As our Sun Baby enters his fourth month on Planet Earth, he continues to share lots of smiles and cute expressions with the world around him (far left). He is also developing lots of muscle strength, thanks to a daily exercise regime (middle left).

During his visit to the Youth Health Bureau, Lior weighs in at a whopping 5,770 grams (12.72 US pounds) and measures 61 cm (24.02 inches). Having started below the lowest lines on the charts, he is now exactly at the averages (middle right). The doctor gives him a clean bill of health ... and some vaccinations (far right). Ouch!

Now that he is such a big boy, Esther-Mirjam decides that her son can sleep in his own room. She moves his bed there (far left) and checks many times to make sure he is doing okay (middle left). Perhaps this new sleeping arrangement helps him kick the habit of waking up every three hours to get something to eat!

Lior continues to entertain visitors. Kerry and Dave (middle right) come all the way from the United States to hold the little fella ... and to visit Amsterdam, of course. When Irene comes over (far right), her daughter Iris and Luna are fascinated by the little baby, while Lior seems more interested in what is going on outside.

Since mom takes most of the pictures of Lior, she rarely gets photographed with her little one. Fortunately, Kerry and Dave bring their own camera along during their visit and take a few shots of mom and son (left). Thank you, Kerry and Dave! And thanks also for making the effort to visit us all the way from Greencastle, Indiana. It seems like Esther-Mirjam has seen more of Kerry since she moved to the Netherlands! While she was still in the States, she lived a three-hour drive away from her Stanford friend and they would get together once every six months or so. Esther-Mirjam treasures special friendships like the one with Kerry.

Lior is now old enough to go baby swimming. Yippee! The only problem is that the swimming diaper is on the big side for our little fella (top row, left and right). The lesson starts with a song to get to know the names of the babies: "Goedemorgen Lior, Leuk je weer te zien, Wie staat er naast je, Weet je dat misschien?" (top row, middle). The teacher, Monique, remembers Lior's little sister Luna. She very kindly takes extra time with Lior since he is the smallest baby of the bunch. Big sister Aafke happens to visit on the day of Lior's swimming session and is excited about being able to cuddle her little brother in the pool (left). The two take a shower afterwards, with the water catching our Sun Baby by surprise (right, top). Afterwards, he gets wrapped up in a warm towel and looks so adorable, according to his mom and big sister, at least (right, middle and bottom).

Lior is still breastfeeding, but occasionally drinks his mother's milk by means of a bottle. As you can see, he is not crazy about this (left). Mom will start practicing the bottle feeding more regularly so that she does not have to be near Lior all the time. Not that she minds this all that much!

Rather than drinking from the bottle, Lior much prefers to suck his thumb (right). Though he looks so cute while doing so, this is not a habit that mom would like to encourage. Indeed, she is trying to discourage it, but Lior has already developed a will of his own.

Hip, Hip, Hurray!
100 days old!

Party hats and decorations are in order to celebrate the fact that Planet Earth has been graced with the wonderful presence of our Sun Baby for 100 days.

Lior is very grateful to Linda, Hans, and Victoria to come all the way from Spijk to celebrate his presence on Planet Earth (left). They bring along a very special present, which is a shoe made out of Lior's birth announcement (right).

Lior and Luna are not yet at the right ages to hang out in mama's bed for a long time, but they can do so for a short photo shoot. Lior is a little bored by his mom's efforts, as witnessed by his sucking his thumb (top row). He also seems rather oblivious to the hugs and kisses of his youngest sister (left, right). Such a spoiled little baby, eh?!

Dressed in dashing swimming trunks, thanks to his big sister Aafke, Lior earns a swimming certificate (row below). It is hard work for our little fella. He has to float on his back, while his mom holds his head, float on his tummy, supported by his mom's hands, fall into his mom's hands from a floating mat, fetch toys that float in the water (okay, this part does not go so well), and go under water completely. Lior does not mind the last task one bit. What a big boy!

