Danger

Might be time to lower her crib! 

Hair

If you remember when Evangeline was born she had hair. 10 weeks later it fell out and 9 months later we have a barrette! 

Look at those locks!

Bald baby

And we can now accessorize' 

Naps

Now that Evangeline is a little more mobile, naps are trickier. If it wasn't for our baby spy cam we would never know if she was sleeping or trying to spy on us. 

Super Dad

Well, if you haven't heard, Kev took Evangeline down to Southern California all on his own! I know, brave man. 

We were both in weddings this weekend and Kev wanted to show off Evangeline to his California life. 

She, of course, has been an amazing traveling trooper with Kev. Would we ever expect anything less from her? 

After taking to Kev briefly tonight I expressed how excited to I am to have them home and Kev expressed how parenting should be done in pairs. We are ready to be together again! 

Airport

Didn't find the rental car too exciting. 

Rehearsal dinner. 

Meeting new friends. 

Babysitters

Thank you Pip and Robbie for watching Evangeline tonight. 

I don't even think she noticed we were missing. 

Bath Times

They really do grow fast, don't they?

Learning The Drums

The Attack of Jet Lag

Yes, we made it home! Sorry, some of you have contact us to make sure we made it, we did!  We have had a severe case of desynchronosis.  To make up for it here is a 2 minute video of Evangeline giggling.  It is so cute. I am serious, the cutest ever.  I dare you not to smile.

International Friends

Evangeline made some new friends this week.

The first, and least important, was Ruby. Ruby looks like she should be out of the book, "Un Ours Ma Fenetre" (A Bear at my Window) because she's Rob and Karen's dark, furry little English Spaniel. Evangeline has always loved dogs, but this was one of her first chances to spend an extended amount of time with one. Ruby and Evangeline are now BFFs. Evangeline squealed when she Ruby, and Ruby wagged her tail. Evangeline would tug on Ruby's fur, and like a faithful companion, Ruby would sit idly by. In return, Evangeline dropped hearty helpings of baby food from her high chair.

 

 

The more important friend that Evangeline made was of course her cousin Lucy. They were immediate friends and loved sharing their food with each other and learning each others languages (gibberish and Eng-rench). 

Oh, and of course Evangeline made friends with Aunt Karen and Uncle Rob!

 

Ending the trip off right

Tomorrow we leave for home. On our last day we did it right. One more stop to the boulangerie, one more walk. We lounged we chatted and we enjoyed every last moment together. 

Everyone lounging

Me and my little lulu. Going to miss her

Rob learned the "My Bell Evangeline" song on the trumpet and serenaded Evangeline.  

The girls giving kisses goodbye. 

We are already talking about our next trip to visit the Kimmons! It has to be soon so Evangeline, Lulu and the new baby Kimmons can play and make memories. 

Relaxing Day

Usually when Kev and I return from vacations we pack your days so full of activities and sight seeing we're exhausted by the end of the day and by the end of vacation we need a couple days at home to rest up! 

This vacation has been so relaxing and laid back. Long walks, playing with babies, daily visits to the patisserie. Naps and more naps. 

We decided all future European vacations should be spent exploring small towns. We are loving Carquefou. 

Living Like A Frenchmen.

Today was an adventure for a different reason. Today Kev and I were in charge of the Lulu. You think you're an expert parent because you have an infant. But, we have very little experience in Toddler! 

Lucy was awake and happy at 7:15am. When I walked in her bedroom she was quietly playing with her baby, "Donut", in her crib. She and I got to baking this morning and made German pancakes. Lucy was very helpful stirring, counting, and repeating every word that came out of my mouth...it's impressive and a little alarming how much she picks up! 

We then finished breakfast, Kev chased Lu and Evangeline in the yard, picked flowers for "mommy" and we all went on a walk in the rain. 

For lunch Lucy had a bowl of chicken, cheese and peas. Eating her finger foods so contently I slipped in the garage to work on some laundry. A couple minutes later Kev came and grabbed me. There was an issue that needed my immediate attention. Lucy discovered that peas were the same size as her nostril and that's exactly where an innocent little pea went. 

My pre-med training came back quickly. With some encouragement, bribing and distraction the pea was safely extracted from the cavernous hole. 

