A Very Merry Christmas with Kassy

It still seems a little bit like a dream, but Alexis and I got one of the best Christmas presents in the world, a visit from my 17 year old niece Kassy. Her visit was in the works for quite a few months, but it didn't seem like a reality until we picked her up bright and early at the Brussels airport on Christmas eve. Belgium was to be one of 3 stops on Kassy's 2-week European adventure with us, and we couldn't wait to start showing her the sights.

First stop: the Brussels Christmas Market, otherwise known as Brussels Winter Wonders, complete with ice skating rink, ferris wheel, 2 carousels and no fewer than 200 stands all selling some variety of Belgian treats. Even though I have spent several Christmases in Belgium, I have never gotten the chance to visit the market, so it was definitely a special treat. Since we ventured out during naptime, Jack stayed back with Daddy and Nanou, but Timothee got to join in on all of the fun.

Cheese: Tim's first ferris wheel ride!

The big wheel...

Here are a few sights from the top...

Brussels Winter Wonders

The red rooftops...

The Atomium from a distance...another must-see on our to-do list in Brussels

Since it was a bit chilly, we couldn't pass up the chance to enjoy some yummy European coffee and hot chocolate. It's too bad Kassy doesn't enjoy hot drinks.

Tim and Kassy warming up in a little cafe...

The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling through the old town, visiting the grand place, and making a brief stop to visit the Manneken Pis who was all decked out for the holidays as well.

Tintin: One of the many great comic book wall murals in BXL

Santa-ken Pis

Oh...did I forget to mention eating? Since we had only a limited time in Brussels we had to take advantage of every opportunity we had to try all of the traditional food. At the market alone we managed to sample boudin blanc, frites with one of the many varieties of available sauces, and cuberons (a traditional belgian candy). The next couple of days were also filled with much chocolate and waffle eating...just a few of my favorite things to enjoy in Belgium.

Since we celebrated Christmas with the de Kerchove family the evening before, Christmas Eve was a little celebration with just the 4 of us...and it was a marvelous evening to say the least. Christmas dinner was kept simple with frozen pizzas (just the way I like it), followed by some wonderful and festive dancing and then present opening. My family filled Kassy's suitcase with so many wonderful gifts for Jacques and Timothee that I don't know how she managed to have enough clothes for herself. Thanks everyone for thinking about us!!!

Jack checking out all of the surprises under the tree

Kassy trying on her new scarf. Doesn't she look great?

It was so wonderful to celebrate Christmas with Kassy. Even though she had just arrived that morning, it felt like she had already been with us for a few days.

Our next couple days in Brussels flew by, but we still managed to visit the Atomium and make a quick stop in town for waffles between visiting some more friends and family. After 4 months, we were finally able to officially introduce Timothee to his godmother Vesna...and now we are looking forward to June when his godfather Joe will finally get to meet him as well.

For a few more pictures of our mini-adventure in Brussels, click here. Next stop on Kassy's European adventure...1 week of winter-fun in Switzerland followed by a few days at home with us in Stockholm. More blogposts to follow. But for now...

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Merry Christmas!

This year, with Timothee being so young, Alexis and I decided that it would be best to celebrate the holidays just a little closer to home (in other words, in the same time-zone) and were fortunate enough to spend Christmas with the whole de Kerchove family in Brussels. This year was an exceptional year to say the least because 1) all the de Kerchoves were together again for one special evening and 2) I got to have a little piece of my American family with me as well!! Kassy's dream of traveling to Europe finally came true and she joined Alexis, me, Jack and Tim on our little holiday adventure. Blogposts to follow!

It's never easy trying to capture all of the wonder and joy of Christmas in a few photos, especially with 9 grandchildren and counting, but here are a few select pictures attempting to show some of the magic of the evening. Enjoy!

Since the family is quite big now, the kids get to enjoy their very own Christmas before the older folks have a little celebration of their own. Christmas dinner is always a special treat...

Amelie and Noa: A mid-dinner hug...

Full-tummies means that it's time for the gift-giving to start... 9 children makes for a lot of presents, even when gift-givers are limited to grandparents and great-grandparents only.

Guillaume spending time with his great-grandmother

What is it Nanou??

Moiny and Cedric

Merrily making music...

Thomas and Agnes enjoying his new book

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!

All of the kids had a fantastic evening and were quite happy to be able to play for a few more hours with all of their cousins the following morning. Timothee was even able to join us then!! (With his self-imposed 7 o'clock bedtime he sadly missed most of the festivities).

The morning after...

