves the problem. More importantly, we found out that you could get it at the pharmacy without prescription. Finally something I could try! Since they didn't have it in stock, we ordered it at the pharmacy.

Then, we went to see our family doctor. She must be the most ignorant doctor there is, because first she said that one can not have a fungal infection on the nipple. She then continued by saying that I needed to take antibiotics (which only a gynecologist can prescribe) to treat the thrush (antibiotics can make a yeast infection worse!) and stop breastfeeding right away. When I uttered that there are antibiotics that one can use during breastfeeding, she admitted that that was also a possibility, but more importantly that I should go see my gynecologist.

At this point I started loosing my patience. I decided to give myself until the end of the month to fix this problem or I would stop breastfeeding.

Anyway, after the completely useless visit to our family doctor, we then tried with the pediatrician. Surprise, surprise: he had a look and decided it wasn't mastitis. He then said that we'd better go to the gynecologist.

Exactly one week ago, I got my hand on a bottle of gentian violet and I started using it in the evenings. Messy as it is (it stains the nipple purple and everything that comes in contact with it... after a feeding Tosca is left with a purple mouth, chin and cheeks), it did seem to help. The pain became bearable and some feedings were actually pleasant.
Then, we did what we should have done from the very beginning: we went to the maternity department in the hospital where Tosca was born and asked to see the pediatrician there. We had to wait a little, but it was worth it. She agreed that it might be thrush, but that she couldn't be sure because there are no visible symptoms. The pains I described to her (she actually wanted to know about them!) did seem to point in the direction of a yeast infection. She prescribed Daktarin, a cream that I have been using for 2 days now. I can't really say whether it is getting better or not, but it seems to be better. It definitely didn't get worse. I still have some pain in between the feedings, but a lot less than before.I really hope I can start enjoying feeding my baby soon!

Topo Gigio

2011-05-14T22:43:00.000+02:00

It's amazing how children copy everything we do. Auro, for example, watches me breastfeed Tosca every day and, doing so, he also sees me in a lot of pain from time to time (I will 'dedicate' another post to that later). One day, Auro asked me to look at him because he was breastfeeding 'Topo Gigio' (a character from a well-known Italian animation). At first I thought I had misunderstood somehow, but then I heard him making suckling sounds and so I looked. He had his hand close to his nipple and in it he was holding something what I can only assume to be an invisible Topo Gigio. He then pointed to his left nipple saying that it was painful from that side, but that the other side was ok. (I have a painful right breast, so that becomes the left one for Auro) Despite all the pain, however, he stubbornly continues to feed his Topo Gigio every now and then. Believe it or not, but the other day I noticed that after a feeding he even burps 'his baby'!!

Flowers!!

2011-05-09T10:52:00.000+02:00

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope nobody was forgotten. My boys remembered ;-)

La madrina

2011-04-22T12:30:00.001+02:00

After Tosca's godfather's visit some weeks ago, also her 'madrina' came to Italy to meet her godchild. Tosca, who had just struggled through a somewhat difficult couple of weeks (lots of crying and many nearly-sleepless nights) was a perfect hostess and greeted Wendy and Olaf with lots of beautiful baby-smiles. Also Auro, even though he was a bit confused about our guests' names, was on his best behavior and not only showed them around the house, but also demonstrated every toy he had in his room ;-)

On Saturday, we went for a hike in Cinque Terre, five villages on the Ligurian coast that are so beautiful that even UNESCO made them into a World Heritage Site. Having to carry a 2 year old and a baby along, we only hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, but it was more than worth it!

Starting point: Corniglia


Leaving Corniglia behind us

Arriving at Vernazza

On demand

2011-04-06T21:58:00.001+02:00

The other day, I was told that there were so few photos of Tosca on the blog and that when Auro was born I was posting so many. Don't worry: I am taking photos of Tosca as well! Taking care of 2 kids, however, keeps me quite busy and I just don't seem to find the time to post any of them. Anyway, on general demand, here are some photos taken in the last 2 weeks...

Tosca, nearly one month old, drunk on milk (26 March)

Lunch at home with our guests from Japan (Tosca was asleep) (29 March)

Another relaxing moment on the sofa after one (of the many) feedings (1 April)

On Sunday we drove up to the Praglia Planes (15 minutes from the house), where Auro tired himself...

... and Tosca drank milk and napped under a tree! (2 April)

Yesterday, Auro smelled all the flowers in the garden...

until his nose was yellow! (5 April)

This was taken this morning before going to the supermarket

A proud big brother with his baby sister (even if she wakes him up several times during the night with her persistent crying) ... by the way, if anyone knows how to turn this photo... let me know, because I have no idea how to do it ;-)

Ginevra

2011-03-24T15:51:00.000+01:00

This morning, Lara, Remo's sister, (finally) gave birth to a little baby girl. We welcome Ginevra (Italian version of the Celtic name Guinevere) and congratulate Lara on becoming a 'mamma'. Congratulations also to myself, since I am now officially a 'zia' (Italian for 'aunt'). Hurray for all of us!!

Visitors

2011-03-23T14:29:00.001+01:00

From the moment Tosca was born, we have had some visitors. Some visited us in the hospital, others drove/flew all the way to our house in Ceranesi. Some stayed for 1 week, others just for some hours. But they all came to see our little girl and they all came bearing gifts ;-) A big thank you to all of them!!!

The one who was waiting the most for Tosca to arrive was Auro. He helped me prepare all the baby clothes and tested some of the other baby things to make sure they were comfortable enough ;-)

After his first visit to the hospital, Auro had already memorized the way to my room. Here you see him caressing his little sister for the first time. Also now he still uses every opportunity he gets to touch her and give her many (wet) kisses!

The first one to arrive at the hospital was Patrizia (the cousin of Remo's mother). She was so fast that she actually visited me an hour after I had given birth and I was still in the delivery room! (This photo is taken in the house, not in the delivery room!)

Second one to arrive at 'the scene' was Remo's mother. Tosca is her 2nd grandchild and she is currently waiting for the 3rd one to be born (Remo's sister)!

Remo's mother had just left (she stayed with us for a week and helped us out with cooking, cleaning and unpacking some of the boxes) and we had our first visitors from Belgium: my father and my aunt! They also stayed with us for about one week and besides putting up with my postnatal tiredness and mood swings, they helped a lot in improving/cleaning the house.

Tosca sleeping through our lunch in a restaurant close to the house.

The (for the moment) last visitors arrived from Belgium last Saturday and stayed only for 1 afternoon! My cousin Kim, who is the proud 'padrino' of Tosca, flew to Italy just to meet his godchild! A short, but very meaningful visit!

Tosca

2011-03-05T15:46:00.000+01:00

On Sunday (the 27th of February) morning (09:29 to be exact), our daughter Tosca was born in Giannina Gaslini Hospital in Genoa. The contractions started around 3:30 in the morning (our 3rd night in our new house) and at 7 we decided to wake up Auro. We arrived at the hospital by 8 and only one hour and a half of excruciating pain later (during the weekend there are no anesthesiologists present to administer epidural anesthesia) Tosca was caught in the hands of the obstetrician on call Elisa. Tosca came out healthy and cried immediately. She was measured to be 50cm long and weighed 3130 grams (which, besides it being also the postal code of Begijnendijk, the village where I grew up, is also the exact same number of Auro's birth weight!).

Final countdown

2011-02-18T00:13:00.000+01:00

Seventeen days left... that is what the baby ticker on this blog says today. A little longer than 2 weeks before the baby is due (that is if she decides to come out around that date... Auro was born 5 days before his due date). That is not much longer. On the one hand, that makes me happy, because I can't wait to loose the extra weight I've been carrying around and I definitely won't miss the back ache and the 'lightly' swollen legs by the evening. And of course I can hardly wait to hold my baby in my arms!

On the other hand, however, 17 days is a very short time to do all the things we still would like to do before our baby girl arrives. All the baby clothes are washed, there's a cradle, a baby bath tub and even a car seat waiting for her, but... we still need to move everything to our new house! As probably only some of you know, we have recently bought a house just outside the city of Genoa. We started to look for a house last summer and in July we found one that we liked. A funny anecdote is that on the day we saw the house for the first time, I wasn't feeling too well. I was nauseous and dizzy and had no idea what was wrong. It was only a little later that I found out that I was pregnant! Because there were a lot of complications with the purchase of the house (that is also the reason why I have never mentioned it here), I still can't decide whether I should see the fact that my morning sickness started exactly on that day as an auspicious sign or not. Anyway, the deal was finally finalized in December and the previous owners moved out at the end of January.

