England

Mamã and I stayed on at Grandma's and Ti'pah's for another 10 days after papá went back by train. We visited a national trust house where I had children's quiz to find our way through the secret garden and to a great playing area with a stream and climbing frame. It also had a building converted to colourful display of fake birds and mamã took this picture of us 3.

We also saw Lauren and Auntie Vicky and had loads of giggles :-) We played games.

I love playing cards and monopoly and Ti'pah would be ready to keep me entertained vs the television especially on the days when mamã was working and grandma was preparing lovely dinners.

Grandma and Ti'pah took us to a new place mamã did not know although it was only 15 mins drive from the house - Dinton Pastures - a massive lake(s) and walking paths as well as a big playground. We were lucky with the sun two times. On not such a sunny day we went to Marlow at the end of the day for a short walk. It suddenly started to pour down with rain heavily but I braved it to feed the swans while mamã and grandma stayed under a tree.

England - welcome Vivaan

I am proudly holding Vivaan in my arms - he is only 6 weeks old. He is Uncle Josh's and Chandni's gorgeous little boy. He is so cute. I love babies and when I grow up I want at least 3.

England holidays

We drove to England and as usual M25 was busy and very slow....we stopped in Bracknell to have a long overdue break. Grandma and Ti'pah had organized a lot of different activities. We went to a great farm where I fed all types of goats, held the rabbits, bounced and jumped up and down on a big bouncy surface and went helter skelter down two types of slides....one slide gave me a nice 'burn' on my cheek...not so nice but I still got up and carried on down the slides again :-). Ti'pah taught me the rules of cricket, we would watch 8 pm at night the highlights of the games. Another day just with mamã and papá we went to Legoland. They have a mini UK made of lego including a cricket game where I made sure we not only had 1 good picture but 2 for Ti'pah. There with a few buildings from Europe even Leuven townhall. We saw a 4 D film with Chima, put out a fire, went swinging in a very large pirate boat where we all felt our stomachs were leaving our mouths but luckily we caught them :-) Papá and I went on a hoovercraft ride where we were spun around in a circle and people including mamã could create little water bombs to get us wet.

England holidays - Henley

We went to Henley. Mamã and papá took me to an old curiosity books and maps shop. We bought a map of the Thames for the Twyford room in Óbidos. We also walked around other shops and bought loads of second hand books. Then I played in the playground and we went for a walk along the river Thames.

Stage

Hip hop dance stage - this was cool. I joined 2 other boys and about 8 girls and we learnt a dance routine that mamã came to watch at the end of the week. We were zombies, cool dudes, Michael Jasckson, comics etc.... I have the groove....

Portuguese Family

We had a wonderful 10 days in Portugal, seeing the family and friends. We joined Bivó for the village festival that takes place every year on the first weekend in August. My Papa's uncle Firmino and Papa's godson Fernando play in the band (both trumpets). We had a massive lunch with lot of the family in the courtyard of Bivó. I loved playing with my 'cousins' especially Rodrigo, Victor and Rafael visiting from France. We stayed late and saw the band start the night concert in front of the chapel.

Portugal

Yes, holiday time with mamã and papá. On the Monday we drove with vovô and Teresa to sign the final payment for our new house in óbidos and to get the key - yeepeeee. The hard work began....after taking Teresa to Lisbon (thanks again for all the help) we went immediately shopping - major shopping in Ikea and shopping for food and odd things in Lisbon. It was a very late first night and I slept like a log. Up again the next day and more shopping in Caldas da Rainha and work in the house. The next day some more shopping back in Lisbon and dropped off vovô and then we went searching for the Kare warehouse. We found it down a street of converted warehouses - cool shops and spent ages in two shops after a yummy cake and drink :-) I loved our rented van - I was so proud of it, I rode with papá every time. Then back to our house and a day at the house with a number of works including meeting the architects for attic and kitchen. Then we went back to Porto and stayed a few days to see our family, enjoying the weather, cinema and shops and walks along Quinta da Mar. Renata's christening was on the Saturday. She is so cute and looked lovely in her dress. I was very good in the church for the service and afterwards was allowed to play freely with Rodrigo and their cousin also called Tiago as well as my bigger 'cousins'. Tio let us play on his iPad *very happy with this toy". Mamã and papá were able to relax.

Summer vacation

Yes it's time to enjoy my summer holidays yeepeeeeee.
We started with our friends at our house for a pool party - we kids were so excited we created just a few small holes in the pool.

Mama' and Papa' had a night away for work and I had a sleep over at the neighbours whcih I thouroughly enjoyed.

