Belgium, Part Deux

We have now been in Belgium for five weeks, and have about that many more left. So far, we have loved almost every minute. Axel and I have a good routine down, have made some really great friends from the open daycare we visit regularly, and Johan has been loving the change of atmosphere, including regular social coffee breaks at work, as well as a hardcore lunchtime running group.

I have been really amazed at how kind people are here. I was kind of expecting the gruff, introvert most people think of when they imagine Euopeans in the winter. But people here usually approach me and Axel, start talking, are willing to help us get to know the town, and are so friendly.
 

Notre Dame



 For my birthday in February, I told Johan that all I wanted was to go to Paris. Like a good husband, he gave me my wish. His mom and dad drove down from Sweden to stay with us and took care of Axel while we took off for three days. We stayed in the Montparnasse area of Paris, on the Rue du Rennes, which is south of the Seine, close to the center....Louvre, Notre Dame, etc. however, Parisian blocks are ginormous, so even though you might be five blocks away, it could take you 20 minutes to walk them. So we bought metro passes. Our hotel had such tiny rooms, but they decorated them so smart and luxuriously that you couldn't, and didn't, care.

Atop Le Tour Eiffel, freezing les buns off

Eiffel Tower by night

We arrived on Friday and walked around the area close to our hotel. We walked around and found a restaurant on the Boulevard du Montparnasse. I had a gizzard salad (Dad would be proud), and Johan had salad with goat cheese on bread. I went to use the bathroom, which was the size of a telephone booth. When I came out to wash my hands, I put soap on my hands but then noticed the faucet was simply a metal pipe that came down vertically from the ceiling (space saver, smart). There was no faucet handle! What the heck? I noticed a sign that was on the wall to the left that said a bunch of stuff in French. The main words seemed to be "eau", "sol", and "droite". I knew that "eau" meant water, and in Spanish "sol" means sun, and I couldn't remember what "droite" meant. Was the water solar powered? A lot of times there is no faucet and you just have to wave your hands around underneath the faucet, so I waved my hands everywhere I could in the vicinity underneath the faucet. I already had slathered my hands with soap, so I felt helpless. I started to walk away when I stepped on a bump in the floor. Huh? I pushed on it with my foot and voila! Water! Oh, so "sol" means floor. Like "suelo" in Spanish. Wow, I must have looked dumb spending that much time trying to figure that out. After that, we had a mediocre dinner but good atmosphere.


 On Saturday we ran around town trying to cram in all the goodness you're expected to cram in while in Paris. It was absolutely freezing, 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and we were extremely unprepared clothing-wise. Johan really wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I am not much for touristy things, but I went along with it. We walked to the second floor, which is like walking to the 40th floor of a building. Then we waited in line to get to the top. The lines took so long, the entire trip up and down took about 2 1/2 hours. We were frozen solid, but we were going to make it to the top, darn it! When we got to the top, Johan mentioned that the view looked the same as it did from the second floor.


That night we watched Django Unchained in English at the movie theatre, and collapsed in bed, realizing that being a tourist is a lot of work.

The next day, the sun came out and it was warm!! We have recently realized why Northern Europeans always announce when the sun comes out...because it feels as if someone has let you out of a dark closet. You feel light, happy, and full of life. Amazing, how we forgot that feeling from our days living in Sweden.



That day, I was smart and bought a medicated patch for my back to get me through the walking we'd be doing all day. We saw the Louvre, walked Champs Élysées, and saw Silver Linings Playbook as a matinee. That evening, we met our friends Braedan and Amelia for dinner (they live there).



Just a chicken in Paris



That dinner was by far the best food experience we've had in Paris. We ate at cafe Constant just north of the Eiffel Tower. Fabulous food. After dinner we walked to the Eiffel Tower and watched the hourly lights show, which occurs every hour on the hour and lasts a couple of minutes. As we parted ways and walked towards the subway, we mentioned how nice it was to do something that made us feel like locals and not tourists.



The next day we went to sacre coeur church, saw a man dressed like a chicken, did some souvenir shopping, them went to catch our train back to Belgium.

One of the things we loved most about Paris is that almost anywhere you go, each building is incredibly beautiful. You are always in awe, and you never have a bad view.





Farmor is making semla! Da me!



Since we've been back to our temporary home in Belgium, we've been spending time with Johan's family. Axel has really warmed up to Farmor and Farfar Fransson, aunt Maria, and Uncle Simon. They are all so good to him, he just loves them. He has also really seemed to love all the attention and puts on quite a show for everyone. We have been very spoiled since Farmor and Farfar take Axel to the park almost every day, so I've been able to go shopping and relax during the weekdays, while Johan and I got to go to Antwerp and Roermond (holland) this weekend with Maria and Simon.







