Today, Michael had a very busy day. We headed over to the 15th arrondisment for lunch with two nice ladies. After an hour and 10 minutes, we finally made it over there. I think it is about 6-10 miles away? Not quite sure. Either way, it seemed so far away.

Then, we hurried home to eat and make it to our play date this afternoon in our area. I am afraid to announce that Michael is a bit of a baby. There is another baby in our play group that is only one day older than Michael, but 6lbs heavier. A miniature rugby player. Today, they were near each other and the Rugby Baby proceeds to be friendly with Michael. Smiling at him and trying to reach him and touch him.

Michael is not too happy about it overall. Last time, Michael cried. This time, he just stared at him and ignored him. Then, Rugby boy took Michael's toy that he was playing with away from him and all Michael did was go on with his business and found another toy. I am not quite sure if this means Michael is getting picked on and just taking it or if he is content avoiding confrontation and going on with his life because there's no point in reveling in something that's not worth worrying about. Or he's just a baby and forgot he had the toy in the first place.

Then, we headed home and Michael had a bit of difficulty with a piece of bread that he chewed off that was a bit too big for him. He's just not used to the texture so he thinks he's choking so we freak out. But then he just smiles at us. He watched mommy have french lesson for about 30 minutes before Dad came home.

This was the busiest day we've had in a long time. We are tired and not going to overbook like that again. My nanny was supposed to watch Michael today so I could go to the 15th by myself (much quicker by metro) and have lunch and some time away. But she is sick.

Love,
P

Sunday, Michael went to WH Smith (English bookstore on Rue de Rivoli) to find a mini French/English dictionary for Dad for Father's day. He really wanted this Good Morning and Good night book from the Sandra Boyton collection but they didn't have it. Michael also likes Oh The Places You'll Go but Dad said it was a bit early for that book. But Mommy likes it A LOT!

Then he went to the Palais Royal metro stop and found a mini festival promoting the Alsace region in France. There were about 30-40 booths giving out free pamphlets. Then, back home for play time and some R&R.

Monday, a whole lotta nothing! Michael bought a baguette, took Mommy out to lunch at the boulangerie, and rolled around the floor.

But TODAY! I saw Michael get on his hands and knees, hold his entire body up off the floor and rocked back and forth!! PROGRESS!! DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESS!

We had another good French moment the other day. The company who helped us with our move emailed and asked if it would be possible for Gaz de France and EDF to come out and take a look at our gas and electricity meters, respectively. They could only come from noon to 3 or something like that on Tuesday but Phuong had French class at two and didn't want to be bothered so I told them it wouldn't be possible.

Later we get another email asking us to read off the values from the meters, which I did and returned back to them. Then we get a final email saying that it was unfortunate that they couldn't come out that day because the next time they have available is in 6 months. Then we received a letter in the mail asking us to write down our meter readings and send it back to GDF/EDF. Gotta to love the French efficiency.


Today Phuong and I got dressed up and went out to lunch at L'Entracte, a nice little bar up the road near our bakery that has good salad and good basic French food like my favorite Confit de Canard (duck preserved and then cooked in its own bountiful amounts of fat). They do not have Blanquette de Veau but we'll ask them to make it soon. I had a really good andouillette there the other day with a mustard sauce. I usually don't like andouillette and I'm sure I am not alone in the american community since it's some weird kind of intestine sausage. Maybe they made or labeled it wrong and ended up with a good result. They also have Steak Tartare, which I will get soon. It's raw beef that is seasoned with spices and usually has an egg mixed in, then you eat it. Every French restaurant has it so it must be popular enough to stay on the menu which means it's popular enough for me. Maybe I will get it at a really nice restaurant to be sure of the quality.

I already mistakenly had beef kidneys at lunch the other day at work. I thought it was just beef tips in sauce, but it was absolutely not. I did avoid the beef tongue at work, but only because for the display they picked the largest one they could find. It encompasses the entire plate, kind of wrapping around the edge and wasn't very appetizing. The Dutchman who had come on a business trip from England chose it despite my warnings. He seemed very pleased in the end with his decision.


Now we're off to W.H. Smith, the English bookstore on Rue de Rivoli near Concorde metro. It open on Sunday so that's incredible in its own right. I lost my midget French dictionary a couple weeks ago so I need another one and Phuong just likes bookstores.

Today, Baby Michael went all over the Centre commercial (mall) called Italie2. He got a bigger trashcan for our kitchen, diapers, and yogurt at Champion. In fact, he liked the yogurt so much, Brian let him hug it in his stroller. Guess he liked that cold feeling on his belly.

Then, he went to Darty to find out why the samsung tv with integral TNT will not play Grey's Anatomy for Mommy in English. He was really upset when he found out that we can't get it with our cable box, Orange.

