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.

I've been back at work for two days now, and slowly getting into a routine again. It's absolutely wonderful to come home to my girls.

Monday morning we went to the pediatrician again for the two week check-up, and Nora has grown 3/4" (two centimeters) since she was born. She is awake for longer periods now, and she often has this "quiet alertness" state where she is looking at everything (especially at lights).

Yesterday was my first day at work since Nora was born.

I love my job but it was hard to leave the girls behind!

I treated "beschuit met muisjes", a Dutch tradition when a child is born. I've been looking forward to doing this, and I ordered the beschuit and a package of muisjes several weeks ago.

My colleagues liked it, unlike a nephew of mine who will remain unnamed but called it "yuck!".

Last Friday the Dutch government sent the contested bill regarding dual nationality to parliament for a vote -– despite concerns expressed by thousands of Dutch people worldwide.

The controversial law would severely restrict the ability for Dutch citizens to hold another citizenship, and would impact many thousands of Dutch-Americans and Dutch nationals worldwide. Earlier reports that the new minister does not consider this bill to be a priority turned out to be incorrect.

Call for action

The action group Nederlander Blijven is calling on all Dutch citizens to contact their representatives in Dutch parliament:

"There are still several phases in parliament that need to be dealt with before the bill can be put up to a vote. During these phases it is of utmost important that each spokesperson of each political party is well informed about the various downsides of this piece of legislation. With enough valid arguments, a majority within parliament may agree to amend the bill and to reverse its strongest restrictions. The actual vote may be up as soon as this June – after which the second branch of parliament will also need to vote on it (probably somewhere later in 2012)."

Eelco Keij, the main organizer against the proposed law, has more information on his website and a list with contact information of Dutch politicians.

http://eelcokeij.com/2012/03/05/urgent-update-no-vi-your-support-needed/
http://www.nederlanderblijven.com