Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This is a very late and backdated post.

The year end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 has been a busy time for us. We went off on the first part of our holiday on 19th Dec to Strasbourg to check out the Christmas market. The Christmas market in Strasbourg is renowned and I booked the hotel/apartment in June! Well, it ended up to be a little of a letdown. I put it down to the weather. It was freaking -18°C! I was freezing so badly that I can barely enjoy anything. So, maybe we try going again in a few years time and definitely not when it is so cold. The day that we were leaving the city, the temperature went back up to about 0°C. Sigh....

After Strasbourg, we went back to Paris for a day before setting off for the south of France to my in laws. We spent Christmas there and had a great time.

Here is the three of us before Christmas eve dinner.
Me and my girl.
Presents under the tree
Ecstatic over her present!
The boy and his first Christmas
Trying out her skate scooter with her papa

Next up, our trip to the Alps, Laetitia's first ski experience.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Some videos from the last month.

Here are some videos of my little ones taken over the last month.

Laetitia singing in a silly voice. This little girl is just so cheeky. In this case, she is not only using a shrill voice but also making up some of the words.


Loïc crawling and sitting up by himself.


Loïc and Laetitia together

Thursday, December 17, 2009

My little boy and his milestones.

Loïc is almost 10 months old and is definitely no longer a passive laying baby. He is much more interactive and has quite a personality. He has already reached many of his developmental milestones.

Currently he is cutting his third tooth. This tooth is taking its own sweet time to emerge and at the same time is torturing both him and his parents. Three weekends ago, Loïc vomited about 8 times within 48 hours, the week after, he had a fever and then last weekend was finally a little better but he continued to have a low grade fever on and off during the week. It looks like he might be cutting another tooth though.

On the health front, aside from problems caused by him teething, his nose has been running and it is made no better by the fact that it is getting really cold in Paris. In fact, it just started snowing as I am typing this post!

On the fun side of things, the little boy has been pulling himself up. Here are a ton of photos of him standing! My first photos of him standing supported goes more than a month back.

Here he was trying to pull himself up but slipped and was hanging for his dear life when I caught a picture of it. And then he was back at it trying to reach for things that he is not suppose to get at.


He is able to clap his hands by himself. This started probably a few days back. I used to put his hands together for him when we sing "If you're happy and you know it." Now he does it all by himself and I often see him clapping his hands when he is playing by himself.

And here is one of the little munchkin and his sister.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Cute things she says.

I am sure every mummy has lots to tell with regards to cute things that our little ones say. Here are a couple I want to share.

Laetitia has been saying that she is four year old when we ask her how old she is and we would correct her by telling her that she is three and a half. One day she looked at me and said, "Look mummy, when I tiptoe, I'm four years old!"

One afternoon Laetitia told me, "Mummy, I'm expiring!" OH, my three year old is expiring? Then what about me who is way past thirty? I asked her to clarify further and as she explained to me in French, I understood that she meant that she is perspiring.

So what funny things do your children tell you?

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Laetitia and Loïc's first visit to Disneyland Paris

After all these years living in Paris, we decided that it is time to bring Laetitia to Disneyland. We felt that now, at the age of three and a half, she should be able to appreciate and enjoy the park. Of course, even though little Loïc will not benefit very much from it, we brought him along to save on the cost of having a sitter watch him. Well, looking back, we should have done that instead as it probably would have been more enjoyable for him and us if he had stayed home.

We met up with our friend, Lydia, who was going to bring us in for free at noon and from there, we started by walking along Main Street and stopping to feed Loïc his lunch. That was followed by going to pick up some fastpass from the Buzz Lightyears ride. After that, we were off to the Merry go round. I went on that ride with Laetitia while Etienne waited with Loïc. After that was one of the great highlights of our visit. Laetitia and I got our faces painted.


Once we were both looking pretty, we went to watch a Winnie the Pooh show. Laetitia was able to sit through the entire show although at some point, she was a little freaked by the characters coming down from the stage towards the audience. We then went off to Autopia (Laetitia's favourite ride) and Buzz Lightyears ride. Etienne went on both of the rides with her while I watched Loïc.
By the time we did all that, it was close to 5:30pm. To finish off the day, we got Laetitia a Minnie Mouse balloon which she said was the best part of the trip for her. So, here's the happy girl with her balloon when we got home.

Monday, November 16, 2009

H1N1 Vaccination.

So, it's decision making time. France has started it's H1N1 vaccination schedule and our kids will soon be due to receive their letterS to go for the jabs. It is not obligatory but encouraged. After a lot of thinking, we have decided not to vaccinate the kids. Etienne and I will probably go for it just to decrease the chances of us bringing the virus back but through a lot of reading and analytical thoughts, I feel that the risk of the kids catching it AND getting complications from it vs the risk of issues arising from the vaccination itself is lower. That is my personal conclusion, not a medical view. Our doctor sees the swine flu as a mild disease. Yes, it spreads fast but in his words, not a scary illness, not too serious. Apparently the manifestation of the virus here in Europe is benign than its counterparts in America.

