For Alex his first birthday his grandparents came to visit. At first Alex needed some time to adopt but he quickly adapted and got very comfortable.
Quick acceptance
1
1 year
The last year has really been fantastic. It all started exactly one year ago when suddenly I had to hurry and take a plane to Madrid. Alex was being delivered a few weeks early. When I arrived in the hospital I was the first person that could get close to Alex and touch his just a bit. That night we spend together skin-on-skin. Alex was sleeping and I had a body full of adrenaline and a mind filled with emotion.
The first few days were though. We needed to get used to each other. Getting used to our stay in a hospital and getting used to huge numbers of visitors each with their own recommendations. For Ana it was even worst because she needed to recover from her c section and a few months later her gall bladder needed to be removed. Luckily afterwards things went a lot better.
Alex was so small. I can hardy imagine it right now. He was so very small. In one year he grew a tremendous amount. Both physically and emotionally.
Then
Weight: 2.5 kilo
Eyes: Dark blue
Teeth: 0
Now
Weight: 10 kilo
Eyes: Clear blue with some green shades
Teeth: 6
The year passed like a freight train and Alex developed incredibly fast and this is something we love to celebrate. Alex is crawling through our house at very high speeds. He laughs, plays with us, he stands up, eats a lot of things and is still growing very fast. We are curious to see what happens with Alex the next year but undoubtedly it will be a very educational year for both Alex and ourselves.
Glasses and a kid
Well, this is what you get with en enthusiastic kid, a stone floor and a father wearing glasses. Luckily I had the foresight to get me a set of spare glasses and contact lenses.
Moving
After living for quite a while in the green part of Las Palmas, Ciudad Gardin (right next to the worlds richest person, the owner of the IKEA) it became time to find a bigger place. Our new apartment is a bit more in the center of the city. The building is well knows as the old x-rated theater but now the building is change to have nice spacy apartments in the center of the city. We now have a garage and a lot of shops nearby.
Alex is very excited because of the move. He is very enthusiastic and sleeps with difficulty. For sure this new found source of energy is because he is now noticing a lot of moving activity around him. He now has two weeks to settle down in his new home and then there will be a big party. His first birthday!!!
Swimming (2)
Things are going very well with Alex and his swimming lessons. He looks like he is enjoying his time in the water and he doesn’t cry anymore, not even if he is suddenly submerges.
11 month checkup
Alex got another shot. He also had to go through a general checkup. He had grown a lot and he now had the following statistics:
- Weight: 9.130
- Height: 73 cm
- Head: 45,7 cm
From now on we can and should add tuna, sardines and avocados and egg to his diet. We also have to give him more chunky food so he can use his teeth a little. Just after his shot he cried a little, but he soon forgot about his trauma. Right after the checkup we went swimming, and it was the first time Alex was enjoying himself in the (pretty cold) water.
Without advertisements
For one year my website contained a small line of text with a small advertisement and now my website is ‘clean’ again. The advertisement that was added to my website was just this line added to one of my old posts:
For sure you know them. The peanuts you like to eat when watching tv, playing free online poker or just when drinking a beer in a bar.
The post was about growing a peanut plant. I made a little over one hundred euros. Easy money.
Learning how to swim
On our island the ocean is an important part of everyday life. Almost everyday we can relax on the beach and there is a wide variety of water related sports. Swimming, sailing, surfing, snorkeling, diving, etc. It is important to have confidence near or in the water and for this reason were going to go to a nearby pool with Alex to take some ‘swimming’ lessons.
Alex is probably to young to learn how to swim, but at least he´ll be able to get used to the water. This week we already threw little Alex with his little swimsuit and little cap, right into the deep pool. What a scare!
Ikea meal
Today we have a nice Swedish dish on the menu:
- Köttbullar with sylt lington
- Potatisstärkelse with a nice gräddsas sauce
Thanks to (our neighbor) the local IKEA we are going Swedish today. It sure looks tasty.
1.500 Euro destroyed
15.000 colored coins. This was the eventual number of the orange colored lucky dime. A dime that really wasn’t very lucky if you look at the recent results of the Dutch football team.
During this sale of colored coins the Dutch Royal Mint invalidated/destroyed coins with a total value of 1.500 Euros. These 1.500 Euros they colored, packaged and sold for (1.500 x 4.95 = ) 75.250 Euros. A nice profit.
Now we wait. We wait to see that the next release by the Dutch Royal Mint will be. Will they continue with coloring parts of the coins they release or will they finally realize that colored coins are still a gray area in regard to the law and when considering coin collectors.