The extra training paid off -;) Rick has been promoted to the next group in day-care and will now join his friend Roderick (with whom he has been in class from the first minute) in the Busy Bees group. They are only next door in the same house as his old group so he has already been practicing a bit and knows all the ladies there. That room is better set up for kids moving around and that group also has some more outdoor time.
Since this weekend Rick can pull himself up in standing position - only problem he thinks he can only do that when he pulls himself up on my hands and he now wants to stand 24x7 so I have a sore back now! Guess we will need to explain him that he can also pull himself up on the couch, or dad, or the chairs, or anything really.
Ciske de Rat
Apologies for the non-Dutch amongst you but there is no translating the above. I bought a very nice cap today to be used in our upcoming camping trip. Turns out Rick really likes my cap as well and he keeps on stealing it from me!
The Playground
Today the weather was absolutely LOVELY, so with the Dad's of on trips, we (the single moms) went on an outing without them to the local playground.
Time to roll up our sleeves
Thursday Morning at 6.15 Rick and I where getting ready for School & Work. He played a bit with Dad's Kitchen utensils whilst I prepped his bottles etc. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, Rick realized, despite the early hour, that the Kitchen in fact is an area full of opportunities. And of he went....
Yup - it is time to install all the safety features required to baby-proof your house. Rick is making it into the cabinets & drawers with enthusiasm.
For Papa or the Blue Wooden Ring
Eelco is away on a jolly to Qatar and Rick misses him clearly loads!
Potentially the tears had also to do with something else as 10 min later after a large jar of fruit Rick looked more like this:
Today was definitely the day of the Blue Wooden Ring. It temporarily got stored between his legs when Rick noticed a little food container with Rice puffs.
Rick is doing a very good somewhat wobbly standing position. He falls over less and less and sometimes he even manages to sit down by himself after. The standing he an keep up for up to 15 min!
Unfortunately out of view of the camera Rick is making quite a few steps in place whilst showing me his great blue ring in the meantime. 'No Rick Mama does not want a bite too.'
Since a few days he also does this face - not sure what that is for. Maybe it helps with his top teeth coming through or maybe he is practicing for April Fools (1 April)
After an intensive hour of fun Rick gave up and fell asleep in the most comfortable place in the world......accept for me - as I was stuck with a blue wooden ring in my side -;)
Big wet Kiss from Rick for Papa
Found them
We had not made a huge effort but to date we had not really found the people here in Houston who still live our former life style. Working very hard in the oil business, being paid too much for it, traveling loads and moving every couple of years. Generally up for trying anything and everything at least once - good at attending and organizing social events and parties.
So this weekend we went for Brunch with Rick's original classmate Roddy (Roderick) and his Scottish dad and Houstonian mom. And there they where - a whole crowd of people showed up - almost all fitting the description above - and many career women (girls) amongst them (mainly working for 1 of our competitors).
So we had a messy Sunday just like the good old days with a Sunday Brunch lasting till 6pm. Chatting, laughing and feeling a bit more again like the 'old us'. Good news was that the boys enjoyed themselves as well and got loads of attention also with no other kids around. Do not mind all the 1 - 2 -3 year old Birthday Parties but it is nice to have a bit of both worlds.
Expat Bike Business
A few weeks ago there was a Dutch bike seat advertised in the classifieds from Shell's expat network. For sale from a few Canadians who had acquired it in Assen too many years ago. Eelco after work came home and mentioned the add, by which time I had already reserved it....2 souls 1 thought as they would say back home.
Fitting that seat on the back of a Mountain bike.....well that does not work. So I submitted an add myself asking for a Dutch style bike with a sturdy back carrier (bagagedrager). Within a day I had a call from the lady who normally processes the adds saying that actually they had this bike that they had been dragging around the world. Not quite in top shape she quoted but the back carrier was still in excellent nick for a Child Seat. Only then did she mention that this thing was an absolute lovely old timer - A 1957 Gazelle with most original parts!!! - and it has seen half the world. WOW. Great news. And for 20 USD (not a type error - really 15 EUR) we are now the proud owners of that lovely vehicle to teach Rick about his Dutch roots.
Rick was only mildly interested (potentially because he had not slept much). First question,...."can I eat the saddle?"
Maybe not when Dad sits on it...
"Mom - not sure what I think of this all - am I supposed to look as deliriously happy as Dad?"
So the boys went on a little bike ride.....they'd been gone about 15 min when it started pouring down outside - the streets where flooded in minutes. Oops, that got me a little worried! Fortunately Rick appeared to be rather unfaced by anything and everything that day. No cry or moan out of his mouth about the whole ordeal.
Apparently he had fallen asleep within 3 minutes of cycling. So the rule still stands - if it moves Rick will fall asleep. (We learned in Cayman even on a bumby speedboat ride!) Michiel will lend us his Bike front seat so soon we will test if Rick gets more excited riding at the front and maybe can actually stay awake.
