Paris... summary

Paris this year was quite different then the other years. First, I stayed 6 weeks instead of the usual 2. It was still too short for my taste but much better than the other years. I finally had time to... well...do nothing!

Second, the presidential election drew out such passion from everyone that no matter which side you were on, you would find yourself debating about which candidate should win with your neighbor, baker, taxi drivers, etc. The outcome pleased a good majority and seemed to create hope and a new energy that had seemed to be lost.

Third, I got to see my high-school friends. Zozo, who happened to overlap her stay in Paris with mine for a couple of days. Dinner at her parents with my parents, Sam and Nathan was amazingly good: Avocado cream with foie gras, Gigot, and TWO deserts, a Meringue à la crème et fruits rouges and pots au chocolat.... hummm. And Nathan grew a fascination for Monsieur Z.'s conversation.

I happened to be there for Youmna's birthday and finally met her cute 3-year-old daughter, Oriana. Then, I made a surprise visit to Aurore, I had not seen for ~15 years, at her kid's store, Louping.

We visited our common friend Jean-Pierre and met his wife and lovely daughter Chloe.

Last but not least, while walking in my neighborhood, I hear someone whisper my name in the random chance it would be me, and there was Aurélie! Her daughter Elisa, 8 months, is the most gracious baby I had ever seen. Charming everyone all the time. Nathan tried to chase her but was at a slight disadvantage... for now!

This also gave us the opportunity to use Aurélie's services as a photographer to get Sam in some shots with Nathan and me.

Finally, Nathan was there to be introduced to everyone my grand-parents, both recovering from being in the hospital; my aunt and cousins, Jordan and Ruben; the Feders --Laurent and Stéphane, for once, were both in Paris in the same time so we spent a Friday night together.

Plus all the milestones Nathan went through while in his second home: rolling over, scooting backwards (see where he goes now without adult supervision!), 2 teeths, and saying "ma-ma-ma" (tried to teach him "pa-pa"but he's smart he knows where his food comes from ;-)

And yes, I shopped -- how could I be in Paris and not shop! Here is how my luggage cart looked like coming back to San Francisco --by myself with Nathan. Heureusement, Sam has a "big" (enough) car!

Second tooth is here

Just 10 days after the lower right incisor made its way through Nathan's gum, its little neighbor, the lower left incisor, decided to come out. No more gummy smiles!

Don't Worry, be Happy!

So based on what you read here, a lot of you might think that Nathan is just this perfect kid who never has a "bad day." Well, he does. But even when he's in a rage he's still a real cutie!

And now it's documented. So someday we'll be able to show this to his girlfriend.

Oh what a difference 4 months make...

I was sharing a few thoughts with a friend of mine in an email on the subject of daddy-hood after perusing some old photos of Nathan and it got me thinking (again) just how amazing the whole experience has been.

I can’t get over how big Nathan is getting… so fast. One minute he’s this little raisin-y looking thing (er, angel) with huge eyes, the next thing you know he’s this big smiling chubby little angel with huge cheeks, reading the economist!

Meeting Youmna and Oriana

My school friend Youmna came to visit Nathan and I with Oriana, her three year old daughter. Nathan loved Oriana's beautiful curly hair and kept pulling on it.

Première quenotte (First tooth)

Nathan has been teething for a while now and today, at 4 and half month and one day before Sarkozy officially becomes the new French president, we discovered that the lower central right incisor (incisive centrale droite) was coming out! If the remaining 19 teeth happen the same way, I say "Vive the amber necklace".
In the Grand Rex parking elevator, I commented to my mother that Nathan had a weird "thing" in his mouth -- a white spot on his gum that looked like a sore. Then, I forgot all about it until later in a store, Aubert (not recommended by the way), I hear Mom scream: "Ça y est il a une dent!" ("That's it, he's got one tooth")
Once home, my dad confirmed, so we drank champagne. Yep, that's how we celebrate the first tooth in a dentist's home!

"Do you think the car will fit...?"

Parking isn't easy in Paris, especially now since their mayor is reducing the number of spots to encourage people to use the bus.

But Linda has the touch (and a teeny tiny little car...)

Nathan gets some exercise

Once the weather cooled down a bit we were able to go out for walks around the neighborhood.

Nathan relished the opportunity to get a little exercise.

Nathan turns over -- and grabs his feet!

Today was a pretty big day in Nathan's life... not only did he successfully (and repeatedly) roll over from his back to his tummy, but he grabbed for his feet when he was in the tub.

Yay, Nathan!

May Day

We woke up this morning to yet another French holiday -- May Day -- and because no one (practically) was working, Robert thought it would be good to go out for lunch. Robert and Linda invited us to a nice Italian restaurant and after a few glasses of rose wine, Robert decided that Nathan was going to be the "President of the United States of AmeriCA!" (emphasis intentional, accompanied by the closed fist "victory sign" shown in the picture).

Nathan thought that was pretty cool.

The "SiouxX"

Nathan has been cooing and babbling for a few weeks now. His favorite things to say back/forth with us are "A-reu A-geu A-gligli" and the ubiquitous "raspberries."

It turns out he is a good story-teller, as well. After a night feeding he'll burp, and then begin telling Alex a bedtime story. Softly his voice (more a hummmm) rises in falls as if he's recounting a fabulous tale that ultimately puts him to sleep on mommy's shoulder.

