Rick in Cozumel

We understand of course that most of you are not really interested in yesterdays' post as there where no pictures of Little Rick there! Therefor herewith a whole post dedicated to Rick in Cozumel.

My two handsome men enjoying the pool together.

Rick thinks he can go it alone but has not mastered sitting 100% so risks in this pose landing face forward in the pool. He does not mind as he seems to like drinking the pool water but it makes us nervous of course!

Rick has also mastered being comfortable on a sun lounger. By now he is to mobile to just lie on one of his own and hence he tends to claim the larger portion of one of ours with enthusiasm and lots of drawl and toys.

Rick still loves his boat. He does wiggle his legs a little but does not grasp the concept of steering and is not interested - he prefers to chew on the handlebar instead. If it would be up to him we think he could stay in the pool for pretty long stretches at a time.

A family pic. Not too flattering but happy.

And Rick does just like everyone else get rather tired from spending time in the water.

Diving in Cozumel

As you can see there is plenty of fish around. Here a school of French & White Grunts.

Some beautiful Coral as well - Variable Boring Sponge (the yellow tubes), Boulder Brain Coral (the beige stuff), Sea Rod (the blue/grey pipe work) and a large sea Fan with 2 tiny nudibranches near its stem. 

There where also quite a few Turtles around - This one was around 50 cm / 20".

Somehow we never quite look like any divers in the movies. There is no way of looking good behind goggles and with a regulator in your mouth.

Mr Lobster, hiding in some more pretty coral. He would provide a decent meal for Two.

Mr Crab opted for some less outspoken 'decor' in his surroundings.

And last but not least one of my favorites - the smooth trunk fish. Sooooo pretty & elegant and all the right colors.

Christmas

Christmas is of course a big deal in the US. We have had over a month and a half of advertising, Christmas songs, Santa's and Holiday get-together-events we have been through. Some of it was fun but the shopping madness and figuring out how the gifting works was a nightmare. i.e. What or how much do you give the care takers at Rick's day care and whom all there do you need to give something, what do you do if you receive a present from a colleague you hardly know and how do yo manage to do any shopping in December if you need to buy something which is not for Christmas?!?

Rick of course is oblivious to it all. We tried to make a Picture to use as a Holiday greeting. Rick did not want to pose - he preferred to giggle. The ball in Rick's hands says 'Greetings Y'All'. (No Worries - all Safe. We managed to avoid him trying to eat it and hence consuming any sparkles and other chemical material this thing was made off.)

We also did the obligatory 'take-your-kid-to-the-mall-for-a-picture-with-Santa-thing'. This was the Sunday after Thanksgiving (nov 29th). With the biggest sales event of the year (Black Friday) being Friday after Thanksgiving and starting that day at 4am there where hardly any shoppers left by Sunday - so no queue - even at the most popular mall in Houston (the Galleria). As Rick is American we went for it. The quality of the picture is poor and the costs were horrendous, but we did our duty and have avoided potentially a 1st youth trauma.

There was also a Christmas event at School. Rick's group had a book exchange (they are not even 6 months old?!?! - very educational) and Santa was there too. The Staff made some nice things again, including the Christmas tree decoration below. Rick was not interested in Santa but busy flirting with one of his teachers...

And then there is all the pressure to fit in in the neighborhood. It is Christmas lights galore in all residential areas. So although way to late (only 10 days ago) we finally gave in and dressed up our house too. My colleagues spend 100 - 150 USD for someone to come and put up the lights for them. That excludes the decoration. Safe to say people spend hundreds of dollars to do up their house. I did it the Dutch way and shopped for the cheapest stuff and hung it all up myself (now Eelco complains as he did the hard work he says). Does not look that bad does it?!?

Merry Christmas Y'All!!

Mooie Rick

Just after showering with dad this morning

And the last date for the year and before the Holidays with girlfriend Mees

Some Happiness for the Holidays

Herewith on behalf of the whole family some Happiness brought to you by Rick for the Holidays.

As you can see Rick these days is trying to grab everything he sees and/or can reach; Including the Camera.

Rick at Home

As you all seem to think we are busy 24 x 7 dragging Rick from one thing to the next, here some evidence that Rick also spends quite some time relaxing at home...

Rick and his new best buddy Mr Penguin (Who is now permanently wet and somewhat 'slimy', just like a real one!) - btw this was 2 weeks ago.

Rick doing a little beauty sleep

And another one - although this one will render him a very red cheek

But to be honest - Rick is a party Animal and says 'slapen is voor mietjes!'....so this was 10pm tonight after we had tried to put him down 4 times but had to get him up as he was chatting, smiling, getting himself tangled up in blankets and toys and made it clear it was really not bed time yet. Don't worry, once Rick does go down for the night he tends to sleep through most nights and lets us 'sleep in' till 8-ish at least in the weekends.

Lights in the Heights

Last Saturday we had the best neighborhood Christmas festival in Houston. It is called Lights in the Heights and it is in our own Neighborhood!. By now the festival is pretty famous in all of Houston. It was the 22nd time it was organized and it is NOT sponsored by the city but entirely by the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is one of the oldest and most historic in Houston and apparently one of the earliest in the US to be linked together via a community email list.

