Little Miss Update Feb - May (Present)

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 ;-)

Christmas 2011

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!

feels like summer in Paris!

It has been 26 degrees C (78 degrees F)past few days with lots of sunshine. It feels good opening up the windows and going to the park everyday with little M.

All of a sudden he is really enjoying the jungle gyms (slide in particular) and the sandbox. It makes going to the park so much fun now! He is getting better at climbing stairs and is very proud of himself! Enjoy the photos (Photos taken at the small square in the middle of Richard Lenoir near Bastille in the 11eme.  It is near where the local Open Air Market is on Thursday's and Sunday's.  There are multiple jungle gyms for the different age groups)

la chandeleur

La Chandeleur is celebrated on February 2nd (same day as Groundhogs Day in the US) and it's the day of Crepes for the French!

It is really a Catholic Holiday celebrating a feast to commemorate the presentation of baby Jesus.

I made the crepe batter this year, here is F's recipe:

250 grams (2 cups) Flour (all purpose)
300 ml (~10 ounces) Milk
200 ml (~6 ounces) Beer
Salt
1 tablespoon Vanilla Sugar (or regular sugar)
shot of Rum
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

Put flour/salt/sugar mixture into a mixing bowl and put the eggs into the center.  Beat eggs and flour mixture until incorporated.  Then add remaining liquids slowly to avoid lumps.

Grease a hot non stick crepe pan (we got ours from Bed Bath and Beyond OR 10 inch non stick omelet pan) with vegetable oil (do this after ever crepe). And pour 3/4 of a ladle and move it all around to cover the entire pan. Wait till crepe is browned slightly and pulls up from the pan easily. Flip and brown the other side. Normally we make all crepes ahead of time and place them on a plate over boiling water until ready to eat (to keep warm). 



With this recipe you can make sweet crepes or salty ones!  For the salty crepes we usually fry an egg (on a separate pan) and place it on top of ham and cheese then fold the crepe!  For sweet crepes I prefer strawberries and cream.  While F's fav is just white sugar with lime juice ;-0  We also like nutella and bananas.

There is a good luck/fortune tradition with making crepes on La Chandeleur. While holding a coin in your right hand, when the crepe is ready to be flipped make sure you flip it 180 degrees without dropping it! It will mean a prosperous year for you and your family ;-)

what to do in paris with a toddler (under 3)...in the winter!

It's so hard to find things to do with a young toddler in the Winter let alone in a new city. Many programs are for 3 years +. I will also put together an outdoor list as soon as it warms up here ;-)

Aquariums- My son is 19 months and enjoys seeing fish etc...at the Aquarium
Cine Aqua- is fairly expensive but when M is older they have tons of fun things for older children (movies, art projects, sting ray touch pool, puppet theater - M was a bit scared of this)
Palais de la Porte Doree - We have not visited this one yet

Indoor Parks/Children's Museum
Cite des Enfants - M is a bit too young but first thing after his 2nd birthday we will be sure to participate!
La Maison des Enfants - We have not tried this yet but would like to

Child Friendly Cafes with Play Areas - there are a few others in Paris but not close to my home...I think I found 2 or 3 in the 18eme...and more in the 16eme or 7eme
Le Poussette Cafe - they also offer Ateliers (workshops)

Ateliers
Mum & Babe- This is also a spa and salon with a child center - the price is included in your service!
RRose Selavy Ateliers d'Arts - 2+ years old. M is a bit too young they also have courses for adults as well!
Le Poussette Cafe - they also offer Ateliers (workshops)
Les Minots - We have not attended yet because they offer 2+ but they emailed me and said they are working on classes for 18 months+!!!

Museums
Natural History Museum- M loves to see the stuffed animals! They also have a special Children's Museum but it is for 6-12 year olds.
Musee National du Moyene Age - Workshops for baby and parents
Musee en Herbe - 2 1/2 years +
Centre Pompidou - 2 years +

Libraries
American Library - Mother Goose Hour in English!
La Maison des Contes

Centre Loisirs- Good thing to check in your own arrondissements Centre Loisirs via La Mairie's webiste for Baby Gyms, Bebe Nager (swim classes) etc...
Centre d'Animation Pole Simon Lefranc - 18 month +, 3 - 10 years, 10-15 years and Adult Ateliers (Workshops)
Centre Loisirs 10eme - Baby Gym, Baby Climbing

a french new year's eve and new year's day...

We decided to stay at home and relax this year since M and I are heading to the US (before F he will join in a week) for 3 weeks!

We made a Swiss/French winter dish called Raclette.  Raclette is melting of a special kind of cheese onto assorted deli meats (fancy ones...in my mind at least), potatoes, small pickles (NOT sweet ones!) and usually pearl onions too.  In the old days they would melt and scrap off the cheese but now we use a Raclette machine and place the sliced cheese for a few mins and pour the melted cheese on the accompaniments.   It's DELISH!

 I have no clue what types of cheese I bought...I just know 3 different kinds and 200 grams of each (which was plenty for all 3 of us (including the bout chou) for dinner and lunch!  Being in France helps since I just asked the fromagerie what I needed.  He recommended a few and I took them all!

For the meats it was easier since I asked my belle-mere what I should get.  She recommended de la viande des grisons (this one is a type of cow I think...), jambon de bayonne (similar to prosciutto), rosette coupée finement (kind of like salami but better), saucisson à l'ail (garlic sausage), andouille de guéméné (it's pork but the sausage is pressed together hard to explain google it!), jambon blanc (white ham - or traditional sandwich ham).   I took 10 slices of each and we had plenty for the dinner and lunch as well as some still in our fridge!

As for the NYE shows on the TV...they were not live (this is what F said)...and no live shots of the Champs-Élysées or any fireworks (on the TV that is!).  Also the shows were far from spectacular.   They were mostly B or C actors/singers.  No Jay-Z and Beyonce singing with Dick Clark (or now should I say Ryan Seacrest).  Anyway enough of the boohooing...Bonne Année ~ Happy New Year!

For New Year's Day I made some Overnight French Toast...hmmmm...miam miam it was good!  We have some leftovers for tomorrow!

Later on we met up with F's parents and old friends of F's to go to Cirque d'hiver!  It was so magical and M had a great time seeing the Lions and Tigers.