More video

Now that I know how to edit the size and length of the videos, I am going back through some old ones we took. They kind of stink but I found this gem when Michael was first learning to crawl. This is from July 12, 2007.



Then there's this guy from October 30th, 2006, 13 days old. The background sound is classic with John Madden discussing what is and what is not a fumble. The baby is pretty boring except for those sneezes. He still sneezes in pairs!

Birthday Video

I've got this video editing down now! Almost.
Here is a clip of Michael at his birthday party eating his cake. He loves it. Not.
For background, he had been sitting naked in this chair without eating any cake for about 5 or 7 minutes. He was feeling really uncomfortable because everyone was staring at him, he was naked and he had a chocolate lump in front of him. Right before this clip, he dropped a chunk of cupcake into his chest between the restraints on his highchair.

The Injury

I'm in the bathroom and I hear Phuong going ballistic, yelling bring the bandaids. So I get the "Bob the Builder" bandaids and run in to find Michael with a red dot on his forehead. I put a bandaid on him anyway.

The other kid

Yesterday, Phuong had another mom over for French class. Her husband had to go on a business trip so I had to watch Michael and her son, Elyo, so they could actually concentrate on studying. Elyo is quite a bit larger than Michael, about 8 pounds and a bit of height too even though they're only 1 day apart in age. And he can walk really well.

Michael was funny, he looked very apprehensive when Elyo started playing with his toys. It was funny because Elyo took all the cool toys at first and Michael went and got out his books. Here's little Michael surrounded by 5 books and big Elyo "taking" his trucks and stuffed animals. I also played with Elyo a bit because he deserved some attention too. Michael didn't take well to this and would look at me like I was leaving him for another baby. He crawled over to me to read him his books and assert his rightful place as real son. That was great.

Since they were noisy and the kitchen is right next to the living room, I moved all the toys into Michael's room and brought out the cool electronic toys. Elyo started playing with the walker with the sounds, then Michael walked over there, pushed the toy out of Elyo's reach and positioned himself between the toy and Elyo. He never let Elyo take over that toy. Michael left a couple of times to play with other toys but if he heard Elyo playing with that other toy he would come and take it from him. Later, the boys were running and crawling around and Elyo was pining for his mom so I tricked them back into Michael's room with a bag full of toys. Elyo got there first but Michael came close behind and pulled himself up onto his crib. Then he kind of walk-lunged at Elyo and basically tackled him and took the toys. Good work boy.

Elyo was soon getting fussy, as it turns out he was running a fever due to his vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella. He had this pacifier in his mouth but he had been crying enough that his nose had started running. So he had all this snot dripping into his stupid pacifier attached to his shoulder. I'm sure he was eating most of it, and it was disgusting but what is one going to do? I didn't want to get his contagions and to contract lockjaw and nightvision. No thank you.

Later, Elyo and Michael were playing nicely in the living room. Elyo started crying, I tried to comfort him, but Elyo had had enough and he stood up to go and find his mom. He whirled around quickly and took off only to find Michael in his path. His giant rugby physique wasn't nimble enough to avoid Michael so he ran him over and fell on him. Michael starts bawling, Elyo intensifies his crying, and I'm hugging Michael and trying to simultaneously comfort Elyo and nothing is working. Fortunately his mom came out and calmed him down a bit but didn't do anything about those boogers streaming out of his nose.

I think we can wait a little while on having Bors or Astrid Pilar.

Today is the official day that Michael started to walk. He let go of us and took 5-8 steps all on his own. And he is also starting to walk to nearby things instead of dropping and crawling. We have video so we're going to try to post later today.

So today is the day. Today is the day my little baby turned into a little toddler.

Love,
P

Here is a video clip of Michael walking. He takes a good 5 or 6 steps.

Today is Halloween....and you really shouldn't put a costume on your son when he's ready for his nap:

We went trick or treating in the 15th at my friend Su's place! She organized a bunch of apts of other Message Mums and they gave out candy! Here's the crew that went! It was great fun. The kids stormed everywhere and just yelled out trick or treat and that crazy song about stinky feet/give me something good to eat. It was HILARIOUS. At one point, Simba was crying like he got his teeth kicked in, but actually, he just got his candy stolen by the ghost.

The costume still didn't go over well, but at least he's not crying!

Love,
P

12 month check up on 10/25. Michael was 9.1 kg, 10% on American growth curves so he's gaining according to his new curve. His height and head circumference are unknown as Dr. Cohen mumbled the information and entered it into his computer but not Michael's Carnet de Sante.

I'm so glad I have this blog b/c otherwise, I'd have no record of my baby's life. So here goes some splurps just for me to remember:

When Michael is eating grown up food, if it does not make it all the way in his mouth, he pushes it in with the back of his hand.

He brings books for us to read to him now. It is so precious and funny. He doesn't always stay for the end of the book, but he brings us multiple ones to read to him.

Right now, he LOVES this one page in his BabyBug magazine called Yellow. It has pictures of things that are yellow and a little rhyme. He doesn't care about any of the other pages, just this story. And he'll open the magazine to that page and then drag it around the house with him.

He's starting to walk, but not with much stability! He'll raise his hands high up in the hair, take 2-3 steps and just lunge forward.

Michael is also more apt to walk when we are NOT looking. If we're the end result, he'll just shuffle, lunge, or crawl. But I saw him take 2-3 real steps towards a door when he thought I was busy. Still have NOT been able to catch it on camera! !

I think those are the only funny things he's doing for now...

As you all know, Michael loves to dance. Here are some items he's been known to dance to:

• Kindermusik CD, specifically the 1st song and Pop up my baby
• Sirens
• Music from his Baby Einstein Duck
• Music from his walker/Chicco riding toy
• "Who Let the Dogs Out" rap song
• Any music playing while the credits are running at the end of a movie
• Techno music
• While eating in his high chair if you do the head bop move to him
• While riding in his stroller if you do the head bop move to him
• Music from his refrigerator magnet toys

Love,
P

Brian and I had a bonafide date night last Friday night! Suzanne stayed home with the sleeping Michael so Brian and I checked out:

We haven't had a date night since JULY! In French, "Knocked Up" translates to "En Cloque". When buying movie tickets, Brian had to write down "Knocked Up" because they didn't understand what he wanted tickets for.

