Saying Goodbye and Packing Up

We've started saying our goodbyes, which is always hard to do. Especially when you've made such great friends.

Séverine had a dinner for us and she and Ana-Isabel presented me with a book of photos they put together entitled An American in Brussels. It chronicles (in French!) our lives together as friends over the last two years and is really amazing and touching.

With the husbands - Thibault, Tony, and Javier.

My tennis buddies had a lunch for me (that's Meghan and Emily in the back, then Amy and Rose in the front). They are an amazing group of American women living here in Brussels (except Amy, she's a proud Canadian) and I've loved getting to know them and learning such a fun game with them!

Abigail is our trusted babysitter. She loves Grayson and we love her. She has been my savior these past few days, taking Grayson to the park and the Quick (like a McDonalds) while I dealt with the moving chaos.

And Rich and Kelly - our friends from even before we arrived in Brussels - are letting us live with them in their house for 5 days while we finish up things here and wait for our flight. They have been awesome to us from start to finish. I'll add a picture after our goodbye dinner, which is tomorrow night.

Grayson thinks moving is fun!

My computer is getting packed up tomorrow morning, so au revoir for now. Below are pictures of what our apartment looked like at the end of the day today. Tomorrow everything will get loaded into the container and begin its 6 - 8 week journey across the Atlantic.

Papa George and Prima visit Brussels

Papa George and Prima were here this past week visiting Brussels, Bruges, and Paris, and now they're off to Italy to travel through Pisa, Florence and Venice. We had a great visit, and they enjoyed seeing Europe.

At Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread) - one of our favorite cafes in Brussels.

Buying cookies at the Wednesday market in our neighborhood.

Bathtime!

And did you know that Grayson loves edamame? When I ask him what he wants for dinner he yells SUSHI because that's where I buy the edamame for him ;)

Parisian Ponies and a Palace

Last weekend we went to Paris - our last trip before our big move and most likely our last trip to Paris as a family for a long time. We spent Saturday sightseeing and shopping, then Sunday touring Le Château de Versailles.

In the Tuileries Gardens Grayson went on a pony ride. First he petted the pony, to see if he was brave enough to ride.

Then he got on the pony, and while he liked the idea of riding the pony he still was a little timid.

But before we knew it he was waving "bye bye" Mommy and Daddy as he rode off.


Afterward, we rode the carousel.

A few times, as usual.

On Sunday we took the train to Versailles to tour the palace and its amazing gardens.

Here we are in the famous Hall of Mirrors.

This was Marie Antoinette's bed.

The gardens were filled with elaborate fountains.

And classical music played throughout.

Grayson, as you know, is a huge fan of fountains.

He also liked the swans.

Fieldtrip to the Farm

A few weeks ago Grayson's preschool went on a fieldtrip to a nearby farm. My baby is growing up - an actual fieldtrip! He had a great time, and for days afterward asked if he was going to the farm again.

Grayson goes to a little Montessori school that is bilingual French/English. There are 15 children in his class ranging in age from 3 - 5. One teacher speaks only French with the children, the other only English, and the director both.

When they first arrived at the farm, they spent some time making their own bread.

The children in Grayson's class are quite an international mix. Represented countries include the US, Britain, Germany, and Belgium.

Grayson loves his school and has lots of friends there. His teachers tell me that he has a lot of energy, but does a good job chanelling that energy toward the task at hand. They also tell me that he is very social. I believe it - he talks about his classmates all the time.

After they made bread, the children headed outside to visit the animals.

They fed carrots to the donkeys, and visited the sheep, horses, and chickens.