lazy days

It has been a slow few days.  Jacob and myself are recovering nicely from our colds, but in the process, haven't done much of anything.  There is a lot of resting, relaxing and pajamas going on here.  Much needed I guess. 

Billy on the other hand is always busy - either with homework or at the rink.  Lucky for him, he is not sick.  Especially because you don't get to take any sick days when you play hockey.   

They say laughter is the best medicine and maybe, just maybe, there is a little truth to that.  Jacob and I have been putting it to the test.  (Don't mind all the buzzing, for reasons unknown it makes for much better tickling.) 

airmail

A happy little package found us here in France.  Jake is modeling one of his new shirts found inside.  Plaid - so very cute and perfect for the holidays.   We absolutely love it. 

Thank goodness for Aunties (and Baby Gap).    

Jacob is also finally fitting into a few pairs of shoes now!  The timing couldn't be better.  Now that the weather is cooling down it's nice to have something on his little feet while we are out.  These mini hightops are just the cutest ever.  For someone who has three girls, my Aunty Nora did a great job picking out the perfect things for a boy.  Thanks.    

sweet dreams

 I have come down with a cold and by the sounds of the raspy babble coming from Jacob last night,  he has too.  Hopefully it will be short lived.  We came prepared with baby Tylenol and saline nose drops but I am hoping we will not need them.   

The night before last we discovered that Jacob had maneuvered himself all the way to the end of his crib, head where his feet usually belong.  This means no more blanket in the crib.  I know everything you read says no blankets but while he was relatively immobile in the crib, a thin blanket tucked under the end of the mattress was working fine.  Especially because the little electric heater does a poor job of heating up his entire room and Fall weather is upon us.  

The new solution: a sleep sack.  What a dream.  It turns out it is the coziest, sweetest thing ever.  He loved it and slept amazingly well.  Could this sleep sack really have such an effect on his sleeping?  I guess we will soon find out.  Night one was a big success.         

   

Note the small heater in the upper right corner.  This is suppose to keep an entire room warm?  Not likely.  

walker we miss you

I am very badly missing our walker that recently broke.  I suppose the only person missing it more then me is Jacob.  He was really enjoying the new freedom it gave him.  It  was old and did not turn well but he was well on his way to perfecting his scooting - forwards and backwards.  Best of all, in the walker he was practically eye level with Hailey.  And this little fact made him extremely happy.  Hailey steered clear but he was content to just watch her and try to reach out to her whenever she happened by. 

Now if he wants to get around the house, or get at Hailey, he is going to have to start crawling.  Oh man, that is going to be interesting.  

On a completely unrelated note...

how kissable are those cheeks?

christmas is in the air

Lights are being strung up downtown.

Holiday displays are popping up in store windows.

 Listening to Christmas music, of course*

And anticipating the opening of the Christmas market. 

Apparently there will be over 140 stalls and "mini-chalets"

Crafts, ornaments, baking, champagne, ciders & gluwine.  

Europe really knows how to do Christmas. 

Now the only thing missing is snow.
............

(*Just to clarify, Jacob & I have been listening to Christmas music for weeks now whenever Billy is at practice.  And this is not a lie, I have 134 Christmas songs.  Just over 7 hours worth. When Billy comes home from practice he turns it off.  His Christmas spirit doesn't kick in until December first).

currently reading

I finished all of the books I packed for France several weeks ago and desperately need to order some more.  Many of them were alright but not really worth recommending; this one however was a such a joy. 

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Towes

This book is very unique and well written.  The characters are eccentric and completely lovable and the story is both hilarious and a little heartbreaking.  A wonderful read. 

Verdict: Loved it

guess how much i love you

"I love you right up to the moon...

and back"

We have all really been enjoying this book (despite the fact that Billy thinks Big Nutbrown Hare is a "big one-upper").  Jacob is trying really hard to turn pages now but usually ends up closing the book instead; needs a little more practice.

Somehow the allure of books has not yet worn off.  He still prefers his books over toys.  How long will this last, I cannot say.  But I am taking full advantage and enjoying snuggling up with a baby and a book as much as possible.   

yams are yummy

Jacob cannot get enough of yams but unfortunately the same cannot be said for green beans puree.  Despite looking quite happy in this picture, his previous and subsequent expressions were not the least bit joyful.  Of course I was trying to capture  the "yucky face" but as soon as I take out the camera he gives a little smile.  What a sweetheart. 

He was downright disgusted with the green beans and with us for feeding them to him.  This has been our first rejection so far and surely not the last.  As we continue to introduce new foods I am sure there will be more "yucky faces" to come.

Maybe we will have better luck with the green beans next time.

practically a teenager already

Okay, thankfully I am exaggerating a little.

I took this video at the very beginning of November, tucked it away and completely forgot about it until now.  Looking back on it, I already see a noticeable difference in his sitting and it has only been a few short weeks.   You will notice he is still a little camera shy but we're working on it.