The billboard here for the movie says "En Cloque" and it has sperm all over it. No pictures of any of the stars, just swimming sperm.

We were proud to call this a date night. It was a really funny movie and definitely what we needed for an evening out.

Thanks Suzanne! We owe you big time!

Love,
P

Michael took some more mini steps today! He let go of Brian for a little bit to get to the trash. Classy right?

And then he let go of my kitchen chair to get to his high chair! He took 1 step and lunged for it!

It seems like he will get there any day now! I have the camera ready!

Love,
P

Today, Michael was eating dinner in his high chair...and Brian said to him:

"High Five Michael!"

And Michael held up his right hand, ready to receive his first high five on command! I've been working on that with him for like 2 weeks! Next...gotta teach him how to GIVE a high five!

Brian repeated it 2-3 more times and Michael held up his hand each time, even in the bath! WHOOP!

Lately, Michael has been giggling at Brian's "French voice." You know the one, that's all cliche and that French "huh huh huh" really gets Michael going. One night at story time, he just laughed and laughed and laughed any time he heard that French "huh huh huh."

Also important to note that Michael dances to music. It started in America in August...about the time he received that musical duck from my mom. He'll stop and sway back and forth if he's crawling and sometimes, he'll hurry to pull up on something and will sway back and forth. He sometimes will bend his elbows and kind of bop up and down with the music. It is so funny.

Well, my sister taught him this really cool head bob kind of thing that I can't describe, but every time he sees her do it, he does the same! It's so cute. The other day, I took him to Zara and he must have heard some awesome beat because he started swaying his head left and right and then doing the head bob that my sister taught him. All this while he is in the stroller. It was hilarious.

I think he got my side of the family's rhythm and dance ability. HAHAH! ;o)

Love,
P

My sister came to visit and we had a blast! Here we are having "sister pictures," which we haven't done in like a decade:

My sister hit all the major sites and I accompanied her when I could. We planned to go to Avignon but there was a nice STRIKE for all trains/metro so we were stranded in Paris! It was so fun to hang out and she was such a big help for the birthday party AND for everyday life! Well, better exclude the night she turned on the shower and squirted the entire bathroom with water. ;o) Oh yes, I will blog about the birthday party in Michael's blog.

One night, we went to the Eiffel Tower. Here we are, stealing an idea from some college kids and hanging off of the steel bars:

This Sunday after my sister left, our family went to church, then to a gourmet fair that was going on at Rue Mouffetard. Rue Mouffetard is a market street near our house and right outside our church. Anyways, we bought tons of fois gras, sauterne wines, and local honey. Brian went a little nuts. I just went to all the fois gras stands asking for samples.

Afterwards, we headed out to the Luxembourg Gardens because I wanted to take some pictures with the fall foliage on the trees. Well, lo and behold, we get there and the beautiful tree lined lane that my sister and I took pictures in has shedded. In only 9 days! So we took what we could get!

We took Michael to the Medici fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens but he was more interested in the ducks. It was so cute. No ducks in this picture though...

Michael took a much needed nap so Brian and I went for a walk on Pont Neuf and Pont des Arts, the romantic walking bridge. Here is Brian looking handsome with the bridge in the background.

Then, we went home and ate. Nice and informative post huh? I'm not really in the mood to blog but realize that if I don't, I will have no journal or record of our life here and then when I scrapbook, I'll be in big trouble.

Love,

P

My sister's here! And that makes me happy!

I meant to write really quickly...

But on Tuesday, Michael shuffled a couple of steps all by himself. He was holding on to my finger while standing and barely holding on so I told Brian to hurry up and stand in front of him.

So Brian did
Michael let go of my finger
Took 1-2 steps
And fell into Brian's arms.
And hasn't done it since!

But he's gotten more brazen every day. Letting go of stuff and just falling onto other things and I can tell he doesn't hold on to me as hard anymore when he's going places!

I wonder when he'll start walking for real!
Love,
P

A friend of mine sent me this clip...check it out. It's pretty funny I think!
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/128659/Veritas_Ultrasound_HD.html

At night, Michael is so cute. He loves this new Spot's First Easter book where you look for eggs under flaps of paper. The first 2 times we read him the book, we had to show him where the flaps were. Then we didn't read it for 2 nights and we picked it up again last night. Well, our bright little boy went straight for the right flaps on all the pages! I was amazed!

I know I'm his mom and of course I am going to be proud...but I really feel as if Michael's a bright little boy. You only have to show him something once, MAYBE twice and he can mimic you and figure it out if he has the capacity. It is really neat.

And yes, I know he is quite funny looking sometimes and he has a receeding hair line at age 1, but there are times when he is quite the looker and absolutely precious!

Love,
P

Lately, Michael brings me his stuffed penguin animal and actually gives it to me because he likes the voice I make with it and the animation I do with it. I always use the penguin and make it "peck" michael in the chest area and he just thinks it's so funny. He grabs the penguin and hugs it and laughs. It is really adorable.

Michael's Favorite Toys

• Hallmark penguin
• Baby Einstein singing duck
• Fisher Price Blocks
• Singing teddy bear holding a ball
• plush baseball
• winnie the pooh ball
• squeaky rabbit
• pop car
• his books
• drinkable yogurt plastic bottles
• Gerber babyfood plastic containers
• business card wallet
• my wallets/wristlets
• anybody's purse with things in it that he can yank out
• washer
• cabinet next to the oven filled with pots and pans
• Elmo in the Clap Your Hands book. He's enthralled with Elmo's eyeballs
• Paris pratique
• Carte Orange plastic sleeve

Michael's Favorite Books

• My Personal Penguin
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Goodnight Moon
• Spot's First Easter (HE LOVES THIS BOOK right now)
• Good Morning, Good Night - A Touch and Feel Bedtime book
• Playtime Peekaboo
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear
• Le Dinosaure
• Le Pingouin
• Where's That Monkey
• Pat the Bunny

Michael LOVES music. Any time I put one of his CDs on he gets excited and goes to the media cabinet and dances. He can tell the difference b/w his Cds and say, Dave Matthews! ;o)

Today, he started zerberting the couch and laughing.