Lior is certainly a mama's boy when he is wearing his Notre Dame t-shirt (middle right) and his University of Nijmegen one (far right). As you probably know, Esther-Mirjam used to teach at ND and moved to Nijmegen in 2004. She is thinking of visiting her ND friends during Fall Break, but she is not sure whether she is brave enough to travel alone with two young children!

While Luna is reading to Lior, the latter is also trying to make a point (far left). And while the two are hanging out on mama's bed, some 40,000 walkers participate in Nijmegen's Four Day March, which is the world's largest walking event. Walkers must complete distances that range from 30 to 50 kilometers per day, depending on age and gender. Luna and Lior wish them luck!

Lior loves to be carried around in the Baby Björn (row below), even more so when it means hanging out with his sister Aafke. She enjoys the closeness, but also learns the hard way that Lior is becoming a big boy!

Lior goes on vacation to Duinrell (left), an amusement park in Wassenaar, joined by his mom, Luna, Lenneke, Aafke, Sanne, Lotte, Ruben, and Malissa, a friend of Lotte's. He spends a week in a Happy Camp mobile home (right).

While mom, dressed in red, enjoys the Mad Mill (row above, left) and Water Spin (row above, right), Lenneke, Sanne, and Aafke go in the flying carousel (row above, middle). After having waited patiently (left), Luna gets to go in the train with Ruben (right).

Ruben and Luna also go in a mini merry-go-round (far left). Strangely, this thing scares Luna a little, unlike the rabbit rollercoaster in which she goes! The merry-go-round has room for Aafke, Lior, Ruben, mama, and Luna (middle left).

When mama wonders what happened to Lior, she finds that he went into the merry-go-round again with Aafke and Sanne (middle right). Luna also enjoys going round and round on the back of the horse (far right).

Most meals are enjoyed outside (far left). One time it starts raining during breakfast, causing a big rush to get inside the mobile home (middle left). While the group has two mobile homes, they usually all hang out in one, making for somewhat tight quarters.

It rains on occasion (row above, left), but most of the time the weather is great (row above, right). When outside, the group is accompanied by a resident butterfly (row above, middle). Luna learns all about cool music from Lenneke (left), and Lior gets lots of cuddles from Sanne during the vacation (right).

When the group enjoys a dinner at a pancake restaurant (far left), Lior sleeps through the entire meal (middle left). Everybody takes turns going shopping and preparing meals, with mom using Lior's breastfeeding as an excuse to skip out on the chores on occasion.

As it turns out, Sanne is the only one who eats pancakes, with the others enjoying mussels and steaks. Luna gets a "kids' meal" (middle right) and a piece of paper with some pencils (far right).

Luna has her personal assistant, with Ruben changing her diaper, combing her hair, and giving her a bath (row above). Ruben is also great at changing his brother's diaper (left). The latter is bathed by his sister Lotte, under the watchful eyes of Ruben and Lenneke (right).

One day, bicycles, a child seat, and a bike trailer are rented for a trip to the beach in Wassenaar and through the dunes to Katwijk (right). Unfortunately, mom has forgotten to bring Luna's bike helmet and none can be rented. Fortunately, Lenneke is very careful while biking with Luna, besides teaching her a few swearwords along the way!

Sanne's sunglasses shield not only Lior's face from the sun, but pretty much his entire face (far left). If you look carefully, you can see Luna, mama, and Lenneke reflected in the glasses. Luna and Ruben are trying to decide whether to go for a swim (middle left).

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The bags are packed, the mobile homes are cleaned, and the amusement park is enjoyed for one last time before returning home.

Once back home, Luna is happy to have all her toys again, while Lior needs to get used to not having so many loving siblings around. He hopes to see them again sometime very soon.

Hip, Hip, Hurray!
Four months old!

After having spent a week with his big sisters and brother, Lior has gotten used to being around people and is not crazy about having to hang out by himself. His mom does not mind, for Lior has learned how to help her update his website. Such a smart boy at only four months!