Chaine Family's Busy Week!

Whenever I think of an appropriate title for these things, I get the feeling I must be plagiarizing a Richard Scary story! When I scan the post after publishing, I almost expect to see a drawing of Sgt. Murphy standing on a big pile of cars with a tuba instead of a whistle...

But last week really was busy! honest!
On Tuesday of last week, Papi and Bonne Maman came down for a short visit between work in Toulouse and vacation with friends near Montpellier. They surprised Adrien by picking him up from school in the afternoon and he showed them around his classroom. They have turtles in their class (a 7 year old and a 13 year old....which leads to a combined age similar to that of the students!) and Adrien was very excited to show them to his grandparents. Since there is no school on Wednesdays for the little ones, Adrien got to take advantage of all the extra attention from having 3 grandparents in one spot! Then Thursday morning, the influx of visitors dropped off. Grandma Pam flew back to California after a 1 month visit and Papi and Bonne Maman headed off to Montpellier. And then the house seemed eerily calm....and we realized that we are on our own for this 2 kid-parenting thing! Yikes!

The departure of grandparents also means that Adrien is not getting a constant influx of presents. So far it seems to be ok and he has not been asking if there are any "cadeaux" for him at random times (yes...we have come to random solicitation of presents with the full expectation that one might actually appear!). One of the recent big hits was the white board/ chalk board from Grandma Pam for Adrien to do art on. His first project was to draw Grandma Pam - which was either very unflattering or a fabulous masterpiece in Picaso's style!

 Another hit was a book of short fairy-tale stories (Les Petites Histoires du Pere Castor) that Papi and Bonne Maman thought he might grow into - but it has taken its place as the primary bed-time book....and morning time book....and mid-day and afternoon and... OK...so we're getting a bit sick of Pere Castor and thinking that we might have to actually get him another book as a cadeaux! The stories are fun...but not 3 times a day!

 

With the (relative) calm settling in and the sense of relief that Aliena's nightly fussiness is no longer nightly (we hope to have dodged what was shaping up to be a case of colic!), we have managed to get in a few walks and visits with friends. We sometimes forget how amazingly beautiful it is here and how lucky it has been to end up in a spot where we get to experience a very different world from what we have seen elsewhere - but walks remind us of all of that. Its also the nicest time of year here (and not just because the tourists have left) and we've tried to take in the sun before winter settles in. Over the weekend we managed to sit outside a bit at our friends Susi and Felix's place while the boys (Adrien and Julius) played cars, piano, and dump all the toys on the floor... (and Adrien special!).

The calm also means that I managed to get my camera and the kids in the same room for a short while....

Aliena is still growing fast -- did I mention she already put on over 1kg in barely a month? Aliena is also getting very strong (she holds her head no problem and can support her own substantial weight on her own two legs for a few seconds) and starting to become more interactive, smiley, and cuddly. She has also acquired a taste for fashion...or at least her mommy has for her...

SNOW!!!

On Thursday we got our first snow of the year. Well...ok...the peaks in the distance that are about 1500m higher up than us did. But it makes the peaks very pretty and we can certainly feel the crisp air at night. Fortunately, it warms up nicely during the day and we can still run around outside in a tshirt.

Adrien got over his cold and made it back to school. He even solicited full days....which means he goes back after lunch (yes...even the kids in France take a 2 hour lunch break to go eat at home), has a nap, and then does slightly less structured learning activities. In contrast to the morning session where there are 22 kids in his class, the afternoon only has 10 (for now). Adrien is also getting more an more used to having a sister. It seems that the extra need for attention is waning (though he still needs attention). He is even willing to share his toys with Aliena and Grandma Pam (nice for her last week here....although I still don't agree that our only computer is his toy...).

Aliena has been growing quickly -- at the one month mark, she has put on 1kg since her birth....imagine, adding 1/3 of your body weight in 1 month....without the benefit of Krispy Kreme, Ben and Jerrys, and Supersizing.... On the downside, she's been getting a bit fussy at night...we think tummy aches...which means she is uncomfortable and we all sleep a little less well (did I mention that she can belt out a screech that can shatter the neighbor's windows?). We're hoping its a short lived phase....or that there will be some drugs that can help out...(for us or her really).

