Luka's Drawing of His Grandparents

A few weeks ago JJ and I had to go to the bank with my parents. Luka came along for the ride and we had to keep him entertained so I asked him to draw a picture of Grandma & Grandpa. Well this was his interpretation and he was very specific about who was who. It was very cute....what do you think? Better yet...what do my parents think?

Happy Anniversary Baby

On February 19th JJ and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary (Yeah, I am a little late on the post). I can't believe how time flies....but I guess that happens when you are having fun...or at least that is what they say.

These four years have been amazing and I can honestly say that they have been an adventure! I love you baby and I can't wait for the next four years, and the ones after that, then the ones after that. Who knows where our "adventure" will take us, but there is no one else I would want as my co-pilot.

Aren't these pictures cute? Well, there is a story to them...ever since I can remember I have been trying to get JJ into a photo booth with me and take these type of tacky photos. Finally on February 19th this year we were at the museum with Luka and I spotted one. I think he indulged me because it was our anniversary. I don't know about you, but I love them.

Thank You Joey

I have this wonderful friend that is a very talented photographer - Jose Chambrot. He took the photos at our baby shower and they are beautiful. You can see them if you click here. For those of you that attended there are many gorgeous photos you might like...especially of some of your little ones.

If you would like Joey to photograph your next party or event send him and email at me@josechambrot.com.

Thank you again Joey for capturing the day!

Say Cheese

Finally....the photos from the trip have been sorted and organized. Since I didn't take too many photos I had to gather them from friends and family. We ended up with some really great photos that captured most of the things we did on our trip.

From going to the beach with family to build sand castles to shopping at Best Buy with Luka and let's not forget Luka's passion these days....watching for planes at MIA. This boy is really obsessed with planes, so much so that when we landed in Mozambique (mind you, the 3rd plane in 40 hours) he exclaimed, "Mami, I want to go on ANOTHER plane!"

Click here to see all of our albums.

Enjoy!

PS If you click on the image above it will become larger and you will be able to see that Miami is spelled out with all of our photos. Pretty cool, huh. Well it is very easy to do with a FREE program called Shape Collage. Click here to download it.

We are heading home...

Currently in transit from Miami to Maputo. We had a great time in Miami, but after 6 weeks we are looking forward to landing in our own beds in about 2o hours. I can't wait to catch everyone up on our trip....

I apologize for the lack of posts, but we didn't have a very reliable internet connection while in Miami. We were using the free wifi from the City of Miami Beach and it seemed like there we only a couple of hours a day when it would actually work.

More to come on the trip soon...

The Perfect Afternoon Lunch

My friend Wendy is the ultimate host and I have always been in awe of her parties. Well, this past weekend I was able to experience one her events first hand. She hosted a lunch in honor of....me! Thanks Wendy. The party and the details were amazing.

I also want to thank all the girls that went. We really had a great time catching up and making our own jewelry. Here are some of the pics and details:

Here you see Wendy at work...

The beautiful cake...

The beads for our jewelry making...

One of the bracelets we made (Lina's)...

When Luka arrived he joined in the fun too...

For more pictures from the day's festivities click here.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning I woke up next to my two favorite boys in the world and with a kick in my belly and I couldn't help but think that this is the best Valentine's Day I have ever had. I didn't go on a romantic date with JJ or open a box of chocolates, but I spent the day with my favorite boys and some great friends.

We went to the zoo and got really close to some giraffes. It was amazing. I mean we have seen tons of giraffes in South Africa, but we have never been this close and have them feed from our hands...not to mention have them lick our hands and arms! Luka's face was worth every penny we paid to go to the zoo...PRICELESS.

We shared this zoo date with our friends Wendy & Brandon and then Wendy made a fabulous dinner. She even made felt hearts for everyone to wear...alla Julie & Julia...did you see the movie?

The Happiest Place on Earth...Even with the Rain

We spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and we had a great time despite the non-stop rain. Luka really got a kick out of all the characters and some of the rides. His favorite rides were Alladin's Carpet Ride and Dumbo. I think he rode those rides a combined 5 times!

But by far the highlight of the day was meeting Minnie & Mickey. He couldn't believe it. He was totally smitten with Minnie's kiss.

For more photos from our Orlando visit click here.

Baby van Herksen @ 25 weeks

Here is a photo of what our little one looks like at 25 weeks. I still think he or she looks like JJ...

