Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas pictures
The Buche!!!!!
Julia waking up Samuel on Christmas morning. How did that stocking end up in Samuel's crib?
Samuel wearing his new tool belt.
Samuel enjoying his new rocking horse.
Samuel and Julia after the opening of the crackers.
Samuel and the Christmas tree seconds after Samuel came downstairs. He was quite excited.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Samuel's Christmas message
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Bonne Noel from Chatou
Samuel did not have a good Christmas eve. We did not go to church because of his behaviour. Twice during the day he had to be put into timeout. The terrible twos have started early.
While we were having our traditional Christmas eve family meal of fondue Samuel was quietly sitting in his high chair, chewing on his baguette when he would suddenly throw it to the floor and begin to move his hands rapidly through the crumbs laying on the tray of his high chair, sending them to the floor also. We don't know if he feels ignored and this is his way of grabbing attention or if he is bored and wants to move on to other things. Looking forward to the day he can talk and tell us what he is feeling. Of course, he will be open and honest and tell us the truth when we ask.
The rest of the day went relatively as planned. The fuse to our electrical transformer blew as I was making the pastry for the pumpkin and mince pies. We had to scramble to finish a few items but everything was finished on time.
Samuel and I made a late afternoon run to the city centre to pick up the turkey(7 kilos), fondue meat, baguette and buche de noel. The buche de noel may replace pumpkin pie as my favorite christmas dessert. It has clearly surpassed mince pie as number two. Our buche is very light and creamy, made mostly of a chocolate mousse.(A picture will be posted soon).
With Samuels cooperation we hope to go to church on Christmas morning. The difficulty is that the American Cathedral does not offer babysitting services for either the 1700 service on Christmas eve or the 1100 service on Christmas morning. It has been awhile since we tried to have Samuel in the sanctuary as last time we attempted it he did not have a good reaction to the organ music.
After we finished our fondue we brought Samuel upstairs and while sitting on our bed I read him Twas the night before Christmas and then Julia read him La mysterieuse nuit de noel(the french version of the same title).
Earlier in the day we had continued our tradition of watching how the grinch stole christmas and a charlie brown christmas. We watched the grinch first and Samuel was fascinated. He sat quietly(for the first time all day) between us on the couch with his eyes fixed on the TV screen. This lasted for about 15 minutes until he became bored and started climbing all over us.
I also introduced Julia to the Santa tracking technology. She did not know it was possible to know where Santa was on his day long journey.
If all goes well, pictures and videos will be posted on boxing day.
Ttfn
-Dave
While we were having our traditional Christmas eve family meal of fondue Samuel was quietly sitting in his high chair, chewing on his baguette when he would suddenly throw it to the floor and begin to move his hands rapidly through the crumbs laying on the tray of his high chair, sending them to the floor also. We don't know if he feels ignored and this is his way of grabbing attention or if he is bored and wants to move on to other things. Looking forward to the day he can talk and tell us what he is feeling. Of course, he will be open and honest and tell us the truth when we ask.
The rest of the day went relatively as planned. The fuse to our electrical transformer blew as I was making the pastry for the pumpkin and mince pies. We had to scramble to finish a few items but everything was finished on time.
Samuel and I made a late afternoon run to the city centre to pick up the turkey(7 kilos), fondue meat, baguette and buche de noel. The buche de noel may replace pumpkin pie as my favorite christmas dessert. It has clearly surpassed mince pie as number two. Our buche is very light and creamy, made mostly of a chocolate mousse.(A picture will be posted soon).
With Samuels cooperation we hope to go to church on Christmas morning. The difficulty is that the American Cathedral does not offer babysitting services for either the 1700 service on Christmas eve or the 1100 service on Christmas morning. It has been awhile since we tried to have Samuel in the sanctuary as last time we attempted it he did not have a good reaction to the organ music.
After we finished our fondue we brought Samuel upstairs and while sitting on our bed I read him Twas the night before Christmas and then Julia read him La mysterieuse nuit de noel(the french version of the same title).
Earlier in the day we had continued our tradition of watching how the grinch stole christmas and a charlie brown christmas. We watched the grinch first and Samuel was fascinated. He sat quietly(for the first time all day) between us on the couch with his eyes fixed on the TV screen. This lasted for about 15 minutes until he became bored and started climbing all over us.
I also introduced Julia to the Santa tracking technology. She did not know it was possible to know where Santa was on his day long journey.
If all goes well, pictures and videos will be posted on boxing day.
Ttfn
-Dave
Friday, December 18, 2009
It never snows in paris, part deux......
Christmas in Paris means not being able to go anywhere. The RER A is still on strike. The French cannot drive in the snow.
I do admire our post woman. Thursday I was thinking that the poste would not be delivered due to the weather. Especially since our recycling was not picked up on Wednesday and our trash had not yet been picked up on Thursday. Much to my surprise I spied our post woman, on her bike(the traditional French method of postal delivery), delivering our mail. She was riding her bike while wrapped in a very large parka and scarves with a very small slit through which one could barely see her eyes.
Left a little after 0900 this morning to drop off Samuel at the HG and was amazed to see a line of cars(about 10 cars/trucks) slowly moving along the avenue gambetta at about 10 KPH. A car was driving that slowly along a major access to the quai. The road was wet from Thursday's snow and it had started snowing about 10 minutes before we left but there was absolutely no excuse to be going that slow.
On Thursday, Samuel and I drove to the city centre after he woke from his nap in the afternoon. It had stopped snowing around 1100 and the roads were not snow packed, just wet. As we pulled out of our street we ended up behind an old woman who was driving slowly but stopped for every curve in the road and almost stopped for every car coming from the other direction. Very, very frustrating. There were just enough cars coming from the other direction that we were unable to pass.
When we did return home on Thursday it was quite beautiful at the house. If you look at the picture posted yesterday the little tree in the left of the picture is adorned with christmas lights. When we returned on Thursday we turned on the lights on the tree and stood in the living room watching the lights twinkle in the darkening night and shining off the snow sitting on the branches of the tree. Even Samuel stood still for a few seconds and marvelled at the sight.
I do admire our post woman. Thursday I was thinking that the poste would not be delivered due to the weather. Especially since our recycling was not picked up on Wednesday and our trash had not yet been picked up on Thursday. Much to my surprise I spied our post woman, on her bike(the traditional French method of postal delivery), delivering our mail. She was riding her bike while wrapped in a very large parka and scarves with a very small slit through which one could barely see her eyes.
Left a little after 0900 this morning to drop off Samuel at the HG and was amazed to see a line of cars(about 10 cars/trucks) slowly moving along the avenue gambetta at about 10 KPH. A car was driving that slowly along a major access to the quai. The road was wet from Thursday's snow and it had started snowing about 10 minutes before we left but there was absolutely no excuse to be going that slow.
On Thursday, Samuel and I drove to the city centre after he woke from his nap in the afternoon. It had stopped snowing around 1100 and the roads were not snow packed, just wet. As we pulled out of our street we ended up behind an old woman who was driving slowly but stopped for every curve in the road and almost stopped for every car coming from the other direction. Very, very frustrating. There were just enough cars coming from the other direction that we were unable to pass.
When we did return home on Thursday it was quite beautiful at the house. If you look at the picture posted yesterday the little tree in the left of the picture is adorned with christmas lights. When we returned on Thursday we turned on the lights on the tree and stood in the living room watching the lights twinkle in the darkening night and shining off the snow sitting on the branches of the tree. Even Samuel stood still for a few seconds and marvelled at the sight.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
It never snows in Paris.........
The view from our living room this morning. The snow is still falling. Tried to leave at 0930 this morning to drive to the city centre to do some shopping. Made it around the corner to the butcher. Traffic was backed up before I could even get to the quai. Turned around and came home. Samuel was cute dressed in his wellington boots for the first time. Unfortunately they are too big and it is difficult for him to walk in them. Samuel did enjoy standing outside and feeling the sensation of the snow falling on his face. Tremendous grin followed.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
HG Noel party
Today was the Christmas party at Samuel's HG. We stayed for about 40 minutes. Was able to have quick, short conversations. Was easier to converse in French with the two helpers that speak some English.
Samuel was the only child wearing clothes that were Christmas related. But his sweater was tasteful. Gray with 6 penguins wearing Santa hats standing in the shape of a Christmas tree. A few of the helpers were wearing Santa hats.
We have had difficulty finding a Christmas outfit for Samuel this year. Julia even looked for one when she was in London and was unable to find there.
Samuel is definitely a mini-me. When we were at the HG for the party Samuel spent most of his time hovering around me being an unusually shy Samuel. However, he did approach a very fashionably French women. She was dressed in skin tight black jeans, knee high red boots with a skin tight grey sweater. Samuel approached her, charmed her, put his arms in the air requesting a hug and when she put her arms out to pick him up, he ran away and hid between my legs.
Samuel was the only child wearing clothes that were Christmas related. But his sweater was tasteful. Gray with 6 penguins wearing Santa hats standing in the shape of a Christmas tree. A few of the helpers were wearing Santa hats.
We have had difficulty finding a Christmas outfit for Samuel this year. Julia even looked for one when she was in London and was unable to find there.
Samuel is definitely a mini-me. When we were at the HG for the party Samuel spent most of his time hovering around me being an unusually shy Samuel. However, he did approach a very fashionably French women. She was dressed in skin tight black jeans, knee high red boots with a skin tight grey sweater. Samuel approached her, charmed her, put his arms in the air requesting a hug and when she put her arms out to pick him up, he ran away and hid between my legs.
Christmas in Paris(Or the French hate Father Christmas(Santa Claus))
Wednesday- The online english language support group that we belong to had arranged for a Santa Claus to be available for pictures this afternoon. Usually pretty easy to get to. Just a short walk from the Franklin Roosevelt metro stop on the 1 line.
Well, since last Friday the RER line that runs through Chatou has been on strike (Greve in French). There has been limited service between 0730-0930 and 1430-1830. Other times there are no trains running. Of course this is only on the spur of the line that runs through Chatou, the rest of the RER A line is still running at normal.
So we are left with the following options-Take a cab, the bus or drive. Driving would be a challenge as the only way to get there is to dive the champs d'elysse and navigate the etoile at the arc d'triomphe. Not sure if I am ready to do that on a Wednesday afternoon and then try to find a place to park.
The malls here in France do not have Santas. A few of the amusement/play parks that are open have a Santa but none of them are convienent to our location. We are still exploring options but it appears that we may not have a picture with Santa and Samuel for this Christmas.
Well, since last Friday the RER line that runs through Chatou has been on strike (Greve in French). There has been limited service between 0730-0930 and 1430-1830. Other times there are no trains running. Of course this is only on the spur of the line that runs through Chatou, the rest of the RER A line is still running at normal.
So we are left with the following options-Take a cab, the bus or drive. Driving would be a challenge as the only way to get there is to dive the champs d'elysse and navigate the etoile at the arc d'triomphe. Not sure if I am ready to do that on a Wednesday afternoon and then try to find a place to park.
The malls here in France do not have Santas. A few of the amusement/play parks that are open have a Santa but none of them are convienent to our location. We are still exploring options but it appears that we may not have a picture with Santa and Samuel for this Christmas.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A great morning......
Sunday morning in Chatou. Woke up at 0800. Went for another run. So glad to have the path just outside our garden. This morning it was quite chilly, 0 c(31 f) and the fog/mist was just beginning to lift off the river as I started my run. Next time I go for a run I may take leftover baguette as the ducks are still on the river and their quacking adds a new sound to my run.
After the run I took a walk to the city centre and it started to snow just as I turned the corner. Yes, I know, I have been told that it never snows in Paris. It was warm enough where the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground but it was very serene to walk through the quiet Sunday morning streets with snow lightly swirling through the sky.
When I returned home it was time for a pain au chocolat and a mug of chocolat chaud. With Julia still in London I took the liberty of having my Sunday morning breakfast in bed. it was very relaxing to lay in the bed, reading a book, eating a pain au chocolat, drinking a chocolat chaud and watching the river slowly flow by. My life is good!
It has ben quite awhile since I felt his relaxed. It was a relief on Saturday night to sit on the couch wrapping birthday and Christmas presents and not have to worry about whether Samuel could reach the scissors and wrapping paper.
I miss Samuel and Julia terribly but I did not realize how long it had been since I have had a break from the daily routine of raising a very active and inquisitive toddler.
-Dave
After the run I took a walk to the city centre and it started to snow just as I turned the corner. Yes, I know, I have been told that it never snows in Paris. It was warm enough where the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground but it was very serene to walk through the quiet Sunday morning streets with snow lightly swirling through the sky.
