Ryan at 9 months, getting taller and chubbier...

and cuter and still toothless! The doc was joking about the "petit americain sans dents" at his 9-month check-up. Just like Andrew, who did not have a single tooth before his first birthday, Ryan's nearly constant smile is gums-only too. Love it! At 9 months, Andrew was 9kg and 76.1 cm. Ryan is 9.620 kg and 76 cm. Almost as tall as Andrew but nearly a pound and a half heavier. I was a tad bit concerned about his weight, obviously unfounded, but the little monkey has decided that bottles are not for him. I tried everything, different nipples, fresh breastmilk, different formulas, to no avail. So, until he is on cow's milk at 12 months, it is me and me only, who will be putting the little guy to sleep at night. He nurses in the morning, before his afternoon nap, and before bedtime, right after his bath. Sometimes, he wants a breast before his morning nap too. But sometimes, he nurses for only 2 or 3 minutes in total, and I questioned whether he has been getting enough. Based on his current weight, and how well he eats throughout the day, I know I have nothing to worry about. At the creche, they offer him yogourt at lunch time, in replacement of a bottle before his afternoon nap, and he seems to do just fine with that. And I'm not at all concerned about being the only one capable of putting him down at night...quite frankly, it is one of my favourite parts of the day, and I adore the closeness that comes along with nursing my blossoming boy.

So long soocies!

It's actually pretty funny how many things I have now done as a mom that I vowed I would never do, that is, BEFORE I had children. And I have fully realized how unfair it is to pass any judgment at all on how other parents are doing things, because you really never know what you would actually do, unless you walked in their shoes. I said I would never allow my children to sleep in our bed. (Andrew came in for a cuddle at 3am last night, and needless to say, spent the remainder of the night with me) I said I would never allow the tv to be a babysitter. (everytime I nurse Ryan to sleep, I put on a movie to keep Andrew occupied) And I said that I would not allow a soocy after 3 months, then I said I would not allow a soocy after one year, and then, truthfully, I kinda gave up, became quite complacent with the whole pacifier use thing, with exception to my attempts at keeping the soocy in the bed. The truth is, I really have no regrets on anything thus far, and I am 100% confident that it was that plastic little sucky thing that averted countless tantrums, and allowed for peaceful airplane rides, car rides, adjustments to new places, long restaurant meals, and especially nights. All those parenting books have pretty much gone out the window, and I have found, by far, the best advice comes from fellow moms. One exception, is the Gina Ford Contented Baby book, which was strongly recommended to me by Jane and Bec, and though I didn't buy into all of her ideas, those on establishing a routine have been paramount in developing such a seamless and peaceful schedule with Ryan, something I NEVER had with Andrew.
So...last weekend I was on the phone with Aunty Lo. Andrew came to me and asked if he could go get his soocy. Since it is so rare these days where Lo's schedule coincides with mine for a phone chat, I just nodded my head to him and off he went to go suck! When Lo asked what he wanted, I told her. She then brought up the issue of potential dental problems caused by using a soocy for too long. Honestly, I had never thought of that. I only knew that prolonged thumb-sucking could cause the teeth to grow outward. So when I hung up the phone with her, I googled it, and did find indeed evidence that pacifier use after the first few years of life could be problematic, from a dental stand point. Andrew happened to ask me what I was reading, while I was doing this research. I explained to him that it says on the internet that soocies can cause you to have an ugly smile if you use them when you are a big boy like him. I could tell he was processing this new piece of information, and accepting it. So the next day, while at Marineland, I told him that we better throw out the soocies, so that he doesn't damage his teeth. To my shock and amazement, he accepted this instantly, and told me that he, himself, wanted to put them in the garbage! To make it a little more motivating, I told him that big boys don't get soocies, but they get to play with big boy toys that little babies can't have...so we agreed that he would get an inflatable killer whale for the beach and pool, and Ryan, who still has soocies cuz he is little, cannot have a killer whale yet. Andrew was extremely happy with this notion. And to my amazement, Andrew went to sleep that first night, with not one mention of the soocy, and picked out a new "doudou" (a stuffed animal or blanky or something similar that nearly all French kids attach to). The next day, he told me he wanted to go look at his soocies in the garbage and I explained that I had taken the garbage to the basement and they would be long gone on the truck by now. (of course I still kept a couple in the event that this turned out to be disastrous and would need to revisit when Robert was here!!!) Robert is away now, and I consciously made the decision to take away the soocies while he is gone, knowing full well that he is more of a "softy" than me, and would be more apt to give in than I, if it turned out to be a big struggle!!!
When I told Robert about this new "milestone" the other night (I told him after we had surpassed the three night mark), he was happily surprised, of course, but in the same breath, he was not at all surprised with Andrew's response. We talked about how Andrew responds to things in general, and lucky for us, he generally accepts our answers. For example, if he wants to go on a merry-go-round ride that we are passing by, and I tell him that I have no money, well, that's that. You obviously can't go if you can't pay the man! Or if he's not keen on leaving a playground when it's time to go home, all I have to do is tell him that it is closing. And then he just agrees to come along.
So, in the end, I'm glad that we kept the soocy around for nearly 3.5 years. It made us all happier, and now that he is old enough to rationalize why he shouldn't have them anymore, it was pretty much a walk in the park to say goodbye to them. (despite many people telling me the longer we allow it, the harder it will be) That said, the other morning I was getting ready to leave the house with Ryan and could not find a single soocy in the house. (Ryan's soocies are different than Andrew's and fortunately, he never liked Ryan's and vice versa) Then it had occurred to me that Andrew was playing "Swiper the Fox" the night before, while I was cleaning up from dinner and I just knew that all the soocies had been swiped! When we got home from school pick-up, I asked him where Swiper put all the soocies, and thankfully, he remembered this time where he'd put them...underneath the cushions on the sofa!

