Best Friends

Lulu has a best friend, well as much as a 22 month old can have a friend. It's Giovanni, or Jojo which she calls him. He is 2 and a half and lives across the hall from us and they attend the same créche. They are passionate about each other. Lucienne listens for him to come home and if she hears him will point at the door saying, 'Jojo'. They usually have a play date on Sundays. The same kids that, if they see each other in the elevator, but have to home for dinner will cry when separated, totally ignore each other when playing. Jojo's mom told me a funny story about their discussions of Lucienne. She said that when Jojo misbehaves, she tells him that "Lucienne would never do that". Well one day when said asked him ''Who's Mommy's favorite person?". Expecting him to say Jojo, he answered, "Lucienne!".

Lu's Room

Epiphany

One of the great things about living in Brussels, where two cultures meet, French and Dutch, is that the Christmas season extends over a month! From Sinterklaas on December 6 to Epiphanie on January 6 the festivals distract from the cold and grey weather. The traditions which surround Epiphany in Belgium comes from the French. Local bakeries stack gateau de rois on counters and in windows each wearing a gold paper crown. Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the three kings to Jerusalem in search of the christ child. The cake is symbolic of their gifts brought to baby Jesus. Just as in Biblical times, the fun of bringing a cake home isn't just the wonderful flakey crust and marzipan (almond) filling, but the secret 'gift' hidden inside. The lucky person that finds the prize gets to wear the epiphany crown for the day.
Our cake was purchased from our favorite bakery, le Pain Quotidien. It had a small ceramic tile inside with the logo of the bakery printed on it. Since we were just three and Lu isn't old enough to particpate other than eating and donning the crown, we skipped the part of the tradition that requires the youngest member of the household to sit under the table and assign each piece of the gateau to those seated at the table. Mom picked out the tile in order to avoid any dramatic choking episodes and Lu got to be 'king' for the day.

Happy 2009!

The Crouches meet the new year in Switzerland with Familie Bamert. On new years eve it snowed which created a beautiful white blanket which sparkled in the moonlight. At midnight the local spa on the hill above their house let off a grand display of fireworks. Our celebration included an authenic Swiss fondue, dress up, dancing and a tischbombe! A tischbombe is a kind of firework that spits out toys and party favors rather than sparks. The pirate themed tischbombe was a hit with the kids, in fact Mathia wanted to sleep with his eyepatch and mustache! Lulu even learned to 'Cheers' (of course with kinderwein)!