Friday 17th - nairyplane!
Auntie C, Leo and I flew to visit Opa en Oma in Holland. Leo was already a seasoned traveller by this point as we've flown over once before, but this was going to be our first trip without Daddy.
Being the veteran that he is, Leo decided it wasn't worth staying up for all the flying fuss and took a long nap during the entire flight, much to Auntie and my relief.
He's much more active during the day now and easily bored, so it was a bit anxiety-provoking to think of Leo wide awake and loudly proclaiming to the entire plane that he was bored and unhappy so we were very grateful when he nodded off very soon after take-off.
Poor Auntie C took it upon herself to sample the formula this time at the airport. Last time Daddy did it and she very gallantly offered herself up to the cause as I hate milk, and as per her review it doesn't taste all that bad. I can't say that the staff at Bristol airport are particularly helpful to travellers with infants and I was very grateful to have Auntie C's help to get through Security.
Saturday 18th - a day with Opa
Saturday saw Oma, Auntie C and me off to the Libelle Zomerweek for a girlie day out. This meant a day with Opa for our little cub - and much fun was had!
Opa took Leo to the local supermarket to show him off and he was a complete hit. Leo duly obliged to hold court from his pushchair whilst local ladies complimented Opa on his grandson.
Us girls had a lovely day out, although shopping for me nowadays just involves finding stuff for the cub. Much more fun than shopping for yourself! So as a result I came home with a funky pair of felted slippers, made in Nepal. They won't fit for a while but I'm hoping he'll like them when he grows into them!
Sunday 19th - midnight feasts
Unfortunately Auntie C had to go home on Sunday, which made Leo and me very sad. It was lovely to have spent so much time with her and we were really going to miss her! However, Auntie needed to get home to look after Leo's nephews: two adorable guinea pigs names Jaeger and Milka. Leo's not met them yet, but hopefully will in the not-too-distant future.
All the travelling and change of time-zones took a bit of a toll on our cub's routine and he reverted to waking during the night again. We'd spend some time together between 2am and 4:30am at some point for a feed and a cuddle again.
Some nights he would happily wait whilst his bottle warmed up in the warmer but this night he was in no mood to be kept waiting. Not great for me, but very unfair to Opa en Oma who had to listen to him loudly complaining in the next room!
Monday 20th - Skyping with Daddy!
We Skyped with Daddy quite a few times whilst we were away and today was one of those days. As it was a Bank Holiday in Holland, Opa was able to spend another day with Leo, Oma and me. Opa always thinks of fun things to do with Leo and they also really enjoyed sitting on the sofa together, chatting. Opa would ask Leo something, who would babble back to him for a long time. During our time away, Leo really perfected his chatting, lots of "ooh, ahh, ug, buh, uhh" noises, strung together in sentences.
Unfortunately he also likes to chat during his bottles, something which can be very frustrating for the person feeding him as he tends to splutter milk all over you and takes forever to drink it!
Whilst we were Skyping with Daddy, Leo got a bit grumpy, something he does most evenings from about 16:00 onwards. Suddenly Opa appeared with my old tricycle which I had as a toddler.
Leo instantly forgot about his grumpiness and became an intrepid adventurer, cruising through the living room. "You peddle, Opa, and I'll steer and check what's ahead!"
Tuesday 21st - poor kitty!
Opa en Oma's usual houseguest is an elderly cat named Sammy. She was originally my cat when we got her as a kitten but she quickly showed a preference for my parents and has lived her whole life happily by their sides (ok, maybe not happily...she's a bit of a grump!).
She has never, however, encountered children...let alone babies! So Leo's occasional wailing, shouting, crying, etc, proved to be a bit much for her and she'd creep off into a room as far away from our cub as possible.
A favourite spot became under Oma's duvet. I can only imagine that it's like pulling the pillow over you head in the morning when you don't want to get up!
Wednesday 22nd - the day we found Louie
Today Oma, Leo and I went shopping in Almere.
Up until this day, Leo's favourite toy to play with was a Lamaze dragon we'd named Nessie. His favourite cuddle toy is a blue striped dog toy (named, rather unimaginatively "Doggie") he got from his Auntie R when he was born - it's now gotten to the point where he won't sleep without Doggie so I don't tend to take Doggie out with us for fear that he'll be lost (yes, I know, must get extra Doggies!). So Nessie usually accompanies us when we're out in the pushchair.