Michael is really fun and I felt it was time for a much needed update. We were so worn out from America, then we came back, unpacked, then packed up again and headed to Venice, then Brian had 2 business trips sprinkled in there...we finally feel settled back in and I have time to blog again!

Love,

P

Today, some funny things happened.

Michael lifted up my shirt, pinched my belly fat, and started to laugh. I better start exercising since I'm not burning calories breastfeeding anymore.

With his new found talent of blowing raspberries:

I was at the papeterie near my house reading People magazine and carrying Michael in front of me in the baby Ergo (kind of like a baby bjorn). So his head is facing my chest. Well, I am wearing a v-neck shirt today so Michael buries his head in my chest and starts blowing very loud zerberts and laughing. I look up and see French people staring at me so I put my magazine down and run out of the store. A bit embarrased I am at my son who is giving me zerberts on my boobs.

Love,
P

Michael's latest thing is to give zerberts and raspberries! He loves to do it! And he's not satisfied with the weenie ones...he will keep moving his mouth around on your face/arm/chest/whatever until he finds a spots that produces those ones that sound like really good farts.

It is hilarious. I wonder where he found out about those??? BRIAN!!

He's starting to get more brazen standing! My new babysitter came around on Thursday and she just put him on the floor and there he was standing...for 2 seconds.

Today, we're shopping for birthday party supplies!

Love,
P

IS anyone still out there? Post in comments if you are. If not, I am going to send an e-mail saying we're back and that we're posting on the blogs again.
Love,
P

Blog Catchup!

**Warning: VERY long post. This is my journal for the trip for my scrapbook so you know you are getting many details.**

Our nuclear family went to Venice the weekend of September 21st and we had an amazing time. Brian ended up going ahead on Thursday because of "business" with some fellas named Luigi, Franco, Alberto, and Luca. I don't THINK they were the mob...

Anyways, I flew by myself with Michael on Friday and arrived in Venice that afternoon around 5:00pm. We took a very slow water taxi from the airport to Venice proper, and I got splashed in the face by a "fast boat." Maybe I shouldn't have had my head sticking out the window. After checking into our hotel (and walking past the alley it was down twice), we headed out to eat dinner. We feasted on grilled fish (with the head and tails still on), gnocchi in 4 cheeses, spaghetti in pesto sauce, and carpaccio. It was delightful! And the staff just LOVED Michael. In fact, all Italians loved Michael! He got his fair share of "AHH! Bambino!" and "BELLISIMO!" I just got a "Momma Mia" once and that made MY trip!

Well, the next day, we set out to sightsee after a very nice breakfast buffet. We finally made it out of the hotel at 11:00am...un-Rick Steve's style and headed out on his Rialto walk. We went by St. Mark's basilica, Doge's Palace, and Campanile and discovered huge lines! YIPPEE! So instead of stopping to see these sights, we continued on the enchanting walk towards Rialto bridge. There were dozens of delightful little stores selling opulent masks (for Carnival), and other touristy types of things. We finally made it to Rialto and took a picture after being pushy and getting our spot on the bridge. A set of nice Canadian tourists took the picture for us who we continued to see throughout the day. That's the Grand Canal behind us:

After an unsuccessful attempt to get a table canalside and JUST drink coffee, we wandered on to Frari church. Along the way, Brian and Michael got some gelato while waiting for me to finish shopping. It was not the first or last cone these two would have! Don't worry...Michael's didn't have gelato...he just got a cone. But it was still good to him all the same!

In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to feed Michael and let him roam around a bit. Later at dinner, we would find out that THAT wasn't enough time to keep him from fussin' up a storm and INSIST on getting on the floor to play.

We DID however, introduce Michael to the GABILLION pigeons around. Surprisingly, it didn't smell like bird funk at all! Texas A&M REALLY needs to find out how those Venetians keep that square from being stinky because they could really use the tip for the sidewalk next to the Chemistry building. Anyways, here's Michael in a picture I name, "HELLO...BIRD."

Anyways, in the afternoon, we went to St. Mark's Basilica because the line had died down. Brian checked our huge baby backpack and my diaper bag (MISTAKE...as you'll later find out) and we made it into the basilica after only waiting 15 minutes or so. At which point, Brian got this AWFUL nosebleed. And we had no tissues or wipes ANYWHERE because all of our stuff was checked. I tried unsuccessfully to find ANYONE with a tissue but alas, not one person would help. Even this woman with her HUGE purse didn't have one and she didn't even check. We had to use the Rick Steve's book. And finally when it wouldn't stop, I headed over to the baggage check (which was a bit of a ways from the actual church) to get wipes, burpcloth, and tissues. Eventually, the nosebleed DID go away. And we proceeded into the Basilica. The mosaics were quite impressive as was the view from the top! Here is Michael practicing standing on top of St. Mark's Basilica:

And we got a family picture up top too!

After this, we visited the Campanile, which is a huge bell tower before dinner though and didn't time it very well because the bells went off. DOH! Brian tried his best to shield Michael's ears and ran away from the bell we were standing under. Michael just stopped eating his wagon wheel for a minute but didn't seem very scared! TROOPER! As you can tell, we made it through A TON of things...so it's no surprise that Michael went beserk at dinner.

The next day, we did not make the same mistakes! We spaced our day out quite well and went back to the hotel often for Michael to play around, eat, and relax. We started the day a bit earlier today at 9:00am and went to Doge's palace, which was amazing. There was an ENORMOUS line, but it was for pre-paid tickets and tour groups! SURPRISING! And our line was super short and we went straight in.

Doge's Palace was VERY cool. For those who don't know what it is, here is a definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge%27s_Palace

It is important for it's role in housing the Doge as well as it's perfect example of Venetian architecture. Anyways, it was pretty neat and Rick Steve's tour was awesome, of course. There was a room full of battle gear and torture devices too! What a NICE surprise!

Then, we headed off to Accademia art museum, which was a HUGE flop, but the Accademia bridge over the Grand Canal was pretty neat. We rode the river taxi up and down the Grand Canal to admire the architecture and buildings. From Rick Steve's, I learned that many of the buildings are actually rotting and aren't inhabited. So sad considering how beautiful they are.