One final note....I've gotten a few comments about the photo of Adrien rocking the no-bottoms look or that it seems he doesn't really like to wear clothes. Well, you're right.....if it was up to him, he'd prefer to be 'nakey' all the time. In fact, today we were at the playground at the bottom of our village kicking around the soccer ball when he stopped playing and said (in French...so I'll translate here) "Papa, I need to take my pants off"...uh, why?....(maybe he needs to go pee?)...."because....because its warm enough out". Yes, it is warm out, but in public places, we usually keep our clothes on. I can already imagine the call 13 years from now from the cops saying they apprehended our son running through the streets naked.

School Strikes

Well the start of the school year has finally struck with the well known effects of gathering crowds of kids with less than ideal hygienic skills in a small space -- colds! The first cold of the year has struck our household -- Adrien has been hit hardest and after a rough Sunday night, it was pretty clear that Monday was the first casualty sick day. Guess we might as well get used to it! On the upside, the rest of us mainly feel tired and maybe just slightly under the weather. Aliena doesn't really seem to be sick (whew!), but she has been a bit whiny which we chalked up to her recurrent tummy problems - expressed as: squirm, screeeech, poop. Adrien has been trying to interpret for her -- such as "baby wants cuddle" or "baby wants Adrien hold her". Tonight when she cried at the dinner table, Adrien sat up tall and announced in a high pitch (baby) voice "I want boobies". And he was right...she did.

1st vs. 2nd child

People talk a lot about studies comparing characteristics and success of first vs. middle vs. last children -- "did you hear that first borns are bolder and more successful?" -- which really bugged me since I am a younger child. Now that I have 2 kids...I wonder what all the fuss about these studies is -- of course the kids will be different. Its really a no-brainer and you wonder how anyone got funding to do such a study! By the time the second child rolls around, every little smile and poop doesn't carry the same sense of amazement and awe. Yes, they are still adorable and wonderful and have their own little quirks that your older child did not have (or had differently), but between taking care of a baby, a toddler, and reassuring the older one that they are still very important and your favorite eldest child, you really don't have time to sit and gaze. This struck home to me this week when I thought about writing something in the blog (mainly to post pictures) and I realize that I really have very few photos of Aliena, whereas I shot a good 50 or so of Adrien every day for the first three months (or longer...ok, so I exaggerate a little...but not much). I just don't seem to have the time to gaze and take photos -- she doesn't really like to be put down by herself (arms are way more comfy) and when we do put her down, its usually to make dinner or play with Adrien. And all that is with the extra hands and help of Grandma-Pam! So second kids don't get the benefit of fully bi-parental attention 24/7, have to listen to their older siblings who have a greater mastery of...well...sound (language or speech for the talented), and don't feel as much like a star since they are less often exposed to the flash of a camera (maybe that makes them less likely to startle?). With that said, my sense of guilty second-child neglect (relative to the first one) put me in a short lived photo-frenzy. Today's post has a few photos of Aliena, Adrien playing with Aliena (well...she is a captive audience in her electric-chair...for about 5 minutes until she realized that it was not a human bouncing her around) and other interactions with her.

Adrien has been enjoying school -- he went 'swimming' (in 6 inches of water) on Thursday afternoon with his class and he stayed for a full day on Friday (he napped there...which he no longer wants to do at home...even if we still try...since we really want..or need...him to). I'm not sure if its school or if he is getting to that age, but Adrien has also gotten really into letters.- tonight he blew us away by cracking open yhe 'Attachment Parenting" book (not the most riveting reading...and rather lacking in the illustration department) and fishing for letters he knew. "A" for Adrien, "M" for mommy, "P" for papa or Pam, "Z" for zebra, "B" for baby, and "S" for stinky. I have no idea where he got this from, since we laid off the letter games after a brief stint at 1.5 years when we finally realized that it must be too early. He the amazed us by pointing out that a "b" and "p" are "similar" - WOW!!!! Then we realized that use of the concept "similar" was a lucky guess when he proceeded to say that every other pair of letters was similar. Next on the list of things to learn is how to not blow your cover when you make a lucky guess!  Adrien's also been playing with a chateau that a neighbor lent him (from his own childhood 50 years ago)...along with a borrowed dragon that eats soldiers, cars, and Buzz Lightyear! Definitely a boy!