Oma had been looking for a lion toy for Leo since he was born but had been unable to find anything. Added to this, I prefer his toys to be educational if possible and the Lamaze range is one of my favourites and Leo likes them a lot, too. We went to a toyshop and I angled towards the Lamaze toys to see what they had. And, lo and behold, there was a lion hanging there!
Oma immediately snatched him up and he became Leo's newest acquisition. And he was a hit! He makes the funniest "growling" noise when you move him and is finally teaching our cub about cause and effect: when I move the toy, he makes a noise!
Oma had the honour of naming him and he was christened "Louie".
Thursday 23rd - family visits
Today we had a visit from (great)Aunt L and (great)Uncle R. Uncle R is the person who took Leo's smiley photo at the top of this blog and was there with his camera at the ready once again.
Much fun was had and Leo enjoyed being the centre of attention. Although, let's face it, it's not often that he ISN'T the centre of attention!
He's been working on his thumb-sucking techniques and that evening, just before he fell asleep, managed to get his thumb wedged firmly in his mouth.
Friday 24th - more shopping!
Today we went to the local outlet centre, where there are lots of fun shops for Oma and Mummy to explore. Once again Leo wasn't too impressed with shopping and ensured we kept on the move (standing still in his buggy will quickly lead to crying!). Very good for Mummy's wallet as she doesn't have time to stop and buy something!
We managed to visit Oma and Mummy's favourite shop, though, called Lief, which means "sweet" in Dutch. Their clothing range for girls usually includes the word "lief" on it somewhere, and the boys' range the word "stoer" which means "cool" or "tough". Oma treated Leo to a lovely summer outfit of a t-shirt and shorts and I can't wait until he can show her how stoer he looks in them!
Saturday 25th - homeward bound
Today was our last day with Opa en Oma and we spent the day playing and cuddling at home.
Mummy was a bit silly and booked our return flight for after Leo's bedtime. Something which wasn't as important when I booked it! I had no idea how he was going to react to being up past his bedtime, if he'd sleep, if he'd want bottles, etc.
We tried to fool him into thinking it was bedtime about an hour before we left for the airport, at about 17:00. But as Daddy said in a text to me, "he's not daft" and indeed, it didn't work. I think our cub was most insulted that I thought I could pull the wool over his eyes like that and question his intelligence. So he stayed wide awake!
This time Leo and I were flying alone with no one to help so I was a bit nervous. But the people at Schiphol are wonderfully helpful and their Baby Care Lounge is brilliant. It's a seperate room with several curtained cubicles, each containing soft seating and a cot for babies and fun multi-coloured lights which dance on the ceiling. The room also contains a microwave, two sinks which can function as baby baths, two changing stations and plenty of bins for nappies. I fed Leo there and changed his bum, whilst he smiled at a little girl from China who wanted to see him.
The Security staff at the airport are lovely and SO helpful and chatty and getting through Security was no problem at all. They let you take your time and help lots and I stayed chatting to one of the ladies for about an extra 10 minutes as she wanted to know all about Leo. They didn't ask me to taste the milk, either, which was great as I was dreading it! They also don't ask you to collapse your pram but search it manually instead, which meant Leo could stay sitting in his pram throughout.
Unfortunately passport control wasn't as great for us, neither in Holland or when we arrived in Bristol. Leo and I have different surnames as we gave him Daddy's surname instead of mine. No one had told me this would be an issue until I got to the passport check and they asked me for proof that he was my son!! I was floored - of course I completely understand with all the child abductions and the recent promotion of Amber Alert in the Netherlands but I didn't know! Thankfully I guess he looks enough like me and I was near enough to tears for them to let us through but we were lucky! Same thing happened in Bristol but thankfully Daddy was waiting for us, should they have wanted to talk to him. Phew!
The flight itself went well, although we had a bit of a palaver with seating. All the passengers looked worried when we boarded as Leo was bored and overtired and shouting his head off, but he fell into a deep sleep as soon as we started taxiing...phew!
Last cuddles with Oma:
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