Jut’s head

I for one have never done it before. On the local fair there was an attraction where you need to hit a small iron thing with a big hammer. It is called “De kop van Jut”. If you hit it correctly a small piece of iron goes flying up, and the higher it reaches, the better you have hit it. The concept of this game has never quite appealed to me.

When Alex and I were checking out the fairground, a day before the opening, it was exactly this attraction that called for Alex’ attention. The attraction was still covered in some plastic, but after explaining how it worked Alex instantly knew he wanted to give it a go and it went first on his list of things to try. The concept of taking a big hammer and hitting something as hard as possible (or even harder) was something his fell in love with at the spot.

Eventually Alex took his first massive hit, the machine barely survived and all alarms went off and Alex loved every moment of it.

Antique picture

Time and more specifically light can significantly alter a picture hanging on the wall. In the Emmastraat there is just such a picture with two little Bergs. Myself and brother Bert, just about to enjoy a delicious birthday cake. De photo used to be a full color picture, and there are still some traces of color left, but it has become a very dull picture indeed.

I wanted to improve the picture because I had noticed that the little Bert in the picture has a huge resemblance to own very own little Alan. Still, for a good comparison we need a good picture.

Before: After:

Alex 6 years!

Alex jarig 6!6 years already. Time really does fly. Alex will have to attend school legally soon. His first tooth is loose, and now also his birthday. Most of Alex’ friends were abroad on holidays so Alex wanted to go with his remaining friend Miguel to the Elder science museum, followed by a delicious happy meal. Afterwards at home we had a great party with lots of gifts.

Godfather and religion

The force!The official role of a godfather or godmother is to educate their godson about religion. Ana and I both attended a catholic school, but still the faith in a god is not really part of our lives. In fact, we really don’t believe. Even though belief is not really part of our lives we still baptized our sons Alex and Alan. In part for the family and in part for the attached celebration.

The godfather of Alex is Miguel, and he found the perfect way to educate Alex in religion. Not the normal old fashioned way, but through stories and games. A bit like how the bible tries to teach us religion through multiple stories. During his last visit Miguel explained the entire Star Wars saga and they plays hours on end with a fun star wars game. You might wonder what that has to do with religion, but that’s covered.

Big and healthy

Alan 18 maanden!Alan has visited the doctor for his shots. They also gave him a quick review and everything was okay.

He is big for his age, but his weight is perfect, his size is perfect and basically everything is how its supposed to be. He is a smart little guy, eating very well, moving a lot and very very stimulated (by his big brother Alex).

Alex in concert

Today we enjoyed another concert by Alex. It took place in the “club Nautico” of Las Palmas. The song that was performed was called “Las Abejas” (the bees), and it went very well.

Movie or picture

Sometimes I find myself with a dilemma. Do I grab a movie, or is it better to shoot some pictures. A difficult choice at times and in Leeds I made the wrong choice. I made lots of pictures, and only a short movie of a wonderful micro-concert by our own Alex.

Alans first year

Alan - 1 year!Alan is getting bigger and bigger. He is already one year and that called for a celebration with cake, presents and lots of attention for little Alan.

His first year passed fast. He is already almost walking and is crawling through the house at record speeds. He has learned to point at things he wants and he laughs when he acts as if he want to give you something and when you try to take it he will quickly take it away for your grasp.

The difference between our two kids are physically not so big. They look very similar but the difference in character could not be bigger. Alan is stubborn, does only what he wants to do, and convincing him to do something takes a lot of effort. With Alex this was a lot easier. Alex never put his finger in a wall-socket, but Alan went straight for the wall-socket at the moment he could crawl just to put his finger in.