Austin 1/2 Marathon

My friend Sietske was hooked after last months 1/2 Marathon in Houston and decided to register for the 1/2 Marathon in Austin. For me it was a 'never again' but Eelco was easily convinced, and so we where off to Austin last weekend.

Eelco preparing his kit & gear

The fan club was not nervous and looking on at al the preparations from the best place of the world - a comfi bed!

As the race started at 7am we had to get up at 6 for the cheering. Even with a puffy sleepy face Rick is still in good mood!

The best fan in the world!

Ok,....even the best fan in the world needs a little break now and then. Come on,...it was very early and we had a few minutes between Dad and Sietske anyway.

Eelco finished in 1:42:12, only 13 Seconds slower then in Houston, but this one had a lot more hills so job very well done!!

Rick also likes medals.

Valentines

For Valentines day we received 'instructions' from the school to bring cards for all kids in Rick's group for a card exchange. So despite everything else going on I felt like the pressure was on and managed to make some cards somewhere too late at night with the help of a few glasses of whine whilst I was trying to meet work deadlines and was doing the single mom routine as Eelco was away for business a couple of days.

Well,...I can tell you,...I have learned my lesson! The teachers had arranged these baskets, very cute of course. However the little bear is loosing hairs by the second and not suitable for kids under 3, neither is the candy in there. Of course it is all about the gesture so can't complain. However the cards we received...how do you mean you can hardly see them?!? Well actually you are right - they are so small you can hardly see them in the basket. They are in there and they are about 5 x3 cm folded pieces of paper which you can buy pre-printed at the shop. They come with Disney and Pixar cartoons like Toy Story, you just need to fill out the 'from' box, and maybe the 'to' box if you can be bothered with the latter and fold and close with the pre-provided hart shaped sticker.......Cost 20 cents and 30 Seconds. Why did I not know this?!?!?!?

Voor Famke & Floortje

Lieve Famke & Floortje,

jullie papa was op bezoek en ik vond dat heeeeel erg leuk zoals je ziet. Ik heb hem een paar kusjes gegeven om aan jullie en jullie mama door te geven! Jullie hebben een hele grappige Papa.

Kusje van Rick

'09/'10 Sunflower Class

Unfortunately 2 are missing and as Rick was celebrating my Birthday with me and not 'at school' he almost missed it as well.

From Left to Right: Liam, Rick, Miss Sabrina, Dylan, Joshua, Sarah, Miss Loure and Evangeline. Missing are Rick's no 1 pal Roddy and Jacob.

Rick or the Easter Bunny?

This is what we see if we sit on the couch and look down,......

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling or Rick's Work Out

If Rick would make a fitness video - as every Star in the US does - it would go something like this:

So we start in a sitting position and keep that up for a while....

Then somehow when that gets hard to keep up we fall over....

Then we roll and roll around shoving our train around at the same time. Then we shove the train aside too far and as it is out of reach we look at mama (or the camera) and give our best smile of course

Once we are done smiling at mama (and/or the camera) we make another few roles to get back to the train and start lifting it up & down.

And eventually after trying very very hard we do get the train upright so we can make it roll away.

7 Months

Rick & Mouse and his toes. The mouse by now is as dirty and disgusting as real mice are -;). Please also note the food on Rick's trousers,....how did he get it there of all places?

The mouse firmly in one hand or both Rick roles over the floor.

He loves his swing too. It makes him giggle very loud!

Have not seen him pull this face before,....please don't tell me he looks like me in this one!

Hoodies

In Houston a week ago it was only some 4 C during the day. So we all wrapped up in our biggest and coziest hoodies (jumpers w hoods). Do we look like a real posse?

I understand that they are proposing a ban on wearing hoodies into the shops or something like that in the Netherlands. So we did a test just to see how criminal we looked with our hoodies on. You scared yet?

Happy Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog day in the USA. And the only reason I know is because Rick today at the day care did an art project and colored a paper ground hog for us. The Groundhog was attached to a paper sack so you can use it as a hand puppet. Miss Loure (one of his 'teachers') showed me a picture whilst Rick was making his and you have to imagine Rick in a high chair with the biggest grin ever with both hands in some brown substance (paint) - almost looking as if he is playing with food.

So what is Groundhog day? According to Wikipedia: Groundhog Day is a US and Canadian holiday celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day fails to see its shadow, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If on the other hand, the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks. The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.

So,....what did the groundhogs saw when they emerged this morning: Most local groundhogs did not see their shadows. Hence most Groundhog Day 2010 predictions say we're in store for a short winter this year.

For those of you who are less interested in Groundhogs and more in Big Rick (as he is called at Day Care) his new / recent tricks include:
1. Scraping his teeth on the bottom bars of our side table (quite rough Iron) - the sound is awful but apparently the feeling is very nice
2. He now does follow moving targets and tries to grab them - nothing more funny than tapping your foot in front of his face and then move it....I think he will be good at quizzes soon as he is trying to hit the foot as if it where a buzzer
3. Rick kind of understands the principle of 'high five' although he first needs to laugh 30 seconds when you raise your hand and say 'high five' before he acts....
4. I am trying to teach Rick to say Mama. Instead of repeating it he tries to get away with blowing me kisses in response.....what can you do?!?
5. Rick does move around - quick and fast - but all by rolling around and moving backwards. Sometimes now if we put a nice 'target' in front of him you can see him think - 'How?' - but then he sees something else that is nice and within reach,.....and well....I guess he still has only a 4 second attention span or is just not that ambitious because he forgets how bad he wants the target, and goes for something easier/closer.

Anyway - Happy Groundhog day! Spring weather is due to arrive soon.