Sinterklaas

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Sinterklaas!Finally, the perfect evening has arrived. It is our first traditional Dutch Sinterklaas evening that we celebrate with Alex. Although Alex does not yet seem te realise what is going on. This way it’s a good general rehearsal where we can figure out what areas we are lacking in order to improve in the coming years.

The Sint has already been notified that Alex has been a very good boy this year. The presents have been flown in from Holland, and the typical music (including karaoke versions) is ready. The carrot Alex has left for the horse in his shoe was eaten so all looks well. The only thing we are missing is a cloth bag and the candies to throw around, but for this I will try and find some alternative.

Tonight we sing together and then we open the presents. The little one does not yet show any interest in toys, but maybe he will enjoy the unwrapping.

The shoe is set

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First set shoe!I don’t think Alex will realize it, but his shoe is set and it contains a nice big carrot. The only attention point is probably the distance from Holland, but Alex is hopeful that the Sint will make a detour and also provide half-dutch children with a present.

Alex has been a good boy, that’s for sure and the horse on which the Sint rides will surely like the carrot because it is a nice Canarian one.

Alex smiles

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Alex smiles!
Alex smiles again, because after a week his mother has returned home. Ofcourse he also smiled when I was taking care of him this last week, but seeing his mother again clearly did him a lot of good.

Another weekend fulltime parent

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Ana was released from the hospital with a big stack of medicines and a strict diet that will for sure result in quite some weight loss. She could go home to calm down and relax. Not following the diet will directly result is a horrific pain in her bile so she is very motivated. With the medicines it should be enough to stabilize her body so that her swollen up bile can return to a size that can be operated.

A few days things went well, but alas. Today Ana was struck by a high fever, that went towards the 39 degrees and that resulted in a quick trip to the first aid where Ana was quickly admitted to a hospital bed. Right now they are trying a different antibiotic which make breath feeding impossible.

A sad result, but there is nothing we can do about it. We are happy that the strong pains no longer appear. Whats left for me is being full time parent for the weekend, and hope everything will improve for Ana.

Hand-eye coordination

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Alex grabs - Part 1!
A few days ago we celebrated Alex’ third month. These were three months where Alex has changed a lot. He is growing impressively fast and he is already aware of things near him.

Alex grabs - Part 2!
Since a couple of days Alex is even capable of grabbing a little bear that is hanging near him in the air. He grabs the little bear and moves it to his mouth in order to give it a good licking.

Alex grabs - Part 3!
As fresh new parents we are of course very proud.

Gallstone

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In the hospital!The past weekend was pretty stressful. Ana has been suffering from a strong pain in her back for a while. The pain seemed to be caused by stones in her bile. After her last medical examination she was immediately hospitalized and connected to a bag of antibiotics. She even gets her food from an IV.

Last week I was a full time father. With a little baby and my wife in the hospital I had my hands full. Ana is placed in the department for infectious diseases, so little Alex cannot come by and visit. This makes it very hard for me to pay Ana a visit, resulting in quite a bad situation.

We expect that Monday and will be send home. Probably with some special diet where she will need to avoid everything containing fat. Afterwards she will need to make an appointment for an operation where they will probably remove the entire organ. Tomorrow we hope to know more about Ana’s treatment.

Lineage holder

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Lineage holder Berg!A lineage holder is the oldest son of the oldest son. This is the one that will keep the family name alive. Recently I found out that in my family this title referred to me and because our child is a boy this title also applies to him.

Here a nice picture of the three lineage holders of the Berg family.

Finally routine

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Alex not so pleased!Finally at home. It was great arriving home. For Alex it was the first time and that almost two and a half months after being born. Finally we escape the fuss and can relax a bit.

Alex seems to like Las Palmas. After his cold experiences in Holland he was clearly agreeing with the warmer climate. He still makes himself being heard every now and then, but still. Thanks to the mild climate there seems to be a blanket of peace covering our family right now.

Coffee fail

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Dried out coffee!My coffee plant has had a rough time. First our balcony was being painted which required me to move the plant around quite a lot which resulted in a loss of about 90% of the little future coffee beans. Then I had to leave the plant all alone for almost a month while our son was being born. This resulted in the complete dehydration of the resulting beans.

I tried to plant the dehydrated beans, to try and get a few more plants, but sadly my wife threw away the pot and seedlings during a cleaning fit. I did manage to harvest some mini coffee beans from the plant, and planted these, but I’m not very positive about the future of these beans. Next year I’ll try again.