King for a day

The galette des rois was a bit early this year and Wolfram was the lucky one.

King for a day!

A day in the park

Traditionally we pay a visit to Disneyland Paris every year around Christmas time. Even last year we had managed to squeeze into our busy schedule an evening there. This year, thanks to fantastic grandparents, we could go for a whole day as they agreed to babysit Oskar.

After another night of little sleep we left Chantilly before sunrise in direction of the park.

We were all very excited with our tickets in hand and ready to get started.

We started slow with the tour of the studios. In comparison to the tour at theUniversal  Studios in LA, this one was a bit disappointing. A couple of extra special effects scenes would have been great. This said, we enjoyed the heat of the fire to warm us up.

As preparation for the Twillight tower, we did the parachute drop from Toy Story. While this attraction is all under control and the drop very gentle (after all it's for kids), having the feet hanging in the void was a bit scary still.

While queueing for the parachute, Joy noticed another attraction nearby shaped as a U. The principle is very simple. You embark a car that rides the U. Pretty quickly you find yourself vertical vs. the ground and bouncing from one side of the U to the other one. Very steep, very very steep. To warm up my voice I screamed everything I could get out. In a world where you have to control your emotions, it's great to have a place where you can let everything out. I must have been loud because Wolfram wondered whether I took a break to breath. I do remember hearing Yann laughing.

By the time we reached the big tower, I was ready for more dropping and more screaming. Apparently I fully delivered on that one. There is even a picture to prove it.

The rest of the day was filled with more attractions. The boys riding roller coasters, several times and the girls enjoying live music and cartoons in the meantime.

We didn't miss It's a small world all dressed up for Christmas.

Nor the Christmas tree which was illuminated later at night.

We worked hard on improving our scores at Buzz Lightyear... And even discovered Oskar's planet:

Needless to say that Yann scored the highest although he didn't break his record (999 999... The display doesn't go higher).

We brainstormed on how to make the phantom house scarier. There were discussion around the floor opening under your feet and a fall into a pound full of crocodiles.

The only disappointment was that we couldn't do the Pirates of the Caribbean. The first time we tried it was closed for a technical problem. The second time we got as close as seeing the boats but after 30min waiting whatever problem that had stopped the attraction again to be solved, we were evacuated. Yep, second attraction in two years in a row that we don't complete. It starts to be a bad habit from Disney.

Again a big thank you to my parents who took care of Oskar so that we could be children again... At least for one day. We are already back into diaper duties.

I like my blanket

Especially since I can grab it and put it in my mouth :)

1.2 kg

That's how much foie gras we ordered to take back to Singapore with us. We're making sure that we have enough to treat ourselves all year long until the next trip to Europe or the next visitors.

Souvenirs

This year the agreement was no gift except for the kids.

We understood that kids meant Nora and Oskar. My parents had a different understanding. They had gifts for their children, their partners and grandchildren. Basically for everyone.

In an attempt to defend themselves they argued that those were not gifts but souvenirs. In other words that each time they travelled somewhere and saw something their "children" would like they bought it.

There were paintings from Brittany, earrings from Italy, Chinese names from Singapore, nanoblock Lego from Paris and many more.

Funny enough some of us did something similar as Joy bought deer nanoblock Lego in Helsinki, we had a photo of my parents with Oskar printed on a canvas, and many more.

Nora and Oskar were totally spoiled simply because it's hard to resist. And the grown-ups were not forgotten :)

Thank you everyone for all the souvenirs and especially coming all the way to Chantilly to create memories. 

The times when we are altogether are now too rare given we are spread over three continents. As you can imagine we made the most of every second. 

Merry Christmas everybody!

Note: this year the gift is to be altogether. There were supposed to be gifts only for children. It seems Santa didn't get the memo.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

2 hands

I have two hands and I can play with them for hours :)

Yummy marzipan from Belgium

Thanks Anna for bringing them !

Not sure we will have enough to drink in the coming three days

Oops we forgot

Today is our one year anniversary.

Last year was all about the wedding.

This year it has been all around Oskar. With all the trips, him being sick followed by Wolfram, we both simply forgot about it.

Yes, I know, we picked a date so it's easy to remember and we were the first ones to forget it. Shame on us :)

So, Wolfram, happy first anniversary! Looking forward to many many many more years together.

5 star welcome on chantilly

Not only did they pick us up from the airport, but on top we all had flowers in our bedrooms as we arrived in Chantilly.

This is what I call a 5 star welcome. Thanks Joy and Yann!

No plastic bag

When you travel with a stroller, a car seat or any other bulky / oversize item, airlines provide you with a big plastic bag to put them in at check in. Not sure about low cost airlines, but that's a service from regular airlines all around the world.

