A Very Merry Christmas

Let me start this by saying, we really missed our friends and family this season. It was strange for me not to be super busy with school concerts and playing for a bunch of Christmas services. I missed packing up the car and driving down to Chicago for family Christmas parties and hanging out. I missed seeing the kids so excited to play with their cousins. I missed hanging out with friends. I missed getting a Starbucks at Target and walking around after the kids went to bed shopping for presents!

Despite all of this, I think that we had the most relaxing and most enjoyable Christmas ever. Ken has had the entire week off! We did some fun things with the kids and other families. When we weren't out, we were at home, relaxing, and playing with the kids.

Last Sunday, we went to Europa Park, which is an amusement park in Germany. We found out that even though Ava is terrified of people in costumes, she loves roller coasters - the faster the better! After she went on the biggest one she could go on (she wanted to wait extra to sit in the front row and kept her arms up the entire time), she raced all the way around to get in line again.

Such a happy girl!

Happy Beckett

Daddy allowed the crazy face painting! 

Waving at the light parade.

 On Christmas Eve, I cooked a ham dinner. Now this wasn't a ham that you can buy that is similiar to Honey Baked Ham, where you can just put it in the oven for 30 minutes and you are done! This ham was bought in Germany and after using Google Translate and someone to verify the directions, it needed to be put in boiling water for 90 minutes. I was very skeptical, but it turned out ok.

Cooking our first ham.

My boys

Leaving notes, cookie and milk for Santa. Ava didn't want to forget carrots for each of the reindeer.

Daddy's interpretation of what Beckett would say...

We had the most amazing and relaxing Christmas Day ever! The kids slept in until 8:30! We had a big breakfast, opened presents, stayed in jammies and played all day! Ava was happy that Santa found them in France, although her reaction that morning was "Santa must have stayed at our house a long time because he used the same wrapping paper as Mommy did." Lesson learned for next year!!

Crazy boy! 

Helping Daddy open up his present. This was the first "toy" to be put together!

Christmas night, we were able to celebrate with friends. The kids played, the adults ate and drank. The perfect end to a great day!

These girls have all of Ava's new toys to play with, yet they play with Becketts dinosaurs.

One of these boys really needs a haircut!!

Today we went to Mont Sainte Odile Convent in the mountains. It was much colder and much windier than we had expected, but the view was amazing. 

 Ava was convinced she could see all the way to Michigan up here!

Amazing view!

The girls deep in conversation.

Inside one of the chapels.

We are now looking forward to New Years Eve tomorrow and some more family days before we get back at it again - I love the holidays!

doctors, thanksgiving, more doctors

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Ava had had a bump on her gums above her teeth that she fell on last January (about 2 weeks after we moved to France). I got recommended a dentist, so I called (thankfully he spoke English) and made the appointment. He fit us in within the next couple of days and very quickly prescribed an antibiotic for the infection and referred me to a pediatric dentist. I called the pediatric dentist and got right in. She saw us the next week, took x-rays and told me that Ava needed her 2 front teeth extracted, right before Christmas! The only thing I could think in my head was the song "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"! Last Monday, I took her in and she did amazing. It went way better than I ever thought. She did great on Monday, so I sent her to school on Tuesday. After school I asked her what she ate for lunch and she told me apples - I guess we didn't have to have scrambled eggs for breakfast and ice cream for lunch anymore!!

I kept talking up the tooth fairy so there would be some incentive, but she told me she was scared of it. What kid is scared of the tooth fairy??? So, we wrote the tooth fairy a note and put the note and teeth out on the balcony so the tooth fairy didn't have to come into her room at night. I didn't know what the going rate was for the tooth fairy, so we left 2 euros (lucky for her we use euros instead of dollars right now!). The problem was this week she told me she lost the "coins" and asked if she could "borrow some of mine since hers were gone". I am guessing this is only the beginning of "borrowing" money from us...

Showing off her new smile.

We didn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving day because Ken had to work and Ava had school, so we got together with some other Americans on Saturday night. It just smelled like Thanksgiving! Even though we aren't home, we are so thankful for our France family here. This year has been so great for our family and we are thankful for all the new people that we have met and things we have been able to do.

Some of the kids.

Kids table - I am not sure where Ava had gone...

Being crazy.