Sometimes we're actually not involved at all in the conversations, as this video shows.

Lately, however, Nathan has discovered screaming. And he loves it. Is quite talented at it.

In fact, upon hearing the screaming, Robert began calling Nathan "the Sioux" because of all the war-whoops he was prone to let loose at various times during the day, for no apparent reason.

An election in France

While on vacation, we had the good luck of being in France during their presidential elections. It was really neat to see so many people (84%+) come out to vote to help shape their future. France is struggling to both become a bit more market-driven, while at the same time maintain their high-level of social benefits. I am disappointed that my French passport won't be ready until September as I would have really liked to participate (go Sarko!!)

Nathan meets les Z.

It just so happens that Alex's good friend from school, Alexandra ("Zozo") was visiting her parents in Paris while we were in town so we took the opportunity to introduce her to Nathan! Zozo's parents welcomed us into their home (and invited us back for a delicious dinner, to boot!) and had a nice time hanging out with Nathan.

Having had a little experience, Francoise seemed more comfortable holding a baby -- but Zozo still managed to get a few smiles out of Nathan as well.

Oh what MORE people we'll meet!

After a full day of meeting new people, Nathan slept like a baby (of course) only to wake up and meet even MORE people. First we met his first cousins once-removed Jordan and Ruben while taking a walk sur Ave Victor Hugo.

Later, Ruben's Dad, Phillipe, came to pick Ruben up for dinner and had a chance to toast to Nathan's health along with my sister, my brother-in-law David, and their daughter Elena. Elena and Karyn had met Nathan once before (at the brit) but David was another new acquaintance! My sister and family had been vacationing in France the weeks before, and we managed to overlap long enough to see each other while both in Paris! Mamie Linda was gracious enough to invite everyone over for dinner at her house and make it a very enjoyable evening.

Oh the people you meet!

After arriving in France, the first thing Nathan did (after a nice night's sleep) is go meet more of his family!! On Saturday we all went first to Style to meet Alex's aunt Diana. Linda and Diana chased each other around the shop offering to "help hold Nathan" so that the other one could see him better. Apparently neither one wanted to let Nathan go!

After that, we drove to the George Pompidou hospital to visit Grande Mamie Sylvia for a short "hello" (Nathan remembered her and she got a BIG smile!) before driving across town to meet Grand Papi Louis Miguel. Papi was very happy to meet Nathan and spend some time with Nathan and his granddaugther, Alexandra.

The only way to fly...

So after our horrendous experience with USAirways on our way to/from Mexico (it's no surprise to me that they had been in bankruptcy... ugh!) we had an amazingly pleasant 10-hour flight with Air France. Nathan was given a "bassinet" to sleep in the entire length of the flight, and instead of being tired and cranky when we landed he was well rested and ready to rock n' roll!

A bas USAirways! Vive Air France!

Vacaciones en México

And in other news...

In other news (that Alex might not want people to know about, so I'll just post it here in the secluded privacy of the INTERNET!) ...

Q: What do you get when you cross a Pink Motorola RAZR and a white washing machine?

A: A waterlogged (and totally non-functional) Motorola RAZR. (At least it didn't dye all our socks pink, as well!)

Wow...people ARE reading the blog!

Our good friend Kimmy from Seattle sent me an email today wishing us a "bon voyage" to Puerto Vallarta. Which is strange, beacuase I hadn't said anything to her about it...

I had forgotten that I blogged about it a few days ago and was totally amazed (and a little freaked out) that she knew not only that we were taking a vacation, but even where we were going! I guess if you publish your life to the internet, people are bound to read about (especially your good friends from Seattle!) This one's for you, Kimmy Bubbles!!

Grandpa Joe and Karen come a-calling

My dad and step-mom stopped by for a few hours on their way down to LA from Oregon to meet Nathan. Grandpa Joe took us all out for lunch at Park Chow, and Nathan had a great time laughing and playing!

Passover with the Hartog's

Alex's new friend from Day One, Deborah, thoughtfully invited our family to join her husband Steve and their daughter Lila for a seder at her parent's house. We were delighted to participate, and met many friends and members of her family. Nathan sat on my knees through most of the seder, intently watching all the festivities... until he practically fell asleep sitting on my lap!

Jamie and Kay come for a visit

Jamie and Kay, our neighbors from down the street, came by today to meet Nathan. Kay seemed very comfortable with Nathan -- and Nathan was happy to see some more new faces!

While they were here, the two world-travellers gave us some ideas on where to go eat when we get to Puerto Vallarta on our vacation!

Thanks guys!

Massage with Dad

After our first barbecue of the year with Elizabeth and Jim, Sam gave Nathan a nice massage and we witnessed his first rollover.

Can't leave him out of sight now!

Hello morning!

Stroll in the park

Our meeting today with our Day One mom's group was at 12:30 pm at the Conservatory of Flowers, but Nathan was sleeping so well that we missed the meeting time and joined the group later at the De Young. On our way, we couldn't help but stop by the Shakespeare Garden to admire the cherry blossoms...

Once at the cafeteria of the De Young, we all sat in the grass. Moms ate, then babies ate, slept and played. Nathan was like a lizard in the sun -- except that he didn't like the sun that much!

One of the highlights of the afternoon was Max, butt-naked, courting Sophia!