Guus Bosman

Slowly but surely Nora is starting to communicate with us. This weekend Nora had her first 'conversation' with her mommy -- she listened when Sasha talked to her, and even make cute noises in reply.

She clearly hears and recognizes our voices now. Yesterday she was fussing in her crib, and when I got close and just asked her "Hey, what's going on?" she stopped immediately. I kept talking and then she smiled, melting my heart.

Another very positive development is that she seems to like books. Well, at least she looks at the bookshelves keenly when we place her in her chair. She must like the colors and the patterns.

We have established that Nora loves the smell of bananas and tomatoes -- but hates onions.

When we put a piece of banana under her nose she started smacking her lips; the same with tomatoes. There was no noticeable reaction to either potato chips or lasagna. Is this a sign that she will love only healthy foods? A parent can dream!

A weeks ago I was cooking hachée on the balcony -- a beef dish with a lot of onions -- and at one point I went outside with Nora in my arms. When I opened the pan to check on the food the smell of the food came in her nose and she made a face of absolute disgust.

So, no onions for her anytime soon. Bananas and tomatoes it will be (in a few months).

This weekend Nora turned 6 weeks old. We made some portrait photos on Saturday; she seemed to enjoy that.

Slowly but surely she start smiling at us. She likes it when we talk or sing to her. We've relearned some Bulgarian and Dutch children songs, so my head is full with "onder hele hoge bomen" all day.

It's no secret that our sleeping patterns are quite different from that of a small baby. Nora sleeps pretty well at night, but of course wakes us up at early hours.

Still, when you hear her cry it is great to look forward to a warm hug.

Sometimes when I'm waiting for her to fall back asleep, I have a few moments to read. I'm reading The Great Gatsby, which is a nice, easily readable novel I had on my list with Books To Read.

Last week we took our first family photo.

Nora is now 39 days old; time flies. We take her for walks every now and then, she likes that. The moment we leave the apartment her eyes become big, as if she soaks in the new environment. Ten minutes later she'll be asleep.

Nora's birth announcement was placed in the bi-weekly Windmill Herald, a newspaper for Dutch people in North America.

Most of the announcements are by second or third generation Dutch immigrants in areas such as Sioux Center, IA or Orange City, IA. It's nice to see Nora's name in print again.

One of the headlines on this edition of the newspaper is "Rutte Cabinet wants to get rid of dual nationality" -- something that will impact Nora and me.

Last week, within a few days of each other, Nora received two beautiful gifts from her Oma and her Tante. Two embroidered wall decorations, in Nijntje and Fabeltjeskrant style.

We will find a good place for them in Nora's room!

Thank you very much, Mieke and Ettie.

Nora received her first official letter last week from the Social Security Administration with her social security number.

Nora is an American citizen and because of her parents' nationalities she is also a citizen of Bulgaria and the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, there is a proposed law before Dutch parliament which would eliminate dual citizenship. It will require Nora and me to give up our Dutch nationalities when I choose to become an American.