Chillin' at home

We've been on the go A LOT lately...birthday parties, barbeques, beach picnics, girls night out, and our most recent fabulous weekend for me and the boys at Marineland and Petite Ferme, for which we are already getting our money's worth out of our annual passes. Unfortunately, I've neglected to bring my camera along so I have no photos of our recent activities. Actually, I have remembered it on a few occasions and neglected to take it out of the bag. The truth is, it is getting harder to take photos of the boys, with both of them on the go now, and can get quite frustrating attempting 15 shots of the same pic before capturing a good one! But worth it in the end, I know, so I must remain persistent!
Anyway, of all the things we do, one of our favourites is just plain staying at home. Especially for Robert who travels so much and eats out all the time. The previous weekend, we did just that, and enjoyed it immensely. We ate our breakfasts in the backyard, remained in our pyjamas for a good portion of the day, and we take full advantage of the relatively large garden we are paying somewhat dearly for! Robert and Andrew set up the tent, which is Andrew's castle, and Andrew is "the beast" and I am "Belle" because "I am beautiful!" and Robert is Gaston, cuz he's "a little crazy!" and Ryan is "Chip" cuz he's just little! Often times, "no girls" in the castle, but he makes an exception from time to time to allow me to enter! And he continues to remind me that Maya is allowed in his castle cuz she's funny. I will be picking up a pool on Wednesday, 4.57 metres in diameter by 1.07m high, and cannot wait to set it up. It's not huge, but should be big enough to get wet and cool down with the boys. I have ordered a killer whale inflatable for Andrew (his present for giving up his soocies - will blog on that later) and will be ordering an inflatable lounge chair for me. When Robert returns, I plan to take him up on his summer cocktail plans and will be sipping pina coladas poolside! Summer is upon us and we plan to enjoy a good part of it at home this year.

Phone chat with Daddy

Last night I witnessed what was, to me, one of the most adorable moments ever. The phone rang while I was putting Andrew down to bed last night. The lights were off already and we were playing flashlight games, a routine that Robert started with Andrew. We both knew instinctively that it would be Robert so I jumped out of the bed and picked up the phone just in time. I brought the phone into the bedroom and Andrew immediately told me he wanted to talk to Daddy. This is an unusual occurrence, since normally, he has no interest in speaking on the phone and if I put him on, he starts talking silly, baby talk and ends up pushing the buttons and inevitably hangs up on the caller. Last night, he was Mr. Talkative. Before even saying hello, he said, "I miss you Daddy". This is a first in itself. Not that he's never said I miss you to him before, but never without Robert or I prompting it. He proceeded to carry on a full conversation, telling Robert all about his day and asking about Robert's day. And then he told him what they are going to do together when he returns from Spain. (play in his house...which is, the tent we set up in the backyard, which has proved to be an endless source of fun for Andrew) The little guy is growing up!

Top Fit

I have started going to the gym on a regular basis again. The gym is called Top Fit and is about 5 minutes from home. Sometimes I run on the treadmill, which I'm really not all that keen on, but it's the only way I can run during the week since I can leave the boys at the daycare there. Sometimes, I do an aerobics class. I am absolutely loving these. First off, the instructors are the most enthusiastic ones I've ever experienced in a gym. Second, they are fantastic workouts and I feel amazing when I leave, and have more energy for the remainder of the day. Third, I love the music, which is generally current hits, and hence the only way I have a clue of what's current in music these days since the only other music I listen to is Old McDonald Had a Farm, etc. or Riviera Radio, the only english radio in the area, and plays mainly 80's hits (which I love too). But the funniest part for me is the way the instructors, sing along to the English music and use English with a french accent in guiding the class. There's a bodystep class I love, and we always start off with the "basic" step. Except they don't say "basic", they say, "bazeek". It's like that, all the way through the class. I crack right up. When they sing along to the songs, I get the impression they have no idea what the words actually mean. I wonder if the French feel the same way when I speak to them, and secretly laugh at my accent. The answer is probably a big YES!

