Last night at bath time Una was splashing ever so happily in the bath for half an hour, giggling while playing peekaboo with the towel while Daddy was drying her off, giving us random hugs and just generally being so happy and loving that it got Mark and me thinking "terrible twos, what is that?". Lo and behold, the last piece of clothing to be put on her was her pajama top when all hell broke loose. Una started screaming, tears streaming down her face, stamping her feet - you know, the definition of a proper tantrum. It took us a few seconds to make out what she was yelling and then when we did, both of us burst into laughter which is one of the biggest parenting sins, laughing when your child is so upset that is. But when you hear what the reason was you might forgive us. All that grief and tears were because the pajama top did not have a cloud on it. Yes, a cloud. We realised quickly that our laughter is not helping so we tried pointing at the pretty flowers on her pajama, the sun, there was even a bird. She wasn't having any of it. She wanted a cloud.
So back to the title, I think this pretty much solves our nature vs. nurture dilemma. Her genes might be all southern but this kid is so clearly Dutch. Sun - nah, birds - nah, flowers - nah. Give me some clouds.
Not that we have a problem with this, the Dutch have some great characteristics. But heaven help us when she is old enough to become interested in fashion.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Me? Biased?
Yesterday Una had her regular consultatiebureau (child health centre) check-up. This is where they check your child's physical and mental development and where they get their vaccinations. I always get anxious around these appointments because some health visitors tend to really follow The Book and if your child is not exactly where The Book says they should be (e.g. sleeping through the night by 12weeks 4days, crawling by 8months 2 weeks, walking by - well, you get the idea) they, well, let's summarise it a. make you feel bad/worried about it b. give suggestions on how to "fix" the problem and sometimes their advice is not only questionable in its effectiveness but outright ridiculous. I have two great examples that have nothing to do with the post but are so hilarious/disturbing that I can't miss the opportunity:
1. When a friend of a friend's baby did not sleep through the night at the age he should have the health visitor told his mum to let the baby cry it out. The mum said she would do it if she could bear to listen to her baby crying. She was told to leave him in the garage so she wouldn't hear it.
2. Another little boy was apparently too small for his age both height and weight wise. The mum tried telling the health visitor that both her and her husband were petite so the baby should not be expected to be in the 95 percentile. The health visitor seemed to not take this in and told his mum she should make sure she spreads a thicker layer of butter on his bread. The mum got annoyed and tried getting the message across again: "Yes, but we are Italian and we are petite. Look at me." The health visitor: "I see, you should put a thicker layer of butter on your sandwich too!".
I just thought that these gems were too good not to share but truth be told this is not the norm, they are normally very helpful and we certainly have never been given advice like the above.
Back to the original story, well, I was curious to hear what they would say about Una's language development. She chatters all day long, switches easily between English and Serbian when talking to Mark and me and we think she is doing great but we still get strange looks when we tell people that we are raising her trilingually. And I was sure that they would comment on her height/weight (she's always been in the 95 percentile for both and at some stages off the charts). And as I am sure like most parents of 2 year olds I sometimes dread she would throw a mother of all tantrums right where and when it is really not convenient. So here is the summary of what happened:
- Overall impression: Una behaved like an angel throughout the whole ordeal in the waiting room (undressing, measuring weight, length etc). She actually wanted to sit on my lap in the health visitor's room which given the fact that Sanja was with us was just short of a miracle.
- Physical development: The health visitor was happy with Una's length/weight and she said that she expected her to drop in the weight percentile a bit since it normally happens at this age and Una is eating a lot less than she used to, on same days she barely eats at all. She also told us that Una is developing as she should given her birth weight and that she still could not believe how big she was. I told her I certainly could since I was there while all 4.55kg of her were coming out. She also looked at the charts and told us that Una's height is that of an average 3 year old child in NL. So even in this tall people land our child is well above average. With my mere 177cm I struggled enough to find a boyfriend with whom I could wear high heels, with her predicted 186cm I just hope she has enough confidence to not care :)
- Language development: The health visitor said she was very surprised to hear that Una speaks in sentences as at this age most multilingual children are using words only. She then gave Una a little book with pictures of different objects and animals and asked her to recognise them. She first asked in Dutch, Una got all shy and didn't say a word. She asked her if she should speak in "papa's taal", I tried telling her that English would not help either since Una knows the words in Dutch she just did not feel like talking to her. She still tried English but Una was not having any of it. She then asked me to talk to her in Serbian and Una whispered all the answers to me so the lady was happy. She then took a doll and asked Una (in Dutch) to show her where the doll's body parts were. Una deemed that pointing was not as painful as talking so she showed them all. I was surprised to see that she knew the dutch word for belly (buik). The lady was shocked that Una can count to ten in all three languages (except that in Dutch she starts from 4, she probably got the idea that the Dutch count a bit backwards - they say five and twenty instead of twenty five so she tried implementing a bit of backwardness).
- Cognitive development: Una was given one of those wooden boxes with different shape holes and a bunch of different shape blocks to be matched with the holes. Una first gave the lady a "can you see that I am bored?" look, dropped the first few blocks into the right holes straight away and when the lady said "Goed zo meid!" and tried taking the rest away from Una, Una grabbed the remaining blocks and dropped them in with the speed of light. We all laughed, it was just so cute. The health visitor commented that she is very advanced for her age.
So all in all, we seem to have a brilliant, polyglot, supermodel daughter in the making. And if you are rolling your eyes thinking I am biased well that just means you haven't met Una :).
1. When a friend of a friend's baby did not sleep through the night at the age he should have the health visitor told his mum to let the baby cry it out. The mum said she would do it if she could bear to listen to her baby crying. She was told to leave him in the garage so she wouldn't hear it.
2. Another little boy was apparently too small for his age both height and weight wise. The mum tried telling the health visitor that both her and her husband were petite so the baby should not be expected to be in the 95 percentile. The health visitor seemed to not take this in and told his mum she should make sure she spreads a thicker layer of butter on his bread. The mum got annoyed and tried getting the message across again: "Yes, but we are Italian and we are petite. Look at me." The health visitor: "I see, you should put a thicker layer of butter on your sandwich too!".
I just thought that these gems were too good not to share but truth be told this is not the norm, they are normally very helpful and we certainly have never been given advice like the above.
Back to the original story, well, I was curious to hear what they would say about Una's language development. She chatters all day long, switches easily between English and Serbian when talking to Mark and me and we think she is doing great but we still get strange looks when we tell people that we are raising her trilingually. And I was sure that they would comment on her height/weight (she's always been in the 95 percentile for both and at some stages off the charts). And as I am sure like most parents of 2 year olds I sometimes dread she would throw a mother of all tantrums right where and when it is really not convenient. So here is the summary of what happened:
- Overall impression: Una behaved like an angel throughout the whole ordeal in the waiting room (undressing, measuring weight, length etc). She actually wanted to sit on my lap in the health visitor's room which given the fact that Sanja was with us was just short of a miracle.
- Physical development: The health visitor was happy with Una's length/weight and she said that she expected her to drop in the weight percentile a bit since it normally happens at this age and Una is eating a lot less than she used to, on same days she barely eats at all. She also told us that Una is developing as she should given her birth weight and that she still could not believe how big she was. I told her I certainly could since I was there while all 4.55kg of her were coming out. She also looked at the charts and told us that Una's height is that of an average 3 year old child in NL. So even in this tall people land our child is well above average. With my mere 177cm I struggled enough to find a boyfriend with whom I could wear high heels, with her predicted 186cm I just hope she has enough confidence to not care :)
- Language development: The health visitor said she was very surprised to hear that Una speaks in sentences as at this age most multilingual children are using words only. She then gave Una a little book with pictures of different objects and animals and asked her to recognise them. She first asked in Dutch, Una got all shy and didn't say a word. She asked her if she should speak in "papa's taal", I tried telling her that English would not help either since Una knows the words in Dutch she just did not feel like talking to her. She still tried English but Una was not having any of it. She then asked me to talk to her in Serbian and Una whispered all the answers to me so the lady was happy. She then took a doll and asked Una (in Dutch) to show her where the doll's body parts were. Una deemed that pointing was not as painful as talking so she showed them all. I was surprised to see that she knew the dutch word for belly (buik). The lady was shocked that Una can count to ten in all three languages (except that in Dutch she starts from 4, she probably got the idea that the Dutch count a bit backwards - they say five and twenty instead of twenty five so she tried implementing a bit of backwardness).