When I returned home it was time for a pain au chocolat and a mug of chocolat chaud. With Julia still in London I took the liberty of having my Sunday morning breakfast in bed. it was very relaxing to lay in the bed, reading a book, eating a pain au chocolat, drinking a chocolat chaud and watching the river slowly flow by. My life is good!
It has ben quite awhile since I felt his relaxed. It was a relief on Saturday night to sit on the couch wrapping birthday and Christmas presents and not have to worry about whether Samuel could reach the scissors and wrapping paper.
I miss Samuel and Julia terribly but I did not realize how long it had been since I have had a break from the daily routine of raising a very active and inquisitive toddler.
-Dave
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Scan update and other news.....
Here are the newest scan pictures. The picture on the top is the baby on Julia's right and the lower picture is the baby on Julia's left.
If you are religious, or even if you are not, please pray for Julia.
We had the 4 month scan on Thursday morning. Good news is that both babies are growing and looking good. In fact they are currently both far above average in size for twins. Julia is well and healthy.
Now for the bad news(or good news depending on your point of view.) The gender of the babies are(is)......................they are both very clearly boys. We are both very happy that they appear to be healthy and in a good state. But we have to be honest and admit that we are both disappointed that one of them is not a girl. I know that I am disapointed as I wanted a little girl to spoil. The pressure is also off of Samuel. Once the twins arrive Samuel will no longer be the only son of an only son of an only son of an only son. We will have three branches to hopefully continue the Charter family tree.
Julia is more worried about having 4 males in the house that may all be Tauruses. She will be overwhelmed by the testosterone.
Julia and Samuel are visiting Julia's mother in London this weekend and I am spending some much needed alone time in Chatou. I love my son very dearly but I needed a break. This morning(Saturday) I woke up at 0800 and did not have to get him up, feed and clothe him. I was able to go for a run along the very swollen river and enjoy a very peaceful sunrise. A spiritual experience that was very moving.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
I feel the love.....
Picked up Samuel at the HG today. I rang the bell as Samuel was already standing near the door. He turned, saw me and proceeded to beat on the door with both hands. I was buzzed through the security door as Samuel was led through the inner door. I approached him with my arms wide open expecting a great big hug. Much to my dismay Sameul immediately dropped to all fours and began searching for his shoes under the bench. Amazingly he was able to identify his shoes among the 6 pairs that remained. It was even more amazing as his shoes had been moved from where I left them in the morning.
For those of you that care I am receiving my love right now as Samuel is sitting in my arms, refusing to be put on the floor, as I type this. Of course, it has nothing to do with his love for me, rather it is all about his love for the keyboard(which is just out of his reach.)
-Dave
For those of you that care I am receiving my love right now as Samuel is sitting in my arms, refusing to be put on the floor, as I type this. Of course, it has nothing to do with his love for me, rather it is all about his love for the keyboard(which is just out of his reach.)
-Dave
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Learning curve
Not Samuel's learning curve. His is fine and working well. Mine needs work.
This morning Julia had a work call to make from the house from 0800-0930 so Samuel and I hung around until she was finished so that she could spend a few minutes with Samuel before she left for the office. Samuel and I usually leave for the city centre and shopping between 0915 & 0930 on Tuesday mornings(weather permitting). We usually try to leave so early because the shops are not that busy and we are able to return home so that Samuel and I can play(Actually it is more like watching Samuel throw things and me telling him to pick them up then watching him pick them up and throw them down again.) before he eats lunch and goes down for his nap.
Since we got a late start this morning Julia dropped us off at the city centre on her way to work. After we had finished our shopping I decided that it would be good to go to the boulangerie, I needed the exercise since we did not walk to the city centre, and I thought it would be nice to buy Samuel a croissant since he enjoys them so much on the weekend. Lesson learned-never give Samuel a croissant to eat while he is in the pushchair. BIG mistake! His jacket and the pushchair lining are now waiting to be washed. Croissants are much flakier than baguettes.
Writing this while sitting in the office listening to christmas carols through the mac. Samuel is dancing to "Grandma got run over by a reindeer." For those who have not been fortunate enough to hear the song, it is an American classic.
I will address the previous post later.
-Dave
This morning Julia had a work call to make from the house from 0800-0930 so Samuel and I hung around until she was finished so that she could spend a few minutes with Samuel before she left for the office. Samuel and I usually leave for the city centre and shopping between 0915 & 0930 on Tuesday mornings(weather permitting). We usually try to leave so early because the shops are not that busy and we are able to return home so that Samuel and I can play(Actually it is more like watching Samuel throw things and me telling him to pick them up then watching him pick them up and throw them down again.) before he eats lunch and goes down for his nap.
Since we got a late start this morning Julia dropped us off at the city centre on her way to work. After we had finished our shopping I decided that it would be good to go to the boulangerie, I needed the exercise since we did not walk to the city centre, and I thought it would be nice to buy Samuel a croissant since he enjoys them so much on the weekend. Lesson learned-never give Samuel a croissant to eat while he is in the pushchair. BIG mistake! His jacket and the pushchair lining are now waiting to be washed. Croissants are much flakier than baguettes.
Writing this while sitting in the office listening to christmas carols through the mac. Samuel is dancing to "Grandma got run over by a reindeer." For those who have not been fortunate enough to hear the song, it is an American classic.
I will address the previous post later.
-Dave
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Selective memory....
Lies, pure lies. My dear husband forgot to mention in his post below that the pumpkin pie mix actually said you should use an unbaked crust - not a baked one - so, with his agreement!, I make one unbaked (which I was unsure about) and one baked.
I think he just likes to think I'm trying to poison him. It was probably the cats.
Pregnancy is going well... and the bump is now very noticeable and growing fast. Carrying two is definitely taking more of a toll on my system than one, but so far all is manageable. We're not sure how much Samuel understands about the fact that there are babies on the way (and his life will never be the same again!) but when we ask him where the babies are, and to give them a hug, he goes straight to touch my belly.
Julia
I think he just likes to think I'm trying to poison him. It was probably the cats.
Pregnancy is going well... and the bump is now very noticeable and growing fast. Carrying two is definitely taking more of a toll on my system than one, but so far all is manageable. We're not sure how much Samuel understands about the fact that there are babies on the way (and his life will never be the same again!) but when we ask him where the babies are, and to give them a hug, he goes straight to touch my belly.
Julia
A long rambling post....
We were scheduled to have a scan yesterday. We arrived at the hospital at 1420 for our 1430 appointment. We were taken aback to see our doctor also sitting in the awaiting room. A little background: Doctors at hospitals in France share offices. The doctor that we were scheduled to see begins seeing patients at 1330. She obviously arrived to find that the doctor using the office before her was running behind schedule. At 1430 the previous doctor finally left the office and our doctor came out and told the first couple to come in and told us that we were second after them to be seen. By 1530 the first couple had yet to depart the office. At this point it was too late for us to have the scan as there was still another patient ahead of us and we needed to leave no later than 1630 in order to return to Chatou to pick up Samuel from the HG. We were both very disappointed to not have the scan. People tell us that this is normal for France. Welcome to socialized medicine, where the needs of the patient are second to the needs of the system.
On to happier notes. Julia picked up Samuel from the HG and spoke to the carers about Samuel's progress. They say he does not speak recognizable words while in attendance but that he does quite clearly understand what they are telling him in French.
My wife tried to kill me at Thanksgiving. Julia made the pastry for the pumpkin pies(Yes, we have two pies because the can of pie mix is made for two). Julia asked if she needed to pre-bake the pie crust before filling the crust with the pie filling. I told her that the can of mix said that the crust should be pre-baked but she decided to not pre-bake one of the crusts just to see what would happen. Well, when I had a piece of the non pre-baked pie on Thanksgiving night I became quite nauseous and was up most of the night with an upset stomach and diarrhea(classic symptoms of food poisoning.) I love my wife.
On Friday, after the scan fiasco, we went to the Marche de Noel(Christmas market) at the Chatou city center. it was very small but quite nice and quaint. Julia was able to purchase a fresh baked nutella crepe. There was a kiosk selling books and we were able to find a french copy of twas the night before christmas. It is called La mysterieuse nuit de noel in french. It does not rhyme like the English version but it si the same story. We will be able to begin the tradition of reading the story to Samuel in both English and French this year.
We were at the market from about 1700-1730. At this point it was dark. The sun sets here about 1615. While we were at the market the market christmas lights were on and Christmas music was playing but the Chatou ville lights were not on. It is the same here in that the municipalities place lights on the street lights and string lights across the major streets. very disappointed in the French again. Neither of us understand why the lights are put in place but not turned on, especially during the city sponsored holiday market. Makes no sense. When we were driving home the few lights on the major street that runs by our house were on.
We also purchased our Christmas tree on Friday evening. It was delivered this morning. Samuel is quite excited.
Useless trivia. The names of the reindeer in French are: Fleche, Cabriole, Courage, Robuste, Nerf, Vaillant, Etoile, Comete, Eclair, and Tonnerre.
Our marriage may end on June 12th. On that day the USA plays England in the group stages of the world cup. Both flags will be flying from our terrace at the start of the game. Only one will be flying at the end. Which one will it be?
I am typing this from the office. a few minutes ago Samuel brought his pacifier and inchworm into the office from his crib. When i turned around I noticed that Samuel no longer had the pacifier. I did not see it anywhere in the office so asked Samuel "where is your pacifier?" He stood up, looked around and walked over to the filing cabinet and grabbed the pacifier off the top of the filing cabinet. I then carried him into his room and placed him in his crib for a nap.
TTFN
-Dave
On to happier notes. Julia picked up Samuel from the HG and spoke to the carers about Samuel's progress. They say he does not speak recognizable words while in attendance but that he does quite clearly understand what they are telling him in French.
My wife tried to kill me at Thanksgiving. Julia made the pastry for the pumpkin pies(Yes, we have two pies because the can of pie mix is made for two). Julia asked if she needed to pre-bake the pie crust before filling the crust with the pie filling. I told her that the can of mix said that the crust should be pre-baked but she decided to not pre-bake one of the crusts just to see what would happen. Well, when I had a piece of the non pre-baked pie on Thanksgiving night I became quite nauseous and was up most of the night with an upset stomach and diarrhea(classic symptoms of food poisoning.) I love my wife.
On Friday, after the scan fiasco, we went to the Marche de Noel(Christmas market) at the Chatou city center. it was very small but quite nice and quaint. Julia was able to purchase a fresh baked nutella crepe. There was a kiosk selling books and we were able to find a french copy of twas the night before christmas. It is called La mysterieuse nuit de noel in french. It does not rhyme like the English version but it si the same story. We will be able to begin the tradition of reading the story to Samuel in both English and French this year.
We were at the market from about 1700-1730. At this point it was dark. The sun sets here about 1615. While we were at the market the market christmas lights were on and Christmas music was playing but the Chatou ville lights were not on. It is the same here in that the municipalities place lights on the street lights and string lights across the major streets. very disappointed in the French again. Neither of us understand why the lights are put in place but not turned on, especially during the city sponsored holiday market. Makes no sense. When we were driving home the few lights on the major street that runs by our house were on.
We also purchased our Christmas tree on Friday evening. It was delivered this morning. Samuel is quite excited.
Useless trivia. The names of the reindeer in French are: Fleche, Cabriole, Courage, Robuste, Nerf, Vaillant, Etoile, Comete, Eclair, and Tonnerre.
Our marriage may end on June 12th. On that day the USA plays England in the group stages of the world cup. Both flags will be flying from our terrace at the start of the game. Only one will be flying at the end. Which one will it be?
I am typing this from the office. a few minutes ago Samuel brought his pacifier and inchworm into the office from his crib. When i turned around I noticed that Samuel no longer had the pacifier. I did not see it anywhere in the office so asked Samuel "where is your pacifier?" He stood up, looked around and walked over to the filing cabinet and grabbed the pacifier off the top of the filing cabinet. I then carried him into his room and placed him in his crib for a nap.
TTFN
-Dave
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
It is official....We have a ghost(s)
Since we moved in last summer I have thought that we have a ghost(s). Unexplained noises, items moving from where we had left them. I thought, am I going crazy? Well, Monday I finally received my proof that we have a ghost.
On Monday Samuel and I went to Carrefour to do some bulk shopping. When we returned it was close to Samuel's lunch time so I left the bags in the entry way and prepared to feed Samuel. While I was feeding Samuel I had the stereo playing Christmas CD's. When I was finished feeding Samuel I prepared my lunch. To eat my lunch I turned off the stereo and turned on the TV to watch Morning Joe(a news and political discussion show). When it was time to put Samuel down for his nap I turned off the TV and carried Samuel upstairs and placed him in his crib. I then went downstairs and started to carry the bags down to the basement. After a few trips I was bending over to pick up a bag when suddenly the stereo began playing a Christmas CD. For the last 45 minutes the stereo had been turned off. Suddenly it was on. Either we have a ghost or the cats have learned how to turn on the stereo.