As, apparently, is rather normal in Italy, the previous owners stripped the house of virtually everything (from thermostats and light switches to the toilet seat!), so we have a lot of preparing to do before we can actually move in. The biggest thing so far was finding an affordable kitchen. While I'm writing this, Remo is unloading the truck that delivered the kitchen and has started painting the walls of the room in which the kitchen should be installed this weekend.Since yesterday we were finally connected to the gas network (and therefor now have a working heating system). The plumber installed the water outlets to connect the washing machine. Our bed was delivered this morning and tomorrow they should bring the sofa. Now all we have left to do is buy some cheap foldable chairs and a temporary table and we are ready to move in! I'm hoping we can move next Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Sing for candy

2011-01-07T16:18:00.000+01:00

On the last day of the year, my brother came to Begijnendijk to do some 'nieuwjaarszingen' (new year's singing) with Auro. This is an old custom where children go from door to door to sing (wishing people a happy new year) and are in return rewarded with sweets (or some money). It still exists in many regions in Belgium, but has been disappearing from the less densely populated areas (like the one where my father lives). This year, however, it seems there was some kind of comeback of this piece of folklore, because the number of children that came to our door was bigger than I expected and we barely had enough candy (luckily my father is a stingy giver!).

After we dressed Auro well to face the cold, we hung a cotton bag around his neck (to collect the candy) and off he went with his uncle and his father (who had tried really hard to memorize the words to the song, but could not follow the speed at which my brother sang and only managed to utter the words 'nieuwjaar' from time to time). I went along for a bit too, but returned home to look after my niece as soon as I started to get tired. When the boys came back with their impressive loot of candies and cookies, Auro was equally exhausted and in need of a loooong nap in the afternoon.

Auro was the youngest singer on the block, but he sure looked the part ;-)


Auro quickly understood what it was really about: getting as much candy as possible!

This is the part that was invented for the fathers (and uncles) who usually accompany the smallest ones: we are invited to come in and enjoy a glass of Jenever (=an alcoholic traditional liquor you can find in Belgium and the Netherlands, somewhat similar to gin)

Auro proudly posing with his 'snoepjes' (=candy)

Growing

2011-01-07T15:14:00.000+01:00

On the 27th, we again traveled to the airport of Pisa and, unbelievable but true, after a delay of only 1 hour, our plane actually took off! Less than 2 hours later we finally were in snowy Belgium!

The next day, on the 28th, I had an appointment at the hospital for another ultrasound. Accompanied by my 3 men (my son, my husband and my father!) I stared at the black and white image of the healthy and ever-growing baby-girl inside of me.Even though I look as if I'm carrying an enormous baby, they estimated her weight to be a little less than 1,5 kg (which is a normal weight at 30 weeks).

Profile of the baby's face

Saved by Santa

2010-12-31T21:58:00.000+01:00

Luckily, on the evening of the 25th, our somewhat 'lost' Christmas was saved by 'Babbo Natale' (Santa Claus) who dropped by with a bag of presents. Auro, who last year had still been completely unimpressed by Father Christmas, this time looked at Santa with some suspicion while he greedily accepted the presents that were handed to him. He needed some convincing, but he even posed with him for a picture right before he disappeared back into the dark night ;-)

A merrier Christmas!!

2010-12-31T16:09:00.001+01:00

(25/12/2010) I should be in Belgium right now posting photos of our Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree and preparing for the big family dinner that I had been looking forward to so much, but instead I'm writing this from the house of my in-laws in Cesenatico (which is in Italy and not in Belgium) and the only photos I can show you were taken at the airport and on the train yesterday.

Let me tell you what happened. Last Tuesday (the 21st) we left the house at 8:20 in the morning for the airport of Pisa, where we arrived just before noon. We stood in line for the check-in and after we had checked in our luggage and gotten our boarding passes, the lady behind the counter noticed I was pregnant. We told her we had a letter from my gynecologist saying it was safe for me to fly. When we handed it to her, however, she noticed that the letter didn't literally say that I was healthy enough to 'fly'. After she spoke with her superiors, she told us the plane would have to leave without us unless the gynecologist could fax them another letter immediately. After some calls to the hospital, we found out that our gynecologist wasn't there on Tuesdays and no one else was certified to fax a letter like that. So, we got back on the train to Genoa. On top of that, Auro was not only exhausted, but had also developed a fever in the meanwhile.

The next morning Remo went to the hospital and got another fit-to-fly letter and in the afternoon we bought a new ticket for Friday (the 24th). On Friday we again left for the airport of Pisa (though a little less excited than on Tuesday). We checked in, they saw the letter and we made it to the gate... where we waited for some time (some hours) until they finally canceled the flight due to the bad weather in Belgium! Remo's parents, whose flight for Belgium from Bologna had also been canceled that same morning, told us to take the train to Cesenatico. And so that is what we did.

Hoping that we will have better luck on Monday (third and final attempt), I end this post by wishing everybody who reads this a merrier Christmas than ours :-)

Pisa airport

Train between Florence and Bologna

Station of Bologna

Paper shoe

2010-12-06T15:41:00.001+01:00

Last night, Saint Nicholas, the Belgian/Dutch (and original) version of Santa Claus, made a detour on his horse and visited our apartment in Genoa. When he came here last year, Auro still didn't have a clue why I was making him leave one shoe in the living room before going to bed, but this year he decorated a paper shoe days in advance. Yesterday evening, before going to bed, he neatly put it under the TV together with a glass of water for the thirsty Saint Nicholas and a carrot for his tired horse. When we went to check his shoe this morning, we found it full of chocolates and candy. Auro must have been a good boy the past year, because he also was rewarded with some toys, a book and a DVD. He discovered everything with great excitement and showed us proudly what the saint had brought for him. Only after a while he interrupted his play for a breakfast of chocolate and candy ;-)

November rains

2010-12-02T17:01:00.002+01:00

I know I haven't written in a a while, but not much has happened since the last time I wrote. Remo has been going to work every day while I'm at home with Auro. The rainy weather that seemed to last forever kept us locked up inside of the apartment most of the time. But here are some pictures of the past month's 'highlights'.

Almost one month ago, Auro's nonni (Remo's parents) came to visit us in Genoa. They were here for only 2 days, but it was as 'intense' as a one-week visit for Auro, who, (and as a pregnant and therefore most of the time exhausted mother I have to admit this) to my great joy, needed some extra long naps over the following days to recover from all the excitement. Since it was raining nonstop, we took Auro to la citta' dei bambini (a huge indoor playground/museum for children) here in the old port of Genoa. Needless to say he had a great time and the moment we had to leave (to make it on time for our lunch reservations) was, quite understandably, accompanied by the unavoidable tears... the poor thing!

Auro and I looking into all kinds of mirrors that give funny reflections


Auro dressed as one of his 'idols': Bob the Builder

And here are some photos of what we did at home while it was pouring outside.

Auro with his 'helmet' on his head, saying "Auro moto! Auro moto!" (moto = motorbike)

Auro showing off his 'new' bed (We removed one side, so he can get in and out of his bed by himself. I decided it was time for this, because lifting him in and out was becoming a bit painful for me. Also, with my ever-expanding belly I wasn't able to bend over and give him a goodnight kiss anymore. We are nearly one week later now and, except for the one time he kept climbing out of his bed during his nap time because he didn't want to sleep, he has slept like an angel in there!)

Auro posing proudly in front of the Christmas tree that we put up last weekend. He also knows that a Christmas tree is to look at and not to touch (except for the one Christmas ball that is hanging from the lowest branch, which he occasionally touches, ever so delicately, with one finger!)

Pink!

2010-11-05T14:14:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday, we finally managed to fix an appointment with a gynecologist (I'm already in my 23rd week and the last time I saw a doctor was in August). So yesterday, we went to the hospital for another ultrasound. I don't know if you can make anything from them, but I post some photos here anyway. The two photos on the top show the baby's head and the one on the bottom left either one of the arms or a leg (it all looked a lot clearer 'live'). I have no idea what the one on the bottom right is supposed to be. But.... everything is OK!!! The baby seems healthy, is growing well and weighs about half a kilo by now. (I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh by now!)

Anyway, and this might be the news you are really waiting for, near the end of the examination, the gynecologist confirmed that the baby that has started kicking in my belly is clearly a girl (her words: "una bella femmina")! I don't have to tell you how happy I was to hear that after all the blue clothes, toy trains and toy cars, we will also have tiny dresses, dolls and flower necklaces. Hooray for pink!!!

My mother

2010-11-04T15:46:00.000+01:00

On the 2nd of November (the day we drove back from Abruzzo), we also toasted to my mother who passed away exactly 2 years ago. How things have changed since that day! We can only imagine how happy she would have been playing with Auro, holding Zita , while eagerly waiting for the third grandchild to be born...

The photo I've posted was taken in Aarschot, in the year 2006, when my mum and I went for a bicycle ride.