Rodrigo and vovó came to visit and then took me back to Porto. We were so lucky with the weather in Brussels - we went in our pool everyday. We went to Walibi and enjoyed all the kiddie rides. We went to see the dinosaur display at the Expo - do you like my dinosaur impression? After this we also walked around Mini-europe. I start to recognise the places now and learn the flags, sizes. It is still fun through to stop and get an ice cream :-) There was the jazz music fesital near by and an area for kids activities where I enjoyed making massive bubbles.

End of Football Vossem

Yep, it is time to say goodbye to the Saturday football lessons in Vossem and the arguments with my papa' as a coach. We bonded but we also had some heated discussions as I was not a good listener (did I improve after?). I liked to play around with the other kids...it's only some fun....yeh, right...when it's cold and wet and when it's a bunch of mixed skills team it's hard for the coaches. Anyway we made it through to the end of another year. Three years in total and I am thankful papa' and Charlie and Luis invested in us - thank you.

Garden

Our mates and friends came around to enjoy a summer's day in the garden. It was a bit overcast but we were determined to enjoy the small garden pool. Florian, Audrey, Lucas, Leo and I all enjoyed it. we jumped rather a lot we created just a few small holes in the pool...so all downhill now for the end of the life of this pool.

End of swimming

The end of swimming lessons has arrived - I have loved them and learnt so much. I am not afraid of the water, I have learnt all the different types of styles including butterlfy. My parents could join me for a lesson and they got a small flavour of how hard butterfly is :-)

End of school

We had a sports day during school at the end of the school. There was little notice for parents to come and watch so mamã and papá were disappointed to not come to cheer me on. I had been practising during the gym classes and came one day home with a nasty big cut on my knee from falling over a curb around the outside of the gym. Mamã and papá were not amused with the conditions of the area but also trying to help me ensure I look down and around. Oh well, I just bounce back up and continue. So for our year we could run 30 mins and the older kids wanted to run 1 hour. After the 30 mins I asked to continue and i was allowed. I got a certificate for running 10,000 metres in 1 hour. Mamã and papá were very impressed. I kept telling them it was nearly 11,000 metres but then the one hour 'alarm' was up. Yes, I loved that and no new injuries. We had a parents dinner evening on Friday night and we prepared for bad weather as so unsettled. It turned out not to rain, just cold, and us kids enjoyed playing football, cycling, eating all the unhealthy crisps etc...while the parents had wine and pasta and pasta and tried different food from the mixed nationalities. We also watched a short video from our 4 day trip to the farm - mamã and papá had no idea we had done so many different activities as i had not been too talkative about them - we had made bread (they knew that but i did not bring a sample home), we'd milked the animals, we went 'sledging' down the dry hills, went on a tractor ride... At the school year end party, we did a show - song and dance around farming theme. I loved my dungarees and cap. Not quite in sync with everyone else for the singing or dancing, mamã and papá asked if i was focused. Me, focused? Nope :-)

Brussels P&G Office 50 years

It's a special day for the place both mama' and papa' work. The Brussels office of P&G is celebrating 50 years today. I met the marketing characters like Mr Dreft, Mr Proper, I peddled hard to make fresh fruit juice, I visited the consumer research rooms, I put on an apron and could make loads of mess of greasy stains on a sheet and allowed the moment to be captured of us standing in front of one of the 50 years sign.

Expose' on Engineers

I had to prepare an expose' on a profession to present to the class. I chose 'engineer'. I learnt a lot with papa's help to prepare it - I talked about the different types of engineers; what buildings/structures would not exist without engineers; about famous engineers and what they invented. I got a great applause from the class :-)

Mother's day

Yes time for mother's day...which mother's day - UK, Belgium and Portugal all celebrate on different Sundays...so at least we can celebrate three times :-)

Portugal - and our new house

We went to Porto for a long weekend and Mama' and Papa' spent two days visiting 30+ houses....and yes we found our 2nd home. It is just outside the city walls of O'bidos.

I stayed behind in Porto and could play with Rodrigo and Renata - I love them so much.

Losing Teeth

I have also been losing my teeth. I lost two within a few weeks, both while I was eating my favourite food, yep, bread.
Here I am with Mama for one of her favourite restaurants Table D'Argile in Stockel. She loves the salads and I love the macaroni ham cheese. Yummy. So here is a photo before and a photo after the tooth loss....and then the 2nd tooth loss a few weeks later :-) Where is the space inside my mouth for the new ones...I am already talking about having a brace....
Do you like my Angry Birds top?