The only conclusion I can reach is that I am losing touch with reality(a theory which I am sure some of you support) or we have a ghost. Hopefully a friendly ghost.
-Dave
On Monday Samuel and I went to Carrefour to do some bulk shopping. When we returned it was close to Samuel's lunch time so I left the bags in the entry way and prepared to feed Samuel. While I was feeding Samuel I had the stereo playing Christmas CD's. When I was finished feeding Samuel I prepared my lunch. To eat my lunch I turned off the stereo and turned on the TV to watch Morning Joe(a news and political discussion show). When it was time to put Samuel down for his nap I turned off the TV and carried Samuel upstairs and placed him in his crib. I then went downstairs and started to carry the bags down to the basement. After a few trips I was bending over to pick up a bag when suddenly the stereo began playing a Christmas CD. For the last 45 minutes the stereo had been turned off. Suddenly it was on. Either we have a ghost or the cats have learned how to turn on the stereo.
The only conclusion I can reach is that I am losing touch with reality(a theory which I am sure some of you support) or we have a ghost. Hopefully a friendly ghost.
-Dave
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Life with Samuel means.....
Never being alone in the bathroom again.
Hearing squeals of laughter from Samuel and shrieks of horror from the cats.
Hearing Samuel's villainous (but cute) laugh when we tell him not to do something and he looks at us like he knows we are too far away to stop him.
Asking ourselves why, why did we buy all these toys when all he wants to play with are the newspapers, books and cd's.
Cute Samuel story:
As mentioned earlier we hosted the playgroup on Monday morning. When it was over most of the balls from Samuel's ball tent were scattered around the dining room floor. later in the day on Monday Samuel and I were walking past the dining room and we stopped and I asked him to put the balls back into the tent. Without hesitation he walked over to the two nearest balls, bent over, picked them up, walked over to the tent and threw them in. He got a very big hug and kiss for this. He only did this for about 10-12 balls before he became bored but it is amazing behavior for a 19 month old. Not looking forward to the day when he starts asking "why?" whenever we ask him to do something.
-Dave
Hearing squeals of laughter from Samuel and shrieks of horror from the cats.
Hearing Samuel's villainous (but cute) laugh when we tell him not to do something and he looks at us like he knows we are too far away to stop him.
Asking ourselves why, why did we buy all these toys when all he wants to play with are the newspapers, books and cd's.
Cute Samuel story:
As mentioned earlier we hosted the playgroup on Monday morning. When it was over most of the balls from Samuel's ball tent were scattered around the dining room floor. later in the day on Monday Samuel and I were walking past the dining room and we stopped and I asked him to put the balls back into the tent. Without hesitation he walked over to the two nearest balls, bent over, picked them up, walked over to the tent and threw them in. He got a very big hug and kiss for this. He only did this for about 10-12 balls before he became bored but it is amazing behavior for a 19 month old. Not looking forward to the day when he starts asking "why?" whenever we ask him to do something.
-Dave
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving shopping in Chatou
We are postponing Thanksgiving by one day. We were supposed to finish our shopping and make the stuffing, pies and cranberry sauce on Wednesday. Unfortunately Samuel has the sniffles and did not go to HG on Wednesday. I also had a very, very sore throat to the point where I could not swallow. It has been a frustrating 3 weeks as one of us has been sick every day for the last 3 weeks.
We did our Thanksgiving shopping today(Thursday). Samuel and I picked up the baguette and the Turkey while Julia went to the SuperU to pick up a few items. We parked in front of the SuperU and Julia, Samuel and I walked to the SuperU together and Samuel and I said goodbye to Julia in front of the SuperU. Samuel was not happy with this and began to fuss. As we started to walk an elderly women came out of the door of the SuperU. She heard Samuel fussing and turned over her shoulder and gave him a big smile. He continued to fuss. She stopped walking, turned around and waited for us to catch up with her. She then proceeded to talk to Samuel(all I heard was tres mignon-very cute) and reached out her hand and rubbed the back of her hand along his cheek. He calmed down and reached the point where he reached out his arms and gave her a great big Samuel hug. For a day I like the French.
Today Samuel carried the baguette from the boulangerie. We may not do this in the future as the end of the baguette immediately entered Samuel's mouth. Very cute but also very messy.
Edited to add-Our local fruitier has fresh cranberries! Yeah!!!!! I feel guilty as I asked my sister, Beth in Colorado, to ship us two bags of cranberries(one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas) and now we will be unable to use them. How long can cranberries stay frozen and still be good to eat?
-Dave
We did our Thanksgiving shopping today(Thursday). Samuel and I picked up the baguette and the Turkey while Julia went to the SuperU to pick up a few items. We parked in front of the SuperU and Julia, Samuel and I walked to the SuperU together and Samuel and I said goodbye to Julia in front of the SuperU. Samuel was not happy with this and began to fuss. As we started to walk an elderly women came out of the door of the SuperU. She heard Samuel fussing and turned over her shoulder and gave him a big smile. He continued to fuss. She stopped walking, turned around and waited for us to catch up with her. She then proceeded to talk to Samuel(all I heard was tres mignon-very cute) and reached out her hand and rubbed the back of her hand along his cheek. He calmed down and reached the point where he reached out his arms and gave her a great big Samuel hug. For a day I like the French.
Today Samuel carried the baguette from the boulangerie. We may not do this in the future as the end of the baguette immediately entered Samuel's mouth. Very cute but also very messy.
Edited to add-Our local fruitier has fresh cranberries! Yeah!!!!! I feel guilty as I asked my sister, Beth in Colorado, to ship us two bags of cranberries(one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas) and now we will be unable to use them. How long can cranberries stay frozen and still be good to eat?
-Dave
Samuel and playgroup
A new baby/toddler playgroup started in the western suburbs about 6 weeks ago. This Monday last(23rd) Samuel and I hosted the playgroup at our house.
It was very interesting to watch Samuel interact with the other kids in his home environment. When we go to other homes for playgroups Samuel is very good at sharing and playing with others. When we hosted it was quite a different story. Samuel was constantly grabbing his toys out of the hands of the other kids. We have a playpen where we store most of Samuel's toys that extends from the terrace area of the living room. One time Samuel was standing in his playpen and a little girl about 16 months was trying to get into the playpen. She would grab the gate and try to open it and Samuel would grab it and slam it shut so that she was unable to get to his toys.
The only thing of his he shared openly was his little vinyl tent that is filled with balls. He and a boy named Oliver spent 20 minutes throwing balls at each other and knocking each other over and generally having a great time.
Apparently we have work to do to teach him that it is not only good to share someone;s toys but it is also fun to share his toys with others. Doesn't bode well for when the twins come along.
-Dave
It was very interesting to watch Samuel interact with the other kids in his home environment. When we go to other homes for playgroups Samuel is very good at sharing and playing with others. When we hosted it was quite a different story. Samuel was constantly grabbing his toys out of the hands of the other kids. We have a playpen where we store most of Samuel's toys that extends from the terrace area of the living room. One time Samuel was standing in his playpen and a little girl about 16 months was trying to get into the playpen. She would grab the gate and try to open it and Samuel would grab it and slam it shut so that she was unable to get to his toys.
The only thing of his he shared openly was his little vinyl tent that is filled with balls. He and a boy named Oliver spent 20 minutes throwing balls at each other and knocking each other over and generally having a great time.
Apparently we have work to do to teach him that it is not only good to share someone;s toys but it is also fun to share his toys with others. Doesn't bode well for when the twins come along.
-Dave
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Samuel and the HG
Dropped Samuel off at the HG at 0900 this morning. We were able to find a parking spot right in front of the entrance so we left the pushchair in the car and we walked the short distance.
After I took off Samuel's jacket and shoes I kissed and hugged him goodbye and opened the door into the play area. He may have been intimidated as four little ones were standing in the way, blocking his entrance into the play area. The carers were calling his name and asking him to come in. I gave him a slight push on the tush and he turned around and grabbed my legs and gave me a hug. For the first time in a long while he did not want to enter the HG. I picked him up, gave him a kiss and a hug and handed him to one of the carers who carried him into the play area. I quickly arranged his food and diapers and left the HG. He did not cry but he definitely was not his normal enthusiastic self gong into the play area.
After I took off Samuel's jacket and shoes I kissed and hugged him goodbye and opened the door into the play area. He may have been intimidated as four little ones were standing in the way, blocking his entrance into the play area. The carers were calling his name and asking him to come in. I gave him a slight push on the tush and he turned around and grabbed my legs and gave me a hug. For the first time in a long while he did not want to enter the HG. I picked him up, gave him a kiss and a hug and handed him to one of the carers who carried him into the play area. I quickly arranged his food and diapers and left the HG. He did not cry but he definitely was not his normal enthusiastic self gong into the play area.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Samuel and food, II
I know it is wrong to put a lot of weight behind one good day but we have to take our small victories when we have them.
For lunch today I gave Samuel half a jar(100 g) of legumes, pates & jambon. As usual he fought me by refusing to voluntarily sit in his chair. When he finally gets into the chair he kicks his legs to the point that the table is bouncing off the ground. It would be funny if it was not happening to us. Today something different happened though. When I was able to get the first spoonful of the puree into his mouth he immediately calmed down and started accepting the spoonfuls of puree. It even got to the point where if I delayed in getting the spoon to his mouth he would open his mouth wider and lean as far forward in his chair, as he could without falling out, in order to shorten the delivery time of the spoon. He normally only acts this way when he is being fed a fruit puree or a petite suisse. The entire process of lunch took only 15 minutes.
Snack is at 1600, We will see how it goes.
-Dave
For lunch today I gave Samuel half a jar(100 g) of legumes, pates & jambon. As usual he fought me by refusing to voluntarily sit in his chair. When he finally gets into the chair he kicks his legs to the point that the table is bouncing off the ground. It would be funny if it was not happening to us. Today something different happened though. When I was able to get the first spoonful of the puree into his mouth he immediately calmed down and started accepting the spoonfuls of puree. It even got to the point where if I delayed in getting the spoon to his mouth he would open his mouth wider and lean as far forward in his chair, as he could without falling out, in order to shorten the delivery time of the spoon. He normally only acts this way when he is being fed a fruit puree or a petite suisse. The entire process of lunch took only 15 minutes.
Snack is at 1600, We will see how it goes.
-Dave
First time for everything...
Had to put gas(petrol) in the Polo for the first time since it was delivered. The most expensive tank of gas I have ever purchased(50.13 Euros). Drastic change in lifestyle. In the US I would purchase a tank of gas every week, here it took 4 months to go through a tank of gas.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Play group
We were finally able to attend the monday morning playgroup. It is a good mix of nationalities, 2 Brits, 1 Australian, 1 Spaniard, 1 native French and 2 Americans. I was the only male in attendance over the age of 20 months.
Samuel had a good time with the new toys to play with and cookies to eat. He did let me know when it was time to leave as I was sitting on the floor talking and he walked over holding his shoes in his hands. He then proceeded to sit down next to me and attempted to put his shoes on. I helped him put his shoes on and he stood up and proceeded to walk to the front door and began banging it with both hands. We quickly said our goodbyes and came home just in time for Samuel to have lunch.
Samuel had a good time with the new toys to play with and cookies to eat. He did let me know when it was time to leave as I was sitting on the floor talking and he walked over holding his shoes in his hands. He then proceeded to sit down next to me and attempted to put his shoes on. I helped him put his shoes on and he stood up and proceeded to walk to the front door and began banging it with both hands. We quickly said our goodbyes and came home just in time for Samuel to have lunch.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Dave - a popular man with the town merchants!
Saturday afternoon I went to run some errands in town. This is the first time I have done so in a while - Dave usually does this, almost exclusively so over the last few months where my nausea has meant I haven't wanted to go close to any type of food store. As I tried to chat up the town merchants (who had all largely forgotten me), I found that if I mentioned Dave then all of a sudden I was ok.
The butcher wanted to know if Dave was going to watch the all-important France-Ireland football game that night (and then went into a discussion of American football); the greengrocer spent his time telling me what a nice man my husband was, after understanding that he wasn't going to sell me lots of other things as I was following Dave's shopping list. He even remembered that Dave came from Denver. Dave has clearly been able to overcome any communication barrier enough to make himself known as a much-appreciated regular in the town centre - from now on, I will just keep introducing myself as 'Dave's wife'!