- Cognitive development: Una was given one of those wooden boxes with different shape holes and a bunch of different shape blocks to be matched with the holes. Una first gave the lady a "can you see that I am bored?" look, dropped the first few blocks into the right holes straight away and when the lady said "Goed zo meid!" and tried taking the rest away from Una, Una grabbed the remaining blocks and dropped them in with the speed of light. We all laughed, it was just so cute. The health visitor commented that she is very advanced for her age.
So all in all, we seem to have a brilliant, polyglot, supermodel daughter in the making. And if you are rolling your eyes thinking I am biased well that just means you haven't met Una :).
Monday, 3 August 2009
How did that happen?/ Kad se to desilo?
Yes, Una is two years old and we have no idea where the time went. There is nothing baby-ish about her anymore, she has turned into a real little girl and it is so amazing to watch her (well minus the tantrum thing but won't go into that now :)). She now makes 3-4 word sentences in both English and Serbian and is getting better and better at distinguishing the two when she speaks to Mark or me (e.g. Daddy, mooore mi'kies!/Mama, jos m'eko) but she is also picking up more and more Dutch which is great. Of course she first mastered the survival words: nee(no), ja (yes), weggg!! (go away, although if you heard it you wouldn't need to speak Dutch to know what it means the gggg sound tells you that it is nothing pleasant :)), mijn (my) etc but now she is learning a few new words every day. She also likes showing her Daddy off at daycare, every time he drops her off she points at him and tells her friends "Mijn papa, mijn papa" (at home she calls him Daddy) which of course makes Mark melt there and then. Mama is the same in both Serbian and Dutch so this is less interesting.
***
Unin drugi rodjendan je dosao i prosao a mi se i dalje cudimo sta se dogodilo sa nasom bebom koja vise nije beba. Tacnije u Uni vise nema ni b od bebe, sad vec uveliko brblja na sva tri jezika i cak uglavnom pogodi sa kim prica i prilagodi jezik. Tako je skoro otisla kod Marka i trazila "Daddy, more milkies", Mark joj odgovori da sam ja vec u kuhinji i da trazi od mene, ona dobaulja i kaze "Mamaaa, jos mleka!". Pocinje i da prica na holandskom sve vise (tu je prilicno zaostajala u poredjenju sa srpskim i engleskim), uglavnom izraze za prezivljavanje tipa "nee" (ne), weggg" (sklanjaj mi se sa ociju :)), "niet doen!" (nemoj to da radis) i sl.
And now a few photos of Una's 2nd birthday week. I am (un)fashionably late with this, as always, so I will keep the story short as most of you have already heard how it went so I will leave you with some photos. I am saying Una's birthday week because we practically celebrated it over four days:
***
Evo i nekoliko fotografija sa rodjendana. Posto vec kasnim uveliko i vecina vas je vec cula kako je sve proslo evo samo fotografije Unine rodjendanske nedelje (slavilo se 4 dana :)):
Dan 1 (cetvrtak, njen rodjendan) - Mark i ja smo uzeli slobodan dan i zajedno sa mojim bratom od ujaka, Markom, koji je iskoristio priliku da nas obidje posle konferencije u Amsterdamu, svi otisli na jedno od ostrva na jugu Holandije. Citav dan smo proveli na plazi i super smo se opustili!
The lovely beach in Renesee/Plaza u Renesee
Lunch time/Rucak
With uncle Marko/Sa ujka Markom
Day 2 (Friday): Una had a little party at daycare, her little friends and teachers made her a birthday hat, sang to her and the teachers told us that she loved being in the centre of attention.
***
Dan 2 (petak): Slavlje u vrticu - napravili su joj krunu, pevali za stolom i vaspitacica nam je rekla da je Una bila odusevljena citavom pricom.
Jumping castle fun/Skakanje
Thomas fun/Thomas vozici
Best friends/Najbolji drugari
Day 4 (Sunday): A party for Una's big friends (aka Mama's and Daddy's friends) - we had a bbq in our backyard, so lots of meat, sweet corn, salads, wine and fun.
***
Dan 4 (nedelja): A sad zurka za Unine velike drugare - pravili smo rostilj sto znaci meso, peceni kukuruzi, salate, vino - i sta jos treba!
More presents?/Jos poklona?
More Thomas/Jos Thomas
More food/Jos klope
And best of all, more friends!/I sto je najvaznije, jos drugara!
***
Unin drugi rodjendan je dosao i prosao a mi se i dalje cudimo sta se dogodilo sa nasom bebom koja vise nije beba. Tacnije u Uni vise nema ni b od bebe, sad vec uveliko brblja na sva tri jezika i cak uglavnom pogodi sa kim prica i prilagodi jezik. Tako je skoro otisla kod Marka i trazila "Daddy, more milkies", Mark joj odgovori da sam ja vec u kuhinji i da trazi od mene, ona dobaulja i kaze "Mamaaa, jos mleka!". Pocinje i da prica na holandskom sve vise (tu je prilicno zaostajala u poredjenju sa srpskim i engleskim), uglavnom izraze za prezivljavanje tipa "nee" (ne), weggg" (sklanjaj mi se sa ociju :)), "niet doen!" (nemoj to da radis) i sl.
And now a few photos of Una's 2nd birthday week. I am (un)fashionably late with this, as always, so I will keep the story short as most of you have already heard how it went so I will leave you with some photos. I am saying Una's birthday week because we practically celebrated it over four days:
***
Evo i nekoliko fotografija sa rodjendana. Posto vec kasnim uveliko i vecina vas je vec cula kako je sve proslo evo samo fotografije Unine rodjendanske nedelje (slavilo se 4 dana :)):
Day 1 (Thursday, her actual birthday): Mark and took a day off work and we all went to one of the islands in the south of NL. A cousin of mine, Marko, happened to be in NL at that time for a conference and joined us for the day. The weather was unbelieavably good for NL. It was such a lovely, relaxing day on the beach and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday.
***Dan 1 (cetvrtak, njen rodjendan) - Mark i ja smo uzeli slobodan dan i zajedno sa mojim bratom od ujaka, Markom, koji je iskoristio priliku da nas obidje posle konferencije u Amsterdamu, svi otisli na jedno od ostrva na jugu Holandije. Citav dan smo proveli na plazi i super smo se opustili!
The lovely beach in Renesee/Plaza u Renesee
Lunch time/Rucak
With uncle Marko/Sa ujka Markom
Day 2 (Friday): Una had a little party at daycare, her little friends and teachers made her a birthday hat, sang to her and the teachers told us that she loved being in the centre of attention.
***
Dan 2 (petak): Slavlje u vrticu - napravili su joj krunu, pevali za stolom i vaspitacica nam je rekla da je Una bila odusevljena citavom pricom.
Day 3 (Saturday): A party for Una's little friends: a few from her daycare and a few of our friends' children. Una was screaming with excitement when Duncan (her best friend from daycare) showed up, it was so cute. We rented a jumping castle for the day and the kids had a blast. The cake is homemade (yes, I have to brag) and I think Sanja and I did a great job, even if I say so myself :). We sang "Lang zal ze leven", "Danas nam je divan dan" and "Happy Birthday", it was fun!
***
Dan 3 (subota): U subotu su nam dosli Unini drugari, sto iz vrtica sto kucni prijatelji. Una je bila odusevljena kad je dosao Duncan, njen najbolji drugar iz vrtica. Tortu smo pravile Sanja i ja, zar nije ispala sjajno (skromnosti ime ti je...). Pevali smo joj na holandskom, engleskom i srpskom i Uni se mnogo dopalo.
Jumping castle fun/Skakanje
Thomas fun/Thomas vozici
Best friends/Najbolji drugari
Day 4 (Sunday): A party for Una's big friends (aka Mama's and Daddy's friends) - we had a bbq in our backyard, so lots of meat, sweet corn, salads, wine and fun.
***
Dan 4 (nedelja): A sad zurka za Unine velike drugare - pravili smo rostilj sto znaci meso, peceni kukuruzi, salate, vino - i sta jos treba!
More presents?/Jos poklona?
More Thomas/Jos Thomas
More food/Jos klope
And best of all, more friends!/I sto je najvaznije, jos drugara!
Friday, 31 July 2009
Stigla nam je Iva!!! / Iva is here!!!
Jasmina je jutros otisla na carski rez i upravo sam dobila SMS od nje da se rodila Iva!!! Ne znam nista od daljih detalja tezina, visina itd zvacu Jasminu cim bude mogla da prica. Jedva cekamo da vidimo nasu lepu kumicu, za sad bar na slikama a onda i uzivo, uskoro nadamo se!
