Maximilian

The time just before Christmas normally means a long time waiting for the big day. But this year it was different. Because we prepared for the nativity play at school. We practiced a lot and I was chose to play Joseph, the main act together with Mary of course. It was a big day for all of us and we performed our play in front the entire school and a huge number of parents. I say without exaggeration that we had more than 200 spectators. We also prepared a Christmas show at Play Shelter, my afterschool club.

And then finally we went to Austria to Opa and Oma for Christmas, skiing and ice skating. I am not so sure about ice skating, but I really like skiing. So much that I went back to Austria at half term in February. This time we went to Kitzbuehel. I skied with proper ski pals but the best part came at the end of the week. We had a ski race and I was the winner. I was so happy when I was presented with the gold medal.

Away from skiing I hosted Alessia and Chiara in London for a few days. We had so much fun in the Science Museum where we watched a 3D film. It was about submarine life and I felt like a scuba diver.

On another weekend we went to the Tower Bridge Experience. It was really interesting to see the engine room that used to lift the bridge. But the most exciting bit was a glass floor on top of the bridge about 60m above the street level. I was soo scared.

As summer came to an end a new and very exciting chapter in my life started. I am starting big boy school. But let’s not jump the gun. First I celebrated my graduation from Arc nursery. I made so many friends and had such a great time.

And then my new adventure began. I was a really brave lion on my first day of school and Papa/Maman really like my school uniform. My new teachers are really nice and I am learning so many things. Reading, writing and algebra. I really like learning and my I have great new friends in school as well.

I had to go to hospital for surgery. My hearing had deteriorated and we discovered it was a glue ear. So I had to undergo a grommet insertion. At the same time an adenoidectomy was performed.

Time is flying so quickly and suddenly it was already my 5th birthday. We had a great party with my friends, old and new, and Oma also came to visit me. I got so many great presents.

In the meantime my swimming is also coming along nicely. I am now able to swim the full length of the pool in front crawl and backstroke. Even the deep end where I cannot reach the bottom.

Now it is almost no time before Christmas. As the attentive reader will know Papa’s office always organises a party for us little ones and on the next day some of my friends came over to have a sort of advent party at home.

Following the success of last year’s camping trip we repeated the same. British weather is what it is and on this occasion we received the thick end of it. But hey! Keep calm and camp on. After one horrendous opening night Saturday turned out pretty good.

From there it was time to move across the channel back to the Continent. Belgian seaside to be more precise. Like in previous years I stayed with Mamy for a couple of weeks. My old friend Victoire was here again. But most importantly, my new cousin Lucie came to see me. She is so cute and tiny. I looked after her really well. I played super hero with Tonton and built fortifications against the tides with Maman and Papa.

On a completely different topic: who is that handsome fifth person among the Beatles?

For the second May bank holiday weekend the SE1 clique left London and went to a farm in Suffolk. The purpose of the expedition was to prove that milk does not come from Tesco’s. We stayed in cottages in a real working farm close to Ipswich where we had piggies, horses, cows, sheep and a pond with fish and ducks. We also visited nearby Easton Farm and Jimmy’s Farm. We got the full on program including but not limited tosheep shearing and horse riding. Away from the farms we went to the beautiful seaside town of Aldeburgh and Southwold.

This year I spent my Easter break in Knokke on the Belgian coast. It was great to see Mamy again. As always I enjoyed the nice seafood, long bike rides on the coast and the cuistax at the square just in front of Rubens.

Teddy from pre-school spent a whole weekend with us at home. We organised plenty of things for him. The highlight of the weekend was a bike trip to Victoria Park. I was a bit tired in the evening after the 25K bike ride.

This year we spent our ski holiday in Serfaus in Tyrol. My entire Austrian family was there: Alessia & Chiara together with Tante Nicki and Onkel Markus and Oma & Opa.

The hotel was simply amazing with a pirate themed indoor swimming pool with big slide and water cannons. There was food pretty much all day long including ice cream crepes for breakfast (naughty Papa) and after ski child entertainment programme like Kasperltheater.

But of course the real reason to go was the skiing bit: following my first attempts last season at Christmas I progressed to take my first professional skiing lessons. It was a hard skiing day starting at 10am and finishing at 3pm with a little lunch break in the middle. After two days of practise I was on the real slope. And I was so excited to show my new skills to my parents that I skied with them when the lessons ended until the lifts closed down. Towards the end of the week we skied all the way down to the valley.

On the last day I had my first ski race. I did not win but everyone was a winner and I earned my first medal. I cannot wait to get back and I understand my parents have already booked the next ski holiday.

To round off a great week we stopped in Innsbruck before we took our flight back home. It is Papa’s place of birth and he was very proud to show me around.

Max

It always takes ages for Christmas to finally arrive. So to pass the time George and I went the Christmas market in Hyde Park. Sorry I meant to say to Winter Wonder Land. But then finally we were in the train to Brussesls and I figured we must be getting there.

And I was not disappointed. Christmas actually came twice. We spent the real Christmas Eve at Albert’s. I was awake until almost midnight because I am a big boy now. And we also had a Christmas dinner at Mamy with Tata and Tonton. I got so many generous presents.

In between I enjoyed my Christmas holiday. We went to the Belgian coast for a few days. We enjoyed the nice swimming pool and I went ice skating with Papa as well. Upon our return to Brussels it had snowed. Maman found the sledge and we sledged almost one thousand times in the park. After all of that I really deserved the chocolate cake at Chalet Robinson.