Still waiting...da me, da me!



It hasn't really struck me that I'm back on full time Mom duty tomorrow, since the Franssons are leaving back to Sweden. I'm trying to enjoy this "time off" feeling as long as I can.

One short stint on Axel....his favorite words are "da ma" ("give me" in Spanish), and "maaaaaaas", which is "mas" said really long and drawn out, which means mooooooooore, or more. The longer the mas, the more he wants to make sure that you understand he wants more. If you don't give him more, he starts to scream "da me, da me, da me!"




 

Mmmm, finally got his semla

Overall, these last five weeks have been such a blessing to us. We are so thankful for what we have and what we've been given in this opportunity to live and work abroad. This experience has definitely given us so much more than we expected. Thanks, Belgium, for loving us so much, thanks Johnson and Johnson for sending Johan here, thanks, Franssons for being so wonderful, and thank you God for being the master planner of it all.









 






Franssons having a semla moment

 





The Terrible Twos

Tantrums have been part of our daily life for a while now, but coming to a new country has made it even more difficult. Life back home was relatively quick and easy. Slip on some shoes and go outside to play. I knew where to go shopping, and always had some sort of plan for Axel to have some play time. We had a pretty good routine that suited us well.

But here in Belgium, we're all screwed up. We live in an apartment, and it's winter, so if we want to go outside it takes at least 15 minutes just to put warm clothes on. That's usually prolonged because Axel hates putting on his jacket, so he'll run into a corner of the apartment, drop to the ground, cry, and play what I call "dead fish" where he won't budge. He also absolutely refuses to wear his mittens. He will then insist on riding his bike, which isn't always possible. So if I'm lucky, he will comply and sit in the stroller. If I'm not so lucky, he will insist on walking or biking, and will stop and be sad at every piece of trash (yes, litter makes him really sad) and try to jump off of every doorstep along our way. This usually ends up in traveling a distance of about one block per 45 minutes.

This is pretty exhausting if I want to go grocery shopping, since it's a 20 minute walk. I did buy a bus pass, which allows us to get there quicker, but for some reason, meltdowns usually occurs within five minutes of entering the grocery store. The only way I get through it is with promises. Like, "as soon as we pay, I'll let you out and walk", which does not benefit me too much since it will take us forever to get home. I always bring snacks, but those usually only buy me 20 minutes or so. But, as I have heard, the twos can be terrible!

Last weekend, we wanted to go to a shop to buy bathing suits so we could go to an indoor pool. We took the bus to the store and were there about 10 minutes when Axel had had enough. I was still trying on bathing suits, so Johan tried to keep him company. As I went to pay for the suits I heard the tantrum escalate, then silence. I went outside to see what happened, and saw this:

Axel was really cranky, so we looked for a cafe to buy a sandwich or any food, and nothing was open! Funny that in the middle of winter, the only store that was open was the swim suit store. We also realized we had no cash, and no one would take our credit card, so we wandered through Voselaar (a neighbor to Turnhout), hungry, no money, with a crying toddler. So we decided to try and catch the bus home, then realized it only came once every hour. I wanted to cry. By the time we finally got home and put Axel down for a nap, we were completely wiped out. After that day, we learned that during the terrible twos, if you want to minimize your stress, you need to be over prepared when you leave your house. Have money, have food, know the bus route, maybe bring the baby bicycle, and have a plan ahead of time for when you will let the terrible two toddler out of the stroller, so that you can better plan your schedule. These things help my days alone with Axel go a lot smoother.

Some days are really nice. When they are, I never know what I did right, I'm just thankful when they happen. The other day we walked to the canal north of town and back. It took us 1-1/2 hours, and we had no problems!

Another problem we've had since coming here is eating. When we arrived, Axel hadn't eaten in days. He had been sick, but he has never not eaten for that long. So I really wanted him to eat something. So I sat him at the table and let him watch a movie during lunch. He ate his entire meal. I was so happy. But then, after that, I realized he wouldn't eat without a movie being on. Crap. So now we are trying to wean him off. Some days go great, others aren't so great.

I think that a lot of parents are afraid of screwing their kids up. And the truth is that none of us are perfect, and we are all going to screw our kids up in some shape or form. You just have to use your instincts, try your best. Oh, and pray. I can't count how many times I've prayed for God to help me during a tantrum, and it always gets better. Either my attitude or Axels attitude changes.