We have come a long way baby!

OMG. I usually delete forwarded emails...but this one I had to take a moment and breathe...then laugh...then get a little angry...then laugh again. Can you believe this is an actual article from Good Housekeeping (May 1955)? It is amazing to see how far "we" have come in the last fifty years, but it just goes to show what kind of craziness women had to tolerate and deal with. My favorite ones are "his topics of conversation are more important than yours" and "a good wife always knows her place." Oh, but "take 15 minutes to relax and put yourself together before he gets home to look refreshed" is also a pisser!

I hope JJ doesn't get any ideas...I know you won't honey! But some of these things I already do, right?...ha ha ha.

If you click on the image above you will be able to see a larger version of the article.

Scenes from Miami

Photo: Luka at Annie's house....yes, this is at a friend's house. She has a professional playground at home!

I have been in Miami for over one week, and things have been a whirlwind. Running after Luka 24/7 has left little time for photos or downtime to catch up on the blog. He is asleep right now and I am awake...which is rare these days.

We have spent most of our time with family and friends in home, parks and the beach. We are saving all the extra special outings like the zoo, Disney, etc. for when daddy arrives in 8 days!

I have not taken out my camera once since I got here...yes, I know that is bad...but I haven't had the time or the hands for the camera. Luckily some friends have sent me photos and my father took some photos yesterday.

Here you see Luka at the St. Francis (my uncle's church) FunFest...he really wanted to get his face painted. He thinks it was a Spiderman...we didn't have the heart to tell him it was a baseball. Note: Luka had never seen a baseball.

This is Evan...my newest nephew! He is such a good baby:

Here we all are trying to play bingo...word to the wise...not a good idea with two toddlers. They just wanted to punch all the numbers and I couldn't keep track. It was very funny!

Help Haiti

Everyone can help. Please remember how lucky you are if you are reading this. There are thousands of people that are not as fortunate as us that are in dire need of our help:

To donate to the Red Cross click here.

Beware of the Lions & Poop

Recently a friend of mine traveled around Mozambique and came across this warning in his travels. I found it quite amusing and a little scary. Thanks Bastiaan for the photo!

I can't believe they referred to lion "shit."

If you click on the photo you can see it larger and read the memo.

21 Weeks

This week I went for check-up at the doctor and we took some pictures of the baby. We wanted to make sure we were both doing okay for the long flight ahead of us in just a couple of days. Luka and I (+baby) will be flying to Miami to visit la familia.

Well, here is Baby van Herksen. We still don't know if it is a boy or girl. I had to keep reminding the doctor NOT to tell me what it was. He knew right away...but I kept closing my eyes just in case I would see something that gave it away. JJ and I are really excited about the surprise. Do you think it looks like a boy or girl? Everyone keeps telling me they think it is a girl..but we have NO idea.

He/she was feeling a little social...in the photo you can see the baby sort of waving its hand. The doctor did say that it was a nice size baby and that I shouldn't expect a tiny baby at delivery....oh goodness! But we are both doing great. The baby passed all the tests we got an "okay" to fly.

My next post will probably be from Miami....

Luka's "Shape" Period

Many artists go through "periods." It is defined a phase in the development of the work of an artist, groups of artists or art movement. Well, I don't know if this is an art movement....But just as Picasso had his Blue Period, Luka is going through his Shape Period.

Recently we started learning and practicing shapes at home with games and on the chalkboard. Last week he wanted to paint the shapes and this is was the result. Isn't it great? In the first one you can see his attempt at making squares and the second painting is Luka's interpretation of circles. I think in this one he really let his creative juices flow and the result was an abstract face. Do you see it?

Well, we are very proud of our budding artist. Dad, this is especially for you since I know you love to see Luka's work.

For the record, Luka did EVERYTHING on his own except writing his name Luka on the paper.

New Friends New School

Luka started a new school this week. Due to scheduling issues we had to find him another school. We got lucky and he was able to join some of his friends at Nyoxani - a Mozambican/Portuguese Pre-School. One of his friends that goes there is Tendai. We met Tendai a couple of weeks ago and they are like two peas in a pod. Tendai is a little younger, but I think Luka likes acting like his big brother.

Here they are strutting their stuff and their backpacks.

Don't you love Tendai's boots?

For more photos from Luka's first days at this school click here.

