January activities

January 25th, another tooth gone!

There is not a lot of writing going on this month, and that is mainly because I have been slightly shocked (understatement) by what's been going on in this country and where we are heading to. I can't wrap my head around it and I'm so, so scared for the future. Sometimes I really have to put my phone or laptop away and stay away as far as possible from my newsfeed, or I'll just get depressed and start crying!!!

So, what else did we do, besides worrying for the world?
Ennio lost another tooth (I lost count, I'm guessing nr. 3 or 4?) I don't know why I can't keep track, he is loosing them at a much slower pace than Lily. It must be the mommy-brain-thing 😉 I have the feeling his grown-up teeth are coming in, even before the baby tooth is out, so they're growing all crooked and in the wrong places. I think he will definitely need braces as well! (but hopefully, we can still wait a while before we have to start that process!)

Lily's friend Nova came over for a sleepover and the girls had a shared foot bath in the bathroom! Tons of fun! After their feet had soaked for about an hour, it was Ennio's turn (he'd been begging!) and he really enjoyed it too!

Lily got her new glasses and has been using them in school and at home for reading.

I went to Andrea's baby shower party (it was the day of the Women's March in Washington DC and Los Angeles) and to Elena's birthday/house warming party. Nice to go to a grown-up party for a change, although the talk is often political, but luckily, most of our friends are like-minded souls... We'll fight together!

Elena, Audrey, Andrea and me!

Girl Scouts Cookies for sale!

It's Girl Scouts Cookie time! The sales season has started (it's from January 29 until March 12) and we have the boxes in!!! Lily's a first time seller and she couldn't be more excited! We were invited to a party on Sunday and she brought a bunch of cookies to sell. I hadn't really expected it, but she actually sold out! Almost every woman at the party used to be a girl scout herself and jumped at the occasion to buy a box of cookies. And to my surprise, the thin mints were very popular. I guess it's the kind that has been around forever and that people buy for nostalgic reasons... Tonight, we went to the neighbors houses to sell cookies. It's so cute to see how Lily does her little sales talk :-) Way to go, Lily!

At the party on Sunday after selling most of her cookies already!

Goodbye Obama :-(

Vandaag luidt een nieuw, triestig tijdperk in... Inauguration Day, oftewel de eedaflegging van de nieuwe president van de VS. Ik houd mijn hart vast en zie de toekomst met grote angst tegemoet. Hopelijk zie ik het allemaal te negatief in en valt het uiteindelijk nog mee, maar ik vrees ervoor... We zullen je missen, President Obama. Wat ben je een prachtig persoon met een supermooi gezin. Bedankt en laat ons niet in de steek!

Video Game Birthday Party!

Zondag waren we uitgenodigd bij de buren (enfin, niet letterlijk "buren", maar we wonen op 10 minuten wandelafstand). Hun zoontje Lucas werd 7 jaar en we kennen hen goed van op de Nederlandse school (de papa is Nederlands). Lucas is nogal into video games en dus hadden Michelle en Titus een video game truck gehuurd voor enkele uren! Wat een succes! De kinderen verdwenen in de truck, we zagen hen niet meer en zo konden de ouders op het gemak met elkaar kletsen! Ik heb mijn Frans wat kunnen bijschaven want er waren heel wat Franstaligen. Lucas en zijn 9-jarige zus Amandine gaan immers naar een lagere school met een French Language Immersion programma. Je kan er ook andere talen leren o.a. Duits, en ik heb indertijd die school bezocht (voor de Duitse immersie) maar uiteindelijk hebben we toen toch voor onze buurtschool gekozen. Die heeft immers ook een goede reputatie en is om de hoek - daar weegt weinig tegen op!

Mama Michelle steekt de kaarsjes aan voor Lucas (rechts naast haar)!

First Sleepover of the year!

We started the year well in Legoland and while driving home, I got a text from Corinne asking if Lily wanted to hang out that afternoon with her daughter Nova, and maybe have a sleepover too? I didn't need to ask Lily twice, she almost jumped out of her seat in excitement. We dropped her off and she spent the night together with Nova, Cyren and Amelia (Nova and Amelia are in her class, and she knows Cyren from Girl Scouts). The next morning, Corinne texted if it was OK to take the girls to see the movie "Sing". Uhh, sure!!! They went to Highland Theatres and almost had the theater for themselves! After the movie, Lily was dropped off at home around 2 PM. What a fun night/day for our missy!

Cyren, Amelia, Nova and Lily. Each girl is wearing some piece of clothing that is Nova's! For Lily, it's the skirt!

Last day!

We really enjoyed our stay here, especially Lily and Ennio. 2 days at an amusement park is enough for me, but not for the kids who begged to stay! A nice ending of 2016 and a good start of the new year!

Let's all do our best to make the best of 2017! Good luck!

Day 2 at the park