Today

Today is a good day. No, a great day. The sun is finally shining without a cloud in the sky, the thermometer reading a balmy 59 degrees. Kayden and I went for a long walk along the river, breathing in the smells of spring. Trees were blossoming with pink flowers. Daffodils covered the grass. Kayakers were conquering the calm waters, stirring a longing within me to buy a kayak and join in the fun. Do those come with baby seats? Meandering through Lille, I found myself at an outdoor cafe at the "Grand Place". While sipping my "grand cafe au lait" I was able to people watch and just truly enjoy being in France. I took Kayden out of her stroller to observe the scenary and she just could not stop smiling and talking. My little city baby is not used to the wind in her hair and the sunshine in her face! Tonight, Shane and I are off to our favorite restaurant for some home made pasta and Italian wine. A perfect way to end a beautiful day.

So fast

4 months have passed since Kayden was born. Wow, does time fly or what! She all of a sudden has become a world traveler, been able to grasp things, grab my hair and necklace (fun times), play on the floor by herself for extended periods of time, nap almost regularly, "stand" when being held and smile even more. And in my humble, non biased opinion, she just gets cuter and cuter.

We saw the doctor yesterday, and drumroll please, she has gained 5 pounds in 6 weeks. weighing in at the grand total of 12 lb 4oz. The doctor was really impressed with her growth, saying she looked good. She even rolled over for him. It is crazy to me that we also got the go ahead for rice cereal and beyond. Yipes, it's that time already! Am I mentally prepared for "real" food? We will soon find out!

Home Sweet USA

6 flights. 3 time zones. Numerous visits to friends and family. Amazing.

Kayden and I spent the last 3 weeks treking across the ocean to CT, NY, CA, and ID. We were two busy ladies! I was a bit apprehensive traveling alone with a baby, but Kayden was a rockstar, adapting easily to our new settings and time zones. She has saved her breakdowns for being home in France- please sleep through the night!

Being back in the States was the breath of fresh air that I needed to survive the rest of the winter. At first I was completely overwhelmed with everyone speaking English and actually being friendly! What a treat! The stores had me wide eyed and trying to absorb the sights and smells of the mall and Super Target. Got to love the American need for excess! Oh how I miss it already.

We were lucky to spend time with both sets of grandparents, all enamoured with Kayden. It was so fun to see them interact with her and help out with diaper changes, feedings, along with some babysitting so I could have free time. Yeah! My parents and Shane's both agreed that I could just leave Kayden at their homes and return to France alone. Dont think Shane would have approved of me showing up without his baby girl! Shane's grandma did not know we were coming, so we surprised her with a knock on the door and just walked into the living room. She was speechless, just staring at us. Later, she said she thought she was imaginging things!

My brother let us spend the night at his bachelor pad. So, it became a remake of "3 Men and a Baby". Kayden is lucky to have such an adoring uncle!

For 2 days, Ber had 4 of us with babies in tow invade her home, creating what felt like a church nursery. It was a blast and madness all at the same time with 5 babies ranging from 3 months to 8 months. Of course, they all broke down right when the lasagna came out of the oven! I feel so blessed to have incredible friends to share the adventures of mommyhood. On this trip, Kayden and I met 8 new babies and saw 4 baby bumps! Tis the season for babies!

Thanks to everyone who made the time to hang out and let me crash at their homes. I loved seeing each and every one of you. Kayden was so excited to meet all of her mommy's friends as well! I miss you all and look forward to the next time we can be together. God has truly blessed me by putting absolutely amazing friends and family in my life who I can laugh with, share my hopes and fears and just be myself.

The Baby Reunion

Good times in San Diego with the DuFour's

Kayden and cousin Owen.

Kayden hanging out with her brand new friend (liteally, 36 hours old) Elliana

Cousin Sydney, just 2 days older than Kayden

Searching for sunshine

The winter in Lille has dragged on with one cloudy , drizzly, cold day after another. I have begun to wonder if the sun even exists. Please, say it does! The dreary days suck the life out of you and make you want to curl up on the couch and never leave. In an attempt to shake off the winter blues, Shane and I took a trip up to Amsterdam last weekend.

Our weekend trip was a much needed getaway. The Dutch speak excellent English and are much more friendlier than the French, which was such a welcome break! We explored the back allies and canals and enjoyed strolling the streets. To continue our search for culture, we went to the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House. Both were very interesting and essential Amsterdam sights. Our favorite moments centered around food, of course. The Pancake Bakery makes massive pancakes with more fillings and toppings than you could ever dream- ice cream, whip cream, fruit, nuts, chocolate carmel. Dessert pancakes were the most important to me on the menu, but some also had meat, veggies, and cheese. Yum yum.

The infamous red light district was quite disturbing. Yes, there were prostitutes in windows and multiple "coffeeshops" to buy pot. But more disturbing were the multiple large groups of men gawking and visiting these places. It hurt my heart to see such sadness and people searching for temporary fullfillment.

So, did we find the sunshine in Amsterdam? Nope. Not one itty bitty ray. It was worth it and we plan to go back when the flowers are blooming and leaves are on the trees. Afterall, what is a trip to Holland without seeing some tulips?

2 weeks = 2 pounds!

Two weeks ago we had quite the scare at Kayden's well baby check up. After weighing her, we realized she was not packing on the pounds as she should and the doctor was very worried. He felt that there may be some milk allergy or other problem and referred us STAT to a pediatric GI specialist for testing, afraid that if this slow weight gain continued, there would be "brain damage." Those words obvioulsy scared the crap out of us. This was a tricky thing, due to the fact that the GI doc has no openings until this summer. After writing a franctic email to my OB regarding the situation, he pulled some strings and we were able to see the doc within 4 days. He examined her and felt that the problem was not something metabolic, but rather that she needed the supplemental nutrition of formula. By this point, she had already gained a pound! We were so releaved to hear that our precious, perfect (in our eyes!) baby would be ok. He had us rent a scale (they do that a lot in France) and weigh her every morning...

SO yesterday marked the 2 week point of "Operation Fatten Kayden". When I put her on the scale, it blinked a beautiful number- she had gained 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) in 2 weeks!!! YEAH!!! She still has a way to go, but is on the right track. We are so thankful for all the prayers and words of encouragement, we needed them!

All that said, Kayden has been extra happy, smiley and playful over the last 2 weeks. She has started really enjoying her baths, likes sitting in her Bumbo seat and is sleeping through the night consistently. Thank God for watching out for our little family!

Kayden with her new chubby cheeks and bad hat hair!

The Star of the Show

On Friday, Kayden and I attended our first French NATO event. It was the ribbon cutting and reception for the opening of the new Community Service Center. As we passed through security, we were both given a name tag, Kayden's being almost as big as her head. We pinned it on her blanket and went about our business. Well, she became the celebrity of the whole day. The photographer for the event kept taking pix of her, I was interviewed on camera with her in my arms and everyone kept coming up to us and asking questions about the baby. She was dressed from head to toe in pink (like I said, the color is growing on me). Yet it was amazing, that with a pink hat, pink jacket, pink blanket, pink sweater, pink overalls, and pink socks, people still asked me if she was a boy or girl! Huh, are they blind. Even the general's wife said, boy or girl? Oh, I guess a girl because of the pink. You think?

This picture is just too funny, clearly not enjoying being photographed!

Look How Much I've Grown!!

The pix on the right was taken when Kayden was 1 week old. In the pix on the left, she is 8 weeks old and growing taller each day! She is still quite the little peanut and so adorable.