Far and away

2010-11-04T15:39:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we were invited to stay in the house of Remo's boss/colleague. So, on Friday, we left (almost right) after lunch, to arrive in Abruzzo 12 long hours later (we were stuck in traffic and lost about 3 hours). The region of Abruzzo lies to the east/southeast of Rome and is not a very touristic region, but known for its beautiful and unspoiled nature. Since we arrived at 2 in the morning, we didn't see just how amazing (and isolated) the place was until the warm autumn sun of Saturday brought out its full splendor. On Sunday, unfortunately, the weather changed and we were confined to the beautiful, but somewhat cold house. So, instead of going out for walks, we lit the fireplace, roasted chestnuts, talked, watched TV, ate and drank a lot. Auro, as usual, took on the task of entertaining all of us and did a great job. We thank Marta (the daughter) for sharing her old toys and playing with him while we were resting lazily in front of the fire.

On Tuesday, we drove back to Genoa (less than 10 hours this time!) and, even though we enjoyed the beautiful nature and the clean air of Abruzzo, we were happy to see the thermometer read 15 degrees when we entered the city.

Our hosts

The house

The home-made pasta

Changes

2010-10-28T14:46:00.002+02:00

On the 19th of October we finally came back to Genoa (Remo had joined us some days before in Belgium, so he could also visit his newborn niece) The plan is to stay in Genoa (or at least in Italy) until Christmas which we will celebrate in Belgium this year.

Since we have come back, I have again started to help Auro learn new things (it's very hard to teach a child anything when you are always in a different place among different people!). Because Auro turned two recently I decided it was time to put him on the potty. We are still at the very beginning of what I'm fearing to become a very long learning process and we have booked no remarkable successes yet, but I will let you know (and possibly throw a big party) as soon as Auro has mastered the basics of this new 'skill'.

I also thought it was time for him to join the other 2-year olds I have observed over the passed months and to push him to learn to eat by himself (with a spoon from a plate). At first (read: during the first 5 or 6 meals) he refused to even hold the spoon and was very upset that I was robbing him of his privilege of being fed, but then, all of a sudden, he started to spoon his food by himself and before we realized it he had eaten 3 full plates of pasta!

The only transition he didn't find hard to make was the change from a sippy cup to a normal cup during his meals. After a little practice he was able to drink from it without spilling too much!

Auro also has a new hobby: puzzles! Usually while I'm preparing the dinner, he sits at the kitchen table with me and draws (mainly trains, or so he proudly claims). Recently I have started to give him small puzzles (4 pieces) and he loves making them. Here's a little sample of how that goes and some useful vocabulary ;-)

n-au-o = Auro (He says that because he wants me to give him the mobile phone I am filming him with. As for the 'n' at the beginning, I have no idea, but he tends to put it in front of a lot words staring with a vowel.)

kanni = kan niet (Dutch) = it can't = I doesn't fit or I can't do it

ecco facco = ecco fatto (Italian) = there, I have done it!

a posso = a posto (Italian) = I will put it away or where it belongs

farmer Auro

2010-10-27T17:03:00.000+02:00

During the two weeks that Zita had to remain in the hospital, my brother, who had taken a holiday, came to Begijnendijk often and took Auro out for walks in the woods and across corn fields. With his uncle, Auro not only discovered the fun of piercing mushrooms with pointy branches, but also the (apparently even bigger) joy of collecting acorns and putting them in the pockets of his jackets and cardigans (he still keeps some in his pockets now!). After this, my brother somewhat became Auro's hero and even now that we are back in Genoa, words like 'bos' (woods), 'mais' (corn) or 'eikel' (acorn) can always count on a smile and an eager reply from Auro with the word 'nuki' (=nonkel Chris).

the fortunate one

2010-10-27T16:37:00.000+02:00

While we were in Turkey, my little niece (my brother's daughter) was born. Zita (the fortunate one) was born on the 28th of September, at 10 past midnight! Because she was small and not strong enough, she had to stay a little longer in the hospital, but after about 2 weeks her parents could take here home. Beautiful Zita not only made me happy to become 'tante' (aunt) for the very first time, but, as I was chosen to be one of the godmothers, she also gives me the pleasure to be able to spoil her from now!!

Turkish delight

2010-10-27T16:17:00.000+02:00

Some days after Auro's birthday, my father, Auro and I left for Antalya, Turkey. During the next 10 days we enjoyed the Turkish sun, sea and beach. It's indeed always a delight to visit Turkey!

Two!!

2010-10-26T21:57:00.001+02:00

Auro's 2nd birthday fell on Friday the 17th of September, while Auro and I, unfortunately for Remo, were already in Belgium. On the other hand, it was maybe for the better that we were not in Italy on a Friday the 17th, seeing that the Italians consider it to be an unlucky day, much like we connect Friday the 13th with misfortune.

Opa (my father) surprised the birthday boy with a huge (and nearly impossible to take back home to Italy) toy truck (complete with backhoe) and in the afternoon Nuki (nonkel Chris = my brother) treated Auro on a couple of rides on the merry-go-round and a go at 'fishing for ducks' (I have no idea how you call this in English) at the yearly fair of Leuven (Louvain). Needless to say Auro enjoyed his day which was topped of with a Belgian waffle and a visit to tante Els (who unfortunately was hospitalized since the previous day).

Early 2nd birthday

2010-10-25T15:32:00.000+02:00

On the 10th of September we arrived back in Genoa, exhausted and in need of a break from all the traveling. Unfortunately, Auro and I had only some days before we were expected in Belgium. Because we would not be in Genoa on the 17th (Auro's birthday), Remo and I had a mini pre-birthday-celebration before leaving. On the morning of the 15th we surprised Auro with his present. You can see him on the photo proudly showing his new cars and matching parking garage. He literally played from morning till evening with his birthday present, after which we all went to bed very satisfied ;-)

Samurai Auro

2010-10-25T15:09:00.001+02:00

My first summer living in Genoa and I had already spent half of it on the other side of Italy, in the house of my in-laws. The second half of the summer I spent even farther away from my new home. On the 18th of August, Auro and I took the plane and flew to Osaka, Japan. Remo, who had not seen his boat for nearly a year, had left one week before us and was waiting for us at the airport. Auro and I were invited by my (former) boss and stayed in the guesthouse belonging to the institute where I used to work (in Kyoto). Still suffering from 'morning sickness' there were some days that I had to stay in bed while Remo took care of Auro, but luckily there were also many days that we were able to go out and let Auro discover Japanese playgrounds, toy stores and even the zoo. Having to spend hours on trains to get to these places just made him happier. Of course I also had the opportunity to meet my friends/ex-colleagues and got a complete update of the project. Despite the (pregnancy) nausea and tiredness it was well worth the long travel!

The picture below was taken in Eigamura (a theme park where you can visit locations that were used in Japanese historical movies ... you know, the ones with samurai and ninja!). Auro and Remo are posing with some samurai that had just re-enacted a sword fight. A performance that had left Auro gasping in awe ;-)

Surprise

2010-09-15T16:10:00.003+02:00

Well, I hope this still comes as a surprise to at least some of you, because most of our relatives and friends have already heard the joyful news: we are pregnant again! I've known for a while now, but I have waited to tell you until now, because morning sickness prevented me from sitting in front of a computer screen for longer than 5 minutes. In July I was feeling so nauseous and tired that I even went to stay with my in-laws, so they could help me take care of Auro.

Anyway, I'm feeling a lot better now (not completely nausea-free however), which means that I should be about 3 months along. The doctors also confirm this, though the due date is still not very clear. According to the gynecologist's calendar it should be around the 6th of March. The ultrasound scans suggest it might be a bit earlier than that.

The first ultrasound scan was done here in Genoa when I was about 7 weeks pregnant and shows a tiny little bean of about 10mm big.

For the 2nd ultrasound I went to a clinic in Cesenatico. By that time I was 12 weeks along and the little bean had grown arms, legs, fingers, eyes, a nose... and was already 54mm long! Even though it is the 2nd time for me, it feels as magical as the first time to see my child growing inside of me, so I hope you will forgive me if I will try to keep you posted ;-)

Shasha

2010-07-10T19:02:00.000+02:00

Leaving the beach of Cesenatico and returning to our apartment without garden wasn't as big of a change for Auro as I thought it would be. He was quite happy to rediscover all his toys and re-appreciated our small balcony from which he could 'chat' with the lady downstairs (and all the other ladies that were willing to smile at him from their windows).

Things were back to normal... at least for 10 days, because on the 30th of June we flew to London. Remo had to be there for work and Auro and I went along to visit some friends from Japan. I met Marina when I was studying at the university in Osaka and it was Remo who introduced us to Phil. Phil and Marina got married (they had a beautiful wedding in Japan) and I ended up with Remo ;-) They went to live in England and we finally moved back to Europe to settle in Italy. Auro was born in September 2008 and Alexander, Phil & Marina's son was born in December of the same year. The last time we had seen each other was 2 and a half years ago, so we had some catching-up to do. While Marina and I chatted for 3 days, the boys got acquainted with each other and by the end were able to call each other by name (Auro called Alexander by his nickname 'Sasha', but pronounced it more like 'Shasha')! After four days of playgrounds, aquarium (we visited the aquarium of London), sightseeing and a little bit of shopping (beautiful beautiful Windsor), we returned to Genoa a little tired (plane was delayed for 2 hours because of a technical problem), but completely content of having 'renewed' our friendship ties. Thank you, Marina, Phil and Sasha!!! See you in Genoa!

