from one swamp to another

Little Miss Update September/October

2012-11-15T09:28:00.002+01:00

September/October - 11 months

So where we left off...

Little Miss had just started Halte de Garderie (which is a part time daycare - maximum at our school is 5 half days per week). She goes 2 mornings a week. After 2/3 weeks of slowly introducing her to the garderie she finally started to accept being there, taking naps and even having fun! They learned pretty fast that playing music helped calm her down after I left (5 mins of crying...then out of sight out of mind ;-). My sister will be happy to hear this as we both think she is musically inclined (we were amazed that at 10 months old she picked up my sons flute/recorder and started to play it!).

It feels good to be able to have a bit of my own time. I have since started to take a pilates class with 2 other neighborhood friends. My friend organized private lessons as there weren't many studios nearby offering them with our restricted kid free times ;-). It's actually not that much more than a regular class and there are only 3 of us so there is tons of one on one time. I feel that its working. But it would be much more beneficial if we did it 2x's per week. We might add another day.

Little Miss' cold lasted a long time. Even though she only had a runny nose it lasted more than 2 weeks. Then she had a few weeks of relieve (and me too as I got her cold of course). Then we got 2 colds in a row. Both included a fever and I believe she was teething for the last one at the same time. With her 1st set of MOLARS! Yes this kiddo has 9 teeth already. Little Man didn't have his first until just about this age (11/12 months).

BIG Birthday Post next ;-)

Little Miss June - September (Present)

2012-09-26T10:52:00.000+02:00

June - 7/8 months

So since our last post about Little Miss she has gone from crawling to pulling herself up on furniture in just a few short weeks! I think she will be an early walker but we shall see ;-) By mid month she was able to finally sit down from standing position (this was not a fun 3 weeks!). She would cry/yell for help or just simply fall then cry/yell for help. It was amazing to watch her figure it all out. She is one smart cookie. I still can't believe she was crawling before 7 months. I really thought I had a good 2 more months of immobility. I guess NOT haha!

She also accomplished lying on her belly to sitting.

Her food eating ability has progressed. She is a little piglet. We gave her little bits of food (bananas) mid month. She looked at it weird, tried it and then wanted me to feed her. So we shall try again in a few more months.

Her second set of teeth are coming in (top front teeth). This is a total of 4 teeth.

Little Man celebrated his 3rd birthday this month and we had a little birthday party for him. Chiara didn't know what was going on and didn't really care haha!

July - 8/9 months

The weather was just terrible this spring and most of the summer. We still had to use a light jacket in mid July! We were busy preparing for our big August Vacation to the US.

Little Miss received her first real cold :-(. It all started with a mild runny nose we took care of that, then she got conjunctivitis (aka pink eye) from the stuffy nose backing up and infecting the eye and then after antibiotic eye treatment we (yes we!) got a bad cold. This cold settled in Little Miss's chest and gave her bronchitis! We had to call the SOS Medcine (which is a house call doctor service) to treat her it was a Sunday morning. To tell you the truth it was so convenient and the price was under 50 euros (100% covered by Security Sociale + our Mutuelle aka secondary) and it was less than our regular pediatrician (70 euros FYI). In a day or so the wheezing stopped (we were given steroids to help her with that) and her cold symptoms subsided. I believe the antibiotic eye treatment opened both of us up to the 2nd consecutive cold. Maybe it killed off all our good bacteria? I read online afterward that pink eye if (non bacterial) goes away on it's own in due time. So next time I will consult with the doctor in detail to see if this was the cause of our 2nd cold.

July 10th even though she was still sick she decided why not...and started to walk around the furniture!

July 16th she started to really enjoy bath time!

On July 23rd she started to wavy hi and bye...so cute!

After mid July we started to enjoy being outside and picnicking daily for lunches (the kids and I).

We completely switched to table food...because after her colds she started to refuse baby food. How does a baby do this you ask? By spitting it in your face! She liked to feed herself. She didn't really swallow most of it. Just chewed and spit it up. The doctor agreed that since she had 4 teeth including her front teeth she could start to eat table foods.

By the end of the month she was clapping and swaying to music. Let the fun begin! She is really growing fast...

August - 9/10 months

She was in full force separation anxiety and attached to me by the hip! She really had been experiencing this for 2 months. She would scream when someone new (or if she hadn't seen someone in a few weeks). I was worried she would have a hard time with our trip to the US. And...I was right!

The jet lag did not help any...Little Man did fine (waking up a bit early 2-3 mornings) and mostly because of Little Miss.

She had her 1 year (even though technically she was 9 months) Korean Birthday Party (Doljabi).

And a more Traditional Hanbok

She cried most of the party except for her choosing ceremony ;-)
More about this in a future post...

It turned out after her party...she got a fever and broke out in a rash. And it was Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Which sounds bad but it's just a Virus with a specific rash. It is highly contagious and we must have picked it up in Paris before leaving (since the incubation period is 6-10 days). Once the fever broke she started to feel normal and I was relieved as I was just about to go on a trip with my sister for 3 nights/4 days! We saw a doctor to make sure of the diagnosis (just in case Little Man got it too). BTW he never did get it, either he must have already had it (doc said it is a one time disease like Chicken Pox) or we kept them a part just in time.

Little Miss did well without me. She just substituted me for my husband and he had a little companion to join him everywhere he went (like it or not). He did really well alone (well with his parents help) with the kids and I was so relieved. He had a new found awareness of what I go through daily ;-)

More on our vacation on a later post...but we felt that the 3 weeks flew by fast. We were busy most days and wish we had relaxed a bit more. But it was great seeing all of our family we will be reunited soon for my sister's wedding (which we can't wait for!).

Back to Little Miss...this month was pretty calm. She perfected her crawling, standing up on furniture, walking around furniture and most of all getting used to strangers/new people! By the end of the trip she was way more open to people. It took my sister 3 weeks but by the last few days she was holding her with no eyes searching for me or tears!

