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)!