Except in Stuttgart airport...

Let me explain. 

We had packed everything to travel back to Paris from Stuttgart. Once we arrived at the counter we found at that the flight was full so no way to get a free seat to have more space and when I asked for plastic bags to put the stroller and the car seat the answer was: I don't have any. Quid? She didn't have any. The girl at the counter next to her didn't have any either. She call the ticketing counter, no bag either. She claimed that in 18 years working here she had never seen plastic bags from Air France.

Really? 

So how come they could give me some in Singapore, in Paris, in Brest? How come we still had the stroller in the bag we came from Paris which we kept to avoid making the car dirty with the wheels?

After some negotiation she was able to provide tape so we could reclose the bag around the stroller. But what about the car seat? She basically told us to find our own solution. 

Grrr.

Tatjana came up with the smart idea to ask shops from bags. She run all over the terminal to find several of them. Wolfram asked a janitor for a garbage bag. Better this than nothing. 

While we were starting to assemble all the bags to wrap the car seat, the lady from the counter came back with a huge plastic bag from Delta airlines. She did do the effort of asking around, luckily.

We quickly put the car seat in the bag and dropped everything at the oversize counter. 

While everything worked out well, I still cannot believe that in an airport like Stuttgart they seem to struggle with something as basic as providing a plastic bag for oversize luggage.

Three month old

Oskar is now three month old. Time is flying and it's crazy how much he has changed in such a short time. 

He grew more than 10 cm since birth.

He doubled his weight thanks to our home made diet. Chocolate milk is in production as a special treat for the holidays.

He eats only five meals a day instead of six or more. A big thank you to Daad who helped me during the transition.

He started to sleep full nights which we hope he will continue, especially for the rest of the family during our big reunion starting tomorrow.

He "talks". Technically he makes sounds more than words but the way he looks at you when he does them makes you feel he wants to say something.

He's looking for his lost thumb or any finger that could go into his mouth.

He can cry as in he now has tears coming. Which breaks our hearts even more when he cries.

He survived his first cold forcing us to learn the tricky art of cleaning nose.

In comparison, in the same time, I might have lost a few kilos (Christmas time in Europe might cancel any loss), I discover that I can live with very little sleep, I certainly didn't grow taller despite wishing for it, and I've never been happier.

Fresh from the oven

One of the things I like in Germany are bretzels. Luckily for me Wolfram comes from the right region for that. He kindly educated me that a decent bretzel can only be bought in the region he comes from.

All week long Christian got up early to get fresh buns and bretzels. Mostly for Tatjana but we could enjoy her leftovers after she left for school.

All week long we found the bretzels a bit dry. Wolfram argued something changed in the bakery.

This morning the bretzels came from a different bakery and tasted softer and moist. We were delighted. Tatjana however found them drier than the ones during the week.

Weird... But there is an explanation. 

During the week Tatjana was eating them right after they were bought and we ate a few hours later. Today it was the other way around. We ate first and she later.

Bretzels have to be eaten fresh, as in fresh from the oven. Once exposed to the air, they dry quickly. Sadly.

So next time you buy bretzels, make sure to eat them right away otherwise they will not be as good as they could be. 

Alternatively you can warm them up in the microwave. I hear 30s do miracle.

The day we traded Christmas market for the ER

I mentioned that Oskar is going through his first cold. Yesterday he looked better so I hoped he had defeated the beast. 

I was wrong.

Last night he woke up two times before his normal eating time. Both because he couldn't breathe. After a session of nose cleaning he went back to sleep. 

When he woke up again at 5:30am, he was quieter than usual and didn't finish his bottle. We got worried.

Four hours later, same story. He ate only 2/3 of it. We got even more worried.

Temperature at 9:30am was 37.8C. Pediatrician in Singapore had told us to get to a doctor whenever temperature is above 37.5C. True we were just slightly above but I didn't care. I wanted to see a doctor. I prefer to go there and being told that I was stupid to worry vs. risking it getting worse. 

Wolfram located the ER for children and his father was kind enough to drive us there so we wouldn't have to worry about parking. We were prepared to spend hours there queueing as one traditionally does in the ER. But we were lucky. When we arrived the waiting room was surprisingly empty. Only two families there. Wolfram quickly completed the paperwork and 10min later we were seeing a doctor.

Believe it or not, the doctor could speak better French than English. Yet it didn't help because had he spoken French Wolfram would not have understood. So we ended up mixing the three languages to explain the symptoms and address his questions. 

Good news it's only a cold. Ear, throat and bronchi are fine. Fever should go away quickly and we left with a prescription for nasal spray and other droplets for the bronchi. 

We were really lucky as on the way out we saw that the waiting room was now packed with people. Had we come at that time, we would have had to wait at least an hour. 

