We are feeling surprisingly good after a long day and night with just a little sleep. James is in fine form which is a wonderful thing. The New Year in the Netherlands (called oud en nieuw-- old and new) is really incredible. As Mike mentioned yesterday fireworks are officially allowed during this time. The Dutch are really crazy about them. There was a steady stream from midnight to 2AM, and the ocasional blast from then on.
Our nearest neighbors also have a baby, and they came over for a fun Raclette dinner. It is a griddle/grill combination and you use it to prepare your meal as you sit and talk. It is like fondue in that it is interactive and fun. When you first sit down and see all of the small bits of meat you think (if you are with an eater like Mike) that there is surely not enough for everyone. Twenty minutes later I was done-- with about half of the meat and sides still left. Ronald, the slowest most careful eater in the world, patiently sat for at least another hour, enjoying his grilled extravaganza. We had a great time and it was delicious.
Throughout our dinner both babies slept, while it seemed every other neighbor on the block was outside firing away. At one point we asked a neighbor how long he would be shooting fireworks (it was not yet midnight). He told us that he had over 75 sets of fireworks ready to go.
It was clear that James-- in his bedroom facing the street-- was not going to be able to sleep through this onslaught. As soon as midnight struck the gigantic explosions began and we heard the babies start crying. We went up to James' room and held him while we watched out the window. If it was only our neighbors it would be incredible enough, but from the second story we could see row after row of fireworks (from wimpy to HUGE) above the houses in every direction. It was incredible. At times the street was filled with sulfurous smoke. James was not frightened but he was a little confused at first.
After at least forty five minutes of constant explosions, we thought we should try to put him down and get some sleep. After all, our little bean wakes up at 6AM no matter what. We changed his diaper, zipped up his sleep sack, prepped a bottle and closed the window shades. I walked downstairs as Mike went through our usual routine of administering a bottle in the dark room. Then the longest, loudest set of fireworks went off. It sounded like 10 machine guns in our living room, for 2 straight minutes. I am not kidding. It seemed it just wouldn't stop. Finally it did, and was followed by the strongest, loudest bang I have heard in a long long time. Not the ideal moment to put the baby down. By then it was 1 AM, James woke crying at least twice over the next half hour. We comforted him and tried to get him settled. Then we crashed out too.
All in all a WONDERFUL way to bring in the new year.
2 comments:
Can you bring the griddle/grill thing back with you when you move back? What a fun way to spend the evening.
So, no fireworks on the 4th for you expats, but they made up for it on New Year's. Very nice. 2007 will be an exciting time for your family, we look forward to sharing it with you.
Happy New Year, y'all! xoxox from the ATL.
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