Reunited

2010-06-23T23:42:00.000+02:00

For nearly 2 years we could only dream of having some time to ourselves, but now that we finally had two whole weeks of it, I have to admit that I missed my boy incredibly much. We arrived in Genoa on Saturday morning and Sunday morning I was already on the train to Cesena, hardly able to contain my excitement to see Auro again. I was a bit worried that he might not be as happy as me to see each other again, but as soon as he saw me walking towards the car I could see him shouting at the top of his lungs "mamaaaa" and all my worries disappeared instantly. He was as happy as I was ;-)

Since then we have been staying here with my in-laws, enjoying the beach and the sea, taking bicycle rides through the town and playing in the garden. This place has absolutely everything to please children. I'm afraid it might be disappointing for Auro when we return to Genoa next week.

Major update V: the cruise

2010-06-23T23:32:00.001+02:00

The Monday after the wedding, me and my husband (ha!) left Auro with his grandparents in Cesenatico and drove back to Genoa. My brother left the next day on his motorbike and, all of a sudden, I found myself alone in the apartment for the very first time. Even though I was missing Auro, I also felt extremely relaxed. So I decided to enjoy it and I went out almost every day with my book and sat on a bench near the sea.

The following Saturday, Remo and I left for a cruise on the Mediterranean. The reason why we left only on Saturday is because I insisted we leave from the harbor of Genoa. I just thought it was more appropriate. The cruise lasted only for one short week, but the 'MSC Splendida' docked in Marseille (France), Barcelona (Spain), Tunis (Tunisia), La Valletta (Malta), Messina (Sicily) and Civitavecchia (close to Rome) before arriving back in Genoa. For us it was the first time to undertake such an organized way of traveling, but it was very 'suitable' for a honeymoon and I would recommend it to any newlywed couple.

Leaving Genoa...

Marseille's Notre-Dame de la Garde, seen from the yacht harbor

Colorful balconies in Malta

Tunisian coast, early in the morning

Stromboli's still very active volcano (off the north coast of Sicily)

Arrival in Genoa (it was raining!)

Major update IV: the big day

2010-06-23T22:52:00.002+02:00

On Saturday, the 29th of May 2010, Remo and I got married in the castle of Verucchio, in the province of Rimini. We said 'si' to each other in front of about 90 guests who had joined us from different countries to celebrate our big day. A big thank you to all of you who have helped make it into an unforgettable day!

An unforgettable day that started (at least for me) with getting ready in the hotel room. While my super-and-incredibly-professional hairdresser/beautician was making me pretty, I got my 'something blue' from my witness and good friend Wendy. My friend Dragana started taking photos and my father was pacing impatiently up and down the room continuously asking whether I was ready yet because "it was time to go".

For those of you who were wondering whether I was actually wearing my 'something blue', here is a photo of me 'slipping' it on ;-)

When I was 'finally' ready, my father walked me from the hotel, through the village, all the way up to the castle, where Remo was waiting. Upon entering the gate, three of my friends, dressed in medieval costumes, played the wedding march. Trying very hard not to cry we proceeded to the armory hall of the castle.

The ceremony was performed by the mayor of Verucchio and lasted no longer than 10 minutes. Assuming I understood most of what I said yes to, we exchanged rings, kissed (!) and put down our signatures. Then Remo's friend Max and my friend Wendy signed the same document as witnesses. The hardest part was over ;-)

The ceremony was followed by a small reception in the courtyard of the castle, during which nonno Elio (Remo's father) revealed his surprise for us (he had been talking about it to me for some weeks already!): a huge photo of Auro was hanging from the outside wall of the castle, saying: "Ciao a tutti! Brindo a modo mio con tutti voi alla felicita' di mamma e papa'. Salute! Sante'!" (Hello to all of you! Together with you I drink a toast in my own way to the happiness of my mom and dad. Cheers!). However, before we made it there we had to pass under the traditional shower of rice!

A photo with my Belgian family and one with Remo's: frietjes and spaghetti!

At 6 o'clock there was another couple getting married in the castle, so together with all the guests we walked down to the restaurant (less than 10 minutes walking). I can tell you that the road to the castle was considerably cleaner after I had passed twice with my wedding dress ;-)

In the restaurant a second reception was waiting for us on the big terrace. Peter, Caroline and Christoph embellished the already breathtaking panorama with their beautiful music.

Once the reception was over, we all moved inside for the (completely vegetarian) dinner. Not long after we had sat down, it started raining heavily outside. Thunder and lightening appeared out of nowhere. It was as if the sky was angry we had moved the festivities inside. The storm didn't last long, but it surely made an impression. Luckily for us, in Italy rain is said to bring good fortune to the bride: "sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata"!

After most of the food was eaten and lots of the alcohol was consumed (by mainly the Belgians, I have to say), Remo and I opened the dance floor (while the ceremony was the most stressful part for me, the dancing part had kept Remo awake for many nights!). However, by that time many of the Italians had already left (it was nearly midnight... way too late for an opening dance...) and Remo had been worrying for nothing. The Belgians, on the other hand, had been waiting and readily jumped on the dance floor ;-)

I'd be lying if I said the wedding party had lasted until the morning, because by 2 am the DJ was asked to switch of his music. I am, however, convinced that the people who stayed until the end had a good time and were not feeling that disappointed the next day when they were able to get out of bed before noon and hit the beaches of Rimini before returning home.

Major update III: Final preparations

2010-06-22T14:53:00.000+02:00

Completely relaxed after a week in Belgium, I returned to Genoa ready to face the final preparations of the wedding. Remo went to pick up Auro in Cesenatico and together we prepared the 120 'bomboniere' (it's a tradition in Italy to present the guests with a wedding keep-sake): we divided 8 kilos of Belgian chocolate (confetti) over the 120 small Chinese bags (with the double Chinese character for happiness 喜喜 embroidered on them, symbolizing the happiness of a married couple) and wrapped them safely for the long journey to Verucchio. After that I prepared our bags, wrapped my wedding dress (safely hidden from Remo's eyes) and on Tuesday the 25th (4 days before the wedding) Auro and I took the train to Cesenatico.

The next day, Lara and I had an appointment with the hairdresser/beautician for a trial of the make-up and hairdo. As if she could read my mind, she arranged my hair exactly in the way I wanted and I returned home completely satisfied and assured that I would look great on Saturday!

Major update II: Bachelorette party

2010-06-17T22:50:00.002+02:00

Half of May I left Remo in Genoa and Auro with his Italian grandparents to travel back to Belgium for my final wedding preparations there. It was a bit strange to be away from Auro (it was the first time for us to sleep in different places), but I was so busy I hardly had time to think about it. A little more than one month before the wedding I had started to have some serious doubts about getting married and I needed a break, so my bachelorette party was the perfect escape for me. Me and my girlfriends first went for an afternoon of relaxing in sauna and jacuzzi and then for a nice dinner. The dinner was followed by a brief stop at home where my cousin had spread out tens of boxes on the dining room table with heavily down-prized women's lingerie. As soon as the necessary purchases were made, we head off to a small bar in the local town of Heist-op-den-Berg to continue the 'festivities'. I will spare you the details, but let me just tell you that it ended in the early hours and that I, for one, went home with a big smile on my face ;-)

Major update I: return to Genoa

2010-06-17T15:15:00.001+02:00

OK, more than one month has passed since the last time that I have written on this blog. Not good! Especially because MANY things have changed since the last time... So, here is MAJOR update, part I.

After arriving in Belgium, Auro and I stayed with 'opa' for 10 days, during which Auro played and enjoyed himself and I did some spring-shopping and prepared our luggage for the trip to Italy. We then, for the second time, drove all the way down to Genoa in my father's car packed like camels (and there are still things of mine in Belgium!). My father was going to stay with us for a week or so and do some sightseeing, but after only 4 days he decided to return to Belgium (staying in an apartment with nothing to do really isn't for him). Auro and I waited for Remo to return from China.

Back to nature

2010-04-28T16:57:00.001+02:00

On Easter Monday, Auro and I got on the plane again and flew back to Belgium. Auro slept most of the trip due to a slight fever, which turned out to be a fairly high one by the time we arrived in Begijnendijk. In fact, we called the doctor when I noticed he had a body temperature of 40 degrees. As it turned out, his common cold had changed into bronchitis and needed to be treated with some antibiotics... Two or three sleepless nights later, however, Auro already looked much better. But, not only did he recover quickly, he all of a sudden started sleeping 12, 13 hours during the night! After months of a really irregular sleeping pattern (= 3 out of 5 nights waking up, usually screaming as if he had had a nightmare), he finally went back to sleeping peacefully. I had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep through the night. I don't know what it was that brought on this sudden change. Was it the medicine? Was it his return to the house where he spent the first months of his life? Had his uncle's lessons in assertiveness anything to do with it? Or was it simply the fresh air of Begijnendijk? Whatever it was, I'm very grateful for it ;-)

Pingyao

2010-04-28T16:01:00.003+02:00

Finally I have found some time to write here again. One month has passed since the last post... so, here is update number one!

