Snow and ice

Before we go to Sterre, we go for a short walk. There is ice on the ground, not everywhere, just on the cold spots. It is a pity, because my slide is now a mess, and my mama finds climbing in the slippery castle a bit scary, although I do it anyway, of course. We finally settle on crunching the ice under our boots. It makes a funny noise.

You see me here with my new coat. Saturday, when we went to watch Sinterklaas, I got sooo cold, I cried the whole way home (perhaps I was tired too). But now I have a new large coat - too large? I don't particularly like the coat, because I cannot move really well with it. But warm it is!

It was good we bought it, because while we were at Sterre's party, real snow started to fall and the view from the window was very pretty. When we got home in the dark, our garden was white too.

But in the morning it was all gone again....

Re-shuffling the furniture

My mama has been re-shuffling our furniture. Now we sit on the other side of the room for our lunch. At least we have a view into the garden. I have helped my mama with pushing the table.

I pressed my hands on the side of the table and I put up a tense face. It is not easy shifting tables!!

Sometimes I pushed against mama's direction, but mostly I went in the correct direction.

Now we sit here. Do we like it? I like sitting on a real chair, like you see me doing here.

Sinterklaas in town

It is that time of the year, and no child would ever want to miss it: Sinterklaas arrives. I am not quite sure what it is all about. Everybody talks about it, but the whole meaning is beyond me.

This morning is stormy: rain against our windows and later hail. We pick up some hail stones from our window, and it melts in my hand. Strange...

It looks doubtful if we can go into town... but then it clears up a bit in the North, where all hail this comes from. We dress with everything we can find and go on the bike. Even the old Babybjorn (babybag) goes with us. We can hear the music even from our house, it comes with the wind from the North.

There are lots of people in town, lots of children. I look wide eyed. Mama points out Sinterklaas on stage. He arrives with the steam boat over the Rhine. There are big and small Zwarte Pieten everywhere in the crowd. We sing a couple of songs and then Sinterklaas mounts his white horse to ride around town. He passes me very close by and I am actually quite scared. Now I want to go home - I am cold too.

In my chair

My mama is busy in the kitchen, I am helping her dressing the table. I walk around between the kitchen and the dining table. I am grunting and heaving, there is a shuffle of furniture. And then, after a big moan, silence. My mama walks in and there I am: sitting in my own 'high' chair! What are you staring at, mama? Never seen a child in a high chair? It just needs clever placing of other furniture!!

Yara

This is me with Yara. Yara sometimes comes in the evening. Today she came a bit earlier and ate with us. That was good fun, because Yara likes playing with me. She plays a lot with me, when she is here.

And then Yara and mama put me to bed. In the evening I woke up once and cried. Yara came and sang a song to me. I think she enjoyed holding me! Isn't she sweat?

In my party dress

It is party time at day care today, and I am wairing my party dress - from the wedding. I am also carrying my new favourite toy: the Avifauna bird. These days I always leave the house with something in my hands. I like holding on to my things when we're on the move. At day care they put my things in my personal basket and then we find it when we go home.

The party is very busy, you don't see it so much in the picture, but it is. Today is not my usual day care day, so mama just drops me off for two hours. When she picks me up again, she is all flushed - from shopping she says. I am flushed too from singing and eating.

The ladies at day care have birthday

Tomorrow the ladies at day care celebrate their birthdays. The real birthdays are long passé, of course, but today is the party.

I have made a drawing for each of the ladies, Joke, Ilse and Jantien and tomorrow I will give each their drawing. Here is Ilse's drawing. Do you think she will like my present?

Playing builders

When my mama comes to pick me up in the evening, she sees me playing 'builder' with Nancy. She has to wear a helmet. Luckily Nancy is patient, the helmet falls off easily and I have to put it on, again and again.

Having dinner with Loes and Koen

After we drive off from the airport, mama calls Auntie Jule. Do you like it if we drop by? Yes! Loes is at school and Koen is at day care, but later they come home. We chit chat over tea waiting for them. I sit on mama's lap with the giant mushroom on my lap. Nice and cosy!