Andrew's first field trip

I think Andrew had one of the best days of his life thus far, on his class field trip to Marineland. His interest (obsession) in animals continues, particularly those at Marineland...sharks, killer whales, polar bears, turtles, seals, dolphins, little fishies. I got a full account of his entire day with such enthusiasm, it made my heart melt and I'm so excited to go with him myself, and since I plan to get the annual pass, we will go often in the months to come. Usually, I get very little info about his days at school, not much more than "yes" when asked if he had a good day and "nobody" when asked who he played with and "nothing" when asked what he ate for lunch. Yesterday, he told me that he ate salad and bread and chips and water for lunch. And he even told me that Juliette (little girl in his class) pushed him and said, "c'est ma place" at the killer whale show and Katia (teacher) "screamed" at her because she was being naughty! And he sat beside Jung Bin (little boy in his class) on the bus. And Alain (little boy in his class) was really funny and was laughing with him. And even more adorable to me was that most of what he told me about his day, he told me in French.

I love May and hate May!

May, as I said, is the month of holidays. The flowers are in bloom. Sunny days with perfect temperatures become predictable. Beach picnics begin.
But it's also the month for a whole ton of administrative stuff to be done. Since we moved here in May 2007, we have to renew our resident visas every May. This, in itself, is quite a task. Thank God we have an immigration consultant (provided to us by Amadeus) who has connections at the dreaded prefecture. To do this without such a connection would be an absolute nightmare. It makes the chaos at the INS in Miami for people applying for green cards, etc. look like a walk in the park. And I'm not exaggerating. I could write an entire blog post just on that. The opening time alone reminds me of the running of the bulls: hundreds of people pushing and shoving and shouting and cursing and fighting to get to the front of the line. Children are knocked down. It's seriously outta control. With our consultant, we get to enter the building through a private entrance and bypass all that nonsense. But even with the consultant, there is still a great deal of paperwork to be done ourselves, not to mention the ten million photocopies of every document you've ever owned in your life. I think we've probably killed a whole forest in the amount of photocopies we've made since we have moved here. Robert continues to be convinced that this inefficiency is just a means of keeping French government employees with jobs. After all, 25% of the French population work for the government.
In addition, French taxes are due in May. Although this is not the most complex of tasks, it still requires a great deal of time on my end, as I'm still new at this, and every year our situation seems to change slightly, but just enough to result in a ton of more things to figure out. And getting answers in France is not easy. Government offices don't have answering machines, you just have to keep calling until you get someone. (and have I mentioned you have to pay to speak to a customer service agent???!!!) And that NOTHING is open between the hours of 12 and 2, which is precisely when Ryan happens to take his afternoon naps. I am very grateful for my huge community of expat friends, many of whom have already been through these processes and have helped show me the ropes. I also have to get our US tax returns done, since these are due on June 15th, for US residents living abroad. I have become quite proficient with the filing of US taxes, but of course our current situation makes everything ever so complicated and takes forever.
We also have to apply for Andrew's school in May. More photocopies (of all the same documents provided last year), more trees killed. And the deadline for registering for summer activities is also upon us. After my recent visit to the Guichet Unique, the governing body that administers the school enrollment, summer programs, etc. I am quite tempted to not bother with any summer camp programs for Andrew. To be pleasant, the lady at the front desk was not very friendly, nor helpful. I'll leave it at that!
On top of everything else, I have been relentlessly trying to register with the CAF, another government agency for family benefits. I know that we are entitled to a monthly sum, based on our current situation. We are actually eligible for this monthly sum until Andrew turns 18. (kind of like the baby bonus in Canada) My current problem is that the CAF only has record of 1 dependent in our family: Ryan, naturally, because he was born here. To be eligible for this benefit, you must have at least 2 children. So, I'm trying to prove that Andrew is our child and that he entered France legally, with us, when we moved here. I just found out today, from our immigration expert, that the particular documents the CAF are waiting on from the Prefecture do not exist anymore. Apparently some law was passed in 2009 that changes things for people in our situation. So, she advised me to go to the CAF in person, speak with a manager (which I can only imagine will be all but impossible) and present a photocopy of the court ruling that she gave us. I have a strong suspicion that I am not going to get very far with this, though I will try my best, and may have to resort to paying for professional assistance in resolving this. After all, these efforts will be well worthwhile once we start receiving benefits.
So these are the reasons I do NOT like May. Since I am the only French-speaking adult in the family, it all lies on my shoulders. Perhaps if I had an unlimited amount of uninterruped time, I'd be fine. But I've been typing this while feeding Ryan. And now I smell a poopy diaper. And then it's time to go pick up Andrew and take him to music class.