Little Lior's seventh month gets off on a not-so-great start as far as the young man is concerned. That is, he is now big enough to start trying some solid food. Yuk, and is this ever disgusting according to our Sun Baby!

Lior gets to have an "eerste hapje" (row above, left) of carrots (row above, right). He is not amused (row above, middle), until he discovers how to get it out of his mouth again (left), upon which he flashes his almost always-present smile again (right).

Lior finally gets to meet his uncles and one of his aunts from Apeldoorn: Ome Jon (row below, left), Tante Astrid (row below, middle), and Ome Martus (row below, right). He loves to hang out on their laps and hopes to get to do so many times!

When mama calls the hospital about the x-rays that were taken of Lior's hips a week ago...

...she receives the wonderful news that there are no signs whatsoever of hip dysplasia!

Lior is getting more and more used to going for a swim in the pool (row above, middle). The water umbrella does not phase him one bit (row above, left and right). Instead, it inspires him to splash by himself (left). What Lior seems to like most about the pool is hanging out with women (right).

When the Smies family has a reunion, the Sent clan is also present, of course. While Luna goes down the slide (row below, middle), Lior hangs out inside with Tante Astrid (row below, left) and Ome Albert (row below, right). Indeed, he seems to have his eye out for Ome Albert's beer!

The wonderful pictures taken by Geert van de Ven inspire Oma Alie to play around a little with one of those images (left and right). The speed with which she is acquiring new computer skills is truly impressive!

When Lior and his sister spend the night at Oma Alie and Opa Ben's (row below, left), because his mom goes to a concert by John Hiatt, Opa Ben entertains Lior at night, while Oma Alie gets his bottle ready (row below, middle). Fortunately, Opa Ben has enough energy left to play with his grandson during the day as well (row below, right).

 

Lior visits the United States for the first time in his young life, and more trips are likely to follow (above). He gets escorted to the airport by his grandparents (top left). And his sister also keeps a watchful eye on him (top right). Mama has her hands full (bottom, left and right). Lior does very well during most of the flight to Chicago, spending most of his time drinking or sleeping. His fellow passengers are very happy to hold him briefly while mom gets their hand luggage organized just before arrival. One minor hassle is that mom finds out at the last minute that the flight to South Bend leaves from a new gate in a different terminal. With Luna taking her time strolling through the airport, which she considers a giant gym, they barely make it there in time, thanks partly to Esther-Mirjam putting Luna on a bagage cart! Taking only little naps on the plane to South Bend and in the car to Cassopolis, Lior is exhausted when he arrives and very quickly falls into a deep sleep. It takes him little to no time to get used to the six hour time difference.

 

During the first part of his visit to the South Bend area, Lior stays on Blackberry Farm in Cassopolis (above), which is located near lovely Lake Diamond (top right). Thanks to Sylvia (see below), mom can walk both kids in one stroller! Tom and his wife Jeanne, who unfortunately is away during a large part of the stay, are wonderful hosts to the Sent clan (top left). They also host a delightful dinner party for them (bottom right), for which Tom and Luna bake the bread (bottom left). Esther-Mirjam is very grateful for their very generous hospitality.

Luna gets to watch a special "night night" channel (row below, left) with Tom and his dog Charlie (row below, right) before going to bed. Luna is a real trooper, skipping her afternoon naps and oftentimes going to bed late, by which time she is really ready for it (row below, middle)

Lior and Luna go to the grocery store (far left) to buy some diapers. It takes them forever to make a decision, because there is simply way too much choice (middle left). They do very much appreciate the fact that one's groceries get bagged at US super markets. This would be a major improvement for Dutch ones.

Lior and Luna visit Phil, a former colleague of their mom's (right). Esther-Mirjam remembers Phil walking on campus with a little boy about Luna's age. This little boy, Alex, is not so little anymore, for he just turned 16 and is about to get his driver's license. This reminds Esther-Mirjam of something a man said to her on the plane: "With children, the days are long and the years are short." She certainly feels that time is flying by very quickly. Luna is almost three years old and Lior is about to turn seven months!

