Going Private

I am not posting to this blog anymore, and have decided to make our new blog private. If you would like to be invited to read my blog (i.e., I know or knew you) please email me, or leave a comment with your email address so I can make sure to add you to my approved readers. I am thinking people like Hannah, whose email I don't have and who I know occassionaly checks my blog.

New Blog

We have started a new blog to track our adventures while we are in the good ole USA. And while it is still under construction, we hope you will check it out. It is PHAT! I mean FAT.

www.jackspratswife.blogspot.com

Me in Photos

This is a fun post my friend Shannon had on her blog. I thought it would help ease me back into the blogosphere. Let me know in comments if you create one for your blog as well.

a.Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
d. copy the mosaic image (right click, save image as) to your computer.

Here are the questions:
1. What is your first name? Sina
2. What is your favorite food? French Fries
3. What high school did you go to? Basic High School
4. What is your favorite color? Orange
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jason Bateman (by now you all should have at least Netflixed Arrested Development, right?)
6. Favorite drink? Hot Cocoa
7. Dream vacation? Paris
8. Favorite dessert? Laduree Macaroons
9. What you want to be when you grow up? still in love
10. What do you love most in life? family moments
11. One word to describe you? sassy
12. Where do you live? Falls Church


1. written, 2. day 52: french fries, 3. Uncertain Future, 4. I want to be where the Sun warms the sky, 5. Jason Bateman, 6. Triple Hot Chocolate with cream, 7. Monty's Korner, 8. Ladurée Macarons in Paris, 9. Les Amants Du Luxembourg, 10. Watching the fireworks, 11. Edna y el Mar, 12. beauty = truth, etc.

Rules for International Blogging

Rule #1: When packing up all your belongings for a trans-oceanic move, keep the glass of water away from the laptop.

The Final Countdown**

(I hope all Arrested Development fans now have images of GOB dancing across a stage on Spring Break weekend)

With only one month left in the City of Lights, we decided to we'd do a few things we've been meaning to do since we arrived. Nate took a day of work and we spent a three day weekend "vacationing" in the city we may always call home.

A very Parisian activity for children and their parents to do together- the boat pond at the Jardin du Luxembourg. By the end, Ruby was finally as excited to catch her boat and push it back out to "sea" as she was about the ducks. The gardens also have marionette shows and pony rides for children.



The day was beautiful, which proved to be too much for us to handle and we had to return home to rest from sun exhaustion. In the end that was a good thing, we were able to take the entire family out to Fete de la Musique- a city wide music festival in celebration of the longest night of summer. Musicians can be found on street corners and bars through out the city performing. We drove our car down to the center of the activity because we have a place to park. At one point we were on a narrow, one way street, when we came to a huge crowd (100 or more) in front of a bar and spilling on to the street. Security was quick to come to our assistance, moving the party goers like Moses did the Red Sea for our car to pass. Nate admits his foot was shaking as he drove through. We had dinner at a pizzeria in the Latin quarter, before winding our way back across the Seine to get home with music the entire way. Too be honst, most of the music we heard wasn't any good. But, we stayed out until 1am and Ruby loved it.


The next morning we slept in, and are so glad to have children capable of this. Gavin slept until 10, Ruby until Noon. We decided we would go to Bois de Vincennes, which has a butterfly garden I had heard about since arriving. What I didn't realize is that Bois de Vincennes is just outside of Paris, and to be honest I am a bit of an elitist in that regard. If the location is just outside the Peripherique (or Beltway), it just isn't worth being seen. Bois de Vincennes did not change my opinion. The butterfly garden was in a room no larger than my living room, with some of the puniest butterflies I have seen. But as you can see from the photo below, Ruby doesn't seem to mind. She thought it was magical and wanted desperately to have a butterfly land on her finger. And while one never did, she giggled like it was Christmas.