Lights in the Heights is effectively a street festival with extensive christmas lighting (Kees, I think you would volunteer for the Jury of the best 'lit house'!) and there are drinks, live music and carriage rides or a small parade. Musicians perform on porches and in front yards or on the festival stage. So of course we had to go!

Ricky was only mildly impressed and spend most of the event asleep in his stroller. Mind you, as usual he never complained and just closed his eyes when he was done checking out the lights and listening to 6 year olds arguing who should be wearing the group banner in the parade -;)

Xmas Party & the Aquarium

Despite the restructuring and reorganisation the company Christmas party for all expats went ahead as usual this year. A lunch was organised at the Aquarium downtown which is some sort of Restaurant-Aquarium-Entertainment park. There is a little outdoor train driving through or underneath a Shark tank, there is a HUGE (even by Texas standards) Aquarium in the middle of the Restaurant, there is carrousel (with Seahorses, Seals, Dolphins & Crocodiles) and a Ferris Wheel (reuzenrad), a stage with performances in the holiday season, loads of small fish tanks with fish and there are white tigers.

Especially for us Santa put on his diving gear and entered one of the many fish tanks.

It was pretty cold and grey that day and with Rick still not quite being over his cold we dressed him in every piece of winter gear he owns. Jannes ran out of the picture to go see more fishies!

Sick

Rick was ill for the first time this Thursday. He has a nasty cough, a runny nose and he had a little fever (101.4F). We where not too worried but he was not allowed to go to day care and stayed home with dad.

You can see he is a bit stuffed up, but he was a real hero and he was not whining and still managed to laugh sometimes and would spit out his pacifier (Speen) before coughing and then try to put it back in after!

In order to be able to breath he had to keep his mouth open at times which did not make for the most intelligent look whilst watching TV. Mind you I know a few guys who look like that while watching telly and they don't have a cold.

Rick did not really loose his appetite but did not display his normal enthusiasm for food.....or maybe he just does not like carrots very much.

Sinterklaas

Sinterklaas fortunately also this year managed to find us in Houston. We celebrated together with friends and their kids. Lots of excitement, lovely rhymes & presents for all! Sint even send us some additional presents in the mail. Rick loved the wrapping paper almost as much as his new toys. For Jannes, who is 2 and a bit Sint made a real effort. Piet knocked VERY loudly on the door and Sint blew the horn of his steam ship several times to say goodbye when we went outside to pick up the presents (we think it may have been the train -;) but hey, who argues with the imagination of a 2 year old!).

Janko had practised all week at home on the songs so he was teaching Rick and Ana.

Mees showing her new toy off to her mom.

Our little helper Jannes distributed all the presents

And although he really believes in Sint there was also no doubt the lego came from Piet Maartje and hence she had to help put it together - Immediately of course!

Rebecca got a Snuggie (which Janko is wearing here), if you are unfamiliar with the phenomena you better find some movies on you tube to explain the hype!

Rick did not quite get it with the first present

But definitely understood with the 5th and he loved the rhymes.

Dank u Sinterklaasje!

Snow in Houston

On Friday December 4th we had snow in Houston. If you are used to Sakhalin or even the wet snow in the UK and NL it was really nothing to write home about, although for a little while it almost looked real, but Houston went into overdrive.

On TV the event was described a 'Winter Storm '09' and on the forum of our neigborhood kids group tips where exchanged such as leaving your tap running such that your plumping would not freeze (it never went below +1 C), and how to drive with black ice on the roads (Ice? Where?). The day care closed at 11 am and my office send everyone home at noon because the where expecting traffic chaos. In suburbia some people managed to make a 20 cm snow man. That was not feasible by a long shot with the wet stuff we had.

Anyway - It snowed in the evening so it stayed till early the next morning.......how do you mean you don't see it?!?! Do you not see the fine white dusting on the roof?!? Safe to say we did not bother getting our winter gear out. BUT we did have a fun day and finally got more into the holiday mood.

Oma Marijke in Houston

Oma is reading to Rick

and spoiling him with cuddles (here in Galveston)

Visiting the local Oil & Gas Museum on a converted Drilling Rig.

At the George Ranch - Rick being taught the basics every Texan needs to know.

Being super cute - can you see his teeth? Please note the socks as well.

Rick, Oma, the Christmas tree and his new Penguin. Thank you tante Neeltje!

THE Turkey

This year we decided that we had americanized enough to celebrate Thanksgiving on our own as Dutchies. So we invited Rick's Girlfriend and her parents (our friends) and her visiting grand mother to join us and Rick's visiting grand mother Marijke. It all started off with a 12 lbs Turkey

Which after the mandatory Turkey Stress came out of the oven looking AMAZING!

Rick for the occasions showed off his settler Hat his teachers made for him. The teachers apologized for it being somewhat wrinkly as he had fallen asleep in it at Day Care ....

We had a wonderful dinner with the Traditional Turkey, Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Mash, Spinach Thanksgiving style and Pecan Pie for desert. Mjumm!!

Unfortunately for the group pictures Rick only smiles at pictures where everyone else has their eyes closed! In the above picture Mees & her dad Dirk and below both the proud and happy visiting Oma's.

All in all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

PS Both are ovens gave up on us the day after and have not worked since....mmm