The butcher wanted to know if Dave was going to watch the all-important France-Ireland football game that night (and then went into a discussion of American football); the greengrocer spent his time telling me what a nice man my husband was, after understanding that he wasn't going to sell me lots of other things as I was following Dave's shopping list. He even remembered that Dave came from Denver. Dave has clearly been able to overcome any communication barrier enough to make himself known as a much-appreciated regular in the town centre - from now on, I will just keep introducing myself as 'Dave's wife'!
Preparing for the twins... anyone have a bus we can drive?
We spent our Saturday morning at a second-hand sale run by the Paris 'Twins & More' (Jumeaux et plus) organization. Several hundred euros later, we are now the proud owners of a double stroller (into which we can clip either two infant car seats or two stroller seats), another Baby Bjorn bouncy seat (a pair to the one we already had), and a few more sets of newborn clothing (since the twins will likely be quite small at birth). Pushing the double stroller is not at all the same as a single - it is like driving a lorry/truck instead of a hatchback.
The good news: at least we saved a lot of money vs. buying new stuff. The bad news: we are going to need a bus to get anywhere in the future!! Just fitting all this stuff into our big estate car / station wagon was tough enough. Suffice to say that by the time we squeeze 3 carseats across the back seat, put the large double stroller base + Samuel's stroller into the boot, there won't really be much room left. So... confirmation (if we even needed it) that for the next few years we are going to be shut-ins. Be warned... we will enjoy visitors (particularly those that help babysit!!)... but we aren't going to be going anywhere!
A few weeks ago we went to another second-hand sale, this one run by an excellent, large anglophone mother's organization in Paris (MESSAGE). Between that and our local town-wide yard sale we have also picked up another crib, changing table and a few other things. It's been interesting though to see the cultural differences at the events. The French twins' association affair was relatively small and restrained - even half an hour after it opened there were still not many people there. The clothes were cute, French, and so often very nice / pretty / smart vs the often more functional anglosaxon clothing. In contrast, the MESSAGE event had a crush of people waiting to get in well before it opened and was a complete free for all once it did. Clothes were often from anglosaxon countries and cheaper. The great thing is that with all of these events, we can get most things we need second-hand - and can sell on what we no longer need also.
The good news: at least we saved a lot of money vs. buying new stuff. The bad news: we are going to need a bus to get anywhere in the future!! Just fitting all this stuff into our big estate car / station wagon was tough enough. Suffice to say that by the time we squeeze 3 carseats across the back seat, put the large double stroller base + Samuel's stroller into the boot, there won't really be much room left. So... confirmation (if we even needed it) that for the next few years we are going to be shut-ins. Be warned... we will enjoy visitors (particularly those that help babysit!!)... but we aren't going to be going anywhere!
A few weeks ago we went to another second-hand sale, this one run by an excellent, large anglophone mother's organization in Paris (MESSAGE). Between that and our local town-wide yard sale we have also picked up another crib, changing table and a few other things. It's been interesting though to see the cultural differences at the events. The French twins' association affair was relatively small and restrained - even half an hour after it opened there were still not many people there. The clothes were cute, French, and so often very nice / pretty / smart vs the often more functional anglosaxon clothing. In contrast, the MESSAGE event had a crush of people waiting to get in well before it opened and was a complete free for all once it did. Clothes were often from anglosaxon countries and cheaper. The great thing is that with all of these events, we can get most things we need second-hand - and can sell on what we no longer need also.
Friday, November 13, 2009
A trying week....
Julia is still felling tired and nauseous with the twins. She has also been fighting the remaining elements of the bronchitis she had a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, my flu-like symptoms have turned into whooping cough. Needless to say, neither of us have had enough sleep n the past week. On top of that Samuel has had a few bad nights this week where he did not sleep through the night. We can't complain as he sleeps through the night almost all the time. I just wish he had slightly more compassionate timing. One night I was up with him until 2 Am and finally had to go wake up Julia to take over as Samuel was unable to fall asleep with me sitting in his room with whooping cough
Samuel has also been ill. He has had a discharge from his eyes and a slight cough for a week. Julia was able to drop him at the HG this morning but they called just after noon saying that they thought his eye discharge was conjunctivitis and that he was contagious and that he could not stay at the HG I went to pick him up and Julia came home from work and took him to the doctor and he officially has conjunctivitis.
On the other hand. Samuel is very cute when I wake him up in the morning and from his naps. He very forcefully takes his pacifier from his mouth and throws it into this crib as if to say "I'm a big boy, Ii don't need you."
Samuel's progress with solid food has been sporadic at best. He loves his petite suisse and fruit pots. He is very much hit and miss with the meat/veggie purees. At the HG today he ate a full jar. For his snack today he took half a jar of puree. While yesterday I succumbed to his intransigence and tried giving him one spoon of puree followed by 2 spoons of petite suisse in order to get him to eat the puree.
Tomorrow is a big day as a twins association of Paris is having a sale and there should be bouncy seats, multiple strollers and other items for twins available.
-Dave
Meanwhile, my flu-like symptoms have turned into whooping cough. Needless to say, neither of us have had enough sleep n the past week. On top of that Samuel has had a few bad nights this week where he did not sleep through the night. We can't complain as he sleeps through the night almost all the time. I just wish he had slightly more compassionate timing. One night I was up with him until 2 Am and finally had to go wake up Julia to take over as Samuel was unable to fall asleep with me sitting in his room with whooping cough
Samuel has also been ill. He has had a discharge from his eyes and a slight cough for a week. Julia was able to drop him at the HG this morning but they called just after noon saying that they thought his eye discharge was conjunctivitis and that he was contagious and that he could not stay at the HG I went to pick him up and Julia came home from work and took him to the doctor and he officially has conjunctivitis.
On the other hand. Samuel is very cute when I wake him up in the morning and from his naps. He very forcefully takes his pacifier from his mouth and throws it into this crib as if to say "I'm a big boy, Ii don't need you."
Samuel's progress with solid food has been sporadic at best. He loves his petite suisse and fruit pots. He is very much hit and miss with the meat/veggie purees. At the HG today he ate a full jar. For his snack today he took half a jar of puree. While yesterday I succumbed to his intransigence and tried giving him one spoon of puree followed by 2 spoons of petite suisse in order to get him to eat the puree.
Tomorrow is a big day as a twins association of Paris is having a sale and there should be bouncy seats, multiple strollers and other items for twins available.
-Dave
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Samuel is growing up...
A few days ago we prepared a rotisserie chicken for dinner and I made some chicken stock the next morning. After the stock was complete I poured it into tupperware containers and left them on the counter top to cool. About an hour later thee was a plop and a scream from Samuel. He had managed to grab one of the tubs and proceeded to pull it off the counter so that the stock covered the left side of his shirt and most of the kitchen floor. I thought I had placed the tubs out of his reach but he is growing every day. Soon nowhere will be safe from Samuel's reach.
Samuel has also recently discovered the toilet paper roll. He enjoys joining us when we use the loo, which all the experts say is something he should do, but he recently found the loo paper holder on the wall and that if he pulls really hard that the paper comes flying off the roll. Big smile and a big mess.
Samuel now enjoys bringing our dish towels from the kitchen to us when we are sitting on the couch in the living room. Very cute but not really helpful.
-Dave
Samuel has also recently discovered the toilet paper roll. He enjoys joining us when we use the loo, which all the experts say is something he should do, but he recently found the loo paper holder on the wall and that if he pulls really hard that the paper comes flying off the roll. Big smile and a big mess.
Samuel now enjoys bringing our dish towels from the kitchen to us when we are sitting on the couch in the living room. Very cute but not really helpful.
-Dave
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Samuel and up
As we have noted in other posts Samuel is lagging in language skills for the average 18 month old. We joke that this is because he is in a trilingual(French, English english and American english) environment.
Because of this we take every opportunity to try and teach him new words. A word we are currently emphasizing is up. Samuel constantly is walking up to us with his arms outstretched wanting to be picked up. When he does this we ask him "Do you want to be picked up?". His usual response is to continue to stare at us and then he places his feet on top of our toes and stretches his arms even higher into the air. Is it glaringly obvious that neither of us should be teachers as our 18 month old thinks that up means stand on our toes.
Because of this we take every opportunity to try and teach him new words. A word we are currently emphasizing is up. Samuel constantly is walking up to us with his arms outstretched wanting to be picked up. When he does this we ask him "Do you want to be picked up?". His usual response is to continue to stare at us and then he places his feet on top of our toes and stretches his arms even higher into the air. Is it glaringly obvious that neither of us should be teachers as our 18 month old thinks that up means stand on our toes.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Pray for Julia
The twins official due date is May 15th. They are expected to arrive around the end of April. This will mean that Julia will be in a house with four Tauruses.
Samuel is already enough of a challenge. As we found with the food situation, Samuel will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. He is now eating regularly and with enthusiasm. If we take more than 2 seconds to fill the spoon and move it toward his mouth, he is opening his mouth wide and leaning far forward in his chair trying to get the food into his mouth a nanosecond earlier.
Samuel is already enough of a challenge. As we found with the food situation, Samuel will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. He is now eating regularly and with enthusiasm. If we take more than 2 seconds to fill the spoon and move it toward his mouth, he is opening his mouth wide and leaning far forward in his chair trying to get the food into his mouth a nanosecond earlier.
We have created a monster.....
Samuel loves helping with the laundry so much that he gets upset if he sees me walking out of the laundry room with laundry in my arms and I did not ask him to help me. If I leave the laundry room door open, he goes into the room and stands and laughs and claps while the washer and dryer are working. He needs a better masculine role model!
Sunday night bed time
We are doing our best to try and keep Samuel on a schedule. Currently we are trying to start his bath,book and bed process at 2100. Last night we started at 2100 by carrying Samuel upstairs to the bathroom where we lay out his towels and toys and turn on the space heater. We then go into Samuel's room where we turn on the space heater, ready the humidifier and get out Samuel's bedclothes. Normally I will also get out a book to read to Samuel after his bath and place it on his table which is next to the rocking chair in which we read his bedtime story. Well, last night as I was doing everything else Samuel walked over to his bookcase and took out Richard Scarry's bedtime stories and walked over to the table and placed the book in the space between his stuffed animals that is where we usually keep the book we plan on reading to him. Very sweet.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Samuel and food
Today(Saturday) was a good day. The background is as follows. For the prior two weeks Samuel did not attend HG as it was closed due to school holidays. Just before the school holiday we saw the pediatrician for Samuel's 18 month check-up. Samuel's weight had changed only slightly from his 15 month check-up. This obviously concerned us.
So, for the 11 days that Samuel was with us and not at the HG we decided to change his feeding schedule. We dropped him from 4 bottles per day to 3 and provided him a meal with puree and snacks throughout the day. If he refused to eat his meal we did not follow up with a bottle, he just waited until his next meal to eat. If you read the previous post you know this was mostly unsuccessful.
Well, last Friday(6th) Samuel returned to the HG. Julia dropped him off and picked him up as I have been sick all week. Off topic note-This is great house in which to be sick. Julia worked from home on Wednesday so I was able to spend most of the morning in our bed which has a huge sliding door leading onto a small terrace. Laying in bed staring out this large door looking at the clouds gently floating by, the river charging ever forward and the branches of the trees gently blowing in the wind is very relaxing.
Okay back to the main story. When Julia dropped Samuel off she was able to have an extensive conversation with the HG workers and they agreed plan so that Samuel would be on the same feeding schedule 7 days per week. We started that plan today and it was mostly successful. Samuel now starts his day with a bottle of 8 ozs. of formula with 4 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed in. For lunch he gets a 190 gram jar of meat/vegetable puree followed by 2 petite suisse(yogurt like snack). He then takes his nap. When he wakes from his nap we give him a snack of a 120 gram pot of fruit puree with a yogurt. In the evening we will give him a bottle of formula, puree, cereal and olive oil.
When Julia fed him his lunch he ate about 1/4 of the puree which is more than he has ever eaten for ether of us. He then scarfed down 2 petite suisse in record time. For his snack he consumed the entire 120 gram apple/pear puree followed by 1 pettite suisse. Where has this eating machine been for the last year?
Our only concern is that we do something to screw up his progress. But for now at least Samuel is eating and eating well.
So, for the 11 days that Samuel was with us and not at the HG we decided to change his feeding schedule. We dropped him from 4 bottles per day to 3 and provided him a meal with puree and snacks throughout the day. If he refused to eat his meal we did not follow up with a bottle, he just waited until his next meal to eat. If you read the previous post you know this was mostly unsuccessful.
