Kitchen Renos

This will be my 100th post... amazing. Can't believe I have blogged so much. Hope you all have been enjoying keeping up with us!


Since it has been too hot to do much outdoors, Carlos has been working indoors on some of the projects we have had on our To Do list. The first one, and for me one of the most pressing, was the kitchen. When we moved in, we hadn't decided on what we wanted to put for our backsplash, and if you remember from THIS blog entry, we had only put up a glass section behind the stovetop. I had been looking for ideas and hadn't found anything that I really liked until two months or so before Alixe was born.

I was inspired by a woman who had bought cream-coloured tiles in the style of the Paris metro. I started looking not long after and found something I thought I liked at a home hardware store... but the closest location is 45 minutes north of here, and I was feeling tired as the pregnancy progressed, so we kept the idea in mind but didn't go check out the tiles right away. After Alixe and I came home, however, the idea resurfaced, and we decided to finally go take a look (we had visited a few other stores in the meantime but none of them had what we wanted).

Right away, we saw that the tiles were what we wanted. I also spotted 60cm-long sections of black glass that I thought would make a nice break from the plain white tiles we picked. And last week, Carlos spent 3 afternoons (plus a small trip back to the store to get extra black pieces, as we decided to tile above the end of the island too) finishing our backsplash. Doesn't it look great?

First few tiles!

Staggering them like in the métro meant more work for
Carlos, but he did it anyway :)

Work in progress

Looks great!

All done!

Here are a few more photos of the girls. We haven't gotten out much (to give you an idea, it is 25°C in the house with air conditioning, and last night it dropped below 30°C after 11pm) but we've still been having fun!

My new favourite photo: Aimy giving Alixe a kiss (which
she does often!)

Family photo! (complete with wiggly baby)

Summertime...

...and the living is hot!! What a contrast compared to the awful spring we had. The first half of July has been nearly 2 degrees hotter than normal, and it feels like it went from being cold and rainy to being unbearably hot overnight... which it nearly did. July 3rd was the last day we had rain and 20°C or so - ever since then it hasn't been cooler than 28°C. We haven't been out much since Alixe and I got home from the hospital, since it has been so hot during the day. Still, we're finding ways to keep occupied. Stay tuned for further blog entries on the subject.

In other news, Aimy has adjusted very well to the presence of her sister. In fact, nearly every time I have Alixe in my arms, Aimy gets excited and says "Baby, baby!" over and over until she can get close enough to give her a kiss. She gets a bit impatient when I am feeding the baby and can't do what she wants right that second, but she seems to be getting used to the idea that I can't be 100% at her beck and call. Right now we are going through a "body parts" phase; Aimy loves to point at her (or my) nose/mouth/toes etc. and say what she is pointing at. Even Alixe hasn't been spared the naming of facial features. Aimy has been very gentle with her and very sweet, which makes life a lot easier.

A few recent photos:

Drinking from a cup like a big girl

Another new favourite word: Shoes!

Snuggling with Mama

Fast asleep

A new favourite photo

Alixe

Just a quick entry to ease the suspense a bit!

Alixe Marion was born on July 2nd, weighing 3.31kg and measuring 50cm. It was a quick birth; my water broke at 1am and by the time we got Aimy off to the neighbors and arrived at the hospital, I was just about ready to go! Our precious little girl was born at 2:46am. We have been home since yesterday afternoon and are doing well. More to come soon!!

A few hours old

Fascinated!

Proud big sister

2 days old and wide awake

Adventures with Aimy

First time posting from my phone... Let's hope it works!!

It has been a quiet few days since I last posted. We have been to the hospital for the regular monitoring sessions and end-of-pregnancy appointments, and Carlos has generally spent most of those appointments following Aimy as she leads him around the hospital. I can't even imagine how many km they have walked since our first visit! The weather has been improving, so Aimy Is often hanging out at the sliding glass door, waiting to be let out. Her new favourite word is "shoes", since it is another way of letting me know she is desperate to go outside.

