For those of you that do not know I am a tried and true Denver Broncos (American football) fan. They will be playing a game of football in London's Wembley stadium. October 31st is the date. Samuel and I plan on attending. It is a bit early for Samuel to attend a game but with the twins on the way we are unsure of when we be able to return to Denver so we plan on taking advantage of them playing only a 6 hour drive away.
The only thing that would make the weekend even better would be if Chelsea has a home match at Stamford Bridge the Saturday before. The Chelsea schedule will not be published until the sumer so we will just have to wait and see.
Monday, January 18, 2010
New restaurant-addendum
Long day-forgot something about the restaurant. It is typically French in that our meal lasted 2 hours. As we were trying to leave a women who we thought was a server came over to us and started to talk to Julia. She introduced herself as the wife of the owner, who had been our server, and asked us how everything was and how Julia was doing with the pregnancy. turns out that they have owned the restaurant for about 18 months and they have 2 kids, 2 & 4. The kids were sleeping in the back as they cannot afford a babysitter while working the long hours that they do. Very nice couple, He speaks some English. The evening reinforced to me again not to be too quick to judge as both Julia and I had assumed that the women who greeted us and showed us to our table was the owner as she was older(50ish) and seemed to be in charge. When it turns out that the younger couple who were working as the servers are actually the owners.
Samuel is asleep in his crib with the opening. I put him to bed and went downstairs to give Julia a massage fully expecting to hear a clunk followed by screaming but it has been quiet. After the lack of nap this afternoon Samuel should sleep through the night unless he falls out.
Samuel is asleep in his crib with the opening. I put him to bed and went downstairs to give Julia a massage fully expecting to hear a clunk followed by screaming but it has been quiet. After the lack of nap this afternoon Samuel should sleep through the night unless he falls out.
New restaurant
Saturday night we were able to have a date night. Through our typical blind luck, our sage femme (midwife) lives less than a kilometer from us and she has 3 daughters who are of babysitter age. Best aspect of this is that we do not have to drive to pick up or take home a babysitter.
We finally were able to go to a local restaurant that we had heard good things about. Normally a 15 minute walk we drove due to Julia not being able to walk far. The restaurant is located in a strip mall(an American concept?) that runs parallel to the main road entering Chatou across the Seine river bridge.
A small place, maybe 40 chairs, with an understated decor but excellent food at very good prices. A 3 course meal is only 30 euros. Julia had the pave with bernaise sauce and I had duck with pineapple. Excellent, we will definitely return. It is our new restaurant to take visitors.
It was a fun evening Julia and I actually had a conversation that lasted for 20 minutes before we mentioned either Samuel or the twins. That had not happened since August.
We finally were able to go to a local restaurant that we had heard good things about. Normally a 15 minute walk we drove due to Julia not being able to walk far. The restaurant is located in a strip mall(an American concept?) that runs parallel to the main road entering Chatou across the Seine river bridge.
A small place, maybe 40 chairs, with an understated decor but excellent food at very good prices. A 3 course meal is only 30 euros. Julia had the pave with bernaise sauce and I had duck with pineapple. Excellent, we will definitely return. It is our new restaurant to take visitors.
It was a fun evening Julia and I actually had a conversation that lasted for 20 minutes before we mentioned either Samuel or the twins. That had not happened since August.
Friendly Samuel
Forgot to post this when it happened.
One day last week Samuel and I were returning from a shopping trip to the city centre. Samuel is not as enthusiastic about riding in the stroller as he once was. I try to accommodate him when we return home by stopping at the corner and allowing him to walk home the final 100 meters. When we did this last week we walked around the corner and one of our neighbors, Nadya, was outside her house saying goodbye to a visitor. Samuel, who had not sen her since Halloween(October 31st) enthusiastically ran to her with his arms wide open and practically jumped into her arms. Nadya and I then had a conversation which was 2/3 French and 1/3 English. I may actually be conversant before we leave.
We are both very happy that Samuel is so very friendly and not the least bit scared to approach strangers or people that he does not know well. Neither of us have a clue how to teach him to be wary of strangers without reducing his infectious attitude toward meeting new people. Still trying to find the book with all the answers about being a great parent.