We enjoy the family dinner very much - much better than sitting at home alone!

Koen is walking now, and he likes food too, just like I. When dinner time is around he gets cranky like me too!

At schiphol again

This Monday my papa left for work again. I completely forgot to mention it, and that while I got a lovely cake at the airport!! My grandma and grandpa are on holiday and are not babysitting me. So my mama took the day off and we bring papa to the airport. The cake is what we call a tompoes.

And then we wave papa goodbye as he walks through the passport check. He just needs to blink with his eye and they recognise him!!!

Putting my skirt on

Suddenly I have realised that other kids can put on their own clothes. I wanna be independent like that! Give me my skirt, mama! No, don't you dare touch it! And don't help me! I turn away from her and do what the other kids do.

That is difficult! My arms are not long enough to hold the skirt far away. And then you have one foot in, and the other one doesn't fit.

But then!!

Mama in the garden

I wake up from my afternoon nap. Papa collects me and we sit quietly for a while for me to really wake up. Then I realise, I don't see mama. Where is she? I walk around. Then my papa shows me: look, mama is working in the garden!! Now it is good.

When I wake up in the afternoon, my mama often has brown hands: I think she often works in the garden while I sleep. Perhaps it is her way of resting.

Self made picture

You know I like the camera very much. Mama is always a bit nervous when I hold the camera: Carefull!! she says.

Today I made this picture of myself. Big girl!!

Wawa, mama

Wawa, mama, wawa. Wawa means dog. We parked our bicycle against these doggy posters.

Pencil management

I often play pencil management. Take them out the box, and put them back in. I like the game, it appeals to my organisational skills.

Children's zoo

We go to the children's zoo. Officially they are closed for winter, but perhaps someone will let us in? There is only one man, who is busy blowing leaves onto a heap. He doesn't see or hear us. That is a pity, but awell, we will satisfy ourselves with the ducks that live around the zoo.

My mama drops onto her knees to point them out. I copy everything these days. I suppose it is a habbit todrop onto knees to watch the ducks? The chicken come and check us out too.

Then the man spots us, and opens the gate! Yeah! We want to see the pig: will she have given birth to piglets? Yes, there are nine of them, and they are tumbling over each other and playfight with each other. I don't like the big mama pig, but these small ones are funny!

'Ugg boots'

You know the house shoes of my mama? I have some too, my papa gave them to me. They are not the real ugg thing, but warm they are.

Climbing and healthy

There is something at the other end of the table that I wanna have. Why would I walk around the table if I can climb on the table. A picture of the climb itself would have been more impressive, but my papa was too late to picture it....

He also forgot to make a picture at the children's doctor. I had my three-monthly checkup again. They still didn't measure my length (because of my hips), but the nurse guessed my height at 81 cm's. That is probably very accurate, don't you think she can guess children's heights well? I weighted 11.970 kilogram. And these two numbers make me still a little chubby girl, but well within the first margin lines. The nurse said I ate plenty and she thought all in all I am very healthy and developing well.

My cups in the sink

I am at home with my papa and I play with my cups in the sink. Can I see this picture, papa?!

Autumn leaves

In the afternoon the weather clears up a bit and mama and I are forking up the leaves from our lawn. Then we make a mess of it again by walking through the leaves. It is too much fun, though!! The leaves make a funny noise, and my boots disappear between the leaves.

Simon visits

	Simon's papa is away for work, and I know how that feels. So on this Sunday morning Simon and his mama come to visit us. Great! I have a play mate.
Later mama calls up the children's songs on the computer. We play 'Hoofd, schouders, knie en teen, knie en teen'. In english: Head, shoulders, knee and toe. Simon knows this song really well, for me it goes a bit fast: Head to toe is fine, but the body parts in between... The song And when Simon leaves, he has already his coat on, I run to him and give him two kisses. See you soon!

block houses

Later that day I drag my papa and mama out for a walk with my new buggy. We go to the house block across the road from my house. There are stairs there and a wall and a slope. I like running around there and the different views we get of one another: looking and walking over the wall, I run left, mama runs right and so on. I also want to go into the houses, but that is not possible, mama says.

