On Sunday(yesterday) when we returned from our errands Samuel wanted to carry the baguette into the house. he was dressed in a very bulky cold weather jacket with mittens on his hands. he was unable to hold the baguette in his hands and he was holding it in his arms with his mittened hands trying to keep the baguette from falling to the ground. He was holding the baguette when he approached our front gate. Our gate has a very small step, about 2 inches, which is not a vertical step. There is a slight angle to the step. As Samuel approached the gate he attempted to step up, without being able to see well because the baguette was blocking his vision. French baguettes are almost as long as Samuel is tall. He lifted his foot up but placed it on the slight incline. When he lifted his other foot, gravity took over, and Samuel and the baguette fell to the ground. He did what he has been taught to do. He got up, brushed himself off and grabbed my hand and I helped him over the step.
Today we ran a few more errands which included buying a baguette for lunch. When we returned home, Samuel again insisted on carrying the baguette into the house. He approached the gate with baguette in his mittened hands. He adjusted the baguette so that he could hold it with his left arm. He then reached out with his right hand to steady himself on the pillar that holds the gate and he then proceeded to step over the incline and continue on to the front door.
Similar situations separated by 24 hours and he learned from the mistake he made the day before and develops a new solution, with no prodding from me as I was distracted taking the pushchair out of the car.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Samuel continues to grow, as do we.
Samuel now has a vocabulary. The other day he was sitting between us on the couch when he dropped his snack trap of cheerio's and he very clearly said "Oh no."
Today is Sunday and we had our traditional Sunday morning breakfast of croissant and pain au chocolat. Samuel had his standard croissant. We are slowly learning as parents. We have been attempting to feed Samuel "real" food while we eat our meals. We would hand Samuel green beans , baguette, whatever we were eating and he would immediately place it in his mouth. We noticed that Samuel did not actually eat much, as most of the food ended up on his bib or tray as it dribbled out of his mouth. We finally realized that we should regulate how much food we give Samuel(as Homer Simpson would say D'oh!). This morning we were eating our breakfast on the couch, watching the snow fall and the river cruise by, while Samuel was sitting in his high chair. Julia slowly gave him pieces of croissant to eat. She waited until he had swallowed the previous piece until we gave him more. Doing this, he ate about 90% of the croissant. A massive improvement over previous meals.
Samuel does love classical music. As we were eating this morning a promotion featuring Vivaldi's four seasons came over the radio and Samuel immediately threw his arms in the air and started waving them and swaying his head and shoulders from side to side. I would like to say it was in time to the music but Samuel is cursed as his parents are with no rhythm.
Samuel and I went to the boulangerie this morning. We drove as we had a few other errands to run and it was a brisk-4 this morning. As we were leaving with our order I handed the baguette to Samuel and he tried to carry it to the car with his mittens on his hands. Very cute as he struggled to hold the baguette but refused to let it fall to the ground even though he could not grip it with his hands. The women at the boulangerie were very encouraging as he determinedly walked through the door to the car.
-Dave
Today is Sunday and we had our traditional Sunday morning breakfast of croissant and pain au chocolat. Samuel had his standard croissant. We are slowly learning as parents. We have been attempting to feed Samuel "real" food while we eat our meals. We would hand Samuel green beans , baguette, whatever we were eating and he would immediately place it in his mouth. We noticed that Samuel did not actually eat much, as most of the food ended up on his bib or tray as it dribbled out of his mouth. We finally realized that we should regulate how much food we give Samuel(as Homer Simpson would say D'oh!). This morning we were eating our breakfast on the couch, watching the snow fall and the river cruise by, while Samuel was sitting in his high chair. Julia slowly gave him pieces of croissant to eat. She waited until he had swallowed the previous piece until we gave him more. Doing this, he ate about 90% of the croissant. A massive improvement over previous meals.
Samuel does love classical music. As we were eating this morning a promotion featuring Vivaldi's four seasons came over the radio and Samuel immediately threw his arms in the air and started waving them and swaying his head and shoulders from side to side. I would like to say it was in time to the music but Samuel is cursed as his parents are with no rhythm.