September - 10/11 months

This month she received another tooth so the total is now 7!

She started Halte de Garderie (aka part time daycare) 2 mornings a week. In France we do a week long adaption. Meaning we go everyday for that week and slowly introduce the separation (1hr with parent, 1 hour with parent, 30 mins separation, 40 mins, etc...). She has been having a difficult time of the separation and even cries when we enter the room. She senses or can understand French when I am told it is time to leave (she starts to cry). But Monday went very well she was separated from me for 1 hour. I am hoping that they are able to put her down for a nap on Friday and then we will be home free (well 4 hours free!).

She had a runny nose this month too...and it's been 2+ weeks. It is considerably better but really how can a nose be runny that much!?!? There are no other symptoms (i.e. cough, fever etc...). So we are just keeping it clean with saline and sucking out the boogies. I also had a cold a few weeks ago Little Man must have brought something home from Maternelle (he did not get it and it was before we started at Halte de Garderie).

We hired our first babysitter and things went very well with our 2 times away (once for a meeting at Little Man's new school and once for dinner). I foresee a lot of dinners in our future now!

Update on teaching aids for (small) toddlers

2012-09-26T09:10:00.002+02:00

I wanted to update this blog on our successes and/or failures with the teaching aids/activity books we bought back in 2011.

Here is my original post

The Brain Quest series was a success he adored the My First Brain Quest (when he was 2 years old) and quickly surpassed it and we bought Brain Quest for Threes. I also bought the Write & Erase Alphabet Set and Write & Erase Numbers but they were a bit too advanced for him at age 2. We will go back and use these now since he is 3 years old.

We also bought some Kumon Series Books. We tried Kumon Tracing Book for 2, 3 and 4 year olds when he was 2.5 years old. He did well with the simple straight lines and a few curves. Recently I brought out the book and he was able to complete almost the entire book in 2 hours time! He can now make lines, curves and even x's +'s and the letter H!

This is why I stated we will go ahead and try Brain Quest's Write & Erase Alphabet and Number Sets. He is really starting to write and draw things that make sense ;-)

So in summary...buying these workbooks at age 2 is a bit too young. But 2.5/3 years old is really a good time. My son recently started Maternelle (aka preschool here in France starts at 3 years old). By the end of the school year he will learn how to write his name! So we are practicing with him at home. I am also worried about his English Language skills so since he is getting so many hours of French. I will need to find some supplemental workbooks etc...in English when we are in the US again in 6 months time. If anybody has any recommendations please feel free to comment.

I read to him daily so if you have any good book rec's pass them along also. I am always looking to stock up while we are home. But Amazon.fr is always a good source for English books as well (more $$ but hey...the cost of an extra bag or the weight limit probably is more!).

TN

Book Review - French Mamma's Pregnant in France

2012-08-28T14:28:00.000+02:00

Book Review - French Mamma's Pregnant in France
http://www.frenchmamma.com/pregnant-in-france-book/

Need to know what to expect when expecting in France? This is the book for you!

Pregnant in France has everything you will need to know to feel confident and prepared on your big day! French Mamma includes helpful medical vocabulary, quizzes, information on the French Healthcare System and even her personal experience (the good, the bad and the ugly).

I wish French Mamma had written this book before the birth of my second child (YES which was in France) it would have saved me many, many, many sleepless nights (mostly from doing Google searches ;-)! READ IT!

3rd Birthday American Style + Frenchies = ;-)

2012-07-05T11:21:00.000+02:00

We were battling over whether to throw Little Man a 3rd birthday party or not. And if we did who would we invite (friends from the neighborhood, English speaking friends or family and close friends)?

We have been really getting to know a lot of people lately. Not just from Little Man's halte de garderie (part time daycare) but also through an English Group we are a part of. It was hard to decide since SOME of the English Speakers aren't all French Speakers. And I wasn't sure if the French Speaks could all speak English since I have only spoken French to them. So we did not know if they would mix well. We decided to go with just friends from the neighborhood! So the Frenchies it is...

With a little help from Little Man we decided to throw a Robot Party ;-)

Here are pics of our invites we handmade!

I decided to do something VERY American and have cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies!

OH MY the cookies were to die for!

For the cupcakes I decided to be French Friendly and just do a dollop of frosting (homemade btw!)

Here is Little Man saying he is ''tree years old'' ;-)

All in all it was a good time and we got to bond a bit more with our neighborhood friends. Who btw will mostly be in Little Man's Preschool (Maternelle) Class in the Fall!

Recipes:

Cupcakes - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-white-cake/detail.aspx
Cookies - SOOOO GOOD! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Frosting Recipe - 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
                            1/2 cup butter softened
                              1 teaspoon vanilla
                              3 tablespoons milk
                              food coloring optional
                              -in large bowl beat with an electric mixer

Bilingual - Language Development - Little Man

2012-06-11T11:18:00.000+02:00

So I have never commented on Little Man's language skills.

Sorry...I have been pretty busy lately ;-)

I have read many times that bilingual kids are late talkers. But good news no issues here!

He was recognizing many many words by 13 months (i.e. baby, bird, panda, ball, duck, belly button, ears, nose, feet and shoes). So we knew talking was on it's way. He (technically) said his first word "Tiger'' at 15 months but then never said it again for a long time. It's funny because that is F's College Mascot. Coincidence I think not! The 2nd OFFICIAL word was "Mama'' at 15 months followed by ''Papa'' at 16 months.

At 17 months he was saying Tchin Tchin (Cheers in French), Dodo (night night), Caca (Poop) and Miam Miam (Yummy). He was recognizing many more words and he also could make a lot of animal sounds (chicken, lion, bear, monkey, dog and sheep).

At 18 months (Christmas Time) he was saying Santa, fish, encore (means more/again in French), please and baby

At 20 months he was saying Thank You and Merci as well as saying Mamie and Papy (Names for his French Grandparents).

