Jack and Olivia's Baptism

This past Saturday, Jack and his cousin Olivia were baptised in a small chapel in Brussels, Belgium in an intimate ceremony with close family. We consider ourselves very fortunate, because even though we have quite an international family, we were able to bring everyone together for one day to celebrate the beginning of both Jack and Oliva's spiritual life. We were especially grateful that Jack's godmother, Amanda, her entire family (complete with her 2 young boys), and GramBear were able to make the long journey from Pennsylvania and that Jack's godfather, Cedric, also was able to make the trip from Paris with his 3 young children just days before the expected arrival of number 4.

Alexis, Jacques, Oliva and Natacha before the ceremony

The proud parents giving opening words

Olivia was the first of the kids to be baptised with the holy water. Jack, being alerted by Olivia's cries, tried to make a get-away when it was his turn and almost succeeded. My little baby is getting strong. Lesson learned for next time...Alexis should be the one to hold the baby, especially if we wait until they are over 9 months old!

Olivia...

...and Jack being baptized

Group Shot!: Oliva, Jack, Parents and Godparents

Throughout the entire ceremony, Olivia, Jack and all the other kiddies in attendence were amazingly well behaved (even though Jack had to rely on his thumb quite a bit) and we were all well rewarded with an afternoon of BBQing and backyard playtime in an unusually beautiful and sunny afternoon in Brussels.

Sammy got dressed up for the occassion...Que Guapo!

Evan looking pretty good as well!

Enjoying the bouncy castle after the ceremony

Noa multi-tasking: Bouncing while bubble blowing

Jack and Thomas were a bit too small to bounce, but they still had fun.

In an attempt to completely enjoy our day, neither Alexis nor I took any pictures of this special day...and it seems like quite a few others took the same approach. Therefore, if any of you have some nice pictures of the baptism and the following afternoon adventures we would be very appreciative! Thanks! In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the few pictures that we were able to scrape together.

Jack and Oliva's Baptism

A Day in the Delta de l'Ebre

The last weekend in May, Alexis, Jacques and I joined a small group of his friends from his MBA program to go visit the Delta de l'Ebre, which is a large nature reserve in the south of Catalunya well known for it's rice fields and large flamenco populations. Since it was late spring in Spain, exploring the Delta at it's most fertile and green period was definitely an opportunity we couldn't pass up. So, we woke Jack up early, spread on layers of sunscreen, tied up our hiking shoes, and we were off on an adventure.

The Delta de l'Ebre

The reeds blowing in the wind

Who can spot the horse?

A lone flamenco...

Typical of our life here in Spain, we never know quite what to expect or what were are getting ourselves into. We were anticipating a day of hiking through rice paddies and marsh lands, but instead got a lovely car tour of all the rice fields and a small relaxing walk on the beach to complete the afternoon. In the end, this was the best way (especially for Jacques) to explore the delta with the beating sun and limited shade...I just wish I would have brought my sandals!!

We were very lucky, because one of Alexis's friends is originally from the delta area and she organized a very nice private tour of a restricted area of the reserve.

A beautiful white horses of the delta

Grey ponies before becoming bleached white from the sun...

Khalil and his wife Sanae

After our tour, we continued to explore the delta in car, passing over the Trabucador costal barrier (~5km long) to reach a large protected island best known for spotting large families of flamencos.

Rosa and Christina

Rejoining the group after a quick snack in the shade

Beach time!

Khalil preparing for papa-hood

Listening to the waves, not ready to plunge in just yet...

To complete the day, we had a late lunch (well typical Spanish time) together on a terrace of a local restaurant. Here Jack really got to take advantage of being the only child on the trip. He was passed around one-by-one to the whole group and was generally spoiled with lots of yummy bread (which he never gets at home) and constant attention. He loved it!

I'm really glad that I finally got to meet and put a face to so many of the wonderful people that Alexis has told me about during his year and a half MBA program. Unfortuantely I have not had the opportunity to meet many people before this weekend because of my pregnancy and then having a small baby at home. I hope that now that we are more mobile...we'll have many more weekends like this one! I know Alexis and I are already talking about returning to the Delta in the fall when it's a bit cooler to explore some more on foot...anyone else in?

Delta de l'Ebre

In Action! 9 month old Jacques

In the past few weeks, Jack has officially mastered the art of crawling and in return, he has gained a whole new level of independence and freedom. Gone are the days when he "cried" because he was put somewhere he didn't want to be. Now he just looks up at me with eyes saying..."ok mama, but i'd rather be over there"...and off he goes without looking back. This usually means that I have a constant friend whenever I'm trying to get anything done because, at this moment, chores around the house are much more interesting to Jack than his toys! He especially loves folding laundry...or rather emptying the laundry basket as many times as he can.

Since Jack's main interest so far this month seems to be moving, moving, moving we decided that it would be best to just post a few videos of the little man in action. We will try to post a few pictures later on, but for now, videos are all that we have! Enjoy!

The One with the Socks

The One in the Striped Pjs

The One with the Ball

The One where Jacques crawls

Along with Jack's new found ability to move about, also comes an increased awareness of his surroundings and an ability to express more and more what he wants. Yesterday, Alexis had class and normally only comes home after Jack's bedtime. Since we know how happy it makes Jacques to see his Papa at night, we decided to push back bedtime a little bit for a late night Friday celebration. If only I could have recorded Jack's expression when he heard Papa's key turning in the door. He started shaking and bouncing up and down with excitement...and I'm sure if he could have, he would have tried to run to the door...he was that happy. Just imagine his face when he actually did see his Papa!

Jacques is also becoming more and more affectionate with each month. Now that he can move around more independently, he has definitely become quite the cuddly kid...especially when he is a bit sleepy. He often crawls over to me and either puts his head in my lap to get his head pet, or cuddles while leaning against my arm and sucking his thumb. It just makes you want to hug him.