Alex Meets Family and Friends

The Flight to the Netherlands

In May we took Alex on his first trip to the Netherlands, so our family and friends would get a chance to meet him.

The trip to the Netherlands went remarkably smoothly. The same cannot be said of the packing on Friday morning. Packing our suitcases became quite a challenge, not only because we had to pack lots of stuff for Alex, but also because we needed to keep an eye on Alex. It was not entirely surprising, therefore, that already on the way to the airport we started realizing that we had forgotten things, unimportant things like Alex' stroller and half of the baby monitor.

At the airport, Alex greatly enjoyed looking around, watching all those people and the colorful planes. The flight itself went very smoothly for all of us. Alex slept through most of it, and he was not at all bothered by the changes in air pressure. Of course, it probably helped a great deal that he was fed both during take-off and landing.

When we got off the plane, Alex was surprisingly awake, considering that it was one o'clock in the morning as far as our biological clocks were concerned. Cindy carried him in the Baby Bjorn, facing forward, and he was happily looking around at all the new things.

A Day in Amsterdam

Rob's brother Nathan had gotten up early and was at Schiphol to pick us up. Surprisingly, everything and everyone fitted easily in the car. At Nathan and Martine's, the three of us took a three hour nap, and woke up at about half past noon to a wonderful breakfast prepared by Nathan and Martine. Nothing like Dutch bread!

After our meal, we went on a short trip through Amsterdam. Cindy really wanted to take a boat trip through the canals of Amsterdam, and so the Dutch remainder of the group sacrificed themselves and partook in this afternoon adventure. As you can see below, the boat trip provides a charming and unique perspective on Amsterdam, and everyone enjoyed it (even though Alex looks somewhat perturbed in the bottom left picture).

Alex' Baptism

On Whitsunday, May 19, Alex was baptized in the same church that we got married in, and by the same priest. We were happy to see that many of our family came to witness the baptism. The priest had laryngitis and a fever that day, but still he found the strength to do the baptism. He had to whisper, however, but that created a cozy atmosphere. A small delegation of the men's choir sang three songs during the service. Alex did not notice all that much from the ceremony. He slept through most of it, but was suddenly awakened by a splash of cold water on his head. He looked perturbed at Rob, who was holding him, but went back to sleep immediately. Alex' godparents, Michael and Christine, could not be there, because they just had a baby. Rob's parents acted as proxies.

Martine took pictures of the baptism. They will be posted as soon as they are available.

Whitmonday

Whitmonday is a public holiday in the Netherlands, and Rob's parents had the day and seized the opportunity to play with Alex. Alex' great grandma Beppie also visited and was delighted to finally meet Alex. We enjoyed a relaxed day with no activities planned. The major achievement was a 45 minute walk with Alex though the countryside, with many cows and dandelions!

Travel time!

On Tuesday and Wednesday we visited friends. On Tuesday Helene, Maarten and their son Tijmen in Nijmegen, and on Wednesday Jan-Willem en Geke in Groningen. Jan-Willem had also invited Harald and Fabienne and their two daughters, Femke and Anna, who are 2.5 and 1 years old, respectively. As you can imagine, the house was filled with activity! In all the hubbub, we forgot to take pictures...

Reminiscing

On Thursday we slept late. Actually we slept late everyday, till about 10 or 11 a.m., in an attempt to keep Alex on the U.S. schedule (of course it had nothing to do with the fact that we wanted to sleep late...). We gave Alex a bath, and before we knew it it was already late in the afternoon... We relaxed a little more, and got ready for the big event for the day: dinner at the Wilmersberg, where we held our wedding reception and dinner a year and a half ago.

On our way to the Wilmersberg, we visited Rob's aunt and uncle Kitty and Bert. We enjoyed their company while sitting outside in their backyard that was designed by Kitty.

Dinner at the Wilmersberg was great. The food was delicious, the view from the windows was great, and the memories were many and fond.

Rob's parents had entertained and taken care of Alex while we were gone. They had enjoyed it greatly, as had Alex. It was only the second time since Alex was born that both Cindy and Rob were away from him.

Shopping or not

Friday was time to go shopping... After we slept late of course. Again, Alex enjoyed the many people and the bright colors in the shopping mall. We got Dutch CD's and books, and gifts for Rob's parents who have been great hosts, providing wonderful food (Dutch bread rules!) and great company all week long!

After the shopping spree, we briefly visited Rob's grandmother, so she could see Alex one more time.

We visited Rob's aunt and uncle Sjaan and Wim in the evening. We were treated to a fabulous dinner and we had a great time. Unfortunately, Alex was getting really tired and somewhat upset, and we had to go home.

Later that evening, Tom visited us in a last-minute arranged visit, and gave Alex a cuddly bear as a present, that is almost as big as Alex himself!

Table Reunion

On Saturday, we had a mini-reunion of people who were sitting at the same table as Rob and Cindy during the wedding dinner. Interestingly, three of the couples at that table had babies at around the same time! Mirjam, Martijn and their son Robin were hosting the mini-reunion. Ilse visited as well, but unfortunately Annette, Jeroen and their daughter Anne had to call off their plans at the last moment.

It was great fun to see the babies together, and to see our friends. Alex discovered that it is quite satisfying to suck on Robin's forehead, and Robin politely gave Alex the opportunity.

Home sweet home

Sadly, time had come already to go back home. Rob's parents drove us to the airport, and seized this last chance to play with Alex. The flight back was remarkably pleasant, as Rob had arranged a seat at the bulkhead and an extra seat for Alex. United's skies were indeed very friendly.

During the flight, Alex slept a bit, played a bit, and was a bit fussy at times, but on the whole he did very well on the plane.

Yet later, during the drive home, the crazy changes in timezones took its toll, and Alex was rather unhappy and screaming until Cindy sat with him in the back and comforted him. At home, Alex still had a hard time going to sleep, but eventually he did and he slept well the rest of the night.

Luckily, our plan of trying to keep Alex more or less on the U.S. schedule while we were in the Netherlands paid off, and Alex went back to his normal sleep cycle almost immediately.

Last update: Jun 10 2002