On our way out of the Bois, we noticed a lot of smoke. As it turns out, there is an immigrant penitentiary there, a holding pen before deportation. The night before a 41 year old died of a "heart attack." The inmates, believing he was beaten, protested, started fires, and 50 escaped. Another reason you don't bother leaving the city.

Another Celebrity Sighting

To understand the complete joy captured in this photo you should know that Ruby has a fluffy pink phone that was given to her by her very pink, very princess-y friends who introduced her to the Disney phenomenon. Every day she has this general conversation on the phone, (of course after she makes it ring):
"Hello?"
"Oh, hi Cinderella!! Yeah, it's me, Ruby."

And that is it, several times over and over again. I figure I am raising her with a great level of confidence because in her fantasy play Cinderella is the one calling Ruby for a chat.

(And please, no comments about our son with the POTUS and our daughter with the Princess. She had a picture with him too, we just weren't close enough to get a good shot.)

Confession

I have three confessions to make.

First, I voted for George W. Bush in 2000.

Second, W. was briefly on my Top Ten list. (Note: This was never based on policy)

Third, I passed my 8-week old son "Lion King style" through a small crowd for this picture.


Ruby had to settle for the group photo.


But not before the President's advance team took her to the podium for a sound check.

Gavin's Blessing

In our church babies are not baptized, but given a name and a blessing, which essentially puts their names on the records of the church and formally introduces the child to the congregation. This past Sunday Nate asked 10 men from our current congregation (known in Mormon parlance as a ward) to assist him in the event.




When Ruby was blessed we were lucky enough to live near long time friends. This time, far away from family and friends, we were lucky enough to realize how many great friends we have been able to make in our short time here.

A few family shots

Photos

Really I guess I don't need an excuse or a story of some sort to post pictures of my favorite girls.

Ruby and her Oma having a little tea party.


She wears these well, but I just can't talk her into polishing them yet.


And more from the photo shoot at the princess castle the other day.

No More Princess Castle

So Ruby loves castles. She calls them "princess castles", thanks in part I'm sure to our good friends at Disney, but sometimes even a nice cathedral will suffice as far as she's concerned. While Sina and I have been quite morose about having to leave Paris soon, perhaps we should have been a little more worried about Ruby going through castle withdrawal. This past weekend, when Ruby said "ready for go to castle princess", we happily obliged and took her to Vaux-le-Vicomte (you linguists out there may notice that her sentence structure there is suprisingly close to how you might say this in french - maybe we've been speaking the wrong language to her all this time!). Anyway, Vaux-le-Vicomte is a few miles southeast of Paris, and for you celebrity watchers, was where Eva Longoria and Tony Parker had their wedding party last summer. Anyway, Ruby LOVED it, and I think it's now my favorite chateau. Being the sort of father who's never, ever been guilty of spoiling his daughter, I immediately started scheming to arrange for Ruby's wedding reception to be there too, until Sina found somewhere on the internet that it costs something like $45,000 an hour to rent. Hey, princesses don't need to go to college, right?




Then on Sunday evening we had President Uchtdorf here for a fireside, which was held in a conference hall across the street from the chateau at Versailles. Chalk another one up for Ruby's weekend.

(Ok, so we cheated with this picture, it's from last fall, but you get the idea.)


And then we really cheated on Monday, and went to Disneyland Paris, where of course Ruby happily enjoyed yet another princess castle.


So the question is, what in the world will we do to satisfy her obsession once we leave here???

What do you do when...?

What do you do when you have a two week old baby and are recovering from major abdominal surgery? You road trip to the South of France, of course!!

Cassis, on the Mediterranean






Avignon, Papal Palace. And yes, I was able to climb to the top of the observation tower to take the last picture!




Pont du Gard, Roman Aqueduct

Introducing Gavin William

I haven't had much time to update the post lately, but have been reminded by a few readers that I have failed to introduce our new arrival, leaving some in the dark regarding our final decision on names and labor/delivery details.