Inace, do poslednjeg trenutka se cekalo na Zoku da izabere ime tako da sam tek sad saznala kako se zove. Iva je jedno od mojih omiljenih imena koje smo Mark i ja razmatrali u slucaju da u buducnosti dobijemo jos jednu devojcicu. Marku se ime jako svidja ali kaze da bi ovde/u JA ime sigurno izgovarali kao Ajva. U svakom slucaju, dilema je sad razresena jer vec imamo jednu Ivu!
Od srca cestitamo Velji, Jasmini i Zoki!!! Dobro nam dosla lepa nasa Iva!!
I evo i jedna slicica njih troje, mozemo samo da zamislimo kako ce tek biti slatki u cetvoro!
***
My best friend and kuma Jasmina went in for her scheduled c-section this morning and I just got an SMS from her that her little girl, Iva, made her grand appearance!! I don't have any further details on weight/length and how it all went but will speak to her as soon as possible. We can't wait to see photos of their precious little girl and we are sure Velja is excited to become a big brother!
BTW - Jasmina's husband couldn't make up his mind about the name until last moment (they named Velja after Jasmina's late dad so Zoki got to choose the second child's name) so the name was a surprise to me too. Iva is one of my favourite names and was a front runner for our next girl if we have one. Mark loves the name but is unsure because he thinks that in NL/South Africa it would be mispronounced as Eye-vuh instead of EE-vuh. Now our dillema has been solved for us as we now have an Iva!
Big congrats to Velja, Jasmina and Zoki!! And welcome sweet baby Iva!!
And a photo of the three of them. We can't wait to see how gorgeous they are going to look as a family of four!
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Opa bato!
I am not even going to try to explain what this post's title means in English, it has to do with being seriously impressed with something, but this is one of the many Serbian phrases that Una learnt during our 2 weeks long visit. Seriously, she learnt more in those two weeks than she does in two months here with me. And she definitely learns quicker from other people than from Mark and me. Go figure.
Well, this post is not meant to be about Una's language development but about what we did during those two weeks. It was just the two of us, Mark stayed behind to supervise the bathroom works so we came back to a shiny brand new bathroom. With a bath, what a luxury (if you've ever lived in a rented apartment in Holland you know what I am talking about)! It hasn't got much to do with Una really (since this is a blog about Una) but I will probably not resist and throw in a few photos of it later on.
But first a few photos from our holiday... So what did we do? Well, pretty much the same we do every time we go there:
Una hung out with Jana and Pavle and enjoyed every minute of it
She got spoilt rotten by baka i deka
We ate. Lots. Serbs are really good at it.
We hung out at my parents' cottage, it is so relaxing and peaceful there...
We spent a few days with my best friend and kuma Jasmina and her husband and their adorable little boy Velja. Velja and Una had a few power struggles over Velja's Thomas trains (put together a 2 year old and a 3 year old and if there is no blood drawn you can call it a success) but mostly really enjoyed each other's company. And had tons of fun! Jasmina was as always, even now that she was almost 8 months pregnant, a fantastic host and always ready for action!
.JPG)
We also met up with our dear friends, Irena, Nebojsa and their sweet boy Misa. I've written before (after they visited us in November last year) how well-mannered and sweet he is and how much patience he had with Una. And that hasn't changed. We stayed at their house over night and Nebojsa was kind enough to stay with the kids after they had fallen asleep so that Irena and I could go out for a couple of drinks and a long stroll through the center of Belgrade. I really needed that.
And of course we enjoyed a bit of what Belgrade has to offer.
Ada - a piece of heaven in the middle of the city.
Lounging at coffee shops - a very important part of the culture of Belgrade :)
Shopping in Knez Mihailova - now to be honest, doing this with two toddlers was not quite the same experience as some years ago (Jasmina - about ten, huh?) but we pulled it off. Yes, and she was almost 8 months pregnant in this photo, can you believe it?
So at first glance not much changed - we did all the usual stuff, things we always do when we go there. But every time we go we realise how much everything has actually changed and we are not part of it. There are new names on the political/music/literary scene that I haven't heard of, new advertisements that I don't understand, Belgrade is changing so much that I sometimes fail to recognise the city I lived in and loved... I could go on... But these things don't cause the same nostalgic reaction as they did some 4-5 years ago. I have accepted them as part of my expat life, life that I am really happy living. I am slowly getting into the Dutch political scene (I will definitely vote in 2011), the music scene I will not go into now :), Delft is such a charming little place that you cannot not love and has some seriously cute little coffee shops (not that kind of coffee shops :)). So it is all good. This is our home now.
But something that I haven't come to terms with yet and I doubt I ever will is being away from family and friends. Funnily enough it is not my generation that I struggle with so much. For some reason I feel like we have all the time in the world to spend together. Tina and I didn't get to check out that new wellness place now but we will some other time. We are definitely going to sail the Adriatic with Jasmina and Zoki maybe not next year or the year after that but there is no rush. We are going to make it to Schenectady NY soon, as soon as we make it to Australia before my uncle disowns me :).... What I do struggle with are the two other generations, the children and my parents. Even though my parents are not old at all (61 and 60), their health is deteriorating which has made travelling taxing on them and keeping up with Una's physical skills practically impossible. The children on the other side - well they definitely do have all the time in the world, but they are reaching important milestones and we are not there to share it with them. Now I am (almost) OK with being "the aunt from abroad who we see twice a year" to Jana and Pavle and "kuma from Holland who sends Thomas trains" to Velja. But one of my biggest fears is that the bond between Una and them will not be as strong as we, the parents, are hoping it will be. But then I look at Radomir, my big little cousin (he is 16 already and taller than 190cm, how did that happen?) who immigrated to New Zealand at the ripe age of 2.5 and who, thanks to my uncle and aunt who really put a lot of effort in talking about his family across the ocean and made sure they visit regularly, feels a strong connection with us and gives us a big fat hug you wouldn't expect from a 14 year old boy (last time we saw him was when they packed up all the way from Australia to Crete just to be there for our special day). So it is possible, it definitely takes effort and sacrifice but it is doable. And that always makes me feel a bit better, at least until the next milestone that we miss.
This was supposed to be a happy post, so to end it on a lighter note, here are a few photos of our
new bathroom. And if you don't get the full picture of what it looks like - well that was the intention, come visit us and you'll see!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Well, this post is not meant to be about Una's language development but about what we did during those two weeks. It was just the two of us, Mark stayed behind to supervise the bathroom works so we came back to a shiny brand new bathroom. With a bath, what a luxury (if you've ever lived in a rented apartment in Holland you know what I am talking about)! It hasn't got much to do with Una really (since this is a blog about Una) but I will probably not resist and throw in a few photos of it later on.
But first a few photos from our holiday... So what did we do? Well, pretty much the same we do every time we go there:
Una hung out with Jana and Pavle and enjoyed every minute of it
She got spoilt rotten by baka i deka
We ate. Lots. Serbs are really good at it.
We hung out at my parents' cottage, it is so relaxing and peaceful there...
We spent a few days with my best friend and kuma Jasmina and her husband and their adorable little boy Velja. Velja and Una had a few power struggles over Velja's Thomas trains (put together a 2 year old and a 3 year old and if there is no blood drawn you can call it a success) but mostly really enjoyed each other's company. And had tons of fun! Jasmina was as always, even now that she was almost 8 months pregnant, a fantastic host and always ready for action!
.JPG)
We also met up with our dear friends, Irena, Nebojsa and their sweet boy Misa. I've written before (after they visited us in November last year) how well-mannered and sweet he is and how much patience he had with Una. And that hasn't changed. We stayed at their house over night and Nebojsa was kind enough to stay with the kids after they had fallen asleep so that Irena and I could go out for a couple of drinks and a long stroll through the center of Belgrade. I really needed that.
And of course we enjoyed a bit of what Belgrade has to offer.
Ada - a piece of heaven in the middle of the city.
Lounging at coffee shops - a very important part of the culture of Belgrade :)
Shopping in Knez Mihailova - now to be honest, doing this with two toddlers was not quite the same experience as some years ago (Jasmina - about ten, huh?) but we pulled it off. Yes, and she was almost 8 months pregnant in this photo, can you believe it?
So at first glance not much changed - we did all the usual stuff, things we always do when we go there. But every time we go we realise how much everything has actually changed and we are not part of it. There are new names on the political/music/literary scene that I haven't heard of, new advertisements that I don't understand, Belgrade is changing so much that I sometimes fail to recognise the city I lived in and loved... I could go on... But these things don't cause the same nostalgic reaction as they did some 4-5 years ago. I have accepted them as part of my expat life, life that I am really happy living. I am slowly getting into the Dutch political scene (I will definitely vote in 2011), the music scene I will not go into now :), Delft is such a charming little place that you cannot not love and has some seriously cute little coffee shops (not that kind of coffee shops :)). So it is all good. This is our home now.