Some days after the last time I wrote, I packed my suitcase and we left for a short trip to Pingyao (平遥). The city of Pingyao, which is located about 700 km southwest of Beijing, is not very big, but it is known for it's high concentration of Ming-and Qing-style residences (especially within the city walls, which, by the way, also happen to be among the best preserved walls in China). In fact, in 1997 Pingyao became a UNESCO World Heritage site and they have been restoring many decaying buildings to it's original splendor. Even though Auro was fighting a nasty cold (runny nose during the day, completely blocked nose during the night which kept him from sleeping soundly, the poor thing!), we still enjoyed our short stay. One day we left the city and visited a village nearby which is not on any World Heritage list yet, but, to our humble opinion, should definitely be! Anyway, here are some pictures.

Happy dance

2010-03-28T15:41:00.004+02:00

We have booked our tickets to fly back to Europe next week. By Easter Monday Auro and I should be in Belgium! Remo has to finish his teaching course first, so he will follow later. Either way, Auro is so happy that he made a little happy dance in Eurasia last Saturday!
Auro danst

What's in a name

2010-03-25T08:02:00.001+01:00

How many of you know that Changchun (長春) translates as 'eternal spring'? I don't know what the Manchurians were thinking when they gave this so promising name to this city, because we are nearly at the end of March and I still have to see one sign of the coming spring. Three days ago it was still snowing and the temperatures are still not even close to pleasurable. Unless 'spring' stands for 'icy cold season that seems to last forever', I believe the Chinese might be the most ironic people in the world! Or, and I've just realised that now, maybe they meant that if you live here it feels like an eternity until spring comes?!

Blue

2010-03-22T07:48:00.001+01:00

One of Auro's favorite things recently is climbing on and off the sofa. Even though we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, we still got quite the scare when he accidentally rolled off the sofa yesterday and hit his head on the foot of the standing lamp. After a lot of crying and several cold compresses, the swelling went down a bit and he fell asleep. This morning only a huge blue bruise on his forehead reminded us of what had happened (not him, because he immediately climbed on the sofa again).

Eurasia fun

2010-03-22T07:26:00.001+01:00

Since the temperatures here are still way below zero, going outside for a walk is not the thing to do on a free day. So, on Saturday, we did what all the other Chinese people with a small child do, we went to Eurasia, the biggest department store in Changchun. They claim it's the biggest in the world and, I have to admit, I believe them!. In this huge department store you can really find anything from food to electronics, from clothes to furniture. And, they also happen to have a mini-amusement park for children, complete with merry-go-round, amusement arcade, mini roller coasters and other fun attractions for even the smallest children. Auro had a good time watching all the other children (or as he calls them: 'titta' = 'kindjes'), pushing all the buttons on the game computers and riding in a speedboat on wheels!

one and a half

2010-03-17T15:35:00.001+01:00

Today, Auro is exactly one year and 6 months old! To celebrate, I am preparing only the food that he likes: for breakfast he ate 5 or 6 mini-croissants with cheese, for lunch he ate a full plate of vegetable risotto, after his nap he finished a complete banana milkshake with some cookies and for dinner we are having minestrone soup! We have also tried to measure him: he is about 84 cm tall and weighs about 12,5 kg.

Wéi!

2010-03-16T08:16:00.000+01:00

Again... it has been a very long time since I wrote last. But, this time I have something to tell you: we are in China! Remo, who is still employed at the university here, has to teach at least one course per year, so Auro and I came along to keep him company. Auro and I will stay until half of April (after which we will fly to Belgium) and Remo has to stay until he has finished his teaching obligations... probably until the end of April.
In the 2 weeks that we have been here, we haven't been outside much, because it is too cold for Auro (temperatures between -20 and -5 degrees!). Luckily Auro doesn't seem to mind staying in the apartment, which might be because there is almost no furniture and hence no obstacles when running around! And when we do venture outside, people gather around Auro as if he is a local superstar. While other children might feel a bit overwhelmed by this, Auro absolutely LOVES being the center of attention.

Carnival

2010-02-12T15:08:00.001+01:00

Here in Genoa, spring has decided to give us a sneak preview of what's (hopefully) soon to come. Little by little, the cold of winter is loosing the battle against the pleasantly warm and sunny spring. Last Sunday was one of those days on which spring most definitely had the upper hand. On that day, some friends we had met while living in Japan (Italian husband, Japanese wife and beautiful Italian/Japanese daughter!) came to visit us in Genoa. Together we went for a walk along the "Corso Italia", the road that runs along the coast line. Since the carnival period has started it was crowded with children dressed as spiderman, zoro, fairies and princesses. Everywhere there were vendors selling confetti (actually, the Italians call it 'coriandoli', 'confetti' refers to the sugared almonds they hand out on weddings) which children were throwing at each other with great joy! Ora, the 7 year old daughter of our friends and even Auro joined in the excitement and had the best time throwing confetti at each other.

La Befana

2010-01-08T15:56:00.003+01:00

The holidays are over and we are back in Genoa. However, to put away the tree and all the other Christmas decorations, we decided to wait until after the visit of 'la Befana'.

In Italy, this old (and I must say, scary looking) woman visits the houses of all the children on Epiphany Eve (the evening before the 6th of January) and brings them gifts. Children hang a sock near the chimney, through which she is believed to enter (sounds familiar?), and hope La Befana will fill it with sweet candies and not with lumps of coal (black candy that looks like coal). La Befana, luckily, deemed Auro too young to have candy, so she filled his sock with small toys!

Now that all of Auro's important 'visitors' (Saint-Nicholas on the 6th of December, Babbo Natale on the 25th of December and La Befana on the 6th of January) have left, each back to his own magical world, I am ready to put away the Christmas tree and start looking forward to warmer weather (because, everyone who claims that Genoa is a warm place in winter is soooo very wrong!).

First molar

2009-12-30T16:56:00.001+01:00

After Christmas, Auro came down with a fever (40 degrees!), so we had to call the doctor. Luckily it's just a viral infection in the throat, so he doesn't have to take any antibiotics, but the past days have been a bit tough for him. With all the crying that (apparently) comes with a viral infection, I discovered a new tiny little tooth in the back of Auro's mouth: his first molar! For those of you who are still counting: this is tooth number nine ;-)

Buon Natale da Cesenatico!

2009-12-30T16:24:00.003+01:00

I know! It's a little bit late to wish you a merry Christmas, but nevertheless: "Buon Natale!", "Zalig Kerstfeest!" and "Merry Christmas!" to anyone who is reading this!

Last week, we left Genoa and drove down to Cesenatico (on the Adriatic coast) where my in laws have just moved into a brand new (and I must say, really beautiful!) home. Then, on the 24th, my father, brother and his 'morosa' (girlfriend) joined us from Belgium. From the day my family arrived until the day they left, we stuffed ourselves with all kinds of delicious food carefully prepared by 'nonna Valeria' (Remo's mother). Two days ago, slightly heavier than when they arrived, the Belgian part of the family left and things quieted down a bit. My jaws now have some time to relax after all the laughter of the previous days. Definitely one of the better Christmases I've had!

Milestones

2009-12-30T15:39:00.003+01:00

I can not believe I haven't posted any news in almost 2 months. It's definitely not because there was nothing to tell! Actually there have been some big changes! So, to get started again, here are some of the 'big' things that happened during the past 2 months.

We bought a car! With the help of my cousin and my father, we found a second hand Renault Scenic in great conditions and for a very reasonable price. We were actually looking for a smaller car to maneuver down the narrow streets of Genoa, but we were getting such a good deal, we couldn't let it pass by. And so now, for the first time in my life I have a car registered to my name!

Auro started walking! I believe that Auro was physically capable of walking by himself for a while already, but psychologically he just wasn't ready yet to let go of my hand!(Or is this one of those things that every mother thinks of her child?) Anyway, on the 25th of November (so at the age of 14 months) Auro, all of a sudden, started walking around the room by himself. Unluckily for Remo, this blissful event took place while we were still in Belgium, three days before Remo joined us from Italy.

And then there was the big move to Genoa. On the 3rd of December, we (my father, Remo, Auro and I) left Begijnendijk with 2 cars (ours and my father's) to arrive 16 (!) hours later at the entrance of our new home in Genoa. The trip was long (1085 km) and tiring (2 hours of traffic jam in a tunnel in Switzerland due to an accident), so, needless to say, we were very relieved to arrive and get some sleep. My father stayed for the weekend and then drove back by himself. Strangely enough, the drive back took only 12 hours! What is it that they say about horses when they small their stable?