We ended our pretty leisurely day and had a delicious dinner by a canal. We sat next to another bunch of Canadians and a table full of nice older people from North Carolina. They said they were all missing their grandchildren so we let them hold Michael for fun. And we sure didn't mind the 5 minutes we got to eat without having to keep Michael out of everything! Since they were from the South, right next to us, and we probably could have taken them down if they tried to take Michael, we felt it was little risk. ;o)

We then took a stroll over to St. Mark's square at night and it was really magical. We didn't sit at a cafe to enjoy the dueling orchestras, but we did just stand there and bask it in it. Venice is really such a magical place and so romantic. We plan to go back just the two of us so we can take a gondola ride!

After this, we grabbed a gelato and walked along the riverfront to our hotel. It was unbelievable to me. I remember studying Doge's Palace in art history and seeing it as this flat picture in a book. And here I am, a decade later...walking right next to it. In the moonlight. With my husband and son. Life just can't get any better than that.

Love,

P

After nearly a week of Ferberizing, Michael went down in his bed and seemed like he knew he was going to bed...that it was ok...and he did in less than 2 minutes. Now, the 1st couple of nights were a bit tough, but after that...it wasn't that bad. 5-10 minutes of fussing max. But Michael just seemed upset about it.

Today, we did our standard bedtime routine. Feed, bath, lotions, pajamas, reading fun stories, and prayer book. We spent a little extra time hugging him and each gave him two hugs since he was clinging a little bit more than usual. And Brian put him down...he cried a little but he looked like he knew what was going on and he just went to bed. Like a big boy.

We finally figured out his naps. After a week of trying different things, we just let him nap on the couch or stroller and he's fine with that. We tried the crib for 3 days for his naps and Michael spent 2 of those without a single nap and one day, he only slept for 30 minutes. So I just said this isn't working and we're gonna do something different. He needs his naps.

Ok. Sorry we haven't posted in a while! We will try to be more diligent.

Love,
P

People are going banana nuts right now b/c France just won in the rugby quarter finals. It's 11:10pm and they're honking down the infamous avenues des Gobelins (aka our street) and yelling like hooligans. Hope they don't wake the boy!

Last Saturday, I walked by the Eiffel tower and noticed a ball hanging in the middle of it. I said to my friend, "What the heck is going on over there in the Eiffel Tower? Did it grow an ovary?"

To which she said, "Rugby World Cup is here Phuong."

DOH.

Love,
P

Today, we had the most awesome day in Paris. The weather was GORGEOUS...highs in the upper 60s, sunshine, little to no humidity...absolutely awesome! It's fall weather (in OCTOBER...*gasp*) and fall is my absolute favorite time of year. So our nuclear family took advantage of it and went to Invalides to sit on the lawn!

Michael had his first croissant. He's had little tiny bites before from mine, but today, we gave him his own. Stop worrying, he still only got about 2 bites before his dad and I took it from him and ate the rest. It IS easy to steal from little kids! ;o)


After getting some very good constructive criticism, I decided to take this opportunity and beautiful day to work on directional lighting in my shots. Here's what I came up with:

And this is my FAVORITE shot of the day:
Just gotta love the depth of field and my SON!!! ;o)
Brian and I layed on our blanket staring at jet streams in the sky. Michael played around us with his toys. It was truly a happy day for all of us! Lately, Michael zerberts me all the time. Somewhere along the way, he associates zerberts with an expression of love. Wonder where he got THAT idea? BRIAN!!

Hope your weekends are grand!

Love,
P

Yesterday, I did my first photoshoot for my friend Mary's son at SQUARE RENE LEGALL! Only the best square in ALL of PARIS! Maybe not...but Brian certainly thinks so! Got some cute shots of George only of course but I got a couple of cute shots of him and Michael too. Voila:



Geo was just so cute. REALLY photogenic! Well, we went to Venice and I've been meaning to post those pics and recap! Will SOON! If you can't wait, pics are up in our smugmug album. Link is in the right menu.

Lots of love,
B&P&M

Look what Michael did today at lunch.

Yes, that's POOP.

Want to Lose Some Weight?

For the price of the cheapest airplane ticket you can find, hurry yourselves over to Paris for the ultimate in weight loss success. The Parisian Diet Plan. We guarantee that in 2 full weeks, you will find yourselves 1 dress/pant size smaller*

DAILY Drills and Exercises Include:

• Running half a mile to the grocery store and then carrying 20 lbs of groceries back while pushing a 20 lb baby in a stroller (that incidentally has another 10 lbs of groceries in the bottom basket).
• Wearing a 20lb baby in an Ergo baby carrier up 6-10 flights of metro stairs, then down 6-10 flights of metro stairs, then walking half a mile home.
• Running to catch your bus
• Running down the metro steps to catch your metro
• Carry 9 liters of water in each hand while walking half a mile back home.
• Another variation, carry 9 liters of water on your shoulder while pushing your 20 lb baby in his stroller back home
• Carrying 20 lbs of groceries and your baby while putting away your stroller in the "stroller garage" which is incidentally across the courtyard and 4 flights down from your actual apartment

All this can be done with breaks for water and fruit tartes. However, it has been proven that if you eat French cheeses, this will negate all the work you will do for your fitness routine.

Don't believe us? Check out these testimonials of some of our clients:

"I went back to the U.S. for 3 weeks and went up an entire pant size. When I returned to Paris and followed their fitness regiment, I was back to my pre-wedding pant size in less than 3 weeks! Thanks Parisian Diet Plan!"

"I could eat whatever I want (omitting stinky French cheeses) and STILL lost weight! Now, I just make sure I have a fruit tarte already in my mouth while I'm carrying my 18 liters of water everyday!"

Hope this inspires some of you to visit! Funny thing about the exercise regimen? I do some of those things at least once a week! ;o)

Love to all,
P

*Rules and Restrictions apply. Success depends actually more on your genetic metabolic rate. There is a possibility that you may not lose weight at all while here. So in other words, we don't really guarantee success. But stay an entire month or more and you WILL see results!

Found this gem while going through pictures today. He is my husband and I ADORE him:




Now...let's see if he reads the blog...and sees the pictures. Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I realized I need to re-cap August because Brian's family came to visit so I will do that...some day! ;o)

Have a restful weekend,
Phuong

Hey Everyone!

