Happy Halloween!

Since Jack was just a little too young last year, this was our first real Halloween together as a family and we wanted to make sure he got the full experience (even when living in Spain where the holiday is not very celebrated). Therefore, Alexis and I decided that there was no Halloween complete without a...

1) Pumpkin Carving Party!!

Alexis and Jacques surpised me a few days before Halloween by bring home a gigantic (by Spanish standards since Jack-o'-Lanterns don't really exist here) 8 kg pumpkin for us to carve. They had specially ordered it from our local Fruteria under the sole condition that we promised to eat it. Here's to a diet full of pumpkin pie, bread and soup in the coming weeks!

That looks awfully squishy...

Let the carving begin...

Final piece out...

Cheese!....

2) A day in a full-blown Halloween decorated amusement park

On Saturday we made the short journey south to Tarragona to visit PortAventura. For our family and friends from PA, it's pretty much the Spanish equivalent to Hershey Park. This was the one place we could think of that would get all decked out for Halloween and we weren't disappointed. There were pumpkins, crows, spiders, witches and all kinds of other "scary" things galore. Jack was a bit young for most of the rides, but he loved just looking around and checking out the espectaculos.

3) Costume Making!

It took a while, but Alexis and I (or I should say Alexis) finally decided on the perfect costume for Jack just a few hours before the Halloween festivities started. We were working with basic "ingredients" from our apartment...but the transformation from old pair of PJs to cuddly tiger was remarkable. It's amazing what a bit of paint and an artistic husband can do...

Costume creation in full motion

4) Halloween Party in the Park

We had a few options to choose from to celebrate Halloween, but we finally decided last-minute on spending the afternoon in Parc de la Ciutadella with other Halloween-loving families living in Barcelona. It was quite the international group and Jack had a lot of fun running around the park with the other kids.

I spot a Papa...with camera.

Prowling around the playground

Sharpening my claws...

Ready to pounce...Look out Mama....

At first when a little boy came up to Jack, I was afraid my little tiger would try to snatch one of his cookies...turns out the little boy was much more interested in chasing Jack's tail. Lucky for everyone, Jack was super quick and made a fast getaway...watch him go!

The Chase...

Swinging through the jungle...

Alexis and I officially deemed Jack's costume a success when a little boy told his father at the bottom of the sliding board..."I don't want to go up there...there's a tiger up there!!!"

One, two, three...

GOOOOOOO!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Leaf peeping in Montseny

After living in Barcelona for more than 3 years, Alexis, Jack and I have finally seen firsthand some fall foliage in Cataluna! Autumn has always been one of my favorite seasons, and seeing the leaves changing colors and smelling the crisp cold air right before the onset of winter has been one of the things I have missed most about the Northeast. Lucky for us, we were able to time our trip to the mountains perfectly...no rain...and we even managed to spot quite a few yellow and orange leaves in a sea of green and brown.

The first stop of our day was to the highest peak in Montseny, el Turo de l'Home, because what better place to see all the leaves from than a bird's-eye view. Our hike was definitely not as intense as it might sound, we drove to the highest point possible and then hiked the rest of the 20 minutes up. It was a good excursion for Jack and his trying-to-get-back-into-shape parents. The last time Alexis and I climbed to the peak, we were just a few weeks away from welcoming Jack into our life...so it was a bit funny to be carrying him on my back this time!

Up we go!

The view from the summit...

Let's fly!

A quick refuel...being carried around is a lot of work!

Papa?...We are awfully high aren't we?

Right before the clouds covered us all...

What we weren't expecting on our trip to the mountains was the mass of people flocking there as well for Mushroom Picking season!...a real Catalan tradition. Alexis and I have been to this park many times in the past, but have never seen so many cars parked along the road and families armed with baskets and sticks rooting around in the wilderness. We considered joining in on the fun, and even picked up a Mushroom Picking pamphlet from a guard station, but were quickly discouraged. The pamphet, although very official looking, offered only one piece of advice...do not pick or eat poisonous mushrooms. Unfortunately for us, there was no pictures or additional aids for our little side adventure so we quickly decided it was safer to buy mushrooms from our Fruteria and leave the wild ones for the locals.

After our summit hike, we headed to a nearby lake for a more relaxed walk and lunch. In the time it took to find a good picnic area by the lake, we managed to find quite a few varieties of mushrooms and decided our initial assessment was correct...we had no clue the good from the bad ones. Next fall, if we are still in Cataluna, we will definitely be going back with one of our Catalan friends.

The lake...

Watch out Papa! It's slippery!

A flat path means that Jack gets to walk!

Just some of the changing leaves...

Look at me go!

I walked all that way?

The lake turned out to be the perfect place to see autumn in action...and to let Jack stretch out his legs as well. He is well on his way to becoming an independent little walker.

Jack Walks!!!

Even though I am quite behind on blogposts, I couldn't resist to put up a few videos of Jack toddling around the apartment.

Thats right...after many months of cruising, Jack has finally taken his first few steps towards independence at 13.5 months. For the past month, he has tinkered more and more with walking...even sometimes amusing Papa and Mama by taking a few steps into their opened arms. But, I guess we have to thank one very rainy weekend in Barcelona and a much needed rainy day game to finally give him the little extra incentive to get moving. Now he is really unstoppable...he just loves toddling (but still probably prefers the much safer and quicker crawling mode of transportation).

We've even managed to take a few excursions outside equipped with his new pair of shoes and Mama's hand for holding...no buggy! Granted it takes 10 times longer to walk to where we want to go, and we only really go a few blocks...but the little guy loves it. He practically breaks into a run and laughs in excitement at the new little world he now gets to discover on foot.