My mother

2009-11-03T17:01:00.001+01:00

Last year, on the 2nd of November, at 15:45, my mother passed away. Yesterday, we got together in my father's place and had a dinner in her honour. Today, I just feel like sharing some photos of her...

September 1971 (my mom was 21!)

In September 2006, my mother came to visit me in Japan. After having lived there for nearly 7 years, I had finally convinced her to come to my graduation ceremony. She loved absolutely everything in Japan, except the traditional Japanese breakfast. This photo was taken at the breakfast table in a temple on Mount Koya where we had spent the night.

This photo was taken after my mom's visit to Japan. Over the last years, my mother and I had made a habit out of making little daytrips to different places every time I was in Belgium. In 2006, we went to Delft in Holland.

Peekaboo

2009-10-16T22:46:00.001+02:00

Auro and I have been in Belgium for one week now and we have recovered from our jetlag (one day for every hour of time difference). Tomorrow, Auro and I fly to Bologna where Remo should be waiting for us. From Bologna we will drive to Genoa. The coming week(s) we will be very busy looking for an apartment, so it might take a while before I will write here again. But, as soon as we have found our place (and an internet connection) we'll be back!

10 things I won't miss

2009-10-08T17:59:00.003+02:00

Ten things I will NOT miss
1. the cockroaches with which the whole apartment building seems to be infested (on average, we 'catch' 2 or 3 per day... and this is with all the possible holes they could come out of securely taped up!)
2. the dust/sand everywhere (Changchun really is just one big eternal construction site)
3. the 'aggressiveness' of people in crowded supermarkets
4. the spitting (actually more the sound that goes with it)
5. the 'collecting' of garbage on the streets
6. the smell of most taxis
7. the fact that 'they' occasionally switch of the electricity/water/internet
8. the tiny little sink in our kitchen
9. the fact of having the complete bathroom wet when you take a shower
10. being behind the Great Chinese Firewall (no Facebook, no Bebo, no Blogger, no Youtube!)

10 things I will miss

2009-10-08T17:34:00.002+02:00

We have not lived here that long, but here are 10 things I will miss when we go back to Europe.
1. the size of our apartment (about 120 square metres)
2. the amazing variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets (great for vegetarians like us!)
3. the extremely child-friendly environment (the Chinese simply LOVE babies!)
4. the relative cheapness of things (we could easily live on one salary)
5. the short distance to the university (and therefore to work.... about 10 minutes on foot!)
6. the fact that Remo can be at home a lot
7. the crazy driving style of the taxis in Changchun
8. the sunshine throughout the whole winter (it might be freezing cold outside, but there is always a blue sky!)
9. the amazing internet downloading speed ;-)
10. the feeling of being safe in any part of the city

Packing

2009-10-07T15:37:00.002+02:00

Two more nights in our apartment and we are leaving Changchun! And this time we are not leaving on a holiday. No, we are MOVING to Italy! Remo found a job in Genoa (that's northern Italy, west coast) and he has to start working one week from now. So, we are packing once again (sigh). Luckily Auro is helping out ;-)

Bribery

2009-10-01T16:22:00.002+02:00

Usually Auro is not too fond of being held by people he doesn't know. And so, when this lady asked if she could hold him, I was sure he was going to let out a cry worthy of China's National Day. But, he didn't! Why? Because this nice lady had a beautiful red flag (with no less than 5 stars on it) that was flapping in the wind ;-)

Red

2009-10-01T16:12:00.002+02:00

On October 1st in 1949, the Communist Party of China declared victory in the war against the forces of Chiang Kai-shek. So, today, the Chinese celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (=China's National Holiday) and therefore Changchun was red with Chinese flags. For days now, every other car in the city has been driving around with a small red flag attached to it's bumper or antenna. Today, we even saw a man holding 2 flags out of the window while driving! Not just the official buildings are proudly showing of their biggest flags, you can also see many flags draped from windows of the poorest looking apartment buildings. Really quite amazing for a Belgian like me. I honnestly don't think I have ever seen so many flags in my life. I mean, I have never owned a Belgian flag in my life and the only time I remember ever holding one, was when I was in primary school and the nuns in our school made us wave one when the king visited our town!

Second 'One'

2009-09-23T06:39:00.001+02:00

The day after Auro's party, we left Kyoto and made the 2 hour trip to Dejima harbour in Osaka. There we had a second birthday party planned for Auro on Saturday afternoon. Because Jan Haring was scheduled to be hauled out of the water on the same day, we got up early and, while Remo prepared the boat (putting away the sails, lines and other stuff I don't know the correct name of), Auro and I got dressed for our last day in Japan and started preparing the things for the party in the afternoon (ordering pizza, buying snacks and drinks, laying out a couple of sheets for the children to play on...). We had everything carefully planned out, but because somebody (and it was not Remo!) had forgotten to keep the low tide of the early afternoon in mind, the boat could only be lifted out by 3 PM, which was unfortunately the exact time we had told all the guests the party was going to start. But, even though Remo therefore missed the first half of the party, it was a super super big and absolutely great birthday party! We had invited about 30 people and no less than 40 people showed up (8 children)! Auro was showered with birthday wishes and presents. Thank you all!!! And a special thanks to Nozaki-san, the harbour master, for letting us use the clubhouse, to the people of the harbour (Kido-san and Shinya) who came to sing 'happy birthday' to Auro (complete with guitar and drum!) and to mama-san (my former employer) who, without a doubt, brought the biggest toy (a complete entertainment board with buttons to push, pull and turn) and devoted her complete time to taking care of Auro and succeeded in keeping him entertained the whole time! And, thank you, Nakayama-san, for sending me these nice photos!

One

2009-09-21T16:06:00.002+02:00

As I'm writing this post, I am sitting on the sofa of our apartment in Changchun. After having spent one month in Japan, we packed our suitcases again and got on the airplane yesterday afternoon. Eight hours later, we were here. Today, while Remo was chasing the cockroaches out, I spent most of the day disinfecting the floors, so Auro can crawl to his heart's content in a clean apartment. To finish this long day, I want to tell you about our last days in Japan.
As most of you know, on the 17th of September, Auro turned one. So, on Thurday afternoon, we celebrated that with presents and a cake. Auro enjoyed unwrapping his presents and even tried (very briefly) to blow out the candle on his cake (and Carlos was just in time to catch that moment!)

By the way

2009-09-18T14:39:00.002+02:00

Just to make sure that none of Auro's milkteeth will ever feel 'left out' because it didn't get as much attention as the others, I have to mention this: last Sunday we welcomed tooth number eight in Auro's mouth! May it grow strong and white and chew many tasty things!

Sailing trip

2009-09-15T15:08:00.005+02:00

Last Thursday, we left Osaka behind and went sailing for a couple of days. Together with 2 other sailboats (Catch 22 and Oceantech) we first sailed from Sakai to the island of Nushima (沼島), a small island about 5 km to the south of Awaji island. Just to give you an idea of how small: the island is 2.5 km² 'big' and has a population of about 600 people. On Friday, Auro and I explored the island (lots of shrines and temples, and a beach!) while Remo jumped into the water to clean the hull of Jan Haring. We had planned to leave Nushima the next day, but rainy weather kept us in Nushima until Sunday morning. Not feeling like going back to Osaka already, we (Jan Haring and Oceantech) decided to head for the harbour of Sumoto (洲本), on the southeast coast of Awaji Island. On the way we anchored in Yura (由良) to have our lunch and by the early evening we reached the quiet port of Sumoto. Remo started the next Monday morning with scraping off the last bits of dirt on the hull and after a big breakfast we started our trip back to Osaka, where we arrived 8 hours later... tired, but very satisfied and refreshed!