Here are the pictures from our Family pictures and Christening! There were over 600 pictures so I narrowed it down to 120 (ouch still! I know!) of my favorites. Here is how to access them:

Click on this website:
http://www.millersalbums.com/



Click on: Besancon Family and Christening

Click on: Your Favorites Tab

You can scroll down the screen and look at all of them or you can click on "View Slideshow" in the left menu.

Hope you enjoy! And if want to order any, let me know. And please ignore my wrinkles and face fat. Apparently, they are here to stay.

Love,
P

Welcome back!

Here we are, back in Paris, and the city is all a-buzz with "la rentree." What is it exactly? August is such a huge vacation month that they actually have a word that is used to mean returning back to normal life after a huge season of vacations. So I see all sorts of correspondence such as :

• "oh gosh...just getting used to la rentree"
• "I'm booked all September with activites for la rentree"
• "Hope everyone is having a good rentree"

And I'm not making it up. The quotes are not exact but you get the just of it right? So we too are getting used to "la rentree," which to me means holding Michael at 4:00am when he's trying to go to sleep due to jet lag. Vive La Rentree! :)

Today, I was walking back from the park and I saw a mother with her 2 girls walking down the same sidewalk in front of me. One of her girls was fussing something awful and I saw her mother do the following:

• Put her daughter on the sandy part of the walk near the trees
• Pulled her daughter's panties down
• Held her daughter in a position so she could urinate on the side of the road in front of everyone to see.
  
  Her daughter was about 9-10 years old I am guessing. And I wasn't walking down a back alley or anything. This was right next to the park.

DOES ANYONE ELSE FIND THIS DISTURBING? OR IS IT JUST ME?

Bienvenue a Paris.

Love,
P

August in Paris is a huge vacation month. There is a mass exodus of Parisians to the French beaches/countryside and many cafes/boulangeries, etc are closed for many weeks or have reduced hours.

To celebrate this tradition, the "Besancon Life In France" blog will also be taking a hiatus in August!

See you in the States and come back in September! We have a trip to Venice planned then!

Much love,
B&P&M

Brian realized that Paris is dirty and noisy. There are many things he still enjoys about it. Phuong just cannot eat stinky cheeses like me so she is being a sourpuss.

After visiting Germany, we both realized how much we don't like Paris even more. Ibid, Brian realized he didn't care for Paris much either. I have not liked Paris for a while now.

In Germany, there are excellent changing facilities everywhere, the streets/public places are just SO clean, there are ELEVATORS in the metro (!!!) and it was not so crazy busy everywhere. However, German strangers are not as helpful as Parisian strangers. Parisian strangers will help me with my stroller while German ones just stare at me while I struggle.

While we were in Munich, Brian asked me: "Do you think we'll like Paris before we have to leave?" And I said, "AHA!!! YOU DON'T LIKE PARIS EITHER!"

Love,
P

P.S. Brian still has a good attitude about Paris. He just admits that it's not as clean here as elsewhere and that it is a bit busier.

P.P.S. I don't really know what ibid means. I just wanted to use it.

Last weekend, we made our first big trip since we arrived here! We set off for Munich on the new TGV with a change in Stuttgart. Our train left at 7:24 from Gare de l'Est, a good half hour from us. But we mobilized quite well and made it with time to spare. Michael like the first leg to Stuttgart because we were in this isolated compartment alone and he could play. We didn't like the purple seats though. A bit strong for our tastes.

We got to Munich, settled into our Hotel Uhland near the Theresenwiese where Oktoberfest is held and went to get a Doener Kebab. It was delicious. Doener's in France, aka the Sandwich Grec, are simply awful in comparison. And they're awful, period.

Then we headed to Marienplatz using the U-Bahn. Compared to Paris, I think they have an army of after-hours workers who go in there and clean it with a toothbrush. Of course, the network is not nearly as comprehensive, but it was fine for our purposes. We exited on the backside of the Rathaus onto a lovely little park.

Michael has a strong aversion to grass and whenever he is forced to touch it, he minimizes his contact with the grass by standing like a flamingo. If he is forced to sit or be on his all-fours, he just cries. It's pretty funny.


Then we went around to the front of the Rathaus and took some pictures. My mom has a photo of me in maybe 1979 or 1980 in the same spot, so I always like to give her an update whenever I go to Munich. Now she has one of her grandson too. Maybe we can get a better one next time.

Then Phuong went shopping. Dad and son went to a little cafe in the middle of the street. Dad got a Franziskaner Weissbier. Michael got to touch the cold glass and pretend to have a drink with his dad. Only 20 more years, caveboy. I only had like 3.5 liters of beer while I was there. I can do better, I know it.

The next morning, we had lunch at the Augustiner cafe and Michael got to try a pretzel. Phuong and I shared the sausage plate. Four different types of sausage, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Delicious! We ate at 11, but the Germans were already downing their beers at 9:30. That's what I'm talking about. Michael got a pretzel to slobber on! Dad ate most of it though.
Then we went to the train station to meet the real reason Phuong came. I came to take care of the boy but I knew that. Shravi was having her bachelorette party. She's the one in the veil and is also leaving Germany in about three weeks. She was working at the Max Planck Institute on photolithography and went to grad school at tu with me. Her we are at Augustiner Biergarten with the other members of her party.

After downing ein Mass (1L, there's one in the bottom middle of the picture) of delicious Augustiner beer, I took Michael over to the playground inside the biergarten. Evidently, this palace of beer and sausage was intended for family outings. We saw a 4 year old drinking beer out of a huge beer mug that his mother was holding for him to drink out of. The Schunks later told us that the Bavarians consider beer a "food group" not a drink. AHA!

The weather was lovely and there must have been 20 kids running around and playing on the swings, slides and rocking animals. Michael had a great time. I put him on the slide and the rocking horse. He tried to imitate the older kids, but I think he needs more time in P.E. with dad to quicken his reflexes and reaction times.

We had to go back home after having a nice Kaesekrainer plate, sausages with cheese on the inside. After feeding the beast, Phuong left again. She got to go to Hofbraeuhaus with the girls and experience a true beer hall. Then she came home and didn't wake Michael. I was pleased with that.

