Nathan's future circus career

My college friend Rachel wrote to me about her son:
"One of those moments when you have to just LOVE being a parent...Shawn, Nathan and I were hanging out last night after dinner and Nathan was all dressed for bed, I only put him a plain white T-shirt and diapers nowadays since it's so darn hot. He was playing on the floor with his toys and he has this habit of bending down to the floor and looking through his legs to find things that he's lost (so cute) but he'd been experimenting all day with this new found trick he could almost do and last night, he finally was able to do it by himself. From the same bent down position he proceeded to do a summersolt all by himself! And of course, Shawn had seen it first and had to say, "Rachel, look!" And he must have done it five times in a row. He was so proud of himself and so were we! Our little tumbler!!! It's the little moments - hunh?

The honking will go on late into the night

France just won the match against Spain, 3-1 and the entire country is out celebrating. We had a group of friends and family over to watch the game on the big screen and Francesca even made pizza for the event. All I can say is that I'm glad Mia is such a good sleeper because with each goal made by France the entire neighborhood screamed. Most of the people in Bordeaux are now headed to the Place de la Victoire to celebrate and if Dad isn't already in bed in Paris, he could witness France at its most optimistic on the Champs. Yesterday everyone was giving reasons as to why the team would loose this match and tomorrow they'll be singing the praises of "old" Zidane. We'll see what happens Saturday night for the next match against Brazil. Plans are already being made about who will bring what and the bottles to be opened in case of a victory or a loss. I hope Dad, Wendy and the girls don't think the Frenchies are too insane!

A rainy weekend

We've had so much sunshine and hot weather the past few days that the inevitable thunderstorms have arrived. They'll be gone tomorrow so the sun will be out for Thomas' return - Yeah! But this weekend Mia and I are just playing and, when she's sleeping, I'm trying to get some of my projects finished. During her waking hours Mia is also very busy -- she's discovering her hands and yesterday started twiddling her fingers. This morning I saw that she no longer swings at her yellow bird with a closed fist but will actually explore it with her fingers and then kick up with her feet to make all three toys rattle at the same time. It's so facinating to see her motor skills imporve every day and I can't imagine having to go back to work and risk missing these milestones.

Baby's first Fete de la Musique

All of France celebrates the longest day of the year with a huge music festival tonight that will last until the wee hours. We lasted until 9:30 which isn't bad for a 3 month old little girl. After our rdv gouter with our friends in the JP we headed downtown for an apero on the steps of the Grand Theatre. The real fetards show up around 10pm but we were there to help start things off. Mia was ready to party while we had our verre de blanc sec and then promptly fell asleep in my arms for the hour we spent wandering through the crowds of dancing people. Everyone kept saying, "Elle a quel age? Elle est trop cool!" when they saw us. She woke up just as we got home, had her last bottle of the day, and was in bed at 11pm. A little late for a school night but the fete de la musique is only once a year.

*gouter snack; apero cockail; fetards party-goers; verre de blanc sec glass of dry white; Elle... est trop cool She's how old? She's too cool!

Another one just for the fun of it

My high point of the day was receiving unsolicited mothering advice from a transvestite in downtown Bordeaux. Meanwhile, my husband is cruising Santa Barbara in a Jaguar on his "business" trip.   

Getting ready for the world cup 2025

Zidane, watch out -- Mia's got some hot soccer moves. Here seen playing with an adorable bear (Gracias Laura y Domenique!) that will stand in for a soccer ball until she learns how to walk.  

Why no news is good news

Okay, so I haven't posted in a few days and some people are sending messages... Do you really want to hear about my post-labor visits to the midwife? Trust me, you don't. I could tell you about the appliance repair man that is 45 minutes late, but that's a universal truth.

Oh wait, there's the doorbell. I'll try and get a picture of Mia up today.

More vaccinations

Visit number 2 to Mme Fourcade for our second series of vaccinations. Good thing I remembered to pick them up yesterday at the pharmacy (yes, you bring them with you and the doctor administers the shot) because it's too hot to run that many errands.

All’s well with my little Mia who weighs 5 kilos and measures 58cm head to toe. She's upstairs sleeping now with a dose of Doliprane to bring down an eventual fever. Depending on how she's feeling I may take her over to see her cousin Paola who is being picked up from day-care by Nano. Cuddles from her Italian grandmother will also help keep her fever down.

More news: WE HAVE HER PASSPORT! Her cute little baby face is now immortalized in her first official government document. My face will be immortalized in my new carte de sejour de long duree but the picture is not nearly as cute. At least I can now avoid trekking my family to the police station at 7:30am only to wait in line for 2 hours to give them new copies of the same documents they ask for year after year.

Nobody here but us swans

Another scorcher today with temperatures up in the 90s F and even hotter tomorrow. We were supposed to watch tonight's match with the whole Duroux family out at the parent's house (in the garden) but plans were changed at the last minute. So I took Mia to the JP for a bit of fresh, if not hot, air. You can always tell when the French team is playing in the World Cup -- the streets are deserted, those wandering around are calling friends for updates, and the only creatures in the JP are the ducks, geese and swans. And this American mom and daughter.

Francesca and Mia en tete a tete

Today was the first time Mia spent the afternoon on her own at Nano and Bomp's house. I think it was less of an emotional trauma for her than it was for me. She was smiling when we left for our lunch at the Chateau and I was wiping away tears. As soon as we got to the Chateau and sat down to lunch, I had a grand time being out on my own and talking to grown-ups. On our way home though I realised that the entire time we were at the lunch table (four hours!) I hadn't thought about Mia and had a pang of guilt for being such a bad mother. But my sprint out of the car, through the house and across the garden was rewarded with a big smile from my Mia who was happily playing in Nano's arms.

TGIF!

And my Papa will be home any second!   

La canicule

More hot hot weather coming our way with the heat wave Meteo France has predicted for the weekend. Last week we had temperatures cooler than normal and suddenly we're now much warmer than what's normal for this time of year. So we run our errands in the morning, stay inside during the hottest hours, and walk over to the JP in the afternoon to feed the swans. Mia is gettting very good at holding her head up and loves watching our feathered friends fight over the bread I toss at them.

What should have been Monday's entry

We're finally moving everything downstairs now that the workmen have finished so the computer hasn't been very operational. At any rate, for those of you who are worried about the roundness of Mia's head, you can relax. Our visit with the osteopath went very well and he said that nature will take care of the rest. I'm not sure our two visits were really worth much (it's the second doctor who told me he could "fix" her hiccups to no avail) but at least Thomas is reassured. And Mia was much less frightened this time, a relief for me, and with batting eyelashes and countless smiles for the doctor. Eight weeks old and already a flirt!

Busy weekend

Shopping at our favorite open market Capucins, a trip to IKEA, and lots of painting and moving furniture... not to mention friends over for lunch on Sunday. Papa and Mia were so tired that they had to take a nap (okay, so it was more Thomas sleeping than Mia) before we went out for a walk downtown to wind-down from a busy weekend.