Well, last Friday(6th) Samuel returned to the HG. Julia dropped him off and picked him up as I have been sick all week. Off topic note-This is great house in which to be sick. Julia worked from home on Wednesday so I was able to spend most of the morning in our bed which has a huge sliding door leading onto a small terrace. Laying in bed staring out this large door looking at the clouds gently floating by, the river charging ever forward and the branches of the trees gently blowing in the wind is very relaxing.
Okay back to the main story. When Julia dropped Samuel off she was able to have an extensive conversation with the HG workers and they agreed plan so that Samuel would be on the same feeding schedule 7 days per week. We started that plan today and it was mostly successful. Samuel now starts his day with a bottle of 8 ozs. of formula with 4 teaspoons of rice cereal mixed in. For lunch he gets a 190 gram jar of meat/vegetable puree followed by 2 petite suisse(yogurt like snack). He then takes his nap. When he wakes from his nap we give him a snack of a 120 gram pot of fruit puree with a yogurt. In the evening we will give him a bottle of formula, puree, cereal and olive oil.
When Julia fed him his lunch he ate about 1/4 of the puree which is more than he has ever eaten for ether of us. He then scarfed down 2 petite suisse in record time. For his snack he consumed the entire 120 gram apple/pear puree followed by 1 pettite suisse. Where has this eating machine been for the last year?
Our only concern is that we do something to screw up his progress. But for now at least Samuel is eating and eating well.
Samuel and the twins
This morning Julia and I were siting on the couch discussing what needed to be done today while Samuel was standing on the floor between us. I looked at him and asked "Samuel, where are the babies?" He immediately took his hand and put it on Julia's belly. I need to keep the camera handy for such moments.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Samuel continues to amaze....
A few days ago I was doing laundry and Samuel was assisting in moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I decided to ask him to empty the dryer and take the clothes to the guest room. Much to my surprise he did exactly what I asked. He reached into the dryer, grabbed the small amount of clothes and proceeded to walk around the corner into the guest room where he placed the dried clothes onto the guest bed.
Not sure if he actually understood my request or if he was mimicking what I usually do when I do the laundry. There is no way to know for sure how he knew what to do but he is constantly mazing me with his understanding of what we ask him to do.
Not sure if he actually understood my request or if he was mimicking what I usually do when I do the laundry. There is no way to know for sure how he knew what to do but he is constantly mazing me with his understanding of what we ask him to do.
Twins? Just kidding!!!
When Julia was pregnant with Samuel it was like being single again. She would come home from work, take a nap, wake up, we would eat dinner and she would go back to bed. Life was good.
With the twins it is very much like being a single parent. My respect for single parents continues to grow.
Good news and bad news- Samuel is eating solid foods now. He eats at the HG the 2 days he is there. With us he sometimes eats a little bit of solid food. However, he loves his petite suisse. It is a yogurt like product that is designed to be a snack. He opens his mouth very wide when we give him a petite suisse. We actually have to use the spoon to scrape the sides of the bowl to maximize the amount of petite suisse Samuel gets. But he does not enthusiastically eat his puree. He occasionally takes a few teaspoons but never does he eat all that we offer.
Halloween is scary. We hosted our first Halloween party on the 31st. We had about 20 kids and 25 adults in attendance. Lessons learned-25 kids on a sugar high make a huge mess. Luckily the weather was nice so we were able to herd the more rowdy kids out to the back yard.
Five of our neighbors graciously opened their doors to provide treats to the kids who wanted to trick-or-treat. Samuel, Julia and I went together. As we were leaving the 4th hose Samuel tripped and fell. Julia who was walking behind him tried to catch him and fell herself. My dilemma-my 18 month old son lying to my right with a bloody nose or my 3 months pregnant with twins wife lying to my left. Thankfully our neighbors came through again as they were able to help Julia while I and other parents took care of Samuel/ It was frustrating with julia as she was speaking french to the neighbors and I was unable to follow the ocnversartion so I was in the dark as to what, if anything, was wrong. Luckily, Samuel was fine. By the time we walked home(about 50 metres) he was smiling and happy. One of our neighbor kids, Claire, who is 10, took over watching him so that I could then spend some time with my wife. Julia had braced her fall with her hands so her right wrist/hand was very sore. No cuts, just pain.
Thankfully our partygoers understood that Julia and i were not the best of hosts and they took over and made sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink while I attended to Julia on the couch.
On the Sunday after Halloween Julia took a cab to the hospital, something I felt guilty about but neither of us felt comfortable either taking Samuel to the hospital with us or leaving him with a neighbor, because we had no idea how long she would have to be at the ER. In the end it was the right decision as Julia left around 1100 and did not return home until after 1600. All is well with the twins. Julia had a scan at the ER for the twins and everything looked normal. Unfortunately Julia then had to go to another ER in the hospital and wait there for someone to look at her hand. No break "just" a few sprained fingers.
With the twins it is very much like being a single parent. My respect for single parents continues to grow.
Good news and bad news- Samuel is eating solid foods now. He eats at the HG the 2 days he is there. With us he sometimes eats a little bit of solid food. However, he loves his petite suisse. It is a yogurt like product that is designed to be a snack. He opens his mouth very wide when we give him a petite suisse. We actually have to use the spoon to scrape the sides of the bowl to maximize the amount of petite suisse Samuel gets. But he does not enthusiastically eat his puree. He occasionally takes a few teaspoons but never does he eat all that we offer.
Halloween is scary. We hosted our first Halloween party on the 31st. We had about 20 kids and 25 adults in attendance. Lessons learned-25 kids on a sugar high make a huge mess. Luckily the weather was nice so we were able to herd the more rowdy kids out to the back yard.
Five of our neighbors graciously opened their doors to provide treats to the kids who wanted to trick-or-treat. Samuel, Julia and I went together. As we were leaving the 4th hose Samuel tripped and fell. Julia who was walking behind him tried to catch him and fell herself. My dilemma-my 18 month old son lying to my right with a bloody nose or my 3 months pregnant with twins wife lying to my left. Thankfully our neighbors came through again as they were able to help Julia while I and other parents took care of Samuel/ It was frustrating with julia as she was speaking french to the neighbors and I was unable to follow the ocnversartion so I was in the dark as to what, if anything, was wrong. Luckily, Samuel was fine. By the time we walked home(about 50 metres) he was smiling and happy. One of our neighbor kids, Claire, who is 10, took over watching him so that I could then spend some time with my wife. Julia had braced her fall with her hands so her right wrist/hand was very sore. No cuts, just pain.
Thankfully our partygoers understood that Julia and i were not the best of hosts and they took over and made sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink while I attended to Julia on the couch.
On the Sunday after Halloween Julia took a cab to the hospital, something I felt guilty about but neither of us felt comfortable either taking Samuel to the hospital with us or leaving him with a neighbor, because we had no idea how long she would have to be at the ER. In the end it was the right decision as Julia left around 1100 and did not return home until after 1600. All is well with the twins. Julia had a scan at the ER for the twins and everything looked normal. Unfortunately Julia then had to go to another ER in the hospital and wait there for someone to look at her hand. No break "just" a few sprained fingers.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Twins!!
As you can see from the ultrasound picture above, we are expecting two more little Charters to arrive most likely mid/end April! Both babies are doing very well so far and are almost the same size (6 cm from crown to rump). We had the 12-week scan yesterday and both of them displayed a very high level of activity and a rather worrying degree of stubbornness. (It is always rather concerning when you realize that you might be passing on certain genetic traits to your children... :-)) Just as Samuel did at the same stage, neither of them were still for an instant. They waved hands and feet and bounced around. There were times it almost looked like they could feel each other through their amniotic sac walls (they are side by side) and they were already pushing each other around!
We had the scan done at the clinique where we plan to give birth. It's a 25-min drive from our house and has a good reputation as well as having a basic neonatology unit (important for us as there is a high probability that the twins will come early - typically at 36-38 weeks).
The doctor that performed the ultrasound for us was wonderful. She tried 3 different scan probes, kept jabbing me repeatedly, but nothing would get the babies to move into (and keep!) a position where she could get the measurements and pictures she needed to make sure that all was well with them. If they did move into position, it was only fleeting - and at one point we could have sworn that we could see one of the babies smiling at us as this was happening! The doctor spent an hour and a half with us, talking to and cajoling the babies, and even got me to walk around the building for 5 minutes to help the babies move around... and eventually we got enough detail that it seems that all is well with them.
We will have monthly scans from now on, so hope to know more (including maybe the gender of the babies) next month. In the meantime we are figuring out the French medical system, trying to book a doula to help us (and translate!) for the birth, and dealing with the twice-as-bad nausea that comes from having twins (2x the hormones).
We cannot say enough good things about New York Presbyterian/Cornell, where we did our IVF in August. They truly are the best in the field as after 2 visits we now have the possibility of 3 children - where before, after disappointing results elsewhere, we weren't sure of having any.
The great news is that we finally get to benefit from being on a French contract with P&G - I will have a 9 month paid maternity leave! I expect to stop work around end Feb (if not earlier) and return to work in Dec / Jan. Of course... we will need this as the babies will likely arrive around the time of Samuel's 2nd birthday, so our lives are about to get extremely hectic. We also don't know when (and where) we will need to move again. I will have to be replaced in my job in France, so will need to change country again for a new job. We will let you know more when we do!
In the meantime, we continue with life as semi-usual, with me spending most of my non-work time asleep and/or suffering severe nausea (hopefully all over in the next few weeks!) and Dave being his amazing self in looking after (spoiling) me and having to be a mostly single parent to Samuel. The strangest thing is the speed at which my belly is growing... I had to move into maternity clothes at 10.5 weeks and am sure that I will soon be as big as a house!
Julia (+ the 2 little bouncy bumps)
We had the scan done at the clinique where we plan to give birth. It's a 25-min drive from our house and has a good reputation as well as having a basic neonatology unit (important for us as there is a high probability that the twins will come early - typically at 36-38 weeks).
The doctor that performed the ultrasound for us was wonderful. She tried 3 different scan probes, kept jabbing me repeatedly, but nothing would get the babies to move into (and keep!) a position where she could get the measurements and pictures she needed to make sure that all was well with them. If they did move into position, it was only fleeting - and at one point we could have sworn that we could see one of the babies smiling at us as this was happening! The doctor spent an hour and a half with us, talking to and cajoling the babies, and even got me to walk around the building for 5 minutes to help the babies move around... and eventually we got enough detail that it seems that all is well with them.
We will have monthly scans from now on, so hope to know more (including maybe the gender of the babies) next month. In the meantime we are figuring out the French medical system, trying to book a doula to help us (and translate!) for the birth, and dealing with the twice-as-bad nausea that comes from having twins (2x the hormones).
We cannot say enough good things about New York Presbyterian/Cornell, where we did our IVF in August. They truly are the best in the field as after 2 visits we now have the possibility of 3 children - where before, after disappointing results elsewhere, we weren't sure of having any.
The great news is that we finally get to benefit from being on a French contract with P&G - I will have a 9 month paid maternity leave! I expect to stop work around end Feb (if not earlier) and return to work in Dec / Jan. Of course... we will need this as the babies will likely arrive around the time of Samuel's 2nd birthday, so our lives are about to get extremely hectic. We also don't know when (and where) we will need to move again. I will have to be replaced in my job in France, so will need to change country again for a new job. We will let you know more when we do!
In the meantime, we continue with life as semi-usual, with me spending most of my non-work time asleep and/or suffering severe nausea (hopefully all over in the next few weeks!) and Dave being his amazing self in looking after (spoiling) me and having to be a mostly single parent to Samuel. The strangest thing is the speed at which my belly is growing... I had to move into maternity clothes at 10.5 weeks and am sure that I will soon be as big as a house!
Julia (+ the 2 little bouncy bumps)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Samuel and the laundry
A video of Samuel helping with the laundry has been posted to our youtube account.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Samuel = genius (or are we just proud parents?)
Tonight I was setting the table and I noticed that Julia's placemat and napkin were missing. Obviously Samuel had taken them and hidden them somewhere on the first floor. I did not say anything to Samuel but when I walked back to the kitchen to stir the soup that I was making for dinner Samuel appeared with the placemat and napkin in his hands.
With Samuel being our first we do not have the experience to know if this type of behavior is normal but Samuel does seem to be ahead of his peers in understanding what is said to him. Now, he is behind in responding and talking as he does not yet speak a single word clearly and often but he is obviously very intelligent, curious and happy which is all that we can ask.
Samuel has learned to turn on the lights in most of our rooms. He is not quite tall enough to turn the lights off yet but that will come soon. We do ask him to turn the lights off and he tries but he just cannot reach the top of the switch just yet.