At 22 months he started to add Verbs! Casser (to break) and Cacher (to hide). Words he started to use were water, cookie, bread, again and more (in English). He started to repeat everything we said at this age.

Just before his 2nd birthday he made his first sentence (in French)...Il est là and Il est parti both were using the Past Tense!

At 25 months he learned his soon-to-be baby sister's name, started to form his first sentence in English (not a full sentence) he said ''You go'', started to say his own name and he counted in English (skipping a lot of numbers but mostly in order).

At 26 months while on vacation in Dordogne (Region known for Medievel Castles) he was trying to say Cheval and Chevalier but in Theo's language it is Falal and Falalier (Horse and Knight in French). Other words learned this month were - outside, chercher ballon (first command - go get the ball), pecher (verb to fish), cache papa cache (means hide papa hide but he meant swim underwater papa), spashing (aka splashing) and Alwhite = Alright

Also at 26 months he said his first 3 English Sentences! "I did it", "Little Man (he said his name) farted too" after papa farted and then after we were laughing hysterically he said "Little Man's (he said his name) so funny!" After these first English and French sentences his language really exploded. Too many sentences to count or to keep track of.

At 27 months colors were a big accomplishment - Blue/Bleu he knew very well. Rouge/Red pretty good. Jaune/Yellow is his favorite so everything is Jaune. Pink/Rose - is pretty good. Vert/Green not very good with this color. Still trying to expose new colors Purple, White, Black, Brown - he fully learned them all by 29 months.

At 28 months he said his first French negation sentence - Ylon ne manger pas (Tiger does not eat).

At 29 months he started to use contractions - can't find it, can't reach it

At 30 months he was able to tell me his ear hurt. We caught an ear infection early!

At 34 months he could recite a book we read at night by himself

Now to present just a few weeks shy of 3 years old...he is fully bilingual. I do see some long pauses from time to time. When he is trying to translate something from one language to another. Also these pauses occur when he gets stuck on a noun he does not know the name for. Instead of finishing the sentence with a general word like ''this'' or ''that'' he looks at me or my husband for help.

He usually speaks the correct language to people. Meaning if they are French speakers he speaks French and if they are English he speaks English. He has been doing this for awhile. He translates a lot of what his grandparents/papa says in French into English for me. I think he thinks I don't understand haha!

I only speak English to him (and his baby sister). We subscribe to One Parent One Language. We read every night (but my husband and I take turns so half French half English). People ask all the time which language is he stronger in. I think it is English. And I believe my husband agrees. BUT he is starting a French Preschool in the Fall. I think I will need to step up the English speaking, reading and playgroups a bit to keep up the English language learning.

Any tips or suggestions? My worst fear is that he will get behind...

I would consider a bilingual school but I really don't think there is a real need here in Paris and in a One Language One Parent home. We are also highly active with the English Speaking Community (having playgroups every other week). My concerns are a bit eased because my husband is fluent and he was not a native (mother tongue) speaker like our children. But it's always in the back of my mind. Plus these bilingual schools are a terror to get into. Just like those prep schools you hear about in NYC. i.e. 9 spots and 100 kids apply! There is only one nearby us (it's Catholic...which doesn't bother us too much) the rest are in the burbs. Of course French school is free from age 3+ and the added expense of private bilingual school...I just can't seem to want to waste money IF I can teach them effectively. Or if I see there is a problem I would hire a tutor to come in weekly.

With the kids together I often wonder what language they will choose to speak ;-) So far it is English! But she is only 8 months so I don't know if it counts haha!

Let me know if you have any ideas...

TN

Teething!

2012-05-30T09:46:00.001+02:00

Ahhhh...the dreaded teething issue most babies go through alas we are right in the middle of it! Poor Little Miss is pushing out 4 of her top front teeth at the same time :-( . Little Man was 11 months when he got his first and rarely had many symptoms (normal drooling, slight fever and loose stool). He was never irritable and never had sleepless nights. But this poor baby is.

It all began Friday night. We had a play date in the park that afternoon and she was adored by an adorable but sick 2 year old boy. He just wanted to touch her face ;-) . That night she woke up at midnight and wouldn't go back to sleep. We tried to see if coming in our bed would help but she just tossed all night. No one got any sleep! The next morning I figured it was due to her being hungry because i fed her a late snack and then she didn't want dinner (only a few ounces). We went along with our day. That night she ate her full dinner and still woke up at midnight screaming. I tried everything to get her back down...she ended up having a bottle at 4 am and falling asleep on me. I noticed a runny nose and assumed she had caught a cold from the little boy. I also notice 2 white spots where her lateral incisors should be (the teeth next to the top front teeth - which should be the next ones to come in). She was also drooling a lot. I knew she was teething but the last 2 teeth did not bother her at all. Sunday night was the same.

Finally Monday I decided I would figure out was going on. I was so confused maybe it's this or that...oh yes it's this oh maybe it's that! But it all comes down to just teething!!! I finally felt one of the teeth popping through and 2 more white spots meaning more teeth coming. BTW a runny nose is a symptom of teething! It's not one that you will find in those books but many MANY people say their children get them when teething. One doctor told a mother it's true/possible even though there is no medical reason why...it just happens (same for loose stools and fever!). Weird how our bodies react to pain.

I am basically just trying to keep her comfortable. Feeding her as much as she wants, giving her teething toys, holding her more, giving her some tylenol before bedtime, dressing her in a onesie and sleep sack (it has gotten warm here and in Paris and no one has A/C) and if she wakes up putting her in our bed (only if we can't get her back down but trying not to make this a habit).

Last night FINALLY it worked and she slept from 8pm - 5:45am (a little early for my taste but I AM NOT COMPLAINING!)

Maybe she slept because of the tooth pushing through, maybe it was all my efforts to make her more comfortable but I am for sure going to keep doing all of them ;-)

Her is my little brave girl smiling even though she is in pain :-(

Also, she is starting to pull herself up! She got on her feet too but I was not quick enough :-0. My husband HAS to lower her mattress STAT

Puzzles!

