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

Today Nora's birth announcement appeared in the Wieringermeerbode, the local newspaper in the area where I grew up. It is nice to see her name in print.

Thanks, Opa and Oma, for organizing this.

We went for a checkup at the pediatrician again today, and Nora is growing nicely. It's good to see her back at her birth weight.

The other day I caught her on camera, wide awake and with her eyes open.

When we left the pediatrician's office today Nora was sound asleep. We bring her to the office in her car seat, which she seems to enjoy.

In the hallway a lady looked at Nora and smiled: "Not a worry in the world".

Here she is, 10 days old now.

Nora, 3 days old, in her mommy's arms.

Wow, we have been really busy.

Nora is now 5 days old and needs to be fed every three hours. So, that means waking up every three hours for her parents. My apologies to all of you who emailed us and called us: thank you, and we will eventually have time to answer!

We're trying to eat healthy, and so far, so good. I did have time to squeeze in a 15 minute visit to the grocery store this morning and buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

We went to the pediatrician today where she was weighted and inspected.

Sasha has a birthday today and while we are very busy with feeding and burping and diapering, we had a piece of chocolate cake together.

Things are pretty crazy -- there is so much to learn. But it's an amazing time.

This afternoon the Zane family came to meet Nora, their new cousin.

It was great to share the happy news with them, and Nora was very comfortable in Irena's arms.

We had beschuit met muisjes to celebrate the birth.

Today is the third day in Nora's life. The last 72 hours have been an amazing time. Thank you all for the sweet emails and comments. We will reply to them all when things "slow down".

Sasha is doing well and today we are even expecting our first visitors -- the Zane family will stop by.

Nora is amazing. Incredible to see such a sweet babygirl and to realize it's ours. And our responsibility.

I am having my first cup of coffee of the day -- it is noon, so I am in pretty desperate need -- and Nora is sleeping next to me in her bassinet. She likes sleeping, clearly. She moves in her sleep sometimes if there is an unexpected sound, like a door closing in the hallway. As new parents we are closely monitoring how much she eats and processes. So far, so good.

I've learned how to swaddle her, and how to say "to swaddle" in Dutch: bakeren. Nora seems to like it, nicely in a bundle. This morning I changed her diaper for the first time. I'm also learning how to type with one hand while safely holding Nora in the other.

Things she likes/dislikes:

- Obviously, her favorite place is being with mom. Bliss.
- In her bassinet, she likes the swaddle. It calms her down.
- She enjoy snuggling on my chest. Especially after feeding.
- She doesn't like it when I put on her hat. Once it's on she's fine but the placing always annoys her a bit.

I am the happiest man on earth.

Our daughter Nora was born last night and mother and child are doing great.