But something that I haven't come to terms with yet and I doubt I ever will is being away from family and friends. Funnily enough it is not my generation that I struggle with so much. For some reason I feel like we have all the time in the world to spend together. Tina and I didn't get to check out that new wellness place now but we will some other time. We are definitely going to sail the Adriatic with Jasmina and Zoki maybe not next year or the year after that but there is no rush. We are going to make it to Schenectady NY soon, as soon as we make it to Australia before my uncle disowns me :).... What I do struggle with are the two other generations, the children and my parents. Even though my parents are not old at all (61 and 60), their health is deteriorating which has made travelling taxing on them and keeping up with Una's physical skills practically impossible. The children on the other side - well they definitely do have all the time in the world, but they are reaching important milestones and we are not there to share it with them. Now I am (almost) OK with being "the aunt from abroad who we see twice a year" to Jana and Pavle and "kuma from Holland who sends Thomas trains" to Velja. But one of my biggest fears is that the bond between Una and them will not be as strong as we, the parents, are hoping it will be. But then I look at Radomir, my big little cousin (he is 16 already and taller than 190cm, how did that happen?) who immigrated to New Zealand at the ripe age of 2.5 and who, thanks to my uncle and aunt who really put a lot of effort in talking about his family across the ocean and made sure they visit regularly, feels a strong connection with us and gives us a big fat hug you wouldn't expect from a 14 year old boy (last time we saw him was when they packed up all the way from Australia to Crete just to be there for our special day). So it is possible, it definitely takes effort and sacrifice but it is doable. And that always makes me feel a bit better, at least until the next milestone that we miss.
This was supposed to be a happy post, so to end it on a lighter note, here are a few photos of our
new bathroom. And if you don't get the full picture of what it looks like - well that was the intention, come visit us and you'll see!
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Monday, 27 April 2009
Triple spy in the making...
While other children collect stamps, Una collects passports
***
Dok druga deca skupljaju markice, Una skuplja pasose
Truth be told, even though she holds the three citizenships, Una does not actually have any of the three passports shown above. Here is why:
1) The Serbian passport - the passport shown above is the new biometric version that both Una and I yet have to apply for. We still have the old blue passport valid until the end of the year. We'd better hurry I guess although none of my friends/family have the new passport. Serbians are in no rush. Ever. Ask Mark.
2) The Dutch passport - about a week ago Una and I officially became Nederlanders. The ceremony is the main topic of this post, so more about that later. On Wednesday we are going to actually apply for passports. Again, in no rush (we are still the Serbian citizens too).
3) The South African passport - we hope Una gets this one before she turns 18 and has to give it up in any case. It took the SA authorities ~16months to acknowledge her birth and it will take most likely as long to get her passport or so we are told.
***
Iskreno receno, iako ima sva tri drzavljanstva, Una ustvari nema ni jedan od pasosa prikazanih na slici. Evo i zasto:
1) Srpski pasos - Una (i ja) i dalje imamo plavi pasos. A posto smo culi da oni vaze do kraja ove godine, bolje da posetimo dobru tetu u ambasadi i zavrsimo posao. Opis Srba iz engleske verzije ne treba da prevodim :).
2) Holandski pasos - Una i ja smo pretprosle subote dobile drzavljanstvo, vise o ceremoniji u nastavku teksta ali jos nismo podnele zahtev za pasos. I tu nam se ne zuri :).
3) Juznoafricki pasos - nadamo se da ce ga Una dobiti pre nego napuni 18 godina (tad mora da izabere jedan od 3). Registracija rodjenja je trajala vise od godinu dana a otprilike toliko ce i pasos.
And now more about the naturalisatieceremonie
***
A sad malo vise o samoj ceremoniji
The ceremony was held in the Delft city hall which is a beautiful building dating all the way back to the 13th century.
***
Ceremonija je odrzana u gradskoj kuci u Delftu, predivnoj zgradi iz 13-og veka.
The whole thing started with a small reception with tea and coffee in the entry hall. We used the opportunity to take some photos.
***
Pocelo je sa malim prijemom sa kafom i cajem u ulaznoj dvorani.
Una between the EU flag and the flag of Delft
***
Una izmedju zastava EU i Delfta
Una being her usual self - naughty.
***
Una nestasko, kao i obicno.
The actual ceremony took place in de Raadzaal which is the hall where the Delft's parliament sits (check out the cheese on the table for the new Nederlanders). Right above all the cheese is the portrait of Queen Beatrix.
***
Sama ceremonija se odrzala u tzv Raadzaal gde zaseda parlament Delfta (obrati paznju na kolutove sira pripremljene za taze Holandjane). Odmah iznad svog tog sira je portret trenutne kraljice Beatrix.
The mayor of Delft gave a nice speech, welcoming everyone into their Dutchdom :), especially "the young ones, who seem to already have a very formed opinion and are not shy to express it". Yes, he was referring to Una, who thought that her newly learnt words in the EnDuSe language (English-Dutch-Serbian for those of you not familiar with this widely spoken language) are way more important than the mayor's speech.
***
Gradonacelnik Delfta je prvo odrzao govor, pozelivsi svima dobrodoslicu u drzavljanstvo, posebno "one najmladje, koji ocigledno imaju vec formirano misljenje i ne stide se da ga izraze, cak i u tako mladom dobu". Naravno, mislio je na Unu, koja je procenila da su njene nedavno naucene reci na SrEnHo jeziku vaznije od toga sto gradonacelnik ima da kaze pa se nadvikivala sa njim.
Our turn to get the certificates (and the cheese!)
***
Nas prozivaju da preuzmemo sertifikate (i sir!)
Mark made us take a photo with the mayor. Una was not impressed by his cool chain and kept pointing the mayor to Mark while yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" She obviously thinks that her Daddy is way cooler. And so do I :)
***
Mark nas je nagovorio da se slikamo sa gradonacelnikom. Una uopste nije bila impresionirana njegovim lancem i non-stop mu je pokazivala u pravcu Marka i drala se "Daddy, Daddy", po sistemu "to je moj tata i on je mnogo veca faca od tebe"
With all said and done, Una seems to be happy with her third citizenship! Gefeliciteerd!
***
Kad je sve zavrseno, Una je ocigledno bila srecna sto je postala Holandjanka. Gefeliciteerd!
***
Dok druga deca skupljaju markice, Una skuplja pasose
Truth be told, even though she holds the three citizenships, Una does not actually have any of the three passports shown above. Here is why:
1) The Serbian passport - the passport shown above is the new biometric version that both Una and I yet have to apply for. We still have the old blue passport valid until the end of the year. We'd better hurry I guess although none of my friends/family have the new passport. Serbians are in no rush. Ever. Ask Mark.
2) The Dutch passport - about a week ago Una and I officially became Nederlanders. The ceremony is the main topic of this post, so more about that later. On Wednesday we are going to actually apply for passports. Again, in no rush (we are still the Serbian citizens too).
3) The South African passport - we hope Una gets this one before she turns 18 and has to give it up in any case. It took the SA authorities ~16months to acknowledge her birth and it will take most likely as long to get her passport or so we are told.
***
Iskreno receno, iako ima sva tri drzavljanstva, Una ustvari nema ni jedan od pasosa prikazanih na slici. Evo i zasto:
1) Srpski pasos - Una (i ja) i dalje imamo plavi pasos. A posto smo culi da oni vaze do kraja ove godine, bolje da posetimo dobru tetu u ambasadi i zavrsimo posao. Opis Srba iz engleske verzije ne treba da prevodim :).
2) Holandski pasos - Una i ja smo pretprosle subote dobile drzavljanstvo, vise o ceremoniji u nastavku teksta ali jos nismo podnele zahtev za pasos. I tu nam se ne zuri :).
3) Juznoafricki pasos - nadamo se da ce ga Una dobiti pre nego napuni 18 godina (tad mora da izabere jedan od 3). Registracija rodjenja je trajala vise od godinu dana a otprilike toliko ce i pasos.
And now more about the naturalisatieceremonie
***
A sad malo vise o samoj ceremoniji
The ceremony was held in the Delft city hall which is a beautiful building dating all the way back to the 13th century.
***
Ceremonija je odrzana u gradskoj kuci u Delftu, predivnoj zgradi iz 13-og veka.
The whole thing started with a small reception with tea and coffee in the entry hall. We used the opportunity to take some photos.
***
Pocelo je sa malim prijemom sa kafom i cajem u ulaznoj dvorani.
