Jasmine van Zoest

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
I'm wishing...
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

update:

Jasmine singing along to one of her favorite tunes, Disney's Snow White: I'm Wishing / One Song.

At 18 months, Jasmine is quickly advancing in her own self care and she also has an awareness of her own self. She knows that the word me, refers the individual that is using it. When she feels corporative and is prompted with the question "Where is Jasmine?" She smiles brightly and puts her hand on her heart and proclaims, "Me! Jassi.."

In the last month, she has managed to put on a sweater/jacket of her own, although it is placed on backward most of the time. As for her pants, she has been able to put them on for several months now. Her most recent attempt is to try on a t-shirt. She gets stuck after putting the shirt over her neck. She is unable to keep herself balanced when she pulls her arms through the sleeves.

Tonight Jasmine waited for Daddy to come home. I was not able to put Jasmine to sleep. Jasmine said to me, "Papa, wait". So she spend her evening laying in bed until her Papa came home. After spending an hour with her father, Jasmine felt content enough to go to sleep. But before that, Papa was having dinner and Jasmine went to the drink cabinet and got herself a ready-to-go juice package. The juice box comes with a straw that is attached to the package with glue. Jasmine disconnected the wrapped straw from the juice package. She undid the wrapping of the straw then walked over to the trash; stepped on the footstep of the trash can to open the trash latch and threw away the plastic wrapping. Afterwards, she walked back to where the straw and her juice package were. She pricked the package with the straw and starts drinking the juice.

At that moment her father laughed and said, "All we need to do now is keep that drawer full and Jasmine will be able to serve herself drinks." We wanted to know what she would do once she is done drinking it, but she never got to that point. Instead, she went to bed.

She has learned to do so much for herself — from taking off her clothes to getting her own drinks. We wonder what will be up next. Toilet training? Well, we started that four months ago, but little progress so far... We are unsuccessful because Mom thought the entire idea was yuck! Drinking from a cup? She has been able to do that since she was 13 months old. They said advances come fast and furiously at around 18 months. Jasmine has proven this to be true for her as well.

As a family our next task is to find time for relaxation, and fun. We hope Disneyland Paris could provide each of us with the things we needed most: fun and relaxation.

(Typically Papa dislikes balsamic vinegar, but this was an exception.)

Warm summer nights call for fresh green salads, and a light dinner. Oh, what a dinner that was! Daddy loves the strawberries this season. He said it tastes really good, so Mom thought it would be a great idea to make him a healthy dinner with his favorite fruit - strawberries. Jasmine still benefits since she loves to eat chicken... though it would have been better if she was awake for it. Well, Mama has a pregnancy brain. I forget many things and simple tasks are relatively challenging these days.

It was a busy day today. Mama and Jasmine were able to do some clothes shopping for the upcoming season. Jasmine does not have any warms clothes that fit her anymore. Luckily all the shops in Leiden are starting to carry fall season clothes. Jasmine picked out a couple cute outfits including two skirts, some tops, and a dress. She tried the skirts and tops, and then the dress last. At some point, Jasmine noticed a little boy in the store. So she walked up to him, pointed to her dress and said, "kijken" (look in Dutch). Then she turned herself around 180 degree so the little boy can see how the dress looks on her. Mama and the little boy's mother stood laughing together. You're such a girly girl sweetheart and to think, Mama thought you'll grow up to be tomboyish.

Below is tonight's dinner recipe if anyone is interested in trying it out.

The salad:
*500g strawberries (small ones left whole, bigger ones halved.)
*1 tbsp Crema di Aceto Balsamico di Modena
*2 tbsps high quality olive oil
* salt
* ground peppercorns
* 200g mixed green leaves
* 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Clean and prepare your strawberries. Put them in a large bowl and add the basil, balsamic, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Coat and let them marinate for 45 minutes. Prepare the chicken as described below. Once chicken is cooked, gently toss mixed green leaves and basil together with marinated strawberries. Arrange salad with grilled chicken on top. Sprinkle with a some more olive oil on salad and then squirt Crema di Aceto Balsamico di Modena over chicken (and plate for looks). Serve immediately. Buon appetito!

Chicken topping:
* fresh thymes
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
* 1/4 cup of grinded bread crumbs or 1/4 cup of flour
* ground peppercorn
* 2 chicken breast
* 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Chopped the thymes enough for 2 tbsp. Mix thymes, salt, and ground peppercorn well. Flatten the chicken until it is 1/2 inch thickness. Coat the chicken with herb mixture evenly to suite your taste. In a grill pan melt butter and cook chicken until golden brown on each side. About 5 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a clean cutting board and cut them into long 1/4 inch slice. Place chicken over strawberry salad. Serve with French bread or any other crusty bread would work as well.

(A Sunday afternoon in Leiden with friends.)

It was great seeing Tony and his family. We had a lovely time with them during the past weekend. Charles is such a strong little boy. He walks very well for his age -- 10 month old. We cannot wait to see more of him in the future. A visit to Cambridge is diffinately heeded, perhaps next year when I, Mama, can travel again.