Country Air

     It is delicious to breath fresh country air when for weeks you have been gagging on the smog that calls Paris home. As I have already mentioned last weekend we drove into the countryside to visit Tristan's Father. He lives in the little town of Villethierry (pop. 800ish) in Bourgongne. Home of France's famous Beef Bourguignon, although we haven't had any; we have eaten well here. ;) We have enjoyed having long French meals as much as we have enjoyed breathing in great breaths of fresh air.     

The staircase to our room.

The country house.

The party, featuring: us, Tristan's grandma, and Father (pictured top right)

     

     We arrived on a warm, mostly sunny Sunday afternoon, which for the area is amazing weather, for the 60^th birthday luncheon for Tristan’s Father. It was a rather nice afternoon, eating, talking, and of course chasing Adrien around the yard. This type of French meal lasts for hours with its’ many many courses, so of course we couldn’t expect a 16 month old to sit at the table for very long. But he did come back often for 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, etc. In fact, he ate all day long!

     We are staying till Friday, which is tomorrow, and have enjoyed being lazy in the countryside. Mostly watching Adrien play in the yard, walking in the village and down long county roads, eating, and talking…

     As for Adrien, I think he has enjoyed the visit more than anyone, for he adores playing in the yard.
     In life and in childhood there are hunters and there are gatherers. I can remember as a child hunting bugs and small creatures, such as frogs, with my brother in our yard and gathering them into old wheat buckets to be poked, prodded, and examined. We were hunters… but Adrien is not at this stage and he is quite the gatherer. He was given a basket to play with and has spent each day here gathering pears, rocks, bark, lavender, pine cones, rose petals, and anything else he comes across, into it. Like our ancestors and his mother before him, Adrien will probably one day become a hunter of bugs and small creatures, or even perhaps a real hunter like his great Uncle Christian, but for now he gathers, and what a collection he has gathered!
     I am sure he will be sad to leave the countryside tomorrow, with its’ big yard full of treasures, to go back to the big City, with no yard and only a bedroom, and a long corridor to play in…

Gathering pears with mommy and Great- mammie Ange

Looking for rocks with Daddy.

As they say, parting is such sweet sorrow, and in this case, for my little boy, I think this is true.     

    

We find a swing...

     I remember watching the older babies swing in the baby swings when Adrien was too young and thinking that I couldn't wait for Adrien to reach that age, so that I could push him in the swing. I was right too. Adrien loves to swing, and I love to push him in the swing.

     Unfortunately for us, the Parks in Paris are all lacking in one thing, SWINGS! Adrien still loves that park and has been adjusting to playing on the other playground equipment very well. At the park for toddlers just around the corner from us, there is a stairs that leads to a tube, which leads to a slide. And he has completely mastered this sequence.

Our Park in Paris

     
     This week we are visiting Tristan's Dad in the country side for his 60th birthday party. There is a little farm house next to his factory where an old couple live. They have grand kids and  low and behold they also have a swing set with a baby swing!!!

And here is the cherry on top! Not only do they have a swing, but eleven, yes eleven CATS! Adrien was in heaven!!!

...

 

     Mom and Dad on the other hand, well, we had a little accident. There we were sitting together on the swing next to Adrien taking a little break from pushing. Me on Tristan's lap. Tristan decided to lean back. Not such a good idea in this case… I guess he underestimated our combined weight. :) I felt him slipping, but no, we are saved, I feel his grip tighten again. Then all of a sudden, oh we are slipping again, and boom and boom. Tristan hits the ground smacking his head, and double-whammy, I land hard on top of him. We are both dazed looking up through the trees when the screaming starts.  LOL, although we are the ones hurting, it’s Adrien who gets the comforting. ;)

Taking a moment for the little things...

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were big things.

                                                               ~Robert Brault

 

    We have been so busy since we got to Paris, we feel like we haven't had a moment to breath. We've been unpacking (which is taking forever...), filing paperwork, shopping for things we are missing (which of course entails tromping all over the place for hours!), signing me up for French classes, etc. and on top of all that I am sick today and nothing got done!