Michael played on his mat and in his crib while Mommy talked to Gina on skype and Dad went to get a beer with a friend at the Academy of Beer (yes, it is called that). Afterwards, Michael hung out with dad, dropped off some dry cleaning, got a baguette, and went early to bed.

Only 1 nap today, 2 mini solid meals. What to do with this kid!

Love,
P

Add yogurt to that list. And almost pears now, his favorite food.

So I guess you could say he is on a solid food strike.

And I have no idea how I'm going to discipline him because he's already smarter than me.

Let's just say he has already figured out how to keep his mouth closed when I am nearby (and not necessarily near the bowl/spoon) and open it when I am far enough away.

P

VERY FRUSTRATING:

Michael is on a rice cereal and vegetable all out STRIKE.

P

Michael and I went in search of baby swimming lessons at a pool nearby and ran into the hotel where Brian and I stayed at for our honeymoon: Hotel des Grandes Ecoles! It still looks exactly the same with the huge green door and the charming entryway.

As I passed by, it made me smile to remember how we started our marriage there and now we are here starting our family. I remember I took a picture of Brian standing in that very cute entryway and now I want the same picture there with Michael too. It feels so weird to walk by and see our honeymoon metro stop and the streets as part of the neighborhood in which we live.

On our honeymoon, the streets all look so strange and the metro stop is the only familiar thing around. Now, I walk by and I see the Naturalia where I buy Michael's BabyBio babyfood. I see the bus stop that I wait at to take me home. I see the boulangerie that isn't very good and I shouldn't go back. I see all the things that make Paris my home now and not just a place to visit. And it is a strange feeling to come across.

Well, Bank of America notified me of some possible fraudulent charges from my Texas A&M Credit Card!!! HOW DISCONCERTING! I had to call my bank today and clarify things and everything will be ok. But it is absolutely REVOLTING to me and makes me boil! I want to find out who it is so I can...I don't know...leave a bag of burning dog poop on their doorstep like in Billy Madison! Since I am in Paris, there is no way I can be making charges in Texas so I am glad the bank is going to rectify the situation. What I think is funny is I wonder how they can recognize that there is unusual activity. Probably because my charge statements on that card (which I rarely ever use) looks a bit like this for an example:

5/12/06 - Jcrew online
8/25/06 - Apple online
4/05/07 - Mpix photo development online

And all of a sudden, in one week they get:
05/25/07 - Walmart
05/25/07 - Kroger
05/28/07 -Walmart

Somewhere in there, something went "Ding Ding DING!" thankfully! This girl never buys FOOD or necessities with this card! She just buys stuff online and things she doesn't need! And rarely ever so for there to be food and necessities within a week is absolutely ABNORMAL.

So that cracks me up about myself that I used that credit card for absolutely unnecessary stuff.

And I love the fact that Bank of America has a 24 hour line 7 days a week that I can call. Gotta love America.

Can I come home now?

Love,
P

So many things happening and I have not yet had chance to blog!

Monday
Not much happened on Monday. Michael went to the bank to drop off some W9 forms only to find it closed for some kind of government holiday. Shucks. Discovered that Michael can now turn the pages in his book by himself. SO cute. Also, discovered the beginnings of a new upper tooth! We now have 2 teeth breaking through on the top!

Tuesday
Sarah, our nanny, came and played with Michael all day. She witnessed him turning around in circles on his belly.

Wednesday
Michael went to drop off the bank forms finally and went in search of Piscine Jean Taris, where they have baby swimming lessons. After looking at nearly 3 pages of typed instructions, I realized it will be crazy to get him into it! I have to make sure he has all his immunizations, then provide proof of it, get a doctor's note to say he can participate and provide photo id for the both of us. Not to mention the fact that the pool has about 20 steps leading down to it and a non-working elevator! And a bum screaming profanities from across the street from it! EEK! Back home we go!

Thursday
Michael woke up and watched 5 minutes of The Majestic with Mom. And then Sarah came and played with him while I readied the house for our playdate.

Two moms came:

• Sarah and her son Ilyo: Born 1 day earlier than Michael and a full 3 kilos heavier. The boy is destined to be a rugby player. Seriously...look at a rugby player on TV and then pretend he is 74cm. Also, he is about 1.5 months ahead of Michael physically speaking (ie crawling, sitting up, etc)
• Julia and her daughter Stella: Germans! Very funny pair! We have hung out outside of playdate too and I find Julia quite funny!

Hopefully, we'll have more some other time! But the 2 here were a good break for all of us.

Ilyo tried to be friendly with Michael and patted him and pulled on his shirt a bit and Michael just cried. Just not used to it I guess!

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to say Thanks for creating a g-mail account to see this blog if you had to! I know it is a pain, but I do appreciate it!

Phuong

Peekaboo! I see you!

