I kicked off our weekend with some Thermomix buttermilk blueberry pancakes topped with Michelle and Grant’s homemade blackberry jam. We caught the metro to the European Parliament district in Maelbeek valley, and while the sun was out we took a quick stroll through Parc Léopold. The Park contains such treasures as a rare Oriental plane tree, the remains of the fifteenth century Eggevoort castle, as well as the Royal Museum of Natural Science.

Forsaking the Iguanodons this time around, we head over to the Parliamentarium, the new €21 million high-tech EU visitors’ center that opened October 2011. The touch-screen audio devices are available in 23 different languages, and a triggered by placing them within close proximity to your display of interest. For a subject matter that could be quite dry, the curators have managed to bring the history of Europe alive with interactive displays that include a long corridor traversing the history of Europe, a 360 degree film on the parliament, an huge map to explore with trolleys that play short clips about various regions, and an expansive lounge room with interviews of European citizens.

After a lunch of frites and a long afternoon nap, we headed out for Lapin à la gueuz (Rabbit in cherry beer gravy) at Le Forestier, followed by a marionette performance of The Passion at Théâtre de Toone. I had assumed that since I was familliar with the plot, I would be able to follow the story, even though I don’t speak Bruxellois (a dialect mixture of Flemish and French). I was mistaken. The story was told from the perspective of Judas, who was portrayed as a drunk man wandering through the Sablon and the Grand Place, with a cameo by St Michael, the patron saint of Brussels. Hayden loved it, refusing to sleep and staring with wonder at the puppets on the screen. He probably understood more of the Dutch than we did.

We took him back home after intermission and left Grant and Michelle to enjoy the Grand Place.

On Sunday we went to the Midi Markets for a brunch of Moroccan pancakes filled with honey, cheese, and marinated vegetables. Michelle hung out with Hayden and told him a story about a certain caterpillar with a bit of an appetite.

We finished up the weekend with a trip to the Sky Cafe at the Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History. Hayden sat in his first pilot’s seat but looked a little overwhelmed at the responsibility. After a few rounds of bowling, dinner was Ethiopian, which Hayden loved because it meant that everyone was eating with his hands, just like him.

We boarded Hayden’s first vaporetto, and the small boat was buzzing with excitement, full of foreigners so thrilled to be in their dream destination. I could easily spot the honeymooners (the men playing with their wedding rings, and the women still sporting wedding manicures and perfectly waxed eyebrows). There were also older couples, returning to Venice to relive the romantic locations of their courtship. Once we arrived on the main island, I converted the Kelty backpack to a stroller, and the two of us ambled along the edge of the canal as we enjoyed our first taste of sunshine in weeks.

(Sadly I only have mobile phone pictures for this trip, as the DSLR was too big to fit in the backpack)

A few hours later, we were reunited with mum and Josef. They hadn’t seen Hayden since he was four months old, so he was very excited to show off his new skills that included crawling, clapping, and eating solids. We all traipsed off to find dinner, and Hayden sampled a Caprese mozzarella and tomato salad while I caught up on news from Australia. Hayden seemed really happy to see his grandparents again, and even scored some complementary cookies from the waiter.

We spent the next day visiting the quieter islands of Murano and Burano. We admired the delicate stitching of lace in Burano and explored the canals lined with colourful houses. On the glass-blowing island of Murano, we watched three brothers working together to create a beautiful floral chandelier, then visited the showroom for a sampler of all the different pieces from the island. Mum bought me a striking blue and silver glass pendant for my birthday, a unique souvenir of our holiday.

After three nights in our delightful apartment amongst the rooftops of Venice, it was time to say goodbye with one final stroll along the Grand Canal. After their cruise, we will meet up with them again in Spain for a week in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca.

He claps at every opportunity, even using it to self-soothe during a traumatic experience such as having his nappy changed. He will now tolerate having his nose cleaned, simply blowing a raspberry to register his disgust. His new pet peeve is lying on his back, which means that I now have to attempt to dress him while his is clambering around on the floor. This is especially difficult now that the crèche has suggested that he might find it easier to crawl if I stopped dressing him in one-piece rompers and started putting him in pants and a top. Boo.

He loves to eat solids, and is happy to be either spoon-fed (opening his mouth up like a baby bird) or feed himself. His favourite foods include strawberries, bread, lettuce, quorn, and cheese. He likes clearing his plate, even if that means deliberately dropping food onto the floor rather than placing it in his mouth. After a serious post-meal clean-up, we often read a book together. Hayden enjoys turning the pages in both directions, which means that often the story progresses in a very non-linear fashion.

Hayden and I have both had constant runny noses and coughs this month, but he still generally slept through the night, after a dreamfeed and bottle around 10pm. Hayden will now only breastfeed when he is asleep, he much prefers a bottle when he is alert.