2012-05-28T18:18:00.001+02:00

I was wondering the other day if Little Man was at the same or a high level than other children his age. He is working on puzzles higher than the suggested age but I was wondering if those ages are actually lower than those who can actually do them.

At 2 years and 2 months (August) while on vacation we needed some toys to keep Little Man occupied. He was tired with the few toys we brought with us. So we bought a 36 piece (4+) puzzle. We decided to choose a more advanced puzzle since the wooden ones (or those in the 2 year age group) were boring for him. He needed some help at first. But within one month he was putting it together by himself (September). Amazing my cousin who was visiting. She in turn bought him another 36 piece 4-6 year old puzzle. He actually picked this one up in no time. I'd say the second or third time he was able to complete it without any assistance. 2 months later (December) we bought him a more challenging puzzle a 100 piece 5-8 year old puzzle! We normally do this one together but he could do it by himself except for the sky which is hard for us haha! My husband then (March) bought him 54 piece 5 year + puzzle (we wanted one he could do all on his own...it is challenging even though it has less pieces).

So what's the verdict are other almost 3 year olds doing around 60 pieces with no assistance or 100 pieces with little assistance? The teacher at his part time daycare (In French Halte de Garderie) says this is not normal for a child his age. We are encouraging this skill maybe he will become an architect or engineer ;-)

I have heard of these Frobel Gifts that were used by Frank Lloyd Wright...we might by them next go around.
http://www.froebelgifts.com/gifts.htm

Little Miss Update Feb - May (Present)

2012-05-23T10:08:00.000+02:00

This is my attempt on updating everyone on Little Miss. Sorry there are so many months to catch up on but this way you can see her grow in 5 mins ;-). I will try to list all of her accomplishments as there were many!

February - 4 months mid month

Let's see...Little Miss was consistently holding her head up. Waking up only once per night around 5am (9 hours). We slowly got that down to 6am (10 hours) and then 7am + (11-12 hours) within the month! She was still exclusively nursing. Weight and Height 50 - 75 percentile (so not a porker like Little Man was at a whopping 97%!).

She started to roll at 3 months while in Florida. So we decided it was time to start sleep training. We decided to do this because she was sucking on her hands/thumb, could roll (she preferred to sleep on her belly) and she was pretty much on a consistent sleep schedule/pattern. With Little Man we waited too long (9 months) and it was difficult. But for Little Miss it was a breeze she barely cried (2 mins max) and was out like a light! Even to this day (7 months old she goes out fairly easily when she is tired without any rocking, soothing etc...It's ideal when you have a crazy toddler running around the house as well ;-)

Basically she was smiling, laughing, playing (a little tiny bit), eating (a lot) and sleeping (a lot)!


4 month photo

March - 5 months mid month

Not the best pics (except for the 5 month photo love this one!) but it shows her HUGE progression this month SITTING! YES just shy of 5 months she started to sit by holding her self upright with her hands. She fell a lot but this was the beginning and now of course she is a pro and rarely falls (7 months).

April - 6 months mid month

She started to eat solids at 6 months (recommendation here in France...and we didn't start with Little Man till 6 months as well). She was slow to start but caught on pretty quickly. I made a mistake by giving her too many bananas...trust me don't do this! It's hard because there aren't that many fruits yet. France really stays in season so it's hard to find too much she can eat (strawberries are not recommended until 1 years old here as well as citrus and kiwi's). She had a sore belly for a day or so. It was very upsetting. But I will not make that mistake again!

She also stopped nursing. I had trouble keeping up once she started sleeping through the nights :-(. But glad I could do it with her as well and this time longer!

I have started to do "Photo Shoots'' with the kids monthly (some together some separate). She is really changing fast and is getting so BEAUTIFUL (I think but I'm impartial haha!).

Sitting was easier and easier for her this month. She was able to play more and is very interested in her big bro! She just lights up when she sees or hears him.

She also cut her first and second tooth this month! Ahhh...Little Man was 11 months old and really I missed out on the sleepless nights for him (because he was older and it didn't really bother him). I was not hopeful we would be so fortunate...but so far so good. She hasn't cut anymore since these first 2 but she was drooling quite a bit last week so I think another one is fast approaching!

May - 7 months mid month

Finally Spring is ''starting'' to show up! The weather is very schizophrenic to be honest...rainy, cool (not cold...40-50 highs), cloudy/gloomy then all of a sudden sunny and cool (high 60's high) and then rainy/cold again. It is more common for weather like this in March not May. But you take what you can get. France is not known for it's wonderful weather. But everybody here is desperate for the official Spring to start!

Little Miss started to Crawl! YES 1 week shy of 7 months (Little Man was around 8.5 months when he started to do the army scoot and 9 months when he actually crawled). She is now 7 months 1 week and she is really crawling on hands and knees (sometimes slips to her belly when she gets tired). But I think I can officially say she is crawling! I am assuming she will walk early (Little Man was 13 months when he took his first steps...so I'm thinking she will be 10 or 11 months walking!). I am looking forward to it. I really don't like the crawling phase...they get so dirty. And I try to keep a clean house haha! But one was not meant to crawl where people walk with dirty shoes etc...She is enjoying discovering cables and other objects she is not allowed to touch. And consistently tries to get at them. Her Papa has some work to do this weekend (since we were away last weekend).

Sitting is a breeze for her now. She is not sitting up by herself yet but I expect it to occur soon.

Here are some pics of Little Miss in the Sunshine and some of us in Normandy (it was cold and rainy...but I'm sure in sunny weather without an infant (who can't be cold or wet) it's a wonderful place ;-)

January in Florida 2012!

2012-05-16T16:20:00.002+02:00

This is becoming a tradition or we are just becoming Snow Birds ;-) Either way I am loving the breaks from the cold to enjoy Sunny Florida!!

