Before the weekend starts...

I have a long to-do list today. Lots to finish off before I can leave the office. Leaving earlier today because we're off to Paris for the weekend! We're going to visit Ania, Marek and Kacper..
Ania is a friend I met in Geneva while working at WHO. She became our neighbour and partner in crime on the Geneva and Rue de Lyon social scene. And now our friendship has evolved, with husbands and kids in tow. Looking forward to letting the kids play together and catching up over a glass of wine...

Other things happening right now:

-Jeroen has a throat infection, same as I did two weeks ago. He is going to do a lot of sleeping in Paris!

- I've finally booked our tickets to India next year. Mira, baby #2 and I will go 28 May to 14 July, Jeroen comes 22 June and back with us. Yippee!

- With all this being unwell, we need to get moving on our christmas present for Mira... sanding, filing, putting it together, varnishing... its going to take some work in the next week.

- My cousin Sarika is planning to visit us in February. Finally! Fun times coming up...

- Jeroen's brother Manu is planning a holiday to India with his girlfriend. They want to buy bicycles there and bike around northern India for five weeks. You can imagine what the Indians have to say about that!

- We're going to Latvia in two weeks. Holidays! With real snow, and hopefully no rain...

Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas is celebrated on 6 December by all children in Belgium. What Christmas eve and stockings are for children in the Anglo Saxon world, is what Sinterklaas is for Belgian kids.

So in the tradition, Mira left one shoe under the chimney (well, on a table in the living room then) with a carrot for Sint's horse, and a beer for his assistant Zwarte Piet.

By the time Mira discovers this blog, she'll be old enough to know the reality behind Sinterklaas, so I can say now that Jeroen and I had been working for a few weeks beforehand to have Mira's gifts ready. She is at the right age for a doll of her own and pretend play, so I made her a doll (with help from friends- thanks Greet and Megan!) and Jeroen fashioned a bed out of an orange crate, with a mattress, pillow and sheets.

In the morning, Mira was most excited to find a clementine in her shoe (tradition) but is since permanently atatched to her doll, taking her to bed each night... Mira's doll is called Gudia, has her own diaper and bib, which is very important for Mira right now- she regularly checks the diaper to see if its wet :-)

Next project: Christmas present. We're making something along the lines of this. Aaah, the joys of parenting!

Throat ache and still no government

Finding a compromise about the state reform seems difficult, but that doesn't mean the country is about to fall apart. More worrying is the cold and wet weather and the many throat infections. Parul has been suffering from one ever since she got over her morning sickness.

Mira werd anderhalf jaar op 20 november. Ze is een deugniet, die allerlei woordjes begint te vormen, waaronder mijn favoriet: "APPELTHEE".

Hieronder enkele foto's:

1,5 years old