Una between the EU flag and the flag of Delft
***
Una izmedju zastava EU i Delfta
Una being her usual self - naughty.
***
Una nestasko, kao i obicno.
The actual ceremony took place in de Raadzaal which is the hall where the Delft's parliament sits (check out the cheese on the table for the new Nederlanders). Right above all the cheese is the portrait of Queen Beatrix.
***
Sama ceremonija se odrzala u tzv Raadzaal gde zaseda parlament Delfta (obrati paznju na kolutove sira pripremljene za taze Holandjane). Odmah iznad svog tog sira je portret trenutne kraljice Beatrix.
The mayor of Delft gave a nice speech, welcoming everyone into their Dutchdom :), especially "the young ones, who seem to already have a very formed opinion and are not shy to express it". Yes, he was referring to Una, who thought that her newly learnt words in the EnDuSe language (English-Dutch-Serbian for those of you not familiar with this widely spoken language) are way more important than the mayor's speech.
***
Gradonacelnik Delfta je prvo odrzao govor, pozelivsi svima dobrodoslicu u drzavljanstvo, posebno "one najmladje, koji ocigledno imaju vec formirano misljenje i ne stide se da ga izraze, cak i u tako mladom dobu". Naravno, mislio je na Unu, koja je procenila da su njene nedavno naucene reci na SrEnHo jeziku vaznije od toga sto gradonacelnik ima da kaze pa se nadvikivala sa njim.
Our turn to get the certificates (and the cheese!)
***
Nas prozivaju da preuzmemo sertifikate (i sir!)
Mark made us take a photo with the mayor. Una was not impressed by his cool chain and kept pointing the mayor to Mark while yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" She obviously thinks that her Daddy is way cooler. And so do I :)
***
Mark nas je nagovorio da se slikamo sa gradonacelnikom. Una uopste nije bila impresionirana njegovim lancem i non-stop mu je pokazivala u pravcu Marka i drala se "Daddy, Daddy", po sistemu "to je moj tata i on je mnogo veca faca od tebe"
With all said and done, Una seems to be happy with her third citizenship! Gefeliciteerd!
***
Kad je sve zavrseno, Una je ocigledno bila srecna sto je postala Holandjanka. Gefeliciteerd!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
What is Una never going to become?
An engineer. Ever.
One of your duties and priviliges as a parent is to protect your child from all sorts of stuff, right?
Well, I will do my bestest best to protect her from choosing a profession that one day might lead her to come in contact with people like the bunch that I just had the honour of spending the evening with.
Instead of exploring Munich, walking in the snow, staring at the wall of my hotel room, anything, I had to sit for three longest hours in the history of time with the dullest bunch of people that you can possibly imagine. Or for your sake I hope you can't.
I am the one normally defending engineers (I have to, I am one of them :)) when people think they are boring/obnoxious/narrow minded/{insert your own}. And seriously, ou some of the brightest, funniest, most caring people I've met are engineers. If you know Mark, you know I am right. But this bunch? Oh my. And these were all big shots (I was by far the most junior there), people who have travelled the world, met all sorts of people, experienced different cultures. You would expect they would be fun to hang out with.
OK, enough rambling. It is almost midnight and I am off to bed to gather energy for the second half of the meeting tomorrow. Yay! But then I am off to get on the plane and go back to my brilliant, funny, loving husband engineer and my gorgeous daughter who is never going to become one.
One of your duties and priviliges as a parent is to protect your child from all sorts of stuff, right?
Well, I will do my bestest best to protect her from choosing a profession that one day might lead her to come in contact with people like the bunch that I just had the honour of spending the evening with.
Instead of exploring Munich, walking in the snow, staring at the wall of my hotel room, anything, I had to sit for three longest hours in the history of time with the dullest bunch of people that you can possibly imagine. Or for your sake I hope you can't.
I am the one normally defending engineers (I have to, I am one of them :)) when people think they are boring/obnoxious/narrow minded/{insert your own}. And seriously, ou some of the brightest, funniest, most caring people I've met are engineers. If you know Mark, you know I am right. But this bunch? Oh my. And these were all big shots (I was by far the most junior there), people who have travelled the world, met all sorts of people, experienced different cultures. You would expect they would be fun to hang out with.
OK, enough rambling. It is almost midnight and I am off to bed to gather energy for the second half of the meeting tomorrow. Yay! But then I am off to get on the plane and go back to my brilliant, funny, loving husband engineer and my gorgeous daughter who is never going to become one.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
What Mark has been doing instead of sleeping...
Una and I took a little scouting walk to our house this morning to check out Daddy's (and a few friends'!) painting work in progress. I love it and can't wait to move in (still a few things to be done: paint the doors, finish and oil the floor on the ground floor, install the floor on the first floor (it will be done in brazillian cherry (Jatoba), the same as downstairs), install the "laminaat" on the second floor in the playroom/tv room (this is where Una is going to paint, draw on the floors etc :)). Lots to do still but we are getting there!
And a few photos, as you can see the focus was on the walls because this is the only thing that has been done so far :)
The entrance hall
The front room (three walls are a shade of beige and one is a weird shade of red)
The backyard
The master bedroom
Una's room
The playroom/TV room
And a few photos, as you can see the focus was on the walls because this is the only thing that has been done so far :)
The entrance hall
The front room (three walls are a shade of beige and one is a weird shade of red)
The backyard
The master bedroom
Una's room
The playroom/TV room
View fromo the playroom onto the balcony
The balcony
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Una's latest...
With the house renovations and madhouse at work things on our side have been incredibly hectic in the past few weeks, hence my blogging hiatus (it's not like I am the world's most regular blogger in any case but this has probably been the longest...). And since my brain is in total information and processing overload right now (work multitasking, wall colour(s) choice overload, trying to make sense out of Una's recent language development etc) to write anything meaningful, I will leave you with a few latest photos of Una...
***
Kao sto vecina vas zna, kod nas je poslednjih par nedelja bila opaka guzva, sto zbog renoviranja kuce, sto zbog posla tako da dugo nismo nista pisali (nije da smo mi neki regularci ali ovo je bas previse). Posto je moj mozak trenutno potpuno preplavljen sa svih strana (vec pomenuti posao - februar treba ukinuti, neogranicena ponuda boja za zidove - nisam imala pojma da ima 138670 nijansi bez boje (!) i pokusavanja da ukapiram bilo sta od onoga sto Una neprestano brblja - osim "neee" to je sasvim jasno), postavljam samo par slika za sada...
Speed typing/ Brzo kucanje
Since Mark's and my painting gene were surgically removed at birth we rely on other people to save Una
***
Posto smo Mark i ja operisani od crtanja, racunamo na druge da spasu Unu
Potty training is hard work *** Covek se umori na nosi
The teddy bear/doggy to the rescue - this is a toy that Mark's mom knitted for Una, she claims it is a teddy bear, Una barks when she sees it. What do you think? I find it adorable, regardless of the species.
***
Tu je meda/kuca da pripomogne - ovo je napravila Markova mama, ona tvrdi da je meda, Una laje kad ga vidi. Ja mislim da je genijalan u svakom slucaju. Sta vi mislite sta je?
A Saturday afternoon outing at Prinsenhof/Subota popodne, Prinsenhof
Una is a true chocolate junkie, she loves it in any form: hot chocolate, chocolate bars, nutella...
***
Una obozava cokoladu u svim formama: topla cokolada, cokoladne table, eurokrem...
Exploring a cozy coffee shop in the Prinsenhof (former convent)
When Ivan is around, mama and daddy count for nothing
***
Kad je Ivan tu niko drugi se ne racuna
Moderately pleased with mama and daddy's choice for the wall colours in her room (pastel green and pastel yellow)
Moderately pleased with mama and daddy's choice for the wall colours in her room (pastel green and pastel yellow)
***
Boje koje smo izabrali za njenu sobu, pastelno zelena i pastelno zuta su joj se dopale tako/tako
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Una goes back to her roots (Part 2: South Africa) *** Una se vraca korenima (Deo 2: Juzna Afrika)
As usual, I am late with this post, but I promise to hurry up with the Christmass post :), well, with Christmass 2.1. as we have Christmass 2.2 coming up!
Four generations - Granny, Ouma, Daddy and Una
The siblings with their offspring - Linda&Tristin, Mark&Una
Tristin was so tiny, I was scared to hold him. Mark, on the other hand, handled the two like a pro - maybe he is ready for number two, ha!/
South Africa was great, for all of us. Una was a real trooper, handled the flights really well, didn't complain about sleeping in different beds, prams, car... She got spoilt loads by Mark's family, especially ouma and oupa. She got to meet Granny (her great-grandma) and play with the other two babies, Tristin and Nikola. She enjoyed running around barefoot for three weeks (something she rarely experiences in NL) and gave me a look of disgust when I tried putting a pair of socks on before the flight back. Mark and I left Una with his mum (this was the first time since she was born that we left her with someone else over night) and went to Swaziland for a couple of days. The two of us greatly enjoyed some time alone and Una had so much fun with ouma and apparently was so good to her, no whining, no fussing - not Una.