One day last week Samuel and I were returning from a shopping trip to the city centre. Samuel is not as enthusiastic about riding in the stroller as he once was. I try to accommodate him when we return home by stopping at the corner and allowing him to walk home the final 100 meters. When we did this last week we walked around the corner and one of our neighbors, Nadya, was outside her house saying goodbye to a visitor. Samuel, who had not sen her since Halloween(October 31st) enthusiastically ran to her with his arms wide open and practically jumped into her arms. Nadya and I then had a conversation which was 2/3 French and 1/3 English. I may actually be conversant before we leave.
We are both very happy that Samuel is so very friendly and not the least bit scared to approach strangers or people that he does not know well. Neither of us have a clue how to teach him to be wary of strangers without reducing his infectious attitude toward meeting new people. Still trying to find the book with all the answers about being a great parent.
Big weekend for Samuel
Our little boy is growing up.
Tomorrow(Sunday) we are going to take a section out of his crib so that Samuel will be able to get out of the crib if he so pleases. He should be fine for his nighttime sleeping as he seldom wakes up in the night. It will be interesting to see what happens during his daytime naps as he is usually awake for two of his naptimes during the week. He is n ot usually loud or screaming. We just hear him playing with his inch worm or his musical aquarium.
Well everything is now a day behind. Julia had an OB appointment in Le Vesinet on Saturday morning and afterwards we stopped at the official swine flu vaccination center so that I could get my shot, Julia and Samuel had received theirs over a month ago(french bureaucracy would not allow me to get my shot at the same time or place as it was designated only for infants and pregnant woman). Normally I would not have received the shot but because Julia is pregnant we thought it best that I receive the shot. Especially since most hospitals are limiting visits in the maternity wards to fathers only and some even require that fathers wear masks. We did not want my not having received the shot to be an issue when it is time for the twins to arrive.
Unfortunately I reacted badly to the shot and spent most of Sunday in bed. We were also supposed to go on Sunday and pick up Samuel's first bed. That trip has been postponed a week.
Well, Samuel just had his first nap in this crib with an opening. Did not go well. The positive aspect is that he did not fall out. The negative is that he spent most of his nap crying and screaming(sometimes quite loudly). He was awake when I finally went to get him at 1515. He was awake sitting in his crib. I had him crawl out on his own so that he learns that he can get out and not have to wait for me to come and get him
Tomorrow(Sunday) we are going to take a section out of his crib so that Samuel will be able to get out of the crib if he so pleases. He should be fine for his nighttime sleeping as he seldom wakes up in the night. It will be interesting to see what happens during his daytime naps as he is usually awake for two of his naptimes during the week. He is n ot usually loud or screaming. We just hear him playing with his inch worm or his musical aquarium.
Well everything is now a day behind. Julia had an OB appointment in Le Vesinet on Saturday morning and afterwards we stopped at the official swine flu vaccination center so that I could get my shot, Julia and Samuel had received theirs over a month ago(french bureaucracy would not allow me to get my shot at the same time or place as it was designated only for infants and pregnant woman). Normally I would not have received the shot but because Julia is pregnant we thought it best that I receive the shot. Especially since most hospitals are limiting visits in the maternity wards to fathers only and some even require that fathers wear masks. We did not want my not having received the shot to be an issue when it is time for the twins to arrive.
Unfortunately I reacted badly to the shot and spent most of Sunday in bed. We were also supposed to go on Sunday and pick up Samuel's first bed. That trip has been postponed a week.
Well, Samuel just had his first nap in this crib with an opening. Did not go well. The positive aspect is that he did not fall out. The negative is that he spent most of his nap crying and screaming(sometimes quite loudly). He was awake when I finally went to get him at 1515. He was awake sitting in his crib. I had him crawl out on his own so that he learns that he can get out and not have to wait for me to come and get him
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, January 14th
Another Thursday, another trip to the city centre.
Samuel gets very excited when he realizes that we are leaving the house. He says "go, go". He runs to the front door and points to his shoes on the desk and his jacket hanging on the coat rack. I have learned that it is best to get dresssed for the outside first as once Samuel is dressed he is very impatient and not willing to wait for others to get ready.
On our return trip from the city centre, Samuel was riding in his jogging stroller and I noticed hat his mittens had come off. I asked him to put them back on and much to my surprise he was able to use his right hand to put his left mitten back on. He then immediately took it of and turned his head to look at me as if to say "You did not tell me to keep it on." He is already smarter than either of us. We are doomed.