Adrian continuous to be an amazing father. I swan off to work most mornings leaving Adrian to feed and change the baby, then take him on the train then on bus to the crèche, only to turn around a few hours later to pick him up and take him home again. If Adrian goes off for a few drinks with his colleagues he always takes Hayden with him, which gives me the evening alone to socialise or to relax with a long hot bath. Even on the weekends Adrian is now in charge of most of the feeding, though I must admit he is terrible at getting Hayden to fall asleep as the little bear is usually too excited to calm down and close his eyes.

My two guys make me laugh and smile every day. It is wonderful to see more of Hayden’s happy and chipper personality emerge every day.

Today Adrian celebrated his birthday with TinTin, Dr Seuss, Mint nudges, beer and chocolate cake, phone calls, and kisses.

Adrian has achieved many extraordinary accomplishments this year. A last author paper in Nature Immunology, the recruitment and retention of some fantastic lab members, and numerous grants, all the while being an astonishingly hands-on, involved, and superfun dad and husband.

Some friends came over for a playdate and to share some cake with us – thanks to Michael for snapping this shot.

Happy Birthday Adrian.

During the long weekend, the Hasselt Japanese Gardens celebrated o-hanami, the Cherry Blossom Festival. It is the one day of the year where one is permitted to sit on the grass underneath the sakura trees. Kim and Adrian colluded in order to create a suprise picnic for me that was accompanied by bubbly, green tea, and sake. The sun even came out for a few hours to we could sit in the warmth and watch Hayden enjoy some colourful hard-boiled eggs. (Interestingly, in Belgium, they seem to celebrate Easter by eating actual eggs rather than gorging on chocolate like we do in Australia.) After Adrian had peeled one for him and Hayden had taken a few mouthfuls, Hayden decided it was a lot more fun to just crumble his up and roll around on top of it until both he and the picnic blanket were covered in tiny specs of yolk.

The Hasselt gardens proclaim themselves to be the largest Japanese gardens in Europe, however at 2.5 acres by my research they come in fourth, after the 39 acre Valley of singing stones in Lithuania, the 29 acre Parc Oriental de Maulévrier in France and the 3.3 acre Kaiserslautern in Germany. Still, it was a fun way to mark the time of year in which Spring is supposed to arrive, and I hope that the sun will decide to spend some more time in Belgium sometime soon.

Hayden is a delight. He laughs often, especially when Adrian holds him up like a plane or when I make silly noises with my mouth. He has started taking an interest in books, slapping the pages and trying to eat the spines while we read him Where Is The Green Sheep or Fox in Socks. He loves the songs that we sing which, that range from Adrian Originals (“Velocobear has a fearsome nose/ Velocobear has fungusy toes/ Velocobear is in need of a hose/ ‘Cause Velocobear don’t smell like a rose”) to Play School Favourites (“…but the one little duck with a feather on her back, she led the others with a quack quack quack…”).

He has two little teeth and his hair is starting to get a little longer. He has all of a sudden decided that he likes food, after all. He especially loves bread and fruit and Greek yogurt, and will also eat vegetables and avocado. After a few months of resistance he now likes to be spoon fed, and will open up his mouth wide like a little baby bird. I also give him lots of food to play with while we are having our meal. He will feed himself bread and baby biscuits, but he prefers to squish softer foods in between his fingers than put them in his mouth.

He shows no interest in crawling, though he will spin on his belly to get something that he wants. He now wants everything, and will get upset if I take something out of his grasp. He has started reaching for the kittens, but they always stay tantalisingly out of reach. The crèche also tells us that he is starting to get upset when Adrian leaves. He also gets very cranky when we clean his nose. Happily no infections or illnesses this month (even with a trip to India).

We rolled up the canvas blinds and stepped inside to find a queen-sized bed and writing desk, with a canvas panel separating a bathroom with spotlessly modern amenities. We were told that hot water was solar powered and would be available only in the morning and the evening. There was even enough room for Adrian to set Hayden up in his travel cot and he seemed to settle in happily to his new surroundings.

We took a stroll around the camp, which includes an open-air dining area, a nature walk, a wellness spa, and a small shop selling hand-made items. In the common room we listened to a presentation by Usha Rathore, the owner of Khem Villas, about the work that Tiger Watch is conducting to reduce poaching by ensuring that the locals can find sustainable living in harmony with the wildlife. For dinner we ate some delicious vegetarian food, sourced from produce that they grow on-site. As the sun set we settled down for an early night so we could wake up at dawn for our first safari.