Can you see the look in her eyes? She wanted to try and eat it or put it back inher  nose again. 

After an eventful afternoon and naps for all; Kev, Evangeline and I walked to the local grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner. Even with a detailed French shopping list this was a much more difficult task than I imagined. All of a sudden I was one of those annoying people standing super close to the product blocking the view of others. 

After about 30 laps around the store and a millions "merci"s we managed to make it out of the store with everything we needed and a little more.

The walk to the store was no big deal and even pleasant. On the way back we had three grocery bags, a baby and a steep hill. 

That's Kev, he is carrying the baby and all the groceries. I am walking behind him eating my chips and taking pictures. 

I think we would make a few great Frenchmen. 

Sand

Yesterday morning Evangeline and I woke at  10am. It was heavenly! So we had a late start on yesterday's adventure. We were headed to the beach! But first we had to stop by the Patisserie to pick up some sandwiches for lunch. So fun, right? On our way there was an open air market right by the bakery so the boys went in to order and Evangeline and I strolled the market. I asked Rob and Karen how to say, "I don't speak French" so I didn't look like such a simpleton if someone talked to me again. Well in the market a group of three woman started in on the baby talk with Evangeline. With a big smile I spoke my new French phrase... I have no idea what I actually said but they immediately walked away.  I think I will stick with the "merci, merci" from now on. 

Somehow we managed to get out of the house with two kids and all their stuff. Allll their stuff. Yesterday was so so so so much fun. We ventured out to La Baule, France. What a beautiful town. If you ever travel to the West coast of France you must stop by! Seriously, do it. 

I wish we could have had hours to stroll the streets and enjoy a meal or two. But those are pre-baby thoughts...oh life before kids. Any who,  it was so cute and charming and I loved it. 

Both girls were great. Lu and Evangeline both skipped their afternoon nap and did great. Lu liked to play in the sand and Evangeline liked the eat the sand. Neither of the little woman liked the water. Maybe in a few years. 

 

We rented a little tent, which is a genius skin cancer preventer (here in Europe it is hard to be lung cancer preventers. Don't these Europeans know smoking is bad for you?).

I totally hate sand. Hate it with a passion. It gets everywhere and refuses to leave. Weeks after a beach trip somehow it still sneaks in my mouth for a crunchy bite, how does it do it? It took everything in me not to be all lameo mom and not let the kids play, sit, look or even think about sand. I just took deep breaths and kept shaking out the blankets all OCD- like. In the end the sand won. Every time. 

La Baule, so so so so so much fun. Seriously will be one of my favorite memories of all time. I think the girls loved it too. 

The Big City of Nantes

I don't know how people have two kids. Trying to coordinate schedules, meals and appropriate attire seems impossible. But, somehow, we managed to pack up Evangeline and Lucy and head to the big city of Nantes yesterday. 

Rob was a perfect tour guide and translator.  If Rob would have charged us $1 for every time we asked, "can you ask them...?" "How do you say...?" "What does that say?" he would have made a ton of money on this outing. Thank you, Rob for your patience and beautiful French. 

Nantes is apparently the 6th largest city in France but when we told people we were headed to Nantes , France they would often say, "have fun in Paris". I guess to most Americans France=Paris. 

I am content for hours just walking unfamiliar streets, watching the people and trying new foods. Nantes was not exception. The city is adorned with ancient buildings, elaborate architecture and symbolic fountains. After strolling through the cobblestone streets we dined at a restaurant and enjoyed Kabobs for lunch, soaked up some sun and people watched. 

Evangeline was getting a little antsy sitting at lunch so I wondered down the street a bit with her. She likes to people watch as much as I do. In the 5 minutes I was gone I was stopped three times by different people all gawking at Evangeline. I can only assume, as baby talk sounds the same in all languages. I just stood there like an idiot smiling and saying, "merci, merci" because I know like three words in French. These people could be telling me Evangeline looks like a gremlin for all I know. But I'm choosing to believe they were stopping me because they had never seen such a beautiful baby before. 

After lunch both of the girls knocked out. So we strolled leisurely through the streets to get my hearts fill of Nantes. I loved it.