Today we had a quick visit from our cousin F.B. who was on his way with a friend to Amsterdam. The daddy picked them up at the Ryanair airport in Charleroi then took them to central train station. They had just enough time to have quick waffle before their train left. They were on their way to enjoy Queen's Day, a Dutch national holiday.

The weather is just lovely and we are playing with friends at the park almost everyday and visiting the baby ducks which are so big now. Baby is asleep in the stroller so I can write and tell you what is going on a bit. Yesterday we went with some friends to a "fun day" and the Babies played in the park, ate a hotdog and crepe and Frunty ran all the way from the park to our friend's home. He loves to run not walk. Here are a couple of photos. We are off to the park at 4pm for Mandarin-English exchange which isn't just on Wednesdays anymore! And we'll go to the French library together afterwards to grab some books.



Frunty and A like to trade hats!







A Baby Tiger falls asleep on the way home after all that running!

We just found out that we get two days off at the end of May for Ascension Day and the Friday becomes a "bridge" day so everyone can have a 4 day holiday. Of course, everyone knew this except for us so almost everything was booked up. Apparently since September. But luckily we got a farmstay (yes, we are really into farm stays!) so take a look at their website! http://www.woll.lu



"Holiday in the country on an old farm in the Valley of the Seven Castles. Opportunity to watch the craft of wool-making from sheep bred on the farm. Weaving. "

Here is the list of cars we have had since moving to Brussels in July.



1. Volkswagon Passat (Silver)

2. Peugeot 406 (Charcoal Grey)

3. Ford Galaxy Mini Van (Silver)

4. Citroen Picasso (Charcoal Grey)

5. Volvo V40 (Black)

6. Mercedes A170 (Silver)

7. Mercedes C200 (Navy Blue)



Perhaps you are wondering why we are trying so many different cars. The

answer is because...we can! And our favourite so far...I like the sporty fun

city car: Mercedes A170. Tied for first in Daddy's eyes: Volvo V40/Mercedes C200.

We used to have a V40 in Amsterdam and actually prefer our Mowat-mobile,

the 240! Great character and sounds like a truck. I cannot believe I am

talking about cars on my blog. Can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Frunty test drives a bus and car in Laren, Holland over the weekend. They say Babies grow up fast...

Speaking of vehicles, we are getting a new one this week. Yes, we are still waiting for our car to be built

but in the meantime, Daddy has enjoyed trying many different cars since July. I will make a list so you

can see what he has tried!

Happy Easter everyone from Le Mont St Michel, Normandy, France!

Today we left Neufchatel and headed toward the coast across the Normandy Bridge to the seaside town of Honfleur. We had poached fish and the Baby had mussels.







On the way to our next farm stay at Vengeons, we stopped at a cidery to do some sampling! We got a couple of bottles to enjoy later and Frunty enjoyed playing in the flower beds!







Once we got to our second farmstay, we went for a long walk and found some adorable lambs!

(Vengeons, Axe Sourdeval Vire: Raymond et Jeanne Desdoits, Le Val 50150 Vengeons, 02 33 59 64 16)

Our trip to Normandy, France over the Easter 4 day weekend was wonderful and we enjoyed two farmstays, cider tasting, Le Mont St. Michel, a seafood bonanza on the coast and a ride on an old train too. The weather was as beautiful as the scenery!



Here are some delectable cheeses we devoured in a local restaurant in the town near our first farm stay, Neufchatel-en-Bray.







We stayed at a beautiful farm called Le Cellier du Val Boury near the town of Neufchatel. Check out their website: www.cellier-val-boury.com

For the last few weeks, Frunty has been pointing to himself and saying "Baby" and then he points to Da-da and says, "daddy" and to me, "Mommy". It is supercute and this self-awareness is an important step in his development, no doubt. He used to point to himself and say, "Baby?" but now just says "Baby". Frunty also likes when we kiss his boo-boo better and he says "ouch". If we have a boo-boo, he is very eager to kiss ours better too and give us a superbig hug.

Fields of tulips and baby lambs, stroop waffles and pannekoeken, windmills in the distance and the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam up close...if you haven't been to Holland yet, now is your chance! Spring is a wonderful time to go and we enjoyed our weekend there with old friends. Frunty had fun too and ate a falafel at one of our favourite places near the flower market. We went to the Albert Cuyp Market for a king size, freshly made stroop which was just too delicious. Frunty also liked riding the trams, visiting a farm with lots of baby chicks and other animals and playing with Dutch children all weekend. We visited two sets of friends, one family with two kids and the other with four. Frunty was the baby in both groups but played so well with the others. They spoke to him in Dutch and he somehow spoke back! It was neat to watch. Mowgli enjoyed his spa weekend at chez K and E where he was treated royally. On the way home last night, we stopped in Leiden, a beautiful university town. We enjoyed Dutch pancakes! In the back of our car we brought home a huge bouquet of daffodils. The flowers there are out of this world. Happy Spring everyone!

What a super busy week and it isn't over yet! Monday we went running in the park with K and watched the baby ducks for awhile before coming home for lunch. Tuesday we enjoyed a coffee morning at our Irish friend's house. We ran home and stopped to look at the ducks again. Wednesday was our first Mandarin-English play date/language exchange and Frunty learned how to say "doughnut" which is tienne tienne chen. He said a few other words too. It is incredible to listen to him imitating my friend and her child. We sang songs in English too and read some books. After dinner we went down to the Grande Place for beers. Today we had Baby Time and it was quite busy with the visiting grandparents and the video taping that went on. I think the children got over excited so the lesson seemed a little crazy! After we went for dinner at Quick Burger and Frunty enjoyed playing with the balls. Daddy scared a little Japanese baby by trying to do high fives! It was funny actually. Then afterwards we visited K and E for cookies and tea and brought Mowgli over. He will be staying with them for the weekend so we wanted him to have a little visit tonight. He was good as gold. We are off...to visit friends...in...AMSTERDAM!



Tomorrow we will get ready for our weekend. Everyday this week has been absolutely glorious with blues skies and everything blooming. Just beautiful so for sure we will take time to enjoy the ducks and the park tomorrow and play outside too. I can always pack while Frunty is snoozing!