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.

The good, the bad and the lucky......

Today was an interesting day.

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 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.

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

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

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

Second adaptation day at halte garderie

Samuel had his second day of adaptation at the halte garderie today. He was there from 1030 to 1130. When I dropped him off today I told him goodbye and gave him his kiss as he sat on the bench after I took his shoes off. He was again very excited to see the play area and very anxious to enter and begin playing. When I opened the door to the play area he scooted off without a seconds hesitation and never looked back.

When I returned in 1 hour the carer met me at the inner door and we both called Samuel over and much to my surprise he actually came. Not as much of a fuss leaving today as yesterday.

Monday, Samuel will spend 90 minutes at the halte. Tuesday will be the big day as he will spend 2 hours and they will feed him his lunch.

After we left the halte we drove to the city centre to visit the butcher and the cheese shop. I was happy with the visit to the cheese shop as I was able to order 4 types of cheese and a half dozen eggs without a problem. the only problem was Samuel as I had carried him to the shop and when I put him down to pay he scooted off toward the front door which was open as it was a cool day in Chatou. I barely caught him before he was on the sidewalk.

Our neighbors have a little black kitten. When Julia came home tonight we noticed that the kittten was in the tree next door and seemed to be in distress. We spent about 10 minutes coaxing the kitten down out of the tree. Afterwards the kitten entered our yard and proceeded to jump on the windowsill that looks into our kitchen. Molson noticed this and jumped onto the kitchen counter and immediately began hissing and raising his fur at the intruder. The kitten failed to take notice of the ferocious Molson. Eventaully the kitten went away but not before reaching its paws in through our kitchen window(the windows here have no screens as there are very few bugs(as my wife says, but she is the same person that told me that it never snows in Paris(see previous blog concerning snow in Paris.))) for some stroking and petting.

-Dave