and now, you are two

I love the gap between your two front teeth.

I love the deep depths of your blue eyes.

And the way your tiny hands clasp tightly around my neck for a hug when you are tired.

I love your adorable elocution when you say yes. oui. One might think the word has nearly three syllables.

I love your excitement to wave from the window.  In the mornings, once we've given your papa all the kisses he can stand and he's headed out the door, you hurry to push your chair up to the window. You scramble up to your perch to wave and smile at him as he drives off to work.

I love the way you transform a stick or really anything into a cane and pretend to hobble about. Where did you learn that?

And your laughter, especially when you are being tickled. I love that laugh. Pure joy.

I love you and now, you are two. Happy birthday, Clover.

a parade not to be missed

At the tail end of July is the annual Fête du Village.  It's a one day celebration of the history and culture of our village. It's probably my favorite celebration. It brings the whole town together.  All the people participating dress up from the old days and there is a parade through town ending in the center square. There are folk dancers, farmers, loggers, school teachers, poker players, hay balers, carpenters and craftsmen. This year there was even an old-fashioned marriage processional. As the folkloric dancers would stop to sport a dance, our friend, D, dressed up as a ski-instructor gave demonstrations of how to put on wooden skis much to the enjoyment of the spectators.

The nanny that looks after Clover a couple days a week is greatly involved in the community and she sent me a text message a couple days before the fête. "Does Clover want to participate in the parade?" Without hesitation, I calmly responded that "Clover would like to partake in the festivities."  Not wanting to go overboard or over characters in my text message, I refrained from telling her just how excited his mother was that he would be in the parade. The word giddy is the first one that comes to mind.  Ridiculously excited.

So Clover was kitted out in an old timey outfit, little leather boots, cordoroy pants, suspenders and handknitted bonnet. The son of the nanny, looking dapper in his great grandfather's old mountain guide uniform, was absolutely adorable with Clover and took such good care of him during the parade.  They had white confetti for fake snow to throw to onlookers.   Clover was delighted. Throwing bits of paper into the air? For once it was encouraged!

Clover and his cousin rode side by side through the parade route. The little sledders happily sat for photos from parade bystanders, and lots from me, too.

I may have gone a little overboard on the photos but it was so hard not to. Clover's first parade. We loved every minute of it. Okay, I loved every minute of it. He loved about seventy-five percent which really for a toddler, that's practically one hundred and ten. Right?

There were vendors selling old-timey wares and at the center of town they had exhibits of what it was like to brew coffee back in the day, bale hale, chop wood, do your laundry with boiling pots of water and hand cranked tin drums, an old-fashioned meat smoker, of course, their was also a distillery. That one had the most people milling around it all times, they offered lots of tastings.

There was an abundance of accordion music. Numerous folk dancing groups from around the area came to show off their traditional dances on the stages set up in the square. The woman that heads up the folkloric dancing in our village recruited me to dance next year.  I've been trying to convince Félix to do it with me. I even tried to play the jealousy card. Did not even phase him.  I asked if he really wanted me to be dancing with some other man, and his response to that was that if it was folk dancing nothing would make him happier than to see me dancing with someone else.

So we got our fill of accordian music for the summer and had a great time with family and friends. Félix is already dreading that I'll ask him to be in the parade with me next year and of course, I am already a few steps ahead of him on that route.  I'm happily dreaming up what our costumes will be.

what are you reading these days?

Summertime is peak reading time for me. I love it all,  chick lit reads for the beach, epic tomes to make travel times pass quickly, and riveting novels for an afternoon inside during a summer rainstorm.  What are you thumbing through these days? 

My most recent reads, with a few additions from Clover of course, from top to bottom are:

1. Big Dog and Little Dog. Clover likes to have us read this book at least 6 times in a row every time we open it. It's hard to resist his little voice asking, "Encore?" as we turn the last page.

2. It's a Book. Another current favorite of Clover's. Very cute. Has the word "no" on every other page.  As you might imagine, it's a huge hit with the toddler crowd.

3. Ma Vie pour un Oscar. Rated a great beach read by Elle magazine, I rate it a mediocre beach read.  It's the fictional, very thinly veiled adaptation of the author's life as the assistant to an unnamed Hollywood star.  The magic of google confirms that it is in fact, John Cusack, her former boss.  The star-system narcissism is strong, inescapable and the sole premise of the book it seems. It's a good read for putting the glitz and glamour of Hollywood into a more sad and solitary perspective.

4. Le Nœud en Huit, a great, quick read. The fictional story of guides that were hired to help nazi soldiers fleeing the country after the war and the lives that were shattered by the experience.  It takes place in the Alps, Saint Gervais even, before embarking to warmer climates. Written by a local mountain guide. Always fun to read something set locally.

5. She Walks in Beauty. A selection of poetry on marriage and motherhood curated by Caroline Kennedy. This was a gift from  my mom a while ago.  I pick this up often. It has some really great poems that speak straight to my heart.

6. The Brain That Changes Itself.  Not my typical beach read but so, so interesting. As someone previously unaware of the studies in neuroplasticity, I found the subject fascinating.  There is case after case of the brain's incredible capacity to heal and adapt. Mindblowing, in the best possible way.

7. Bringing Up Bébé. An American journalist in Paris (self-described as a reluctant expatriate)  presents the differences of raising a child in France rather than the United States. This book raised quite a bit of controversy in the USA.  I found it to be written with a lot of humility. It was an interesting comparison of the cultural differences in child-rearing between the two countries.   For me it feels like a bit of a cheat sheet of the expectations for raising a child in France. A well-researched handbook for things that I would have had to learn by trial and embarassing error on my own here.  She does make a few sweeping generalizations that I don't exactly agree with,  but that seems unavoidable in a book like this.  Like all parenting books I think it's important to pick and choose what works for one's family without feeling any pressure to implement everything exactly to the letter.

So, please spill your favorite titles in the comments! What are you reading these days? 

making a quick day trip to Italy

Benvenuto! Félix and I made a run for the Italian border last week.  We headed over to Aosta.  It's just under an hour and a half from where we live making it the perfect distance for a quick day trip. 

We leisurely sipped our delightfully strong coffee and ate hazelnut pastries in the bright sunshine. The coffee is so, so very good. I happily indulged in a caffe latte to start my day, my favorite. They are always so delicious in Italy, the gold standard of lattes.

We strolled all over the city and admired the Roman ruins. We stopped in to make sure that the Teatro Romano was still standing.

 We can breathe easy, even after nearly 2000 years, the south wall of the Roman Theater is holding up well. We checked out some italian music and contemplated a Klimt exposition but decided we needed lunch first.

 We found a bite to eat at  a wineshop café with a hidden courtyard. We had big, fresh salads and toasted our day trip with a nice glass of local wine.   We were near l'Arco d'Augusto, the arch dedicated to the Emperor Augustus built in 25 BC. I love that. I adore being among the Roman ruins,  just knowing something has been around for so very long, that I am walking on streets that people have been walking on for thousands of years. Thousands of years!

And before we knew it, it was time to head to the grocery store to stock up on our favorite regional specialties on our way out of town. It's my favorite way to extend a short trip - bringing my favorites home. Have you taken any fun day trips lately?