I'm leaving on a jet plane and don't know when I'll be back again!

This will be the last of my little essays as I will depart very early in the morning for l'arizona.
Carlyn and Thomas are cleaning up the kitchen after another of Thomas's excellent dinners.
This is the hardest time for me. To say "au revoir" to this little family is "tres, tres difficile".
This past ten days has been one beautiful memory after another.
This afternoon, as I said good bye to Francesca, I began to realize the impact of saying something in one language as opposed to another.
As I struggle to learn French I am becomming aware that there are often ways of communicating which have a deeper feeling than those expressed in English.
She and I had a few moments alone with Mia while Carlyn and Thomas went out for a walk.
We were two grandmothers holding our common family bond, Mia. I know that she loves Mia as I do.
When it came time to say goodby she simply kissed me on both cheeks and said,
" Je souvenirais vous". (I will remember you.) I know that she used the simplest verb form so that I would understand her intentions. My only response was a very quiet, "Moi, aussi". I know that she will hold Mia and her parents with the same tender regard as I do.
That is a great comfort to me which I cannot put into words right now. I don't know if I ever will be able to do so.
Maybe that comes with the territory of being a grandparent to the most beautiful litttle girl in the whole wide world..
A Bientot

Why it's cheaper to buy a gyros on a rainy day.

Carlyn has gone to bed for the night and Mia is sound asleep. We hope that she will sleep through the night again. She is such a good baby! I know, I'm her grandma!
Today was another lovely rainy day in Bordeaux. After leaving Carlyn and Mia this morning, I walked over to do my daily Curves workout and then venture downtown. These French trainers are a lot more demanding that the local Curves in Flagstaff. Three machines into my workout I am sweating profusely and struggling to keep up to the trainer's constant reminder, "Plus rapide, Madam, s'il vous plait". My butt hurts and my legs ache but I feel really good as I finish my shower and head down town for my daily adventure. I have to move "plus vite" in order to be home for lunch by 1 P.M.
Today my objective was to climb the bell tower "a cote de" ( next to) the Cathedral of St Andre. As I hurried along the rainy streets, I was attracted to an ancient roman ruin at the end of rue St. Cathrine. It looked like a temple portal. Of course I missed my turn for the cathedral and had to walk several blocks back along another "rue" in the rain. I am still walking much farther than I need too due to my Arizona sense of distance. However, surrounded by history and art, one cannot feel too bad about these little navigational mis- calculations. Upon reaching the cathedral place I discovered the bell tower was closed so I went inside the cathedral to stay out of the "Il Pleut" (rain and lots of it!). My reward was to hear a beautiful Bach contata being played on the cathedral organ. It was exquisite! The sound lifted my dampened spirits and I was grateful to hear such a gorgeous melody in a beautiful ancient place. Construction of cathedrals in Europe was taking place when Native Americans were living in mud and grass mounds in Arizona, approx. 800 A.D. Those soaring gothic spaces are "incroyable"(incredible)!
Realizing the time, I left the cathedral and walked towards home. Coming across the Place Quinconces, I stopped at the local gyros stand, which is always very crowded. Today there were no customers so I stopped to ask. First 6 euros, then 5 euros and finally 4. My hesitation paid off which is why gyros are frequently cheaper on a rainy day! I arrived back at 56 rue de retallions to find a tired mommy and a sleepy baby. All three of us spent the afternoon sleeping and listening to Mozart.
I think I hear Mia's daddy come in the door after a long day at work and a business dinner tonight. Mia and I think that Thomas is a very good "Papa". Bon Nuit tout le Monde!

Vocabulary: Grandmother moment

(Noun) A particular period of importance, significance, or excellence, in which a grandmother cries. Ex: Dancing to "Isn't She Lovely" with your baby in your arms instantly results in a "Grandmother Moment".

We took our Baby to Tea

Carlyn asked me to write a little note for the blog. Here we go!

Today is the one month "anniversaire" of Mia's birth. In celebration of the most important event occurring in the Acquataine since Eleanor and Henry in 1066 A.D., we went to tea.

It was another lovely day of wandering around with our little Princess in her " poussette rouge". I have finally gotten over my nervousness at navagating her Higness in her bugaboo stroller.
I have even been so bold as to stop the sidewalk argument of two business men who were not attentive to our little caravan. A stern "Pardon Messieurs"cleared the "trottoir"(sidewalk) and we kept rolling along. We have a wonderful time allowing the rest of the population to admire our little Mia. She is quite a beauty, just like her mother!

Durning these little adventures, I have been very impressed with the friendliness and polite smiles we get as we stroll along the quai or the avenues in the "centre ville". Bordeaux is a beautiful medieval city with architectural wonders along every foot ( Oops! meter) of the sidewalk. People, in general, are very patient with me as I try to speak French. Most will listen to me thoughtfully and then respond in English!

