Okay, this is getting outta control...

Yesterday, we had our normal awkward meeting with the concierge of our building...and the fact that I can't remember her name makes my point. Anyway, I'm struggling through my bad French to give her an update on Lucienne's newest feats when I realize that Lucienne is having a conversation of her own with Madame! The two of them are carrying on like old friends and suddenly I hear Lucienne use a word that I'd heard her use before, but that I thought was jibberish. Madame recognized it immediately and said, "qu'est-ce que tu mange?" Well apparently Lu had made sense to her. She was sharing what we had been out doing. Lu answered, "brioche!" Now thanks to this chance encounter, I know that when my daughter says to me "mange" Mama, she means she wants something to eat! The funny thing is that I know the word "manger" and I use it all the time, but due to the way that Lu was saying it or the context, I never figured it out.

Lucienne does also have a cute way of mixing up words now, especially when she's been at the créche all day. She says "C'est" for "it is" or "Ca" for "that" and also used "lá" for "there".

This is one of the sad things about leaving Brussels because Lu is really making strides in two langauges. Her English is exceptional and she is more fluent in French than I am! She can also count to 4 in French and was teaching me a song too that she must have learned at the créche (something about a lapin). This is in addition to "bateau sur l'eau" that she sings all the time! I've got to figure this new one out!

Moving at warp speed

Lucienne had been developing by leaps and bounds at such a pace it's hard to keep up with her. I was gone in Berlin over the weekend and could even tell a difference in her language after only a few days. She speaks now in 3 to 4 word sentences which are not complete, but she definately gets her intention across. A few cute things she's saying now is when she wants me to carry her she says, "Mama, carryU?" I suppose this is from me asking, "Do you want me to carry you?" It hasn't occured to her that these are two words. She is still asking to take a shower, her term for a bath. Lucienne is quite enthusiastic about most things and empatically exclaims, "Mama, a puppy right dere!" She still is very concerned about what belongs to whom and often verifies this, "Mama hat, Dada hat, Lulu hat" and she is very concerned if one of us is lacking the coat, hat, shoes, hood, etc. Lucienne loves to go to the "coffee shot" and play at the "beach" although she's beginning to use "sand".

Now that Lucienne has the alphabet mastered, she's working on numbers and shapes. She can count to 10 and knows several shapes and can draw a circle. I've been especially impressed by her accuracy while coloring. She really concentrates and says closely within the lines. Lucienne's singing has really developed too. While on spring break she broke into a rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and I didn't even know she knew any of the words! She sings "Row Row Row Your Boat" too. At music class she is really keen to learn the words and is aways trying to sing along. She's also singing to herself in a kind of gibberish.

Big Girl Bed!

The big girl bed has arrived at our house, but has yet to be slept in through the night. Lucienne has taken a few naps and we love to read stories before bed in it, but she still likes to sleep in her crib. We hope that she'll warm up to it within the next month because her bedroom set has been purchased by a couple expecting a baby at the end of June. When we've tried to put her to sleep in the big girl bed, in spite of her better judgement must come out in the living room and see what mama and dada are up to. After the 3th or 4th time she asks to go to sleep in her crib.

Easter Egg Hunt

The Little Gym which Lucienne attends on Thursday and Friday mornings sponsored an Easter Egg Hunt out in Waterloo. It was a beautiful day and very well attended. Of the 100 odd children lining the tape barrier waiting for the bell to signal the beginning of the hunt, Lucienne was the only impatient one. For 10 minutes (but what felt more like 2 hours) I had to hold back a screaming Lucienne, who was frustrated because she wanted to get her hands on the chocolate! When the bell finally did ring at 3:15 on the dot, she had worked herself into such a state having thrown herself on the ground, the other kids just stepped over her to get to the eggs.

When Lucienne finally figured out what was going on, that the hunt has started, she ran out and collected a handful of candy, then took her bucket and made a B-line for the little playhouse to sit alone and consume her treasure. Oblivious of the kids around her who were still filling up their baskets to the brim, Lucienne was content to savor her few precious chocolates in private. Needless to say, she can't wait for the Easter Bunny to come on Sunday!

Lulu is TWO!

We welcomed Lucienne's 2nd birthday with a great celebration of friends and family. Aunt Sarina, Mathias and Sophia visited from Zurich, Cousins Michelle and Axel came from Paris and Grampa Larry and Gramma Myrna came all the way from Azerbaijan! We also had our friends Norah and Niall over as well as Zach, Dawn, Hannah and Izzy and our neighbor, Giovanni.

It was a house full and a fantastic time. Lu loved the puppy cupcakes and thoughtful gifts chosen just for her. My best memory of the day will always be when we sang happy birthday to her. She was so thrilled and loved the attention. She even blew out her candles; no problem! I made a vegetable lasagne and appetizers of bruchetta, caprice picks and tapanade with croustini. Thanks so much to cousin Michelle for the beautiful pictures. They capture the beauty and spirit of the day.

