Ivy en France

What a long, strange trip it's been (someday, Ivy will ask me about that reference, and I will tell her all about the Grateful Dead, and how Mommy never got to go see them because she drove her car off the road the night before she was supposed to go with her friend Jeanne. The only other time Mommy drove her car off the road was in France, on the way to the airport at 5:20 in the morning. She had to talk to the national gendarmerie in French on the phone and then to a very nice and very young gendarmerie in person, and we took a cab, and missed our plane and it was enough to make a long, strange trip even longer and stranger.)!

Ivy was good as gold on the plane all four times. She is such a little trouper. I was a little worried that she'd never fall asleep because there was so much noise and activity for the first few hours as everyone got their drinks and dinners and headsets, but she conked out during her bottle and slept for the next 6 hours. She woke up at breakfast time, and was awake for most of our layover at Charles deGaulle but then slept to Pau. Heidi picked us up, and we drove through the mountains to the gite at Lees. Grammy and Grampy had bread and cheese and speck for us to eat, and we all fell into bed. Ivy's first night was good, but then the trouble started. We couldn't really share the room with her. She woke every time we made a noise, and with her Daddy's snores, we make a lot of noise. She didn't understand why, if we were all together, it wasn't playtime. On our third night, we finally let her up around midnight (we'd been trying to get her to go back to sleep since 10:30). You can see in this picture that she's the cutest little devil baby ever -- so happy when she realized she'd bent us to her will! After that night, we put my parents in a neighboring gite and took their room. Tiny Ivy is no good at sleepovers.


Ivy was great fun in the mornings. She get started on her work right away, checking out the bottles in the kitchen, trying to fall off the sofa,
and putting things in her mouth. I used a carry-on suitcase as a makeshift toybox, and she crawled over to it and starting pulling out her friends first thing. There were seven of us sharing a pretty small (but very nice) space, and I didn't want Ivy to take over any more than she had to (she had her own freaking room, after all).
The weather was pretty terrible the whole time we were there. It was about 60F and rained at least a little bit nearly every day. If we'd come from Calgary, I'd have been really depressed. As it was, it felt like winter in College Station.


We braved the cold and damp for a visit to a mountain petting zoo.














It was high above the town of Borce, about 10k from Lees-Athas. We didn't realize it would be outdoors, and we weren't really dressed for the weather, especially when it started drizzling. But Ivy LOVES animaux, and so we stayed.





She had such a good time petting the goats and sheep, and looking at deer (there was a bambi, less than a week old, with spots), and checking out the bears (who were not snoring at all). The mother had 3 cubs about 10 days old.









We also got to pet bunny rabbits and a tiny nanny goat.
















We saw a lot of nature on our trip, and lots of it reminded me of fairytale forests. The bjorn got a real workout (don't worry, Mary and Jamie, we're getting you a new one!) as we took at least 2 walks a day (sometimes in the rain). We had a loop up into the hills above Lees and then down into Athas which covered a lot of ground, exposed us to wildflowers, offered opportunities to eat wild strawberries, and walked us by pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, cows, and the biggest horse I've ever seen.
We walked along the farm road to the waterfall at the highway and chucked stones into the river. Josh walked to a little bar/hotel/cafe on his own, and then he (and later he and I) took Ivy for some frites. There were goats in the yard behind our gite, and they were Ivy's favorite. She'd grunt and clap her little feet and lunge out of the bjorn to try to touch them, especially the hoppy little baby. The village also had several dogs, including a big black one named Black, who Ivy and Puja especially loved. He let Ivy bury her hands in his thick fur, and would stand quietly as she gently petted him. He came with Ivy, Grammy, Auntie Heidi and me as we liberated some wildflowers for Heidi's garden.

I did the tiniest bit of work in the garden, but everyone else worked very hard on the house. Grampy, who has no fear, helped re-roof the barn; they put in windows and a door; built stairs, two lintels, and a floor; finished a wall; and lots more. Grammy, Josh, and I cooked -- Josh did the grilling just like at home, and added pork chops and duck breast to his repertoire. Ivy didn't do any work beyond loving her suckies and looking cute.






Ivy really enjoyed her food (just like at home) and we had such a good time having dinner with her. She ate lots of cheese, omelets, red beans, and broccoli, as well as little bites of whatever Mommy was willing to share.








Clark and Heidi especially enjoyed her mealtime antics -- they laughed when she pooped but continued to stuff her face, and at her ability to use wrists, elbows, and even the tray to shove food into her mouth.






They also thought she was a great eater, and had a huge variety of favorites. I'm proud we do such a good job feeding her.









We also had posh lunch for Grammy and Grampy's 44th anniversary. We all (including Puja and the unexpected and unlooked for Brian and Paquita) had an enormous meal of salad, entree, and dessert (Josh smartly ordered cheese and profiteroles a la carte!) at the Chateau d'Arrance. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, but too cold to eat outside.




We had many photo ops (Puja took these arty shots of pretty Ivy), but I know Grammy still hopes for a studio photograph someday. Ivy was so good at the restaurant for nearly 2 hours. We're lucky, but then she WAS the centre of attention, and that's hard to beat.







Most nights, Clark, Puja, and Heidi returned from the barn to shower, drink beer, and play with Ivy before dinner. I was jealous of all the fun they were having, but so glad Heidi and Clark got to spend time with their beautiful and brilliant niece. I can't wait til they get their own babies. Clark thought it was pretty funny that Ivy was so interested in his beer -- I think it was less the beer than the way funny Uncle Clark was teasing her, but it is true that even the friends (proffered by Auntie Heidi) were no match for liquor.












Ivy adored Puja, who called her "pussycat," made faces, was a willing audience for even Ivy's most mundane (like thread pulling) activities, and laughed a low and throaty laugh. Ivy and Auntie Heidi spent time together in the mornings before Heidi headed for the barn, and they read and played nicely. Ivy and Clark developed a waving game. He'd wave goodbye, she'd stare, he'd leave, and then she'd wave. It was pretty funny to watch. Ivy got so much attention, and of course she thrives on attention. She crawled, cruised, and stood farther and longer than she ever had at home. She laughed and waved and clapped her hands and feet. She loved everybody, and everybody loved her, of course.



Josh spent his first Father's Day in France. Ivy took Grampy and Daddy out to dinner at the frites restaurant. They don't have highchairs, so the sling Karyn Ford made was a big help. We got her situated and we all ate dinner, but the French eat a little late for a baby, and so the three of us had to head home early. Luckily, we had chocolate at home for dessert. After Ivy went to bed, Grampy took a picture with his baby girls.


On Sunday, we celebrated Ivy's first birthday (early). Grammy and Auntie Heidi really wanted to be part of the party, so we had some cake and candles and balloons and presents. Ivy liked her omelet better than the cake, I think, but enjoyed the party. She was pretty excited to get the bunny maze -- she was really tired of her old toys by that point, and the ribbon on the package was shiny.




I'm sure I've forgotten lots of fun moments, but I think I've got the basic outline of the trip covered. We'll have stories for you all, and for Ivy when she is big enough to ask about them. I'm so proud of my little girl for being such a brave traveler already, and for having more stamps in her passport than most of my A&M students. Our visits to Chicago and Denver are coming up, and I'm so excited to see her in more new places (and then to bring her home again).

Ivy a la mode!