These videos were taken with a one-man camera team, and unfortunately I forgot to tidy up the place a little before rolling the camera...but I think everyone should enjoy them nevertheless.

Watch me go!...Here I come!...

Still love to do that cruising thing...

Happy 1st Birthday, Jacques!

That's right...Jack has officially turned 1 year old!! August was a whirlwind adventure of traveling in europe and the states, which meant that Jacques was able to celebrate his first birthday with both his Mama's and Papa's family...one of the advantages of being born in the summer! We celebrated in the south of France first with the de Kerchove family, before jetting off to the Outer Banks in North Carolina with the Schreiber family. For some pictures of both birthday celebrations, click here.

It's really hard to believe that 1 whole year has already passed since Jacques surprised us by arriving 2 weeks early. We will never forget the day Jack joined our lives, and looking back now it really does feel just like yesterday. This past year has really truely been an adventure and it's just so exciting to see how far the little guy has come. They really do grow up too fast.

Given all of this, I just couldn't help sharing a few of our favorite pictures that we took over the past year for a little stroll down memory lane.

Jack's first morning...

First cuddles with Mama...

Napping on Papa (1 month)

Roaarrr! (1 month)

So serious (2 months)

Bath time (3 months)

Tickle time (4 months)

First weekend away as a family of 3 (4 months)

Always one for enjoying naked time on the bed (5 months)

My first pony ride (7 months)...

Play time (8 months)...

Learning to work the cameras (10 months)

Just enjoying life (11 months)...

Make a wish....Happy 1st birthday, Jacques!!

July in Kamperland: Jack turns 11 months old!

While Alexis stayed in Barcelona to finish his MBA, Jack and I decided to escape the summer heat of Spain and spend a couple of weeks with the de Kerchove family in Kamperland. Over the course of 2 weeks, we got to spend some great times with all of the families of Alex's brothers and sister...and even managed to have one complete weekend with everyone together (sans Alexis). It was the first time that all 8 de Kerchove grandchildren were together!

I think the sea air definitely did something for Jacques (I hear that it has something to do with the iodine...) because from the moment we arrived at the house, Jack had fallen in love. I don't know if it's because he's a bit older now, but he was so excited about everything and just wanted to explore, explore, explore. He doesn't quite have finger-pointing down yet, but he loved to extend his whole arm and hand to show you exactly where he wanted to go next...the water, the ducks, the playset...there were no limits.

Alexis was able to join us for our last weekend in Kamperland, which we spent with his parents and Cedric and Caroline's family. Unfortunately, for most of Jack's and my vacation we didn't think once to bring out the camera, but we did get quite a few good shots of our weekend with Papa.

Yay! Papa is back in town!

I'm so happy I can't stop smiling!

So what did Jack love so much about being in Kamperland? (Besides being with family of course...) Well he was a bit too young for crabbing yet...but there were still plenty of things to do to keep the little guy busy.

1) Playing in the sand. Whether it was the sandbox at the house or going to the beach, Jack was always eager to get his hands messy. Luckily for us he seemed to be past the stage of major sand-eating...although a few grains always seemed to end up in his mouth (and eyes, and ears...you name it)

Just another day at the sandbox

I'm just too excited...

Family beach shot: Jack wouldn't even sit for one minute...

A tiny pause with Mama to check out the waves

2) Swimming. Although Jack did not like the big pool too much (a bit too cold for his taste) he really took to the little kiddie pool. It was like bathtime except with lots more toys and outside! Hopefully by the end of the summer he'll take to the water like a fish...especially since we have quite a few beach vacations to look forward to! His cousins were definitely good examples of water-lovers...

Jack's older cousins, Thibault and Charles, liked the water...

...and so did Amelie....

3) Feeding the ducks. Jack really couldn't get enough of the duck family that constantly visited the house. If we would have let him, he probably would have fed them breakfast, lunch, dinner along with snacks.

Are you guys hungry?

4) Bike riding. When in Holland, do as the Dutch do... I must admit that I was a bit nervous to put the little guy on a bike, but it turns out he loved it! He rode in a kid seat on the back of his Mama's bike and really took to the whole experience. The unexpected bonus...free back massages for me! I'm not sure how many of you know this, but Alexis and I really did love to ride our bikes before Jack was born. After a couple weeks in Kamperland, I'm really convinced that Jack needs his own bikeseat here in Barcelona. I can't wait to start riding again!!

5) Walking. Although he has yet to take his first independent steps, Jack just loves to cruise on anything. His new found source of freedom...a little walker. He was doing laps around the yard and would even refuse help to turn the thing around. He was unstoppable.

Just mowing the grass...with such determination

6) Meeting his newest cousin. Alexis, Jack and I were all very excited to meet little Guillaume, who is the newest addition to the de Kerchove family. It was crazy to be around a few week old baby again...you quickly forget just how tiny and innocent they are.

Thibault, Charles and Guillaume

7) Ice cream eating. That's right, Jack tried his very first bite of cold vanilla goodness. Mama learned her lesson...must order a bigger cone next time.

Jack spotting the ice cream flags in the distance...and away he went

8) Watching the sunset. Before going to bed each night, Jack and I tried to take advantage of the last few sunbeams shining through the sky to relax and of course take one more opportunity to say goodnight to the ducks, crabs, and all the other sea critters...

Just one of the many beautiful sunsets over the lake...

Alexis, Jack and I had a great time in Kamperland and we keep talking about what a great place it is to vacation with kids. We are definitely looking forward to enjoying many more summers all together there.

Kamperland, July 2010