Another thing is the mommy clingyness. This started a couple of months ago when he learned to say mamma and understood that I would respond to it. Now, if I leave the room, he will yell it at the top of his lungs. At first, we laughed about it because it's pretty funny. But it's not so funny when it sounds like a command.

Some nights are rough. Axel had eaten something bad and was throwing up this week, so those nights I had to replace his sheets and clothes several times throughout the night. Since he kept throwing up, I slept next to him to make sure it didn't get too messy. But instead of me being able to sleep in in the morning, he decided he wouldn't eat breakfast unless I sat at the table. If I tried to keep sleeping, he would come into our room and lay on me. Or even worse, turn on the light and make me read Goodnight Moon to him.

So, yes, the terrible twos are not much fun. But on the flipside, the personality that we see coming out is so much fun. We go to a mom/baby meetup every morning, and have been having a lot of fun there, and have made somenice new friends. It is so fun to see him point to Johan and say "mamma!" Because he thinks we are all mamma. Or walk around the apartment with his hands over his eyes playing a blind person, or hiding in the corner hoping you'll play hide and seek with him, or how much he loves to hold hands and pray before dinner, and applauds when we're done. That's the stuff we live for.

Beer

Since we arrived in Belgium, I've kind of made it my mission to learn about and try as many Belgian beers as possible. We are incredibly blessed to live upstairs from one of the best restaurants in the area. We have gotten to know the owner pretty well. We have had some really interesting discussions about the different types of beer, where they come from, and also the history of the restaurant (it's an old army recruiting site), and about Belgium in general.

We usually wait until Axel is asleep, then we walk downstairs to the restaurant. We ate lunch there today and Johan mentioned that we haven't had lunch together in who knows how long. I couldn't either remember the last time we had lunch just the two of us. We've had several dinners out since we arrived. It's so nice because since Johan's company pays for all of his meals, we don't have to be super cheap like we usually are since we only pay for me.

I have actually never liked beer. Whenever I order beer, I usually ask for the beer that tastes the most like Miller Lite. I basically want my beer to taste as much like water as possible. I don't like hops, and I don't like a strong aftertaste. So imagine my surprise when I got here, and all of a sudden, I love beer and am fascinated by it. I don't really know what happened either, but I'm rolling with it. And I think Johan is enjoying it too.

So we've started taking photos of each new beer we try, so that we can keep a record of what we've had, and what we liked or didn't like.

Sint Bernardus

Leffe brown, Omer

Duvel, Westmalle triple

La Chouffe blonde, Schuppenboer

St Feuillien blonde

Chimay Triple, Westmalle double

Now, before you start judging us for drinking this much beer in one week, let me just tell you that we are at the apex (Oh Lord, I hope so) of the terrible two's. This beer has been both delicious and enjoyable, as well as completely necessary.

• So far, our super favorites are: Chimay Triple, St. Feuillien Blonde, Omer, Westmalle Triple, Sint Bernardus
• Pretty darn good, but won't be dreaming about it: La Chouffe blonde, Schuppenboer, Duvel
• Eh, not my style: Leffe Brown
• Haven't yet tried the Westmalle double

I am particularly interested in the Trappist beers (as are probably many other people). I didn't know this until I was educated by our new friend, the restaurant owner, but Trappist beers are brewed by Trappist monks in their abbeys. There are only eight in the world, six are in Belgium. The other two are in Nederlands and Austria. The Trappist beers are Orval, Chimay, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Achel.

Trappist breweries started at monasteries in France, and were later introduced in monasteries of other countries as the Trappist order spread from France into the rest of Europe. The Trappists, like many other religious people, originally brewed beer to feed the community, in a perspective of self-sufficiency. Nowadays, Trappist breweries also brew beer to fund their works and for good causes. In order to keep people from abusing the Trappist name, they have to follow strict rules.

• The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
• The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
• The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.
• Trappist breweries are constantly monitored to assure the irreproachable quality of their beers.

I was really impressed when I learned this about the monasteries. I had assumed that they made the beer for profit, but their intentions seem very good. The also don't allow visitors in to the breweries, so they don't do it for the fame either. This is all just fascinating to me.

Okay, enough about beer. The rest of our time here is consumed by the terrible two's, but I'll save that discussion for another day.

Belgium, Week 1

Wow, it took me about 3 days just to figure out how to write an entry, since I'm using an ipad, which doesn't have a normal browser for this website, and every option for this website is all of a sudden in Dutch! I just happened to push the right button and got it right!

