charleston kleid lila As a special Sunday treat, Mom made crepes for snack time. They were a big hit.

The anticipation…

A tentative taste….

A happy camper!

Good stuff

A little helping hand from Mom

This year, Mom’s cup runneth over…

Quite a haul

Plenty of presents from Juliette, Alexandre and Papa

How do you keep the kids quiet for a little while so that Mom can sleep in on Mother’s day? Silly Sunday morning selfies, of course…

Sunday selfie

Sunday selfie

“The whole is more than the sum of the parts,” goes the saying in English. This is usually a good thing, a comment on shared effort and teamwork. Not tonight. Tonight, our son has managed to cover the entire dining room floor with a single strawberry. Himself.

Sometimes you’re so tired that you don’t even make it up the stairs for naptime….

100% pooped.

Juliette made a card to celebrate Regine’s birthday!

Happy birthday!

Hey, Juliette, you’ve got a little something on the corner of your mouth…

Juliette seems to have enjoyed her snack.

Juliette was very, very excited that her friend Taline was coming over to visit. She stood watch by the window for twenty minutes until Taline arrived…

Waiting, waiting, waiting…

Every once in a while, you have an absolutely perfect weekend. After weeks of poor weather, we had the most amazing weather you can imagine. Four days of picture-perfect sunshine, mild temperatures, and beautiful blue skies. Spring has arrived, and summer is just around the corner.

Improving things even more was an invitation to spend the long weekend with Francois, Gratiane (Juliette’s godmother) and their daughter, Ines, in Nancy, where Maman grew up.

Papa hasn’t figured out the name for it, but adding a third child completely changes the dynamics. At home, our “little angels” generally spend their time beating seven types of shit out of one another. It’s like baking soda and vinegar. But add a third child (not ours, I’m hasty to point out) and suddenly everything is calm. The rivalry is gone. The kids play together peacefully. Maman and Papa relax over a glass of Pinot Blanc.

In any case, Juliette had a wonderful time playing with Ines (who, incidentally, is absolutely gorgeous and precocious and destined to break many hearts in her lifetime). You couldn’t imagine two happier bedfellows.

And Papa and Francois discovered an old bottle of Mirabelle in the wine cellar. Two more happy bedfellows. We solved the problems of the world. Unfortunately, neither of us could remember the answers to the world’s problems the following morning. 🙂

Never underestimate the power of bubbles.

Juliette

Best buds

Ines goes fishing

Trampoline. Holy static electricity, Batman!

Lunchtime!

Coloring is serious business.

Grump, grump….

Fun in the sun!

Brushing the ponies

She’s six years old. How long before this beauty is breaking hearts?

We have a pasture and stables at the house. It’s only a matter of time before Juliette asks a question where Papa finds it very hard to say no…

Pony ride

Up high

Let’s start at the beginning. Climbing is tough work…

Two young artists collaborate on a joint project

Anticipation. It’s the hardest thing. Juliette’s new trottinette (scooter) arrived last week. But Papa’s turned his back on the seventies “a few bruises never hurt anyone” upbringing and insisted that she wear a helmet when using it, so the first scoot has been waiting for a while. Today, the helmet arrived — and the anticipation made the experience all the more worthwhile. Check out Juliette on her new scooter, in the wonderful May sunshine.

Juliette’s very excited with her new toy…