Samuel and I went to the boulangerie this morning. We drove as we had a few other errands to run and it was a brisk-4 this morning. As we were leaving with our order I handed the baguette to Samuel and he tried to carry it to the car with his mittens on his hands. Very cute as he struggled to hold the baguette but refused to let it fall to the ground even though he could not grip it with his hands. The women at the boulangerie were very encouraging as he determinedly walked through the door to the car.
-Dave
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday is laundry day!!!!!
Samuel has a cute if not somewhat disturbing fascination with helping with the laundry. He has learned the buzzers that sound when the washer/dryer finish their cycle. When he hears the buzzer his arms immediately are thrust into the air over his head with his index fingers pointing toward the sky. He begins to run toward the laundry room, slowly lowering arms as he nears the door to the laundry room. When he arrives at the door to the laundry area his arms are extended in front of him making it easier for him to bang on the door demanding access. He then assists in the emptying of the dryer and the moving of the clothes from the washer to the dryer. He then must hit the buttons that start the cycle son both machines. Only when he is done with all these tasks does he give himself a big round of applause.
Samuel's vocabulary is expanding
Samuel had his first day at the HG for 3 weeks yesterday. He was very excited to enter. A bit surprising since we dropped him off 30 minutes earlier than usual and there were not as many kids in attendance. We dropped him of early as Julia had 2 doctor appointments and since she is no longer able to drive(at least long distances or during rush hour) I had to drive.
One of Julia's appointments was for a scan. Everything is well. Bo & Go each weigh about 500 grams and, if you believe the accuracy of the scans, they are both in about the 90th percentile for size.
Just want to let everyone know that it did not snow in Paris last night. It just confirms that it never snows in Paris.
When we picked Samuel up at the HG Julia had a talk with one of the carers and they agree that Samuel is ready to start eating puree with morsels of food. The HG is also able to take babies when they are 3 months old. So when we complete the application for next year we will ask for days for Samuel and the twins. Samuel has charmed them(as he does with everyone who meets him) so she did not foresee any problems with our application. While Julia was in the office conversing, Samuel and I were in the outer area getting him dressed for the cold. While we were doing this Samuel began expressing himself in a way he had not previously done. Samuel was enunciating the word kaka. I was shocked because it was the first time I had heard him speak the consonant k. When I told Julia later in the evening she said that it is the french word for pooh. We wonder if this is the beginning of Samuel learning all the things we don't want him to learn at the HG.
The strangest occurrence of the day happened when we returned home from the HG Samuel was fine on the drive home. When he walked in the front door he began to cry and scream in a manner that he had never shown before. It continued off and on for 30 minutes. We do not know what caused this behavior. Our best thought was that Samuel did not nap well at the HG and he was just tired.
Julia is in the office today for the last day. She is cleaning out her desk and completing her filing. Samuel and I were supposed to drive her in but with the snow last night Julia ended up getting a ride form a colleague that lives about 1/2 kilometer from us. He will also give her a ride home.
After Julia left around 0830 I was laying on the couch reading the newspaper and Samuel walked over and crawled onto me and laid on me for over an hour. Very unusual behavior for Samuel these days. He did not sleep, he just laid on me with his head resting between my arm and stomach. It reminded me of earlier, quieter days. I miss those days. Interested to see how many quiet days we will have with the twins and Samuel.
Samuel has begun saying no or non quite often. It is interesting that sometimes he seems to say the English no and sometimes he says non with a French emphasis.
At dinner Wednesday evening we had curry with green beans. Samuel was given a number of green beans to eat and he ate most of them. However, a good amount of the green beans ended up down the front of his overalls. Immediately after dinner I took Samuel upstairs for his bath, book and bed. The routine was changed somewhat as I undressed Samuel in the bathroom so that any green beans in his clothes would not be tracked all over the upstairs. As anticipated the green beans fell onto the tiled bathroom floor and Samuel even helped to pick up the pieces and throw them in the toilet. One time he was slow in returning to help and I tuned around and he had taken a roll of loo paper and dropped it in the toilet. He hadn't done anything like that since we were in NY. Hopefully, it is not an action that he will continue to exhibit.