Today, we put Michael in his crib so he could play while Brian and I watched a movie on our laptop in his room. We see Michael just playing around and he starts to yank down on his bumper and discovers that he can see us on the floor! So he starts pulling on his bumper and looking through the slats on his crib and smiling at us! Here is a pic we took, which isn't that great. At one point, he had the bumper pulled down and his face totally pressed against the slats and smiling at us. We cracked up and had to rewind our movie.

Weekends

Weekends are my favorite time. And being a parent with Michael is awesome.

Naptime. Mommy found the tripod:

Hope all of you are having great weekends as well.

Love,
B&P

I learned a very useful French phrase: Va voir ailleurs si j'y suis.
Which translates to: Go somewhere else and see if I'm there.

OK! Tonight during P.E., we saw Michael get up on his knees and arms! But then he'd just fall back down in exhaustion. He's trying and I need to baby-proof the house in the meantime!

Tonight, Michael played peek-a-boo with ME! Usually, I play peek-a-boo with Michael and hold a towel or something over my face and jump out. But today, I let Michael play with the pillow on my bed and he was holding it on top of himself. And he used to pillow to cover his face, then he would pull it back real quickly looking for me! It was GREAT! The first couple of times were a bit delayed and I thought it was just a coincidence. But then he did it VERY deliberately 2o more times! It was awesome!

P

Michael is getting mobile. His developments this far:

1. He scoots backwards pretty well. He uses his arms and pushes his whole body backwards while on his belly.
2. He rolls everywhere. When he can't get to a toy, he reaches and reaches and then tries to roll.
3. He can pivot in a circle using his belly as the center point. He'll use his arms to move his upper body around while balancing on his belly.
4. When standing, he can hold onto furniture (but we need to be there to catch him when he gets tired) and take small steps to the left and right occasionally.

These 4 actions usually get him to whatever toy he is trying to reach. My nanny says she has seen him get on his knees and arms and pick his torso up off the ground, but then he kind of loses his balance and rolls over. I am going to watch closely for this because I have not seen it yet! Must happen very quickly.

Every night when Brian comes home, he gives Michael P.E.!! I am not so great with the physical stuff so I read a lot to him and help his language skills. Brian works on his motor skills!

Love,
P

Michael went in for his checkup and thankfully gained weight! He went from 7.5kg to 8.2kg, which is about a pound and a half gain! Yeah! I need to go ahead and have a second kid so I can stop spazzing out about everything. I need to really chill out.

This leads me to publish a story about my pediatrician in Paris. He is a very interesting and unusual person and I rarely leave the office without another amusing story about him. Yesterday, was no exception.

We start the visit and he asks me how I am doing, and I answer that I am fine, but it is HOT here in Paris (70s!). Politely, I ask him how HE is doing. To which...he sighs...shakes his head and says in the most weariest voice he can muster, "I am so very tired..." And he continues to mumble some other things that I don't understand because 1.) I can't hear him and 2.) it's all in French while typing away at his computer. I have never met a pediatrician who was so tired!

When we are about to weight Michael, I ask if he would like me to take Michael's clothes off. And he says, no...he just wants an estimate to see if Michael is ok. So he puts Michael on the scale and bumps his head in doing so. He reassures me that it is ok...but we will see! Anyways, Michael weighs in at 8.4kg and my doctor says, "We'll just say 8.2. Everything is good."

Voila, 90 Euro later, I am on my way after my 10 minute doctor's visit. It took me AN HOUR to get there yesterday!!

Usually, it takes me between 30 minutes to an hour to get to my doctor's office. I take my bus as usual to get to Montparnasse to transfer to another bus, but am surprised to see my bus taking a different route. I finally find a sign posted that says my route will be interrupted during the very hours I am needing it! This is all after a transvestite smiled at me, which in France is equivalent to an invitation to sleep with someone. GREAT. So I am sitting on this very hot bus with a very irritated Michael. It drops me off about a mile probably from where my transfer stop is so I HAUL ASS to my stop only to find a DEMONSTRATION in the place. So now my other bus that takes me to my doctor's office is not supposed to show for another hour and a half. *sigh* Off to the metro I go!

Out of the 6-8 sets of stairs that I had to take for the entire journey, I had help for almost all of them thanks to some very nice Parisians who offer to help me carry my stroller. It is REALLY very kind and I am so thankful for that. I am BOOKING it across the metro system and definitely got my workout for the day.

Good thing I am fairly knowledgeable about that line and the area that my pediatrician is in. I arrived there at 3:03 in time for my 3:00 appt after leaving my house at 1:55pm. Take THAT to the bank. Who would have thought the fast walking I picked up at Samsung would have paid off in real life!