Aliena has mostly been sticking to her routine - sleep, eat, poop, repeat.... She has grown out of some clothes already and can count to 100 forwards and backwards (just kidding....she hasn't outgrown that many clothes...and only counts quietly in her own head...I'm pretty sure). All jokes aside, she is surprisingly strong...holds her head up pretty well, and has developed a piercing cry that can overpower most sounds produced by man!

Week: 3 for baby, 1 for school

We're still trying to figure out how to make this whole new-baby + toddler thing work along with all the other big changes (school, house hunting, new job, etc...). I'm pretty sure that routines are a thing for the future (or past?), but we are managing some normal things too!

The baby burrito is working pretty well to calm Aliena. Amy wowed a neighbor when she wrapped up Aliena and there was instant calm (full disclosure: it does not always work that well). She is trying to get used to the idea that night=sleep time rather than play time....or time to wake my exceedingly light sleeping big brother. She has just recently begun her modeling career - showing off hand-crafted designer knits (made by Grandma-Pam). She's still working on her look...but the screamy child is not one you see very often in catalogs (ahhh, my child is exceptional!). She is also still trying to figure out the poop thing. We've kept up the foot massage technique, and we now have 4 successes...and a countless number of failures. So I guess the jury is in and its now safe to go back to foot-massaging without the fear of a sudden stink. Quite unfortunate for us, of course, but I can feel the sudden sense of relief among the readers (at least the new couples....since the older couples probably gave up on foot massages and/or worrying about stink a long time ago). The other day I mentioned the technique to the old folks who line the bench in front of our house and one of them (76yrs old, no less) responded - "I guess that explains why I fart when I walk!"...boy will she be bummed to hear that her excuse is no longer valid!

We also managed a little outing - a family hike from the house out into the woods. Nice to get outside, enjoy the warm weather, the last flowers of the season, and the many colored butterflies. Aliena slept the whole way, but Adrien managed to walk a good part of the trip and was carried the rest of the way -- that's my postpartum diet plan (Amy has breast-feeding). We're hoping to make this a weekly routine...at least for this weekend. But if the weather holds, it would be a shame to not keep it up longer.

Adrien is still getting spoiled with gifts (who knows, he might beg for another sister if this keeps up) and managing the sharing mom and dad thing better and better. Sometimes this comes as one in the same - the Lightening McQueen punching bag was a very exciting gift....and helps express frustration (until it flies back and hits him in the face)...especially when wearing a diaper (really...you should try it!). He is also managing school -- its a bit hard to adjust, but he has a really nice teacher and seems to be having fun there. I suspect things will go much better in the next few weeks when (we hope) he settles in and starts getting more sleep (please?).

First Day of School!!!

As if there were not enough changes in life right now, today was the first day of school for Adrien! Yeah, he's been to day-care, but this is school --- way more structure, more rules, games that contain surreptitious educational value, and big kids! Adrien has been very excited about school for the past from months (maybe even 6 months...but he was not sufficiently reliable with the potty to start early --- yeah, our child is a urinary under-achiever...but he is exceptional at everything else...and even has a pee-pee-on-the-potty dance). Well, today he finally got to try it out!