I labored on and off for four days, trying for a natural delivery, hoping not to have another c-section. But, the baby never descended, which led my doctor to to fear the cord was wrapped around the baby preventing him from making his debut, despite heavy contractions (he turned out to be right, Gavin ad the cord wrapped around his neck). On April 15, Nate and I packed our bags for the final time (we had been in and out of the maternity ward for three days) and headed to the American Hospital of Paris for an overnight stay to insure I fasted before the scheduled c-section the next morning. At 7am they began to prep me for surgery, which was uncomfortable in that the French do not respect the idea of modesty in hospital situations.

I was taken to pre-op, a stainless steel room which operated like an assembly line for those scheduled for surgery. Once I entered the operating room I was greeted by my anaesthesiologist who, in accordance with French law, I had met with previously to insure my candidacy for anaesthesia. I remember loving that part of my prior c-section, but this time I felt the needle go in, which sent me into a total panic attack and a bit of hyper-ventilation, which was exacerbated by the fact that I had a terrible head cold. They used morphine, and while I am not sure of the true side effects, that stuff made me almost entirely out of it. I vaguely remember details after the morphine: First, a nurse asking me, in French, if my last name was the family name for the baby, which it is not, so I had to spell out the last name-again in French, and was very proud of my drug induce capacity with the French language. Second, Nate entering the room, rubbing my head to calm me down, and then asking me if I was ok or if I FELT it, which freaked me out and we are certain I then passed out. Third, a discussion of my snoring by the doctors and my husband. That's right, I fell asleep while on the operating table. Fourth, the doctor lowering the curtain to show me Gavin. I was so out of it that I lifted my head enough to see his lower body only, so I only saw his feet and the umbilical cord. Finally, I remember him screaming, and screaming, and screaming to which I thought-- "Fantastic, he isn't a morning person!!"

From that point, I was sent to a recovery area for two hours. As I tried to wake up, I was uncontrollably itchy. Another side effect of the morphine. This isn't what is used for epidurals in the States, is it? I then was wheeled to my room, where after what I would say was another hour I finally held my baby. Nate had been with him in the nursery while I was in the recovery room.

Immediately, we tried to come up with a name for him. Under French law we had only 72 hours to register him with the local Mairie. We tried calling him Henry. It just wasn't happening. William was nice, and it seemed to work all right, but we weren't feeling the love. And I was over Axel. Finally, the night before we had to register him, Nate asked "How about Gavin?" It was a name we both wanted to use before we knew Ruby was going to be a girl, but had not mentioned for some reason through out this pregnancy. It was perfect.

Ruby was infatuated from the first time she met him. For her, I believe, it was truly love at first sight. She was delighted with this baby, showering him with lots of kisses and begging to hold him.

He sleeps 4-5 hours every night, rarely complains about anything, and makes us feel like our little family is finally complete.

Wordless Wednesday

Better Late Than Never

Some family traditions simply cannot be explained.

Pinkalicious

Our friends recently brought Ruby a book called "Pinkalicious." For those of you who do not have a child obsessed with all things pink, it is about a little girl who recounts her rainy-day adventure with pink cupcakes, which she ate and ate until she turned pink herself. "I'm Pinkerbelle!" she sings, crying tears of delight as she admires her raspberry-hued complexion. Her mom takes her straight to the doctor, who prescribes lots of green food. But she cannot resist another cupcake or two, and her delicate pink skin tone deepens to an angry red! Horrors. She proceeds to choke down everything green she can find.

It was instantly Ruby's favorite (she had to sleep with it that night). To make the most of this new found love in her life, we had a pink day today. We dressed in pink, painted our nails pink, and in honor of Pinkalicious herself, we made pink cupcakes. She was in heaven.

Then and Now

You may remember these pictures of Ruby taken in front of the Eiffel Tower nearly a year ago. We recently had pictures taken in the same location and I can't believe how much she has grown!






And since I haven't posted any pictures of me preggers, here is a pic of Ruby and I together at Trocadero.