La Primevere

Lucienne has attended the Primevere créche since December 2007. It's convienently located across the parrot roundabout, just a 5 minute walk from our apartment.
The woman who cares for her is Melanie who I have mixed feelings about. She's not the happiest woman on the planet, but few Belgians are. Lu doesn't seem to mind her and can say her name now. Melanie has told me that she loves Lucienne's accent when she says French words. She told me, "I love the way Lucienne says, dodo and bonjour, her American accent sounds really nice." I find this suprising since she has what I would call a 'toddler accent' whenever she says anything in English! She has few words that are truly clear, "no" and "puppy" of course being the exception! She seems to increase her French vocabulary each week lately. The other day when I came to pick her up she saw me and said, "Maman c'est la!" (Mama is here!) Melanie has told me that Lucienne can understand everything in French which I've witnessed at the créche and now at her Little Gym class.
We are lucky to have such a good créche as I've heard that some can be quite basic with women who exist at work only to look forward to their next smoke break. Often when I pick Lucienne up, Melanie has music playing and she keeps a rotation of toys going for the children. They also decorate and plan activities for every holiday. Overall I think it's been a great experience for Lucienne.

Favorite Foods

Lucienne has always had a healthy appetite, in fact her Papa Dan said, "she eats as much as a man!" Some of her favorite foods are pictured here. You can see that Babybel cheese is particularly irresitable! We shop mostly bio (organic) which we can get easily here in Brussels. Lu loves fruit of almost any kind, but vegetables are another story. Tomatoes are a good bet, which she calls "meemos" and avocado which she inhales with tortilla chips. Pasta is her favorite meal, preferrably with tomato sauce. These German animal cookies have been really fun as she learns animal names and the sounds they make. Breakfast is her biggest meal of the day generally, which often includes scrambled eggs, yogurt, toast or crepes in large quantities.

Carnival

On February 24 this year Belgium celebrated Mardi Gras or the beginning of lent. This is the day that kids traditionally dress up although Halloween is gaining in popularity. Lucienne went as a kitty cat to the créche that day where she ate crepe among the other disguised toddlers. The black makeup was eventually wiped all over her face, but she kept her disguise on all day. This was an appropriate costume since her favorite toy now is the grey kitty cat that her cousin Mathias gave her for Christmas. The little guy has graduated from ''reow" to "kitty" as Lu's vocabulary expands.

Now at the créche, holidays are celebrated with art projects (bricolage). For carnival Lu made this mask, theoretically to wear at a parade. We didn't make it to one, feeling the mayhem would be too much for us.

The Europeans take a week holiday during this time with many parades and festivals usually involving dressing up and drinking. We planned a visit to cousin Michelle and Axel's near Paris for the holiday. We couldn't wait to show them some of Lu's accomplishments since they'd seen her in November for Thanksgiving.

Mr. President

Some call him Mr. President, others call him "Bomba". This may be a testament to Obama's unprecidented connection with the common man... and toddler? Lucienne can recognize two important people on television; Joe from Blue's Clues and our new president Barak Obama, whom she prefers to refer to as Bomba. It's quite adorable and made Kevin and I realize how obvious our excitement must have been when we watched the election and inauguration.

No more nonny?

I'm a little nervous about writing this in the chance that I may jinx it, but it seems Lu has kicked the nonny habit herself with very little urging from her parents. Dare I say that giving up the pacifier is going to be as easy as giving up the breast and the bottle? (She really is the perfect child). It's only been since Valentine's Day so it's a bit premature, but each night when she goes to bed she does not ask for it. I've been preparing her that when she turns two next month that nonny is going to live with another baby because then Lu won't be a baby anymore once she's two. Kevin thinks that maybe because she opened some gifts on Valentine's Day that Lu may have thought it was her birthday. We have made her none the wiser. Wish us luck! Considering that up until the 14th she needed two nonnies to get to sleep!

ABC & Red, Yellow, Blue!

For the past two weeks Lucienne has been talking up a storm, learning all her colors and some of her ABCs! If that's not enough, she has been putting together sentences and using prepositions. First the colors are almost mastered which includes the spectrum as well as black, grey and brown which are reported to be most difficult for toddlers. She loves to pick them out in objects around her.

The alphabet is coming along too with as many as 10 letters identified consistently, her favorites being T, I and P. The other day after I picked her up at the creche she was going on about 'p' and after much pointing I figured out that she was telling me that she saw a big 'P' on a sign signaling parking which was reserved for CD plates and of course I was illegally parked!

Particularly this week Lu has been crafting sentences that leave us amazed. This morning when she awoke and heard the shower she asked me, "Shower?". I told her that her daddy was in the shower and she said (I kid you not) "My dada in the shower. Mama not in the shower." Her mind is really working on possessive relationships too. She wants to assign things to people, "mama's pants", "dada's coat", "Lulu's shoes". It seems something that she needs to repeat often to reconcile in her mind.

