Hayden and I had another trip to the crèche yesterday, and it was a much more successful visit. I still stayed with him, but we were both feeling a lot more relaxed. We sat on the couch together and had a chance to watch the other children interact with the staff and each other.

I was very impressed with the quality of the care. They have a 1:3 ratio of staff to infants, and all the children seemed very happy. If one of them was the least bit unhappy there was always someone there to lift them up and give them a kiss. They are constantly chatting to the kids in Flemish and the older ones talk back, pointing out the toy animals and the finger painting on the walls.

The children eat and fresh and healthy food during meal times, but they are never soothed with snacks when they cry. There is no television, and the children are very well behaved, stopping a dangerous or mean behaviour after a simple “nee”. No threats of smacks or other harmful punishments.

In fact, these people look like much better caregivers than I often am, especially when I flagrantly ignore the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of no television for children under two when we sit down to watch “Gossip Girl” together (though I do still talk to him to catch him up on the back story).

The people there were very kind and understanding of our previous tears. They said it’s very common, and they gave me the direct phone number of his room, and said that I can call them whenever I feel sad and they can tell me how he’s doing. They keep a detailed diary and communicate with us every day about his growth and development.

The moment that I knew everything was going to be okay was when I saw a one year old baby fall over. His dummy fell out of his mouth, and before one of the caregivers could reach him, a slightly older girl ran up to him, picked up his dummy, gave it back to him and said “niet huilen” (don’t cry). Being surrounded by these types of children every day will be so much more stimulating than even the best Fisher Price toy that I could buy.

I can see that experiencing a Flemish crèche from such a young age is going to give Hayden a great advantage, and I feel glad that he will be in such a nurturing and stimulating environment while we are at work.

Today Hayden is at Adrian’s laboratory with all the other mice.

There are three drinking holes in Leuven that have become regular spots for me to sip and socialise.

In summer, all of the Oude Markt (old market square) becomes one giant outside bar. One spectacular Thursday afternoon Adrian organised to meet me “at the Oude Markt” and it took us over 30 minutes to find each other. This place is perfect for scoffing some Kriek cherry beer and soaking up the sunlight.

For late nights with a local flavour, we often take visitors to Seven Oaks. The place doesn’t come alive until well after midnight, so when we visit early we usually have the place to ourselves. They have a wide range of flavoured jenever (jin), Laurent-Perrier champagne on tap, plus they let you play a fun party game that involves hammering nails into a tree trunk.

However, my top bar in Leuven is Mattiz. They make the most amazing cocktails I have every tasted. There is a whole page just dedicated to chocolate flavoured mixtures, and I am methodologically working my way down the list. So far, my favourites are Tootsie Roll and After Dinner Mint. It’s a small place, but if you can score the table at the front it makes for the perfect place for a few after dinner drinks.

July 2007:
Got married to Adrian in Canada.

Nov 2007:
Adrian claims UK citizenship by descent, thus I become married to an EU citizen.

Sept 2008:
Decide to move to Belgium.

Dec 2008:
Submit our Canadian marriage certificate to the Canadian High Commission in Australia for legalisation.

Feb 2009:
Present ourselves to the Leuven Town Hall.
Discover that the marriage certificate actually needs to be certified by the Belgian Embassy in Canada.
A friend retrieves the certificate from Canberra and posts it to Canada.

March 2009:
Receive my legalised marriage certificate.

Bring my legalised marriage certificate, passport, and rental contract to the Leuven Town hall to initiate my request for residency.
The police verify my address.

April 2009:
I am granted a five-month temporary residency and work permit until August.

July 2009:
We move house, and present ourselves to the Saint Gilles Town Hall. The police will have to verify our address before they can acknowledge our residency.

September 2009:
The police come to our apartment and go through our wardrobe to ensure our marriage is legitimate. Apparently this is quite normal in Brussels.

October 2009:
I receive an appointment at the Saint Gilles Town Hall. I present proof that we are living in Saint-Gilles. They take my temporary work permit, and tell me I will receive the codes to activate my 5-year permit in 15-21 days.

November 2009:
I go to the Town Hall to inform them the codes have not arrived in the post, and request new codes.

January 2010:
We inform the Town Hall that the codes have still not arrived.

February 2009:
I receive a letter from the Town Hall informing me that my codes have arrived.

I go to the Town Hall, and I am given a ticket to return the next morning at 8am.
I return the next morning, and I am told to return the following morning at 8am.
I return the next morning, and I am presented with my very own “carte de sejour de membre de la famille d’un citoyen d l’Union”.

October 2014:
I become eligible for Belgian citizenship if I demonstrate sufficiency in one of their official languages.