Bugfinder

Bugfinder!What can you do when you find a little critter near your home and suddenly you get curious about what you found? Sometimes it can be very nice to investigate a little more and find out a little more about the bug you found. Lots of little animals have very positive properties and most of them would never hurt a human. Some of them are beautiful, and some have a important role then you might realize.

At Naturalis I contributed to the creation of the Bugfinder app (Dierenzoeker, for now only in Dutch). This fun free app is made for Android and iPhone. You can use the app to find out what bug you found and read all about it. The app is easy to use, made specifically for children from 7 to 11 years, but also very nice for all adults.

Ladybug!If you always wanted to find out what the strange yellow ladybug you sometimes find in the garden really is? After a little searching you will find out all about the little bug, including the fun fact that the little animal ‘plants’ his own crops.

With 300 little bugs and critters for sure you will be able to name a lot of the animals you find around your home.

School

Alex in uniform!
All new things are difficult and even more so when you’re just two years old and suddenly find yourself in a strange new environment called a school. Yesterday Alex went to school for the first time in his life. Only for one and a half hour and in his new school uniform, but it gave him quite a scare. He left the school crying.

Today it was even worse. Crying even more and vomiting all because of the stress of being in a very new situation. Lets hope he adapts soon.

Poor boy!

Geocache

Geocache!Geocaching is a hobby that really has two sides to it. One is hiding something and publishing the location and some hints on where to find it on the geocaching website. The other part is going out to find hidden caches. There are really a lot of caches out there and almost certain in Holland you’ll find one close near your location. To find a cache you can use your phone or a gps receiver and search for the published coordinates.

Last week I went to search for my first caches and it was quite fun! Some caches are hard to find because they are very small or well hidden but others are much easier. It is nice to go somewhere you normally would not venture. At some caches you can leave your name, or make a trade of some small item inside.

2 years

Today we celebrate. Our little Alex is already two years. Time flies and Alex is growing very fast. He is doing well and so are we. Since April I have been in living in Holland so I was far away, but we have good hopes that we well be reunited in the near future. Right now we’ll have to settle with seeing each other online almost every day so out family keeps in touch.

Alex experienced another year of great advancements. During his first birthday he was still crawling through the house. Now he is running, climbing, jumping, talking in Spanish and Dutch with quite a few words, drinking his own milk and even sometimes peeing on his potty.

We are very proud of our little boy and while we can only imagine a fantastic next year we are sure Alex will surprise us again and again. We are looking forward to the next year but first today we celebrate.

For the occasion we have a very nice video of Alex singing the Spanish version of “Happy Birthday” which is called “Cumpleaños feliz”. The text is easy:

Cumpleaños feliz
cumpleaños feliz
te deseamos todos
cumpleaños feliz.

Alex made a little addition at the end. He end with a nice “Ya esta”, which means “Done”.

Cut short

Cut short!
Alex once again had a haircut, resulting in a nice short hairdo. According to his mother he now looks even more like his father, which of course it way to much credit for me. Still it is undeniable that he is a very good looking kid.

It is already the second time Alex’ hair is cut, and this time he knew it would be painless. He kept smiling while his hair was cut.

Cement tank

Cement tank!
It is truly fantastic to see a little kid enjoying himself so thoroughly. His can only lead to a very good feeling for the people around him. Weeks after Alex’ visit to Holland there were still kids coming by asking for him.

On the potty

Potty!A few days ago we had a little celebration. Alex indicated all by himself that he needed to pee, and after getting his potty he sat down and peed away. Mommy and daddy were o so proud, but Alex himself was even more impressed. Halfway he got up and started running through the room while cheering and continuing to pee.

Again we see another step taken by Alex towards his adulthood. He is still developing very very fast and we all wonder what will be his next big advance.

Popular

Alex his mother sometimes mentions that there are quite a large number of differences in the Dutch and Spanish culture. In Spain we cannot cross the street with Alex without hearing compliments and remarks about Alex. Here in Holland we hear absolute silence. No compliments, no remarks, nothing.

Until yesterday when there was an event that left us speechless. Two little girls rang the front door bell. They were around 10 years, and they only asked about Alex. They wanted to know if he was coming out to play. He was asleep, but when I told the girls that after his sleep he would probably go out and play they left very happy. Ana and I were baffled. Alex’ not even two years old, and already the girls are seeking him out. It did however leave me with a proud feeling.

The Spanish-Dutch timetable

Alex - Water fountain!
After just one week in Holland the changes we notice in little Alex are quite big.

He has adopted to a Dutch timetable very fast. He goes to bed much earlier, he wakes up more early and his daily routine has changed a lot. Normally Alex would start to show signs of being tired around 10 or 11 o clock at night. but now he falls profoundly asleep at 8.

It´s not really clear what is causing the change. Maybe its the Dutch light, or the climate of because we are are doing more activities, or maybe it’s just because Alex sees a lot of people around him all with different timetables.