Of course, a stop at Pet Refuge is obligatory (left), though it certainly does not feel like a dreadful obligation to visit there. Esther-Mirjam used to spend many, many hours volunteering at the shelter and maintaining part of its website. Luna loves hanging out with the dogs, while Lior loves hanging out with the ladies in the front office. Esther-Mirjam still knows a few of the dogs at the shelter and loves to catch up with the volunteers whom she knows. She is sorry that she did not get to see them all.

Luna is very good about doing grown-up stuff with her mom, but also gets to put in some playtime at Tom and Jeanne's, where she goes on the swing (middle right) and sits on their special pig table (far right). With no fewer than five daughters in the house, Tom sometimes jokingly referred to the place as a pigsty. Ever since, he has received many pigs as presents from his children as well as others.

For the first time in his young life, Lior gets to go on a swing (left). Though he is not yet able to sit, this swing has a special baby seat. As you can see, Lior very much enjoys this first swing ride! In fact, there is very little our Sun Baby does not enjoy. He goes through life mostly with a big smile on his beautiful face.

Kerry, a friend of Esther-Mirjam's when the two were both graduate students at Stanford University, drives all the way up from Greencastle, which takes about four hours, to hang out with the Sent clan (right). In the near past, she has also traveled to Apeldoorn and to Nijmegen to see them. Indeed, Esther-Mirjam is very grateful for Kerry's efforts to stop by. Kerry now teaches at De Pauw University and lives together with Dave. Unfortunately, the latter could not make it. However, Esther-Mirjam somehow feels that it will not be long until she sees them both again!

Luna also gets to have fun with little people, when she visits the house of Tracy and Marco. There, she plays with Fiona and Matthias (far left) and makes a pizza with Finn (middle left).

Meanwhile, Lior gets to have fun with big people. Fiona and Finn are the gorgeous children of Amy (middle right), while Matthias is the lovely son of Tracy (far right). Mom used to go dancing with Amy and Tracy. So much has changed since their dancing days!

Lior and Luna spend quite some time hanging out at the University of Notre Dame. Part of the reason is that they love to spend time with Lauri, as does their mom (left). Sadly, Lauri was diagnosed with breast cancer recently and is going through chemo therapy at the moment. Her prognosis is good, but the upcoming four months of chemo therapy will not be easy for her. Amazingly, Lauri is very cheerful during the times Lior and Luna stop in to see her. Luna is also very cheerful, for she gets some chocolates from Lauri. And Lior is also very cheerful, because Lauri explains to Esther-Mirjam that the redness on Lior's cheeks may be caused by the fact that he is eating too many orange-colored foods. Indeed, as soon as mom eliminates these from his diet, the redness disappears. Thanks, Lauri! You are in our thoughts and hearts!

Lior and Luna enjoy a lovely meal at Papa Vino's with their mom's dear friend Sandra (right). Esther-Mirjam used to maintain the Pet Refuge website along with Sandra. Poor Sandra is also battling health problems, for she has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Much like Lauri, she is very brave about this dreadful news. Esther-Mirjam greatly admires the way Sandra and her husband Ray have dealt with so many difficult health issues. And she is very proud to have Sandra as her friend.

Happy Halloween (middle left)! While visiting Harolyn, Amitava, and their son Arnav (far left), the doorbell keeps ringing with little trick-or-treaters stopping by for candy. Esther-Mirjam is delighted she gets to spend some time with Harolyn, who flies out to visit her mom in Florida the next day. Luna gives Lior some real belly laughs by jumping up and down in front of him. Such fun!

Hip, Hip, Hurray!
Seven months old!

Lior's monthly Month Day celebration does not receive its usual attention, with the Sent clan visiting the United States. One thing that is clear to everybody who meets Lior, is that our Sun Child is a very relaxed, happy baby.