Sing for candy

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)

farmer Auro

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).

Major update II: Bachelorette party

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 ;-)

Back to nature

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 ;-)

My mother

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

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!

Last days

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!

the Dutch

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?

Last minute

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!