Unfortunately my dad moved away from Florida recently (our last relative in this GREAT State). But no worries we already have Florida plans for March 2013 as my sister is getting hitched there!

One thing is for sure Florida will always hold a special place in our hearts. We have many GREAT friends who still live there. Most who are life long friends so no worries we will make many trips to visit you all well only from November - May that is ;-)...we will NOT subject ourselves willingly to another Florida Summer haha!

Big Boy Swing...my dad taught him a lot on this trip!

Little Miss Turned 3 months while on our trip!

First Steps in The Gulf

Where it all began...the spot of our Wedding ;-) and the house we rented for the Fete

Reenactment Photo - Husband would like to remain out of the blog...hence this is the set up shot not actual photo ;-) but it turned out great

Cité des Enfants

2012-05-07T15:47:00.000+02:00

Little Man and I went to Cité des Enfants with some friends. It is a hands on museum designed for 2-7 year olds (and there is also a separate one for 7 - 14 year olds as well). We have been to a few hands on museums in our home town in Florida. At first I thought this was similar to the new one we have in Tampa Glazer Children's Museum BUT after revisiting it this past January with a now 2.5 year old vs. an 18 month year old I see the Parisian one is so much better! Below are some pictures from my Cell Phone...I was not able to capture all of it since I was alone with him and didn't want to risk him bolting ;-) The areas were all designed by different themes: Discovering Myself, Working Together, Mazes, Experiments (with Water, Wind and Energy) and a few more that I can't seem to translate/interpret into English. The only negative is that you are only allowed 1.5 hours to play for your admission. But you are promised a set amount of people even on holidays and weekends (so that is a plus!). I would recommend to order your tickets online (you can either print at home or print on a kiosk onsite). Enjoy!

Mirrors to Capture your emotions

House of Mirrors he loved this! And he ran into himself a few times it was hilarious

Little Construction Worker

Fastening his Seat Belt

Water Play!

Waiting his turn ;-)

Water Cannon

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-05-06T18:45:00.002+02:00

Thanksgiving 2011 we celebrated it with my sister, mom, aunt, cousin (and cousin in law) and my in laws (their first Thanksgiving Celebration). With all the fixins Turkey, Famous Family Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce (yes I found fresh Cranberries here!), Olive Bread, Pumpkin Bread and Pumpkin Cheesecake! We also threw in a few Korean and French foods...kimchi, sitcky rice, fois gras, fancy cheeses and Champagne! We all had a great time and plenty of leftovers ;-)

Thanks to my cousin in law for all his help at pulling off a successful Thanksgiving Dinner!

Christmas 2011

2012-05-06T10:51:00.000+02:00

Our Christmas this year was action packed since we had a newborn to tote around as well ;-)

We started a new tradition this year of making Christmas Cookies!
It was fun Little Man had a blast. The has had a lot of practice this year with playdoh so he knew just what to do with the cookie cutters ;-)

A mess but well worth it

They were not beautiful but yummy!

We then spent Christmas Eve Lunch at the Gparents followed by an evening of wrapping presents

Christmas PJ's is another tradition of ours

Little Man in his PJ's

Little Man leaving cookies and milk for the Big Guy


After all the wrapping done...and finally ready for bed

I didn't get a wink of sleep...I was so worried I would miss Little Man's face when he saw all the presents under the tree. I popped out of bed when I heard him waking up. And got the camera ready. Too bad it was still dark and Little Man was too fast opening the gifts they turned out too blurry.

Admiring all the gifts

Look Santa came and ate all the cookies!

Little Miss's first Baby Doll

One of Little Miss's gifts an adorable spinning music box

Here is another Christmas tradition making Overnight French Toast Yummy!

Afterwards we went to F's Aunts house for Christmas Lunch...it was a long 2 days but fulfilled!

Little Miss 2nd & 3rd Month (November and December)

2012-05-06T10:22:00.001+02:00

Here is an update on Little Miss

Month 2 & 3

- We had a family visit from my sister, mom, aunt and cousin for Thanksgiving (post coming later of the food!)
- Little Miss was growing well
- Sleep schedule was still almost after every feeding (no true pattern)
- Waking once every night around 3am

1 month photo

This is the photo we used for Little Miss's Birth Announcement

The two of them too cute!

Not liking the photo shoot ;-)

After sightseeing with the family (outside Notre Dame)

2 months!

Funny Photo haha!

Potty Training Part 3

2012-04-17T09:58:00.001+02:00

So it's official :-) Little Man is fully potty trained day and night whoooohooo! We started him off at nap time without a diaper 3 weeks ago. And then after no pee pee accidents overnight with a diaper we decided to try it 3 nights ago and absolutely no issues! He wakes up before us generally and goes to the bathroom before we even wake up. He's such a big boy now we can hardly believe it!

Stats: Potty Trained by 2 years 8 months (32 months) and Potty Trained Night and Day 2 years 10 months (34 months). Pretty good I think as many of his schoolmates are still having issues or haven't even started!

Here is my post on Potty Training Part 2 and Potty Training Part 1

Little Miss October 2011

2012-04-10T09:45:00.000+02:00

Here are some photos of Little Miss from October enjoy!

Home from the Hospital

having a baby in france

2012-03-22T17:46:00.004+01:00

Hmmm...

I think it is more natural here. Maybe it was my doctor that I choose?!? Or the fact that they have Midwives assigned to every woman rather than OB Nurses?

Little Miss's birth story...

I had Gestational Diabetes (for Little Man's Pregnancy as well). I was controlled (i.e. no medical issues nor a big weight gain - I gained 8 pounds total for the pregnancy) but my doctor was worried Little Miss would be a large baby like Little Man (9 lbs 8oz) and we also had an abnormal result on one of the ultrasounds. So we had an induction scheduled for a date in mid October.