We also went to a lion park where she got to play with the lion cubs, saw a few lion packs (including a few white lions) and witness a kudu fight. Our friend Christelle took us all for a weekend away to Buffelspoort, a resort north of Johannesburg, where a group of very unusual guests joined us for breakfast - a troop of monkeys came so close to our rondavel that you could practically touch them. So Una got to see real, wild monkeys too. Lucky little brat, I only saw all this when I was a good couple of decades older (no, zoos do not count).
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The main reason for going to SA was Louise&Deon's wedding. It was held on the Vaal river, with a beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by a nice reception with yummy food. Louise did an amazing job of making almost all of the decorations and wedding planning in general herself.
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Saying goodbye was difficult, but it always is...
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As always, a few photos to back up my story...
***
Kao i obicno, kasnim sa opisom naseg putovanja u Juznu Afriku. Obecavam da cu da pozurim sa Bozicem 2.1 i 2.2 :).
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Sve u svemu, super smo se proveli u Juznoj Africi, svo troje. Una je upoznala ostatak Markove porodice i prijatelja, i igrala se sa malom Nikolom i bebom Tristinom (dobro sa njim se nije bas igrala ali nemojmo cepidlaciti :)). Upoznala je i Markovu baku, njenu prabaku, koja ima 84 godine i koja je bila presrecna da je docekala da upozna Unu. Una je uzivala u trckaranju bosonoga i tako me zbunjeno pogledala kad sam prisla da joj obujem carape pred let nazad. Mark i ja smo je ostavili na 2 noci sa Markovom mamom i otisli u Swaziland. I svima nam je bilo sjajno, Marku i meni je definitivno prijalo da budemo malo sami posle toliko vremena, narocito kad smo se culi sa Markovom mamom i ona nam rekla da je Una super i da je sve OK. Unu su ouma i oupa naravno potpuno razmazili iako su nam rekli da je bila sjajna ta dva dana, da ih je slusala, nije se bunila itd.
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Za te tri nedelje, Una je sa godinu i po iskusila ono sto sam ja tek sa 25 - mazila lavice, prisustvovala borbi antilopa, doruckovala u prisustvu majmuna (Christelle nas je odvela za vikend u Buffelsport, odmaraliste oko 100km od Johannesburga i jedno jutro smo doruckovali na stolu napolju i ugledali copor majmuna kako trckaraju oko bungalova).
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Svadba Louise&Deon je bila na reci Vaal, 60km juzno od Johannesburga. Ceremonija je bila napolju u preslatkoj kapeli a proslava je bila u restoranu pored toga. Klopa je bila super i sve u svemu fino smo se proveli. Louise je napravila manje-vise sve dekoracije sama i super je ispalo.
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I naravno, nekoliko fotografija...
Four generations - Granny, Ouma, Daddy and Una
***
Cetiri generacije: prabaka, baka, daddy i Una
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Touching a lion for the first time
***
Una dodiruje lava prvi put
A meerkat, even cuter than on Discovery
***
Surikat (pripada porodici mungosa), sladji nego na Discovery kanalu
A royal gemsbok
***
Kraljevski gemsbok, vrsta antilope, pojma nemam kako je preveden na srpski
Buffelsport - in the pool with Daddy
***
Buffelsport kompleks - u bazenu sa daddy
Mama Monkey and Baby Monkey
***
Copor majmuna je dosao skroz do nasih bungalova
In front of our rondavel with Christelle
***
Ispred nase kucice sa Christelle
The best friends with their offspring - Martin&Nikola, Mark&Una
***
Najbolji drugovi sa svojim cerkama - Martin&Nikola, Mark&Una
Torturing Daddy
***
Cemu sluze roditelji...
Driving on the wrong side of the road
***
Voznja na pogresnoj strani puta
Probably the closest Una will ever get to playing rugby
***
Ragbi - jedan od sportova kojima se Una sigurno nece baviti
The siblings with their offspring - Linda&Tristin, Mark&Una
***
Brat i sestra sa sledecom generacijom - Linda&Tristin, Mark&Una
Tristin was so tiny, I was scared to hold him. Mark, on the other hand, handled the two like a pro - maybe he is ready for number two, ha!/
***
Tristin je bio toliko malecak da me bilo strah da ga drzim. Mark je, kao sto vidite, bez problema drzao oboje istovremeno - mozda je spreman za broj dva? Ha!
Louise&Deon's beautiful wedding chappel/Kapela u kojoj su se vencali Louise&Deon
Louise&Deon's beautiful wedding chappel/Kapela u kojoj su se vencali Louise&Deon
Dancing the night away with ouma and oupa/Ples sa ouma i oupa
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Friends - people who come to see you even though they would rather travel somewhere else...
Living in a foreign country brings along all sorts of cultural shocks - food, climate, fashion (or the lack of it :)), mentality, values... I could go on for a while. Give it a year or seven (in my case) and you get accustomed to most of it. I make stampot for dinner and drink karnemelk; I cycle to work in the rain (yes, go ahead, throw back at me the statements from a few years ago); we had beschuit met muisjes when Una was born... One thing I can not (and will not) get used to is being far from my family and friends. Now, for family, it is kind of expected that they come and visit you, similar to - well, they have to love you even if you are not the most likeable person there is :). Friends on the other hand come if they miss you and want to spend time with you and the less likeable the place you live is the more certain you can be that they are really coming because of you :).
In front of the city hall
Misa seriously impressed with the giant clog
A walk in the park - the left half 2/3 of the Panjevac family, the right half 2/3 of the Gerbers
My friends from university Irena and Nebojsa and their 5.5 year old boy Milos who is by the way the most well mannered yet lively kid I've ever met (well done the two of you ;)!) visited us a couple of weeks ago. We all had a great time, Irena and I played yahtzee until our eyes got blood red (old days addiction, don't ask), Mark and Nebojsa occupied themselves with various engineering talks, even Milos who we feared would be bored turned out to be rather entertained by Una's toddler clumsiness and the two of them seemed to bond in a really cute way.
Yay for friends' visits, we hope to get many more in the future!
In front of the city hall
Misa seriously impressed with the giant clog
A walk in the park - the left half 2/3 of the Panjevac family, the right half 2/3 of the Gerbers
Misa (a.k.a patience) & Una (a.k.a impatience)
Now, who's next? Jasmina&Zoki&Velja? Maja&Milos&Ema? Martin&Santi&Nicola? Just give us a shout and we'll be waiting with fresh kibbeling and stroopwafels!
Until then, it is our turn to be visitors. The day after tomorrow we are off to sunny SA, collecting material for the second part of the post "Una goes back to her roots". Stay tuned!
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Brother and sisters/Brat i sestre
I am more than two weeks late with this post and the photos but lately things have been kind of hectic around here (lately? yeah, right). The title says brother and sisters which might be confusing at first. As appealing as that might sound, no I am not pregnant with twins or triplets. Or pregnant at all for that matter. In Serbian we refer to first cousins as brothers and sisters (by aunt/uncle) so the title refers to my sister's visit a few weeks ago with her two kids and tons of fun that the three of them, Jana, Pavle and Una had together. They visited us last year about the same time but this visit was way more relaxed and easier on everyone since they are 3.5years, 20months and 15 months old now instead of 2.5years, 10 months and 5 months. Jana is now the sweetest little girl who left toddler tantrums behind (well, almost completely), Pavle is the gentlest little boy you've ever met and Una is, well, still Una :).
Thinking hard or Like mama and daddy like daugther :)/Ne ide iver daleko od klade
Celebrating Tristin's birth with blue and white muisjes (Dutch tradition)/Slavimo Tristin-ovo rodjenje na holandski nacin
It was wonderful to watch them bond, play together, tease each other... When I see that it always makes me sad that they will not be growing up close to each other. And it was wonderful seeing my sister again and this time actually being able to spend some quality time just the two of us. We realised how much the kids enjoyed each other's company when Jana threw a tantrum the day before they left (one of few during the whole visit) that she didn't want to go home and when Una spent the whole day after they left looking for the two of them in every room of the house.
So here is to brothers and sisters and many many years of love, friendship and mischief that lay ahead of them.
And some photos...
