DeeDee is the Best!

Lucienne really got to know her cousin Dylan on our trip to Collioure. She was very interested in everything that he did and they played together like best buds! We rented a cute little apartment just steps from the beach and castle. The town of Collioure is Über-cute! Gramma J spoiled us with love and ice cream and we almost couldn't bare to see her and DeeDee leave.

We ate many great French meals of fish with a Catalonian flair, but our favorite meal was crepes made a ton of different ways. Kevin was loving the wine and opportunities abounded with vineyards everywhere. In fact there was a winery in a converted monastary near our apartment. It was everything we could to not to pick up the phone and quit our jobs to retire early in enchanting Collioure.

On a day trip we visited another town across the border in Spain called Cadaqués after a long winding trip in the car during which Lucienne got sick...again! We took the plane back to Brussels from Carcassonne, but before leaving we had a chance to tour the authentic medieval walled city, one of the biggest in Europe! What a wonderful trip and a very special 38th birthday for me.

Lulu turns One!

Lucienne turned one on our vacation to the French Pyrénées. We rented a house in near the little town of Ercé with cousins Michelle and Axel and Niall and Norah. Norah baked Lu a birthday cake, an amazing feat since we had a very sparce kitchen in the cabin. It was the first refined sugar infusion that Lu had been exposed to and boy it did the job. She was buzzing around for hours and topped off with a sugar hangover. We woke up to a vomit covered baby and travel cot.

Our first weekend of vacation was filled with celebration as the Sunday was then Easter. Norah brought Easter baskets for everyone and all contributed to making a tasty Easter brunch. We even attended the Easter mass in the little village church.

We weren't expecting to be snowed in during our visit, but it added to the ambiance of the place since the house was in fact a converted mountain stone barn. Just in time to meet Gramma Jan and Dylan the snow melted and we drove to Toulouse to pick them up. We said good bye to our mountain hut in Ercé and to Michelle, Axel, Niall and Norah and headed to Collioure and the blue, sunny Mediteranean.

I'm a Skypin' Pro

Lu is almost one year old! She is developing very fast! She crawls now like a pro all over and is very confident about standing and walking (with help of course), but she can stretch from one prop to another. She’s stood momentarily on her own when she’s distracted by something. Her language is coming along too. She barks at puppies and knows when she sees one that she makes a barking sound. She likes to chase mommy around and loves peek-a-boo. She’s always looking through her books and points at everything! She makes a little questioning sound and points like she’s saying ‘what’s that?’ Skyping with family is one of her favorite things to do and she’s started ‘brushing’ her teeth on her own now.

February Break

During the lent break Feb. 11-15 Lu learned to stand up on her own. She pulls herself up in her crib and on the couch and walks when we hold her hands. She likes to copy what we do. Really likes to make sounds with her tongue. She is also a little temperamental and can get frustrated when she can’t do something. Is the beginning of temper tantrums?

Waving Bye-bye

It’s Feb 12th and Lu says da-da deliberately to her daddy. She also waves bye-bye when we say bye-bye to her. She waved to her bath toys when Mommy said bye to each of them today. She also waved today at people leaving the café we were having breakfast at. She climbs onto her knees and can stand unassisted (holding something), but can’t pull up to sanding on her own consistently (although she has twice on the couch and once using her new car seat.) She’s been sick since Christmas off and on, but has kept her good humor. She likes to roar and copies us when we do too. She still really likes fruit and cheese and will now eat veggies if they are boiled in flavor (bouillon). She knows her name when we call her too. She will clap when someone is doing it on TV. She points at things and says, “dat” like the birds in the round-about outside the crèche.

Puppies!

Lu can play peek-a-boo now on January 23 when I was waiting in the doctor’s office waiting room she lifted up the blanket over her face to mimic me playing peek-a-boo. She really loves her doggie house with her 5 soft doggies. She scoots around like a seal but no crawling. She can stand on her own holding on to something and pulls herself up on her own. She is feeding herself now and would rather do that than be fed. She likes chicken, avocado, and especially cheese. On January 29 Dada saw Lu pull herself up to standing without help from anyone. She used the back of the couch to get to the plant behind the couch. She also will kiss the puppy when I ask her to. She’s no longer crying when we drop her off at the crèche. On the weekend of January 19 we visited Paris, Lu's second time there, for Cousin Michelle's birthday. She had fun partying at the bar with all the adults!

Here Comes Santa Claus

After our trip to Vancouver for Christmas Lu have been doing lots of new tricks. She must have wanted to keep up with her cousin Rielly. On New Year’s Eve she clapped for the first time. We have been working on this for quite a while. She always yells when she claps because when I would show her I’d always saw Yahhhh or Bravo so it seems she can’t clap without making noise! Lu can also sit up on her own from a laying position. She is also scooting forward and using her knees some…ALMOST crawling. As soon as we got home to Brussels she started scooting around the house attacking everything she could get her hands on. She is also pulling herself up almost to standing using the high chair. Boy does she have some intense upper body strength! She is also finding little pieces of lint and such on the floor and is intent on eating them! Lu still is so good natured, hardly ever crying. She loves people, and will go to anyone. The French stewardess on the plan from Portland to Frankfurt wanted to take her home. She smiles at everyone and yells to get people’s attention. She knows her name and will turn her head towards you when you say it. She goes to the crèche tomorrow since it’s my first day back. She has a little cough she most likely got from Rielly so hopefully it doesn’t get any worse.