Otherwise, Carlos is almost done with work - Just a few more hours next week and he'll be on holiday! Aimy is especially happy on a day like today when Carlos is home and can devote more time and energy to her than I can right now (though being at 40+1 weeks is a pretty good excuse, I think!). Our retired neighbours have been wonderful with her too. She is also getting to know them better and will lead me over to their house (or to see them when they are outside). I think she will enjoy having a baby brother or sister but having someone around to pay more attention to her will be good for her too.

Some recent photos taken with my phone: (edit: had to add the photos from the computer, as it appears my phone won't upload them for some reason. At least I can type entries from my phone though!)

Drawing is a new favourite
activity

Look at that pencil-holding
technique!

Wearing her new headband
from Aunty Sandra :)

Asleep in the car after a morning
full of gallivanting around
the hospital

June Heat

Another hot day here in the south-west of France. We're really starting to get in the habit of completely shutting one side of the house depending on what time of day it is. It really seems to help - today it stayed a few degrees cooler in the living area until the late afternoon, and the bedrooms are much cooler. It should be easier to go to bed tonight than if we had kept the shutters open.

Carlos has one more week of teaching and then it's exam week. He should be supervising an exam or two during that time but many of his students will stop coming to school the last week of June. We have another appointment scheduled with the midwife for that last week to see how things are progressing. At the last visit she figured I still had a little while left, which would be easier to bear if it weren't so hot! Looks like the weather will be cooling down starting tomorrow, complete with rain starting mid-week. Though I do like having sunshine, the rain has been doing wonders for the lawn Carlos replanted in the back.

Aimy is being pretty good about me not being able to do as much with her lately. She definitely loves it when both her parents are home to be with her, and as soon as it's sunny she starts hanging out at the door, wanting to go outside. Still a fan of her books too! The first photos were taken with my phone so they're not as good quality as the others, but still give an idea of what the little munchkin has been up to lately.

All snuggled with my ereader.
Strangely  enough, she asked
me to wrap her in the blanket!

Lying down to read!

Yet another book

Sitting pretty

Look, Mummy's phone!

A perfect day for a sundress

Testing out the gravel

Being outdoors is fun!

And Back to Wet

Well, our little heat wave has deserted us. On Saturday, we had nearly 100mm of rain. There was even flooding in the city where Carlos works (fortunately, nothing at the school itself, and nothing here at all)! Needless to say, we've been staying indoors as much as possible since Friday evening. The weather should turn around mid-week, just in time for my 9-month check-up.

Here are some more photos of Aimy's antics over the last few days. What I haven't been able to capture on film is her singing - lately Aimy has been singing along to some of her favourite songs (the "E-I-E-I-O" of Old McDonald and the "I love you" of  Skinnamarink are the current phrases). Makes me smile every time.

Sunggled in Mama's body pillow

Waving hello

She wanted to play with the big broom but it was too
awkward so I got the brush out instead.

Showing me what she can do!

Beating the Heat

We've finally had multiple days of nice weather, and it is so nice to have sunshine greet me when I get up in the morning! Yesterday, though, it was hot and humid (28.5°C for the first time this year) and I'm finding that it's not easy for me to keep cool at this stage of the pregnancy. Even at night, I am like a furnace! Fortunately, Aimy seems more comfortable than I am in the heat, and doesn't hesitate to ask for a drink when she's thirsty (or to ask for her teething pacifier from the freezer, which I am sure also takes the edge off!) We also took a trip to the lake for a swim, and despite the water being a little chilly, I did have a dunk, and it made a world of difference. The day ended with a brief thunderstorm, also the first of the season, and it didn't faze Aimy one bit. I'm glad she is enjoying this first taste of summer!

Playing with the bubbles

Little sweetheart

First minutes in the water. Not so sure
if the temperature is acceptable!

Much better!

Snuggling with me after my little dip

Back in the water again!

Wandering around. I love her swim diaper :)

Sat down in the sand...

And decided it was too fun to keep our toes in the water
to try getting back up again!