I would just like to take a moment and pause time here.  Slow things down ever so slightly. 

Soon he will be getting his drivers license and graduating from university.   

the latest

Last weeks six month check up and immunization was a success.  Not a tear was shed and following the appointment Jacob was cheerful, almost giddy even.  So much so in fact, he missed his usual nap.  There was a lot of babbling and giggling going on.  I can honestly say this reactions was more than a little puzzling, but nonetheless, much better then the alternative.

Normally this would have been our final vaccination until the one year mark but things work slightly different here and this shot is broken-up into two shots instead.  We go back in March for the second.  Our final shot in France.    

 six months

eighteen pounds

twenty eight inches

chocolate dipped lemon sugar cookies

Here is another lovely recipe from my friend Tara, a stylist  based in Norway.  As you may remember, earlier I posted her recipe for chocolate dusted hazelnut sandwiches.  Thank you so much for sharing.  I also included a little holiday variation of my own below.  These beautiful photographs were taken by Norwegian photographer, Birgit Fauske.  

For more beautiful things check out her style blog.  

She is currently working on these lovely handmade necklaces.  

 Note: These sugar cookies are excellent for forming shapes of all kinds. The trick is to chill the dough before cutting shapes, and then chill again before baking. Imprint with antique stamps and dip in chocolate for a more sophisticated biscuit, or decorated with icing in every colour imaginable. For iced cookies, substitute vanilla for the lemon juice in this recipe, and omit the zest if you wish.  Yields 2 dozen medium sized cookies.

Variation: I love making eggnog sugar cookies for the holidays. To do so, just omit the lemon and lemon zest in the recipe below and instead add 1 tsp. rum or rum extract, 2 tsp. nutmeg and 1 tsp. cinnamon.  Voila, happy holidays.

You will need:

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. finely ground sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large organic egg

1 tsp lemon juice

Zest of 1 large organic lemon

1 Milk chocolate bar

……………………………………..

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy; Beat in eggs.

Add flour mixture and stir on low speed until combined.

Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest.

Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to and cut into desired shapes.

Place on baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes more.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 325 degrees removing just before edges begin to brown.  
Transfer to wire rack and let cool

In a double boiler, melt chocolate on low heat until smooth and dip cooled cookies into melted chocolate; set aside until chocolate is firm.

Food and Styling | Tara Ballantyne

Photography | Birgit Fauske

game progress

After a somewhat disastrous game for Jacob and I a few weeks ago, things have been looking up.  And by disastrous I mean lasting for a total of 20 minutes with a screaming  baby.  He held nothing back.  There were tears streaming down his face, wailing and a lot of sad sobbing sounds.  I rocked, bounced, walked, swayed, whispered and sang to no avail.  

It was just not meant to be.      

In contrast, the last two games have been a dream.  We lasted for two entire periods.  A personal best for us so far.  However there still is a little maintenance required.  He prefers when we stand as opposed to him sitting comfortably on my lap (and me sitting comfortably in the stands).  So we stand and sway.  I imagine he probably gets to see a lot more this way.  He certainly is sure to let me know this is preferred over the alternative.  

The whole ordeal kind of throws off our bedtime routine, but it only happens once a week and provides an interesting experience full of new sights and sounds.  It is such a sensory rich environment that he is not able to settle into sleep, even when he is clearly very tired.  Because of this we may never make it through an entire game but still like coming to support Dad even if only for a period or two. 

This picture is an old one from Victoria but I thought it was a nice one to put up.

paris in november

We has a little break from hockey this past week and decided to embarked on a little day trip to Paris.  

We were anticipating rain so instead of the Bjorn we opted to bring the stroller and rain shield instead.  I think this probably turned out to be the comfier alternative for Jacob but Bill and I ended up lugging a baby, stroller and excessively heavy diaper bag up and down many, many subway stairs.  It went a little something like this - approach subway entrance, remove all toys, blankets etc. from stroller and stuff into an already stuffed diaper bag, remove Jacob to be carried by Mom, break down stroller to be carried by Dad, descend into subway, enter turnstiles, descend further into subway, turn a corner, descend further again, more stairs,  reach platform, hustle onto busy subway train, Mom and Jacob sit while Dad gets stands with the stroller, arrive at destination and repeat the entire process going up this time.  And despite all of that, it is still an extremely efficient way to get around the city.

Total amount of stairs for the day? Too many to count.

We decided to do this as minimally as possible and as a result walked for hours and hours.  A much nicer way to see the city anyways.  Here are some of the days highlights.

En route to the Left Bank.  Although it looks ready to rain any minute it stayed dry long enough for us to go for lunch and when we had finished so had the rain.  It looks like we could have brought the Bjorn after all.