The block of houses is adjacent to the Rhine. I also want to run around near there. My mama says no. I get very angry: why not! And then we are running happily again!

Today I have found out, that I can see myself on mama's camera. Whenever she grabs the camera, I want to see the picture for myself. But then I only see my hands?!?

cafe in town

My mama saw a nice coffee shop in town. After we have been at the market for our grocery shopping, we take a rest here. I get a shot of cacao. They sell a very special hot chocolate milk: you get a cube of chocolate to melt in the milk. I don't drink the milk, but the chocolate is great. It is on the stick in my hand. And then a cookie with sugar on top. Good Saturday! And the sun shines into the shop!

Haarzuilens

This is from October, 12th.

We met Simon in Haarzuilens. The forecast was for such a beautiful weekend, that we had to do something. Simon's mama, aunt Hannie, always drives past the castle, so she really was keen to walk in. I had never been there, so was very curious too. A park with trees and fields sounds just what we need on a sunny day!

We run around and feel like castle owners. Simon has learned to speak quite well now, and he says Castle over and over.


We both like airplanes, and with the clear skies above us we can point at many planes, the adults play nicely along.
Simon and I run around happily, although there is a lot of water around a castle, the adults run around us!! We eat mango in the park, feed acorns to the deer and afterwards have lunch in the village.

Mama forgot her camera, uncle Frank made these beautiful pictures.

My bear buggy

Later that morning, too late because I am already tired, we go to the second hand shop in my town. We have not been there and my mama is curious. I run straight for the buggy with the bear. Now we have to buy it. Then I cry: I want to go home. Papa and mama just get a change to buy a big chest to store my toys in, quickly, I wanna go to bed! I fall asleep in my seat on the bicycle....

When I wake up I find the buggy again and take it walking everywhere. There is also a bear buggy at my day care, but that is usually occupied, because all the children like the buggy. This one is just for me!

Eating an egg on Sunday morning

It is Thursday morning, mama doesn't have to go to work today and my papa has boiled an egg for breakfast. I can only remember eating one other egg. That was with mama, but she had only one for us two to share. Not enough! I like egg very much and I can eat a whole one. I find the skin interesting too. But it breaks easily when I try to spoon my egg myself.

My words

My words:

I understand mama really well, when she speaks. And these are the words that I use, apart from hand signs, pointing and crying - to say no.

• gna gne - handje, meaning give me hand to help me walk.
• lalle -the dutch 'gevallen' means fallen. Can also mean thrown. The end result is that it is on the floor. It actually means that mama should pick it up.
• opppp - the dutch 'op' means finished: I don't want any more of this food. (but I may change my mind in a minute).
• ogel - the duch 'vogel' means bird, also to be used for airplanes.
• wawa - means wafwaf means dog. I like dogs. This word I learnt in day care, my mama never says wawa.

I also know the hand signs to the song "In de maneschijn". I like it best when we sing about the millepede who shines shoes or about Fat Fat Auntie Ka. Here you can hear this song. Not by me, that will come later.

Nearly forgot the most important word:

• Kaa - the dutch 'kaas' means cheese. Very important word. I like cheese very much.

No more brace!

Today my papa and I went to the doctor to check my hips. I am now 19 months old and my bones are now hard. Hard enough that the brace won't do anything anymore. But we took a photo and the doctor measured my hips. They were just ok. So, the brace comes off and we will see how it goes. Next appointment when I am four years old. Only at night for the next three months, but who cares about the nights?

So, yes, I am a free girl!!

On the way home I direct my papa with the car to an unknown town (Roelofarendsveen), because I want to run around. We find a nice playground and I have a good run!!

They have some really good toys. Here I tell my papa he should sit next to me. In the background you see our new car, the grey one.

Close up

A close up of me. My papa is happy to be back and makes pictures of me. On Mondays papa and I are together

Climbing in my rocking horse

I can now also climb in my rocking horse. But to get out I ask my papa or mama, that is more difficult. Why I don't know. Perhaps the step out is larger.