The first day of school is a bit of a stressful - if exciting - event. Nobody slept super well the night before...Adrien had some nervous energy that kept him tossing and turning...and we woke up at 6:45am (thanks Adrien!). Adrien got the whole entourage coming for the first day - Mommy, Papa, Grandma-Pam, and Aliena (no room for the cats...but they probably would not have enjoyed it anyways). Of course, he proceeded to ignore us as soon as we got to school (see...he is advanced - already acting like a teenager). It started with a sprint across the parking lot to the school, a brief pause to hang up his bag, and then straight to the cars, tool chest (they're plastic, don't worry), etc... You can't tell, but in that bag there is the mandatory school equipment for kindergarten: a cup, a box of kleenex, a painting smock, a face towel, and a larger hand towel all labeled with is name on it. The excess of towels does make me wonder which day is water-fight day - and if parents are invited (that's one crowd I think I can compete with...). The first day - and probably the first few weeks or months - were a half day, so we picked up Adrien at noon. They gave me Adrien's notebook in which the teachers will write what they did that week and we can write what we did on the weekend to help the teachers with communication exercises (as in, helping the kids tell stories and talk...not for  helping the teachers to practice their own communication skills at an adult level). In true French style, the back of the notebook is designated for official administrative paperwork to be passed back and forth -- although I was a bit surprised that the Admin side of things didn't get its own (bigger) notebook.

I think the first day went pretty well - although they said that at one point Adrien was asking for Mommy and Papa. From what I can gather through Adrien's jumble of stories about the day, I think he wanted to play something other than the planned activity, and decided he would rather go home than do the same thing as the other kids. Its sort of the same technique as when he asks for a bon-bon (candy), I say no, then he moves on to see if Mom will have a different answer (usually not...whew!). In any case, Adrien did seem quite excited about school the rest of the day - which may have contributed to the nap-strike (as in "hell-no-I-won't-go") - and seems ready to go again tomorrow. From his stories, we learned that he got to paint, play with cars, sing songs, and that they had girls there (which he repeated quite a few times...making me think that must be a big draw for him).

Not too much other news really - Aliena is sticking to her routine of eat, sleep, poop, and she has added a new skill called 'cry'. It seems the problem might be that she gets bad gas (I think she gets that from her mom's side - but others might have a different theory...which is much less believable) and she has a hard time getting it out (see, told you she didn't take after me!). As a consequence, we have been obliged to do much more rocking, bouncing, and baby-burrito-ing (swaddling) to keep her calm than the first week. At times, she also hits information overload, and a quiet (i.e. not next to her brother) room with much less information to absorb seems to do the trick. WOW - all these things we had forgotten about in the three years since Adrien was a wee-sprout!

Adrien has been getting more used to having a sibling and seems (a little) less needing of added attention than last week. We got a nice visit from our friends Sylvie and Lucyle who now live far away, as well as the steady stream of neighbors stopping by to see then new Cescautoise (someone from Cescau; population: 67). Each has been very thoughtful and brought a little something for Adrien as well as for Aliena. Its great to have Grandma-Pam here to help out with the kid-juggle as we try to make sure that Aliena gets fed, cuddled, and rocked and Adrien gets to be fed, cuddled, and have a playmate to do puzzles or crash cars (toy ones...he can't drive real ones...yet). Grandma-Pam also seems to have an endless supply of little things to wrap so that Adrien is still getting small special presents on most days! Tonight he got monster pajamas that he showed off with a good monster roar. He even wanted to put them on himself - I helped with the top and he did the "down-theres" all on his own. Actually, Adrien has been working on his cool-kid look recently (knit hat and headphones) -- while adding his own twist (no pants....that's just how he rolls!).

How to pronounce Aliena's name...

Okay, some of you have asked us how to pronounce little Aliena's name (even one of the grandparents can't get it right!), so we thought we'd give a little tutorial...  The first part of the name (Ali) is pronounced just like the word "alley", the second part of the name (en) is pronounced as "en" is usually pronoucned in english (in words such as "end", "chicken", "then", etc.), and the last part of the name (a) is pronounced "uh" (as in "duh"): "alley-en-uh." 

The name is of Greek origin, the same origin as the names Helen, Elaine, and Aleana, and means "light."  The name Phoebe is also of Greek origin and means "bright moon", although we really chose that as her middle name both because we like the name and because we have fond memories of watching black phoebes (a bird) when we lived in our house in the Santa Cruz redwoods.