My Midwife gave me some tricks that I could do induce labor naturally as I really wanted to experience a spontaneous birth (I was also induced with Little Man)...but nothing seemed to work :-(

So we went in for our scheduled induction date. At noon I was 2 cm so they broke my water to induce labor rather than start Pitocin. I was getting some contractions but I did not dilate any more from them.

At 1pm the Midwife started me on the Pitocin. After 20 mins on it I started to have real contractions (mild). She asked how I was doing and check me again...I was at 4cm. She said if I was ok she would get lunch (30 mins max) and if I wanted to get my epidural we could start it when she returned (we discussed that I would want a light one since the doctor informed me Little Miss would be just as big as Little Man was). I agreed but after 20 mins I was in severe pain.

The epidural was ordered and when the Midwife returned the Anesthesiologist was there to start the epidural (I was still only 4 cm). I was only pain free for 10 mins because Little Miss was on her way and it was time to push. My Midwife was amazed that I had progressed so fast! I was just at 4cm - 10 mins ago, we only just started everything 2 hours and 20 mins ago and the bag of Pitocin was only 1/3 done!

She called the doctor over from the clinic across the street. She said I could push if I needed to in the meantime. And if he wasn't here she could do it. I waited for the first few pushes...but once he was in the room I started to push. He just had the time to remove his watch and wash his hands and Little Miss was on her way into this world ;-) My husband recalls I only pushed once but I remember it very differently haha! I do agree that it was definitely less than 10 minutes of pushing for sure.

Little Miss

The major thing like I said earlier is that it is more natural here. My doctor preferred that I did not have an epidural...but we both agreed if I did want one that I would receive a light one to help with the labor pains but where I would still know when it was time to push. And MAN did I ever feel the need to push. I also did with Little Man...but this was a different feeling. There was a burning that I had not felt with Little Man. Also, I KNOW I had a very light epidural because afterwards I needed a local anesthesia for the sutures.

I wish I had known how fast it would have been because I probably would have skipped the epidural all together. From the moment my water was broken till Little Miss's delivery it was only 2 hours and 40 minutes and she was ONLY 8 lbs 4oz which is NOTHING compared to 9 lbs 8oz ;-)!

Another example of it being more natural here is that my doctor assisted more manually with getting Little Miss's head out. I felt that in the US my doctor just reached for the knife way too quickly. I don't even think the French doctor even cut me at all! He allowed for natural stretching and tearing. I did have a lot of stitches but that is normal with the majority of deliveries (no more than in the US).

Here is a pic of our view from the hospital room ;-) YES the Eiffel Tower!

The after care was basically the same. After a few hours they moved us into our room. The care was about the same. They checked on the baby for the post diabetes check ups around the same times they did in the US for Little Man. They checked my temperature, legs, wound etc...throughout our stay. They checked the baby once a day, They gave us some basic infant care instructions, feed me and assisted with breastfeeding.

The differences were:

They did not allow me to bathe the baby or myself for 24 hours! GROSS...they just wanted us to relax and rest. I see the reason but I did not want Little Man to see us with blood all over ourselves.
They did not have a Breastfeeding Consultant on staff. It was just the nurses who could give you tips but not someone dedicated to it.
We had to pay extra for a single room (which is the same in the US) BUT there were a few differences in types of rooms (we do have a secondary insurance who paid for a portion approximately 40%). Some of the singles did not have pull out couches for the fathers (if we opted for the smaller rooms the our secondary might have paid the entire cost). We opted for the more expensive one with the bed. It was 300 euros per day (day not night)! Needless to say we did not stay long (2 nights/3 days)...you CAN stay up to 6 but we did not need it nor wanted to waste the money. When we could do just fine at home in our own bed.
The cost of delivering a baby. In the US I did not pay a dime because I had great insurance. But the insurance's total cost in the US for the hospital and all doctors involved was $28,000 (more than my college eduction by the way!). Here the total paid to everyone was 3500 euros! I am not sure if the hospital received more money via their bills directly to the gov't but I believe this is everything they get. So the hospital received 900 euros (3 days x 300 euros), OB/Midwife 1900+ euros, Pediatrician 53 euros x 2 visits and Anesthesiologist 500+ euros! I will go into greater detail on how the French Health Care system works in another post.

That's about it!

I loved my experience and would do it again (IF we were planning on having another...which we are NOT! ;-)

What was your birth experience like? Did you have a child in France (if so share your story about France being more natural or not...I'm curious if it was just the doc I choose)? If you had a second child, did you find the labor/delivery to go by faster/smoother? What was the approximate costs for having a baby in your area? Any questions feel free to ask...

TN

potty training part 2

2012-03-09T14:14:00.002+01:00

So from where I left off on April's post potty training part 1 (22 months old)...Little Man (which is what I'll be now calling him in this blog) did not last long that day. After his nap he started to have a lot of accidents. We kept trying with just underwear for a few weeks but he did not seem interested.

We took another break until our vacations in August (26 months old) in Dordogne, France. Dordogne is famous for their Medieval Castles so we bought him some toys Knights and Horses as positive reinforcement prizes. This was just ok...he did earn all of his knights and horses eventually. It took him over 1 month to earn all 12...so you can see he was not really going often.

The major reason for the PUSH to be potty trained is...
1. We were expecting our baby girl "Little Miss" in October
2. French Preschool (which is free) starts at 3 years old and they have to be potty trained to attend

We tried and tried...then Little Man got his "Big Boy Bed" in September (27 months old) and this was a big transition. It took a few weeks until he was staying put in his bed. We did not want to add the pressure of potty training. After he seemed to be doing well with bed we introduced the potty again. And kept at it until the birth of Little Miss in mid October (28 months old). At this point we did stop...we wanted him to adjust stress free with having a baby sister and honestly I did not have time nor was I totally rested to deal with it!

Fast forward to just after Christmas holidays (30 months old). Little Man was picking up speed on the potty. We started him again with just underwear and PJ pants. He had many accidents of all sorts. But he was holding "it" for a long time now. He just didn't know it was time to "go" until it was too late. Sometimes he would have mini accidents and then finish in the potty.