We have the dumbest cats in the world. Samuel's new favorite exercise is to chase the cats. The cats, especially Molson, are not smart enough to run away. When he chases them on the ground floor they are not smart enough to run up the stairs where he cannot get to them as we have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. As I am typing this Samuel has Molson backed into a corner in the hallway and Molson is unable to get away. Once the twins start crawling we are certain that both Molson and Preacher will go outside one day and never return. We would understand.
Samuel has been brought into the office. Molson has been saved, for now.
,,,,,,,,dddddddddddkdkss.... ,HJBVYW6YW6TQBBWBDJNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnVvPKJOJIGI;BWU//.
Samuel says hello.
ttfn
-Dave
One of Julia's appointments was for a scan. Everything is well. Bo & Go each weigh about 500 grams and, if you believe the accuracy of the scans, they are both in about the 90th percentile for size.
Just want to let everyone know that it did not snow in Paris last night. It just confirms that it never snows in Paris.
When we picked Samuel up at the HG Julia had a talk with one of the carers and they agree that Samuel is ready to start eating puree with morsels of food. The HG is also able to take babies when they are 3 months old. So when we complete the application for next year we will ask for days for Samuel and the twins. Samuel has charmed them(as he does with everyone who meets him) so she did not foresee any problems with our application. While Julia was in the office conversing, Samuel and I were in the outer area getting him dressed for the cold. While we were doing this Samuel began expressing himself in a way he had not previously done. Samuel was enunciating the word kaka. I was shocked because it was the first time I had heard him speak the consonant k. When I told Julia later in the evening she said that it is the french word for pooh. We wonder if this is the beginning of Samuel learning all the things we don't want him to learn at the HG.
The strangest occurrence of the day happened when we returned home from the HG Samuel was fine on the drive home. When he walked in the front door he began to cry and scream in a manner that he had never shown before. It continued off and on for 30 minutes. We do not know what caused this behavior. Our best thought was that Samuel did not nap well at the HG and he was just tired.
Julia is in the office today for the last day. She is cleaning out her desk and completing her filing. Samuel and I were supposed to drive her in but with the snow last night Julia ended up getting a ride form a colleague that lives about 1/2 kilometer from us. He will also give her a ride home.
After Julia left around 0830 I was laying on the couch reading the newspaper and Samuel walked over and crawled onto me and laid on me for over an hour. Very unusual behavior for Samuel these days. He did not sleep, he just laid on me with his head resting between my arm and stomach. It reminded me of earlier, quieter days. I miss those days. Interested to see how many quiet days we will have with the twins and Samuel.
Samuel has begun saying no or non quite often. It is interesting that sometimes he seems to say the English no and sometimes he says non with a French emphasis.
At dinner Wednesday evening we had curry with green beans. Samuel was given a number of green beans to eat and he ate most of them. However, a good amount of the green beans ended up down the front of his overalls. Immediately after dinner I took Samuel upstairs for his bath, book and bed. The routine was changed somewhat as I undressed Samuel in the bathroom so that any green beans in his clothes would not be tracked all over the upstairs. As anticipated the green beans fell onto the tiled bathroom floor and Samuel even helped to pick up the pieces and throw them in the toilet. One time he was slow in returning to help and I tuned around and he had taken a roll of loo paper and dropped it in the toilet. He hadn't done anything like that since we were in NY. Hopefully, it is not an action that he will continue to exhibit.
We have the dumbest cats in the world. Samuel's new favorite exercise is to chase the cats. The cats, especially Molson, are not smart enough to run away. When he chases them on the ground floor they are not smart enough to run up the stairs where he cannot get to them as we have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. As I am typing this Samuel has Molson backed into a corner in the hallway and Molson is unable to get away. Once the twins start crawling we are certain that both Molson and Preacher will go outside one day and never return. We would understand.
Samuel has been brought into the office. Molson has been saved, for now.
,,,,,,,,dddddddddddkdkss.... ,HJBVYW6YW6TQBBWBDJNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnVvPKJOJIGI;BWU//.
