Wittle Star

There are moments when the 2-year-old irrationality, stubborness, and independence subside and a calm, intelligent kid emerges (do I dare hope this is a glimpse of what the 3's will be like?). Last night while eating dinner we had one of those moments, so I grabbed my video camera.

He can be sooooo charming . . . when he wants to be.

Disneyland Paris - Part II

Look who was at Disneyland!

First Grayson whispered "I'm Grayson"

Then he whispered "I want a fire truck"

Then he bravely climbed up on Santa's lap for a photo

Then, he let Mommy and Daddy join in.

And after we said bye bye to Santa and walked away, Grayson kept looking back at Santa and started to sweetly whine "where's my firetruck."

Candy apple and Mickey balloon - Mommy and son are both pretty content

Daddy's shoulders are best for watching parades

I took a turn, but not for long, this 2-year-old is getting awfully heavy!

Dumbo was such a hit with Mommy, Grayson had to take a ride with Daddy


We popped over to the Walt Disney Studios park to ride the kid rides, including Alladin's magic carpet. There are no monorails here, the parks are all about a 5 minute walk apart.

And Daddy and Grayson rode the Lightning McQueen ride - they looked way too much like the teacups ride at Disney so I took a pass. Too many bad experiences on those teacups.

At the end of our trip we went back to the hotel for tea before driving back to Brussels. That's the view of Disneyland from the hotel window. Again, no monorails, your hotel is right at the park's entrance.

Peeka . . .

Boo!

Disneyland Paris - Part I

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - Tony claims his favorite is Christmas, but for me I love the food and the family and the warmth that comes with Thanksgiving. So living outside of the U.S. on Thanksgiving can be a bit depressing. Here it is just another day, so we wanted to get away and do something fun.

We considered trips to Venice, Italy or Provence, France, but in the end we decided we were a bit worn out of European travel and mostly wanted to do something fun that felt like the U.S. So . . . we went to Disneyland Paris!

When we first arrived at the park - there was Mickey! Grayson was a little bit shy, but walked right up to him anyway.

Though he was so overwhelmed he still wouldn't lift up his head


He quickly warmed up to Mickey and gave him a kiss before leaving

Then, a mini parade came by!







Riding the horsies

At dinner, Grayson sees someone special coming!

It's Donald!

And Tigger!

And Mickey! We're not as shy now

Stay tuned - there's more to come from Disney!

Roaaaaaaar like a Tiger

Today we went to a Holiday Bazaar for the American Women's Club of Brussels and Grayson (surprise) wanted to get his face painted - - like a Tiger!

Baby Auxence

My friend, Séverine, had a little boy, Auxence, a couple of weeks ago. It is a French tradition for the family to host a champagne party in celebration of the birth, so we happily joined them for a fun evening.

Ana-Isabel with daughter Valentina, Me with new big sister Castalie, and Sév with new baby Auxence

I met Séverine during the first month that I lived in Brussels. Grayson and I were eating lunch at a very busy cafe when this very fashionable young woman asked if she could sit in the open seat next to Grayson. I said yes, though I thought she was crazy - she'd be covered in food before she left. It turned out she was searching for an apartment as she and her husband and daughter were moving to Brussels from Paris. She moved to Brussels and we've been great friends ever since! I could not have survived living here without her, and also Ana-Isabel who I met through Grayson's first little school.

We Miss Football!

Though we still watch the Gator games from time to time on our computer a day late - it helps a little!

The Children's Museum

One rainy Sunday afternoon we decided to go to the Children's Museum in Brussels (Le Musée Des Enfants). It was a nice change to say to Grayson "go touch everything" - how often do you get to do that in a Museum, especially in Europe.

That's a knee, and Grayson is using white blood cells to "fix" its many boo boos

Listening to a heartbeat

Playing with a choo choo - it had something to do with teaching kids about cell formation, but the explanation was only in French and Flemish so we only understood a little

Fishing with Daddy

Climbing

Coloring in China

Our monkey is a little monkey

Painting