Lily's 9 yr old check-up!

Vandaag was het alweer tijd voor Lily's jaarlijkse dokterscontrole. Lily werd gemeten, gewogen, ondervraagd en onderzocht en kreeg een goede uitslag: ze verkeert in uitstekende gezondheid :-)

Ze is flink gegroeid in vergelijking met vorig jaar:
Lengte: 142 cm (92e percentiel) (5 cm gegroeid)
Gewicht: 30 kg (51e percentiel) (ongeveer 4 kg bijgekomen)

Length: 56 inches (92nd percentile) (she grew 2.25 inches)
Weight: 64.6 pounds (51st percentile) (she gained over 7 lbs)
BMI (Body Mass Index): 14 (normal)

Blood pressure:  98/56 (normal)

Vaccines: geen vaccinaties, enkel een Flu Shot.

Peppa Pig

Ennio's really into Peppa Pig lately, another one of his most recent obsessions. He loves watching the cartoons, but enjoys reading the books (I get them from the library) and drawing Peppa Pig, George and his Dino-saw, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well. Here are some of his works:

 

Daphne's Rock 'n Roll Karaoke Birthday Bash

After a wild movie night and (thankfully) peaceful sleepover at home, it was time on Saturday to celebrate Lily's "birthday sister" Daphne's birthday at Chirp Karaoke Café in Pasadena. Lily had been excited to go and had even dressed up as a pop star, but once there, she turned really shy and did not want to come anywhere near the stage. I was so surprised! Don't get me wrong, I have complete understanding for not wanting to sing or talk in public (being an introvert myself) but it is just so NOT Lily. She is usually very outgoing, but she said she was shy because she only knew 2 people (Daphne and Nahla, who she knows from her preschool days). All the other guests were friends from Daphne's current school or afterschool activities. It took her a long time to loosen up and enjoy the party a bit... have her face painted and make her own rock star T-shirt. She did not sing... but when we left and got into the car, asked to put the iPod on and sang with all her might until we got home!?! That's some stage fright she will hopefully still overcome!!!

Daphne and her friend rocking on!

Lily and Nahla

Ennio got his face painted!

Making Rock n Roll T-shirts!

Happy Birthday, Daphne!

Lily's 9th Birthday Bash + Movie Night

I can't believe we survived Lily's 9th Birthday party. It was quite the night! There were about 18 kids around (mostly girls and one boy) and at times, I had the feeling it was a madhouse! The only moment the house got quiet was during the movie. Lily had picked "The Secret World of Arrietty", a Japanese animated movie from Studio Ghibli. The kids watched the movie in the basement, cuddled up with their pillows and with each other, and had plenty of popcorn. Around 9 PM, the movie was done and all hell broke loose again :-) These 9 year olds can be loud!!! I think next year we may limit the number of guests (or have the party at a park or something)! In the end, everyone got home all right and three girls stayed for a sleepover: Henriette, Alice and Cami. It was much more peaceful from then on. The girls still chatted for a while but fell quiet around midnight. The next morning we had leftover donuts and fresh crêpes for breakfast. Another birthday party done and one very happy - albeit tired - girl!

No birthday cake, but a pile of donuts! (and 2 special ones for Lily and Daphne)

Breakfast!

Lily and Henriette

Happy Birthday to my favorite 9 year old!

November 9: Our little girl is turning 9!!! She had been excited about this day for weeks and was counting down the days. It was a regular work and school day for us, but we got up early this morning and made it something special. The breakfast table was decorated and she got a cupcake with a musical candle on it! She opened up cards and presents (cute clothes from Oma Eva and a sewing machine from us). She was happy! She left for school and Marcus stopped by during recess with some donuts to hand out to her classmates. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and Lily was beaming! She's such a sweet, happy, beautiful person - inside and out. I couldn't be more lucky to be her mom!

School Photos

I love this year's photos! Lily posing as usual and Ennio looking a bit serious (the photographer probably told him not to smile, haha! His camera smile is not the best 😂)

Día de los Muertos

Día de Muertos altar in our neighborhood

I can't believe it's November and we are going into the last months of this year. How time flies. November is going to be another busy month. Lily will celebrate her 9th birthday (unbelievable that she's turning 9 already!), there are parent-teacher conferences at school, doctors visits, Thanksgiving activities, we will be traveling to Belgium to celebrate Oma's 65th Birthday and to Switzerland to attend a concert where Marcus's music will be performed, and on top of it, we are moving office locations at work during the last week of November and I have to prepare for the move. Help! I will have to take it one day at a time, or else I will go crazy! One good thing is that my request to work 4/5 instead of full time was approved for 5 months, so from January 1 until May 31, I will have Wednesdays off again. I am so happy about that, because often times this year, I had the feeling I was drowning. Yay for more time, especially quality time!