Gramma and Grampa are here and we are having a fabulous time. They have gone off with Daddy to buy geraniums to fill our flower boxes front and back. Frunty is at school, enjoying being back after an almost one month holiday. (sick and then Easter holidays, then trip to Turkey) Pet is sleeping. Doggie is recovering from a liver problem still to be determined. So I have a moment to try to catch up.

Gramma and Grampa enjoyed a one week holiday in Germany before joining us here in Brussels. The day after their arrival we all flew down to Bodrum, Turkey. We were supposed to leave Easter Monday but the flight got canceled, not enough travelers. So we left on Saturday and were thrilled with the extra days which we wanted anyway. A few days before our trip, we found out that our hotel was not ready. Later we visited it and found it to be in unprepared for guests. We were very lucky because we ended up being upgraded to an amazing, five star resort called Samara in Torba. They tried to give us another resort at first but we researched and discovered it to be stroller unfriendly. Then they tried to put us in an excellent hotel but in the middle of the city of Bodrum. After many phone calls and sticking to my guns, I got them to give us Samara which was beautiful.

When they say here, "ce n'est pas possible", they cannot be believed. If you keep to a friendly way of asking, you generally receive! So anyway, we had a fantastic time. Highlights were the day trip we organized ourselves to the ruins of Ephesus. We also really enjoyed relaxing by the ocean while receiving massages by a wandering masseus named Doctor Oz. Grampa and I made daily trips to the Turkish bath in the latter part of the afternoon while Gramma and Daddy bathed the kids before dinner. Besides being scrubbed, we were massaged during and after the Turkish bath. It is an experience everyone should try...if you like steam and having cold and hot water poured over you and bubbles splashed onto you and someone scrubbing you with a rough glove!

Baby crying gotta go!

Since I last wrote, Peauteau's nickname has changed twice. Frunty started to call his baby brother "Bellyfete" which he said was French for something. I forget but will ask him tomorrow. Then it became and is today, "Pet" which Frunty says is French for "bone". It is very cute and the thing is, Peauteau answers to these names.

We went to our friends' today for a play date and two things happened. Pet tried to go up the stairs so I took pictures of his first attempt to climb stairs and secondly, R was talking to me and Pet turned to look at her and she asked him a question and he responded, "yah". It was very clear and very adorable.

Yesterday Frunty tripped in our home while carrying his wooden boat from the movie "Madagascar". It is really from Hema, the Dutch shop. Anyway, he knocked his tooth...again. (when he was 1.5 he broke it at the shopping mall while running in his oversized boots bought in Luxembourg.) This time, no shoes or socks or running but unfortunately, bonk. We took him a few hours later to the dentist, our wonderful Dr. Michiels, and the tooth is loose and may fall out in the next few weeks. We will go for "controls" at the beginning of May to see how things are going. Hopefully no damage to the adult tooth or to the roots...Frunty is walking around with a fat lip as well and over top, he holds a little cloth for drooling on. It is a pretty sad sight. He has been sitting most of the day on the couch watching Bob the Builder and I was quite happy when he agreed to go to R's to play. He's calling me, gotta go.

Peauteau loves putting things into a bag or box and then taking them back out again and then putting them back in...over and over. It is so fun to watch him do this and the little mouth he makes, so full of concentration. He also likes to shake his head indicating "no"...we don't really know if he knows what it signifies or not but it looks cute and we all start shaking our heads too. He loves watching his brother too and playing games with him and if Frunty tries to push him a bit, Peauteau will squeal and stand his ground very well. They don't fight yet but sometimes try to grab the same thing.

Peauteau loves eating little pieces of food and only wants me to feed him applesauce. I have done a lot of experimenting, let me tell you. I really enjoyed the puree stage though! He will let his brother feed him though and it is adorable to watch. Frunty does a great job. Peauteau loves pulling Frunty's hair and Frunty rubs his head on P's stomach making him laugh so hard. Yesterday Frunty threw something down the stairs outside. Although I don't agree with throwing things, Peauteau laughed so hard, it was worth it. I mean, it was such a fantastic and beautiful chuckle. Hard as I try, I can't get him to laugh like that. Only his brother can!

The woman with the cats moved out so our backyard is no longer a toilet. I can't make it into a play area though because it is so wet that it looks like a trench. The cigar-smoking man moved out too complaining of humidity. He only lasted a couple of weeks though, thank goodness, as those hideous cigars were stinking up our home too. Now they seem to be doing something to the roof back there which only bothers our dog. I wonder who will be silly enough to move in there next and I wonder why these people don't try to ask us questions before signing a 9 year contract. You'd think they'd ask neighbours/tenants questions...

Last week, Peauteau started spitting out his purees. Well, he didn't spit out the homemade applesauce I guess because it is too yummy to have dribbled down onto his bib. I thought that he didn't like his "dinner" purees but cut up some steamed veggies and discovered that he wanted to feed himself. I didn't really think much of it until I read a mom's comment below and then realized that Peauteau has reached a milestone...at 8.5 months old. Tonight he had sweet potato/reg. potato/fish/banana/apple all in little chunks which he really enjoyed eating. He does not use his "pincers" all the time, sometimes he just grabs it and puts his fist(s) into his mouth. He is so cute. He lets me feed him yogourt though but often tries to grab the spoon which he has been doing for more than a month. I guess we are moving along then really well and he wants to feed himself which is fine with me.

"As early as 10 months, my son would reach for the spoon as I fed him. By 11 months, he refused to be fed by spoon, and would only eat if he could pick up the food with his fingers (or make a lucky attempt with a spoon himself). I take all this as a sign of his independence, and am grateful for the help at mealtimes!"

I took the boys to a music class today run by a Polish woman which was fun and I will continue to take Peauteau when we are in the city. Frunty had the day off from school and that is why he joined us. He really enjoyed it and so next time he has a school holiday on a Friday, I will take him as well. Afterwards we stopped by our friend's for a chat before coming home to finish working on our gingerbread house to take to our afternoon playdate at our French friend's home. S is Frunty's classmate at school and her mom invited a few other moms/kids over. It was a lovely time.

I realized just now that I haven't written for about two weeks or more, actually. Well, we have been enjoying Nonno's visit and went to Aachen, Germany to the Carolus Thermen and had fun at a mardi gras parade. Now Nonno is in Italy and will visit us again in two weeks.

Peauteau got his second tooth today. Frunty ran over to me in the kitchen and told me about it. He was very excited for his little brother. I had been checking often and wondering why the naps were short lately. The tooth broke the gum and now Peauteau is having a really long, afternoon nap...he must be exhausted!

I got a new (barely used) stroller today! I have been wanting a double so that I can easily get around with my two, little guys. I know that Frunty can easily walk but in certain situations, I want them both strapped into a stroller together. (ie. airports) So now I have a nice, new, light stroller, and I am thrilled about it. Yes, that takes my fleet up to 5 so I may try to get rid of 1 although I am not in any rush because each stroller serves a purpose although the three wheel Bebe confort is a bit heavy. (it was good though when Peauteau was tiny because of the attachable bassinette.)