Sunday Afternoon Bliss

What more could a girl ask for on a Sunday afternoon....Her two favorite boys napping and I get to watch The Audrey Hepburn Story on the Hallmark Channel. Don't you love this photo?

What Happened in 2009?

I can't believe that 2009 has gone by so quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was celebrating Christmas with my family in Miami last December. As I look back at this past year I can't help but think of some of the moments that shaped my year (or just fun things that happened) and laid the groundwork for some of the things to come in 2010!

- Going to Obama's Inauguration in DC with Luka, Moqui, Wole & Maxwell.

- Luka's Turns 2 and we throw him a proper Mozambican Birthday Bash!

- Switching to Mac...JJ was so happy I did this...I wasn't at first...but I would never go back now.

- Both Oma & Opa from Holland come and visit us in Mozambique.

- Driving through Europe with JJ & Luka. We went to France, Holland, Luxembourg & Spain. What a trip!

- Going to Mallorca for the first time and meeting my grandmother's family.

- Some of our other MAC purchases: my new MacBook and JJ's iPhone...what would we do without these toys!

- Start two new projects Maputo Infant Nutrition Program & Maputo Yard Sale...a girl has to keep busy. Thank you to all my family and friends that donated to the orphanage.

- Becoming an aunt again...twice...Evan & Olin join our family.

- We finally bought the chairs I have always wanted for the dining room - six white Eames chairs. They are gorgeous! We will have these chairs FOREVER.

- JJ and I find out that the IVF finally worked and we will have a baby next year.

- Luka starts school for the first time.

- Luka and I can hold a decent conversation...he cracks me up.

- Luka's uses the potty...we are still working on this one...but almost fully trained!

- Surviving my 1st trimester...it was a doozy...I am looking forward to enjoying the pregnancy in 2010.

- Luka understood and got excited about Sinterklaas & Christmas (Santa Claus & Baby Jesus) this year. He still asks if they are going to visit again soon.

- Seeing our new baby on the ultrasound and feeling the baby kick in my belly for the first time...it is surreal to think that there is a living person inside of me. I can't wait to meet him/her.

These are in no particular order and I am sure I will think of more as soon as I post this to the blog, but reading back on the list I can't help but think how lucky I am...someone pinch me.

My Belly @ 20 Weeks

What do you think? Baby bump or just too many donuts? I wish we had donuts in Maputo!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Mozambique! I can't believe that it is January 1, 2010. Growing up I thought 2010 would be a little different. I think I saw one too many episodes of The Jetsons, but I totally thought we would have cars zipping through the air and I might have a robot washing my dishes. Well, we aren't there yet...but I can talk to my family through video whenever I want and the Internet has completely changed the way we live and interact with the world. Between you and me I don't think the flying cars are too far into the future.

Happy New Year and may 2010 be full of blessings and new adventures!

Cuban Lasagna

I still haven't seen the movie Julie & Julia, but through a friend I have been inspired by it.....to....you are not going to believe this....to COOK! For those of you that don't know, I really hate to cook.

Okay, so I will make something for the holidays...like the turkey on Thanksgiving or the lechon on Noche Buena, but it is only after I have studied the recipe for a couple of days and asked people questions and most of the time I have to have someone in the kitchen to make sure I don't poison anyone. Here in Maputo, most of the time, I have Elizabeth (our empregada) close by to make sure I don't totally mess it up.

But a couple of weeks ago I received an update from an old friend of mine, Christy. We were camp counselors when we were 15 and I don't think neither of us thought we would be exchanging recipes over the Internet in 2009...but here we are.

From what I remember of Christy, she is very organized and task oriented. As an adult our paths crossed in our professional life and I was amazed at her agenda. She was very meticulous about writing lists and scratching things off...you know me....I LOVE LISTS and having a to do list, but Christy was an expert. Well, fast forward to 2009....she went to see the movie Julie & Julia and she was inspired to cook, but cook in a way that would celebrate and bring her closer to her Cuban roots.