We also had one more special guest, Kassy!! It only took a few minutes until she was best friends with all of the kids.

Kassy and Thibault

For a few more pictures of Christmas with the de Kerchove family, click here. We hope everyone had a merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from Stockholm!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Well we made it! December 22 officially marked the shortest day of the year here in Stockholm. With the sun rising at 8:44 and setting at 14:48, that makes a grand total of 6 hours and a few minutes of daylight... For everyone that is wondering, yes...every minute does count.

Winter Solstice also just happens to mark our 5-month anniversary of living in Sweden! So, in honor of that, I decided to compose a list of everything we found interesting/unusual here while getting settled into our new life. Who knows, it might be fun for us to look back at it in a few years and see how far along we have come.

• Stockholm is a beautiful city. Each day we realize how lucky we are to be living here. It's so nice to be close to the water and green at the same time...and to have seasons again. We can't wait to explore more.

• Yes, everyone...well nearly everyone...speaks English. Unfortunately for us, nothing is ever written in English. These past few months have been a crash course in important Swedish words from different foods to how to say elevator. That said, it would be very beneficial for us to learn at least a little Swedish so we can eventually stop feeling like foreigners and since Jacques will be starting preschool in Swedish very soon. It would also help immensely with phone calls when there is an automated menu...anything beats pressing random buttons until a human responds.

• Yes, Sweden is a very family-oriented country. For each child, parents receive a whopping 480 days of leave to share. Strangely enough, we also received parental leave for Jacques. They just deducted the ~100 days of maternity leave I took in Barcelona. Stay-at-home moms (and dads) can also benefit from parental leave. It's not a lot, but I make 180 sek (~$27) a day for staying home with my kids (without having employment in Sweden). I guess we have the high taxes in Sweden to thank for that =).

• In our first few months here, Alexis and I took much advantage of the Swedish healthcare system. We arrived in Sweden just in time to have a baby (Timothee was born ~5 weeks after arriving in Stockholm) and Alexis to have his appendix out (a few days after Tim and I returned home). We found everything in the healthcare system quite easy to navigate and efficient...in addition to that, even as newcomers, everything was essentially covered (except for a fee for hospital food).

Random observations:

• No one hangs curtains in their houses, even on the lower levels. This makes for an interesting show, especially at night, of everyone's life.

• Even in Sweden, IKEA is a great place to get a good deal on furniture and food. One of the most popular items are the the big ball light covers...they can be seen in almost every house. We have proudly inherited 3 from our landlords.

• Compared to Barcelona, there are very few dogs, and the grass in the parks are for the kids to play in not puppies to poop in.

• Gone are the days of buying gallons of water. Potable water in Stockholm actually tastes quite good.

First thoughts on Swedish winters:

• By law, snow tires on cars are required by December. This winter has been interesting because there hasn't been much snow. But, since temperatures hover right below freezing, every street and sidewalk becomes coated in a thin layer of ice. I've never seen anything before like it...the city is a skating rink.

• Temperature highs and lows are pretty much the same...at least you know what to expect and it's easy to dress for.

• We've only had a few inches of snow at a time, but so far, only big streets are cleaned and I have yet to see one shoveled sidewalk. It makes navigating with a stroller quite interesting. Which brings me to...

• Rumor has it that everyone has "snowtires" for their strollers...we might have to think of investing in a pair of those.

• Kids are always very prepared for the elements. In fall, every kid is dressed in rain pants and galoshes. In the winter, these are replaced by snow pants and boots. Even for a quick walk in town, the kids are prepared. Jack has adapted quite well to his new seasonal attire.

All in all, Sweden has been a huge change from Spain...but the initial adaption period for us has gone much more smoothly I think. I'm not sure if it's because the lifestyle in Belgium and the United States is much more comparable to the Swedish lifestyle (it's fun to have coffee shops on every corner again...especially when in dire need of warming up) or that with every big move you just get a little more used to what needs to get done to settle in. I must say, it definitely helps that we are able to communicate more easily than in our first few months in Spain (when we knew minimal Spanish).

That being said, we are really looking forward to the next year in Stockholm...and of course to each day being just a little bit longer. I can't wait for 18+ hours of sunlight in the summer...I think we'll develop a new appreciation for blackout curtains!

Here Comes Saint Nicolas!

On December 6th, Saint Nicolas visited all the good little girls and boys in Belgium...and even found time to pay a special visit to 2 Belgian boys living in Stockholm.

Our house was filled with lots of anticipation and excitement for Saint Nicolas in the days before his visit.

Countdown to Saint Nicolas...only 5 more nights!

