(Cont'd from Emi's blog)
“Why did we give her a middle name that would be so hard to explain?” Amanda whined. Niels was still laughing even hours after the awkward discussion with Emi. It had been a fun-filled day. The kids got to spend some time with Daphne and Maë and they all had the chance to see the main sights in Paris. Everyone was gladly in bed, which now gave Niels and Amanda plenty of time to chat. “It’s not funny,” said Amanda, nudging him hard, but there was amusement quite clearly in her eyes. Soon she was laughing as well, and after a while, she forced herself to stop laughing. “Stoooopppp,” she said, nudging Niels again. “Okay, okay.” He took a deep breath and tried his hardest to contain himself. “I mean. We didn’t lie. We did name her Paris because of the start we had here.” Amanda gave him a look. “We gave her the name because she was /conceived/ here.” They stared at each other and then started laughing all over again. “Oh Kobe. How in the world does one explain conception to a child? But seriously.” She sighed now. “Emi’s 10. We should have that talk with her soon.” Niels eyes went wide. “Not about you and I of course! But about--” “The birds and the bees?” “Does anyone even say that anymore?” Amanda grinned. “But yeah. I mean. She’s the age I was when we first started dating and those first feelings of ‘puppy love’ surfaced. For you it was worse since you were older. But when we—” Niels flinched. “Don’t say it. I can’t even imagine.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Were we really that young?! Now I understand why our parents freaked out. They seemed so silly for reacting the way they did back then.” “Yeah…” Amanda shuddered and had to force the thoughts from her mind, of her daughter two years from now, no longer ‘innocent’. 12 was so young for such a thing. Amanda shook her head again. “Uhm… so… I guess we better rehearse what we’ll say to our little girl.”
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“Look! It’s the Eiffel Tower!” Emi exclaimed. She pointed her finger at the aeroplane window, making Angelo and Elia instantly interested. Elia adjusted herself on Niels’ lap and pressed her forehead against the window. “Wheah?” she asked, squinting. Amanda laughed lightly. She was sure that Elia had no clue what her older sister was talking about. “Right there,” Emi clarified nonetheless. “See that pointy building?” Angelo beamed. “I see it.” He smiled proudly, having spotted the most popular structure in all of Paris. “I wan’ see!” Elia whined. She was about to complain again when the flight attendant’s voice emitted loudly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seats and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Please turn off all electronic devices until we are safely parked at the gate. Thank you.” “Alright, you heard the lady. Buckle up,” said Amanda. It was a bit of a fight to get Elia into the seat since she wanted more than anything to see what her sister had been pointing to, but then Amanda said the magic words. “Don’t you want to see Aunty Daphne and Maë? You don’t want me to tell them that you were a bad girl, do you?” Immediately, Elia shook her head. “Ladies and gentlemen,” came the flight attendant’s voice again. “Welcome to Aéroport Houston Dean.” Comments #1. Aww Congrats Amanda, and many more years too come.
Dawn Delaney #2. Thank you, Dawn!! :D Amanda van Loon #3. Congratulations for getting this far! *smiles* Mandy Marchal #4. Thank you, Mandy! *smiles widely* Amanda van Loon (Ballet HW in previous blog) Amanda loved weddings. They always brought back those warm, fuzzy feelings in her stomach, and they often reminded her of her own wedding. After Freja’s wedding and reception, Niels pulled Amanda close. “You know…” he whispered. “Tallinn’s pretty close to Vilnius. And tomorrow is your birthday.” He grinned at her. Amanda giggled. “It is huh?” She smiled broadly at him. Vilnius held some cherished memories for them. It was essentially where their lives together had began. Not as husband and wife, but as friends. They didn’t have much to do back in New York at the moment. No Ballet Club due to school break, Emi didn’t have a dance class for a few days, no therapy, no doctors appointments… “Let’s do it,” said Amanda, an excited sparkle in her eyes. Hours later, they were stepping off the airplane and onto Lithuanian soil, so to speak. The kids had never visited this country so Amanda was excited about the sightseeing that they would enjoy for the first time. “It looks like New York,” Emi remarked as the cab drove them towards their hotel.