We made it to the Eiffel Tower and we couldn't believe it, blue skies.  Of course we didn't fight the lines to go to the top but we did take a few pictures.  I never thought I would be impressed by the Eiffel Tower but in person it is truly a wonder to see.  Every time we go back I am reminded of what a marvel it is.  And so much history.  Can you imagine the Nazi flag once flew from its spire?  Unbelievable. 

Next up, the Paris Aquarium.  Although admission shockingly cost almost as much as our train tickets from Amiens to Paris, we enjoyed the aquarium and so did Jacob.  It was bright and diverse and interesting enough to hold his attention the entire time we were there.  They even had sharks.

As usual we also spent quality time in Starbucks and it gave us the perfect opportunity to relax in such a big and bustling city.  

in rememberance

For all those who have fought.  For all those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.  And for all of our allies.  Lest we forget.

 "The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousness; our future is their monument". - Robertson

celebrating six months

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things"  - Robert Brault

Jacob Daniel Thompson

at five days old

personalized recipe book

A really lovely and thoughtful gift.  

Make a personalized cookbook from Tastebook.  You can add your own recipes and personal photographs or you can choose from their database of recipes. You also can customize the cookbook cover, title and colors to suite your theme.  

I made one for Kaity as a graduation gift and was really pleased with how pretty it turned out.

Photo courtesy of Merrimentdesigns.com

day at the zoo

Yesterday was our first trip to the zoo.  It is not huge, just a small outdoor Zoo, but it happens to be conveniently located near our apartment.  A nice fifteen minute walk and we're there.

We were all really impressed with the Gibbons and Jacob watched them swing and jump from branch to branch.  We also happened by while they were feeding the elephants.  Amazing.  It was a neat thing to watch but was a little crowded so we only stayed at that exhibit for a short time. 

Jake seemed to watch all of the bigger and brighter animals with interest.  Still a little too young to follow the smaller animals or the ones that really blend in with their surrounding.  All in all, it was quite a nice way to spend our afternoon.     

camera shy

Jacob has not really taken a liking to our video camera yet.  Every time I turn in on he will completely stop whatever cute thing he was doing,  freeze and stare.  

To capture him "talking" to his farm animal friends I had to hide behind the computer.  It turned out to be quite the process as he caught me on my first two tries and after each failed attempt I had to let him settle and wait for him to start up again.  The result is a video that is a little distant and fuzzy, but a nice change from the camera shy stare we usually capture.      

big blue eyes

 Jacob is happily getting ready for a stroller ride to help mom & dad get groceries.  With these big blue eyes he often looks exactly like Kaity did when she was a baby.  I wish I had one of her baby pictures to put up side-by-side.  The resemblance is astounding.  

As you can see Kait you don't have to worry, his eyes are still very very blue.  Maybe even bluer then when you last saw them.  

first bites

We are almost at the six month mark now and have introduced solid foods.  Jacob has taken to rice cereal very easily and is starting to get the hang of things.  It is a lot to take in and hard to focus on just one thing.  Jake divides his time focusing on the food, the bib, the spoon and the bowl.  All of which are extremely fascinating.  This bib was such a huge hit that I had to put it on inside out  otherwise I could not get him to raise his head and take his eyes off the anchors (Marnie, it was so cute to watch, he absolutely loves this bib).

For some reason Billy is much better at feeding Jacob solids then I am.  He is extremely precise and patient.  There is a lot less mess involved when Dad is leading the feeding.  It is a nice together time for the two of them and nice to finally let Billy get in on some of the feeding action.  I have been monopolizing this for far too long. 

I have been looking forward to making Jake's baby food myself for ages now and have yams baking in the toaster oven as I type this. We have already slowly started to introduce avocado in the evenings and so far it has been a success.  Hopefully the same will hold true with the yam puree.  One thing is for sure, it will be messy.     

so pretty

Ida Pearle makes beautiful collages out of silk-screened paper.  All of her artwork is hand cut and glued making each print unique.

Among other things, she makes these lovely custom name prints where you select the print, skin tone and hair color and receive a one-of-a-kind picture for you child with their name.  What a wonderful keepsake and beautiful artwork. 

pictures from GOOP.com

happy halloween

We had a few friends over for Halloween and in an attempt to do things as North American as possible, we ordered pizza from Pizza Hut.  It was delicious and provided a much needed break for our toaster oven.  We also ended up having four trick-or-treaters which added a little authenticity to our night.         

 

 We couldn't find a costume here in France so we improvised.  

Jake had a friend over to dress up with and they enjoyed
looking at each others costumes.

First family Halloween was a success.

We also carved our first Halloween pumpkin.

We actually realized that in the last nine years Billy & I have never carved a pumpkin together so it was a fun first.  Especially because we both had different ideas as to how to go about it.  We soon realized that it is pretty hard to carve a pumpkin with a large bread knife and a dull paring knife, but our pumpkin had character.  And most importantly, Jacob loved looking at it once it was lit.