Upon entering her fortyfourth month on Planet Earth, our Moon Lady gets to enjoy the International Four Day Marches in Nijmegen again. This is the largest marching event in the world. It is organised every year as a means of promoting sport and exercise. Participants walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometers daily, and, on completion, receive a royally approved medal. The walkers are mostly civilians, but there are also a few thousand military participants.

The Four Day Marches are extra special this year, because Opa Tano participates. Luna waits for him with flowers and a kiss on Via Gladiola, which is around the corner from her house (row above). All the excitement is making her cry (left), but she has her lovely smile back when she congratulates Opa Tano at home on his impressive achievement (right).

Inspired by Carmen's dress-up trunk in Canada, Luna regularly puts on one of her two princess dresses (row below). With a little nudging by Oma Alie, she makes funny princess faces. That is, when mom asks Luna whether she is a princess, Luna replies that she is "nothing". This is a newly acquired concept that seems to fascinate Luna. Everything is nothing at the moment.

With the Little Mermaid board game proving to be a big success, mom goes out and buys a few other games, including The Wheels of the Bus (row below, left). With another board game, one player has to cover her eyes while a few pieces get turned over (row below, middle) and then find out which pieces changed (row below, right).

Luna loves to mother her little brother. Here she does so by reading "It's okay to be different" to Lior (left and right). The latter is trying to divide his precious time between eating his breadstick and listening to his big sister.

Here are just a few pictures of Luna looking pretty (row below). They were taken by Oma Alie, who supplies about half of the pictures that are posted to Luna's site. After each Tuesday, she sends mom about a hundred pictures from which it is hard to make a selection.

When Esther-Mirjam and Luna fight over ice cream (row below, left), Luna comes out victorious (row below, middle). This is no surprise, for she loooves ice cream (row below, right). That is, mom tries not to focus on the concepts of "winning" and "losing," also not when the two are playing board games. The process is more important than the product!

On a sunny summer Saturday, Luna goes to the Tivoli amusement park (row above, middle), where she rides in the bumper cars with Victoria (row above, left) and alone (row above, right). That is, she has not yet gotten the hang of pushing the gas and steering at the same time, so spends most of the time looking cool in the corner! Victoria is the neighbor of Opa Tano and Oma Naatje in Spijk. She comes to Nijmegen to spend a weekend with her girlfriend Luna. The two ride the roller-coaster over and over again (top left) and the merry-go-round a few times (top right). They get their faces painted by Tiffi (middle left) and dance with Toffi (middle right). They also give the bumper boats a try, with Luna relaxing on her friend's lap (bottom left). After a fun-filled day, it is time to relax at home on the couch (bottom right).

The Sent clan is joined by Aafke and Ruben for a vacation at amusement and vacation park Slagharen (row above, left and right), where they stay in a real teepee (row above, middle). The sun is so bright that Luna and Lior borrow the sunglasses of mom (left) and Aafke (right).

The bright sun also means that Lior needs to wear his new hat (left). After lots of searching, mom finally found one that Lior is not able to take off, for he is not crazy about wearing a hat, despite the smile that graces his cute face while wearing his new hat. Every morning, a delicious breakfast is enjoyed with fresh rolls (right, top). Mom also goes out to borrow a child seat for Lior so he gets to tower above the breakfast table. Luna takes advantage of the vacation setting to renew her boundary exploration (right, middle). She has a hard time going to sleep early, for there is quite some noise around the teepee with lots of kids running around late at night. Ruben tries to help her get ready for bed by reading Nijntje to Luna (right, bottom). The kids also wake up rather early in the morning due to the outside sounds. Lior enjoys the fact that he gets to use the remote control to watch television (row below, left). And he gets to practice his newly acquired walking skills around the teepee (row below, middle and right).

Lior does not yet understand that one needs to use just one bat while playing with the ball (far left). He seems to have a better grasp of how to use the brush and dustbin (middle left). As far as Lior is concerned, these are much better toys than anything that mom brought along for him to play with.

There is a special program with kids activities, in which Luna participates a few times. Much to her mom's delight, she learns how to iron (middle right). Luna is just as mesmerized by the show put on by the clown (far right).

During the hottest day of the vacation, the Sents and Brinks can be found in the pool, where Ruben watches closely over his younger brother (row above). He long wished to have a younger brother and is so happy that his prayers have been answered. While outside of the pool, he seeks cover for the sunshine in the tent and underneath the parasols with Luna and Lior (left). While in the pool, he plays with Luna and Lior on the slide (right). Indeed, slides are like magnets for Lior. Whenever he sees one, he makes a bee-line for it. And once he has gone down once, he can barely be stopped. Only after lots of protest can he be urged away from a slide.

Slagharen has lots of rides for all ages, including an elephant ride that is enjoyed by Luna and Aafke (middle right) as well as Lior and Ruben (far right).

From the ferris wheel one has a wonderful view of the amusement park and its surroundings, as Lior points out to Esther-Mirjam (left).

Luna and Lior go in the small merry-go-round over-and-over again (right). Fortunately, Aafke and Ruben have lots of patience with the two.

Esther-Mirjam's colleague Ferdy comes over during one day and gets some much-needed refreshment with Ruben, Aafke, Lior, and Luna in the fountain (far left). The kids also explore the underwater world in a ride (middle left).

Slagharen used to have real horses that one could ride, but now the visitors have to make due with artificial ones. While Luna is big enough to go by herself (middle right), Lior is lucky that papa comes over to give him a hand (far right).