The air was a little chilly as we set out towards the park, yet it was a magical time of day. As our canter wobbled its way over the bumpy roads, we saw that the inhabitants of the park were already peacefully grazing, and we were surrounded by dozens of spotted deer, Sambar deer, and Indian gazelles, and even a juvenile crocodile enjoying the morning sun. The guides listened for warning calls from the animals to alert them to a presence of a tiger, but all the prey animals seemed very relaxed.

We stopped under a tree while little Green Bee-eaters and Rufous Treepies flitted around us. Our guide told us that the treepies were very friendly. Friendly and indeed a little brash, they swooped down to share the sandwiches that our companions were eating for breakfast.

Hayden seemed very contented as he drank his morning milk while overlooking a deep tranquil waterhole.

As the sun rose in the sky and the temperature began to soar, we were told that the tigers would be retreating into the shade to sleep, and we headed back to the camp for a simple English breakfast of eggs and bread. Some of our breakfast companions shared tiger stories from that morning, and I hoped that we would have more luck in our afternoon safari. I wandered up to the Age Veda Spa for a soothing head and shoulders massage while looking out over the dry wind rippling over the grassy desert plains.

The heat escalated in our tent and the three of us collapsed on the bed together for a sweaty but satisfying nap through the hottest part of the day. Still full from breakfast, we skipped lunch and only awoke for a cold shower before our afternoon safari. We bought a tiger t-shirt and hat for Hayden from the vendors outside the gates, and he quickly returned with a tiger postcard as a gift “for the baby”. This encounter was symbolic of our time here in India, a small gesture filled with kindness and generosity.

Adrian asked the driver to stop so that he could snap a few photos of Grey Langur monkeys and their babies sitting together in the afternoon sun. We were sharing a canter with some locals who mocked us for making such a fuss over such a common animal.

We took another long drive for the park, and the ruminants were now mostly resting in the shade and watching us impassively. As we were nearing the end of our tour, the guide heard a warning call for a tiger, however the other people in the canter told him they had a train to catch, and we had to leave the park without so much of an Indian tiger.

I wish that we could have stayed here for a week. Not only to see a tiger in the wild, but also visit some of the various Tiger Watch initiatives, such as the women’s textiles collective, the school (free for girls from small families), the hospital, and to support camel rides and nature walks run by families of rehabilitated poachers.

At breakfast on our last day, we watched a pigeon industriously trying to set up a nest on top of the roller-blinds that enclose the open-air dining area. It was such a pathetic sight. Firstly, every single one of the dozens of twigs immediately fell off, leaving a pile of twigs on the ground and none up on the ledge. Secondly, the blinds are pulled down every night for dinner, so even a successful nest would not survive until the next morning. I had to eventually ask one of the staff members to come and unfurl the blinds because I couldn’t bear to watch the poor bird wasting so much effort on such a bleak enterprise.

All too soon it was time for us to pack our bags and leave the camp, and it was quite hard to say good-bye to this place. In my opinion, Ranthambhore is up there with the mountains of Georgia, Uluru in Australia, and the wilderness of Iceland as truly sublime locations on this fragile planet. These wild and semi-arid plains touched my heart, and I dearly hope to be able to return here when Hayden is older, and perhaps share with him the magic of discovering a tiger in the wild.

When we first arrived at the hotel, we noticed that they had several peacocks and peahens. At first we did not take much notice, as we had assumed that the owners had imported them and clipped their wings, as is common in Australia. It was only when we saw one of the peahens take flight that we recalled that the birds are native to this area and we had just seen our first wild peafowls.

The next morning we gathered at sunrise to take an early cycle rickshaw through the world heritage listed Keoladeo National Park, which contains artificial marshes first installed in 1763 by the Maharajas to improve their duck-hunting experiences. Since 1982 it has been a haven to 364 species of birds, and is an important breeding site for herons, storks and cormorants. We saw dozens of bird species during our hours in the park, along with some ruminants and a pair of Indian grey mongooses (but sadly no fishing cats).

Our naturalist pointed out a male jaçana bird following its baby. He told us that the bronze-winged jaçana birds are a species of waders, and it is the males who take responsibility for the care of the young, even carrying their offspring between their wings and body. He smiled and said to Adrian “just like you”.

We learned about the Intermediate Egret, identifiable by its yellow bill and black legs. I felt a bit sorry for the birds with such a demeaning name, and I thought that they were probably a bit jealous of the cute Little Egret and the impressive Great Egret.

With this adventure under our belt before breakfast, we returned to the hotel feeling quite accomplished. We said farewell to Kim who was flying back to Belgium, and prepared for a long dusty drive to Ranthambore National Park.