The next morning, we went to Bonn on the train to visit the Schuncks. I stayed with them in 1997 for half a summer and came back in '99, '02, and now in '07. They remind me a lot of my family and it's nice to be able to see them every now and again. They really liked Michael and thought he was "toll", "klasse" and "prima". He's teething so he was kind of a putz, but interesting nonetheless. Reinhard came home too, to see us and to help clean out the house. They're moving after 25 years to a smaller place without stairs because Mrs. Schunck's hips and knees are ailing.

Benny, Reinhard, and Renate were all great. We were especially surprised how much Reinhard liked playing with him. We suspected Mr. and Mrs. Schunck would like him but usually 28 year old single guys think of babies as radioactive species. We think we set him back at least 5 more years from making grandchildren though. Poor Mrs. Schunck!

Mrs. Schunck made us great food and we were very happy to eat it. Phuong was happy to eat three times more than anyone else because for once she didn't have to cook. They took us into Bonn to walk around downtown and have some ice cream and a coffee. It was a nice change from the constant hustle and bustle of Paris to visit Bonn, what guidebooks would describe as a sleepy town. But it still has the infrastructure from being the former capital, so it's actually quite pleasant. They also took us to a restaurant to have Pfifferlinge mushrooms. Yummy! Here we are. Renate thinks Michael is a delight.

Benny took us up to Drachenfels, the ruins of an old fortress. All along the Rhine are castles and vineyards, and it makes for a charming sight. It is really pretty at the top and you can see the entire Rhine valley. On clear days, you can see the Cologne cathedral. Not this one. This was the type of summer day we've had all year, 65F and drizzly. Only now in Paris is the weather improving. 75 and mostly sunny today. Very nice.

Testing a code. My ghetto high school has a network similar to that of like My Space. So I created a profile and uploaded some pictures and it made a slideshow with a code I could copy/paste here. My ghetto high school reunion is SO high tech!


Find more photos like this on Eisenhower Class of 97 Reunion

I forgot to post this on July 4th, our Independence Day:

I went to my British friend's house for fun on July 4th and she offered me some tea. I told her that if she gave me any, I'd dump it in the Boston harbor and yell, "No Taxation without REPRESENTATION!"

Love,
P

One HUGE perk about living in France? Le Creuset at a HUGE DISCOUNT.

Today, I bought this Le Creuset grill pan in brown for 45Euro. This pan retails for $150 in the U.S. and it is on sale at Williams Sonoma for $100!!!! I am so excited for this savings! The reason it is on sale is because the color is no longer being made!

I am headed back for some other deals. My friend bought the 5L oval dutch oven for 45Euro. It retails for $290 at home! I am off to buy one for my father and one for my mother-in-law if she wants one! I just have to figure out how to get it back to the U.S....

Plus, the nectarines are in season right now and they are DELICIOUS. The sweetest nectarines I have ever eaten in my life.

Love,
P

I went into the boy's room to check on him this morning after he fell asleep again...and I found him asleep next to the crib railing closest to the door. He must have crawled over there yelling for me and just fell asleep where he was. Made me so sad...

Funny memory:
Yesterday, while I was cooking, Michael crawled into the living room to play with his toys. I look over there and he's on his back playing with his sippy cup (gnawing the handle, etc). The next thing I see, he's got the sippy cup spout in his mouth and is sucking away happily at the water inside! It's the sippy cup that is easy to get water out of!

So I go over there to hug him and tell him what a good job he did and I find a huge puddle of water on the floor and his back is all wet because he was just laying around in the water that leaked from the cup.

He didn't care. He was happy. So I was happy for him.

After taking 3 days to watch Swiss Family Robinson in its entirety, I think i am prepared to be a mother of 3 boys.

What Michael is Doing Right Now

Michael is getting his 5th tooth. Bottom, lower right. Our right. He is sleeping funny and eating funny so it is no surprise. Tonight, he screamed every time we put him in bed so I had to hold him until he became a lead weight. We don't normally do that but I figured he needed it for now.

He is also going through a bit of separation anxiety. Today, when the nanny was holding him, he screamed and screamed and screamed even though I was right there in front of him. So I played with him a bit with the nanny and got him good and distracted and he didn't even notice that I left for my French lesson. Funny Fat Little Baby.

Grandbaby Michael spends many a day charming the French. Today was no different as the boulangere tried to make friends with Michael. Unfortunately, Michael only wanted to buy bread and go home. Oh yes, and get a croissant for maman too. We stopped at Franprix (little supermarket) and bought about 8 lbs of fruit for our fiber intake.

Now, off to study Swiss Family Robinson so I can better prepare myself for life with 3 boys.

Love to all,
P

Yesterday, Michael and I had pretty crazy days.

I was in Zara and Michael started to fuss as usual. So I am carrying him around the store while I shop and push around the stroller. Good thing Michael is helping me as he is apt to do. He likes to push the stroller too. Anyways, I look down and I see this kid, who OBVIOUSLY has the chicken pox and is rubbing his little toy ALL OVER MIchael's stroller and Michael's toy. I AM LIVID and look around for his Mommy which, no surprise, is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. Thank GOD I was carrying Michael.

So I high-tail it to Champion where I buy anti-bacterial wipes, even though Chicken pox is a virus. I wipe down the entire stroller, throw away Michael's toy and wait for the stroller to dry. *sigh* I had to go to the pharmacy to get Brian a prescription so I asked the pharmacist about it and he said it hopefully will not be a problem. He said that the chicken pox are contagious BEFORE the pox appear so hopefully, the boy will not cause any harm to Michael. Plus, I am breastfeeding and have had the chicken pox before so that will protect Michael a little bit. Pray that he doesn't come down with a Fever or pimples!!! AAHHHH!! *&A*@(& FRENCH AND THEIR WRETCHED SICK KIDS!!!

Then, we were walking back from the pharmacy and I decide to cross the street early, even though it means I have to wait for a green walking guy. Usually, I save time and just walk to the next crosswalk instead of waiting for the nearest crosswalk to turn green. Anyways, as I am walking down the street, this huge accident happens across the street IN THE EXACT SPOT I WOULD HAVE BEEN had I NOT decided to cross the street. This car pulls out in front of the ambulance and the two end up colliding. The car ended up hitting the poll in the median. The ambulance ended up colliding into the poll and crosswalk where I undoubetdly would have been with Michael.