When she sent me the link to her blog and I read what it was about I had no doubt in my mind that she could do it (remember, she is SUPER organized). She was determined to cook all the recipes from a famous Cuban cookbook, Nitza Vilapol's Cocina al Minuto. Well, I won't bore you with my secondhand details, click here for the article on her blog. Here is a photo of Christy in the kitchen with her daughter

Well, back to the point of this post...I have been reading her recipes for a couple of months now and been missing Cuban food like crazy! And this week I saw a post about Cuban Lasagna and it seemed easy enough and I couldn't resit. I did it. I made a meal all on my own (well, Elizabeth might have chopped the onions) and it was delicious. I never knew that Cuban Lasagna existed and that Christy's aunt Moki was famous for it. But know Moki's recipe lives in Mozambique and it will be on my list of things I can make from now on. It is also a great dish for a party because it is easy and you can prepare it the night before and then just pop it in the oven the next day.

Muchas gracias Christy y Moki!

Here is a photo of my masterpiece after we ate half of it...by the way there is nothing wrong with the macaroni, I just used whole wheat.

Letter From Evan - My "Little" Nephew

Every since Evan was born I keep telling my sister that I can't get over how big that boy is. Every time I show his pictures to my friends in town they can't believe his age. Last week I showed my friend a photo that my sister sent me of Evan. It didn't have his age written on the back, but she swears he must be at least 3 months in the photo. Well, I asked Moqui and Evan was only 8 days!!!

Well, I don't know if Evan is happy about his aunt going on and on about his size. This is a letter I received from him (I think he got some help from my dad...his abuelo). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

Dear Aunt Melissa:

I have never met you, but here in Miami, mom, dad and "abuelos" are always talking about you, JJ and Luka. They always said how smart everybody is on that side of the family. You even sent us Luka's 1st freaking report card, to prove that he "inherited" the smart genes from you and JJ.

My bother Max got his first report card recently and his report card was as good as Luka's, even with the difficulty that his teachers speak mostly Spanish...and that is a lot harder than Dutch or freaking Portuguese.

I appreciate the fact that you put our Santa picture on your website so fast. But really I resented some of your comments regarding my appearance and size. I'm not big or fat or chubby. I'm actually extremely handsome for my early age. And the fact that I'm so freaking tall its because my Dad is 6'4" and my momy is almost 6 feet tall. So I have my doubts about you being the sharpest pencil in the box, like Grandpa says all the time.

I know you are coming in a few weeks and I'm eager to meet you and I know I will love you forever. So if I were you I would not mention this letter to mommy or daddy to avoid friction during my first encounter with my "Mozambican" family.

By the way I saw your recent picture in your "condition" and even this 3-month old knows that you are really BIG. What is your momy feeding you ????


Love,

Evan

Scenes from our Christmas Morning

"Mami, can we go see if Santa came by last night.....PLEEEEEAAASE!"

Santa must have been hungry and the carrots for the reindeers are gone.

This was Luka's favorite present...a Nijntje Lego Set.

He also loved his Little People set.

"Papa, can you please open this now."

"Mami, I really want to play with my new toys...not take silly pictures."

To see more pictures from our Christmas morning click here.

Perfect Way to Say Happy Birthday

Happy Twenty-Two from KC and Sara on Vimeo.

I came across this video on one of the many blogs I like to read on a lazy weekend and I really fell in love with it. Not only is it a great video and the song is beautiful...but it makes me think of all the birthdays I spend away from my family and how I always wish I could be closer to them. But this is a great way to celebrate the next birthday. I can bake them a cake and made a video. The best part is that I will have the whole cake left for myself....ha ha.

Enjoy!

Post About a "Post-It" Tree

Due to my love of post-it notes it makes sense that I should have thought of this long ago, but this idea came from apartment therapy. Isn't it cool? I think next year this tree will appear in our house and what a perfect way to remember all your Holiday "To-Do" items...

Merry Christmas

Click on the image above to see it bigger.

Noche Buena

This was our 2nd Noche Buena in Maputo and I made a lechon (12 lbs.) and yucca. It had been two years since the last time I made these two dishes, but I looked for the recipes and got cooking. It took about 6 hours to make the infamous pig, but in the end it was worth it and I think everyone else thought it was very tasty as well.

The yucca is a different story. Here in Maputo we have mandioca or cassava. It is the same as yucca, but the only problem that it is NOT the season for it. I should have just scratched it from the menu, but I really wanted to eat it on Christmas Eve...Noche Buena wouldn't be the same without them. After going to a couple of markets we finally found them, but my empregada warned me that they weren't going to cook right. Well, she was right and the yucca dish was a little hard, but the mojito was delicious. I think I will try the same recipe in July (apparently when mandiocas are in season).