Hayden is also rolling from front to back to front, and pushing himself up with his arms. He loves his jumperoo, but hates solids. I continue to breastfeed him in the morning and night, with formula during the day. The carers at his creche patiently feed him potatoes and fruit, half-teaspoonfuls at a time. He will happily chew on an antibacterial towelette if given half the chance, but if he puts so much of a grain of rice into his mouth he looks completely disgusted. So at home we are sticking with milk for nourishment, and we offer him food from our plate during meals for fun.

He loves looking at photos of himself and chatting with the other baby in the mirror. Whenever he sees my phone he starts mashing at it until I turn on the forward-facing camera so that he can drown in his reflection. No stranger anxiety yet – he will beam at all kinds of strangers, though I like to think that he saves his biggest smiles for us.

He can sit unassisted for a reasonable time, and at 70 cm long and 9.1 kg is starting to outgrow his 9-12 month old clothing. We continue to be very lucky with his health, with no major illnesses this month. He is full of smiles and laughter, and I am so glad that he is our little piglet.

This is Hayden on the day we brought him home, a ten minute stroll across the park from the hospital:

He loved his little snug cocoon – as a newborn it was one of the only places he would sleep (as long as it was in motion), and while travelling, he much preferred to sleep in it overnight than the travel crib.

However, I finally had to admit to myself that he had outgrown the cocoon, and it was time to switch the buggy into a chair and turn it around to face the world. Adrian was still in denial, telling me that he was still a baby bear, and surely too little for a big bear chair. Hayden seemed a bit apprehensive about the upgrade.

With a foot muff combined with a stroller snug sack from mum, he is still plenty snug on his daily commute, and Hayden soon warmed up to this arrangement.

Hayden continues to show more and more interest in his surroundings, and actively engages anyone who holds him. This means that he is becoming worse at drinking milk. He will now only breastfeed when really sleepy, and even when bottle-feeding he wants to stop often and look around and chat. This isn’t too bad, as pumping is going well, and I really enjoy nursing him at night, especially during the week when we’ve been apart all day. Adrian continues his marvelous job of taking care of Hayden during the week. I can see how much Hayden adores his daddy – his face lights up with joy whenever Adrian walks into the room.

Hayden has had several coughs and colds, two 24 hour fevers, and a rather persistent case of ringworm, but luckily nothing too serious yet. Though his constant colds means that Adrian had been constantly sick for about six months, which has been an additional source of exhaustion for him.

At the creche they have started trying to feed Hayden some purées. He likes potatoes and pumpkin. One day he came home completely covered in orange stains, and there was a small note in his diary – “doesn’t like carrots”. We are trying baby-led weaning at home, but at the moment he likes to just mash the vegetables into the table rather than eating them. He is showing indications of being left-handed, but his motor skills are so poor it’s hard to know for sure. My favourite part of the day is when we all sit down to dinner together, and Hayden sits in his highchair with us and tells us all about his day in enthusiastic babbles and expansive hand-waving gestures.

After dinner we have a short play together until he is tuckered out and falls asleep. He still wakes up hungry several times a night, so now that he is six months we will try some “Good Night formula” with extra cereals to see if that will fill his hungry belly overnight. Still, there is something quietly magical about that middle-of-the-night feed. Nursing him in the dark, with his little hand curled around my thumb, seeing him look so peaceful and cute, especially when his head lolls back once he has finished eating, well, I can’t help but feel anything but so lucky to be his mummy.

He can now roll over and will do so if left for a few minutes on his back. He can’t yet figure out how to get from belly-to-back, though. He still prefers standing, and entertains himself bouncing in his rainforest bounceroo – his favourite toy is the very noisy gecko spinner filled with tiny balls.

And because I am a hypocrite, here is some video snippets from his first half-year on Planet Earth.

On 30 May 2011, Adrian’s brother Russell had an accident and passed away on the first day of his holiday in North America. Such a shock, a such great loss, such a gap left in the world by this energetic and generous man. We last saw Russell in 2009 when he joined us for a trip through the UK.

On 30 July 2011, baby Hayden was born. The first four months were tough, but now he has matured into a delightful little guy. He is full of smiles and always talking, so snugly and cute. I have watched Adrian become a great daddy, and I am at my happiest when the whole family is together.

Adrian and I also celebrated publications, promotions, grants, bonuses, and awards, travelled to Cyprus and Malta for our babymoon, and showed baby Hayden the countries of Norway, the Netherlands, England, Australia, Singapore and Indonesia.

The events of last year remind me to treasure every moment that I have with my family. After so many years of effort and struggle – finishing a PhD, completing a post-doc, moving to a new country, purchasing an apartment, acquiring a MPH, attaining a permanent position, and achieving a successful pregnancy, I think it is time to slow down. 2012 will be a year of resting on my laurels.