A Few Updates

Found out today that I am only allowed to take up to 6 months for personal leave, so it looks like I'll be back at work sooner than I wanted to be! I'll be going back in August, date still to be confirmed. My calculations given to me by HR would put my 6 month leave to Aug 15, but they have calculated Aug 11. New person in HR...figures! At any rate, I should know for sure my start date some time next week.

So, I won't be putting Jack in daycare on Monday. YEAH!!!!!!!

But, not happy about having to go back in Aug. Oh well, I have stayed out for 10 months with him, so I can't complain too much. Just pains me to know I won't be able to spend any time with him until I get home from work. But I know he'll make new friends in daycare and will probably love it after he has adjusted to his new schedule.

Our next trip is right around the corner. We leave for Italy Aug 30 for two weeks. We are flying into Naples, then staying at a villa in Positano. After a week there, we will then fly from Naples to Milan; driving up to Lake Como. Our villa is in Menaggio. We are really looking forward to this trip. Our villa on Lake Como has a pool, so little Jack will get to some splashing around with us!

In October, for our anniversary and my birthday, we are going to France. We found this fantastic cottage in the Loire Valley. It certainly depicts the French countryside. We'll be staying there for a week. The Loire Valley is home to french white wines and chateaux.

Then our next big trip is the Alps; probably in late January. Still working on that trip. Not sure where we are going yet....

Jack's doing great. Over his cold. No new teeth yet, but he is definitely teething. The little one is drooling and sucking on everything he gets his hands on. We had to cancel his appointment with his health visitor this past Tuesday. The lady he sees was out sick, so we are going next Tuesday. We'll get him weighed and measured then.

Well, have a great weekend. The weather looks promising here. Been sunny and 70 today. Getting Jack out in town later. Probably have dinner out. We usually have pizza on Friday....yummy.

Love
Teri

Trip to Bruges, Belgium

Daddy enjoying a Leffe at an outdoor cafe around the corner from our hotel.....
Enjoying the sights along the canal - and stopped for a bite of chocolate!!
Nice set..........

A selection of waffles......the chocolate one looks tasty!

Jack was amazed by the horses. We sat at this cafe and they came by every few mins..

The Market Square in Bruges
Canal boats - didn't get to ride one.....
Browsing the chocolate shop!!
Daddy and Jack taking a little break
Yummy! Waffle with strawberries and cream : )>

We got back from our 4 night trip to Bruges. What a fantastic little city. It was a bit of a trip getting there. 3 trains in total! But we managed.....

Boy, the Belgians really are known for their chocolates, waffles and beer! There are chocolate shops on every corner of the city. Of course I tried quite a few and brought back some with me. How can one resist! Had a strawberry and cream waffle for lunch on Sunday. Yummy! Josh sampled the local brews. He tried out the Bruges Zot, Grimbergen, Leffe, Duvel, and Hoegaarden. Since they brew their beers stronger than most countries, they typically serve them in a half pint glass. The weakest beer you will find in Belgium is 5%. You can order a large beer, but you'd have to go swimming in it! And you might drown before you finish it.

We had great weather. Lucked out! The forecast was rain....

Belgians living in the North are Flemish, however, they are fluent in English, French and Dutch. How great is it to be able to speak several different languages, fluently. The people are extremely nice and were very accommodating with Jack. Although, we struggled with highchairs and baby changing facilities! Other than that, all was good.

Jack picked up a cold, but is feeling much better. He was glad to be back home with his toys! I think he was getting a little stir crazy without them......only so much you can pack for the little

one!

Too tired to eat my cookie......

ooops - fell asleep while eating my cookie!
ah - still got my cookie........
fell right back asleep with a good grip on it!
wow jack - standing up on your own. so big!
where's the boat? a little smile for mommy : )

The poor little guy fell asleep last night eating his cookie. He woke up, checked to see if he still had his cookie, then fell back asleep! How silly....

I captured Jack standing up this morning by the door that leads to our patio. Boy, this little one is just growing too fast for Mommy! No leaving him in the room by himself. No telling what he'd get into!

Off to the park.....

Jack and I went to the park today. Finally some great weather. Went up to 75 degrees today and sunny all day.

Jack still doesn't quite know what to think about grass! So cute to watch him fiddling around with it.....

Self-feeding!

Another milestone was met yesterday. We gave him a teething biscuit and for the first time he fed himself.. Yeah!!

What a big boy : )

Seems he changed overnight. Jack was able to pick up little pieces of the cookie and put them in his mouth. Now, if I can get him to hold his own bottle, we'll be in business!