Change

2009-09-07T08:01:00.005+02:00

In the almost 3 weeks we have been in Japan, Auro has undergone (at least in my eyes) a small transformation. Just as the first 3 weeks in Belgium have been the most difficult among difficult periods so far, the change that came after it has been the most amazing...
In only a couple of weeks Auro has learned how to

*smoothly go from stomach to back and visa versa (until recently, when he rolled over, it was mostly by coincidence)
*push himself up to sitting position (I very often find him sitting in his bed in the morning!)
*crawl forward (first with his belly on the floor like a soldier ducking overflying bullets, but now on hands and knees like a real crawling baby)
*walk around when you hold both of his hands
*pull himself up to standing position (using the sofa, a table or a chair, but preferably me!)
*understand some basic 'commands' (like "give it to mama, let mama have a taste, wave goodbye, clap your hands")
*understand that there is a certain order in actions (when I put the towel on the floor, he goes to sit on it and waits for me to bring him his food ... or... when I put him in the stroller, he looks for the seatbelt and tries to lock it himself ... or ... when I put a towel around his shoulders after a shower, he tries to wrap himself in it like I usually do)
*play by himself for longer than 15 minutes

New summer

2009-09-07T04:16:00.006+02:00

Just when I thought summer in Japan was over (it was becoming pleasantly cool during the day), all of a sudden the temperatures rose again and on Saturday it was hot, hot, hot! Not that I am complaining, because even if the heat and humidity make me somewhat slow and lazy, I still prefer that too a cold and icy winter. So, while Auro and I spent our time being lazy on the boat, Remo worked hard on the covers of the cushions (with an industrial sewing machine he is stitching turquoise coloured covers for the cushions of the bed and sofa). And on Sunday, we went sailing ;-)

Quick lunch

2009-09-03T07:06:00.006+02:00

After our 'amazing' little visit to the public toilet of Imadegawa station, we left the station to meet an old friend of mine during her lunch break. Carmen, who, by now, probably knows for certain whether she passed her PhD exam, definitely passed the "Am I allowed to hold you, Auro?"-test and successfully carried Auro all the way to the restaurant and back! In return, Auro politely waved goodbye before we left!

Apology

2009-09-03T06:27:00.005+02:00

I'm fairly certain that people who have gone to public toilets in Japan before have never given it much thought, so I feel I should mention it here: when you have a baby with you, Japanese public toilets are so benri (便利=handy)! Almost all public toilets have at least one cubicle which has a special seat for babies. I have to admit that, before I had Auro, I very often used this seat to put my bag on and never really appreciated it's real value. With this post, I officially apologize to all the baby seats in Japanese public toilets for not seeing how handy they are! I really wish they had them in Belgium or Italy too (I always had to put Auro on the floor close to me), not to mention Chinese public toilets... And while we are at it, maybe airplane companies should also consider installing them. I don't have to explain to you just how much 'manoeuvring' it requires when you need to go and there is barely enough space on the dirty floor to put your feet.
Anyway... here is Auro in the toilet of Imadegawa station!

Bravo

2009-09-02T01:49:00.003+02:00

For many months now I've been trying to teach Auro how to clap his hands together, but he never showed any interest. The other day, all of a sudden, he reasponded to my "bravo" by clapping his hands together! Now, every time I say "bravo", he drops whatever he is holding and starts clapping his hands! So, maybe he will not only be able to blow out the candle on his cake, but also to congratulate himself on his first birthday!

Reunited

2009-09-01T14:23:00.004+02:00

About 2 weeks have passed since Auro and I arrived in Japan after a long and tiring, but nevertheless sleepless flight. Auro was 'slightly' over-tired and hardly slept at all the first night here in Kyoto. Completely jetlagged and (again) in a new environment, surrounded by new people and expected to fall asleep in a strange bed... it all was a little bit too much for Aurino! I was patient with the crying and screaming until about 2 am, but then I had absolutely no energy left. Luckily, Remo was there to take over and, ready to make up for the 2 months of being separated, he comforted Auro, sang to him and eventually just slept on the floor next to his bed.

After that first night, Auro quickly overcame his jetlag and his initial confusion, and after only a couple of days he started sleeping normally again. Just in time for the conference, symposium and meetings that I came here to attend. Remo stayed with Auro during the day and I was able, for the first time since Auro was born, to go out the whole day without having to worry about him getting hungry or sleepy! And, of course, we have also visited Jan Haring in the 2 weeks we have been here! The first time I took Auro to Osaka to see the boat, we stayed only for a couple of hours. Remo had prepared a car-seat for him in the cockpit and after having tied his seatbelt safely, we went out for about an hour and a half (there was no wind!) to accustom Auro with the idea of sailing. He did not complain ;-) Then, last Sunday, we traveled there again (2 hours and 4 trains from the north of Kyoto to the south of Osaka!), but this time we stayed a little longer, because we wanted Auro to get used to sleeping on the boat (no sailing). The back cabin, that had been reserved for him, seemed to be to his likings and he slept very well in the long and narrow bed, behind his safety net! Next, we are planning to try a short sailing trip for a couple of days!

Last days

2009-08-17T13:13:00.004+02:00

Tomorrow, Auro and I are flying to Osaka, where Remo (hopefully) will be waiting for us! Here are some pictures of the last days in Begijnendijk.

Auro has been trying to skip his morning nap, but sometimes it is just stronger than himself ;-)

Auro loves taking all of his toys out of the bag and throwing them around. And in the end he still wants a mobile phone or some keys to play with...Auro on his uncle's shoulders... for sure the highest place he has ever sat!

My mother

2009-08-12T14:40:00.009+02:00

Two days before going back to Belgium, more precisely on Monday evening, we finally did what we came here to do: we parted with the last physical remains of my mother. As she had requested more than once, we enthrusted part of her ashes to the sea in Turkey which she was so fond of. My mother, who was the reason for many more things in my life than just me coming to Turkey this time, now has a final resting place from where she can gaze at the rocky coast of Kiris and keep an eye on her apartment that had become her favourite place over the last couple of years!

Numbers

2009-08-09T12:17:00.008+02:00

The fact that we are relaxing in Turkey, does not mean that Auro's physical and mental development has taken a break. On the contrary! Here are some numbers.

* Auro's weight (measured just before we came to Turkey): 8900 grams
* Auro's height (also measured just before Turkey): 75 cm

* number of breastfeedings in a day: 2 (we recently replaced the afternoon-milk with some fruit and/or a cookie)
* number of 'frietjes' (=French fries/chips/pommes frites) Auro has refused to eat so far: 0 (He definitely IS Belgian!)
* number of ready-made babyfood Auro opens his mouth for: 1 (couscous with vegetables... everything else needs to be fresh!)
* number of shiny white (and amazingly sharp!) little teeth: 7 (number 7 saw the light right here in Turkey)
* number of (airplane) flights Auro has been on in his life: 18
* number of countries our little globetrotter has 'visited' so far: 8 (Belgium, Italy, Austria, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Turkey)

Gözleme

2009-08-09T12:13:00.013+02:00

The other day, my father needed to catch up on some lost sleep, so tante Els, Auro and I took the car and went out for lunch. We drove to a nearby restaurant where we ate on of my favourite Turkish dishes:gözleme. Gözleme is a hand made and hand rolled pastry, filled with feta cheese, potatoes or spinach (these are the 3 most common fillings), and then cooked over a griddle. When the gozleme is cooked, little brown round eye-shaped spots appear on the pastry and this is how the origin of the name for the dish is explained: 'göz' apparently means 'eye' in Turkish.

Adrasan

2009-08-06T10:34:00.006+02:00

Two days ago, my father, Els, Auro and I took the rental car and drove to Adrasan (about one hour to the west of Kiris). Whereas the beach here in Kiris consists of little (and sometimes bigger) pebbles, Adrasan has a little inlet with an almost sandy beach. Also, to walk into the sea requires less of an acrobatic effort in Adrasan, as the beach doesn't immediately drop from ankle-shallow to waist-deep (though this does occassionally provide some amusing and entertaining sights!). Anyway, after a good (and cheap!) lunch, we swam in the sea, had a walk in the excrutiating heat (so Auro could take a nap in his stroller), had another refreshing swim and finally went to a nice restaurant on the river (extra nice because it's a place where my mother has not been forgotten). Amazing how the heat disappears near a river under the cover of green trees! A great place to end a surprisingly tiring day.

Neighbours

2009-08-01T09:55:00.004+02:00

Last Friday (July 24), my father, Auro and I took the plane from Brussels to Antalya in Turkey. We are staying in my mother's favourite place in Kiris. Since we've arrived here, we haven't really done anything noteworthy. Except for swimming, sunbathing, going to the market, drinking and eating of course! And always in good company! (see picture of my father drinking the local beer in company of our Belgian neighbours)

the Dutch

2009-07-21T23:06:00.007+02:00

Today, the 21st of July, is a national holiday in Belgium. Actually it is THE national holiday of Belgium. On July 21, 1831, Leopold I took the oath as king and Belgium officially became an independent country. All of this happened after the Belgian revolution, during which the Belgians declared their independence from the Dutch.
Yesterday, and this has of course nothing to do with the above, my good friend Ilona came from Holland to pay us a visit. We hadn't seen each other in over a year and we had some catching up to do. We sat in the garden the whole afternoon, where Ilona became best friends with the dog (Kazan kept bringing her pears from the garden, which she kept throwing away and he kept coming back with new ones). Also Auro was completely charmed by my Dutch friend... or was it by the big leather (and therefore extremely chewable) belt she was wearing?