January (31 months old) we all took at trip to Florida to visit family and friends for 2.5 weeks. He did not like the potty my dad had bought and basically refused to sit on it. He did however sit on the big toilet and had a few successes.

In mid February (32 months old) his school had noticed that his diapers were staying dry. And they inquired if he was using the potty at home. I said yes at home he only wears underwear...diapers at night and nap time only. But he has many accidents (but generally finishes in the potty) and he will go when I remind/ask him to use it. She told me that since they noticed his diaper was dry they had asked him to sit and use the potty there but he did not go. They said that he is probably getting close to being potty trained. Because when they can hold it for more than 4 hours its a good sign. But we need to move away from asking him to go to him going on his own. She said what they recommend is to wear pull up type diapers and their underwear on top. So they have the protection and also feel like they are wearing their underwear. At first I thought this was not a good idea. He was wearing underwear at home...why would this work?

That weekend (18th) we tried it...because of a few frustrations of poop accidents in the underwear. Having diapers would be less of a mess to clean up. So we tried it pull ups with the underwear. After a day or so wearing them like this he was telling us he had to go to the bathroom before he went (maybe he did go a little but he figured out the urge all on his own). At first I thought it was a fluke but by that Monday he was officially going on his own.

Tuesday at school (he only goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings) he used the potty. They were very impressed because 1. he went on his own and 2. he undressed himself and redressed himself. They said at that age none of the children do that! By that Wednesday (22nd) the school said he could come to school with just underwear! Because that day he also went poop at school (which is unheard of she said...most kids prefer to do that at home or in their diaper...and they felt he was ready!). I said let's give it a week or so just to be sure since he was just going poop in the potty by himself for 2 straight days.

That Friday (so far 3 days in a row with poop success) he started having poop accidents everyday until the follow Friday. Then 5 days of successes and an accident again.

Now we are current to today (March 9th)...today is the 2nd day in a row without an accident! Let's hope we are on our way to accident free. Today he also went to school without a diaper and did perfectly! She said he is really good at going on his own. She gave him some water at 9:30am and she asked him to go around 10:30am. He said he did not have to at the time. But went on his own at 11am!

Another thing is that none of the other kids we know who are preschool bound (6 in total going to his particular school) are not even close to being potty trained. So 6 months from now he will be a pro while some of those other kids will still be struggling ;-)

We are very proud of our Little Man he is growing by leaps and bounds!

Lessons learned for when it is Little Miss's turn:

We will not try too young (i.e. when our OLD French doc told us to start at 13 months...we will not do this UNLESS she is interested in it). 2 years old is a good age I think
Positive Reinforcement doesn't really work for children under the age of 2 years old (probably even a little more older than that)...really offering the item beforehand is what does not work. Offering a prize for a success does but not hinting at it before...then they are only focused on why they can not have the m&m now
Pull ups will start earlier
Pull ups with the underwear over them will also start early on
I think it also helped to have a baby in the household. He really wanted to be the BIG brother and be a BIG boy. He says that babies wear diapers...so this helped. I think for Little Miss she will want to be like her Big Brother any way so I believe she will be potty trained less than 32 months

What's your story like? How old was your child? What worked for you what didn't? Did your child have more accidents through out his/her adolescence? Anything I should be preparing for in the future?

etsy update!

2012-03-01T11:15:00.001+01:00

So I started my Etsy Store Paris Handmade by TN in Late September (5 months ago). Here is my progress...I have made 6 official sales on Etsy and 1 personal sale to a friend on the side. 7 sales in 5 months I think that is awesome ;-)

It has slowed down a bit lately only because I have not been creating new pieces and refreshing my account on Etsy.

For Christmas I received the best gift ever...a Kiln! My very own oven to make jewelry ;-) It is a big investment but my husband is not concerned with that. He wants me to be happy and to do what I enjoy doing in my "spare'' time. I use that word loosely haha! But I am finding that since Little Miss is now 4 months and on set napping schedules I do have some time to myself. My 2 year old (almost 3) will also start Preschool in the Fall. So I will have even more time soon!

I have 4 pieces in the works but ran into a slight problem finishing them up. I need a tool that I can't seem to find in France. French websites suck btw! They do not have online stores like in the US. I even asked where my friend (who owns the workshop I used to go to) bought said tool and she bought it online through the US! So I need to order it and since I am at it...I need some more supplies. So these pieces won't be available for at least 2 more weeks. BUT they are soooo cool! And I am sure they will be a big hit.

Well that is it on the Etsy Store front...you are all updated ;-)

Back to writing about life in Paris with kiddos!

TN out!

pregnant in france

2012-02-29T22:22:00.005+01:00

Little Miss's Room minutes before heading to the Hospital!

As promised here is my post about being Pregnant in France and the differences compared to the US.

Pregnancy Tests are not available everywhere. You have to buy it from the pharmacy. So NOT at the grocery store, convenience store, Target, Walmart etc...Also the pharmacies are also NOT like Walgreens or CVS. They are not large with lots of aisles to browse through only healthcare products and pharmaceuticals. The test is NOT over the counter meaning you have to ask in French (some speak English) for it (AND yes you have to ask for condoms also haha!).

Finding an English speaking OB/GYN and a reputable hospital was difficult. I was not prepared...even though we planned this pregnancy. After finding out I was pregnant I was in a scramble to find a doctor who could speak English and was at a hospital I wanted to deliver at. Great planning I know! I finally found an English speaking GYN via the US Embassy's recommendations. She was not an OB and therefore would not deliver the baby but could get me started.

She explained that in France they calculate the due date as the 41st week, I would need some initial lab work done to check everything, I would also need to have monthly lab work done to check for Toxoplasmosis, I had some official paperwork to fill out for the French Government and would need to perform my 12 week ultrasound. Pretty much standard except for the monthly blood work.