***
Srpska verzija ce biti znatno kraca jer ne moram da objasnjavam sta su braca i sestre po tetki/ujaku/stricu... Tina, Jana i Pavle su bili kod nas pre par nedelja i bilo nam je sjajno. U istom sastavu su bili i skoro godinu dana ranije ali je razlika izmedju tog dolaska i ovog bila ogromna. Tad su svo troje bili prakticno bebe i ma koliko nam je bilo divno sto smo svi zajedno, ruku na srce bilo je i jako naporno. Ovaj put je bilo potpuno drugacije, Jana je izrasla u divnu, razumnu devojcicu, Pavle je najpitomiji deckic koga ste ikad upoznali a Una je, hm, i dalje Una :). I stvarno je bilo divno gledati ih kako se igraju, zadirkuju... I bilo je sjajno sto smo Tina i ja ovaj put provele par kvalitetnih sati zajedno, bez neprestanih "nemoj", "sidji sa frizidera", "ne cupaj lutki glavu" itd. I ukapirali smo koliko im je bilo super zajedno kad je Jana dan pred odlazak pocela da se buni da nece kuci i kad ih je Una posle odlaska danima trazila iz sobe u sobu.
I obavezne fotografije...
Aren't we just the coolest? / Zar nismo cool?
Love Jana's way/Ljubav na Janin nacin
Behaving in the coffeeshop/Mnogo smo dobri u kaficu
Red or green crayon?/Zelena ili crvena boja?
Thinking hard or Like mama and daddy like daugther :)/Ne ide iver daleko od klade
Celebrating Tristin's birth with blue and white muisjes (Dutch tradition)/Slavimo Tristin-ovo rodjenje na holandski nacin
In front of De Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church) in Delft/Ispred Nieuwe Kerk (nova crkva) u Delftu
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Tristin is here!
Una's little cousin, Tristan Jason Swanepoel made his grand appearance yesterday afternoon weighing in at 2.7kg and 49cm long. Both Mummy (Linda, Mark's sister) and Tristan are doing great and are expecting to be released from the hospital tomorrow.
Welcome to the world baby Tristan! We can't wait to see you in a few weeks time! Congrats Linda and Quintin on the arrival of your bundle of joy!
P.S. I apologise in advance if I spelt his name wrong. I thought it was Tristan (as in Tristan and Isolde) but got an email from Mark this morning that says Tristin. We'll see who was right ;)!
***added later***
P.P.S. TristIn it is! Uncle Mark was right!
Welcome to the world baby Tristan! We can't wait to see you in a few weeks time! Congrats Linda and Quintin on the arrival of your bundle of joy!
P.S. I apologise in advance if I spelt his name wrong. I thought it was Tristan (as in Tristan and Isolde) but got an email from Mark this morning that says Tristin. We'll see who was right ;)!
***added later***
P.P.S. TristIn it is! Uncle Mark was right!
Long time no write...
Things have been incredibly hectic on our side lately. In between my parents' visit, buying a house and mastering the incredibly complicated Dutch morgage system, my sister's visit with her two kids and busy times at work no wonder we are not getting to updating the blog as regularly as we should. But there you are, we'll try to do better in the future.
My parents' visit was short and sweet, they were here for two weeks and had a great time with Una. She warmed up to them very quickly and enjoyed the fact that with them she could do anything she is normally not allowed to do. A step back in our discipline path but that is granparents' privilege, right :)? Other than just enjoying their company, Mark and I definitely enjoyed not cooking for two weeks and going to the movies after oh has-it-been-that-long-ago. We went to see Mama Mia (yes, we are the last people on Earth to have seen it) and came home singing. There were a few heavy moments too. One was when we went to a forest/picnic area called Delftse Hout and Una threw a tantrum because she only wanted my Dad to hold her and he is not allowed to do that (he had a massive heart attack last year and can't not lift anything heavy), you could see that this same heart of his was suffering in a different way. The other was when my Mom came to take Una from our room one morning so that Mark and I could sleep in a bit. Due to my Mum's condition (possible primary lateral sclerosis) her walking/balance/talking is severely impaired and even the simplest of actions can be difficult. She bent to pick her from our bed, lost balance and fell backwards with Una in her arms. Mark jumped up, she got up as quickly as she could and started reassuring us that nothing happened to Una as my Mum hold her on her chest. I just felt my eyes filling with tears as I looked at Mark because neither of us was worried about Una, she has suffered much worse self-inflicted falls before and bounced right back, it was my Mum we were worried about. But such is life, I am glad that both of them are here (my Dad's health prognosis after the attack were not good) and are well enough that they can play with Una.
Oh, yes, this is actually Una's blog, so enough of my random rambling. Una is getting cuter by the day, if this is even possible. We have recently discovered her not so gentle side too, in the form of her teeth mark on her cousin Pavle's cheek :(. Her daycare teachers are assuring us that this behaviour is perfectly normal for her age, and they call it something like "fighting for power" which could be the case as Pavle is only 5 months older than her and is the gentlest soul ever. She definitely does not dare doing anything similar to Jana, who is 3 years old and would most certainly fight back :). Other than that, they are really enjoying each other's company and even though it is sometimes challenging for Mark, Tina and I to stay sane or hear each other through all that yelling, it is wonderful to watch them bond, especially knowing that they will only have 2-3 weeks a year to spend with each other :(.
In the spirit of this utterly incoherent post, here are some photos from my parents' visit. The circus photos (a.k.a. Jana, Pavle & Una) are coming soon!
What is this blonde head doing in my deda's and my photo?
High tea for Mama's birthday
Delftse hout
Walking with baka and deka
Monday, 25 August 2008
As though there was ever any doubt.../Ono sto ste vec svi znali...
Mark - ca. 1978
Una - ca. 2008
Una - ca. 2008
Mark - ca. 1978
Una - ca. 2008
She will have my charming personality though, right :)?
To be honest, this is what worries Mark and I most. Mark deems that one of me is more than enough in this world and I dread my Mum's predicament that it will all come back to me when I have a daughter just like me...
***
***
Bitno je da ima moj karakter, zar ne?
Iskreno receno, toga se Mark i ja najvise i plasimo. Mark misli da je jedan primerak mene sasvim dovoljan a i ja se plasim maminog prorocanstva da ce mi se sve vratiti kad jednog dana budem imala cerku kao ja...
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Tagged!
I was tagged by Janine and since I don't really have a blog of my own (yet!), I am going to have to hijack Una's blog. So here are my answers:
1. My uncle once: flew across the world to be the Master of Ceremonies at my wedding.
2. Never in my life: did I think I would marry a foreigner and feel I have more in common with him than I would with someone from my own country.
3. When I was five: I asked my parents to buy me all the books in a bookstore.
4. High school was: worthwhile, this is where I met my best friend.
5. I will never forget: the moment I held Una for the first time
6. Once I met: Branko Kockica
7. There’s this girl I know: who I admire for going through something very difficult, handling it in the best way possible and coming out of it so much stronger.
8. Once, at a bar: I lost my voice from singing loudly.
9. By noon, I’m usually: starving.
10. Last night: Mark and I found a few houses we liked.
11. If only I had: I have to steal Emily's answer here: free flights for life.
12. Next time I go to church: will be for Louise's wedding, looking forward to it!
13. What worries me most: is my parents' health.
14. When I turn my head left I see: my new shiny laptop.
15. When I turn my head right I see: my colleague.
16. You know I’m lying when: I don't look you in the eye.
17. What I miss most about the Eighties is: my perception of the world, I thought it was a much better place.
18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: can't think of any I would like to be.
19. By this time next year: we will hopefully be settled in our new house.
20. A better name for me would be: absent-minded.
21. I have a hard time understanding: politics.
22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: study pure mathematics or classic literature.
23. You know I like you if: I argue with you instead of just smiling politely.
24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: my family (old and new).
25. Take my advice, never: say sleep like a baby.
26. My ideal breakfast is: Mediterranean.
27. A song I love but do not have is: You Bring the Sun Out by Randy Crawford.
28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: go to Kalemegdan in April.
29. Why won’t people: stop trying to convince the world that their way is "the" way.
30. If you spend a night at my house: I would chat with you till late at night.
31. I’d stop my wedding for: illness of a loved one.
32. The world could do without: wars, guns and greed.
33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: press the start button of a nuclear bomb?
34. My favorite blonde(s) is/are: my mum, my sister and my best friend.
35. Paper clips are more useful than: folders.
36. If I do anything well it’s: learn.
37. And by the way: I tag Maca and Joyce.
1. My uncle once: flew across the world to be the Master of Ceremonies at my wedding.
2. Never in my life: did I think I would marry a foreigner and feel I have more in common with him than I would with someone from my own country.