We arrived in Belgium on Friday evening, February 1st. The flight was good and bad. Good because Johan's company paid for him to fly business class, so he got to sip champagne and eat a 3 course dinner, while Axel got the seat next to me that was originally reserved for Johan. I didn't care, I was just happy that I didn't have a 30 pound toddler on my lap for 9 hours. Axel slept awful, only 2 hours. Luckily, as soon as he woke up, I asked Johan to take him, so I got to go sleep in Johan's business class seat! Johan woke me up 4 hours later exhausted, so I took Axel, and got him to sit in his seat and watch movies until we landed.

We are living in Turnhout, which is about an hour northeast of Brussels. It's a pretty standard looking European town. It has about 40,000 inhabitants, so not big, not small. We live on one of the main streets. We have a small market right across the street that sells vegetables, milk, and basic necessities. Next door to the market is a bakery where we buy our bread. And a couple stores down is the butcher, where we buy our meats. It's pretty quaint to have to go to three stores for all our food needs. The owner of the market already knows us, and is so nice. She gives Axel free fruit and little things to play with, and gives us free samples of things she makes for the store, like her crab spread.

All the food is so good. And the beer and chocolate absolutely deserve the good reputation. I never realized how fruits and vegetables are in the mainstream American grocery stores lack that home grown taste. We made dinner the other night and just baked carrots, potatoes, green beans, Brussel sprouts, and chicken, and it was like we had grown everything ourselves. The milk tastes much different, more creamy, and the bread is delicious. You buy a loaf at the store and they slice it right there for you. Axel loves the cheese here too.

We have been so jet lagged. We have been going to bed at a normal hour, but then Axel will wake up at around 1:00, and none of us can got to sleep for several hours. The first night, we were up until 4:30, and all woke up at 10:00! and that was because we forced ourselves to wake up. This has never happened to us, usually it's so easy to come to Europe. Our theory is the lack of sunlight, because we haven't been to Europe during the winter for about 6 years, we aren't used to no sunlight. But it's getting better and better with each day. Axel is finally taking good naps during the day, and going to bed at a decent hour. He is going through a super clingy phase though. So he doesn't want to go to bed alone. I usually have to lay next to him for a bit before he goes to bed, and when he wakes up in the middle of the night all he wants is to be held, and will absolutely not let you put him back in bed alone. I just decided to comfort him for a bit, but then leave. He cries for a couple of minutes, then falls asleep. We tried so many other options, with no success, so we're trying this for now. Hopefully
the night wakings stop soon.

Yesterday was Johan's first day at work. He works about 5 minutes away by bus. He really likes it. Axel and I walked to a daycare across the street and asked if we could join. There isn't a lot to do here during the days, so I asked if Axel could join and I could volunteer there. We'll see if they contact us and allows to come. I also am going to join a gym that's a couple buildings down from us.

Tuesday, Feb 5: Today is Tuesday, and it snowed! Only for a bit, then the sun came out and melted the snow. We went to a meetup that the daycare recommended for us. It's free, and indoors. They had tons of toys, and there were several Belgian moms with kids Axels age. They were really nice. I met a mom whose name I can't spell. She was born here, but has Morroccan parents. She had a son Axels age. After the class, she walked with me and showed me where they have an indoor playground. We said we'd see each other at the class again on Thursday.

Wednesday, Feb 6: Axel finally slept through the night!! We decided that if he woke up, we would not go in to get him. When he woke up at 11 pm, he cried for a couple of minutes, then fell back asleep and didn't wake up until 8:30 am. Today Axel and I went exploring in the morning. I saw a road leading out of town the other day, so we followed it and found a huge forest with trails! I was just thanking God, because I was starting to get stressed out over the lack of outdoor places to play here. We are just not accustomed to staying indoors.

I went to try out a gym last night, it's a block from our apartment. I got a free one day pass and took a step aerobics class. I talked to the instructor beforehand so she knew I spoke English. Every now and then during the class she'd yell out the next exercise instructions in English for me. I was laughing at how embarrassing that was, but also because it was so nice of her.

So far, the Belgian people have been so friendly to us. There is a bar/restaurant downstairs from our apartment, and the owner gave us some delicious beer. We told him we were having trouble taking money out with our credit cards and he said "don't worry, just come here and I will loan you cash"! What an offer. We ended up being able to take out money, but that was very generous.

