Alex has reached his first half year! Six months have flown by with the speed of light.
Alex has grown from a tiny small baby to a big baby actively working to control his limbs and the discover and understand his little world. A little man that started life with just a few drops of milk every few hours and is now drinking entire bottles of milk, eating cereals and enjoying his fruit mixes thoroughly. Alex is a happy kid who likes to laugh and who can enjoy himself with his toys. He sometimes (loudly) claims the attention when he feels bored.
As parents we also experienced an impressive change. We got more secure as a family and we really got to know Alex perfectly. We can sense when he’s tired or when he’s hungry or when he wants to play. We help him to fall asleep and we try and introduce him to new experiences on a regular basis.
Sadly, this milestone in Alex’ life will be celebrated with a couple of injections. He will get three vaccinations today. Now so nice, but it’s all part of growing up. The good news is that probably this afternoon we can start with ‘real’ food. Finally he will get some nice vegetables and just plain warm food. Exactly how food should be!
The voice is an incredible instrument. Here an impressive example of the possibilities by 
Alex has finally discovered his dummy. It took five months in which he kept spitting out the little plastic thing but he has finally changed his mind. We hope his thumb will finally get some rest. According the pediatrician a plastic dummy is better than his thumb because of the bad effect the thumb has on the developing teeth. Still, it seems every so-called child expert has a different (contradictory) opinion.
The operation went well. Ana’s gallbladder was removed during an operation that took about two hours. During the operation it became clear Ana’s gall was very big, but still they managed to remove it through a small incision near her belly button. After the surgery Ana felt sick the entire day. A common after effect from the general anesthetic she endured. The next day she felt a lot better and even managed to walk around a little.
Tomorrow is the day. Ana will enter into surgery and they will remove her gall bladder. This afternoon Ana will be admitted in the hospital and tomorrow the operation will take place. If all goes well she will be allowed to go home the day after tomorrow. Afterwards she’ll need to take it easy for about 10 days and than she should be fine again.
More nicotine, more tar and more of everything for much less money. It’s a win-win situation. Mecanicos are a very cheap brand of cigarets from the Canary Islands and the price for a carton is less then 6 euros. This means you can get an entire carton of cigarets for a price that is less then what you pay for two packs in Holland. Too bad (?, not really) I don’t smoke.
In the first quarter of 2012 Spain needs to save 8,9 million euro. The government wants to reduce the deficit and does this by freezing the salaries of civil servants and higher taxes on income, savings and property.
A long time ago I was given the book ‘