     This morning after looking at the date on my computer desktop, I took a moment of silence for loved ones lost and loved ones left behind. Then decided that despite being ill I needed to try to enjoy the moments in my life that make it beautiful. Despite the chaos that we feel we have had a few. :)

     The other day we had Tristan's Godmother over for dessert and a chat. It is wonderful getting to know new people and getting to know french desserts at the same time. ;) We had an assortment of little pastries for the occasion and I was able to try a real french eclair, a tarte au fruit, and a strawberry cream puff. Yum yum... It's a moment I choose to remember. :)

     
 Of course, even more memorable then moments with good food are moments with my son...

      
Tristan was really nice today and watched Adrien for most of it so that I could rest. By early evening I was ready for some medicine, and thanks to Tristan's Godmother, I could have what I needed only Tristan and his mother had to go pick it up from her place. They would be gone at least an hour, so I would have baby duty. At first I was a little grumpy about it. But then decided to make the best of it and get Adrien bathed, feed, and ready for bed. I was glad I did because he was so cute playing with his new foam animals that it put a smile on my face and lightened my spirits. 

 He loved putting them on the tile and taking them off and did this for like 45 minutes till I finally decided he was well enough pruned. He actually cried about getting out of the bath for the first time. Well, I think bath time should be even easier from now on. And best of all after his bath he was ready to give mommy a little cuddle, which I always enjoy. And we were one step closer to bed time :) any parents favorite time of the day. And did I mention he has been sleeping through the night for the last two nights?

       Today I am thankful for the little moments in my life that I can cherish. I am happy to say that I have very fond memories from each of the periods so far in my life and want to thank my friends and family for the time they have given me. So far, life is beautiful, and I expect that if I concentrate on the little moments, it always will be. 

Starting Anew...

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

- Mark Twain

     Packing, packing, packing, and now unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. It's a big job, but little by little we will get through it. In this post I want to welcome you into our new life and our new home: Bonjour, enchante de faire votre connaissance!

Living room..

view from the other side

Piano Room

 Close-ups of the mossaic outside of our building done by Tristan's great grandfather and his brothers.

Playing at the park, keeping awake...

panoramic view from my bedroom window

Adrien wearing his father's baby clothes...

Getting ready to go out!

He likes hanging out the wrong direction!

Yum Yum

Enjoying his new room with all his old toys from home...

It's a work in progress, but little by little we will get everything we need to done! Next week will be a busy week for us... drivers license, city hall, shopping, Tristan's father's 60th b-day, etc... and of course more unpacking!!!

. 

Up All Night!

     Monday, September 3, 2012, a relaxing holiday for most was setting up to be a looooong day. We were scheduled to take a 6:45pm flight to Paris Charles De Gualle with an almost toddler. We decided to leave the house early, at 11:30am, because we were worried about possible holiday traffic. We were pleasantly surprised by the lack there of and were able to spend a nice afternoon with my mom in San Bruno. The airport check in and boarding went off without a hitch and Adrien was so excited to see the airplanes.

     The plane ride was also very smooth, yes, that's right no terbulence! Important, but most importantly Adrien slept at about his normal bedtime until the plane touched down in Paris. All thanks to Air France's wonderful baby bassinet. Me and Tristan on the other hand, did not. I can't speak for Tristan, but I was to anxious to sleep!!!

Although at the time this seemed ideal, who wants to deal with a crying grumpy boy when surrounded by strangers, we soon found out the hard way that too much sleep on the plane equals no sleeping when the Parisians do! Adrien was up after a brief nap from 11pm till 4am the first night with his overly tired parents going nuts! The next night the same.

     So the next day mommy decided to take some action. I set us an alarm at 8am and so far have stuck to that for two mornings. Last night Adrien was only up an hour. I have high hopes for tonight as well.. crossing my fingers.

Armed to the earplugs I acquired today and a sleepy baby, I have high hopes that both mommy and daddy will get some rest!... Is that Adrien I hear crying, uh oh!