20 Months. Crazy Town.

I'm still scratching my head at the people who told me that going down to one nap would be a really great thing. So far, I'm not really seeing the benefits. This is how a typical day goes for us:

Waiting for his breakfast

7:00 wake up
7:10, Axel sits in his high chair and chants "grot, grot, grot" until we serve him his oatmeal.
7:30 - 8:30, Crazy town. Meaning, we play trains, legos, jump, bounce, destroy the house, whatever we can until we're bored being indoors.
8:30 We go out in the yard and ride his cars and bike.

Loves the helicopter at the zoo

9:00 Axel's bored with the yard, and I am scratching my head, wondering what we should do for the next 2 1/2 hours until he takes his nap.
9:00-11:30, Since this is the time the rest of the world is out and about (while we have been ready for at least 2 hours), we sometimes go to the park, zoo, meet friends for playdates.
11:30-1:30, Nap. This is the unfair part. He used to nap at least 4 hours per day. Since we went down to one nap, it's around 2 hours, sometimes 1 1/2 hours. That is so unfair!
1:30-5:00, Crazy town. Play, go to the park, run errands, basically moving, skipping, hopping, being active anywhere and everywhere and not stopping for a single minute.
5:00, Dinner. At least he is a good eater.
5:30, bath. He loves his bath time. He has a routine too. He runs to the bath when I say it's bath time, we take off his clothes, then he runs away wanting us to catch him. He and Johan sometimes play this for 20 minutes.
6:00 Bedtime

I do realize that while I am complaining that the naps are not long enough, he sleeps at least 12 hours per night, if not longer. It's just that I'm not yet willing to risk putting him down later with the hopes that he'll nap longer. I enjoy having a quiet house at 6:00 pm!

Dad and Axel at Mission Bay

Other than those complaints, life is really fun. It is amazing that watching a child grow really never gets old because there is something new they learn to do almost every single day. He is starting to really get good at his balance bike. He is starting to push and lift his feet up. It's an amazing idea to teach kids to ride a bike. He will never need to use training wheels, he'll just switch over to a regular bike when he's ready.

On the balance bike

I also feel like he really understands us. We can ask him to do something and he does it, understand our instructions. He has started using words more regularly, like mama, agua, grot, and woof woof (for the dog). He can point out his body parts when we say the name, and he can imitate some animal sounds like lion, dog, and cat, when we say their names. He also is understanding how to communicate what he wants with us. He doesn't say a lot of words yet, but he will pull us to where he wants us to go, point, drag objects to us, whatever it takes! He doesn't give up on getting what he wants, that's for sure.

We have also entered the pushing phase. Just today, we went to a local toddler music class, and we had to leave because he was pushing every kid that looked at him. I could even tell when he was going to do it. The funny thing is, that I will tell him that what his did was not nice, and ask him to give the kid a hug or a kiss to say I'm sorry, and he'll do it willingly. The same thing with taking objects. He'll walk up to a kid, take his toy out of his hand. I'll tell him that's not nice and to give it back, and he will. So I feel like it's not that he's mad and pushing, or he enjoys stealing and really wants their toy (I don't think, at least), but maybe it's more that he is learning that he has the power to do these things and is testing what he is allowed to do and what is not allowed? I do love the fact that he loves to give kisses, though. We have started teaching him to kiss goodnight and goodbye, and it's really cute. It just kind of freaks some kids out when he goes for a kiss on the mouth!

Biking around Mission Bay

Turnhout, Belgium

In recent events, Johan was asked to run a project at his company's office in Beerse, Belgium, but we would be staying in nearby city, Turnhout. We decided that we didn't want the family to be separated for too long, so we are all going together for 8 weeks! At first I didn't want to go. I was a bit pessimistic as to what there would be to do with a toddler in northern Europe in February. I imagined gloomy, wet, cold weather, and staying indoors. But then I realized that I just needed to change my attitude. So I recently researched some indoor playgrounds, a city park, and other kid friendly activities in the city. I also think we'll try to bring a couple of indoor activities in case we can't go outside. But I have to admit, we are not good at staying indoors. I don't think we have done that since Axel was 3 weeks old. We go outside and walk or play every single day. That's normal, right? :)

So this will definitely be a new experience for us. But we have traveled quite a bit, and we are pretty adaptable to different cultures, so I'm looking forward to these next couple of months. Now I just need to learn how to say "where's the bathroom?" in Dutch.

