This past week Tony's Aunt Jean, Uncle Craig, and cousins Alex and AJ visited us in Brussels. We had a wonderful time, and they took day trips to Ghent and Amsterdam, in addition to visiting museums and other sights in Brussels and London (from where they arrived and departed Europe). Grayson LOVED playing with everyone (he could say their names pretty well by the time they left!).
AJ and Alex at Brussels' Grand Place6 Wonderful Years!
This month Tony and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary with a trip to London to see the musical Mary Poppins. Grayson stayed in Brussels with one of our wonderful babysitters and was just fine, though VERY happy to see us when we got home!
Mommy and Grayson backpack through ParisA few weekends ago Tony had to go to the U.S. on business, so Grayson and I packed a backpack and headed to Paris for the weekend. We traveled budget-style, staying in a simple hotel and eating ham and cheese Crepes (which are fabulous, by the way) for meals. We walked all over the Left Bank, visiting the Eiffel Tower, the gardens at the Rhodin Museum (we saw "The Thinker"!), Napoleon's tomb, the Musee D'Orsay, the Luxemborg Gardens, and taking a river boat ride on the Seine.
It may sound like a rather grown-up trip, but we spent lots of time at the playground in the Luxembourg Gardens, riding the carousel near the Eiffel Tower, and eating ice cream! In fact, our last stop before leaving was McDonald's (Grayson wanted french fries and Mommy wanted a place with a high chair). Getting around by ourselves wasn't too bad - many very kind Parisians helped me carry Grayson in his stroller up and down the cement stairs in the Metro stations.
Yum - a banana nutella crepe from Ulysses on the Rue Cler
The gardens at the Rhodin Museum
Paris, from Grayson's point of view
Grayson's favorite painting at the Musee D'Orsay (The Turkeys at Montgeron, painted by Monet in 1877) (he kept yelling "Mommy - Chickens!")
My travelling buddy and me
Ramblings
So most of these blog posts are of photos of Grayson or places we've visited, but after 7 months of living here I felt like doing some rambling about life.
Potty Training. We are in the midst of potty training. In order for Grayson to go to a Belgian preschool in September (he'll be 2 1/2), he must be potty trained! After weeks of him wanting nothing to do with it, he's finally getting into it. The key for us? Throwing out the little potty and 
letting him do it by himself on the big potty. When it's time to go, he runs into the bathroom, yells "OUT" and "SELF" (meaning "get out - I do it myself"), pulls off his pull-up or underpants by himself, climbs onto the big potty, does his business, then flushes by himself. Today we're heading out to buy him more pairs of underpants (which he loves) so that we can switch to them full time. Wish us luck! So far he's only had a couple of accidents in underpants, so we're heading in the right direction, but I don't want to jinx it!
letting him do it by himself on the big potty. When it's time to go, he runs into the bathroom, yells "OUT" and "SELF" (meaning "get out - I do it myself"), pulls off his pull-up or underpants by himself, climbs onto the big potty, does his business, then flushes by himself. Today we're heading out to buy him more pairs of underpants (which he loves) so that we can switch to them full time. Wish us luck! So far he's only had a couple of accidents in underpants, so we're heading in the right direction, but I don't want to jinx it!I was pick-pocketed! I guess it had to happen sooner or later - while riding a tram someone managed to pull my wallet out of my backpack. I didn't notice until later in the evening when I couldn't find it (but still wasn't convinced it was gone). An hour later a woman showed up at my door with my wallet. At first I felt a huge sense of relief, until I saw that it was empty except for my and Grayson's Belgian ID's. The thief had taken my credit cards, ATM cards, insurance cards, Georgia Driver's License, gym membership card, an IKEA store credit, and the small amount of cash I happened to have in it (maybe 10 euros in coins). Anyway, it was a huge relief that the Belgian IDs were still there - it took 6 months to get them, and likely would have taken just as long to get them replaced.
Oh to drive again! After 7 months of relying exclusively on buses, trams, trains, the subway, the occasional taxi, and lots of walking, we have finally decided to get a car! For the first 4 or 5 months living here I didn't want one. I loved walking everywhere, and figuring out the bus and tram systems was actually fun. But eventually I got used to my close-in surroundings, and started to get the itch to venture out. So I did - by bus. Grayson and I enrolled in The Little Gym, a mommy and me gymnastics program that was started in the U.S. and is similar to Gymboree, which we loved in Atlanta. The closest Little Gym is in Waterloo, a 45 minute bus ride! But we did it, and realized there is more outside our little world that we'd like to enjoy. I also finally joined the American Women's Club, which is about a 30 minute bus ride. The more and more I took these long bus rides, the more and more I longed for a car. So - - we started looking and we found one. I told Tony I'd drive anything, even a teeny tiny 2-seater Smart Car (they look like toys!). Fortunately, we found something a little bit bigger (not much, though), and in an automatic (rare in Europe, but there was no way I was learning to drive a stick in an unfamiliar place!). It's a Volkswagon Polo hatchback, and we're still in the process of getting it, but hope to have it in the next week or so. Then I will be able to go to IKEA without having to take a 30 euro taxi ride, or 2 subways and a tram!!!
Homesickness. I know that from all the photos our life here may seem idyllic, but there are definitely some downsides. The number one downside for me is homesickness. Mostly for friends and family - my Tuesday playgroups, my lunch buddies, my shopping buddies, my work friends, our neighborhood friends, our church friends, our family which wasn't THAT far away in Florida. But also for "the familiar," which is a hard concept to describe. It's the feeling you get when you walk into Starbucks, get your vente latte, and sit in a comfy chair and read a U.S. paper or magazine for a half hour or so. It's turning on the TV and having several shows to choose from, not just CNN International (which, by the way, focuses very little on U.S. news) or re-runs of Grey's Anatomy dubbed into French or Dutch. The "little things" I miss most that either don't exist here or are very rare:
* Starbucks
* The Gap, Ann Taylor, and Bloomingdales
* American TV and radio stations
* American holidays (Thanksgiving, for example, and the over-the-top way that we celebrate Christmas)
* High chairs in restaurants (only a few here have them, like McDonalds and a couple of sandwich shops)
* Flavored coffee
* Borders
* Bagels
* Artificial sweetener
* Skim milk
* Stop signs (here you just slow down at each intersection, hold your breath, and PRAY)
So enough ramblings about my homesickness. . . there are lots of things that are different here that I love (for example, I've made some awesome new friends and the food here rocks). And I talked Tony into spending 2 1/2 weeks in Atlanta in July. You can bet I'll be at Starbucks every day :)
Grayson's Funny Sayings
Grayson is talking more and more, which is really cool! He has some really cute sayings, such as:
"Sayen" (Grayson)
"Moose" (Milk)
"Fishing Pool" (Swimming Pool)
"Bow-wees" (Batteries)
"ree-see-am-dam" (Merci Madame)
"ree-see-coo-coo" (Merci beaucoup)
And every time he says "bye bye" to someone he follows it with "o-vwa" (au revoir).
We flew straight from Brussels to the island of Crete (about a 3 ½ hour flight). The landscape of Crete is very rocky and mountainous - like a desert in the middle of the sea. We spent two days unwinding, playing in the pool with Grayson, and soaking up the warm Mediterranean sun.
Perhaps the 2 most unflattering photos ever!