Samuel has a very funny routine when we return home. When we walk in the door the first thing we do is unfasten the strap of his wool cap. He then reaches up and pulls the cap off and places it on the desk. He then tries to unzip his jacket, he often needs help, but as soon as the jacket is unzipped he will take it off himself. He then drops it on the floor but a very stern look forces Samuel to pick up the jacket and hand it to us so that we can hang it on the coat rack. He then proceeds to sit on the bottom step and try to take off his shoes. For this he needs help. This morning was particularly funny as Samuel missed the step for the first time and fell on his behind. He had a tremendous grin when he did this.
There are many positives in having Julia work from home. One of them is that we are able to have regular evening meals. When Julia was working she would often not arrive home until 2000. With Samuel beginning his bedtime routine at 2030 it made it difficult to have a "normal" meal prepared. We had become accustomed to having Picard frozen meals, especially soups, which are very, very good(for frozen meals). Now we have established a routine where Julia will begin feeding Samuel his dinner at 1900 and I begin to fix dinner at the same time. Fifteen or twenty minutes after Samuel is finished with his meal we all sit around the table and eat a delicious(most of the time) home cooked meal. Samuel will then share part of our meal as we give him vegetables and potatoes from our plates.
-Dave
Samuel gets very excited when he realizes that we are leaving the house. He says "go, go". He runs to the front door and points to his shoes on the desk and his jacket hanging on the coat rack. I have learned that it is best to get dresssed for the outside first as once Samuel is dressed he is very impatient and not willing to wait for others to get ready.
On our return trip from the city centre, Samuel was riding in his jogging stroller and I noticed hat his mittens had come off. I asked him to put them back on and much to my surprise he was able to use his right hand to put his left mitten back on. He then immediately took it of and turned his head to look at me as if to say "You did not tell me to keep it on." He is already smarter than either of us. We are doomed.
Samuel has a very funny routine when we return home. When we walk in the door the first thing we do is unfasten the strap of his wool cap. He then reaches up and pulls the cap off and places it on the desk. He then tries to unzip his jacket, he often needs help, but as soon as the jacket is unzipped he will take it off himself. He then drops it on the floor but a very stern look forces Samuel to pick up the jacket and hand it to us so that we can hang it on the coat rack. He then proceeds to sit on the bottom step and try to take off his shoes. For this he needs help. This morning was particularly funny as Samuel missed the step for the first time and fell on his behind. He had a tremendous grin when he did this.
There are many positives in having Julia work from home. One of them is that we are able to have regular evening meals. When Julia was working she would often not arrive home until 2000. With Samuel beginning his bedtime routine at 2030 it made it difficult to have a "normal" meal prepared. We had become accustomed to having Picard frozen meals, especially soups, which are very, very good(for frozen meals). Now we have established a routine where Julia will begin feeding Samuel his dinner at 1900 and I begin to fix dinner at the same time. Fifteen or twenty minutes after Samuel is finished with his meal we all sit around the table and eat a delicious(most of the time) home cooked meal. Samuel will then share part of our meal as we give him vegetables and potatoes from our plates.
-Dave
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
We are still learning
Last night(Tuesday) Samuel had his teeth brushed for the first time. He enjoyed the toothbrush being in his mouth. Our kit for his dental care also includes a rubber cylinder that fits over an adult finger that is used to massage his gums. That is what is is designed for. However, Samuel had other ideas as he constantly closed his mouth over my finger and did not allow me to massage his gums.
Samuel also has a seventh tooth coming in. Explains why his cheeks have been so red for the last two days.
We had to move to France to become Kentucky hillbillies. Backstory-When we were living in Cincinnati we found it comical that the mornings when we placed our trash on the curb, that numerous cars and trucks, mostly trucks, would cruise our neighborhood rummaging through the trash and taking things that we and our neighbors were throwing away.
Our next door neighbors were throwing out two young child bicycles. They both need some work, a rusty chain needs to be replaces, a brake cable is broken but we took them and they are now stored in our basement. We may never actually use them but we currently have a full size basement so we have the space to store the bikes until we move.
Samuel also has a seventh tooth coming in. Explains why his cheeks have been so red for the last two days.
We had to move to France to become Kentucky hillbillies. Backstory-When we were living in Cincinnati we found it comical that the mornings when we placed our trash on the curb, that numerous cars and trucks, mostly trucks, would cruise our neighborhood rummaging through the trash and taking things that we and our neighbors were throwing away.
Our next door neighbors were throwing out two young child bicycles. They both need some work, a rusty chain needs to be replaces, a brake cable is broken but we took them and they are now stored in our basement. We may never actually use them but we currently have a full size basement so we have the space to store the bikes until we move.
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