| Tuesday, 10 Oct |
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Minutes after being born. |
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10 minutes old |
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with his Dad |
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met Oma Thea |
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met zijn grote zuz, Michal, 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday, 11 Oct |
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An awake and alert baby.
Here's a
similar pose with Michal (except Michal is more than one month old).
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Michal looking at her brother |
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Movie: Michal sings to her brother. |
| Thursday, 12 Oct. The day we go home |
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On my lap |
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Dressed up in his going-home clothes. Usually when he's awake he is hungry. A finger in his mouth keeps him calm. |
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On the way to the car. |
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The welcome sign that Thea put up for us.
Hoerah een Jongen! == Hurray, a son! |
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Mom, Michal, and Ruben, at home. |
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Anna is tired but happy.
Compare with Anna holding Michal |
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Michal holding the baby |
| Sun, Oct 15: in the Meadow |
| Tante Carine sent Rubin a "Dream Meadow", which is a foldable cloth play area with colourful figures and mirrors on the sides. Rubin slept in it his first few nights at home. |
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Sleeping in the "Dream Meadow" while big sister Michal looks on. |
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Looking at himself in the mirror on the wall |
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Same, but closer |
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Movie: he's looking and he's got the hiccups. |
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and now you can see him seeing himself. |
| Mon, 16 Oct: Jaundice |
| Ruben started looking a little yellow, and we feared he was getting jaundice. We took him to the doctor, who then sent us to the hospital for blood tests. We learned he had a borderline case of jaundice, not quite bad enough to require treatment. So we went home, seven hours laters, still worried, to see what would come next. No pictures. |
| Tue, 17 Oct. Ruben's brit milah |
| We don't have any photographs of the ceremony or the party afterwards (but maybe we will get some from Oma Thea later). In the afternoon, Ruben looked even yellower, so we went back to the doctor, and then again to the hospital. This time, they admitted him. He got phototherapy overnight and it reduced his jaundice considerably. The next morning, he came home. |
| Wed, 18 Oct: Uitstapje! |
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This is Ruben's
first trip outside (other than for medical reasons.) Even more significant, it's Anna's first trip outside, too.
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Dit is de eerste keer dat Ruben gaat buiten het huis, behalve voor bezoeken aan de arts. Meer nootwaardig is dat dit ook is de eerste uitstapje voor Anna! Ze gaat winkelen met vriendin.
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Anna pushing Ruben in his orange and red Bugaboo Chamelon stroller. This is his first trip in the stroller. The bugaboo is very expensive, but it's sturdy, versatile, well made, and very comfortable to push. |
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Ruben sleeping in comfort as he leaves the house. |
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19 October. Baby looks at Dad and vice versa |
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Ruben lies calmly on my lap, looks around a bit and then sticks out his tongue.
23 October. |
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The official one-month picture. 12 November |
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Amazed by his own hand. 12 Nov |
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In the bouncy seat. It's one of the very few places where he can rest calmly, other than with a parent. 17 Nov |
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Tante Carine comes to visit. 22 Nov |
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Ruben's first bottle. To our surprise, he took it very easily. This is great, because now it means I can feed him, too, and so can our gusts. Dec 30, 2006, during the year-end holiday, when I didn't shave.
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A beautiful smile while sitting in his new high chair. Dec 31 |
| 2007 |
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Laughing on his play mat. Jan 1, 2007. |
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Movie: A duet with Michal. Michal hums, and Ruben vocalizes. He is 12 weeks old today. Jan 2, 2007 |
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Movie: Ruben swats at a toy. Sometimes he grabs it. Jan 4 2007 |
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He is three months old. 10 Jan, 2007 |
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Big Sister Michal holds Ruben. Michal is making the face she makes when she's pleased with herself. Ruben seems, at best, neutral on the matter. 12 Jan 2007 |
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Official Four Months old picture. The chair he's sitting in provides enough back support that he can sit up. 10 Feb 2007 |
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Ruben rolls over for the first time.
15 Jan 2007. |
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First solid food. Ruben has been looking so intently at all of us eating (and had been waking up hungry in the middle of the night) that it seemed time to start giving him more food. At first he looks a little apprehensive. March 8, 2007 |
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But after the first taste, he's hooked. |
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Of course he wants to do it himself. |
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Five Months old. March 10, 2007 |
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with Mom, on his fifth month birthday |
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Grabbing his toes. March 17 |
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A big laugh. March 18 |
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Holds a bottle of milk by himself for the first time. 21 March |
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Ruben in the exer-saucer. He likes the toys, and he likes being able to see what's around him. It's his favourite place these days. 25 March |
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Momma helps him stand. March 21 |
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Doreen, his nanny, gives him a bottle. Ruben started with Doreen in mid February.
March 28 |
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With Oma Thea. Mar 28 |
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Not every baby picture should be a smiling baby. March 28 |
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With Momma. Mar 29 |
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Getting a bath. Mar 29 |
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Pyjama Party with Oma Mar 30 |
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Looking at his reflection in the mirror on the playmat. Apr 4 |
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April 5 |
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Avocado. His favourite food. April 7 |
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More avocado. April 7 |
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After avocado, you need a bath. April 7 |
| Learning to sit |
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Learning to sit. April 8 |
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April 9 |
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official six month picture. April 10 |
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Six months, with Michal (in facepaint) and Momma. April 10 |
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With Oma. April 11 |
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Looking around in his bedroom from the comfort of the exer-saucer. Ruben does not yet spend much time here, except to sleep in his crib, so it's still a novelty to him. April 16 |
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The official Seven Month picture. May 11 |
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With Michal, May 12 |
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Looking at Michal, May 26 |
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Another look at Michal. He loves her. |
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Creeping across the floor. Ruben is now mobile. Movie, May 19 |
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Another creeping movie. He escapes the chair, heads the door, and grabs a paper bag. May 26 |
| Holland, Summer 2007 |
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Ruben hangs by his hands at the NEMO in Amsterdam. July 22, 2007
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Ruben playing at the child's farm, Haarlem Netherlands 26 July 2007 |
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Ruben being carried by his dad, who is walking on stilts at
Enkhuizen outdoor museum. Ruben looks delighted, Dad is concentrating fiercely. Others at the museum did not approve of this risky behaviour. Aug 2 2007 |