Of course the bad press regarding the vaccination is influencing our decision, the two death in China, the case of Guillain-Barré syndrome in France and the US etc. So, unless there are more reassurance, I do not see my kids getting the shots.

On my part to increase the immune system of the two little ones, I am continuing to breastfeed Loïc and Laetitia gets some vitamins/probotics supplement daily (I am trying to remember to give it to her every morning but on and off I'll forget. BAD MUMMY). Other than that, of course pray that God will keep them both healthy and safe. :-)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Laetitia's petite section class photo

Laetitia's school had a photographer come in to take a class photo and individual photos of the children.

This is the photo of Laetitia that we were given (or rather we bought).
She looks like such a big girl. Where did my baby go to?

Monday, October 26, 2009

Pour Mamou!

My wonderful mother-in-law misses her two lovely grandkids and so this post is for her. With LOTS of photos taken these two days.

Laetitia trying out her ski suit (We're going to the Alps to ski after Christmas! YOOHOO) and showing the picture of what she was going to do.
Pulling a silly face as usual!
Loïc, looking adorable.



Laetitia looking oh so sweet. She is really a delight most of the time.
Sibling love. The photo is a little blurry but they both looks so cute.


Friday, October 23, 2009

A recap of the last month.

It's been a busy month with new school for Laetitia, new daycare for Loïc etc. Routines were changed and the re-adjusted.

I tried to do stuff with Laetitia on Wednesdays when she does not have school and Loîc is in daycare but the last few attempts did not go too well. I took her to a circus workshop where she could learn to go on the trapeze, walk on the rope etc but three seconds into the start of the workshop, where there was a performance first, she freaked out! She was scared of the clown. Second week, I tried to bring her to a kids theatre with a storyline about a bear that grows up and once again, with two seconds of walking into the theatre, she ran out. It reminded her of the previous week (darken room etc). Sigh. I think I'll skip those kind of activities for a while. The first week we went swimming and it was great but I felt that the weather is getting a little too cold for swimming. The pool is not heated even though it is indoors and once we get out of the pool, it is really quite cold.

Anyways, here are a few photos from the past month.

My kids (with Laetitia pulling a silly sad face)
Laetitia and her friend Anna. (Once again pulling some silly face!!!)
Playing ball with her friends Estelle (our neighbour) and Alicia. They all go to the same school.And having lots of fun on Estelle's skatescooter. She has been asking for one forever. I suppose Father Christmas (Santa) is going to bring one this year.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Teething nightmares and all.

The last month has been crazy. Loïc has been teething and it climaxed in difficulties with him running a fever above 39 degrees for almost three days. The poor boy was in such a bad shape. His nose was running badly and he could not breath properly. His gums were also sore. All these made him very grouchy and he was not nursing much as it was tough for him to suck and breath through his mouth at the same time. For few days were really quite rough. Thank goodness it's all better now.

You can see his two little teeth here.
Other than that, things are going well. He is doing superbly well at the daycare. He seems to have fun there and never cries when I leave. I am so thankful for that.

Here is a video of him playing with his spoon while I was feeding him. Laetitia did exactly the same thing at that age too.


Check out the post three years ago with Laetitia's video doing the same thing!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Shoe shopping

I love love love shoes (and bags) and this has filtered into the way I shop for my kids. Recently I post on Facebook the shoes I bought for Laetitia and Loïc and one of my best friends asked me why Loïc needs three new pairs of shoes when he is not even walking yet. :p Well, those shoes I bought for him are pre-walking or early walking shoes. And in any case, even if he is not walking yet when he fits into them, they are too cute to be passed over. Well, so here are the three pairs of Robeez Tredz I got.



Are they not the cutest? Plus in this case, the shoes, though were shopped for by me, came from part of the budget that my parents-in-law gave to us as a present for Loïc's birth. The very generous gift has so far allowed us to get him a new stroller, a winter stroller muff and bath ring in addition to the shoes.

Well, back to shoes. I also got some pretty Agatha Ruiz de la Prada shoes for Laetitia too.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Cutting his first tooth and orientation at daycare.

My little boy is cutting his first tooth! Yikes! I am intending to breastfeed a little more but if the little one bites, hmmmm, I'll rethink about the whole thing.

He is quite the lovely little boy though, babbling all the time. Poor little one has a runny nose for the last week or so. I have been using a nasal spray and a mucus sucking device called a mouche bébé in french. He hates it but it works. His nose is not as blocked anymore and he seems to be on the road to recovery.

