A Little Bit of Time...

...is what I finally have tonight! September has been quite a whirlwind so far. Between finding a new back-to-school routine and Fabien working non-stop on a translation project for work, it's been a busy month. But, tonight I have some time. So, let's rewind a few weeks and go back to Labor Day weekend when life was still relatively calm. Here are a few shots from our last weekend of summer which we spent with Barbara, Massimo, Emma, Linda and Mike (Barbara's parents). It was a lovely weekend at Linda and Mike's house in Rehoboth, DE where we enjoyed, as always, wonderful meals and great company.

A Parisian Walk

We couldn't be at my parents' place and not go to Paris with Théo for the first time. And so Rachel, Théo, Papylain and myself drove to Rachel's old neighborhood in the 15th arrondissement. We of course started our walk at 26 rue Lecourbe (Rachel's old apartment) and continued on to the Eiffel Tower with a quick stop over at the "Café du Commmerce" for a nice lunch before going back home to avoid traffic at rush hour.
Théo cooperated so easily as usual that it made it the perfect first day in Paris with him.

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First Flight

After our flight was canceled on Saturday, we had a few extra days at home to get ready for our trip and to prepare Théo for his first plane ride. When the moment arrived, Théo was ready to go! He waited patiently in line to check our luggage, passed through security without a fuss and didn't say a word despite our flight leaving slightly behind schedule. During the flight, Théo was very comfortable in his bassinet where he slept for nearly five hours! What a good baby!Luckily, his ears cooperated too and we had a happy baby on our hands when the plane landed in Paris Thursday morning. What a relief! We made it just in time too - more snow was on its way...While waiting at the baggage claims, Théo was reunited with two very special people - Papylain and Tata Claire - who were waiting on the other side of the glass wall. We made it to Chilly with little traffic and enjoyed a nice, relaxing first day back at home in France.

Boarding

No need for us to worry anymore about whether or not we will receive Théo's passport before our trip to France for the Holidays. We got it today! So actually it went pretty fast since it's been not even 3 weeks that we applied for it! And now, the little Frenchie is ready to go and conquer Chilly-Mazarin (my home town) in less than a month...

My First Passport

Our trip to France for the Holidays coming soon, we had to apply for Théo's first passport. Which implied that we were in the need of two passport photos for him to submit with the application. Since we have everything on hand at home, camera+computer+photoshop+printer (just like the majority of people), no need to go to a photographer.
Here is how we did the trick in few steps:
1. We put Théo on our bed with a white fitted sheet and of course took a few shoots of him until we were happy with one of them. Actually this time we were lucky enough that we indeed were please after only four pictures have been taken! And by the way, the use of flash was necessary for a better render and a sharper image.
2. In photoshop, I cropped the photo so the proportions will be as required for a passport photo ; meaning 2x2 inches, with the length of the head (from top to chin) between 1in and 13/8in.
3. Then, we thought it would be even better if we got rid of the few wrinkles from the sheet so it would look a little more professional. So I used the pen tool to trace and select the background and keep Théo out of ma selection. Finally, I used "blur surface" under the blur filters. (here I used a radius of 69 and a threshold of 19)4. Now our picture is done. Just print (2x2) and submit with the application!

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend was just what we needed for a little break from our everyday routine. And so we were invited to join Barbara, Massimo and Emma down in Delaware, where Armando and Raisa met us as well with their little Nico. And that's how we all got together, under the hospitality of Mike and Linda who took very good care of us in their lovely home.

This was Théo's very first vacation and as you will see further down in the pictures, it went very well for this happy little baby. We all enjoyed the beach, the boardwalk (where we couldn't resist taking pictures in an old fashioned photo-booth), good food - Mike I can still taste those ribs - but most importantly very good company.

As we know, all good things come to an end, so it was time to hit the road. On the way back home, we stopped at University of Delaware where Rachel went to college and couldn't resist buying a onesie for Théo. We got a snack (Théo too) and got back in the car...until the prince decided that he did NOT have enough to eat. So with about an hour to go, we had to exit the highway, pull into an empty parking lot and nurse Théo while the night was falling. And so, because it seemed weird to have a car with a man and a woman in it in an empty parking lot in the dark, a police car came in and asked Rachel what we were doing...well you bet the cop was embarrassed when he realized Rachel was nursing and let Théo finish his dinner!
Anyway, we were once again back on track and got home after a long day on the road and a great weekend.

Babymooning...

...in Manchester, VT. This is were we decided to spend our last getaway as two, before our lives change for good and for the best. We did not get very lucky with the weather as it rained pretty much all the time, but we took advantage of it by spending more time in restaurants and enjoying a nice fireplace at the B&B. It was just a great time relaxing and not thinking about anything. The area was very cute and peaceful (especially at this time of the year) and we could not have chosen a better place to stay by choosing "The Inn at Manchester". I would definitely recommend this place for anyone who would plan to go in the area. Too bad it took us over eight hours to get back home in a horrible rain when we were only three and a half hours away!!! Everything else was just great for a perfect trip.