Samuel says hello.
ttfn
-Dave
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A good meal
Just fed Samuel his snack. Since this is Sunday his schedule is a little off as he had a croissant with us when we eat breakfast. For his snack today he ate a half jar of chicken and peas puree and a petite suisse. That is not what is the good news. The good news is that Samuel fed himself the entire snack. I sat him in his chair and put the bowl of puree with the spoon down on the table in front of him while I put his bib on him. As I was placing his bib around his neck he reached out and grabbed the spoon from the bowl. He often does this but usually only to play with the spoon. Today he grabbed the spoon and dipped it into the puree and then he placed it in his mouth. He was not getting much food onto the spoon, so it was his longest snack ever in terms of time, but he fed himself every last ounce of the snack. I did help him a few times by guiding the spoon into the bowl and getting more puree/suisse onto the spoon. Also had to help him not turn the spoon over so that the puree did not fall off onto his bib. He was very, very proud of himself and he was feted with hugs and kisses from both mama and papa.
Not sure if his action was inspired by my promise at the beginning of the meal that he would be able to help with the laundry when he finished. Samuel is the best laundry helper in the world. He not only removes the clothes from the dryer and takes them to the guest room where he helps me fold, he also unloads the clothes from the washing machine into the dryer and starts the dyer. He then walks into the hall and picks up the next load of clothes for the washer and proceeds to place the clothes into the washer. This takes him 3-4 trips but he greatly enjoys it and always gives himself a great big clap of his hands when he is done.
-Dave
Not sure if his action was inspired by my promise at the beginning of the meal that he would be able to help with the laundry when he finished. Samuel is the best laundry helper in the world. He not only removes the clothes from the dryer and takes them to the guest room where he helps me fold, he also unloads the clothes from the washing machine into the dryer and starts the dyer. He then walks into the hall and picks up the next load of clothes for the washer and proceeds to place the clothes into the washer. This takes him 3-4 trips but he greatly enjoys it and always gives himself a great big clap of his hands when he is done.
-Dave
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Bonne Annee
We had friends over for lunch on Thursday. They have a little girl about 8 months older than Samuel. We had them eat lunch together and Samuel actually ate some of Emily's food. They were sitting at Samuel's small table and he reached over and grabbed a few pieces of her ham and cheese. It may be time to move him onto bigger kid food. He is not too keen on eating his puree. Thursday night we were watching the Return of the King and I was eating popcorn. Of course, Samuel, as usual, wanted to share. Normally he would chew and suck on the popcorn and then spit it out. Last night he actually ate most of it. This morning Julia was having rice krispies for breakfast and she shared some with Samuel and he was so enthusiastic that she put some in his smallest stacking cup(A very popular christmas gift) and he gladly lifted the cup to his mouth and let the rice krispies fall in and he ate them all with only a few spilling onto the floor. Another positive of having friends over was that we were able to have another buche.
Okay, Julia stole most of my thunder. I will just have to sit here being happy loading songs into my new ipod, courtesy of the P & G works council. There are benefits to being in a socialist country. The works council at P & G has a line item in the budget to provide Christmas gifts to the entire staff. This year the choices were an ipod or a coffee maker. Julia chose the ipod and gave it to me as a Christmas present. The works council gets all the credit and the company pays for it. I do love living here.
Learned over the past few days that we will actually receive cold hard cash from the government after we have the babies. Not sure how much it will be but we will take all that we can get. Do feel a little guilty as we have yet to pay our taxes, but we will eventually pay them, we promise.
Samuel's new favorite word is no. Everything is no. Except food, where everything is O. As in CheeriO's. An American breakfast cereal that serves as a snack for toddlers.
Samuel and I have been trying to go for a walk everyday, despite the cold weather. The highs the last few days have been 0 or 1. We take day old baguette and try to feed the ducks. Unfortunately most of the ducks seem to have finally felt the cold and flown south. There are a few hardy individuals left but not many. We still have swarms of white birds, which resemble sea gulls, hanging around. The white birds are quite aggressive when it comes to bread in the water. They first team up to ward off any ducks that may be in the vicinity. Once the ducks are out of the picture the white birds turn individual and begin to attack each other for the bread. Quite an interesting social dynamic.