Sand

2009-07-17T22:59:00.015+02:00

The day Auro turned 10 months, my friend Pascale picked us up with her car and drove us all the way to the Belgian coast (for Belgian standards 2 hours is a very long drive!). The coastal town of Blankenberge is very well known among Belgians and on a hot sunny day the beach is ususally packed with people. Luckily it wasn't that hot, nor that sunny, so we could enjoy the sandy beach to our heart's content. Especially Auro was impressed with the 'sandiness' of the white sand, because he wouldn't stop touching it. He took some in his little fists, then let it slip through his fingers, only to pick up some more. Of course there was also the occasional sand-tasting going on, but I think he quickly understood that sand is not meant to be eaten. Smart little boy!
To make our sandy day complete, we also paid a visit to the sand sculptures festival, which is held every year in the dunes of Blankenberge (11 Euros!). This year the theme is 'Pete Pirate and the Barnacle Bill', so lots of pirate ships, treasures, sea monsters and ... Michael Jackson!

Last minute

2009-07-16T22:45:00.009+02:00

Tomorrow, Auro will be 10 months old, but today, while he is still 9 months old, his 6th tooth came through! And I can assure you this one is just as sharp as the other five.Two teeth on the bottom and four on the top: his mouth is in balance again... at least for now ;-)

Socializing

2009-07-06T16:24:00.008+02:00

Over the past couple of days Auro has been confronted with many new people. The whole family gathered here for a barbecue, friends came to visit and we went to visit friends. He has been surrounded by people who, for almost 5 months, have been looking forward to seeing him. Unfortunately almost none of those people have been able to hold him without setting of a siren of loud and persistent crying, audible probably even to his father who is on the other side of the world in Japan!
Auro has always been a bit of a mother's boy, but from the moment we have arrived here in Belgium it seems he has completely abandoned the idea of ever socializing with people who are not his 'mama', his 'papa' or (luckily) his 'opa'. To be quite honnest, I don't know how to help him feel more relaxed with other people, but I'm afraid I can't force it much. I suppose I will just have to trust Auro and give him the time he needs to master his social skills...

Discoveries

2009-07-03T23:05:00.011+02:00

Today, I made two discoveries.

The first one was this morning when I inspected Auro's mouth (which I started doing regularly since his gum turned white) and saw that 'tooth number 5' had decided to come out! Congratulations, Auro! Five down, fifteen to go!
The second dicovery came later in the afternoon and I can't really take credit for it since it wasn't me, but Els (my brother's girlfriend) who made it. She discovered that we have a tree in our garden that bears cherries. At least we think that's what they are. They look a little different from the ones we are used to, but they have the same sweet taste. My parents bought this house when my mother was pregnant with me, so I actually grew up here, but I never noticed that we had a cherry tree. What a strange but amazing discovery, wouldn't you say?

Number 4

2009-06-29T20:24:00.003+02:00

Yesterday Auro woke up with one more tooth! He now has 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top. High time to try that toothbrush that's been sitting in the diaper bag since Auro was 4 months old!
I was expecting a lot of resistance when I put the tooth brush in his mouth and (very gently) rubbed his new teeth with it,but he rather seemed to enjoy it. The taste of the baby toothpaste almost made him change his mind, but when I let go of the toothbrush, he happily took over and chewed on it for another 5 minutes! He cried when I took it away...

Mushroom

2009-06-27T22:26:00.010+02:00

And the good weather continues...

Today, my father and I went out to buy this 'mushroom baby pool' (complete with little inflatable mushrooms and butterflies!) .It was on sale for 10 euros in a shop closeby. Auro is not a big fan yet, but maybe he will be tomorrow when we try it again without all those onlookers ;-)

Tropics

2009-06-26T10:19:00.006+02:00

Everybody tells me that I brought good weather with me from China (even though it was raining a lot in Changchun when I left). I am indeed lucky to have so many sunny days since my arrival here. Belgium is not exactly famous for it's tropical temperatures and the weather in summer, I believe, belongs to the most unpredictable in the world.
Anyway, yesterday and also today, it's hot, hot, hot! Great chance for Auro to play outside! This morning I've prepared his little play-corner (plastice sheet with a blanket on top) on the lawn, from where he can see the fountain sprouting water in the pond, Kazan (the dog) running after his ball and us walking in and out of the house! And if that doesn't keep him entertained, there is always the mountain of toys on his blanket!

Jetlag

2009-06-25T11:15:00.005+02:00

We have been in Belgium for 6 days now and I think Auro is finally over his jetlag. The flight from Beijing to Brussels was long and Auro didn't sleep very well. He woke up screaming almost every 30 minutes, so by the time we arrived in Belgium, both Auro and I (I breastfed him maybe 10 times!) were pretty exhausted. The time difference between China and Belgium (6 hours) made it extra difficult to recover from the trip, but after a couple of 'irregular' nights, Auro is himself again.
After 2 days of nonstop whining and crying, however, I caved and went out to buy him a baby walker. It's just like the one he has (and loves) in China, but a bit more sophisticated with lots of buttons to push and rings to pull. Now, Auro is 'independent' again and has a whole house (and garden) to explore. Also, a friend of mine lent me some extra toys that belonged to her boys, so Auro really shouldn't get bored! After 4 days of seeing Auro 'unhappy', I'm relieved to have him smiling, talking and (unfortunately also) screaming again!!

Nine months

2009-06-18T09:12:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, Auro was exactly 9 months old. This means that I can't claim anymore that he has spent most of his life inside of me :D
So let's recapitulate: our 9-month old boy is the proud owner of 3 mini teeth, has reached the height of 71cm, weighs a little over 8 kilos (of which, I suspect, more than half is made up by his protruding belly... OMG, he eats a lot!!) and has a vocabulary that reaches from 'gaga', 'dada' to (and this is my favourite) 'mama'!
Another news: tomorrow night my little 'big boy' and I are flying to Belgium. We will arrive at 5:30 in the morning... hope you can make it, opa!?!

Going local

2009-06-16T08:43:00.002+02:00

I just couldn't resist!
Auro, if you are old enough to read this: don't blame your mama for this! You just looked soooo cute in red :D

Three at once

2009-06-16T05:52:00.002+02:00

During our travel to Hong Kong and Macau, Auro had some restless nights and cried a bit more often than usually, but almost as soon as we came back to Changchun and we went back to our old routines, he calmed down, caught up all the lost sleep and after a couple of days he was his old happy self again. For the first time in over a month, I also managed to sleep for 8 hours straight again (Yeah!!!).
And then, one morning, there it was: Auro's first tooth! For months already, people were constantly asking me about Auro's teeth: "Does he have teeth yet? How about his teeth? Still nothing?". It reminded me a bit of the questions many of those same people used to ask me when I was still in high school: "Do you have a boyfriend yet? Where's your boyfriend?" (Why don't you ask me now, huh?). Anyway, every peep Auro made and every cry he uttered was blamed on those evil teeth that were for sure tormenting him. Now finally they are here!! I say 'they', because, in just some days, two more came out! Now, Auro has two little white pieces of tooth sticking out from his bottom jaw and a slightly bigger one is showing from the top. The rest of his gum is white-ish too, so I'm expecting the other one on the top to show itself soon too.

Goodbye

2009-06-15T11:49:00.002+02:00

On Saturday the 6th of June it was time to say goodbye to aunt Lara and nonna Valeria. For one whole month we had been in their cheerful company and I have to say that it was a bit hard for me to see them go. I have really enjoyed the company, the home-cooked meals, the traveling, the fun! But, nothing to be done, they and their fifty suitcases (haha) had to go back to Italy, where, I'm sure, a happy nonno Elio was waiting for them. Thanks! I was so happy to have you here. I had a great time and I hope you did too. See you in Italy for Christmas!!

Macau

2009-06-15T11:41:00.002+02:00

And then there was Macau... We left Hong Kong by ferry on a rainy morning to arrive in Macau and find a hot and burning sun. Home of the Portugese for a long time, Macau still has many of the original Portugese buildings and sometimes you forget that you are in China (actually after having passed through customs and having to change HK Dollars into the local currency Pataca, you ARE in a different country), but, again, it wasn't half as beautiful as we had expected (maybe we just expect too much?). Our driver/guide told us that in recent years many Chinese have started to come to Macau to gamble (as it is forbidden on mainland China) and a lot of Macanese have left their small and traditional shops/restaurants to go and work for the big casinos that are rising up everywhere on the small peninsula. Oh, and by the way, prostitution is also legal in Macau. With all the money that is flowing from China to Macau like this, I wonder if Macau will ever let herself become a part of China again...

Hong Kong: the sea

2009-06-15T10:21:00.001+02:00

The promise of beautiful beaches with sampans quietly floating in the far distance, drew us to the southern part of Hong Kong Island. There was, unfortunately, nothing of the sort. Hower, there was sea, more precisely the South China Sea. And I wouldn't be a real tourist if I had gone all that way and not put my feet in it! I also thought it would be a unique chance for Auro to dip his feet in the sea for the first time, so... we removed our shoes and socks and in we went. But, as you can see from the picture, Auro did not like it too much. Like his father, I suppose, Auro prefers to be 'on' the sea rather than 'in' it.