The Moms

For a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Beckett was limping when he got up in the morning and after naps. He never cried or complained that it was painful. He would just kind of fall over (and laugh) and then hobble around for about 15 minutes. Being the concerned mother that I am, I kept saying "Let's wait a couple of more days and then I will make an appointment".  Well, the Friday after Thanksgiving, I picked him up from daycare and his teachers there told me it was really getting worse. So, I called the pediatrician and she wanted him seen right after I picked up Ava from school. I still wasn't super worried about it, so we got Ava and biked to the pediatrician (in the rain). The doctor said that she felt something and wanted x-rays done that night. She called to get me an appointment, but it was all of the way on the other side of town. Ken was still at work, it was dark, it was raining and my only method of transportation was my bike. So, I put the kids in the bike trailer and raced over to the radiologist as fast as I could. I had called Ken to let him know what was going on and he was planning on meeting us there. I managed to get there at 5:45 and the office closed at 6. We went on back and it took 3 tries of pinning Beckett down to try to get a somewhat clear picture. Beckett was sobbing and wouldn't lay still, the person taking the x-rays didn't speak English so she kept getting mad at me because I didn't know what she was saying (it was also way past 6 and I know she just wanted to get out of there), Ava was hungry and tired, and I was ready to meltdown. No one was telling me anything and so my mind automatically went to assuming the worst. Ken got to the office in time to help with try #2 and #3 of the x-rays. By time the radiologist looked at them, it was 6:45. Thankfully, he said everything looked normal and Beckett was fine. We celebrated with Domino's for dinner! I took Beckett in for a follow-up appointment this week and it looks like it could be from a virus. He is getting better (he isn't falling over when he wakes up anymore), but he isn't quite 100% yet. Hopefully this all clears up and we can be done with doctors and dentists for a while!

Normandy Trip

We had a great trip. The car rides went very well - no blown tires, we didn't run out of euros and no one puked in the car - we are making progress. Normandy has been on Kens list of places to go while we live here. This trip made both of us have a new appreciation for what the soldiers in the war went through. It is hard to describe what it is like being at the war memorials. It is both emotional and almost bittersweet.

The best part of the trip for me was on the first day. I struggled before the trip as to what to tell Ava we were going to see. I figured I would start as vague as possible and go from there. So, we started with "we are going to see an important place where people fought over who was the boss". I should have maybe read up on how to talk to a 4 year old about war! While we were at the American Cemetery and Memorial on Omaha Beach, it was very clear that our little explanation was not going to appease her and the questions started. "Why were they fighting?", "Did people die?", "Why do some people have crosses and some have stars?", "Is Hitler in heaven?". I give our answers a B-, definitely room for improvement. I know that she will probably not remember being here, but I am happy that we were able to have some good conversations about what went on and that she was taking things in and asking meaningful questions. When we got back to our apartment at night, she wanted to draw (she is very into drawing right now!). I asked her to draw anything that she remembered from the day and this is what she came up with.

The cross on the left has a flower on it and the purple thing in the middle is a star. Of course, as a typical 4 year old, the star ones were her favorite! Such a great moment as a parent!

Our first day started at Arromanches. This was the harbor that the Allies used to transport vehicles, troops and goods after the initial attack. 

She had to write her name in the sand. We learned that she is a beach girl 

and could play in the sand for a long time!

 Overlooking Arromanches.

Arromaches with the tide out. The rusted floats on the beach supported the roads that they used to transport the vehicles, troops and goods. 

We then went to Omaha beach where we went to the American Cemetery and Memorial - so difficult to describe. The memorial was pretty emotional, listening to the personal stories and hearing them name each individual that gave their life.

So peaceful and beautiful now.

The chapel in the middle of the graves. 

The second day we went to Mont St. Michel and then took a scenic drive to St. Malo.

 Mont St. Michel from afar.

 Ava got to take a special tour of the abbey with Daddy. She always loves when she gets to do special things that her brother has to stay back on!

Inside the abbey.

They are redoing the entrance, so there was a bunch of construction!

On our drive to St. Malo. The tide was out, so the boats were a bit stuck.

"Pointe du Grouin"- absolutely beautiful

Beckett was over the pictures.

Beautiful sunset

My pretty girl.

The next day we went to Utah Beach. Ava loved playing in the sand and jumping over the waves.

Showing Beckett what the American flag looks like. 

Showing some muscle.

Loving her beach time. 

 Loving the beach, just like her Mom.

 Jumping waves. Unfortunately for her, she also has her Mothers coordination skills.

Has to do everything his sister does.

On the fourth day, we went to Etrétat and then stopped in a fishing town called Honfleur. 

Throwing pebbles at Etrétat.

Ava got to do the hike to the top of the cliff with Daddy.

The golf course at the top of the cliff. Ken was jealous.

Handsome boy.

Trying to convince Beckett to take a nap and just let me lay there. Didn't work.

Honfleur

Saint Catherines Church in Honfleur.

The church was all wood, so they built the bell tower across the 

square to lighten the load of the wooden roof.

Honfleur at night. 

On the last day, Ken took Ava to the Tapestry Museum in Bayeux where we were staying. Rick Steves gave it a top rating, but Ken was not very interested in it. Ava still managed to get him to buy a postcard - who will be the lucky recipient of the tapestry postcard?