Brothers

Shot this yesterday afternoon during a particularly sweet exchange between the boys. Sebastian is very chatty already and as you can see, Zander is fascinated with him.

Meanwhile, back at the zoo...

Zander may have a new little brother, but Sebastian isn't the only show in town. In fact, we have a baby elephant in the house as well.

But before he was born...

Sorry to go backwards for a moment, but who doesn't like to see a big belly?

Zander was a good big brother, even back then. I am fairly positive you could have confused me with the broad side of a barn, but hey, that's what happens when you're pregnant.

That said, I was lucky enough to be part of a pregnancy article in the Middle East edition of Shape magazine (which means I couldn't have been quite as rotund as I think I was). Not only was I in a photo shoot, I also got to review two amazing mom-to-be spa treatments. There are perks to being pregnant and in publishing!

Here I am at 6 months pregnant, demonstrating the sideways lunge. In a surprising turn of events, I am also demonstrating what happens when a make up artist gets a bit over zealous with eye shadow and blusher...

Introducing Sebastian

Here he is, TL2 in the flesh. Sebastian was born on the afternoon of April 25th, making him exactly two years and one month younger than his big brother.

As with Zander, I was induced when I had Sebastian, but thankfully instead of 16 hours of labor he arrived after only four hours -- and only three big pushes. It was a much smoother process than the first time around, and I was up and taking a shower within two hours of giving birth.

Zander, Tonny (Bas' mom) and Leizl (our nanny) came to the hospital that evening, and immediately Zander was intrigued by his little brother.

For those of you keeping track, this is the same hat Zander wore on the day he went home from the hospital. And both of them seem to have a mutual dislike of the beanie. Oh well. Mama thinks it is cute.

How does a year pass so quickly?

More than a year has passed since I chased Zander around his room with my mobile phone, hoping to finally show off his prowess in the walking department. As they say, we've come a long way, baby.

Our little man will be two tomorrow, which just doesn't seem possible. Zander is growing into a joyful, silly and wonderful kid. He has a wicked sense of humor and loves to tease (especially his mother).

The past year has been a busy one for Zander. Besides embarking on a 3-week road trip around Europe (Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany), he has learned the fine art of charming everyone he meets. His current passions include trucks ("doot doots"), music (particularly Big Band/Swing and um, Radiohead) and story time.

But these days, he's got something else to get excited about. You see, he's about to be a big brother. Yes, I realize that when I was pregnant with Zander I completely forgot to update our blog until a mere month or so before he was born. And this time around...I've done the same thing. Chalk it up to being busy or prenatal porridge brain -- either way, at least I'm predictable.

Zander is particularly fond of my belly. The bigger it gets, the more Zander likes to give my bump a friendly pat whenever it passes him by. And most of the time when I ask him to kiss his baby brother, I get a nice kiss on my navel. I've never seen a kiddo who is so ready to be a big brother!

TL2 (the in-utero name of our soon to be born son) is due to make his appearance in late April/early May. Watch this space for updates. No, really!

Zander, a hairbrush and a tour of his room

Apologies if you've already seen this on Facebook. But I am very excited to share this video of Zander on the move!

So its been a little while...

So here's Zander. He's nearly 1 now and I'm just getting around to updating the blog. Sorry, people. Why didn't anyone tell me that being a parent and working full time was a lot of work?!

You may notice that our son looks nothing like me. Sigh. Except for his light brown eyes, he is essentially a clone of his father. Which is good, because I think he's pretty attractive. :)


Well, some updates. About two weeks ago I had my back turned for a split second and when I turned around again Zander was racing across the room after our cat, Eliot. Running, mind you, not walking or crawling. After months of having mama, papa or Gima holding his hand, apparently Z was ready to try this two-legged forward motion thing on his own.

Since then he has only gotten better. He does what my sister calls a "Frankenstein Walk", with his arms straight up in the air while he toddles around the apartment with one of us chasing him to make sure he doesn't blind or otherwise injure himself.

Some kids seem to be pretty timid, but our little man likes nothing more than being hung upside down, tossed around in the air and "dropped" (though I promise that he is safely held by a parent at all times). I've actually started calling him Danger Mouse because really, the kid isn't scared of anything.

A few weeks ago he was standing in his room, holding his papa's hand and he raised his arm in my direction and said, "Mama!" First word and all, so that was exciting. A week later he did the same thing for his dad. And then this week he looked in Eliot's direction and said "Ehhyaa." So with the exception of Gima, the main personalities in his life are now accounted for. Gima keeps trying, though.