Took a trip to Carrefour today(similar to Wal-mart, but the store is actually bigger than any Wal-mart that I have been in). Primarily went to look for supplies for a Halloween party that we are throwing on the 31st and was pleasantly surprised that they have a full aisle dedicated to halloween. Granted one side of the aisle was exclusively candy but the other side has costumes, decorations, hair coloring(they dedicated too much shelf space to this but maybe it is popular in France) and various gadgets. for Halloween we have invited some of our English speaking friends and we have also invited all of our neighbors and asked them to open their homes to trick-or-treaters so we should have some good pictures and video of Samuel trick-or-treating for his first halloween that he can walk.
When we got home today I was busy bringing the groceries into the house and Samuel walked into the back yard unsupervised. When I noticed this I immediately went after him but I was too late to prevent him from attempting to chase Molson down the little hill(about a 3 foot drop) in the yard. Samuel made it about half way down the hill before gravity took over. He rolled twice. Stopped, then rolled and a half times and ended up on his back looking at me. He did not know quite what to do. He looked as if he was going to cry but I laughed at him and told him to get up and chase the cat and he laughed and got up and looked around for Molson, who was long gone into the shrubs, not to be seen for awhile.
Was disappointed in that we had received a mailer from Carrefour which advertised a stand alone work bench(This is Samuel's favorite thing to play with at the HG) for little boys. Was looking forward to getting this for Samuel for Christmas but they did not have any displayed at the store. May have to buy it online. No, Samuel is not spoiled!!! If I type it enough it may be true.
With Samuel being our first we do not have the experience to know if this type of behavior is normal but Samuel does seem to be ahead of his peers in understanding what is said to him. Now, he is behind in responding and talking as he does not yet speak a single word clearly and often but he is obviously very intelligent, curious and happy which is all that we can ask.
Samuel has learned to turn on the lights in most of our rooms. He is not quite tall enough to turn the lights off yet but that will come soon. We do ask him to turn the lights off and he tries but he just cannot reach the top of the switch just yet.
Took a trip to Carrefour today(similar to Wal-mart, but the store is actually bigger than any Wal-mart that I have been in). Primarily went to look for supplies for a Halloween party that we are throwing on the 31st and was pleasantly surprised that they have a full aisle dedicated to halloween. Granted one side of the aisle was exclusively candy but the other side has costumes, decorations, hair coloring(they dedicated too much shelf space to this but maybe it is popular in France) and various gadgets. for Halloween we have invited some of our English speaking friends and we have also invited all of our neighbors and asked them to open their homes to trick-or-treaters so we should have some good pictures and video of Samuel trick-or-treating for his first halloween that he can walk.
When we got home today I was busy bringing the groceries into the house and Samuel walked into the back yard unsupervised. When I noticed this I immediately went after him but I was too late to prevent him from attempting to chase Molson down the little hill(about a 3 foot drop) in the yard. Samuel made it about half way down the hill before gravity took over. He rolled twice. Stopped, then rolled and a half times and ended up on his back looking at me. He did not know quite what to do. He looked as if he was going to cry but I laughed at him and told him to get up and chase the cat and he laughed and got up and looked around for Molson, who was long gone into the shrubs, not to be seen for awhile.
Was disappointed in that we had received a mailer from Carrefour which advertised a stand alone work bench(This is Samuel's favorite thing to play with at the HG) for little boys. Was looking forward to getting this for Samuel for Christmas but they did not have any displayed at the store. May have to buy it online. No, Samuel is not spoiled!!! If I type it enough it may be true.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Samuel helps with the laundry
We are boring. Sunday and Thursday are our laundry days. Samuel's usual assistance is to carry dirty clothes all over the house. He also places clothes in the empty laundry basket and pushes the basket throughout the ground floor(we have tiled floors).
Today I was doing laundry. I had taken the clothes out of the dryer and was in the process of moving clothes from the washer to the dryer when Samuel entered the laundry room and proceeded to place the papers he had been holding into the dryer. I asked him to take the papers out and he did. I then, for the first time, asked him to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer. Much to my surprise he started to do so. He did not get the clothes completely into the dryer but the effort was superb and he was laughing through the entire process.
It is amazing how much he is understanding what we say to him. He tries to help us put our shoes and socks on. He tries to put on his own shoes and socks but is not quite able to complete the process.
Last night(Sunday) we went out to dinner and were shocked to find that almost all of the local restaurants in Chatou and Le Vesinet(the nearest village) are closed on Sunday evenings. We ended up going to the Indian restaurant that we normally have delivered to our home. It was by far our cheapest meal out as it cost only 60 euros. The food is much better when it is hot and not just warm.
Samuel will be 18 months in only 4 days. Very, very hard to believe. He is such a little man.
Today I was doing laundry. I had taken the clothes out of the dryer and was in the process of moving clothes from the washer to the dryer when Samuel entered the laundry room and proceeded to place the papers he had been holding into the dryer. I asked him to take the papers out and he did. I then, for the first time, asked him to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer. Much to my surprise he started to do so. He did not get the clothes completely into the dryer but the effort was superb and he was laughing through the entire process.
It is amazing how much he is understanding what we say to him. He tries to help us put our shoes and socks on. He tries to put on his own shoes and socks but is not quite able to complete the process.
Last night(Sunday) we went out to dinner and were shocked to find that almost all of the local restaurants in Chatou and Le Vesinet(the nearest village) are closed on Sunday evenings. We ended up going to the Indian restaurant that we normally have delivered to our home. It was by far our cheapest meal out as it cost only 60 euros. The food is much better when it is hot and not just warm.
Samuel will be 18 months in only 4 days. Very, very hard to believe. He is such a little man.
Friday, October 16, 2009
I am smarter than a 17 month old.....
A few weeks ago my bedside clock went missing. We looked everywhere, twice, with no luck finding the clock. We looked under the bed, in the cupboard drawers, in the linen closet.
Today, I finally had the bright idea to search in Samuel's toy boxes in his room. I finally found it in the fourth and last box.
I was tu'd for the first time on Wednesday morning when I dropped Samuel at the HG. When I walked through the inner door the caregiver asked "Tu va bien?"(You are well?, informal) After giving her a quizzical look for a few seconds I finally responded, Ca va. Unfortunately, I was very rude and did not ask her how she was. I did not mean to be but I was so slow in translating and thinking of a response that I just forgot to respond with the appropriate question.
Today, I finally had the bright idea to search in Samuel's toy boxes in his room. I finally found it in the fourth and last box.
I was tu'd for the first time on Wednesday morning when I dropped Samuel at the HG. When I walked through the inner door the caregiver asked "Tu va bien?"(You are well?, informal) After giving her a quizzical look for a few seconds I finally responded, Ca va. Unfortunately, I was very rude and did not ask her how she was. I did not mean to be but I was so slow in translating and thinking of a response that I just forgot to respond with the appropriate question.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Samuel and his shoes
When I picked Samuel up at the HG today he was very excited to see me. As I was standing at the outside door waiting to be buzzed in he saw me and ran to the inside door and began beating on it with both hands.
After I picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss I sat him on the bench where the jackets and shoes are stored. The shoes are stored on a small shelf under the bench. As I sat Samuel on the bench I said, more to myself than to him, where are your shoes? as they were not in the location where I had left them earlier in the day. Samuel immediately slid off the bench and dropped to his hands and knees and turned and reached under the bench to the shelf and removed one of his shoes. He turned and handed the shoe to me and I asked him where his other shoe was? He turned back to the bench reached under to the shelf and grasped his other shoe and turned and handed it to me. He then crawled onto the bench so that I could put his shoes on his feet. He was very happy with himself.
After I picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss I sat him on the bench where the jackets and shoes are stored. The shoes are stored on a small shelf under the bench. As I sat Samuel on the bench I said, more to myself than to him, where are your shoes? as they were not in the location where I had left them earlier in the day. Samuel immediately slid off the bench and dropped to his hands and knees and turned and reached under the bench to the shelf and removed one of his shoes. He turned and handed the shoe to me and I asked him where his other shoe was? He turned back to the bench reached under to the shelf and grasped his other shoe and turned and handed it to me. He then crawled onto the bench so that I could put his shoes on his feet. He was very happy with himself.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Another trip to the Louvre....
Samuel and I spent the day traveling into the city and visiting the Louvre and shopping for christmas presents. Door-to-door from out house to the Louvre, walking to the RER station, is just over a hour, but I was lucky as I did not have to wait at either the RER or Metro station for more than 30 seconds for the train. Samuel was wonderful as usual. All he did was constantly talk and reach for the artifacts at the musee.
We did just miss the RER to Chatou as I was carrying Samuels pushchair down the stairs when the train pulled away. Which was a bit of a blessing as I was able to sit Samuel in a chair and feed him while we waited the ten minutes for the next RER.
Upon our return to Chatou we stopped at the Tabac and I had a draft Stella. It was hard work Carrying Samuel in the baby Bjorn around the louvre for over an hour. There are a lot of steps and I was parched.
Samuel writes:
hfghftdyf 7m8uu6m ¨Ó¨¨Á©D 8Y9UUUUUJN .jj
ttfn
We did just miss the RER to Chatou as I was carrying Samuels pushchair down the stairs when the train pulled away. Which was a bit of a blessing as I was able to sit Samuel in a chair and feed him while we waited the ten minutes for the next RER.
Upon our return to Chatou we stopped at the Tabac and I had a draft Stella. It was hard work Carrying Samuel in the baby Bjorn around the louvre for over an hour. There are a lot of steps and I was parched.
Samuel writes:
hfghftdyf 7m8uu6m ¨Ó¨¨Á©D 8Y9UUUUUJN .jj
ttfn
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Political joke....
Sorry, occasionally I have to be political.
Did you hear that they had to cancel the nativity scene in the nations capital? They could not find three wise men.
Did you hear that they had to cancel the nativity scene in the nations capital? They could not find three wise men.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Trip to city centre in the rain....
With today being Tuesday it was our normally scheduled day to take a trip to the city centre to purchase meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables for the next couple of days. We also needed to pick up some non-perishable items from the Super-U(grocery store) so we decided to drive. It was also raining lightly and since Samuel has had a slight case of the sniffles for the last few days it was also best to drive to keep him dry. Driving was not a good decision or at least leaving as early as we did not not a good decision.
We got in the car at 0931 drove to the end of the street and we turned left and we immediately greeted by taillights. The traffic was backed up along the quai so far that it almost reached our house. While we were stopped I debated turing around or trying an alternate route. Decided on the alternate route and it still took us 20 minutes to drive to the city centre. Parisians drive in the rain as well as Cincinnatians.It was so bad that an old man on crutches passed us and he arrived at the main street in town before we did.
Learned again today that Samuel is very curious. This was our first trip to the Super-U where Samuel sat in the baby seat in the cart. Big mistake. Usually when we shop Samuel is in the stroller but we had a long list of things to get today so I thought we would need the space of the cart to carry everything. Well, Samuel has a much better view and longer reach when sitting in a cart as opposed to the stroller. He also seems to have an affinity for grabbing items that are packaged in breakable packaging rather than those items in soft non-breakable packaging. Luckily nothing was broken today but I definitely learned my lesson.
We got in the car at 0931 drove to the end of the street and we turned left and we immediately greeted by taillights. The traffic was backed up along the quai so far that it almost reached our house. While we were stopped I debated turing around or trying an alternate route. Decided on the alternate route and it still took us 20 minutes to drive to the city centre. Parisians drive in the rain as well as Cincinnatians.It was so bad that an old man on crutches passed us and he arrived at the main street in town before we did.
Learned again today that Samuel is very curious. This was our first trip to the Super-U where Samuel sat in the baby seat in the cart. Big mistake. Usually when we shop Samuel is in the stroller but we had a long list of things to get today so I thought we would need the space of the cart to carry everything. Well, Samuel has a much better view and longer reach when sitting in a cart as opposed to the stroller. He also seems to have an affinity for grabbing items that are packaged in breakable packaging rather than those items in soft non-breakable packaging. Luckily nothing was broken today but I definitely learned my lesson.
Monday, October 5, 2009
A very good Sunday....
I was invited across the street to our neighbors house for a beer. The neighbors directly across from us are a very nice couple. He is French and she is African. Eric has spent quite a bit of time in the US and speaks English very well. He wife, Evelyn, speaks less English than I do French. They have 3 boys, the oldest two speak very good english and the youngest is learning english in school.