Wish we had lived in the 15th arrondissement (neighborhood) originally! That was where our first apt was and it was in a nice residential family arrondisement with TONS of playgrounds and basically all the activities I need with children! Everytime I look up a new play yard or play school for Michael, it is in the 15th! And my pediatrician is in the 7th, which is right near the 15th as well. Sadly, we live in the 13th, which makes it pretty dang hard to get to the 15th. I have to transfer many metro lines or bus lines!

Ok, enough dribble about nothing!
P

Today, Michael and I went to the mall and DPAM in search for Shortalls for him for this hot weather. The French do not do shortalls as well as Gymboree so I am missing that store to bits! And DPAM NEVER has them in sizes 6 months-18 months. There are tons of French babies out there with Michael's shortalls on!

Michael hates the mall because it is hot. As soon as we get in, he starts to whine and cry and then as soon as I leave, he falls asleep because it is cool outside. Brian puts him up to this, I am sure.

Then, this afternoon we headed over to the community pool in search of Bebe nageur classes: SWIMMING CLASSES! I find out that it is not offered at the pool I visited but the lady was nice enough to tell me the nearest pool that had it. And this was all done in French mind you! AHEM! We will go to the pool later to check it out. It is near Cardinal Lemoine, which is where we honeymooned! ;)

Anyways, there was a park nearby so Michael and I stopped for a bit. Michael was not too keen on the other children, but he WAS keen on my purse until a pigeon showed up. At that point, that was the best thing in the world. He watched that pigeon until it left and then when it came back, he watched it again. So cute.

Then, we wandered down a street called rue de buttes de cailles but I can't remember the name well except that the word BUTT is in it.

We met brian in the street when he came home from work (usual occurrence really) and caught up with our Guardien. And then bedtime.

Voila,
P

To my pleasant surprise, Grey's Anatomy Season 3 has started here in France on TF1 (which is a network channel like NBC). In my TV guide, it says that it is "propose VM sur la TNT," which means it is in ENGLISH via TNT.

So I am scrambling to find out how to get it and Brian tells me that our TV is TNT ready since we got the "integral TNT" version. Should be simple.

The blessed night arrives and Brian proudly switches the language to "Anglais" instead of "francaise." And the blasted show is STILL IN FRENCH. I am just SO SAD! Brian says i need to troubleshoot it and just plug the TV straight into the wall without the cable box since the TV itself is TNT ready.

WHAT? TROUBLESHOOT? WHAT?!?!?!?

Love,
P

Would have posted on Sunday, but our internet went down. Check out our other blog to see why. This blog is about Michael! ;o)

Yesterday, Michael played with his parents all day. HE LOVES THAT. He was so happy all day to be with us and ate a TON of food!

Brian was "watching" michael and had him playing on his playmat in his room. I go in there and find Michael not only NOT on his playmat, but he is on his belly on the hardwood floor, nibbling on Brain's belt that was on the floor and playing with some ties with his other hand.

Michael is standing very well. He can hold onto the couch and remain standing for around 10 seconds before he has to sit back down or fall over. Today, he took steps to the left and right!

Michael likes to watch me fold laundry. I simply lay him on the bed next to the pile of clothes and I shake the shirt I am folding over him and fold it on top of him. Sometimes, that's all he wants to do. Other times, he grabs the clothes I have folded and unfolds them. And then there are times, he grabs the unfolded clothes and just pulls them around. Today, I look over there and he's got my underwear around the top of his head like a hat and is yanking it left and right. Gotta nip that one in the BUD! ;o) No wearing women's underwear for you CAVEBOY!

Michael loves this new set of books we got him. One is called "Le Pingoiun" and the other "Le Dinosaure" They are pop up books with animals and they are hilarious. He gets all excited about the pop ups and tries to tear them out.

Today, I found Pat the Bunny in a sad state. Michael is over there chewing on the book so it's all ripped up on it's spine.

We took Michael down to a cafe for an evening beverage and on the way back, he somehow got his finger caught in this little crack in the elevator door. He cried that awful cry where his mouth is wide open and no sound is coming out and then a howl. It made me so sad and I held him until he stopped crying. It took all of 3 seconds.

Love,
P

Recent chain of events:

1. Brian moves a bookshelf in the living room to a different spot b/c Phuong thinks it looks better over there.
2. Brian has to unplug all the internet/phone/cable stuff to move the bookshelf.
3. Brian re-plugs all the above into a different outlet because he's been wanting to anyways
4. The cable/internet/phone now no longer work
5. We are out of tv/phone/internet for an entire day
6. Phuong gets done with 4 loads of laundry, cooks dinner, and plays with the boy now that she is without the time black hole called "the internet."
7. Brian re-plugs everything back into the original outlet and everything works now...marginally.
8. Now what are we going to do with the bookshelf?
9. And we go back to having a dirty house with nothing to eat since the internet is back up.

Voila,
P