Toxoplasmosis is prevalent here and they take it very seriously. In the US it is mentioned but not a huge concern unless you have a cat in the household (and then you are not allowed to touch the kitty liter). Here the raw fruits and veggies have traces of the parasite. And therefore pregnant woman are told not to eat any fruits or veggies that they themselves did not wash (i.e. at restaurants!).

During this time with my GYN I had been researching hospitals and doctors. But to no avail due to the language barrier as well as the lack of knowledge on how the French System worked. Here the doctors can not advertise nor are there any recommendations available online. I decided to join an English Mothers Group who had a very active Forum where I could ask these questions and find a proper doctor who could deliver our baby.

After a few weeks on their forum I realized that I should have been searching for the hospital and doctor way before conceiving. ALL of the top hospitals have waiting lists a mile long! I narrowed down my list for hospitals and had my husband start calling to see if they had a spot open for my approximate delivery date. Out of the 5 hospitals we called 0 had spots open and only 2 put me on the list. While on the bus one day my husband overheard a pregnant lady explain that you have to call the hospital and book your pregnancy before you even get a positive pregnancy test! And to correct the date later saying the ultrasound read the baby smaller blah blah blah. CRAZY huh?!?

After getting basically 5 rejections...I decided to go another route and find the doctor first. I found the private practice of an OB/GYN that practiced at a hospital that was one of my top 3 favorites. I called his private practice and asked for a new patient pregnancy appointment. He got me in the same week. After meeting with him I felt calm and knew I was in good hands. He followed my care until the big day and so glad I found a great doctor and practice as his.

Visits with your doctor are monthly. At week 37 he said he would see me in 2 weeks (39th week) and then I was induced 1 week after that (40th week). I found that very strange because in the US you go monthly until week 28 then every other week until week 36 then weekly!

There were 3 ultrasounds that were paid for by the French System (week 12, around week 23 and around week 34) . But my doctor had a small machine in the office so every visit I could see my baby! I loved this ;-)

Everyone here gets a "Sage Femme'' aka Midwife who acts more like the obstetrical nurse would in the US. BUT she can deliver you if you do not have a doctor...a doctor is not needed unless you want one. I had a OB/GYN only because I have gestational diabetes when I am pregnant and had to be induced with my previous childs birth. But even though I had a doctor I also got a midwife as well. I could have been automatically assigned one via the hospital but I did not want to risk getting a non English speaking midwife. So I opted to sign up with one in my doctors group practice. She was excellent as well.

Other than that it was pretty much the same for the pregnancy and tests. Next post I will discuss delivering in France!

And I'm Back!

2012-02-28T16:24:00.000+01:00

I am officially blogging again!

I was having troubles with my Picasa account (which holds all of my blogger photos) it was full to capacity. Either I needed to pay Google for more space PER YEAR...or delete my photos and re-upload them smaller than I had originally.

Being 8 months pregnant, having a lot of things to do before the baby arrived, having said baby, taking care of said baby...suffice it to say that I was REALLY busy!

I plan to catch up on my blogging and would like to blog about being pregnant in France, having a baby in France, French Health Care, Registering a US Citizen overseas, vacations, holidays and many many many many posts about our new baby daughter we shall call her "Little Miss"on this blog ;-)

Here is a sneak peek photo of Little Miss ENJOY!

BTW not sure why my older posts are not showing up below this one...but just click older posts and they will come up. OR to the left is Blog Archive you can click on any year and month and view that way.

More soon!

Merry Christmas to all my Readers!

2011-11-15T11:12:00.001+01:00

Hello Loyal Readers (and newbies!),

I am back from Maternity Leave! Baby Girl C is doing well and she is almost 1 month ;-) I will be posting pictures soon and do a post on the birth story as well as what it was like to have a baby in France (healthcare system). But I needed to re-open my Etsy Store first...since the Holiday Season is right around the corner ;-0

I am offering 10% off my Etsy Listing from now until January 7th (when I go on vacation again!)...So hurry up and order you treasures today!

Please use MERRYCHRISTMASPHTN at checkout

Below is the website again...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ParisHandmadebyTN

Etsy Coupon Code to all my Readers

2011-09-23T15:12:00.000+02:00

Hello Loyal Readers (and newbies!),

I have started my Etsy Store and am actively selling things! I have officially sold one item via Etsy and one on the side...2 sales in less than 1 week I say is pretty good ;-)

BUT more would be better so to all you readers out there I am offering 10% off my Etsy Listing from now until October10th...So hurry up and order you treasure today!

Please use BLOGREADERPHTN at checkout

Below is the website again...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/tnave

Etsy.com Shop NOW OPENED!

2011-09-21T01:01:00.001+02:00

Hello blog followers!

I have recently opened up an Etsy.com Shop please check it out and buy my first listing ;-)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82206206/round-pendant-with-a-vintage-feel?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

I will be adding more listings shortly!

Day 2 of the 3 week vacation - Chateau de Chenonceau

2011-09-16T10:36:00.000+02:00

For our first official touristy day in the Loire Valley we decided to go to Chateau de Chenonceau. It is a lovely fairy tale type castle which was Francois I wife built for herself. It is built over the Cher River. It's pretty amazing how underneath this castle is a flowing river!

Their son Henry II became king and the castle became his mistress's castle (Diane de Poitiers). And after his death his widow Catherine de Medici's kicked out the mistress and occupied the castle while in the Loire Valley. This is why they call the castle "Chateau des dames" - The women's castle.

There are 2 large gardens on the property - Diane's Garden and Catherine's Garden. I preferred Diane's because of all the colors (pinks and purples) vs. Catherine's Garden. We didn't even take a photo of Catherine's because it lacked color or interest. I guess the Mistress won on the gardening haha!

Also on the property is a Maze or Labyrinth M just adored running through it (as well as all of the other kids visiting)!

All in all we had a great day seeing our first of many castle on our 3 week trip...here are some photos of M and I enjoying the sights for the first time ;-)