Julia and I were finally able to take advantage of the holiday season and watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Had forgotten what wonderful films they are. It took us 6 days to watch the entire trilogy, an hour here and hour there, but we finished it and we were both glad that we found the time to do it.
Samuel is enjoying the fruits of his Christmas. Good thing is he doesn't seem to favor any one toy. He plays with everything. The above picture is Samuel riding his new bike. Don't worry it does not have pedals. He holds onto the handlebars, sits on the seat and pushes off with his legs. He loved the bike when we opened the box and we let him ride it for a few minutes in the house. He did not enjoy it so much when we took him outside. Between Julia and I we have about 25 new books which should keep us busy for awhile. We learned from Samuel that our reading time will decrease significantly upon arrival of the twins.
Since Julia has become pregnant she has had cravings for chocolate chip cookies. She baked some the other day and this is a picture of Samuel enjoying his first chocolate chip cookie.
Okay, Julia stole most of my thunder. I will just have to sit here being happy loading songs into my new ipod, courtesy of the P & G works council. There are benefits to being in a socialist country. The works council at P & G has a line item in the budget to provide Christmas gifts to the entire staff. This year the choices were an ipod or a coffee maker. Julia chose the ipod and gave it to me as a Christmas present. The works council gets all the credit and the company pays for it. I do love living here.
Learned over the past few days that we will actually receive cold hard cash from the government after we have the babies. Not sure how much it will be but we will take all that we can get. Do feel a little guilty as we have yet to pay our taxes, but we will eventually pay them, we promise.
Samuel's new favorite word is no. Everything is no. Except food, where everything is O. As in CheeriO's. An American breakfast cereal that serves as a snack for toddlers.
Samuel and I have been trying to go for a walk everyday, despite the cold weather. The highs the last few days have been 0 or 1. We take day old baguette and try to feed the ducks. Unfortunately most of the ducks seem to have finally felt the cold and flown south. There are a few hardy individuals left but not many. We still have swarms of white birds, which resemble sea gulls, hanging around. The white birds are quite aggressive when it comes to bread in the water. They first team up to ward off any ducks that may be in the vicinity. Once the ducks are out of the picture the white birds turn individual and begin to attack each other for the bread. Quite an interesting social dynamic.
Julia and I were finally able to take advantage of the holiday season and watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Had forgotten what wonderful films they are. It took us 6 days to watch the entire trilogy, an hour here and hour there, but we finished it and we were both glad that we found the time to do it.
Samuel sitting on the couch trying to drink out of one of his new stacking cups while surrounded by new cars and trucks. He is a very happy little boy.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
Very best wishes to all for a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year. We hope to see as many as possible of you over the next year... or at least talk to you frequently, since we won't be travelling much!
We have had a very peaceful and restful holiday week. Samuel has really enjoyed everything about Christmas. He was so excited when we brought home the tree and has loved playing with the decorations and seeing the lights come on every evening. Today we took the tree down and he was a great little helper, finding ornaments and giving them to us. He loved seeing the lights up all over the house, and clapped sometimes when they would come on. He discovered the joy of presents - opening shiny wrapping paper and boxes, and discovering wonderful new toys to play with. Luckily, he isn't the sort of child who focuses only on one thing - he really has no favorite toy, but enjoys playing with nearly everything, so he has really appreciated everything that he received this year (many thanks to all those who sent him presents!). We have spread out the new toys through the house (his room, office, living room) so that he has fun new things to play with in the areas where he usually spends time. It will be interesting to see how much he remembers - if anything - by the time we get to Christmas next year!
Samuel has even started the New Year with a big step forward in his eating habits. Over the last couple of months he has increasingly wanted to share our food - but most of what he would chew on would be pushed back out of his mouth again. Last night and this morning however he ate solid food (popcorn and dry rice krispies) and swallowed nearly all of it!