Thanksgiving Time, and Lots to be Thankful For

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's

I finally got my computer back! I wasn't able to make any updates without it. I'm also going to start working a little more from home, which I'm excited about. Engineering work, that is. When I'm home with Axel and working a little at nights, I feel like this is what I was meant to do, be at home full time but also work a little. I'm so thankful for that! I also started tutoring. I have two university students that I tutor once a week in math and physics. One reason I know that this was a good decision for me is because I enjoy doing all their homework ahead of time on my own before we meet. I know, NERD.

Trying not to spill the wine

Eating peanuts with Daddy and Uncle Philipp

We are officially on one nap now. I fought it for a while because it was tough on all of us. Axel was tired and grumpy and Johan and I were tired and grumpy. Two weeks ago I hurt my foot and couldn't walk, so Johan had to stay home and take care of us. That first day of Johan being home was when Axel decided he didn't want to sleep anymore in the afternoon. So that was pretty tough on Johan. But we got through that week, then we went to my parents house for Thanksgiving, and it seems like he's gotten the hang of only having one nap per day. We pushed it back so he sleeps at around 11:00, and he even started sleeping longer. Now he sleeps for around 3 hours. Another nice thing is that he goes to bed around 6-6:30 and sleeps in until 7:00 now. Funny, pre-kids, 7:00 was still so, so early!

Class of '97 Reunion: Matt, Mendee, Rieke, and Me

With his Great-Grandma Marina

We spent four days in Visalia for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see the family, of course, but it was a treat to see Rieke and Philipp who stayed at mom and dad's for a couple of days. Rieke was our German foreign exchange student in high school, and we've stayed close ever since. Before they left back to San Francisco (where Philipp lives), we had a chance to have a get-together with some high school friends and their kids at a park. We joked that it was pretty much our 15-year high school reunion, since we never had a real one.

There's nothing like playing in the trash cupboard.

 Every day that I'm home with Axel right now feels more and more like the right decision. I am so thankful that I get to see him growing and get to know his personality and how it's changing and developing. He is starting to say more and more words every day, and is learning body gestures like putting his hands up when he asks a question, and he'll pull you in the direction that he wants you to go. It's so amazing to see these small changes.

Right now, the most exciting thing he could do would be to play in a real car. All day every day he begs to be let in the car. He likes to honk the horn, push all the buttons, steer the wheel, and jump up and down on the seats. It's heaven to him. The main thing we are learning is how important it is to respect other people, mainly other kids and their toys. But we try to be examples of sharing for him. I try to remind myself to not just take things from him, but ask and give him something in exchange. I figure learning to share probably should start at home! It's funny, but he will totally respect the space and toys of older kids, but if he sees a toddler about his same age or a younger baby, he will try to take their toys, and has even started pushing and hoarding his own toys so they won't take them. It's incredible how fast this changed!

Last month, he had his 18 month appointment. He weighed 30 pounds (95th percentile), and was 33 inches tall (75th percentile). His head was still in the 99% percentile. The doctor said that although his height wasn't 90th percentile now, he should have a growth spurt sometime soon. I measured him 2 weeks later, and he had grown 1/2 inch! So she was right.

Loves Grandpa's old 1940 Ford

Eating pork tenderoin, potatoes, avocado, and white pepper sauce...so fancy

I am also thankful that he is a great eater. Some of his favorite meals I've made lately that are healthy, and have meat and vegetables are shepherds pie, Swedish oven pancake (with turkey bacon and brussel sprouts, and a meat/spinach/pasta bake. Some of his favorite snacks are raw tofu, cheerios, and my banana/spinach smoothie. Johan's mom also gave me a really good book of family/baby meal recipes. What a great idea! People need to make more of these. I'm going to try and go through and make everything in it, once recipe per day maybe? Thanks, Grandma! Although, the downfall to having a good eater is that he is always eating everywhere and making a mess everywhere he goes. When we're outside he'll eat fruit off the neighbors' trees and have orange juice dribbling down his chin and all over his clothes. Inside he'll walk up to you and beg for some of your bread, shove the whole thing in his mouth, then run away with crumbs falling out. He loves going to Costco for the free food samples, and he'll eat the entire time we're there shopping. I try to be diligent about making him eat at his high chair, but I also have to relax about things sometimes or else I'd go crazy.

Sometimes, mid-day baths are necessary, and getting out of the bath is impossible.

I feel like a lot of our lives now is picking our battles. What do we allow him to do and what do we say "no" to? We pretty much go by the philosophy that if he's not harming himself or anyone else, and he's not being mean, I let him do it. Sometimes that means he's going to be rolling around in the mud and smearing it all over his tricycle. It might make me cringe at the messiness, but what kid wouldn't love to do that?