too fast - 6 months!

Where has the time gone! Way too fast this time around, the baby is already 6 months old (at this point nearly 6 1/2months). This is her this morning.

Climbing

H & O are climbing everything these days. Well, to be honest they have always been little climbers, but more recently it is more frantic, and more adventurous. This is one of our first tree experiences while out hanging in the Champ de Mars:

1000 days

The boys are 1000 days old today! Seems like a milestone... not sure how, but it's a nice round big figure, the next one being 10 000, some 24 years away, that 1000 is surely worth a mention.

I hope that they will still be this charming then....

Haircuts

The boys experienced their first 'formal' haircut on Saturday. By formal, I mean, we paid for their haircuts at the hairdressing salon, over the usual me restraining them between my thighs and fighting for each strand of hair I can get my hands on. Not surprisingly there was a real difference in quality of the cut. Gone are the jagged crazy layers and lop-sided evidence of my hacking, and voilà the much less traumatic result of lollipops on the counter to ensure rewards for braveness and dvd player for distraction. Not sure why I didn't think of the dvd thing myself... not that that would have actually given me haircutting skills, but perhaps mine would have looked slightly less amateur.

Ile de Ré

We just spent a beautiful week on Ile de Ré, a fabulous island just off the west coast of France at La Rochelle. The Island is a haven of beachiness: quaint white washed blue shuttered towns, long sandy (and at this moment empty) beaches, and endless days of sunshine. This flat small island is also covered in bike trails and bike rental locations, so we took the opportunity to check out the cyclist perspective (all three kids included), for a fabulous day of marais exploring, lighthouse watching, farmers markets, and the beach (ofcourse!) à la velo. We stayed in Les Portes de Ré, which is at the western end of the island, and perfect for us and our usual desire to be 'out of the rush' when on holiday. We did spend some time on the more popular southern coast, also lovely with beautiful towns, very tasteful shopping everywhere, and probably the best beaches on the island. 

The port at St Martin (the capital), a truly lovely fortified town, with quaint and popular port lined with inviting looking restaurants.

enjoying a stroll through one of the pretty towns. 

collecting crabs (dead ones) on the beach 

 

even Bella came on holiday, enjoying our large garden and holiday home rental, and here taking some quiet time with E.

back to the beach - even if it wasn't hot, it was blue skies and fine and perfect for playing in the sand and running at the water's edge

playing on the sand dunes was prohibited... but try telling rambunctious 2 year olds that. 

old German bunkers could be found along parts of the beaches

learning young to suck it in

Enjoying the cycling avec baguette 

fun at the water's edge



We will definitely be back!

similarity

It was pointed out to me yesterday how similar H and E are. I am actually really surprised, as I thought they were all really different looking, but in fact, it may just appear that I have forgotten what the twins looked like as babies! This is H 2 years ago, and E last week:

O's perspective Ile de Ré

Here are a few snaps that O took while we were on holidays:

me talking to the sales lady

looking through the mirror

me in my new t-shirt/dress

taking a moment in St Martin to feed E

having an ice cream

Kate Atkinson

I thought it might be of some interest, and a record for me, to mention who and what I am reading. I have the most unfortunate habit of never remembering authors names, and sometimes even forgetting book titles, even if I loved the book. So here is my attempt to keep track a little. One of my recent interests has been in Kate Atkinson. Years ago I read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which I really loved and sits now in our bookshelf catching my eye frequently, so I thought it time to revive my interest and seek out some of her other titles. Human Croquet, Case Histories and When Will There Be Good News were all great recent reads. Unfortunately I can no longer sit and devour a book in a day as I wanted to do with all these titles, long gone is that freedom, but I have discovered that breast feeding is a perfect time for picking up a book and managing a couple of chapters at a time (or even just one, or a half if that be the case). All of these books share a commonality with the theme of untimely deaths in children, complex relationships unravel slowly, and timelines are broken and nonlinear reeling you in with fascination and desire to piece together the puzzle that is each character and how they fit together. You won't be disappointed!

Stay tuned for my next author, delving back in time to the evidently forgotten brilliance of Stefan Zweig...

milestones

We have reached a few milestones in E's life...

First food on 18.04

First sitting up 27.04

First trip to the beach 04.05

First bikeride 06.05

Yeah, you can go on forever about firsts once you start: first punch from big brothers, first face-plant in the sand, first smile at the dog... I will stop now as I know it can be so mundane for the observer, and obsessive for the parent!