Jet lag

Although they slept in the plane, both Oskar and Thomas are jet lagged. 

We spent nearly two hours getting the two back to sleep at 2am. Thomas woke up. We fed him and Wolfram tried to get him back to sleep several times until he was down for good.

Oskar woke up a bit after Thomas and decided he did not want to sleep throwing a tantrum in the middle of the night. I stood in his room for one hour until he was quiet enough for me to leave. This kid sure has a strong will and is never missing an opportunity to show it. I was struggling to stay awake and I am not 100% sure I did not sleep a bit although standing.

Unlike the kids, the parents barely slept in the plane and are exhausted. Sadly for them, two little boys have decided not to let them sleep. But revenge there will be... When we wake them up in the morning :)

It's 3:30am, both are sleeping for 15min now. Maybe we can get to bed before its pumping time again at 6am.

Good night, hopefully.

Mixed feelings

We are back home after a somehow ok flight. We could not be sitting together but we knew it and organized ourselves accordingly. I find it disappointing that when I travel with my family we end up in two groups, each of us with one kid and we barely see the other one as it's difficult to move. That's not how I envision a family trip.

Aggie met us at the airport with the car seat for Oskar (yes we insist on having him secured even for a taxi) and we drove home in a maxi taxi, us and our 6 suitcases, stroller and countless cabin luggage. It's hard to believe we were just going on vacation visiting family and not moving to another country.

It's good to be home especially when you find it sparkling clean. Aggie cleaned everything in our absence including all the cupboards and wardrobes. The house has never been so clean and it only took a few minutes for us to ruin this perfection. I'm looking forward to not living out of a suitcase and going for a swim tomorrow. Did I mention she got us flowers to welcome us home?

It's sad to be home when I think of all the people we left behind. Each separation is harder and this time I started to think that it is time to come home. I hate that I could not attend my sister's wedding even if it was only a formality as she describe it or that I most likely won't see my niece or nephew until end next year. I hate that my brother and first niece are so far away it would take 24h to fly there which means I never see them. Food for thought for the new year.

Now it's time to unpack!

La grande galerie de l'évolution

What to do with a toddler in winter time in Paris? 

The other day we went to the Galeries Lafayette. Today we visited another popular place with kids: the natural history museum and its famous Galerie de l'évolution showing a very vast collection of species. 

The museum is spread over four levels. From the top you can have a panoramic view of the jungle animals led by the elephants. 

Oskar enjoyed himself very much, from what I could see as I stayed behind with Thomas in the stroller. 

As per the request from Joy, we paid special attention to the gnu. If you don't know what it is, here is a photo.

Oskar was so full of energy that he would not even stand still for the picture. Unlike Thomas who was nicely quietly watching things in the arms of Yann.

Santa came last night

And as always was very generous. 

I'm curious to see Oskar's face when he discovers all the gifts.

Merry Christmas to everyone! 

Waiting for Papa Noël

Thomas decided to sleep by the tree not to miss Papa Noël when he comes.

Consequence of 1 hour in a toy store

A little nap in the bus.

Too bad the parents could not do the same.

Vitrines de Noël aux Galeries Lafayette

Oskar showed some interest for the animations in the windows of the shop. He might be still a bit young.

The Christmas tree inside the shop under the dome is, as always, stunning.