Saint Nicolas, along with his donkey, brings all good children chocolate, candy, mandarins (...for the vitamins, of course) and a special gift... When asking Jack what he would like Saint Nicolas to bring him, his immediate and only response was bonbons... So even though his Mama isn't too much into the sugary treats (for him...not her), we knew a special request to Saint Nicolas was in order.

Jack began preparing for Saint Nicolas' big visit before going to bed... The fireplace was left open, with a welcoming glass of juice and a carrot for his late-night visitors. The couch was covered with a blanket and a special spot was assigned to Jack and Timothee.

Midnight snacks for St Nicolas and his donkey

Preparing the couch...

The next morning was magical, especially when seen through the eyes of a 2 year old boy. I only wish I had his initial reaction on camera...it was priceless.

Saint Nicolas came!!!...

...and his donkey was here too!!

For those who have dared to look at the photo closer, you might have noticed that Saint Nicolas' donkey left our house a really special treat indeed. For our poo-poo crazy boy, this was quite possibly the best present of all. Donkey poo-poo!

That is until he saw the couch...

...and they didn't disappoint.

Saint Nicolas brought Jack his first very own train and plane for being such a good little traveler...and Timothee received his own activity ball and some little wooden figurines. But don't worry, there was plenty of mandarins, chocolate, and bonbons to keep everyone happy...

A few of Jack's favorite things...

Choo-Choo...

Woah...look how fast it is Mama!

In a matter of minutes, Jack had collected a great big pile of bonbons. He was allowed to collect Timothee's too because as he says...Tim milk.... He might have one more year to get away with that before Timothee starts defending himself a bit more. Good thing Saint Nicholas remembered the bonbons!

The beginning of the bonbon pile...

Papa and Tim checking out his new ball...

A bit of downtime after the big morning...

It was definitely a great morning and celebration for everyone. Jack LOVED his gifts from Saint Nicolas. He played with them the whole day...and continued to play exclusively with them since. It's as if he has forgotten he has other toys. I guess that's the magic of Saint Nicolas.

As for the parents, our magic was that somehow our midnight guest convinced Jack to sleep until almost 10 o'clock. It was a grasse matinee for everyone!

Timothee Laughs!

I just couldn't resist posting a short video of Timothee laughing. This was the first time that he had a full-out laugh and it lasted for minutes. Unfortunately, I only decided to try to grab the camera seconds before he decided his Mama wasn't that funny anymore. Enjoy!

The one where Tim laughs...

Timothee is 3 months old

Having 2 little ones at home sure makes the time go by quickly. Believe it or not, Timothee is yet another month old. Timothee (or Tim as Jack likes to call his baby brother) is turning out to be quite the happy, smiley baby...every time he grins, he gets the best sparkle in his big blue eyes.

Since Timothee is generally up during lunch time, Jack's and my favorite activity is to try to make him smile. This normally involves some sort of silly rhyme or just playing with his little piggies...(which is also a great way of keeping Jack interested in eating as well too). Here are a couple videos of a happy Timothee...

This little piggy...take 1...

This little piggy...take 2...

Some of Timothee's favorite things to do this past month were...

1) Bath time!

Timothee just LOVES bath time, so much that he'll cry the moment you take him away from his warm water playground. I think he could just keep kick kick kicking in the water for hours. Jack is also quite fond of his new bath playmate as well...although he now has to deal with the occasional splash.

Time for a bubble bath!!!

Jack enjoying the suds...

Timothee enjoying the suds too...

Coucou....

Just a bit of kicking...

kick kick kicking

2) His playmat and mobile

Timothee is enjoying more and more his playmat and mobile. He could still watch his mobile and listen to the music for hours, but now he is getting much more curious about the other toys on his mat as well. He now likes to grab on to the various rattles hanging above him and make the bells chime. Maybe my next inspiring musician?

Timothee on his playmat...

Tim's partner in crime...

Some quality time with his mobile

Timothee is also slowly getting the hang of holding his head up while laying on his belly...he even manages to give me an occasional smile before frustration sets in.

Holding up his head...

3) Chillin' with his brother

For the moment Jack and Timothee do seem to enjoy spending time together (I guess I should appreciate every moment now...). Jacques has turned out to be a very caring big brother. Last night I found him sitting next to Timothee, who was in his bouncy chair, holding his hand and "telling" him stories before going off to bed.

The brothers...

Although a really terrific sleeper at night, Timothee is still not a big fan of naptimes. The good news is that there is always someone willing to be in Timothee's bed when he doesn't want to be there.

Loving the little bed...

Until next month!!!...