Luna and Lior seem to like the slide on the playground much better than any of the rides (left). Indeed, mom seems to enjoy the rides the most! Secretly, one of the things she likes about having children is that she gets to use them as an excuse to visit amusement parks!

After mom has finally convinced Luna and Lior that they have gone down the slide plenty of times, she drags them to the spinning cups and saucers (right).

Opa Tano and Oma Naatje also come over for one day. This gives Luna an opportunity to give Opa Tano a ride (far left) and invite him for a dance (middle left).

Little Luna is a very brave girl. She goes in rides that are really meant for four-year olds and then asks to go again. Mom goes down a water slide with her daughter (middle right) and Opa Tano holds on tight to Luna in the rollercoaster (far right).

Luna is a little shy when it comes to posing with the park mascottes, including the clown (row below, right), the crocodile and bear (row below, middle), and the bunnies (row below, right).

The daily parade is Luna's favorite (row below, right), especially when she gets to watch it while sitting on Opa Tano's shoulders (row below, middle). And in the parade, she likes the princess the best (row below, left).

Lior and Luna go in the big merry-go-round countless times, accompanied by mom (row above, left), Oma Naatje (row above, middle), papa (row above, right), Opa Tano (left), and Ruben (right). Aafke just happens to be not pictured here.

The things Esther-Mirjam does to entertain her children (row below)! Here they are dancing to: "Op je plaats, strek je armen, vuisten maken, duimen omhoog, schouders op, hoofd omhoog, billen naar achter, voeten naar binnen, tong naar buiten. Tsjoe Tsjoe Wa, Tsjoe Tsjoe Wa, Tsjoe Tsjoe Wa Wa Wa." Incidentally, the tongue sticking out of mom's mouth is part of the dance! Needless to say, mom had as fun a vacation as her kids, or perhaps even a better one!

Upon return to Nijmegen, Luna returns to her angel self (row below). Might this be due to the angel wings that she is wearing? While on vacation, Luna took advantage of the opportunity to explore the new boundaries. While at home, she knows what those boundaries are, so feels no need to explore them.

Oma Alie (row above, left) and Opa Ben (row above, right) are happy that Luna is back from vacation. Luna is also happy to see them (row above, middle). She has a cheeky smile on her face when she sees them (left). After spending a fun-filled day with her grandparents, Luna is ready for a good sleep (right).

Who is that girl hiding behind the bubbles (row above, left)? It is our very own Luna Mimi (row above, middle and right). And who is blowing those bubbles? It is Opa Ben (left and right). Luna got this wonderful bubble blowing machine from her friend Victoria, as thanks for her sleepover in Nijmegen.

Lior's sister is helping him make the transition from baby to toddler. Instead of drinking out of his sippy cup (row below, left), she teaches him how to use a regular cup (row below, middle and right). And she looks quite proud of herself in the process, eh?

Lior, in turn, is helping Luna by pushing her in the stroller that is really supposed to be used for dolls (left). This one is, of course, much more interesting than the stroller that is meant for children.

When Luna holds her hands in front of her mouth (middle right), Luna imitates her gestures (far right).

And when Luna eats a spring roll (middle left), Lior figures this must be a tasty treat, though he is not quite sure of it yet (far left).

The Sent clan embarks upon its third holiday this Summer, now to a cottage in the Center Parcs resort in Zandvoort (far left). They are ready, for "A State of Happiness," indeed (middle left)!

They stay in a special children's cottage (right) that is equipped with a crib, playpen, changing table, baby bath, child seats, plastic plates, and so on. This makes for a very luxurious holiday.

Opa Ben (row above, left) and Oma Alie also come along, which makes for a very relaxing vacation for mom. Every morning, Opa Ben goes out to buy fresh rolls (row above, right). Though Luna pretends to have to sleep in the closet (row above, middle), she gets to sleep in a real bed and manages not to fall out! The presence of Opa Ben and Oma Alie allows mom to spend quality time with Luna (left) and Lior (right). And she gets to play board games with them every night.

There is a kids' club at which Luna and Lior entertain Oma Alie and Opa Ben (row above). Mom also comes along to take pictures (left) and Lior gets to try a blackboard for the first time in his young life (right).

There is also a playground just across the street from the cottage, where Lior loves to go down the slide over-and-over again (far left). Luna much prefers the swing and asks other people to push her when opa, oma, and mama are not around (middle left).

There is also a kids' disco every other day. Of course, mom joins whenever she can (middle right). The kids dance all around the resort (far right).

Luna befriends a very sweet girl called Amy. Together, they dance to the Superman song (far left) and do the Hokey Pokey (middle left). As you can see, they take it very seriously.

Luna's favorite continues to be Tsjoe Tsjoe Wa, and especially the part where she has to stick out her tongue (middle right). Lior watches it all with much interest and applauds for his little sister (far right).

One of the kids' club activities is a pirate party (far left). Luna is not too crazy about hanging out there by herself (middle left). She much prefers opa, oma, or mama to accompany her.

When Esther-Mirjam's colleague Ferdy comes over for a day, he gets dragged to the beach volleyball field, where they get a warm up (middle right) and instructions (far right) before they get to play volleyball.

Hip, Hip, Hurray!
Fortyfour Months Old!

Luna celebrates her fortyforth Month Day at the beach while there is a storm (row below). Not a bad way of spending a Month Day, eh? The wind blows so hard that Luna can lean forward against it and gets her hair all messed up.