3. When I was five: I asked my parents to buy me all the books in a bookstore.
4. High school was: worthwhile, this is where I met my best friend.
5. I will never forget: the moment I held Una for the first time
6. Once I met: Branko Kockica
7. There’s this girl I know: who I admire for going through something very difficult, handling it in the best way possible and coming out of it so much stronger.
8. Once, at a bar: I lost my voice from singing loudly.
9. By noon, I’m usually: starving.
10. Last night: Mark and I found a few houses we liked.
11. If only I had: I have to steal Emily's answer here: free flights for life.
12. Next time I go to church: will be for Louise's wedding, looking forward to it!
13. What worries me most: is my parents' health.
14. When I turn my head left I see: my new shiny laptop.
15. When I turn my head right I see: my colleague.
16. You know I’m lying when: I don't look you in the eye.
17. What I miss most about the Eighties is: my perception of the world, I thought it was a much better place.
18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: can't think of any I would like to be.
19. By this time next year: we will hopefully be settled in our new house.
20. A better name for me would be: absent-minded.
21. I have a hard time understanding: politics.
22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: study pure mathematics or classic literature.
23. You know I like you if: I argue with you instead of just smiling politely.
24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: my family (old and new).
25. Take my advice, never: say sleep like a baby.
26. My ideal breakfast is: Mediterranean.
27. A song I love but do not have is: You Bring the Sun Out by Randy Crawford.
28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: go to Kalemegdan in April.
29. Why won’t people: stop trying to convince the world that their way is "the" way.
30. If you spend a night at my house: I would chat with you till late at night.
31. I’d stop my wedding for: illness of a loved one.
32. The world could do without: wars, guns and greed.
33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: press the start button of a nuclear bomb?
34. My favorite blonde(s) is/are: my mum, my sister and my best friend.
35. Paper clips are more useful than: folders.
36. If I do anything well it’s: learn.
37. And by the way: I tag Maca and Joyce.
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Una's first birthday! / Unin prvi rodjendan!
It is hard to believe that a year has already flown by and our little girl is one year old. It is wonderful watching her change and learn new things by the day, but I must admit I am also a tiny bit sad that her baby days are gone (according to the books, this is the point where she is no longer a baby but a toddler).
We had a nice birthday party on Sunday, July 6th. Despite the gloomy weather forecast, the day was mostly sunny and warm enough to have a bbq outside our building. Una really enjoyed being the centre of attention, and of course opening the gifts. I must say she did not enjoy cutting her birthday cake as much as we had hoped, maybe she thought that it was incredibly cruel to kill the pretty teddybear?
And as usual, a few photos to support the story.
****
Prosla je vec jedna godina od Uninog rodjenja, neverovatno brzo. I moram da priznam da je radost gledajuci je kako raste i uci nove stvari svakog dana pomalo pomesana setom da vise nije nasa mala beba (prema knjigama, prvi rodjendan je kraj bebeceg perioda).
U nedelju posle rodjendana smo organizovali Uninu prvu rodjendansku zurku. Iako je prognoza bila zastrasujuca, mi smo bili hrabri i ipak isplanirali rostilj, sto se pokazalo kao odlican potez jer je dan na kraju ispao uglavnom suncan i topao. Uni se dopalo da je u centru paznje, a narocito su joj se dopali pokloni :). Nije bila preterano odusevljena ceremonijom secenja torte, mozda joj je proslo kroz glavu "neee, ne ubijajte medu"!
Evo i nekoliko slika...
What do I do now? / A sta sad da radim?
I am still confused... / I dalje sam zbunjena....
Una's first Lego set!/Prve lego kockice!
Teddybearcake, proudly made by Mama&Daddy :) / Medatorta, by Mama & Daddy svojerucno ;)
Don't kill it!/Ne koljite medu!
If there are South Africans, there is a bbq (sorry, braai!)/ Gde su Juznoafrikanci, tu je i rostilj!
Hm, have to look for a rocking rhyme in English... /"Djiha, djiha, cetiri noge..."
I am still confused... / I dalje sam zbunjena....
Una's first Lego set!/Prve lego kockice!
Teddybearcake, proudly made by Mama&Daddy :) / Medatorta, by Mama & Daddy svojerucno ;)
Don't kill it!/Ne koljite medu!
If there are South Africans, there is a bbq (sorry, braai!)/ Gde su Juznoafrikanci, tu je i rostilj!
Hm, have to look for a rocking rhyme in English... /"Djiha, djiha, cetiri noge..."
Here comes a reallllly big present!/Ta-da, evo ga i najveci poklon!
The best part of this gift is that the guys (Ivan, Aleksandar i Dalibor) have made a small printed circuit board for Una, with "my first PCB" made of tracks. Brilliant! Will take a good photo and post it later
/
Najbolji deo poklona je stampana plocica koju su Ivan, Aleksandar i Dalibor napravili i na kojoj pise "moja prva stampana plocica" (dvojezicno naravno). Fenomenalno! Slikacu i postaviti sliku uskoro!
I will open and assemble it all by myself! / Sama cu ga sastaviti!
Birthday hat no. 1./Rodjendanski sesir br.1
I will open and assemble it all by myself! / Sama cu ga sastaviti!
Birthday hat no. 1./Rodjendanski sesir br.1
Frederik, Una and birthday hat no.2 (made by the kids&teachers at daycare)/Frederik, Una i rodjendanski sesir br. 2 (koji su napravili klinci i vaspitacice u obdanistu)
This is soooooo much fun!/ Narode, ovo je super!
Friday, 4 July 2008
Unin prvi odlazak na more / Una's first beach holiday
Ono sto je najbolje na Rodosu/ Rhodes at its best
Prvi put u bazenu sa Daddy/ First time in the pool with Daddy
Mark i MiniMark - spremni za jutarnju setnju/ Mark and MiniMark - ready for a morning walk
Sad ja moram njih da hranim... /My turn to feed them...
Ponovo se vidimo sa cika-Martinom/ Nice to see uncle-Martin again
Borba oko kasike/Fighting for the spoon
Prvi put u moru/ First time in the sea
Stari grad Rodos/Old Town Rhodes
Zar nisu preslatki?/ Aren't they just gorgeous?
Spremna za ronjenje/ Snorkeling time!
Zovem inostranstvo/ Making a long distance phone call
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Being a mom
This is not really a post about Una, or at least not in the way most posts in this blog are. It is more on what Una has done to me...
(this comes from cyberspace, I haven't written it myself)
Being a Mom
We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?""It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations." But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child-bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash and every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, and not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
(Bet you couldn't get through this without a tear!)
(this comes from cyberspace, I haven't written it myself)
Being a Mom
We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?""It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations." But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child-bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash and every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, and not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
(Bet you couldn't get through this without a tear!)
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Learning something new every day/ Svaki dan ucimo nesto novo
It looks like the days when we would wait for weeks for Una to learn something new are long gone. In the past couple of days she has started crawling, pulling herself up to standing position, hugging us (proper squeeze-like hugs), pointing very clearly what she wants etc. She really is getting cuter by the day!
***
Dani kad smo cekali nedeljama da Una nauci nesto novo su davno prosli. U poslednjih par dana Una je pocela da puzi, uspravlja se u stojeci polozaj, grli nas (pravi stegni-jako-jako zagrljaj). I ako je moguce, svakim danom je sve sladja!
This standing business is really difficult for a tiny baby!/Ova prica sa stajanjem je prilicno naporna za malu bebu!
Mama's first Mother's Day gift from Una!/Mamin prvi poklon od Une za Dan Majki
Crawling!/Puzanje!
First taste of icecream - yummy! Life will never be the same again/Njam, njam, sladoled...
Give me more!/Hocu jos!
Splashing time/Prskanje
***
Dani kad smo cekali nedeljama da Una nauci nesto novo su davno prosli. U poslednjih par dana Una je pocela da puzi, uspravlja se u stojeci polozaj, grli nas (pravi stegni-jako-jako zagrljaj). I ako je moguce, svakim danom je sve sladja!
This standing business is really difficult for a tiny baby!/Ova prica sa stajanjem je prilicno naporna za malu bebu!
Mama's first Mother's Day gift from Una!/Mamin prvi poklon od Une za Dan Majki
Crawling!/Puzanje!
First taste of icecream - yummy! Life will never be the same again/Njam, njam, sladoled...
Give me more!/Hocu jos!
Splashing time/Prskanje
No story behind this photo, just - can it get any cuter than this?/Nema specijalne price vezane za ovu sliku, ali ima li ista sladje od nje?
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