...from our sunflower Luis and his pirate and princess friends. As Europeans, we have no idea about Halloween traditions, but here the spooky US-holiday is quite a big thing. And the babies loved it. 

Winter is almost over and the first sunbeams are coming out. Beach time! Together with friends, we just spent some beautiful days at the beach in Maitencillo. A week after his first birthday little man now only needs one finger to hold onto. Not long before he's running off, with mum and dad chasing after him!

Luis is Weltmeister! Yes, the Germans won the world cup fair and square. We watched the finals at a German B&B in Southern Chile. When the referee blew the whistle, Luis showed off his latest trick: the infamous champion crawl! 

One rainy day we went to the thermal springs of Malalcahuello. This was Luis' first time in a big pool, and he loved it! Check out all the looks he threw at the ladies, what a player.

We are on our way to Easter Island again, this time with baby on board! Hopefully Luis would like our favourite destination as much as we do. The 5 hour plane trip went super smooth. No wonder: Luis was more comfortable than any business class passenger could ever be. Stretched out in his own little bed, he slept through the whole flight.

Rapa Nui is a small island, but on the third vacation here we are still discovering new things! Thanks to our early riser, one morning we even made it to the sunrise at Tongariki! Apart from the famous Moai formations, we did a whole day of cave exploring on the island's Northern coast. Some caves are big and easily accessible with a baby, while with others you had to rob through wet narrow passages of darkness, to reach a spectacular window in the cliff line. Of course Luis stayed on safe grounds here, while mama and papa both took a turn in the caves.

Family picture at Rano Kau volcano, our favourite spot :-)

Our holiday ended on Anakena beach. Luis loved the white sand and the rustling palm trees. He even splashed his hand in the biggest bathtub he had ever seen. Rapa Nui – see you next time!

Luis’ first trip across the big pond! 

From Santiago to Madrid to Frankfurt and on to the world-renowned village of Velden, where grandma and grandpa had already been expecting us. When they last saw him, Luis could barely hold his head, and now he was sitting up, and smiling with two little teeth. Luis also met his nieces Julie and Fleur for the first time. The girls creatively decorated Luis' mohawk with spring flowers. Our little boy didn't mind. He was fascinated by all the attention, and most of all, the new toys!

Next stop: Dresden.

Business in Santiago forced us to cramp our Europe trip into 2 weeks only, but of course we couldn’t leave out Dresden. The Gütz clan, Cameroonian acquaintances, emigrated friends from Chile, and old classmates from Anna, yes, it was quite the hussle and bussle. In between we did some Japanese-style sightseeing, and rushed through dm, Media Markt, Ikea & Co. to stock up on things we cannot get in Chile. 

Here we have Easter brunch with Luis' great grandparents Rudi and Gabriele. Rudi made a Sorbic Easter egg especially for Luis. Little man was blown away and demonstrated his delight by smashing the art piece onto the ground. Fortunately we still have a picture! With my family Easter cannot end without a good Easter egg hunt, hence in the afternoon we were sent out to search the wood and amazingly we found all kinds of goodies! Rumour has it a mysterious grey-haired Easter bunny was seen in the area... 

The day before Luis cut his first tooth, we met up with his baby friends, and everyone said "look, he'll  have a tooth by tomorrow". I thought "no way", but the next morning a shiny little stump appeared indeed! After work papa joined us in Parque Bicentenario, and our dear photo-talent Amanda took another series of amazing pictures. Enjoy!

This morning we sang "Cumplemeses feliz" and gave our youngster an extra portion of hugs and kisses. Little Luis just turned six months! To mark the occasion, I've put together the dot-series, where you can watch in time lapse, how much he has grown and learned in that little time! The series started by chance, when I put Luis on our bathroom rug, to take a quick shower. Six months on, he is already too big for the rug, and won't t stay put anyway.

The "big trip" just turned into a mere flying visit to both our families. Our vacation plans collide with the kick-off of a major project, so the whole trip had to be cut short last minute... :-( Nonetheless we'll do a loop through Europe, proudly presenting you little Luis. Our globetrotting baby now has a Chilean and German passport (Dutch papers coming soon), and is ready to go. Everyone who is keen to meet him/us, please let us know and we'll find a way. Nos vemos!!!