Wigilia 2009

The long anticipated visit from 'Babcia & Dziadek' made this year's Wigilia a very special one. After an afternoon walk in the park, during which we discovered that Nina was not enjoying the sleigh as much as we thought she would, we spent the evening at home enjoying the traditional diner.

Sinterklaas

And yes, Sinterklaas and his Pieten also visited Chicago this weekend, complete with pepernoten and presents. Observing it from a distance while enjoying the little Dutch spice cookies everything was fine for Nina, but when coming closer not even a whole speculaasje could bribe her into posing for her first 'on Sinterklaas' lap picture'. Leave alone having a bit of fun with Piet. Anyway, she did get her present and had a great time playing with other kids.

Eating pancakes

And this is how pancakes should be eaten: with your hands! Nina loves the hands-on approach but insists on eating from a little plate. Before we know it she'll be asking for her cutlery.

Sailing around St. Maarten

We chartered a sail boat for one day so see what it's like to sail a bigger boat on the sea. It was a perfect day: super sunny with not too much wind, but enough to enjoy a nice sail. Around the island we went, making a swim/lunch stop at at nice little bay to relax a little. A very nice and always educational experience. Nina did a bit of catching up on her sleep when she was not up helping us out on the deck.

Eating apples

Green, red, anything you can get your teeth to is fine for Nina. But it's hard work for a small girl to eat a big apple like that so after a few bites, the novelty usually wore off and the apple in question was dropped on the spot.

On the beach

Even better than the pool was the beach with all that nice sand. Not only great to play with and comfortable to sit on, but also a great place to find 'food'. Seaweed was a favorite so here comes another potential sushi lover. Only when the sea came too close, Nina was not too impressed. But then papa was there to save her.

In the pool

Nina came prepared with her Waukegan swimming lessons. The pool at the hotel and the weather were great so every day there was water on the program. This pool was very big, but with mama and papa around she was happy enough to spend time splashing around or trying to get out of the pool and explore the grounds.

Holiday St. Maarten

With temperatures dropping in Chicagoland, we decided to warm up our bones in the Carribbean for a week. But with so many islands to choose from, where do you go? The direct flight possibility from Chicago, a great hotel deal and the prospect of, hopefully, kroketten and frikandellen as the island is 'half Dutch', made up our minds. Time to relax and soak up the sun.

First swimming lesson

Last Saturday Nina took her first plunge into a swimming pool. A bit more water around her than she's used to in her home bath tub, but she really enjoyed it and is looking forward to the next session in a week's time.

Halloween 2008

Trick or treat! Can you guess who Nina is? Look at the other picture for a small hint...

Autumn afternoon walk

Autumn has arrived here in Chicagoland. The temperature is dropping, the wind blowing hard, the leaves are getting all kinds of beautiful colours and are falling. A bit of fresh air is good so while is wasn't raining, off to the park we went to enjoy the autumn nature scenery.

Sooo tired!