A purr-fect match!

Well, we just won the award of "best parents ever" in Lily's book :-) We had talked about getting a kitten for a while now, but always postponed it... too many other things going on, not being sure if Ennio would be able to handle it with his dust mite allergy, etc. On Thanksgiving Day, we discussed it again with our friends who have 2 cats. They adopted theirs from the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. We went on-line and immediately fell in love with a young kitten at the East Valley Shelter. On Saturday morning we drove out to the shelter - which, by the way, is awesome - and just couldn't get enough of all the cute cats in the cat room! But only when we saw "Stella", the kids really fell in love and kept begging if we could take her home with us! So yes, we did end up adopting her! Stella is a 3 month old domestic short-haired grey tabby cat, and she is just the sweetest ever! Lily and Ennio have not stopped playing with her (poor kitty, hihi, it must be exhausting!) She's doing very well, already knows where her litter box is, and doesn't seem to mind the kids petting her all the time :-) So far, so good, with Ennio also... no allergic reactions (yet?) Let's cross our fingers that we won't have to, but if needed, we have 10 days to return the kitten.
 

Last night, she didn't stay in her basket to sleep, but surprised me in the middle of the night laying next to my pillow! I put her in her basket again (downstairs), but she came upstairs again, and ended up on Lily's bed! We will still have to figure out where her sleep space will be!

In the meantime, Lily is drawing pictures of herself and the kitty (and then folding them, and writing on them: "For Stella the Cat", and putting them in her basket!).

Fun facts: Stella looks exactly like Maxi, Marcus's first cat when he was young (and also reminds me of Nikos, my mémé's cat). Marcus thought it was funny that Stella is named after a Belgian beer!

Black Friday

It's becoming a yearly tradition: setting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday)! I love all the lights, and Lily loves putting up all the decorations. Happy times!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lily and Ennio at the movie theater

Artwork by Ennio!

A busy Thanksgiving Day today! We hung out in pajamas all morning and then hurried to L.A. Live to go see the Peanuts Movie (or as we like to call it "the Snoopy movie"). What a sweet story! For the first time ever, Ennio was able to watch the entire movie, although it was a bit of a challenge to keep him seated. He preferred to jump up and down his seat!!! Luckily, there weren't too many people in the theater! After the show, we strolled around the L.A. Live plaza, ice skating rink and Christmas tree, and then drove to the Gombos family, to spend Thanksgiving dinner with them. The kids played outside until it got dark, and then we moved inside to devour the turkey that Kathryn had prepared! We are thankful for a lot of things, most of all health and happiness, but if I may say so, I wish there could be a bit more of that in the world around us. The recent terror attacks, raids and all around fear is scary. I wish the world would look more like Charlie Brown's!

Festive holiday spirit at L.A. Live plaza:

Thankful for good friends!

Thanksgiving Dinner: the kids table
 

The turkey:



Dessert turkey!

 

 A table full of friends!

Lily's 7 yr old check-up

Vandaag stond Lily's jaarlijkse check-up op het programma bij Dr. Kathy. Ze is weer veel gegroeid op een jaar!

Lengte: 130 cm (91e percentiel) (8 cm gegroeid op 1 jaar)
Gewicht: ongeveer 25 kg (69e percentiel) (+ 3 kg op 1 jaar)

Length: 51 inches (91st percentile) (she grew 3 inches in one year)
Weight: 54 pounds 6 ounces (69th percentile) (she gained 6 lbs in 1 year)
BMI (Body Mass Index): very good (I can't remember the exact number)

Blood pressure:  100/52 (normal)

Vaccines: geen vaccinaties, enkel de Flu Mist (spray in de neus tegen de griep).

Enkele weken geleden waren we al bij de dokter geweest wegens een plotse donkerrode plek (een soort bloeduitstorting; petechiae) op Lily's onderrug, terwijl ze zich helemaal niet kon herinneren gevallen te zijn. Wanneer je dan begint te zoeken op het internet, krijg je de ergste prognoses het eerst voorgeschoteld! Voor alle zekerheid werd er bloed getrokken (niet bij de dokter zelf, want die doen dat niet (???, hoe anders dan bij ons!!!) maar in een speciaal lab van Quest Diagnostics), en gelukkig waren de resultaten helemaal normaal! Oef, toch al een grote opluchting! Maar het probleem is nog niet van de baan... ze heeft die plek nog altijd. Zelfs de zalf die de dokter voorgeschreven had, lijkt niet te helpen. De kleur is wel veranderd: van knalrood naar roze. We gaan nu nog een 10-tal dagen proberen met nog een andere zalf, en als het dan nog niet weg is... naar de dermatoloog. En zo blijven we bezig :-) Maar ik ben al blij dat haar bloeduitslag OK was!

Visiting mom's office!

Posing in between King Philippe and Queen Mathilde!

This week is Thanksgiving Week and LAUSD schools are closed all week long. Just recently, Lily learned in school about "jobs" and "careers" and some parents had come into the classroom to talk about their work. So, she came home with the question what it is that I do at work, where it is, and if she could see it someday. Since she's off from school this week, I thought it would be a fun thing for her to visit the office and see for herself where I always have to hurry to in the mornings!!! Marcus and Lily visited today! They came around noon, explored the offices, met "mommy's bosses" and colleagues, and then we had a quick "business lunch" outside (at the LACMA, which is nearby). Lily loved it. She made drawings and decorations (using post-its) at my desk in the back-office, while I worked at the front desk. She didn't want to go home, but wished she could stay, or at least come back soon!!! She's definitely more enthusiast about the job, than I am after 10 years, haha! I'm glad she has a better idea now of where I spend a considerable amount of my time!

Front desk

Back office

Lily took this one of me.

Goodbye!

Lunch at the LACMA!

School photos!

We got Lily's this week. Ennio's to follow later!

And here are Ennio's photos! Love them!

Stone Soup Day at WCC!

Today, Ennio made Stone Soup at school and we were invited to come by at noon to have some of it!
Stone Soup Day is an annual event at WCC and the legend goes as follows: Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all!

After lunch, Eagle Rock's Fire Department showed up again and let the kids have some "hands-on"-experience on the truck!