Best Friends Forever

A Sunny Saturday afternoon in February.

Nina and her toys

Cats, bikes, sock monkeys, school buses, phones: so many things to play with and so little time! Surprisingly the kitchen cabinets are still a huge attraction, as are the laptop and mommy's phone. Guess you can never have enough toys.

Nina's morning activities

After a long night's sleep, it's high time for some action. First, of course, breakfast: the Mexican bolillos are a favorite these days. Then out of the high chair and play. The little Radio Flyer push cart is usually full of toys, but they all have to come out so Miss Nina can take a seat. Daddy's shoes also have to be inspected. After all, he might be in need of new soles. Leave it to Nina to find out. And while in the kitchen, let's check the cupboards for some other interesting stuff. You can exactly see where she has been in the house, just follow the trail.

Last evening together

After two enjoyable weeks, also this visit came to an end. After dinner, Nina climbed the stairs together with Dziadek for her evening bath where she was entertained by Babcia.

Bye, Bye, we will miss you.

Dining out

On New Years day Dziadek is always celebrating his imieniny (nameday). This was a nice opportunity to eat out and take our guests to a typical Chicago style steakhouse. Dziadek got the birthday menu: A 650g Chicago cut of prime rib.

Babcia & Dziadek

Listening to Babcia's Ipod and walking around the house with Dziadek; Nina was having the time of her life.

Playing with the cats

Nina loves playing with the cats, but the cats don't like playing with Nina who's loudly expressing her enthusiasm when she spots them. Jip made an exception with Christmas and let Nina even hug him.

Christmas morning

After a quick Christmas breakfast it was time to open the presents. Thank you Santa(s)!

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.