I have been most impressed with the incredible beauty of daily life here. Flowers and art are in abundance. Beautiful food and wine are the basics of life. Almost everywhere you look there is something beautiful to rest you eyes upon. There is a gracefullness and elegance to the people and their surroundings. No wonder the French have invented the expression "Savoir faire".

I will always treasure this week with Carlyn, Thomas, and Mia. A friend once told me that children are given for us to grow in Love and Responsibility as we journey through life but grandchildren are given for Pure Joy! This little lady has given me a great deal of that already!

Bon Anniversaire, Mia!

reposting...

 

You can never have too many grandparents around

We spent Sunday at the vacation house of Nano and Bomp (aka Francesca and Pascal) to celebrate Mia's 1st month birthday. She will be un enfant gâté, but not gâté pourri.

*Spoilt but not spoilt rotten 

This is too good to be true

Another night where Mia slept from 9:30pm to 6:30am! Thomas is already proposing to begin "working on" a brother or a sister for Mia. He must think all babies are this easy.

Mom's visit

Grandmother's are great for late-night feedings (jet lag works in our favor), walks to the park, and making sure Mia's mom gets a nap when she needs one. 

Can we do this again?

She slept from 10pm to 6am! Is this little girl wonderful or what?

Like father like daughter...

No one can tell exactly who Mia resembles most but one thing's for sure, her hairline is beginning to resemble that of her father's!

Happy Easter!

 

A day with Papa

This Saturday is Thomas' day with Mia -- he's de garde for most of the afternoon. He was supposed to be in charge this morning too, because that's when I wanted to run my errands downtown, but Mia made him a little nervous with her impression of the Exorcist baby. She has never spit up after a bottle in all her 3 weeks of life, but for some reason this morning when Papa so sweetly offered to let me sleep a little longer and take care of the 7am feeding, there was a volcanic explosion of formula from our little girl's mouth. He had unsuccessfully tried to get her to faire un rot and decided to put her down in her cradle. Luckily he was not far when the projectile vomiting occurred and was able to immediately pick her up and make sure she was okay. Then, still not wanting to wake me up, he began the task of changing everything that was covered in milk. He did pretty well on his own but when he saw that even the mattress cover was soaked, he called me in.

So we took care of everything and I stayed with Mia while Thomas calmed his nerves by arranging the bottles in the cellar. I did my errands this afternoon and Thomas took Mia over to his brother's house to watch a soccer match... I'm going through withdrawal so even if they're supposed to be back in an hour, I may just head over there too.

*de garde on call; faire un rot burp

First medical visit

We had our first visit with our pediatrician Mme Forcade this afternoon. She comes highly recommended, thanks to my sister-in-law Elodie who takes her Paola there. Mme Fourcade said that Mia is doing very well and noted how alert she seemed (Mia didn't take her eyes off the doctor during the entire examination). Our little girl now weighs 3kilos370 and measures (head to toes) 50cm! No wonder her onsies are getting tight already!

This is not a stinky girl

All nice and clean after le bain avec Papa. I need to practice a bit with the camera as the photos I took of Papa giving Mia her bath didn't come out. We'll try again later. 

First Saturday outing to the Jardin Public

Check out that cool Bugaboo stroller! We were the envy of all the other young BCBG parents spending Saturday afternoon at the park. Mia loves her stroller and we love how it puts her right to sleep. 

Breast or Bottle?

I was on an errand when I ran into an old Duroux family friend who stopped to congratulate me. He asked me a strange question though, which I've been thinking about ever since: "Est-ce que tu nourris ton enfant?" It's silly when taken at face value -- of course I nourish my child -- but what he was really asking was if I did it au sein or au biberon. Kind of a personal question to field from someone that isn't within your intimate circle of friends... I suppose the important thing is that my child is bien and not mal nourri (3 kilos!).

*au sein breast-feed; au biberon bottle-feed

Bugaboo out on the town

I have the coolest stroller! It's so easy to push, light as a feather and fire-engine red so everyone sees me coming from 2 blocks away. Mia and I took our first solo outing today to the plant store on the waterfront to buy basil and mint for the terrace garden. She slept the entire time, except for 5 minutes in the store when I was looking at my little girl instead of where I was pushing the stroller and didn't negotiate a turn well. We'll get better at these little details.

3 kilos already!

We had a visit from Isabelle the pediatric nurse today to check on our progress. Everything's going well and Mia has gained 200g already! We noted everything in her carnet de santé, which I keep until she’s an adult and take to every medical appointment she’ll ever have. The French are crazy about documentation.

Time for her bath...