Her thirtyfifth month on Planet Earth gets off to a so-so start as far as our Moon Toddler is concerned (row above, middle) because she feels a little sick. All she wants is to do is hang out on the couch with Opa Ben (row above, left and right). Yet after a while she seems to start feeling better again (left and right).

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!

The pictures in the row below just came in. They are of Luna's trip to Kernie's Familienpark with Opa Tano and Oma Naatje. They were taken by a woman whom Opa Tano and Oma Naatje asked to email the pictures to them. While at the amusement park, Luna went to a show, during which Oma Naatje was asked to come on stage. However, Luna felt that Oma Naatje should not go up there by herself, so followed her grandmother onto the stage. She participated in the entire act — dancing and singing. She was so impressed by the clown that she wanted to give him something afterwards. It took a long time for the clown to become aware of this — he had to look through his mouth, after all. Yet, Luna is persistent, so the clown finally realized that this little lady wanted to give him something. He accepted her present, a beautiful little stone that Luna had found earlier that day and had held very tight in her little hand until then. Fortunately, the clown was able to judge the value of the present for Luna. Our young lady also wanted to give the clown a kiss, but this also did not register because of his limited range of vision. When the clown finally realized this little persistent lady wanted something more, he gave her a hug, but not a kiss. Opa Tano and Oma Naatje tried to convince her that one cannot kiss a clown, but only hug him. Ever since, Luna oftentimes says: one cannot give a kiss to a clown, only a hug!

When Luna spends the night at Oma Alie and Opa Ben's, because her mom goes to a concert by John Hiatt, our silly little girl pretends to fit into Lior's stroller (row below, left and right). Fortunately, she does not try to fit into the little toy stroller that she has (row below, middle).

It is high time for a new painting for Luna's windows, and Oma Naatje is very happy to help her granddaughter (row below, left and right). Luna takes her assigned task very seriously (row below, middle)

When Luna goes for a walk in the woods surrounding Nijmegen, she bumps into Oma Naatje's sister, Ria (row below, left). She also produces a yucky diaper in the middle of the woods (row below, middle). Afterwards, she gets treated to a delicious piece of cake (row below, right).

Lucky Luna gets to visit the Koningin Julianatoren amusement park for the second time during the month of October, since admission is free for grandparents during the entire month. This time, Opa Tano and Oma Naatje take their granddaughter along. Opa Tano prepares Luna for her upcoming flight to the United States (left and right).

 

Luna visits the United States for the fourth time in her young life (above). She gets escorted to the airport by her grandparents (top left). This time, her little brother comes along for his first trip abroad (top right). Mama has her hands full (bottom, left and right). Luna does very well during most of the flight to Chicago. 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! Poor Luna falls asleep during the second flight and poor mom ends up carrying both her children into the South Bend airport. Poor Luna falls asleep for a second time during the car ride up to Cassopolis, which takes about 45 minutes. She is exhausted when she arrives and very quickly falls into a deep sleep. It takes her little to no time to get used to the six hour time difference.

 

During the first part of her visit to the South Bend area, Luna 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)

Luna and Lior 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.

Luna and Lior 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).

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!

Luna and Lior 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 Luna and Lior 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!

Luna and Lior 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!

Lior also gets to hang out with a little person who is about his size when he visits Isaac and his parents, Jenny and Jake (right). Isaac is a few weeks younger than Lior, though quite a bit taller. Esther-Mirjam used to play volleyball with Jake. In fact, the latter invites her to come and play volleyball during her stay in the South Bend area. However, with two children needing her constant care, her volleyball days are behind her for now. Not that she minds, for she gets so much in return!

Luna and Lior have lunch at Legends with Tori (left), who is Phil's secretary (see above). She is also the mom of two gorgeous young girls, Addison and Reese. Both were born at 35 weeks, just like Luna, and Tori offered Esther-Mirjam wonderful support when it became very likely that Luna was also going to be born early. Esther-Mirjam and Tori also share a love of dogs and it was in fact after a chat with Tori that Esther-Mirjam decided to give volunteering at Pet Refuge a try.

During the second part of her visit to the South Bend area, Luna stays with Sylvia and Ray in Niles (above). Sylvia is Phil's former secretary (see above). She is the proud "oma" of four grandchildren, one of whom comes over to play with Luna. Sylvia very kindly lends lots of little people things to Esther-Mirjam during her stay. And her house has lots of little people toys that Luna and Lior enjoy tremendously. Luna plays in the back yard with Sophia (left), while Lior gets to give the swing a second try (right), with the help of his sister (top right). Sylvia very kindly babysits Luna and Lior so Esther-Mirjam can make a quick run to the bookstore to buy some children's books and songs. Her grandchildren are lucky to have such a loving "oma."

After having received such a warm welcome, it is hard to say goodbye to the South Bend area, but all good things must come to an end. Moreover, there are many good things in the Netherlands as well. Indeed, after a long return trip, the Sent clan receives a very warm welcome from Oma Alie, Opa Ben, and Opa Tano at the airport (row below, middle). The silly thing during the trip back is that Lior also has to take off his little shoes during the security check. As if he were a little terrorist! The only hard part during the flight back is that Luna is reluctant to go to sleep even though she is very tired. When very kind fellow passengers offer to hold Lior for a short period, Esther-Mirjam is able to comfort Luna to sleep. Upon returning to Nijmegen, Luna is still sleepy (row below, left) and Lior is a not entirely happy camper (row below, right). Indeed, the two end up waking up many times during the first nights back home, having a hard time getting used to the time difference. Esther-Mirjam has the, as it turns out, not so brilliant idea to let them sleep in her bed when they wake up at night. For Luna, this means pulling her mom's hair, asking for the TV to be turned on, messing with the blankets, throwing her mom's stuffed doggie on the floor.... And in the end this means that she is kindly returned to her own bed, in which she eventually falls asleep.

Luna loves spending two days a week at daycare center Heyendael, on Mondays with Heike and Colette and on Wednesdays wtih Heike and Marjolein. She is put to work with Ellen (far left) and Bram (middle left).

Esther-Mirjam can tell that Luna is picking up important social skills at the daycare center. Yet she seems rather bored with the paiting that she does with Bram, Jurre, and Sepp (right).

On Tuesdays, Luna gets important one-on-one time with Opa Ben when the two engage in a pillow fight (row below). As you can see, the two have lots of fun together. They usually start the day with a walk to the petting zoo and playground. What a lucky girl Luna is!

Hip, Hip, Hurray!
Thirtyfive months old!

Luna is learning how to play by herself with an arts and crafts box that Esther-Mirjam bought for her (left and right). The work has her full attention ... for five minutes!