When I went for the drink I took Samuel with me as Julia was taking a nap. We took a few of Samuel's toys with us so he would have something to play with and not play with and break their belongings. After a few courtesies, Eric and I sat on their terrace with Samuel and their youngest son, Lucas, who was tasked with watching Samuel. Evelyn joined us after a few minutes and Samuel approached her handing her one of his toys and saying something that I did not understand. They both turned to me and said that Samuel was saying tienne (not sure of spelling) but it is french for hold or take. I was amazed and a little embarrassed. I thought it would be a few more years before Samuel was speaking better French than I.
Also a good sports day. The Denver Broncos(American football) won again are a perfect 4-0 for the season. Chelsea also beat the Liverpool swimming and diving club 2-0 to regain their rightful spot atop the English premier league.
Yes, a very good day indeed.
When I went for the drink I took Samuel with me as Julia was taking a nap. We took a few of Samuel's toys with us so he would have something to play with and not play with and break their belongings. After a few courtesies, Eric and I sat on their terrace with Samuel and their youngest son, Lucas, who was tasked with watching Samuel. Evelyn joined us after a few minutes and Samuel approached her handing her one of his toys and saying something that I did not understand. They both turned to me and said that Samuel was saying tienne (not sure of spelling) but it is french for hold or take. I was amazed and a little embarrassed. I thought it would be a few more years before Samuel was speaking better French than I.
Also a good sports day. The Denver Broncos(American football) won again are a perfect 4-0 for the season. Chelsea also beat the Liverpool swimming and diving club 2-0 to regain their rightful spot atop the English premier league.
Yes, a very good day indeed.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Samuel story
Tonight I was using our hallway loo (Toilet, for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic) and Samuel walked over and was waiting for me to exit. As I exited he dropped the pacifier that he had been holding in his hand. He started to follow me as I was leaving for the kitchen. I told him to go back and pick up his pacifier, which he did.
As he was following me through the dining room on our way into the kitchen he again dropped his pacifier. When we entered the kitchen I told him to go back and get his pacifier. He gave me a rather quizzical look and I again told him to go back and pick up his pacifier. He then raised his right arm and pointed in the direction of where the pacifier lay. I told him yes, you need to go back where we were and pick up your pacifier. He then turned around and left the kitchen and returned with the pacifier. he received a wet kiss on the top of his blonde head, a huge hug and a thank you.
It is situations like these that ease our concerns about Samuel not verbalizing many words at this time. He clearly understands the spoken word, when he wants to, and responds appropriately.
As he was following me through the dining room on our way into the kitchen he again dropped his pacifier. When we entered the kitchen I told him to go back and get his pacifier. He gave me a rather quizzical look and I again told him to go back and pick up his pacifier. He then raised his right arm and pointed in the direction of where the pacifier lay. I told him yes, you need to go back where we were and pick up your pacifier. He then turned around and left the kitchen and returned with the pacifier. he received a wet kiss on the top of his blonde head, a huge hug and a thank you.
It is situations like these that ease our concerns about Samuel not verbalizing many words at this time. He clearly understands the spoken word, when he wants to, and responds appropriately.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Samuel's first bloody nose.....
I am sure it is the first of many but we must share the story.
Julia was upstairs and I was in the kitchen preparing Samuel's food for the next day. Samuel was playing near the front door. He decided to join me in the kitchen and as he was rounding the corner he apparently tripped over the corner of one of our turkish rugs. He fell face first into the rug and his nose immediately began to bleed. Luckily it was not that bad and the bleeding stopped quickly. Except for a small bump on his forehead Samuel was fine.
In honor of his mishap his good night story was Mr Clumsy from the Mr. Men series.
Julia was upstairs and I was in the kitchen preparing Samuel's food for the next day. Samuel was playing near the front door. He decided to join me in the kitchen and as he was rounding the corner he apparently tripped over the corner of one of our turkish rugs. He fell face first into the rug and his nose immediately began to bleed. Luckily it was not that bad and the bleeding stopped quickly. Except for a small bump on his forehead Samuel was fine.
In honor of his mishap his good night story was Mr Clumsy from the Mr. Men series.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Samuel's big week
Samuel hit a major milestone this week. For the first time, he ate solid food! Sometimes peer pressure can be a wonderful thing. The HG have been fantastic at encouraging him to eat and giving him solid food at lunch time so that he can 'pretend' to eat like the other 12 or so kids eating there with him. Only a few weeks later, he has gone from pretending to really doing! When I went to pick Samuel up on Wednesday the women who run the HG told me that he had eaten the puree we had sent with him and had also eaten a couple of little yoghurts (petit suisse) that they had offered him. Yippee!!!! He did the same thing on Friday and we will now try and see whether we can get him to eat solids at home as well... that is the final challenge. But this week was the major first step.
The women at the HG all seemed to love Samuel. They said he was a little clown and a scamp (coquin) - in other words, a cute and mischievous little boy who has them wrapped around his little fingers. He has developed a knack for turning around when he is told not to do something, laughing very cutely, and turning back to keep doing it. We are trying to make sure he doesn't get too spoiled and understands that no really does mean no!
The women at the HG all seemed to love Samuel. They said he was a little clown and a scamp (coquin) - in other words, a cute and mischievous little boy who has them wrapped around his little fingers. He has developed a knack for turning around when he is told not to do something, laughing very cutely, and turning back to keep doing it. We are trying to make sure he doesn't get too spoiled and understands that no really does mean no!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Guess who's home?
Julia always calls home when she is leaving work so that I can begin preparing dinner. This means that I am usually in the kitchen when she parks the car. I can see her park the car from the kitchen window. Samuel is usually puling my pants down while I am in the kitchen preparing dinner. After I see Julia park the car I will turn to Samuel and say "Guess who's home?" He immediately loosens his grip on my pants or whatever toy he happens to be holding, breaks out into a wide 5 tooth grin and runs off in the direction of the front door where he happily greets Julia as soon as she opens the door. She has learned to be careful when opening the door as Samuel is usually in a position to be hit by the door.
Samuel will soon have 6 teeth. The fourth tooth on the top is ready to breakthrough the gum at any moment.
Samuel has learned to pull himself up onto the couch without assistance. He has learned to climb onto the back of the couch to access the controls for the shades. One of his favorite pastimes is to repeatedly open and close the shades by pressing the remote.
Samuel will soon have 6 teeth. The fourth tooth on the top is ready to breakthrough the gum at any moment.
Samuel has learned to pull himself up onto the couch without assistance. He has learned to climb onto the back of the couch to access the controls for the shades. One of his favorite pastimes is to repeatedly open and close the shades by pressing the remote.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Samuel speaks?
In the last week we think we have heard Samuel say maman, french for mommy and au revoir which is french for goodbye. But we may just be overly optimistic parents.
Today Samuel and I stopped at the ATM to withdraw some euros. When we were finished Samuel waved at he ATM and he said Au revoir. I have not had a drink in more than 15 hours. I had good nights sleep last night. I swear to you it sounded as if he said goodbye to the ATM.
-Dave
Today Samuel and I stopped at the ATM to withdraw some euros. When we were finished Samuel waved at he ATM and he said Au revoir. I have not had a drink in more than 15 hours. I had good nights sleep last night. I swear to you it sounded as if he said goodbye to the ATM.
-Dave
I can cook....
For those of you that we have given the readers digest 30 minute cookbook you must make the Lamb Chops provencale. I made those on Sunday and I must say that they were delicious. One of the best meals that I have cooked. Part of what made the meal for me was that I purchased everything myself. I was able to order the lamb chops and have them prepared all while communicating(?) in French. I also was able to order ground turkey(dinde hachee) for the first time. This is great progress as all the butcher expects me to order is chorizo, ham, chicken or steak.
Yesterday I made a rotiseirie chicken for the first time. Not as good as Julia's but very, very good, especially for a first effort. We had boiled new potatoes smothered in butter and rosemary with the chicken. Followed by ice cream with strawberries and raspberries freshly picked from the farm on Saturday. Our life is pretty good!
Today I trying to make my first chicken stock using the bones and skin of the bird. I was very popular today when I was skinning and peeling the chicken as both cats were in the kitchen attempting to crawl or jump onto the counter to get their claws into the bones and meat. It smells wonderful but time will tell if the stock is good.
Today the woman that works the register at the butcher called Samuel a "petit ange" or little angel. My response was "pas toujour" which means not always. The three of us plan to walk to the butcher on Saturday afternoon so that Julia can order our turkey for thanksgiving. My french is not nearly good enough, maybe next year? Julia has promised me that no matter where we are in the world we will celebrate American thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November. It may not always be a perfect menu but it is the being together as a family that day that makes it special
Julia left work early yesterday to pick Samuel up at he HG. She should soon post what she was told and what she saw. All good news.
Yesterday I made a rotiseirie chicken for the first time. Not as good as Julia's but very, very good, especially for a first effort. We had boiled new potatoes smothered in butter and rosemary with the chicken. Followed by ice cream with strawberries and raspberries freshly picked from the farm on Saturday. Our life is pretty good!
Today I trying to make my first chicken stock using the bones and skin of the bird. I was very popular today when I was skinning and peeling the chicken as both cats were in the kitchen attempting to crawl or jump onto the counter to get their claws into the bones and meat. It smells wonderful but time will tell if the stock is good.
Today the woman that works the register at the butcher called Samuel a "petit ange" or little angel. My response was "pas toujour" which means not always. The three of us plan to walk to the butcher on Saturday afternoon so that Julia can order our turkey for thanksgiving. My french is not nearly good enough, maybe next year? Julia has promised me that no matter where we are in the world we will celebrate American thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November. It may not always be a perfect menu but it is the being together as a family that day that makes it special
Julia left work early yesterday to pick Samuel up at he HG. She should soon post what she was told and what she saw. All good news.
We survived our first drive.....
Samuel and I went out today to Castorama, a french DIY store, Monoprix in Le Vesinet with a final stop at the Chatou city centre. This is significant as it is the first time that I have driven outside of Chatou during the week. All of our other drives have either been on the weekend or just to the HG in Chatou, which is less than 1 K from our house. There were no problems with the drive. A few times I was uncomfortable with what the person next to me was doing, especially in the traffic circles but that is just a fact of life when driving in Paris and the burbs.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Molson the protector.....
Last night while eating dinner we heard a screech from outside. At first I thought it was Preacher as it was a high pitched screech. But she was lying under the table. Julia and I rushed onto the terrace to see Molson in a faceoff with white spotted neighborhood cat. As I approached the cats the white one turned and ran with Molson following close behind. They then headed for a shrub at the end of the terrace. At Julia's urging I followed as she was worried that Molson would be hurt. When I reached the end of the terrace I was encased in a large spider web. Containing a very large spider. I felt like Frodo in Shelob's lair. I was able to extricate myself from the web(did I mention that it was dark). I was able to force Molson from under the shrub and he ran into the front yard with the white cat remaining under the shrub.
Molson has become even more adventerous as he now leaves our enclosed yard. I was standing at the kitchen sink washing Samuel's bottles the other night when I saw Molson strolling across our street toward our driveway gate which he subsequently crawled under to return to our yard. Molson also has us trained so that when we have the terrace door closed he just jumps onto the windowsills and we open a window and he enters the house through the window.
Molson has become even more adventerous as he now leaves our enclosed yard. I was standing at the kitchen sink washing Samuel's bottles the other night when I saw Molson strolling across our street toward our driveway gate which he subsequently crawled under to return to our yard. Molson also has us trained so that when we have the terrace door closed he just jumps onto the windowsills and we open a window and he enters the house through the window.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Berry picking.......
We found a farm near Versailes that allows vegetable and fruit picking. We went in anticipation of returning with large amounts of apples and raspberries. We were not disappointed with the apples but the raspberries had been picked and a number of the vines were dead. Samuel did not have a good time. He was very fussy, crying and throwing fits while we were trying to pick our produce. The farm did have a decent selection of vegetables so we had a nice green salad with dinner last night. We will definitely go back in the future as it is only a 15 minute drive. We just need to learn the growing seasons here and when what is at its peak picking time.
We have discovered a new boulangerie. It is about a 15-20 minute walk but it is worth the effort. Samuel and I walked(Samuel rode, I pushed) there this morning for our traditional Sunday morning breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissant.
Not much happening as we are just taking it easy, enjoying the nice weather and watching Samuel pull Molson's tail at every opportunity. I have to question the intelligence of the cat as he allows Samuel to walk/crawl up to him, pull his tail and Molson does nothing except meow loudly. All he has to do is walk/run away.
We have discovered a new boulangerie. It is about a 15-20 minute walk but it is worth the effort. Samuel and I walked(Samuel rode, I pushed) there this morning for our traditional Sunday morning breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissant.