Lu made the day of her caregiver at the creche, Melanie when she said her name the other day. Melanie was so touched and asked if Lucienne talked about her at home. She doesn't really, but when I tell Lu that she's going to the creche, I say she's going to visit Melanie and feels quite content about it. Melanie told me that she loves Lu's English accent when she speaks French; words like, toot (pacifier), dodo (sleep), gouté (snack).

Lastly, Lu's daddy is quite proud of that fact that she's using prepositions which he's been working hard with her. She tells us now when she wants her coat or shoes 'off' and has been using 'in' as well in different situations. We of course think she's very gifted, but more than that love seeing each new develop hand how she processes and articulates new experiences.

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)!

On the Slopes

One of the highlights of our trip to see cousins Sophia and Mathias and Auntie Sarina and Uncle Markus was our days up on the sunny, snowy slopes around Lake Zurich. There are small sledding and beginner skiing slopes all over, many within 20 minutes from their house. Each park has rustic little restaurants which serve basic Swiss faire, most complete with 90 year old grannies working in the kitchen. Lu had a great time sledding and was really brave on the long slopes. She was squealing with delight!

Je suis Lulu!

Lu said her name for the first time today. It's funny how her self recognition has added a whole new dimension to her personality. She's now little Lulu and now longer the bebé. We are a family of babbling double syllables; Mama, Dada and Lulu. She also calls herself and other little girls, la petite, which is the French for little girl.
With Christmas just around the corner I've especially enjoyed our tree and the advent calendar that Gramma Jan made for Lu. She seems to recognize Santa, often calling him papa. There isn't as much commerical presence of Christmas here so she doesn't see much outside the house. We are showing her some of the classic shows, Rudoph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa is Coming to Town on DVD.

Sinterklass

The Belgians and the Dutch have a wonderful tradition on Dec. 6 which celebrates the arrival of Sinterklass and his helpers Zwarte Piet. Children leave their shoes near the fireplace or the door with carrots for Sint's horse and a note telling him that they've been good. During the night Zwarte Piet sneaks down the chimney and replaces the carrots with kruidnoten cookies, candy, clementines and little gifts for well-behaved children. If children have been bad they are whipped with a switch carried on the belt of Piet. Sinterklass makes a long voyage from Spain each year to bring the treats for the children by boat. When he arrives in the low countries (a different port each year) he mounts his horse and heads out to do his work with many Zwarte Piet helpers.

The fun continues when families work to create poems which poke fun at each other, in the most harmless way, teasing about habbits, love interests or mannerisms. The poem is accompanied with a home made gift which is sometimes only found by decifering a treaure map or series of clues. I love the fact that everyone, young and old, is involved and much work goes into working out the perfect poem and special gift. Kevin and I organized a Sinterklaas treat for Lucienne this year. The carrots and shoes were temporary play things and the cookies and chocolate were a big hit, not to mention the clementines which she loves!

Yada yada yada

Lucienne is quite the conversationalist these days. Some of the new words are coat, tree, boat, cookie, flower among many others. She also tells us when something is "gone" or she wants "more" and is forever asking if we are going to "go" in the "car". We love the cute names for things that aren't quite accurate, but make sense to her. Meemo is for fish, mee for money and due to the shape of her piggy bank, for pigs too. If Lucienne hasn't found the right word for something she will do a little sound effect. Bunnies are a flip of the tongue which is the sound of munching on carrots, she flaps her arms for a duck and meows for a kitty. Lu is learning her colors and can identify and say red, purple, green and blue. It seems each day a new word comes out of her mouth.

Around the house

Lucienne has been developing in leaps and bounds. She also seems to have an organizational streak which becomes obvious when she sits at her table and uses her pens. It's very cute how she makes sure the cap is back on before she picks up a new pen to draw. Even when it's time to put the pens away and get ready for lunch or bedtime, she'll put the pens neatly back in the box, all with the caps point up!



Her skills of matching and identifying are very strong. We brought her a book in which pictures have corresponding sticker and she is able to match them every time...even orientated the right way. She is very good at her puzzles, in fact we need to get her some more complicated ones.



She's talking all the time now and can ask questions, "Where dada?" and is endlessly trying to make conversation with her limited vocabulary. I can see her expanding the meaning of words when she recognizes when something is empty by saying "gone". Blue's Clues has become a favorite, in fact it's the only show she watches. When Lucienne asks to watch it she opens and closes her hands saying "Clue, Clue" or sometimes "Joe".

Lu is forever imitating us and she understands basically everything I ask her to do. In this picture I had removed the batteries from her toy to recharge them and after watching me she was determined to used the screwdriver to remove the screws herself. Luckily she wasn't successful. She loves to look at her books and will study them for quite a while. Her favorites right now are the Dr. Seuss books, specifically "Go Dog Go" which she can say...well short of and "I'll Teach My Dog A lot of Words". It's not surprising that both have dog characters since that seems to be her favorite animal. Kevin and I are daily waiting for something new our little Lulu will come up with!