Onto another subject, yesterday we started the first day of orientation at the daycare. It's the same daycare Laetitia attended for the last three years. She started at around 6 months and stopped two months ago at the end of July. Now, it's Loïc turn at the daycare. All went well, we both stayed for an hour. The next session is on Monday where I will stay for half an hour with him and he will be by himself for the next half hour, followed by a session on Wednesday with me staying for half an hour and him by himself for one and a half hours. He will then progressively stay longer and longer by himself up to the intended 5 hours from 12:30pm to 5:30pm within the next 4 sessions. I think he will enjoy some interaction with other babies and I will also benefit from having a little time on my own. Other then that, Laetitia will also gain from having some time alone with me without her little brother in the picture every Wednesday when there is no school.

My little baby is growing up, not so little anymore. He's seven months old tomorrow!!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Loïc says ma.....ma.....

My little boy is growing up so quickly. Since a couple of weeks ago, he started to "talk". He tries so hard and has so much to say. He can say ma..... and now pa..... very clearly now. He also enjoys engaging us in a little conversation. Of course I do not think that he is actually calling out to us but then, it is nice to know that he is on his way to doing it.

Here is just a little video of him being frustrated when I left the camera out of his reach and walked out of his sight. :p

And another one of him trying to crawl.

I really need to keep an eye on him when he is on the floor. Just today, I was busy cleaning Laetitia's hands after her afternoon tea and before I know it, he was under the chair!!!! And about to stuff something into his mouth. YUCKS! It was a good thing I got to him quickly and took him out.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Laetitia's first two days in school

In France, public school starts early at the age of three. This year, Laetitia starts pre-nursery, or what we call "petit section" in maternelle.

We prep her for it since a few months ago. She has been looking forward to it. The only thing she kept telling me was that she was not going to go alone. Of course she is not going to school all by herself! Crazy girl.

Anyways, we selected her clothes yesterday, packed a little bag with extra change and her lovey for her nap. School is from 8:30am to 4:30pm. She adapted very well right from the first day, no crying, no whinging, nothing. She was all happy and when I told her to have a good day and that I was leaving (there were still some parents around), she gave me a kiss and told me to have a nice day at home! I am so proud of my little girl. This is a class of 28 kids and there was NO ONE that she knew but she was all calm and excited about school.

At the end of the first two days, the teacher told me that she was very impressed with Laetitia. She mentioned that my little girl is very well behaved, eats well (she has her lunch there), sleeps well (she takes her nap in school after lunch), speaks well and listen well. I am SO PROUD of her.

Here are some obligatory photos!

This is the second day and Laetitia is the little one sitting by herself drawing away next to the window. Going to school in the rain. She was happy that it was raining though since it meant that she could use the new umbrella that I bought for her.
I am really glad that she enjoys school. Even though many people might think that 3 year olds are too young to be in such a huge classroom (28 kids with one teacher and one assistant), I think that it can really develop a child. In any case, the objectives of the year for the class is to help the children gain independence and socialization skills. The children are not expected to "study". They would only need to know to count from one to twenty and understand what 1, 2 and 3 means (e.g if someone says give me two pens, they know what two pens means). They are not expected to read or write. They will do lots of activities like painting, dancing, gym, playdoh and so forth. As you can see in the photo of the class, it is more of a play room than a classroom. I am very pleased with the whole structure. :-)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Happy SIX months old my little love.

It's amazing how time just flew by. Loïc is SIX months old! And he has grown so much in the last 6 months.

Things he can or loves to do now:-

1) He loves to blow raspberries or play with his saliva sending spit all over me sometimes.

2) He babbles so much. It's funny how he seems to be talking. I love it!

3) He tries really hard to sit upright, so much so that once he fell face first into the water while he was in the bathtub having a bath. He was quite nonchalant about it.

4) He enjoys solids, especially carrots and spinach. Fruits are not quite his thing yet (I tried apples, peaches and bananas).

5) He discovered his voice and love to put it to good use by screeching away. I hate that!

6) He is sleeping through the night from about 9pm to 8am with one milk feed at 6am. And in the day, he usually take two to three naps.

7) He laughs and smiles a lot.

8) He could turn himself from belly to back or back to belly in all directions now.

9) He is getting mobile, a kind of reverse commando crawl.

10) He has a lot of strength in is legs and could hold himself up when supported.

And here are the obligatory photos of my little love.

Few days old
A month later
Two months later
Three months later
Four months later
Five months later (Getting ready for solids)
Six months later (Sitting upright by himself, supported in the front by the safety strap).

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Loïc's first train ride and first visit to Carqueiranne.

We spent the last week at my in laws and this is Loïc's very first visit and the first time he went on the train. The little boy is so well behaved on the train. He slept for a good 3 1/2 hours out of the 4. Laetitia was also a darling on the ride. Although she did not sleep, she was easy to handle and did not give us any problems at all.

Loïc had a wonderful time in the south. We took him out for some walks along the port, had breakfast together in the balcony overlooking the sea etc. He spent some great moments playing with his cousin, Alexandre, and his grandparents.

Here is the little one on the train (one with mummy!).

And here he is enjoying a little sea breeze.