Not much happening as we are just taking it easy, enjoying the nice weather and watching Samuel pull Molson's tail at every opportunity. I have to question the intelligence of the cat as he allows Samuel to walk/crawl up to him, pull his tail and Molson does nothing except meow loudly. All he has to do is walk/run away.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Samuel's first full day at HG
Today(Wednesday) was Samuel's first full day at the HG. I dropped him off at 0900 and did not pick him up until 1700. Samuel was his usual state of excitement when we arrived at the HG. He did not want to stop and take of his jacket and shoes before entering the play area. I had to hold him back to remove his jacket and shoes and then I said goodbye as he struggled to get out of my arms so he could play. When I put him down he ran off into the play area without looking back. When I returned to pick him up he was standing about 6 feet from the door. As I walked in he saw me and immediately smiled and ran toward the door. The carer did not even have to call his name as he came as soon as he saw me. He did very well. Very happy and played well with others. No Problems at all for his first day.
Re-commenced my french lessons today with a new instructor. She drove to the house. She has a different approach as she is emphasizing grammar and pronunciation where my previous instructor was more inclined to teach about situations.
Re-commenced my french lessons today with a new instructor. She drove to the house. She has a different approach as she is emphasizing grammar and pronunciation where my previous instructor was more inclined to teach about situations.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The good, the bad and the lucky......
Before and after pictures of Samuel's first haircut today.
Almost killed my cat today. Molson walked in through the patio door and I noticed that his nose looked bloodied. When I went to pick him up I discovered that his nose was fine. It was only covered with a bit of brown shrub branch. When I picked up Molson I noticed that we had not trimmed his claws for quite awhile. I proceeded to take him to the couch and trim his nails. When I released him, Julia noticed that I had blood spots on my shirt. My first thought was that Molson had cut/scratched himself when he was crawling through the shrub. Unfortunately this was not the case. I had trimmed one of his nails too short and it was pumping blood in rather large amounts. Julia went upstairs and quickly looked up on the internet solutions to a bleeding claw. The two solutions are: dip the claw in cornstarch or rub it with an ice cube. Since we did not have cornstarch we tried the ice cube method. This method did not work and Molson did not enjoy it. My brilliant wife realized that we had arrowroot, which is a thickener just like cornstarch, so we dipped Molson's claw in the arrowroot and the bleeding stopped almost immediately.
The good(or the ugly) was that Samuel had his first haircut today. I was asked earlier in the week if he was a "garcon ou femme"(boy or girl) so it was time to cut his curls. Samuel was cooperative until the first cut. After the first cut he constantly moved his head, resulting in a few clips that are at odd angles. The good thing is that his hair grows quickly. We saved the curls for posterity.
The lucky was the result of the Denver Broncos opener in the NFL. It was interesting watching an NFL game live while eating French pizza and drinking Irish beer. I want to be the first to say it. The Broncos will go undefeated and win the Super Bowl!!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Saturday trip to market
This morning(Saturday) Samuel and I went to the city centre market. Samuel took his first ride in his new jogging stroller. We bought the jogging stroller at Target in new Jersey(Just realized that we have not posted about our shopping evening in NJ). It is a very nice ride. Not sure why, but Samuel has not one but two cup holders. Very classy.
The trip to the market was uneventful until we went to the fruitier. It is a very small shop with a a stand in the middle of the shop which forms a"U" around which you are supposed to enter, pay and then exit. After we had begun our order a women entered from the wrong direction and began asking questions of the staff. I tried to maneuver the jogging stroller behind her to be able to pay but here was not enough room. I said, "Pardon, Madame" and unfortunately she decided to step backward into Samuel and the stroller. I grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from falling into Samuel, saying, "Desole, desole,desole"(Sorry, sorry, sorry). She said a few words, not sure if they were directed at me or the staff and she then proceeded to storm out of the shop not buying anything. I hope I did not lose the fruitier a customer. As I like the staff and the products at the fruitier I hope this does not damage my relationship with them.
When we at the butcher I was asked if I wanted any chorizo by the young man helping me. This is good as they are getting to know me and Samuel and accept us even though my french is not very good, especially after 3 weeks in the states. I am scheduled to resume my lessons on Wednesday, while Samuel is in HG, but it will be with a new instructor who I have yet to meet.
As we were walking home we stopped at a small playground. Samuel climbed on the little playhouse for a few minutes and I then sat him on a horse with a spring. It is the type of ride where you sit and push forward and backward and the spring prevents you from going to far either direction but also propels you faster than you expect in the opposite direction. Sorry, my engineer language is lacking in descriptive skills. The bottom line is that Samuel needs to learn to hold his head upright when riding such a ride as he hit head on the front of the ride when he went forward the first time. I held his head after that and he seemed to enjoy the ride. He fussed and cried as I put him in the stroller for the rest of the journey home.
We will return as there are actually two such playgounds on the way to the city centre. We should walk to the city centre as least twice per week to do shopping and errands, weather depending.
Samuel spent part of the day chasing Molson and pulling his tail. I picked Molson up and put him through the cat door leading to the basement but he immediately returned to the kitchen. At that point we told him that he was on his own if Samuel pulled his tail as we had taken him to a place of safety but he chose to return to an area of danger of his own accord and we were no longer responsible for what happened to him. Samuel was very very happy to see Molson return.
The trip to the market was uneventful until we went to the fruitier. It is a very small shop with a a stand in the middle of the shop which forms a"U" around which you are supposed to enter, pay and then exit. After we had begun our order a women entered from the wrong direction and began asking questions of the staff. I tried to maneuver the jogging stroller behind her to be able to pay but here was not enough room. I said, "Pardon, Madame" and unfortunately she decided to step backward into Samuel and the stroller. I grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from falling into Samuel, saying, "Desole, desole,desole"(Sorry, sorry, sorry). She said a few words, not sure if they were directed at me or the staff and she then proceeded to storm out of the shop not buying anything. I hope I did not lose the fruitier a customer. As I like the staff and the products at the fruitier I hope this does not damage my relationship with them.
When we at the butcher I was asked if I wanted any chorizo by the young man helping me. This is good as they are getting to know me and Samuel and accept us even though my french is not very good, especially after 3 weeks in the states. I am scheduled to resume my lessons on Wednesday, while Samuel is in HG, but it will be with a new instructor who I have yet to meet.
As we were walking home we stopped at a small playground. Samuel climbed on the little playhouse for a few minutes and I then sat him on a horse with a spring. It is the type of ride where you sit and push forward and backward and the spring prevents you from going to far either direction but also propels you faster than you expect in the opposite direction. Sorry, my engineer language is lacking in descriptive skills. The bottom line is that Samuel needs to learn to hold his head upright when riding such a ride as he hit head on the front of the ride when he went forward the first time. I held his head after that and he seemed to enjoy the ride. He fussed and cried as I put him in the stroller for the rest of the journey home.
We will return as there are actually two such playgounds on the way to the city centre. We should walk to the city centre as least twice per week to do shopping and errands, weather depending.
Samuel spent part of the day chasing Molson and pulling his tail. I picked Molson up and put him through the cat door leading to the basement but he immediately returned to the kitchen. At that point we told him that he was on his own if Samuel pulled his tail as we had taken him to a place of safety but he chose to return to an area of danger of his own accord and we were no longer responsible for what happened to him. Samuel was very very happy to see Molson return.
Last adaptation day
Today was Samuel's last adaptation day at the HG. Everything went well. He finished his bottle, imitated the other kids while they were eating with spoons(come on peer pressure). He napped for 2 hours and played the rest of the time.
Cat update-Molson is still very much alive. He has occasional diarrhea but other than that he he is healthy, happy and keeps us awake at night with his constant jumping on and off the bed. Both cats have surprised us greatly by becoming outdoor cats since our return from NY. We have a double sliding glass door that leads to our terrace. For security reasons the owner installed a full length metal, electric shade. For most of the day we keep the shade closed to keep the sun out as the living room, onto which the doors open. At least while it is still somewhat warm. Later in the afternoon I open the shade and then also open the doors to allow for a breeze to bring fresh air into the house. We can do this because we have installed a playpen with a gate so that Samuel is locked away from the door and cannot get out into the yard unsupervised. We also thought this would keep the cats in as they are too chicken to jump the gate. Well, in the living room there is a couch near the corner of the playpen and they have learned to climb onto the couch and then jump into the playpen and then exit through the door into the yard. So far neither of them has been adventurous enough to leave our yard and we do not think that they will as there are other cats in the neighborhood. Molson has been especially brave as he jumps from the couch directly out the crack in the window and lands on the terrace.
-Dave
Cat update-Molson is still very much alive. He has occasional diarrhea but other than that he he is healthy, happy and keeps us awake at night with his constant jumping on and off the bed. Both cats have surprised us greatly by becoming outdoor cats since our return from NY. We have a double sliding glass door that leads to our terrace. For security reasons the owner installed a full length metal, electric shade. For most of the day we keep the shade closed to keep the sun out as the living room, onto which the doors open. At least while it is still somewhat warm. Later in the afternoon I open the shade and then also open the doors to allow for a breeze to bring fresh air into the house. We can do this because we have installed a playpen with a gate so that Samuel is locked away from the door and cannot get out into the yard unsupervised. We also thought this would keep the cats in as they are too chicken to jump the gate. Well, in the living room there is a couch near the corner of the playpen and they have learned to climb onto the couch and then jump into the playpen and then exit through the door into the yard. So far neither of them has been adventurous enough to leave our yard and we do not think that they will as there are other cats in the neighborhood. Molson has been especially brave as he jumps from the couch directly out the crack in the window and lands on the terrace.
-Dave
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I am not Samuel's grandfather...
Do I really look that old?
Samuel and I walked to the city centre this morning to buy some fruit, veggies and meat. The proprietor of the fruit stand asked me if I was Samuel's grandfather. I felt like taking my business to the other fruit stand in the centre. But they usually treat us well. Samuel always receives a hello and a wave when we enter. So they are forgiven.
Julia had some of her staff over for dinner on Monday night. A very interesting evening. I have been told that it is rude by french standards to discuss business until the meal has concluded. They did not seem interested in talking to me about other subjects. As soon as Julia left the table they began conversing in French and I was left on my own. Both of us were shocked by this as it is very rude and classless to speak a foreign language in your host's home when you know that they do not speak the language well. Rant over.
Samuel did not attend HG today but will attend from 1000-1600 tomorrow and if all goes well he will began his normal schedule of 0900-1700 every Wednesday and Friday next week.
Sorry, I have to be political for a moment.
Obama- You lie.
Congressman Wilson- You lie.
Yes, I am proud to be an American.
-Dave
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Third and fourth adaptation days at Halte Garderie
Henceforth, Hatle Garderie will be abbreviated to HG.
On Monday Samuel was in HG for 90 minutes from 1000-1130. No problems. He again enthusiastically left my arms to enter the play area. When I returned and rang the bell for them to open the outer door it was cute as all the kids turned their heads and stared to see who was coming in. A few of them ran to the door in anticipation of my being their parent. They were not openly disappointed. Samuel actually came to me when I called him from the inner door today.
Tuesday was a big day as Samuel would be eating at the HG for the first time. I dropped him off at 1000 with a bottle. When I returned at 1200 they told me that there had been no problems and that Samuel had taken the entire bottle. It was then that my French was challenged. I asked about the hours he was scheduled to attend on Wednesday and they responded with various times. I could not understand if they were telling me to choose a time or that I had the option of bringing him at different times. I was able to understand when they told me that they wanted me to bring "real" food rather than just a bottle. Apparently, as Julia found out later with a confirming phone call, Samuel had imitated the other kids while they were eating their food on Tuesday. He picked up a spoon and a fork and took it to his mouth while the other kids were eating. This is what we had hoped would happen when he started HG. A little peer pressure goes a long way, as long as it is positive.
Tuesday we also tried something a little different. I drove Samuel to the HG to drop him of then walked home leaving the car at the HG. I then walked back in the afternoon to pick up Samuel, driving him home in the car. It is a short 10 minute walk to the HG with only one small obstacle. There is a hill that the municipal has kindly carved stairs into but there are 103 steps and Samuel gets very heavy if you have to carry him up 103 steps which get very steep at the top. I have tried navigating up the steps with Samuel in the pushchair but it is a a slow process and it tends to block the path for others to use. It is easy to take Samuel down the stairs in the pushchair as all we have to do is tilt back and let the rear wheels do all the work. Hands start to cramp as a firm grip is necessary but Samuel seems to enjoy it.
I just dropped him off for his Wednesday session which is scheduled from 1000-1600. I get to a spend a few hours baby proofing our kitchen drawers.
b-bye,
Dave
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