A Month in Recap

I've really become a terrible blogger. So, instead of continuing to wait for the time & energy to finish our France posts and write other the posts I've been meaning to write, I'm just going to give a quick sampling of the last month or so around here!

(I got one of my wisdom teeth out today, so I'm just laying in bed anyway. Why just one, you ask? Because it took so long, and was so grueling, the dentist wouldn't do another. Let's just say the novocaine didn't really work, and it was the only thing they had to offer. Really not pleasant.)

So, photo share!

David's funny face. It would be better without the yoghurt and the spoon, but you get the idea. He loves to make this face, and I love to see it!

David's climbing has us on our toes constantly. Now he likes to climb up here and STAND, and try to walk across the back of the couch. He's so quick, too, it's nearly impossible to keep him down all the time.

He loves his toy cars these days.

And he loves his toy guitar, and to wear this red hat. The turtle on his wrist was Michael's idea, but David thought it was very cool. I love the combination!

He still loves to play with Emmanuel and...it's time I admit...he sometimes wears tights. Here they are called "strumpfhosen", and in my defense ALL the children wear them. Then when they come inside, they play in their strumpfhosen and sweaters, or shirts, and look so cozy and comfy. So I caved.

He likes to do everything himself. Here he is "refilling" his sippy cup with milk :)

He loves the swings now. We have a baby swing at home, but the only option at the park is what you see there. He did great, though!

Finally, some photos from our family hike the other day. It was a beautiful evening (ahem, 4pm or so), and Michael took some pictures of David and I, so I just have to share them:

And some shots of Michael and David throwing rocks in a puddle, and of course discussing things.

We interrupt our regular programming...

...to bring you a short film of our boy, the story teller.

Our regular (France related) programming will resume shortly.

France--Part Two

We went for a walk along the river that runs through Carcassonne one day, hoping to get out into the countryside. There wasn't really any accessible "countryside" like we'd hoped for, too many roads and cars, but we did find a nice path through some vineyards:

There were also some incredible views of the old city from the riverside:

I hope this one gives a sense of how big the city is...it really is unlike anything I'd seen before:

And now for a few more pictures from inside the old city. (We did do other things as well!)

My little lightning bug:

(Darn reflector patch on the back of his jacket. I have about dozen photos which would be awesome, if not for David's illuminated tush.)

David, of course, found some puddles to stomp in:

(But seriously, how cool is it to stomp in puddles with that kind of a backdrop?)

Back home, we had bread, cheese and local wine for dinner almost every night. (Michael and I, that is!)

How's this for stinky cheese?

If you can't tell, the brie on the right is super dusty gray on the outside. The rind was...well...Michael called it diaper cheese. The cheese on the left, though, was awesome! I couldn't look too closely while eating it, but it was delicious. The region is particularly known for goat cheese, and we all ate a lot of that, but didn't take any photos. (Turns out David loves goat cheese! Such a funny boy. Won't eat ham, for example, but bring on the goat cheese!)

Our apartment had a washer and drier, (which we used almost daily, thanks to Ryan Air's lack of a baggage allowance), but it did not have a bathtub. So, David got to take his baths in the kitchen sink!

I think it's safe to say he enjoyed them :

And that's all for now! More to come :)