HalfCaf
In the office we have a Starbucks and some 3,000 or so people working in the building. The Starbucks is a one Man show called Ray. I go there most mornings for my Grande Americano. Ray is halfway through prepping one usually before I make it to the counter (my style with an extra shot). You could say what is so hard to remember about that,....well he also remembers all the 'Vanilla Hazelnut Semi Skim milk, no cacao, double shot Frappucino' from everyone else. Quite impressive.
Lately I have needed to look after myself a bit better so I decided to back down from 14 Cups of coffee a day (or maybe 8, but too many anyway). I thought I would need to miss Ray for a while. So after not showing for a couple of days I really needed something good to get the day started so went for my usual. Ray was upset - wondering where I had been. So I told him - nothing personal - its the caffeine! No probs he said - I'll get you a 'halfcaf' tomorrow! Halfcaf? What on earth is that? Well exactly what it sounds like Half decaf coffee and half normal - and yes when I came back after the weekend (4 days after he promised) he was halfway through making my 'halfcaf' before I made it to the counter. No need to remind him at all.
Ray can really make my day, just like one of the security agents at the gate in the morning. She gives me a big smile every day and mouthes to me through the closed car window 'How's the baby?' We never really had a conversation ever - just being nice!
Only in America is what I was thinking - love this part of the culture!
Mind you...now I think of it....'Jaws' the doorman in my office in the Sakh Centre in Yuzhno was also pretty cool! Smiling with all his shiny silverware whilst saying at the top of his lungs "Dobre Utra!"
Boot Camp
At work Eelco and I hear nothing all day but 'top quartile' meaning we need to be in the top 25% from a performance perspective on everything. So when we found out that 2 boys from Rick's class moved up to the next group as they where somewhat more 'active' and 'further along' we where of course somewhat worried and arranged a Boot Camp for Little Rick with his buddy Cash who is also somewhat faster and more 'advanced'. Of course the fact that Cash's mom is my friend and brought wine for us 2 and that we sat in the sun for hours to catch up of course did play no role at all in the matter of setting up this play date (ehm sorry, Boot Camp)
"See Rick" Says Cash - "this is how you get into all the drawers with Kitchen Tools"
"And you just lift up your belly from the floor whilst your dad is busy playing with your toys and then you just take off!" Cash Explained to Rick
"And Doors Rick, You need to learn Cabinet Doors as well of course"
And then after all the hard work they shared a Banana. Rick was by no means 'behind' in 'wolfing' that down HaHa.
For those of you mis-interpetting a little humor - Rick is doing just fine and of course we still love him to bits. We are expecting him still to walk next week, create a symphony before he is two and speak 5 languages fluently by the time he is 4. For now he is the best in filling a whopping 6 poopie diapers a day, chatting, flirting, doing High Fives and giving the cutest smiles in the world. That must account for something -;)
Rick & Friends
This past Saturday we had a Birthday Party at Gymboree. The Party was for Ana who turned 1 and the Gymboree is a place where kids up to about 5 can go for Play & Music with their parents. So the first 30 min or so there where all sorts of games, after that there was Cake and Pizza and Lemonade for which Little Rick was still too small. No worries as so where his friends Mees and Sophie who are only 27 and 10 days older then he is.
Not quite sure what they are looking at Huey, Dewey & Louie (Kwik, Kwek & Kwak)
The universal truth - if it is not a toy it is more attractive
Oh look and then the 5 sec attention span was finished -;)
Spot the differences
Rick at 7 weeks
Rick at 5 x 7 weeks (almost 8 months)
Rick at 7 weeks
Rick at 5 x 7 weeks (almost 8 months)
Time flies and Rick is growing like cabbage as they would say in NL.
Tour de Pays-Bas
Rick and I went to NL for 10 days. Eelco joined us for the last few days. Rick did not mind the flying at all, although the bassinet in the plane is getting bit small for him. Especially for the trip we dressed him as an Eelco look-a-like.
Oma Marijke missed Rick a lot. And Rick,....well he thought this was a very good and comfortable place to catch up on some sleep!
In the tram with Martijn & Neeltje....We had the weather you see in the background for the full week -:(
Catching up in the Dutch Brown Cafe with Auntie Neeltje
And with Opa Kees
Rick did have a bit of a jet leg. Nothing that bothered him too much but he was just not ready for bed in the evenings. So this was what he would look like at 10 pm....
And even at 1 am Rick was not quite ready for bed. No problem as the two of us slept in till after 10 am most days.
I know the picture is not 'in focus' but look at the smiles of those two!
Rick was quite comfortable with Elvira and we loved catching up with her too!
With dad and Big Cousin Tjibbe
With Cousin Tjibbe and Auntie Bernadette at the Rotterdam Zoo.
Rick got his 3rd teeth last week and the fourth is on the way so there was a lot of touching his ears.
Rick enjoys Neeltje's new book just as much as she does!
And then it was time to go home again. Yes of course we bought way too much cheese and Hagelslag in the Netherlands and Rick got way too many presents!
And then whilst we where queueing up for the check in we saw Hans trying to do the same....small world. There was only time for a quick cuddle but still. Good to see him!
PS I am awaiting some pictures from other people's camera's as we are missing some of the weeks events in the above.
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