The cats greatly enjoyed their Christmas turkey, having been stuffed full of leftovers during the last few days. If it weren't for the fact that they both react to the presence of The Bird in the house as if they hadn't eaten since the previous Christmas and the turkey was stuffed full of catnip, all would have gone smoothly... Instead, however, I had to exile the cats from the house as I took apart what was left of The Bird (to avoid relentless howling, desperate attempts to snatch morsels and pathetic displays of fake starvation). While Molson rapidly found a space where he could stare me down through a window, Preacher decided to hide under the deck. Bad idea. She is either losing her mind or her eyesight... she couldn't seem to find her way out again and would only miaow pathetically from underneath the deck. Everntually, late that night, we were able to encourage her to come out by getting her to follow a light and our calls. Silly cat. But, who knows... maybe we foiled a dastardly plot by Molson to monopolize all The Bird for himself... !
Dave and I have had a peaceful time, mostly just reading and enjoying Samuel's company. All still seems to be going well with the pregnancy (now 21 weeks along!), although unfortunately since just before Christmas my pelvic ligaments turned into loose bungee cords and I now walk like Frankenstein... nothing serious for the babies, just a lot of pain and frustration for me (and more work for Dave) as I can barely walk or drive. Not much anyone can do about it, and hopefully it should go away after the babies are born. In the meantime though, I most likely have to work from home for the next couple of months as I won't be able to make it into the office anymore.
With very best wishes to you all, from all of us
Julia, Dave, Samuel, Bo and Go (for those of you that haven't got this yet - Buy One, Get One free...) - and Molson and Preacher
We have had a very peaceful and restful holiday week. Samuel has really enjoyed everything about Christmas. He was so excited when we brought home the tree and has loved playing with the decorations and seeing the lights come on every evening. Today we took the tree down and he was a great little helper, finding ornaments and giving them to us. He loved seeing the lights up all over the house, and clapped sometimes when they would come on. He discovered the joy of presents - opening shiny wrapping paper and boxes, and discovering wonderful new toys to play with. Luckily, he isn't the sort of child who focuses only on one thing - he really has no favorite toy, but enjoys playing with nearly everything, so he has really appreciated everything that he received this year (many thanks to all those who sent him presents!). We have spread out the new toys through the house (his room, office, living room) so that he has fun new things to play with in the areas where he usually spends time. It will be interesting to see how much he remembers - if anything - by the time we get to Christmas next year!
Samuel has even started the New Year with a big step forward in his eating habits. Over the last couple of months he has increasingly wanted to share our food - but most of what he would chew on would be pushed back out of his mouth again. Last night and this morning however he ate solid food (popcorn and dry rice krispies) and swallowed nearly all of it!
The cats greatly enjoyed their Christmas turkey, having been stuffed full of leftovers during the last few days. If it weren't for the fact that they both react to the presence of The Bird in the house as if they hadn't eaten since the previous Christmas and the turkey was stuffed full of catnip, all would have gone smoothly... Instead, however, I had to exile the cats from the house as I took apart what was left of The Bird (to avoid relentless howling, desperate attempts to snatch morsels and pathetic displays of fake starvation). While Molson rapidly found a space where he could stare me down through a window, Preacher decided to hide under the deck. Bad idea. She is either losing her mind or her eyesight... she couldn't seem to find her way out again and would only miaow pathetically from underneath the deck. Everntually, late that night, we were able to encourage her to come out by getting her to follow a light and our calls. Silly cat. But, who knows... maybe we foiled a dastardly plot by Molson to monopolize all The Bird for himself... !
Dave and I have had a peaceful time, mostly just reading and enjoying Samuel's company. All still seems to be going well with the pregnancy (now 21 weeks along!), although unfortunately since just before Christmas my pelvic ligaments turned into loose bungee cords and I now walk like Frankenstein... nothing serious for the babies, just a lot of pain and frustration for me (and more work for Dave) as I can barely walk or drive. Not much anyone can do about it, and hopefully it should go away after the babies are born. In the meantime though, I most likely have to work from home for the next couple of months as I won't be able to make it into the office anymore.
With very best wishes to you all, from all of us
Julia, Dave, Samuel, Bo and Go (for those of you that haven't got this yet - Buy One, Get One free...) - and Molson and Preacher
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