Gianna's Third Birthday - 23 March 2008

Nils, Gianna and BIG pony...

We took her horse riding for her birthday and she absolutely loved it. Nils had to saddle the little pony and we spent half an hour walking and running with them.

Hannah

The new arrival. Hannah was born 08/02/2008. She is already growing so fast, it is hard to keep up. Gianna is a wonderful older sister and fiercely proud of her new sister.

Carnival at School

She dressed as a bee and was very proud that one of the teachers was also dressed as one. Her wings had little bells at the tips, but needless to say that she came home without the bells. It must have been too tempting...

We had all possible characters (from Spiderman to Elvis) at school for the dress-up day. Great fun!

Christmas 2007

The long awaited first bicycle. She was "enquiring" after it for months. Conveniently it has a handle at the back for steering them at first.

We also celebrate Sint Nicolas here. Therefore the "crown" with Swarte Piet (Sinterklaas' helper) for the festivities at school and with her classmates.

Our Christmas Tree - Gianna loved decorating it, but unfortunately for her we did not have the chocolate decorations as we did last year.

First Schoolday

Gianna started school in November. She loves going to school and has made a lot of new friends. Everyday we have an imaginary friend that needs to eat, play and sleep here at home with her.

Etrétat, France

After spending a glorious long weekend in Etrétat (northen part of Normandy), we decided that it is definitely a very good spot for a holiday house.... The weather was fantastic, the food great and the local cider was enjoyed so much that we had to stock-up for future occasions.

Garden Escapades

Winter, summer, rain or snow; the only thing that changes is the amount of layers that she wears. We are fortunate that Gianna is an outdoorsy type with heaps of energy.

Cooking and Baking

Gianna is a big help in and around the house these days. She is starting to show some interest in what is happening in the kitchen. Mommy's little helper wants to help too much sometimes ;-) and we are kept on our toes aound the tools outside....

Shoe Fetish?!?

Nils is already sceptical on where this shoe fascination is going to end.

Keen Gardener(s)

Just a few snaps to show how hard we work in the vegetable garden. Luckily, we have a little "helper".

She really enjoys the water(ing)!

Swing from Africa!

My Dad brought this swing from South Africa (with lots of effort and swearing on the aeroplane) for me. It was hung in the oak tree in our garden and I am still very intrigued by it, so are all the Belgians that have seen it!

My Second Birthday, 23 March 2007

I had such a wonderful day full of surprises. These pictures where taken at the crèche. I had a new dress for the occasion....

....we had very bright home-made cupcakes (I am sure that I saw pink on my Mom's hands for days afterwards).....

.....I had a superb crown full of wonderful, exotic stuff....

....and all my friends from the crèche. Who needs anything else?

Multi-tasking.....?

We do not have time to idle in the morning and I am being taught to multi-task, or so they say....

P.S.: This is my favourite hat at the moment. When I wake up in the morning it is the first thing that I want to wear.

Tough day at crèche....

Pictures speak louder than words.... We do sometimes feel very sorry for the tough life of this little one!

Snow!

The view from our living room. Magical! We woke up to our garden transformed into a fairytale in mid-February.

Christmas 2006

We spent Christmas Dinner with Marta, Arthur and Gaba. Needless to say we ate like kings, drank like queens and had a very grown-up, glamorous evening - with two small children.

Christmas Eve and the sheep is out of the box! I love to ride the "rocking sheep" and it was promptly named Oscar.

South Africa, November 2006

We had a great time crawling through tunnels in the play area at a restaurant in South Africa. I loved all the family's attention and really miss all my cousins. I also got the opportunity to try my hand at writing....