I swear I HEARD the accident, looked immediately to my right, and saw the wreck occur, RIGHT where I would have been standing with Michael.

I thanked God over and over yesterday for making me cross the street for whatever reason. It would have been Michael and I in that wreck too and we wouldn't have had any car protecting us. It makes me sick to my stomach to think what could have been. And it makes me be even more aware as I walk around. I stay far away from the curb and am even more aware of the cars going by.

You never know when an accident will happen. I know accidents happen in America too, but I wouldn't be on the street walking around very often like I am here in Paris. I'd be in a car, with airbags and my son would be protected in his carseat. Instead, we are walking around, hoping that God keeps those crazy Parisians from harming us. I know God means well, but those Parisians sure don't like listening to Him.

Love, P

Yesterday, Michael and I had pretty crazy days.

I was in Zara and Michael started to fuss as usual. So I am carrying him around the store while I shop and push around the stroller. Good thing Michael is helping me as he is apt to do. He likes to push the stroller too. Anyways, I look down and I see this kid, who OBVIOUSLY has the chicken pox and is rubbing his little toy ALL OVER MIchael's stroller and Michael's toy. I AM LIVID and look around for his Mommy which, no surprise, is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. Thank GOD I was carrying Michael.

So I high-tail it to Champion where I buy anti-bacterial wipes, even though Chicken pox is a virus. I wipe down the entire stroller, throw away Michael's toy and wait for the stroller to dry. *sigh* I had to go to the pharmacy to get Brian a prescription so I asked the pharmacist about it and he said it hopefully will not be a problem. He said that the chicken pox are contagious BEFORE the pox appear so hopefully, the boy will not cause any harm to Michael. Plus, I am breastfeeding and have had the chicken pox before so that will protect Michael a little bit. Pray that he doesn't come down with a Fever or pimples!!! AAHHHH!! *&A*@(& FRENCH AND THEIR WRETCHED SICK KIDS!!!

Then, we were walking back from the pharmacy and I decide to cross the street early, even though it means I have to wait for a green walking guy. Usually, I save time and just walk to the next crosswalk instead of waiting for the nearest crosswalk to turn green.

Anyways, as I am walking down the street, this huge accident happens across the street IN THE EXACT SPOT I WOULD HAVE BEEN had I NOT decided to cross the street. This car pulls out in front of the ambulance and the two end up colliding. The car ended up hitting the poll in the median. The ambulance ended up colliding into the poll and crosswalk where I undoubetdly would have been with Michael.

I swear I HEARD the accident, looked immediately to my right, and saw the wreck occur, RIGHT where I would have been standing with Michael.

I thanked God over and over yesterday for making me cross the street for whatever reason. It would have been Michael and I in that wreck too and we wouldn't have had any car protecting us. It makes me sick to my stomach to think what could have been. And it makes me be even more aware as I walk around. I stay far away from the curb and am even more aware of the cars going by. You never know when an accident will happen.

I know accidents happen in America too, but I wouldn't be on the street walking around very often like I am here in Paris. I'd be in a car, with airbags and my son would be protected in his carseat. Instead, we are walking around, hoping that God keeps those crazy Parisians from harming us. I know God means well, but those Parisians sure don't like listening to Him.

Love,
P

I come home from work today, hug my woman, and play with Michael a bit. Then I have to go to the bathroom so I place the boy on the floor outside. As I'm going to the bathroom, I feel a tugging on my boxers and look down and see Michael behind me on his knees grabbing my shorts. Then he proceeds to pull himself to a standing position on our hard tile floor. Phuong had to come rescue him from himself because I couldn't get to him in the position I was in without him pulling my shorts all the way down and cracking his skull on the ground.

Today the three of us set out for Reims, a small town northeast of Paris that is a nice base for exploring the champagne region of France. We didn't explore by any means but had a good time in Reims. We left Paris around 10h35 which was good because that meant that we got to feed Michael on the train. We switched trains in Epernay so he had milk on the Paris to Epernay train and we stuffed him full of solids on the short commuter train from Epernay to Reims. I also got to change his soggy diaper in the train and the air hand dryer came on all hot and loud and made Michael cry. Anyway, here is the boy with his dad at the Reims train station. He's not terribly impressed but it was a nice, clean station with elevators. Not that I don't like carrying the stroller up and down the stairs.

Since we now work around the boy, we decided to go to Martel's Champagne Caves. The tour was kind of silly. We got to see their old bottling instruments and learn about how champagne was made and bottled. The boy liked to touch everything and not even the Bjorn could stop him.

After the museum of old instruments, we went up and got to sample 4 different champagnes for only 7 Euro per person. So only 14 euro total for the both of us! At the Mumm and Taittinger caves, it cost 7 Euro per type of tasting. Here's the old English folk that were on our tour. There were also two Swedes to our right who were very amusing. Here's our guide. He was good at pouring the champagne.

After drinking four glasses of champagne, Phuong fed the boy at the sparkling bathrooms, the best in France. She only had 1/2 glass of champagne equivalent, which must mean that I had 6 1/2 glasses. Good thing I had an hour to sleep while Phuong was feeding the beast. Unfortunately I had to stay awake and guard our stuff.

Then we headed into town to see Reims' grand cathedral. It' s been the coronation site for 26 French kings. I think Sarkozy went there when he got elected this past May. It was very large and the square in front of it was under construction. It has something like 2000 statues arranged around the west portal (the doors at the bottom of this picture). You can climb the towers but Phuong told me no.

There was a lot of stained glass inside, but these windows are somewhat distinct. Marc Chagall designed them in 1974 and they are in his fluid style. Quite a bit different from the traditional stained glass you'd find at Chartres. I think I would have liked this one better if Malcolm Miller, the old English dude who does the tours at Chartres, were there. He's very knowledgeable and witty and enhances the visit tremendously.