Time's Over!

Indeed it is. Vacation is over. No more late evenings and sleeping late until noon. No more of Maman's cooking, family time and childhood friends.
Everything started off good. Having a barbecue at home was a great opportunity to see everyone and enjoy them all, all in once. Thanks again to everybody for having come. I guess that on our next trip we can bring back some sweet relish for everyone's Xmas present! And once again, thank you Floflo for having took care of the barbecue.

One day in Paris, 2 at home, and hop, in the car to go to Piolenc at my parents place in South of France with Papa, Maman and Pat. Only this time, because it was not Rachel's first time here and we did a lot other years, it was then only resting and relaxing.
Of course, there was some gardening chores to do, especially if we wanted to play some pétanque but that was it. So our days had no schedules. It just felt good to wake up in Provence, get up with the sound of cicadas, put on your shoes and go get some bread down in the village for breakfast, spend some more time with the parents and enjoy these special moments.

Then Rachel and I left for Barcelona where we planned a little getaway for just the two of us. But surprise!!! A friend of mine that couldn't be at the barbecue met us there with his girlfriend. Well actually, half a surprise because he called me the day before to tell me they changed their plans, that they were going to drive to Barcelona 4 hours and meet us there. Thank you guys!
Aaaaaah Barcelona! The beach, the old area, the parks, the artists, Las Ramblas, Gaudi (yeah...you know...the singer), a different style of life, the tapas, the sangria,...it was like a vacation in our vacation! Well it was also some good miles for our little legs!!!! Even if I don't know exactly how much, we walked everywhere all day long for these 4 days.
My favorite one? When we took a bike ride to the park where I dove in the fountain because it was so hot and too tempting :o)
Goodbye Barcelona, it's 10pm, time to go home in Piolenc because tomorrow we're going on the road again to go to Carry-le-Rouet to see Tonton and Tata. No need to say here again that we were really happy to see them because beside this time we don't have many opportunities to catch up with them.
Here, the schedule was kind of the same as in Piolenc: eat, read (yes I read too....sometimes), nap...except that here, the pool was so welcoming when it got too hot.

Our trip down south came to an end and we headed back to Chilly for the last days and spent them with Lionel, Thomas and Claire.
And now, it's already time to pack again and be ready for our flight back home.
3 weeks is a long time but seems short at the same time, it feels like you never have the time to do everything. Time goes fast, too fast.
See you soon Chilly.

Visting the Lameau

Our nice little weekend visiting Seb and Astrid is now over.
I was able to leave work at 11:30am and after checking 12 times that we didn't forget anything we finally took off at 2pm for our little ride to Montreal.
No traffic, radio on, everything is going smoothly...until the custom. There it is, I have no idea what the agent is asking me....yeah yeah it's in French! I guess we'll have some good laugh this weekend like right now when I told him "I live in Summit New Jersesy" when I actually asked me when was my current status in the US :o)
Anyway, here we are, at the entrance on Montreal, and you can see some smiles and happy faces knowing that in e few moment will see our friends again since a little while now.
That moment finally came and so we're spending the night talking, blowing the air mattress for Rachel and I, eating, talking, blowing the air mattress, taking a walk in the neighborhood and see all the tatoo and sex shops around, blowing the air mattress (shit, this mattress is horrible to blow), go watch the jazz festival...but after a long road, we starting to feel a little tired and that air mattress (finally all ready for us) is then very welcome.
Saturday it was bicycle day: We're wondering about what the weather is going to be but we're hanging on our first idea and grabbing our bicycles to go down to the old city. This is probably the best way to wander in town which has its own lane for bicycles! The Only problem was that we actually DID get some bad weather and we ended up riding under very heavy rain...but hey! That just made it more fun!
That night we went for some music at the Jazz Festival (interrupted by the rain too) and for some shopping at the underground mall where Canadians can go without having to step outside during rough winter temperature.
Sunday, last day, Seb and I starting the day by a little jog...well not that little actually. We went all the way up to Parc Mont Royal, only hills! So as to run back we were running at 120% (if that's possible) as is was now mostly in slope...I think we caught up with the bus that was front of us and even passed it :o) But I slowed down before Seb...and I'll put that on the fact that I was in an unknown area, not playing on an home field :o)
Now it's breakfast and it's crêpes time! Once ready we're heading all together back to that same Mont Royal park but on a quieter pace. Lots of things are going on, from the most ordinary to the most curious ones: soccer, circus activities, drums and djumbes.... The most curious was probably all these people that were playing and reacting middle age fights. If you had time you could have grabbed some gears too and participate to it (gears and weapons were all plastics by the way).
Anyway, after a long walk of almost 4 hours, it was already time to go back home if we didn't want to get back TOO late...well we did arrived home at 2am anyway!)
It was really great to see them and it makes me even happier knowing we'll see each other again and again.