Reassured about Oskar's health and equipped with spray and droplets we went back home.

Today we were supposed to go to a Christmas market with Alex, Silke and Fabian. Wolfram has been talking about Christmas market for weeks in Singapore and was really looking forward to going there while we are in Germany. Sadly we had to change our plans. With Oskar sick we had to stay inside and invited everyone over. At least they got to see our little guy awake and smiling because on Thursday when we visited them he slept the whole time. 

We will have to come back next winter to go to the Christmas market. By then Oskar might walk already...

Where is the world?

Since yesterday the weather is very foggy. When you look outside from the terrace, the whole town and the hills behind have disappeared.

It's actually hard to believe that there are houses and roads hidden in the fog.

First cold

First winter for Oskar and inevitably he got sick. Luckily for us it's a simple cold. 

As new parents we are of course worried and it breaks our hearts to hear him cough.

We are monitoring his temperature. So far none and we hope it will stay like that.

We are keeping him warm.

We are ready with an army of tissues to catch whatever comes out when he sneezes.

We are thoroughly cleaning his nose. Wolfram even went to the pharmacy to buy a suction pump and physiological serum to clean his nose even more seriously.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the cold will go away quickly, before we have to fly again next week.

Fun with Opa

When Oma is taking a nap and Papa has disappeared in the bathroom, Opa is entertaining Oskar.

Oskar had a great time (based on all his smiles).

Grocery shopping

Since Oskar was born, Wolfram has been in charge of the grocery shopping. We got an app for our shopping list which we can both input on. He knows more or less the products we usually buy and in case of doubt, we use whatsapp and pictures to make our selection.

Today, same as in Singapore, Wolfram joined his dad for a bit of grocery shopping. I needed a few things like conditioner, Nivea cream and Alldays. Since we left Europe, Alldays have been  renamed Allways. Still the same product, the same box, just different name.

Once in front of the shelf, Wolfram contacted me as he had trouble identifying the right one.

Looking at the picture he sent me of the shelf I can understand why. They all look the same.

Good that the shop had wifi so I could guide him.

It is nice to shop from the sofa :)

Free hugs

Oskar is giving hugs for free!!!

Don't miss this great opportunity, only today!

First Saint-Nicolas

Oskar doesn't even wear shoes yet but we made sure that the donkey of Saint-Nicolas will find a carrot from our little boy.

Let's see what Saint-Nicolas brings during the night.

December 6th

Saint-Nicolas found us and brought us some Belgian chocolate for hot chocolate and speculoos. I will diligently eat and drink them so Oskar can enjoy chocolate speculoos milk :)

Merci Saint-Nicolas!

Growing... so fast

I still remember when we brought Oskar home. He was so lost in the car seat. We had to add blankets on the sides to secure his head and under to raise him a bit.
Only a couple of months have passed and now when he sits in the car seat, he's filling up the space.
People keep on telling me to enjoy this time as it passes too quickly. I start to understand what they mean.

Soon, he will drive his own car (unless he takes his Papa's).

A bit of fresh air

This afternoon my Dad took us to the harbor for a little walk. Objective was to get some fresh air and show the sea to Oskar. No way he would come to Brittany and not go to the sea.
Not sure he saw much of the sea - it might have been too far away from what he can see now - but he got plenty of fresh air.
So much he got hungry and we stopped in a cafe for milk and tea.
Once stomach was full, Oskar had a little chat with his grand-father. As usual, this triggered funny faces from our little boy.

Have you heard about the story of the horse which fell in the lake? Do you know what happened to the knight? and to his sword? ... we have to wait for Oskar to speak to find out.

We are ready

For a whole month of Xmas music.

And maybe more :)

He slept through the night

We stuffed the goose with extra milk.

We packed it in a bigger pampers.

We lulled it into sleep.

And baby slept 8 hours in a row!!!

He did move a bit around 3 and 4 am but I ignored him hiding under the blankets hoping he would get back to sleep. And he did :)

Now let's see if we can repeat this tonight. 

Chatting with Oskar on Monday afternoon

I keep wondering what he would say if he could speak. Crazy stories for sure. Until he finds the words, we have to rely on his faces and "ah---oooh". 

Christmas before Christmas

Oskar is being spoiled by his great aunts Daad and Houda.

Daad got him a book with songs for kids. I suspect that she expects me to listen to the CD and then sing to Oskar. Not sure I will be as good as her when it comes to singing to Oskar.

Houda got him a little golden cross. Something that will stay with him for his whole life. I forgot to take a picture of the two of them together. Shame on me, I know. Luckily Wolfram is arriving soon in Europe and will make sure to take plenty of pictures.