As for Zander's parents, Bas' company is growing and thriving, and while he's still on the road with some regularity he is also home quite a lot -- which makes everyone happy.

I am also very busy at work, though we have a few weeks of quiet time after several intense months of utter insanity. In a few days the ter Laares are taking advantage of the lull, though, and heading to a resort about an hour away for a week of well-deserved R&R.

After that, of course, we have some serious celebrating to do: Gramma Carol comes to town to celebrate her grandson's first birthday! Bas' mom is here with some regularity (in fact, she was just here a week ago, and a good time was had by all), but this will be my mom's first trip outside of America. Everyone is very excited and we have some fun surprises in store for her.
Sorry for the unbelievably long delay between posts. Will try to update again soon!

Catching up with Jack and Shirlee

One of the great things about living in Dubai is that you become friends with people from all over the world. So naturally two of our closest friends are from Idaho! They moved back to the States a year and a half ago and we were so excited to spend a few days with them during our trip.


They brought a trailer up to the mountains, so we would meet up every day for breakfast around the fire (with watermelon juice!), hikes and daytrips! I didn't realize the good folks of Ketchum, Idaho, needed such large chairs, but apparently the town is home to giants.


But besides large accomodation for their backsides, Ketchum residents also spend a fair amount of time shopping. The boys sit outside yet another boutique waiting for the girls to finish window shopping.

Road Trip!

After two years away from the States it was time to hit the road with Zander. We drove from Billings to meet our friends Jack and Shirlee in Stanley, Idaho, and marveled at all the scenery along the way.


Check it out! No sand and not a camel in sight!


This was the glorious view from Jack and Shirlee's camping spot on Red Fish Lake. I'd almost forgotten that the outdoors could be like this!


Now, you may be wondering how the little guy did while traveling so long (Google Maps said our trip should take 8 hours). Considering that it actually took 10 hours and Bas and I both had completed frazzled nerves by the time we got there, let's just say Zander would rather travel 31 hours between continents than sit for any serious length of time in the backseat of the car.

I did manage to capture him during one of his rare siestas. Here's hoping that next time he's stuck in the car he'll be a bit more pleasant to be around!

Cousins and Grandparents, oh my!

One of the coolest parts of our trip was introducing Zander to his big cousin Evey. They were pretty taken with one another, and Grampa Doug and Gramma Kathy also seem to be enjoying themselves.


Notice Zander's Missoula duds. Is this a subtle way of luring us back to the Big Sky State?

Grampa Jose

When you have as many grandparents as Zander you almost need a scorecard to keep everyone straight. But the good news is he is spoiled with folks who love him! And as you can see, Zander is a fan of his Grampa Jose.

I can't quite see the resemblance, but maybe Zander's skin will eventually start to match his mom and grandpa!

Line 'em up and shoot 'em down

Lest you think our blog is solely devoted to our big-eyed little boy, check out my sharp shooting husband:

In case you're wondering what he's aiming at, those three white specs in the distance are plastic gallon jugs filled with water. Next to them is one of mom's flower beds...

James Bond has nothing on Bas!

With yet another fire arm, Bas and Joe get ready to shoot up more unsuspecting, innocent milk jugs.

Small town American 4th of July

Ah, the 4th. Parades, super soakers, mardi gras necklaces, taco dip and ice cream...okay, maybe our Independence Day celebrations in Laurel, MT are a bit unique. Doesn't matter, though, because a certain someone finally got a taste of the red, white and blue.

Just in case you can't read the sign in red, it says "How's that hope and change working out for you?" I love America!
An entire row of tractors made up a significant portion of the parade! Fantastic!

Gramma Carol is obviously an old hand at the 4th of July -- and this isn't Bas' first time, either.

Auntie T rocks it out.

Aren't we the picture of the American dream?

Zander saddles up

It may have been his first time in Montana but based on his clearly natural horse riding ability you would never know it! Here, Zander shows off his skills to Gramma Carol.

This is the "Ooooh Face," which has expressed extreme excitement, delight and/or curiousity since the day Zander was born. The horse definitely ranks in terms of all three!

All in all, Montana had some pretty cool stuff to offer its newest son!

Our Little Rock Star

When we got home from work this evening we found ourselves sharing our home with this cute little rock star. We didn't realize it but apparently Zander has developed quite a following among the inhabitants of Uptown Mirdif: Gima takes him for a walk every day and I guess he gets a lot of compliments, so today she got him dressed to impress.

In Gima's words, "Everyone appreciates his nice outfits." I mean, seriously? How could you not?!

Thanks, Uncle Joost, for the cool shoes!

A nanny AND a stylist! Gima is the real deal!