After the cooking was done we went to mass with Luka at the newly built Catholic Church. It was a rough time to take Luka to mass...7 pm is usually his bedtime, but we arrived at church and he was very restless and only wanted to sing the songs. As soon as the choir stopped singing he would yell, "One more song please." He also would clap and sing during the readings and the homily. I think I need to find a "singing" service for Luka and then maybe he will pay more attention.

I did manage to get through to him that tomorrow was Baby Jesus' birthday and he sang to him a couple of times today. Now I have to try a separate Santa Claus and Jesus. I think at this point he thinks that Christmas is more about Santa Claus than Jesus.

After mass we went home to prepare Luka for bed. After we had read him a couple of Christmas stories and left cookies for Santa we tucked him into bed and we were off to our Noche Buena dinner at our friend's house.

The photo above is of the spread...check out my lechon and yucca...and here is a photo of us enjoying our Latin celebration. We had food from Mexico, Peru, Cuba and the States.

OMG, it is so freaking hot!

It is like 110 degrees today and I had to venture out to do all the food shopping for Noche Buena, Christmas and Boxing Day (Dec. 26th)...we have events all three days and I thought I was going to melt out on the street!

This means I had to go to TWO outside markets and THREE grocery stores to find what I needed and in the end I had to come up with substitutions for many things. I really miss Publix and Costco right about now!

My Christmas wish would be for it to SNOW....ha ha ha.

Maxwell & Evan Meet Santa Claus

Look at my super cute nephews. Evan is so big. Can you believe that he is about to turn only four months! Seriously, Moqui...what are you feeding that kid?

And look at Maxwell's smile...precious. I can't wait to see both of them and actually meet Evan for the first time in January. I think Luka will be very excited to play with his baby cousin. Lately, every time he sees a baby he wants to change their diaper, pat their back or put them to sleep. Do you think he is practicing?

Moqui, where did you take a picture with that Santa? The North Pole...I think he looks like the real thing. Maybe it is the real Santa...I know he is out there somewhere.

Merry Christmas!

19 Weeks

(can you see the hands over the face...the baby is either praying or very pensive!)

Well, I am in my second trimester and I am starting to feel better. The nausea is still around and I find myself hugging the toilet a couple of times a week...but believe it or not I am feeling better. The first trimester was pretty awful. I know that some women love pregnancy and I hope I get there soon.

I don't want you to misinterpret what I am saying. I love that fact that I am going to have a baby and the fact that it is basically a miracle is HUGE...but my hormones haven't really been cooperating and for the first 16 weeks or so of my pregnancy journey I was nauseous all day every day, had every type of food aversion, lost about 12 pounds and had chronic migraines.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel...the nausea is less, I have enjoyed a couple of meals and the weight is starting to come back on (that is good and bad).

But being pregnant has definitely been an experience. The human body is an amazing thing. Your body goes through so many changes...some too graphic to discuss on this blog...but I guess I just didn't know how my body would react. Although I have had a hard time with many of the "changes," they all have a purpose and my body is preparing for our baby's arrival.

I think just yesterday I had what Oprah would call an "aha" moment after our 19 week scan. There is a big baby growing inside of me! I didn't call it big...the doctor did. She said he/she has big feet (what a surprise!) and is pretty large for its age. She said he/she was bouncing around and if I could feel it. I have been feeling something...but not sure what. I guess it is the baby moving...that is what she said. Very strange, but very wonderful.

Well, here is the photo of our baby. We could have found out the sex by now, but JJ and I doing this "old school." We are going to wait until the baby is born to know the sex. Right now some of you are saying, "There is no way Melissa can wait...she has to plan for everything." Well people, I am really excited about the surprise and I think that moment when they tell us will be very special for our family. So, stop asking me what it is and get excited about the surprise.

We welcome any suggestions for names...JJ and I have heated debates over the subject. I have a couple of requirements:

- the name should be short, one or two syllables

- it should sound the same in Dutch, Spanish and English (Luka is said the same in all three)

- I love unisex names, but JJ is not so keen

In the end it will be really funny if the baby ends up with a name that violates all my "rules." But in the end we will go with a name that we all like and sounds good...but please send me your suggestions. Later I will post some of the contenders.

So that is what is going on with the baby for now. I will try and post photos of my expanding belly. It just expanded this week and I need to bring my nerve up to take a photograph. I really hate taking photos.