Reims actually had a nice city center with a couple of large pedestrian only areas. We were running a bit late but Phuong had time to run into Kookai to take a look at their clothing sales. France only has sales in January and July, so it's pretty much of a madhouse. The boy and I were not as excited as P was. Here's the entrance to a square with lots of cafes and restaurants and a few shops. I think everyone who lived in or was visiting Reims was hanging out here. P's looking lovely.

We headed back the same day using the new TGV that connects Paris to Strasbourg in 2 hours. Our particular train was delayed about 1 hour and 15 minutes by some accident due to a signal malfunction or something. We found out up close and personal how fast the TGV trains go because they did not stop at our station. When the first one went through, it was incredibly loud and Michael started crying but we calmed him down quickly. The next four trains that whizzed through, we covered his little ears.

We finally got onto our train after it was due to arrive in Paris. Michael was well behaved on the train but wanted to touch everything. Here he is looking out of the window at 120mph. At the end of the ride he was sitting on the table and a woman from Hong Kong was playing with him, but since he's scared of strangers sometimes, he just stared at her for like ten minutes. But finally he started playing with her and the Spaniards next to us. Quite the charmer this one.

Nope, he just ran his head into the bathtub and cried.

In his Cage

We have to put the boy in his playpen every now and then so we can do something. Michael doesn't really care for it. He tries to climb up the side to look at us, but usually he stops in the middle and looks at us longingly through the mesh windows.

And then he eats the mesh windows.

Recently, Phuong was letting him play near the vacuum, the Rowenta Dymbo, so she could eat and he was pressing the on/off button but couldn't depress it completely to turn it on. It would rev up just a bit every time he touched it but not too loudly. Then he turned the stupid thing on completely, and it was really loud. He started bawling and Phuong said when she tried to pick him up, he was trembling.

That is the end (hopefully) of a bad run of luck for the boy. This morning, I was playing a game with him that he likes where I click my teeth real fast. Then he stuck his miniature little pinky finger in my mouth and I bit it. He cried like the little baby he is. Before lunch today, he had an attack of separation anxiety when we left and bawled for us to hug him goodbye. Two days ago, he fell off the couch and did a faceplant on the parquet. Then during his bath, he burned his little midget hand on a stream of hot water. He's really hastening his development!

Tomorrow is our 5th anniversary so I took today and tomorrow off. To celebrate, we went this morning to the Arc de Triomphe and for a walk down the Champs Elysees. It was really nice to get away from the daily grind of life and remind ourselves that pretty Paris is right next door. Phuong dressed up really cute. Me not so much.

We bought our tickets to climb the tower and Phuong realized she was wearing heels. 283 steps later, her feet weren't feeling so good. But at least it was probably 60 degrees out so we weren't at all sweaty. We went up and took some great pictures of us atop the Arc.

By the time we got down, Phuong's feet were on their last legs. Somehow she made it over to Lancel to look at handbags. The crazy woman followed us around the entire time guarding her commission that was never to come. P could only make it to the George V stop and we headed home to change shoes and have lunch.

We had a recommendation from someone about a good restaurant near us, Au Petit Marguery on Blvd. Port Royal (http://www.petitmarguery.fr/). So we went. And it was delicious. We both got the menu, but Phuong shirked the dessert. Mistake. For starters, Phuong got ravioles stuffed with the shellfish coquilles de Saint Jacques and cheeses in a light bisque style sauce but not nearly as overpowering as the kind you get in Boston. I had some and it was delicious. I had foie gras, a staple of my Parisian restaurant diet. Nothing like buttery liver. Phuong got a quarter (leg and thigh) of duck. It was in a light cream sauce and really delicious. But it was probably cooked to medium at best, true to the French style, and Phuong had some qualms about eating it due to breastfeeding concerns. I got "Noisettes d'agneau" little lamb nuggets also cooked to american 'medium'. Normally in France, lamb has an incredibly strong meaty flavor, but this lamb was delicious. You could still taste the lamb flavor but it wasn't overpowering. The vegetables I had, broccoli and green beans were also well cooked. Typically the French leave the meats undercooked and really overcook the vegetables (to a mush) by our standards. But this place cooked the vegetables really well. They still had their natural color, texture and flavor while being thoroughly cooked. What more can you ask for? I finished my plate and a quarter of Phuong's duck with about 30 cl of red wine, but still had my dessert.

Unfortunately, our nanny called (she had to leave at 13h00) because Michael was hungry and crying so Phuong had to walk two minutes home to feed him. I had ordered the souffle Grand Marnier which had yet to arrive, so it was "not possible" for me to leave. You should have seen this thing. It was huge, only mildly tasted like the Grand Marnier and absolutely melted in my mouth. I wish Phuong had been there so we could have shared it. I think I was full about halfway through my lamb, but there was no stopping me! I ate it all, probably 5 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep.

That meal was what we had been missing in Paris. On our honeymoon, we had eaten awesome dinners, but this was only the second time we'd eaten so well since we've been here. And not having to worry about the beasty boy for the entire main meal made it even more satisfying.

Now we're off to tour Opera Garnier...I think Phuong secretly has some shopping plans in mind, but that's ok. I just hope I can walk after my lunch. Then it's off to Cirque du Soleil tonight in (uggh) Saint-Denis just north of Paris' Montmarte area. Then to Reims on Saturday for some champagne tasting, majestic cathedral and a break from Paris.

My Favorite Pics RIGHT now!

Knick Knacks

During Phuong's French lesson, Michael and I hung out. He kept crawling over the to TV stand and pulling himself up to a standing position using the shelves and then he would eat the tallest shelf. It's glass, a little bit dusty, but that must make it all the more tasty. Then he tried to attack some knick knacks we'd bought in Germany so I moved them to the nearby coffee table. So he got really good at moving over the other table from the TV stand and he would hold the TV stand with hand while reaching for the other table. All in the name of getting these knick knacks. Yes, I was spotting him.

If standing, he could get over to the table still standing, but then he would fall down. He tried to get back up, got both his hands on the table top, but then decided to chew on the table top so he couldn't lift his torso because there wasn't enough room. After moving the knick knacks a few more times, I took them to his room and put them on a shelf five feet high. He tried to climb up Rawhide, his bouncing horse, to get them, but he just wasn't tall enough.

I felt sad for him so I took him down to the bar on the street below us, and we had a beer.