“I think when we go sightseeing, you’ll see some big differences,” Amanda told her. Emi smiled excitedly. “I can’t wait to see that,” she said. The hotel was close to the airport, in the heart of Vilnius. The kids were tired so getting them to bed was extraordinarily easy. Pulling Amanda close once they were alone in their room, Niels whispered, “We better get some rest. Lots planned for tomorrow." He winked at her and then glanced at the clock. "A little early but..happy birthday, baby.” Amanda giggled. "Thanks love," she said, then she claimed a kiss from his lips. Hello again ballet dancers and ballerinas! Today is our last day of class. So we're going to review everything we've learned this year. Next year, if you all are still students here, we will have a recital. How does that sound? So this year we've learned the 5 ballet positions, jumps, turns, and of course lots of ways to stretch. You've all done a very good job. ~*~ Next year, if you would all like to go on a field trip to a ballet, tell me which ballet you would all like to see. Perhaps we can work something out. So for a final homework assignment, tell me what was your favourite part of ballet classes and what more you'd like to learn next year. ~*~ Oh and before you go, don't forget to take some cookies home! I hope to see you all next year! Comments #1. *grabs a cookie and bites on it* wow they are tasty!
Emily Darcy #2. *laughs lightly* I'm glad you like it Emily. Take some more to share at home, huh? *winks* Amanda van Loon Emi had been telling everyone that she wanted a pet--and in fact, Niels and Amanda wanted to get her a pet, but it wasn't that simple. Elia's allergies often flared up around animals. It wasn't consistent, but Niels and Amanda worried about what a pet living in the house would do to their toddler.So they'd done a lot of research.
It was early in the morning when Niels went to the breeders to collect the new critters. Meanwhile, Amanda chopped up strawberries and prepared the batter for chocolate chip pancakes. When Niels returned, the kids were still asleep somehow. Amanda left the hand towel on the kitchen counter and quietly padded into the living room where Niels stood with a travel cage, a large box and a bag that seemed full of stuff. Amanda chuckled, seeing him try to balance everything. "You should've called me to help," she said. She tiptoed to kiss his cheek. "It's fine," he said. "Where should we set this up?" They were both whispering. "Living room for now," said Amanda. She picked up the travel cage and squealed at the sight of the two critters inside. Heading into the living room, they set up the cage, the litterbox and the little hamock on the second floor of the cage. It was quite a little palace. Just as Amanda was going to return to the kitchen to finish breakfast, she heard Emi's voice. "What's that?" Amanda grinned. "Come see for yourself," she said. Emi approached with quick steps and then started jumping up and down, exclaiming, "I got a pet!! Two pets?! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She hugged both parents excitedly, still jumping up and down, and then knelt to look at the ferrets. "Aawwww... they look like that Yin and Yang symbol." She giggled and then gasped, obviously enlightened. "Can I call them that?! Yin and Yang?" "You can call them whatever you want," Niels told her. "Yin and Yang then," she said. "Oh I love them already!" Emi shrieked and giggled as she ran away from the tide. “Okay, you’re right, mummy. It’s cold!” she said. She couldn’t seem to stop laughing. Even after Niels and Amanda had told her countless times that despite the warmth of the sun, the water temperature wasn’t yet swim friendly, the 10-year-old wanted to see for herself.
“See?” said Amanda. “Mummies and daddies are always right.” “Not always,” said Emi. “Oh yeah!?” Niels grabbed Emi, tickling her until she was laughing uncontrollably. “Okay, okay, always… right…” she choked out between laughter. Once Niels released Emi, Angelo wrapped his arms tightly around Emi. “Big sisters are always right too!” he said. Emi giggled. “Thank you, Angelo,” she said. Amanda laughed and looked towards the sand where Elia was running around happily with Maë, Lucie and Rhea. The little ones seemed to be quite enjoying themselves as well. They didn’t need the ocean to have fun. There was plenty of space on the sand and on the grass to run around. There was also plenty of snacks to keep everyone happy, and not to mention… “Who wants birthday cake?” Amanda questioned, loud enough for everyone to hear. Immediately, all the kids’ ears perked up. “Cake?!” Elia came running towards them, followed by Maë and Rhea but Lucie, having the longest legs of the little ones, made it back to the picnic blanket before the others. Elia pouted a little but then Lucie said, “We have to sing happy birthday to Emi and Elia.” Amanda smiled at her. “Yes, we do,” she said. “Do you want to start?” Ceci was glancing proudly at her little girl as Lucie started to sing happy birthday. Everyone soon joined in, the cake was cut and served, and soon everyone was happily munching on the tasty birthday treat. “Happy birthday, girls,” said Amanda. Three years old and ten years old. Kobe they were growing quickly. "I feel like a teenager again," Amanda whispered. She giggled just before Niels stole another kiss from her lips. The driver's seat was tilted back and Amanda sat atop Niels' lap. They were parked just off the main road, with a view of the ocean and the NYC skyline in the distance. Hours from home where Daphne had volunteered to look after the kids for the night. They hadn't quite planned their Valentines' Night. But rather, they'd just gotten into the car and driven. No particular palce to go. "Remember our first Valentines' Day?" Niels asked Amanda. She grinned at him. "I was 10. You gave me a box of delicious chocolates. And a cute card, I believe." She chuckled. "You were quite the romantic even back then." "I got it from my dad, I guess," Niels said with a sheepish smirk. Amanda laughed lightly. "I guess my mother would agree." They both exchanged looks of mock disgust before bursting into laughter. "Only we would mention our parents at a time like this," she said. She shook her head in disbelief before claiming another kiss from her lips. "Hmm," Niels whispered against her lips. "Allow me to distract you from those thoughts." Amanda sighed softly as Niels trailed little kisses and nibbles along her neck and jawline. "Distractions are more than welcomed..." Welcome back to class, everyone! I hope you've all enjoyed the holidays. We have a new student with us today. *smiles brightly at her newest student* Ballet dancers are much needed in the world of ballerinas. We need strong guys to do all of those beautiful lifts, after all! *winks* Today, we'll go through our usual routines, but we're going to add something new to our class routine. Turns! But before we do pirouettes or even chaines turns we have to learn how to spot! Spotting looks hard but it's really easy. See the way my head whips around as I turn? That's because I'm focusing on one particular spot on the wall over there. *points* See that poster? Keep looking at that as you turn and when you can't see it anymore, you whip your head around really fast! Why do we do this? To keep from getting dizzy and to stay on a straight line when you turn. Turning are a big part of ballet. You see impressive pirouettes and other turns all the time. For homework, I'd like you all to pick a famous ballet and write why you would like to see it. Maybe we can even go on a field trip to the New York City Ballet. You never know! Comments #1. *waves at the new kid before trying out the spotting, focussing on the poster*
Emily Darcy #2. Very good, Emily! That's the way to do it! Amanda van Loon #3. Can I try a pirouette too? Emily Darcy #4. *chuckles* You think you're ready to pirouette already? If you want to try, go ahead. *winks* Amanda van Loon #5. *tries it out but ends of doing the spotting bad cuz she focussed too much on the turn, feeling a little dizzy* Emily Darcy #6. Oops! *steadies her* That was pretty good. You just have to keep practising. Ask my daughter. *chuckles* Amanda van Loon #7. You have a daughter that dances ballet too? *looks up at her with big puppy eyes wanting to meet her* Emily Darcy #8. *nods* yes I do. She'll be turning 10 years old soon. Amanda van Loon #9. She must be so coooool. *blushes at what she says* Emily Darcy #10. *smiles* she's pretty cool, yes. Maybe I'll bring her to class to be my assistant one of these days. Amanda van Loon #11. I'd love to meet her. And Miss Manda, I also did my homework. *nods* Emily Darcy |
Amanda at a GlanceNames: Amanda Pontremoli, Amanda van Loon Archives
August 2017
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